Molenet - South Staffordshire College

Year 3: Staffs Goes Mobile (SGM) 2009/2010

Project Description

Staffs Goes Mobile will enable a step change in the use of m-learning in South Staffordshire College. M-learning expertise developed by Stoke on Trent College via MoLeNET Round 2 will be rolled out across South Staffordshire College. The aim will be to use a variety of mobile devices to provide a rich personalised learning environment to a wide range of learners.

Activity will include:

• the use of mobile devices and e-portfolios in the workplace
• mobile gaming devices to engage young people
• streaming multimedia
• re-purposing and deployment of multimedia learning objects for use by mobile devices.

Aims:

The primary aim of Staffs Goes Mobile is to enable a step change in the use of M-learning throughout South Staffordshire College to widen participation and increase the success of learners by building on the best practice and CPD programme developed via Stoke on Trent College's successful MoLeNET Round 2 project.

Objectives:

The project’s main objective is to enable a step-change in the use of M-learning devices, technologies and approaches across South Staffordshire College. This objective is supported by the following strategic project objectives, which build on Stoke on Trent College’s successful Round 2 project:
• Increase achievement and retention by using M-learning devices to deliver formative and summative assessment and thereby generate holistic assessments of a student’s progress in order to target additional support to those students at risk.
• Widen participation through the use of M-learning devices to address multiple barriers experienced by hard-to-reach learners and learners from non-traditional backgrounds (e.g. NEET, unemployed adults, people in the workplace, people with low levels of basic skills) using M-learning devices that are appropriate to the client group.
• Enhance and enrich the quality teaching and learning by using M-learning devices and flexible, differentiated learning materials to provide alternative teaching strategies which will appeal to a variety of learners and learning styles. This will be achieved by the deployment of M-learning devices and supporting equipment in targeted programmes over the life of the project.
• Dissemination – organise a regional conference to disseminate the partnership’s experience and expertise in M-learning and collaboration.

The following delivery objectives will help achieve the strategic objectives outlined above. Stoke on Trent College will take a significant role in enabling these delivery objectives:

• Establish a peer network between the two colleges to facilitate effective collaborative and support arrangements for staff at South Staffordshire College (e.g. M-learning champions) to rapidly embrace and embed M-learning through the College.
• M-learning champions – South Staffordshire College will appoint M-learning champions in each Faculty to work with ILT Champions.
• Roll out and embed the M-learning champion's CPD programme – the CPD programme developed by Stoke on Trent College through Round 2 will assist M-learning champions to gain the requisite technical production skills as well as the skills needed to analyse and re-model working practices so that M-learning devices can be used effectively.
• Re-model working practices – M-learning champions will assist in the re-modelling of working practices in the delivery of NVQs. This will enable M-learning devices to be used to capture evidence and deliver and assess underpinning knowledge thereby increasing timely success.
• Maximise use of M-learning techniques and technologies – the CPD programme developed through Round 2 will be rolled out to all teaching staff and assessors to embed M-learning into teaching strategies across the curriculum with a particular emphasis on the local priority groups.
• Enable connectivity – open access wireless hotspots across the College’s campuses will enable staff, learners, employers and the general public to access M-learning materials including bite sized taster programmes, streaming video and other materials to encourage and widen participation.
• Develop rich cross-platform multimedia learning and assessment materials – a multimedia unit will be formed and equipped with state-of-the-art video and audio production and authoring equipment.

Target audiences are:

Young people

Apprentices: 19-24 year old L2 and L3 workbased learners in construction, health and social care, hair and beauty, engineering and land based.
NEETs: foundation learning tier/skills for life/vocational tasters.
Diploma learners: 14-19 year olds following engineering, construction and the built environment, and society, health and development diplomas.

Adults (19+)

Train to Gain: Construction, Health and Social Care, Engineering, Logistics
Unemployed adults: pre-employment programmes in Construction, Logistics, Health and Social Care, Customer Service, Business Administration and employability/basic skills delivery.

Partner

Stoke-On-Trent College