Infrastructure
A. Access to computers and other IT/ICT equipment
Example 1 - Cornwall Adult Education Services
Cornwall Adult Education Services now use the Learning Platform called Moodle. All E-Guides have had a Moodle Portal installed on their laptops. Martin Thomson, Head of ILT/e-learning, describes Moodle as ‘fabulous – a no capital cost option’. In addition, all Cornwall’s E-Guides have a comprehensive kit of equipment, such as data projectors, Portable Digital Assistants (PDAs), memory sticks, Mimios and digital cameras. With 20 sets of kit for all the E-Guides this also means that potentially this kit could be given on loan to tutors.
How you might use this
Pool together the equipment within your organisation or carry out an equipment audit to identify where the equipment is stored, accessed and the regularity of use. An audit might also help identify whether equipment is unused due to storage problems or update requirements. Sharing, or lending, of equipment would require good tracking systems to be in place, but it is worth considering the risk of loss rather than leaving unused equipment for lengthy periods in locked cupboards. A larger pool of equipment could be achieved by sharing with other organisations such as local colleges, library services or volunteer agencies.
Further Information
NIACE E-Guides Staff Development Training Programme
Example 2 - London Probation Service
Red Kite Learning and the London Probation Service have equipped 16 Employment Support Advisors with laptops to allow them and offenders to access the Internet through wireless technology.
Red Kite has developed the Interactive Personal Career Development (i-CPD) which incorporates a Curriculum Vitae (CV) Wizard and Interview Assistant applications that can be customized and extended to meet the needs of the Open College Network (OCN) Personal Career Development qualification. This qualification will be delivered to up to 2000 offenders across London to help improve their employability and ultimately secure a job.
Further Information
Example 3 - Sheffield and South Yorkshire
In Sheffield and South Yorkshire, Rainer has three services working with offenders and those at risk of offending who are experiencing drug, alcohol and homelessness problems, particularly vulnerable young people and those with mental health issues.The innovative use of webcam, video conversations and video clips has greatly contributed to offenders' learning experience at Rainer.
Prospect Services Ltd deliver group sessions covering potential opportunities, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and job application advice and interview skills via webcam direct to offenders at Rainer. Each individual can receive 1:1 sessions via webcam. The advisors can assess the extent of learning and discuss employability issues with the offender including, for example, disclosure. Video clips can be downloaded just prior to an interview to refresh their learning and a video capture facility allows them to record the conversations in short video files to refer to at a later time. The use of Logitech QuickCam Sphere has been particularly successful.
Further Information
Example 4 - Tresham Institute
In the Northamptonshire Probation Area, Tresham Institute provides tutors with a mobile wireless 
broadband connected Information Technology (IT) trailer. Once a week tutors work with offenders and deliver Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training i.e. New CLAIT qualification and the European Computer Driving Licence. Tutors also incorporate the use of the new mobile technologies such as Portable Digital Assistants (PDAs), MP3 players, memory sticks and laptops. Tresham utilise the Thomson NETg e-learning solution so learners can access appropriate learning software and carry out simaultions and controlled exams using the secure wireless network.
This online learning opportunity will enable the offenders to have access to and use of e-learning equipment and resources as part of their Skills for Life provision.
Further Information
European Computer Driving Licence
Take a look at the Common Modules, Tools of e-learning in the Staff Development E-Learning Centre for information about mobile and wireless technologies.
Example 5 - Suffolk Adult and Community Learning
Suffolk Adult and Community Learning engaged with a British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) E-Maturity Transformation Project with the aim to employ three E-Guides to visit courses across all curriculum areas and to give advice and support to tutors to incorporate the use of technology, where appropriate, in their courses. The three E-Guides, who also teach IT, were employed to cover North, South and West of the County.
Each E-Guide had a set of equipment which they took with them when they visited tutors: Camera, Camcorder, Laptop, Projector, Tripod, Card reader, MP3 player, 4Gb memory stick, Photo printer. Tutors recorded what was used on their visits. The project's Steering group were originally going to organise a learner forum using video-conference facilities however after a staff trial with the video-conference it was decided to hold the conference with tutors who had taken part in project rather than learners.
How you might use this
Video conferencing tools provide an ideal way to keep in contact with staff dispersed across a large area or county. Although Suffolk had some issues in relation to bandwith and access it was considered a valuable asset for monitoring purposes.
Further Information
Information on video-conferencing and collaboration tools such as Horizon Wimba, Instant Presenter, Vyew , Yugma and Adobe Connect.
Take a look at the Common Modules, Tools of e-learning in the Staff Development E-Learning Centre for information about equipment.
B. Internet connectivity
Example 1 - York Adult and Community Learning
‘Piggy-backing’ on existing infrastructure' - York Adult and Community Learning find great benefit from working with York Library Service to develop the Moodle virtual learning environment (VLE). The shared platform has enabled learners and tutors, who do not have access to the Internet at home, to use the library broadband service at 15 locations around York.
How you might use this
Very often you can find that the Library Service is well-equipped with computers and using broadband connection. This offers an ideal opportunity to widen a provision of service to learners and can also allow for a sharing of costs to support that learning. Identify your local library or volunteer agencies who might well be interested in working with you to develop a shared learning platform.
Further Information
Example 2 - HMP Wealstun
A simulated 'Internet' for prisoners is being used in Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Wealstun. A controlled Internet is hosted on the internal prison Education Department Network, which then enables prisoners to learn the skills of accessing the Internet, and other subject and vocational areas, without connecting to the world outside the prison.
Image taken from www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk.© Crown copyright 2004.
In addition, HMP North Sea Camp, set in rural Boston in Lincolnshire, has created a computer network of 30 workstations to provide an e-learning facility to the prison camp. The server stores online resources created a simulated Internet environment for prisoners to undertake e-learning activities relevant to society and employment. Access to the 'online' environment is available evenings and weekends with e-learning tutor support if needed. Their project - the Regional Reducing Re-Offending Action Plan (RRRAP) aims to improve the quality and quantity of learning opportunities for offenders.
How you might use this
You might be able to ‘simulate’ the Internet in village halls or other outreach situations where there might not be real Internet connectivity. A simulated Internet experience can be achieved by creating linked web pages or sites using software such as Course Genie or eXeLearning.
The resultant web pages can incorporate a variety of media that can be located from a memory stick, local hard-drive or a small local area network (LAN), although naturally, without Internet connection, the web hyperlinks will obviously not work. The Moodle learning platform can be installed onto laptops and run interactive web materials embedded within the course materials giving the learner a web experience.
Further Information
London Reducing Re-offending Action Plan 2007-09
Example 3 - Cornwall Adult Education Service
Cornwall Adult Education Services now use the Moodle Platform as a portal for online learning content. With Learning and Skills Council funding via NIACE, a Moodle server has been installed into Falmouth's JANET connection and this exchange server provides all tutors with e-mail accounts.
Further Information
Choosing and using a learning platform
C. Learning platform development
E-maturity is the capacity of an institution to make strategic and effective use of technology to improve educational outcomes. The use of learning platforms can make an important contribution towards the e-maturity of an organisation. The model above shows the 'Learning Platform Ziggurat' that indicates the key elements that are required at foundation level for staff use of a platform, in order to ensure the platform use and development can be sustained. By far the most commonly found platform within adult and community learning is Moodle.
Further Information
Platforms for Success - A guide for managers implementing a learning platform strategy
Example 1 - Leeds Adult and Community Learning Service
Leeds Adult and Community Learning Service developed a Moodle virtual learning environment in partnership with a range of different organisations:
- The JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humberside (lead partner)
- Leeds Libraries – specifically in neighbourhood sites in areas of disadvantage.
- The Swarthmore Centre – which has a city-centre base and has built up considerable expertise in e-learning.
- Age Concern, Leeds – which is currently developing IT programmes for housebound and isolated older learners.
- Thomas Danby College –specifically in community sites and with lead tutors experienced in e-learning, particularly language learning.
How you might use this
Very often a partnership approach is the best context in which to develop a virtual learning environment, as there is a logic to sharing resources and expertise across more than one organisation. Also, partnership working can provide a means of reducing costs through sharing hosting, support and training costs. Quite apart from partnership issues, the project report at contains a wealth of practical information that might be useful for any ACL organisation involved in implementing a learning platform. Look in particular at the ‘lessons learned’ section and at the case studies described at the end of the report.
Further Information
JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humberside
Example 2 - Tees Valley Local Education Authorities (LEAs)
The five LEAs within the Tees Valley Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area, decided to pool their resources and adopt a single learning platform, instead of developing five separate ones. The partnership successfully bid for LSC TrEACL via NIACE, funding to develop a Moodle Platform. The project has fostered a sharing culture amongst the adult education services involved.
“I realised a VLE could be a great way of sharing resources across the Tees Valley.”
Chris Kemp, ICT Co-ordinator for Middlesbrough
Tutors are encouraged to submit their own materials, allowing learners access to a much wider range of resources for their courses. Cooperation on staff training, technical support, as well as content development, are just some of the positive aspects of this collaborative venture, which has huge benefits for learners and learning providers alike.
The five partners, who were all at different levels of understanding regarding Moodle when they started, have each taken on different roles. Redcar and Stockton provides project management and leadership in order to meet the deadlines, Darlington and Hartlepool the resource-sharing section of the platform, while Middlesbrough provides hosting and development. Moodle courses have also seen a 22% increase in learner retention over non-Moodle courses.
How you might use this
Working in partnership with other providers to develop a learning platform can makes a great deal of sense, not just because of economies of scale (i.e. sharing costs.) If retention of learners is improved, as anecdotal evidence indicates it often is, then this can have a significant positive impact on income, particularly from courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
Further Information
The learning platform is called TeesLearn Moodle and can be accessed at http://www.teesvalley-acl.ac.uk/.
Partnership working in Tees Valley
Example 3 - Kent Adult Education Service
Four years ago Kent Adult Education Service (KAES) introduced European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) as an online course. It was not particularly successful. As a result, when KAES introduced the ‘Getting Connected’ project within the E-Shift funded project, response from staff was poor.
The initiative needed to overcome this ‘negative organisational memory’ that persisted following the need to abandon the previous online activities. A one-day conference was arranged which brought together all staff to discuss the benefits of learning platforms generally and then the Moodle platform in particular.
Moodle provided the opportunity for webmail, and the concept of webmail was sold to all staff on the grounds that it was not fair for them to use personal email for work-related issues. KAES recommends getting staff ‘on board’ and then allowing a ‘bottom up’ pressure from staff to the Senior Management Team to drive forwards these sorts of initiatives.
The KAES experience appears to demonstrate that senior management can be persuaded about online initiatives if they understand the benefits, in particular benefits in terms of cost effectiveness and increased efficiency of communication between staff and learners.
During the initial implementation, many staff chose not to use Moodle, however when Job Recruitment and Student Registration areas were developed on the platform, there was a discernable shift in numbers of tutors accessing and using the platform.
How you might use this
Provide opportunities for regular debate about the benefits and prospects of using an online learning platform. Practitioners need to see a key personal benefit initially and one ideal 'buy-in' is to offer a free email address via the learning platform. Better communication can lead to a greater chance to share ideas and materials and for staff to be supported by the organisation in general.
Try to get senior management on board. For a sustainable and integrated learning platform the full support of your organisation's leadership is vital and critical to the success of implementation.
Further Information
The publication 'Choosing and Using a Learning Platform in Adult and Community Learning' by Bob Powell and Geoff Minshull provides some examples of the benefits of a learning platform for an organisation.
Example 4 - Essex Adult and Community Learning
Essex Adult and Community Learning found that, as people became aware of what a virtual learning environment (VLE) could do, then they began to offer more creative suggestions about its potential use. The use of online Induction training and Equality and Diversity Training was positively welcomed and used. Blended learning materials were created for 15 programmes. One learner accessed the VLE from abroad and found it extremely useful in “closing the gaps in class-based attendance”.
How you might use this
Developing induction materials and providing an online welcome to all learners, can reduce the cost of producing printed Handbooks and allows for hyperlinks within the electronic version to point to relevant Policy documents and Procedure instructions such as the Complaints and Appeals documentation.
Provide basic course information, e.g. schemes of work and handouts via the learning platform. This is not using the learning platform to provide additional work – it is simply making the existing face-to-face content available via the learning platform. Learners do not have to use the learning platform, but those who do have access to the internet can catch up on missed classes. This can have a significant effect on improving retention.
Supplementary content can then be provided via the learning platform. This can be additional work, self-assessment activities or collaborative work. If a course requires online additional work then it does mean that all the learners will need to have access to the internet outside normal class hours. This would have to be indicated as a special requirement for attending the course.
Example 5 - Thanet College
Geoff Rebbeck of Thanet College has created an Employer Engagement area within the College's Moodle, 'The Learning Curve'. Employers are invited to visit courses as guests to see what apprentices and other employees are doing on the courses. Thanet College also engage employers by asking them to appear as guests to answer questions direct from the apprentices using Chat facility.
Geoff also suggests in his '27 top tips for embedding Moodle VLE into your College' to create an incomplete course area for students to construct a learning episode and so test their IT ability and approaches to learning.
Further Information
Geoff Rebbeck's 27 top tips for embedding Moodle VLE into your College
Example 6 - Cornwall Adult Education Service
Cornwall AES is developing their Moodle platform transforming it from being a mere repository of resources to a Moodle ‘with attitude’. The tutors use a variety of assessment activities within Moodle courses, such as journals, quizzes and surveys. They find that the tracking and reporting functionality within Moodle provides valuable information about the learners' engagement and can show results of any assessment activities within the courses. A learner re-visiting an activity over and over again might indicate a need for tutor support.
With active Regional Support Centre support, Cornwall is moving to having a common platform throughout the whole county, including the HE institutions. Martin Thomson, Head of ILT, suggests the following tips:
- Engage with staff first.
- Use the VLE as a staff access tool so tutors and managers can keep in touch to share ideas and news.
- Do not make Moodle a separate issue. It is just another tool in the ILT armoury and not something special or separate. Stress this regularly.
- Where possible, use exemplars made by staff. This encourages others to try, and it gives a boost to those whose work is chosen.
- Make sure the portal is password-protected and that staff know that their work will be on show just to their learners and their team and not to everyone. This makes a real difference and reduces anxiety.
How you might use this
Identify your Regional Support contact and find out how the organisation can help and support you and your staff, especially if you're developing staff development training using a learning platform.
Further Information
Example 7 - HMP Ashfield
Ashfield College has created a Moodle that has been adapted to suit the Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) and Youth Offender Institution (YOI) Ashfield environment. ICT Champions have received training to learn how to add and amend courses on the Moodle and to add suitable content to support the learners. Overall the College are hoping that Moodle will enable teachers to use resources with greater effect during lessons and be able to deliver courses that are currently unavailable. City College Manchester has piloted a Moodle-based virtual learning environment in two of its establishments in the East Midlands. It is felt that this parity between the Prison Moodle and the College Moodle will help the tutors gain confidence in producing content whether they are delivering to learners in the College or to learners within the Prison environment.
Image taken from www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk.© Crown copyright 2004.
How you might use this
Moodle is a free open-source course management system that provides an online and, if you want, an offline learning environment (via a Local Area Network (LAN) network) incorporating a variety of communication tools and learning activities.
A course management system or virtual learning environment is software that brings together a number of facilities: it can deliver courses and learning, store resources, deliver e-assessment, provide tutor support and communication and track learning. Moodle can be run offline by either placing it on your organisation’s local area network or even by installing it on a single computer or laptop.
Further Information
Example 8 - HMP Bullwood Hall
Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Bullwood Hall have created an Intranet to replicate the learning opportunities and information offered by the Internet. They have used the service provided by delivered Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) to provide a choice of exciting and engaging learning materials. IPTV is a means of delivering television services over a local area broadband network. Server based computers broadcast a menu-driven service to a television in each cell enabling multiple learners to address their own learning needs simultaneously.
The initial focus will be on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Skills for Life (SFL) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) where courses already exist in IPTV format.
Staff at the prison feel that the benefits for the establishment include an increase in purposeful activity through in-cell learning time and contributions to policies on staff development, learning and skills, communication, healthy prison and diversity.
Further Information
D. Technical support for staff and learners
Example 1 - Medway Adult and Community Learning Service
Medway Adult and Community Learning Services (MACLS) has arranged for one of its trained E-Guides, who works as an information and learning technology (ILT) Technician, to be timetabled in a flexible way so that, whenever possible, the technician can be onsite when a tutor uses a laptop and projector for the first time with a class. If the tutor has any problems in setting up the equipment, she/he knows that help is at hand. This has helped considerably in developing staff confidence in using e-learning equipment.
How you might use this
Many organisations provide courses in e-learning for their staff but fail to appreciate the importance of ongoing support. This can often be provided in a fairly informal way through timetabled ‘drop-in’ sessions or through the sort of ‘help is at hand’ principle used in Medway. The same informal approach could be extended to support both tutors and support staff in using a wide range of applications of technology.
Example 2 - Essex Adult and Community Learning
Essex Adult and Community Learning recognised one key problem in developing blended learning content and that is to pay tutors for additional development time. The Learning and Skills Council funded E-Shift project has demonstrated to senior management the additional time implications required to plan and deliver blended learning via a VLE platform, and as a consequence, there will be changes made to the sessional contract, to reflect the different styles of working required.
A Peer Support Network was developed, hosted on the Moodle, to ensure project progress could be disseminated and to provide an opportunity for tutors to support each other in the development of materials.
Essex has a practice area on its Moodle where tutors can have a chance to practice using the tools. Once the tutors feel confident then they can 'go live' with a course for learners.
How you might use this
Encourage tutors to work in groups to create online materials and ask an information technology (IT) tutor to work as a 'buddy' to provide specialist support when needed. Consider how peer support activities can provide evidence for continuing professional development opportunities.
It is advisable to provide closed development areas on a learning platform for all staff to practise creating content and courses in a safe environment. An informal virtual Staff Room or Coffee Lounge area is also a good idea since they enable staff to talk about general issues associated with their everyday work, whilst practising their online Moodle skills at the same time.
Further Information
Example 3 - Bournemouth Adult and Community Learning
Bournemouth Adult and Community Learning has encouraged staff to use their Moodle by embedding it into their teacher training programme. Bournemouth believes that if tutors use the environment as a learner at an early stage, they will be much more likely to bring it through to their teaching. Tutors liked the fact that they could put all their teaching resources in one place. They also liked having a bank of all the authority’s management resources and administrative materials in one place. A trend was noticed, however, whereby tutors that undertook the training appeared to be engaged in the process, but did not use the Moodle facility afterwards. Personalised one-to-one sessions are now being offered to meet the individual tutor's needs and hopefully overcome this reticence.
How you might use this
Blending in online support within the teacher training programme can often result in greater reflection throughout the training on the use of online tools within teaching strategies. Being an online learner themselves helps tutors to see ways in which they can support their own learners using an online platform.
Example 4 - York Adult and Community Learning
York Adult and Community Learning formed a Steering Group to determine the direction of the training required with regards to its Moodle platform. The Service engaged with an advisor at the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) Regional Support Centre (RSC) of Yorkshire and Humberside and with the Moodle User Group to gain support and face-to-face training when needed.
How you might use this
The JISC Regional Support Centres provide support in the innovative use of technology to support education and research. Training events are held regularly in every region - many free for delegates to attend, and a number charging only a small fee.
Further Information
Find out where your nearest JISC Regional Support Centre is located
