Cardinal Newman College

Year 1: Teaching and learning – quality driven: technology driven 2007/2008

The Cardinal Newman MoLeNET project was a phase 1 project designed to build on recent successes and move the College and its teaching and learning forward with the introduction of mobile learning technology. Specifically it intended to enhance the learning experience of the students through the use of wireless technology and, in particular, ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) hardware.

The expected target audience for this mobile learning project was a cohort of approximately 200 students providing a cross-section of the College community including the following curriculum areas:

science
languages
ICT
media/film
design technology
health and social care
sociology
music.

Through the implementation of this project, they hoped in the short term to advance the learning of the targeted students and then later expand this to a wider audience at the College.

College and Project Background

Cardinal Newman College has, over the past three years, become one of the top-achieving sixth form colleges in the UK. This success has been achieved through the development of quality in traditional approaches to teaching and learning, providing our students with an outstanding educational experience.

Cardinal Newman College’s priorities are focused on the students and the community in which they study. The college is proud of the educational experience and support they deliver and committed to a continuous improvement approach. The strategic plan contains key objectives for the improvement of the College, one of which is to further develop the use of technology to advance, support and engage the learners and this was also identified as a priority for improvement in the last Ofsted inspection.

The MoLeNET project was designed to build on recent successes and move the College and its teaching and learning forward with the introduction of mobile learning technology. Specifically it aimed to enhance the learning experience of students through the use of wireless technology and, in particular, ultra-mobile PC hardware.

The college has 1800 learners predominantly aged 16–19 studying courses at Levels 1, 2 and 3. The target audience for this mobile learning project was a cohort of approximately 200 students representing a cross- section of the College community.

Aims

The aim of this project was to develop a sound and measurable research pilot study and therefore a foundation for the wider introduction of wireless-enabled, mobile learning technology at Cardinal Newman College. It was anticipated that the college track record in delivering quality teaching and learning would be enhanced by the introduction of wireless technology and the development of learning/support strategies and materials that would enhance the partnership between staff and students. In the long-term, the key outcome would be to enhance the educational experience of all of the students by supporting them with the appropriate use of technology.

In general the project achieved all it set out to within its time constraints. The broad goal to enhance and develop teaching and learning across many different curriculum areas and to stimulate and enhance the student learning experience has been very positive in its results.

Each of the eight curriculum areas listed above was given different elements of the project to work on with both practical and o research-based measurable targets; all managed to contribute to the final evidence outcomes of the project as planned.

All the staff involved and the senior management team feel that the challenge now is to further expand the use of the technology to wider aspects of the curriculum and also develop its use in the pastoral side of College life.

Key objectives

Strategic objectives

To create a wireless technology environment with supports and facilitates the development and delivery of quality teaching and learning at Cardinal Newman College
To procure appropriate hardware and develop innovative approaches to enhance the teaching and learning experiences of Cardinal Newman students
To conduct an initial staff skills audit of participating members of staff to inform a comprehensive internal and external staff development support plan
To engage staff and students in the benefits of teaching and learning using mobile technology
To provide comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the project throughout its life taking views of staff, students and other stakeholders
To identify appropriate and valuable dissemination practices to share the strengths and areas for improvement of the project.

Operational objectives

The successful introduction of a wireless network to all areas of the College.
The identification of appropriate students for the pilot study
The implementation of a targeted staff development plan to facilitate the project.
The blending of the benefits of the new technology into current teaching and learning practices.
The embedding of the use of new technology in the everyday lives of the students through connection with the current College VLE.
The measurement of the impact on staff and student experiences using rigorous evaluation methods.
The identification of excellent practice in the pilot of internal and external dissemination of good practice.
The measurement of the impact on student satisfaction, success, retention and achievement.
The identification and implementation of appropriate external dissemination of the findings of the project.
The provision to and measurement of the impact of mobile technology on students with learning difficulties and disabilities as part of the College’s approach to inclusive learning and equality and diversity.

Benefits for participants

The participants in the management, delivery and evaluation of this project were sure that the benefits to the learners would be huge and this has certainly proved to be the case.

Similarly, the point of view of the management of the project, staff have benefited massively in their curriculum areas and the College therefore intend to embed mobile learning right across the College curriculum in 2008/09.

The project has provided enormous benefits to all of the stakeholders involved and also to the wider Cardinal Newman College community including partner high schools, charities and local primary schools.

Lessons learned

The College grading profile for teaching and learning has been very strong recently but the use of technology less so. The major lesson here has been not to under-estimate the impact even the smallest element of mobile learning may have on the experience of the learner and also not to under-estimate the skills of the learners in engaging with this.