WBL Forum

Joint WBL/ACL Forum - Charnwood Academy Friday 20th August 2010

The latest Forum for ACL and WBL took place at the Charnwood Academy in Kirkby-in-Ashfield last Friday attracting a good turn out of 19 delegates. Topics covered included the Redundant Apprentice Support Programme, Functional Skills and e-Safety.

After a few initial skirmishes with the technology and some changes to the running order to accommodate train times we got under way with a presentation from Diane Hall Employment Broker with JHP Employability in Nottingham. JHP provide this ESF/NAS funded support programme to help redundant apprentices find alternative employment to enable them to complete their frameworks with their existing provider.

Diane presentation is on the RSC moodle and further information is available from JHP on 0115 950 0055

 Next we had a session run by Phil Hardcastle (RSC Advisor) on e-safety. This was an introductory overview of the many aspects to be considered in ensuring that learners use technology safely, including the requirements of Ofsted inspectors. The session made frequent reference to the resources from the ‘e-learning and e-safety course’ available on the RSC Moodle http://moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=79.

This was intended only to be an introduction to the topic but the offer was made that if there was sufficient demand a more in-depth event could be organised.

If you would be interested in attending such an event please let me know 

Finally, and later than expected, (due to his epic trek from Kirkby Station - I’d intimated that it was only a 5 minute walk when it actually took half an hour!) we had a very informative and engaging presentation from Howard Parker giving a final update on the position with Functional Skills. Now delayed until (at least)March 2011 the move from Key Skills to Functional Skills still seems to be an issue for many and it was interesting to hear Howards views on why this is the case. His full presentation is included on the RSC Moodle

During the very short open forum session it was suggested by Ian Richards of Lincs County Council that there were a number of topical issues that could/should be included in future RSC delivery either as part of a forum or as a stand alone event. It was agreed that Ian would share his thoughts and that due consideration would be given. Similar input from other providers is also welcome so if you have any ideas/suggestions for what we should be doing please let me know.

Due to the delayed start and the entertaining content I never did get round to my usual News Updates but these too are included on the Moodle so please have a look through.

Joint ACL/WBL Forum, The Derbyshire Network, 14th May 2010 

Last Friday the latest ACL/WBL Forum was held at the Derbyshire Network in Ripley and attracted 17 delegates to what was due to be an opportunity to get the latest update on Functional Skills.

Unfortunately Howard Parker, the Regional Co-ordinator for Functional Skills, was unable to attend due to family illness so we had an eleventh hour re-jig of the programme.

Disappointing as it was to not receive the update it did mean that we had more time for delegates to use the forum in it’s true context to share experiences and each delegate provided a short profile on themselves, their organisations and their experience, or not, of e-learning. This proved to be extremely useful and informative and demonstrated an impressive range of activity amongst providers in the region, some of whom were clearly well advanced with their development whilst others were just starting out. The important thing was that it gave everyone the chance to find out about everyone else and about the potential support available. Well done to all concerned.

Eileen Kirk, currently undertaking a secondment with the Regional Support Centre from her employment with the Derbyshire Adult & Community Education Service, gave a short presentation on the use of a Virtual Learning Environment, using DACES own recently developed Moodle to demonstrate the sort of thing that could be achieved. Several of the organisations present were either actively working to develop their own platforms or were very interested in exploring the possibilities. Any questions on the subject to Eileen                     eileen.kirk@rsc-em.ac.uk

We then had an update on developments in the sector, in particular news of the latest funding available from the LSIS Flexibility & Innovation Fund, and a reminder about the new LSIS Accounts available to all LSC/SFA funded providers.

Finally there was an opportunity to have a look at some of the technology currently popular with providers in the sector.

The Polaroid Pogo is an inkless wireless instant printer which produces business card size prints straight from your mobile phone using Bluetooth. Alternatively it can be connected to a digital camera. The printer is compact, easy to carry and ideal for recording and saving images. The photos are also self adhesive so ideal for including in a portfolio. And best of all the printer is only around £20.

The Prime Pulse Smartpen is  a pen that records both handwriting and voice. It is relatively unobtrusive in use and it uploads data to your computer. It has the added ability to link the spoken word to written notes using special notepaper, synchronizing the two for easy reference later. Notes can be converted to Word documents with appropriate software.

The notepads are around £5 for A4 size and the 4gb pen with charger, headphones and case is around £160

Creative Vado one touch camcorders are proving to be a popular and inexpensive way to record evidence at around £50. Capable of about 60 minutes of good quality video and audio, very easy to use and upload.

 

 

WBL Forum, City Learning Centre Leicester, 20 November 2009

Last Friday we held the latest joint ACL/WBL Forum at the City Learning Centre in Leicester. The venue was good but there were some problems with parking as it had been decided to re-tarmac the centre car park on Friday morning! Delegates did manage to find alternative parking within the school complex but not the best start to the day.

Attendance at this forum was very disappointing with only eight delegates..............

We started the event with a series of News Snippets from Phil Hardcastle - RSC Advisor. He covered additional e-guides training events, an opportunity for providers to comment on the Future of Informal Adult Learning, Family Learning - a model for the 21st century, free resources for adults with learning difficulties and information about the latest series of books available through the Quick Reads initiative.

We then had a very informative and involving session from Andrew Edis ILT Co-ordinator at New College Nottingham who very kindly stepped in to replace the planned Video in WBL session by Phil Brown who was unable to make the forum. Andrew introduced us to the technology used in the toolkits developed for use by WBL assessors at New College and then got everyone involved in using the kit - just to see how easy it was to gather and store evidence using video, audio and photographic evidence as well as a portable scanner and a digital notepad.

Next we had a mini workshop, presented by Vic Dejean of LSIS, on Using Technology for Professional and Organisational Development through the Leadership Toolkits currently available FREE to providers. I know some of you had looked at these previously but had been put off by the £500 cost so now you can benefit from what is an excellent resource without any outlay.

If demand exists it might be possible to arrange for a full toolkit session to be held in the region. If you would be interested in attending such an event please let me know.

Finally we had a short presentation from Kevin Martin who has recently been appointed Work Based Learning Support Manager at the East Midlands Centre of Excellence for Teacher Training. Kevin is able to provide support on a range of matters.

A couple of additional news items were covered.

The LIG 5 results are likely to be announced sometime this week. I'll let you know as soon as I have any information.

On 26th November we will be running a Becta Generator training session at the City Learning Centre, Beaumont Leys, Leicester. This is a full day event and is free to providers.

The next forum will be taking place on Friday 12th February 2010 venue to be confirmed. Get the date in your diary now!

WBL Forum - Northamptonshire Training & Development Partnership Northampton, 14th August 2009

On Friday 14 August, we held the latest WBL Forum, hosted this time by Northants Training & Development Partnership the provider network organisation in Northamptonshire. My thanks to them for their hospitality.

We had a couple of presentations, the first of which was an overview of the requirement for IfL members to declare their CPD by 31st August. This was presented by Kathryn Robinson, the RSC Adult & Community Learning Advisor, who is currently undertaking additional duties to help with this exercise.

Full details of her presentation will be posted on the RSC Moodle but the messsage was a simple one.......... don't panic it is very easy to do and if you need help just contact Kathryn on 01509618113 Mobile 07824509784 email kathryn.robinson@rsc-em.ac.uk

The second presentation was by Craig Strangwick - Systems Development Manager at ABC Awards in Nottingham - entitled 'e-portfolios in FE and WBL'.

This was a very interesting session in which Craig drew on the experiences of projects supported by ABC in both the FE and WBL sectors to provide an excellent overview of the different types of e-portfolios, the experiences of those using them, the costs involved and the problems identified. Again full details on the RSC Moodle. Craig concluded his session with an offer of help to any organisation interested in developing a project with ABC. For further details contact Craig on:

Tel: 0115 8541398 Mobile: 07791 864042 email craigs@abcawards.co.uk.

Alternatively contact Ellie Moreton - eAssessment Project Manager elliem@abcawards.co.uk  0115 8541313

The final session was the Open Forum where time was taken looking at the likely requirements for LIG 5 bids and the usefulness of the new Becta 'Generator' Self Assessment tool for establishing an organisations current usage of technology and for identifying potential developments.

The full details of LIG 5 have yet to be released - due at the end of August.

The Becta Generator tool can be accessed here.

Yet again this was a very well supported event with 19 delegates attending - many for the first time.

The next forum is scheduled for mid November and, with the potential threat of swine flu likely to have increased by then, we are looking at running the next forum as an online event. All you need to take part is a PC - no travelling involved just an hour or two of your time. More details are to follow soon.

WBL Forum Idle Valley Rural Centre, Retford, 22nd May 09

The latest WBL Forum was held again as a joint event with ACL providers. The venue was the Idle Valley Rural Centre in Retford, a new addition to North Notts College. In spite of a couple of delegates having a bit of difficulty locating the Centre we only suffered a slight delay in getting underway. It was good to see a number of new faces as well as regular attenders and in total there were 17 delegates representing 15 organisations.

We started with an online presentation by Maureen Fraser of  Derbyshire Adult and Community Education Service on the use of Moodle as a learning platform. Maureen has developed the DACES Moodle site and has also worked with a Manchester based WBL provider in the tourist industry. As well as providing an opportunity to see what can be done with Moodle we were also able to experience an online presentation using Elluminate.

Next we had a session led by Ian Richards of Lincolnshire County Council Teenage Services who gave an interesting overview of how their very successful, Entry to Employment programme is and the extent to which technology and e-learning have contributed. The most significant aspect being the drive to increase understanding and familiarity of staff with the various technologies and the role played by learners using  their existing  knowledge to help in developing staff.

The morning finished with a open forum session with feedback from the recent ALP Conference on Ofsted Inspections, The National Apprenticeship Service and the Foundation Learning Tier  and questions and comments from the floor.

·         an interesting observation was made about how learners with a hearing difficulty would find online sessions difficult to follow as the video was out of synch with the audio. Much easier to follow without the video.

·         a suggestion was made that future forums could perhaps include more opportunity for providers to seek help with particular issues from other  providers  - a good idea and really what the forum should be all about.

 The forum also provided lots of opportunity for networking.

WBL Forum Charnwood Training Consultants, 14th Nov 2008

On Friday of last week we held the second Work Based Learning Forum at the new Charnwood Training Academy in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The venue was great – and once the parking is sorted will be even better!

The Forum was well supported with 19 delegates and it was great to see so many new faces.

We followed a similar format to the first forum with a couple of presentations and an open forum session finishing at lunch time with an excellent buffet courtesy of Charnwood.

The first presentation was by Howard Parker the East Midlands Regional Co-ordinator for Functional Skills who provided an update on progress to date on functional skills pilots. This provided a useful insight as well as a timely reminder to some that 2010, when Key Skills will be replaced by Functional Skills, is getting ever closer. The Functional Skills Support Programme is working closely with those organisations who are piloting the changes and will be providing regional updates on a regular basis. To keep abreast of what’s happening see http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/functionalskills/

Howard's presentation is below

WBL Forum Loughborough 15th August 2008

Resources from the WBL forum held at Loughborough College

WBL Case studies on the Excellence Gateway website

If you go to http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=case-studies-all and choose Work Based Learning you can view all the case studies from the sector.

Here are a few examples from within our region: