Gloucestershire College

Experience

Gloucestershire College has been part of all three phases of MoLeNET. Staff from the College have presented at events across the UK. We also have provided support and training at other colleges that are in the MoLeNET programme.

The Glossy project undertook a large-scale development and implementation of mobile learning across Gloucestershire College utilising the mobile devices that learners already own. A comparative study was made by providing a range of mobile devices for learners in excluded groups at Gloucestershire College and learners with learning difficulties and disabilities at National Star College. The project put in place an infrastructure at Gloucestershire College that will allow learners using devices which they already own to access learning activities and content through a mobile learning portal in conjunction with the college VLE. The project created a student wireless network that can be accessed by learners’ own devices to access college services, e-resources and the internet.

The Shiny project focus was on the use of mobile devices for the assessment of learning at Gloucestershire College. The project developed and implemented the use of m-assessment across the curriculum. Using a variety of mobile technologies including the PSP, Nintendo DSi, Promethean Activexpression learner response system, UMPCs, MP3 recorders and MP4 video cameras. The Shiny project built upon the work of the MoLeNET Glossy project, which provided the infrastructure for mobile learning, through the provision of mobile technologies that encourage the use of m-assessment. It has started a cultural shift in the assessment models used by practitioners and has provided opportunities to learners and practitioners for a more engaging, relevant and personalised assessment experience. It is helping to build a sustainable future for m-assessment at the college through the use of case studies, guides and exemplars.

The college is currently undertaking the Sparkly project as part of the phase 3 of MoLeNET. The Sparkly project through the experience and expertise gained by Gloucestershire College through the Glossy and Shiny MoLeNET projects will provide technical and pedagogical help and support for Royal Forest of Dean and Stroud Colleges in their transformative journey in the embedding of mobile learning and use of mobile technologies to support assessment, learning and teaching across a range of curriculum areas.

Areas of Success:

Significant success for the college has been the cultural shift in the institution towards mobile learning.

The student wireless network has the scalability and robustness to ensure that any learner who wishes to utilise their own wifi device will be able to connect to the wireless network and access the internet. Class sets of mobile devices (eg PSPs) are able to easily access the network.

With over 1500 Activexpression units in the college, a significant proportion of learners at Gloucestershire College have utilised one of the devices for a more engaging assessment experience. Feedback from learners and practitioners was that the Activexpression added value to the lessons in which it was used. One useful aspect we hadn’t realised initially was that the Activexpression devices can be used with a laptop and without an Activboard. This means that the devices can be used in the field and sometimes literally in a field. Staff who teach on programmes with a significant outdoor element have used devices in the field with a ruggedised waterproof laptop or UMPC. The ability to move the curriculum from the traditional classroom to any place, allows anywhere learning, true mobile learning.

Using the MP4 video cameras encouraged diverse forms of assessment in many curriculum areas including Health and Social Care and Business and Professional.

The PSP with the Go!Cam has been used in many different curriculum areas at Gloucestershire College. The PSPs were used by learners to take images and photographs for use in assignments and for other learning activities. A case of PSPs was taken to France on a field trip and were used to capture images and video for their field trip assignment. Learners undertaking Sports Studies would use the PSP to record various sporting activities in order to analyse body movements; for example on the golf course to allow the learners to record and analyse their golfing strokes. Health and Social Care learners used the PSPs to support them in preparing materials for an assessed presentation. Practitioners working with NEETs learners found that the PSP engaged disaffected youngsters in learning activities. Learners on a Business Administration course used the PSPs to create images which were then converted into animations using iMovie on an Apple Mac. The PSP with Go!Cam is not the best camera, the best video camera or even a mobile device with an intuitive interface, however as a mobile learning tool it allows practitioners to create enhanced learning activities and enrich the learning process.

Following a MoLeNET training event, practitioners from Motor Vehicle Engineering began using the Nintendo DSi with their learners, who though enjoyed the practical and vocational aspects of their studies often found the numeracy sessions more challenging. Using the Nintendo DSi originally with Brain Training, the learners started using the cameras to record evidence of their progress for their portfolios. Encouraged by the learners, practitioners in Motor Vehicle started to use the DSis for themselves to record images and video for presentations and learning resources.

Milestone, Impact and Success:

• January 2010 - MoLeNET Academy Setup and Running.
• February 2010 - Official Launch Event
• March 2010 - November 2010 - Regular Events Schedule in place
• December 2010 - Evaluation of MoLeNET Academy
Indicators of impact and success
• Events attendance and feedback
• Analysis of impact of training in delegates’ institutions
• Focus groups on impact of Academy internal and externally.

Added value to other sectors:

• Gloucestershire College has demonstrated through our MoLeNET projects that we understand how mobile learning can be used to enhance and enrich the learning journey for the variety of learners that come to us.
• The MoLeNET Academy would allow us to share that knowledge and those experiences with other providers in the region and other colleges across the UK.
• We would use the Academy to provide a quality learning experience for providers that will enable them to maximise their potential for using mobile learning to enhance and enrich their learners’ learning experience.