Reigate Sixth Form College

Year 3 : Developing a sustainable mobile technology learning infrastructure and strategy for a consortium of 5 sixth form colleges at Reigate Sixth Form College 2009/2010

Project Description

The project will enable the S7 consortium to use mobile technologies to improve their students’ access to high quality learning resources in curriculum areas, including those where e learning is currently under developed.
The project will improve success rates across the consortium by at least 1% in these curriculum areas by 2009/10.
Mobile phone technologies will be established as a “norm” for all students in all curriculum areas, across all 5 Colleges by 2011/12
The project will remove barriers to learning for students, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities and will include opportunities for those studying new Diplomas.

Partners

Goldalming College, Esher College, Strode College and Woking College

Year 2:Using Podcasting and Vodcasting to personalise learning and revision for students

Students will be able to utilise podcasts and vodcasts, created both internally and externally, to aid with comprehension of topics and to facilitate revision during non-contact time. This will also enable the College to improve its inclusion and diversity provision, as it will be primarily targeted at weaker students, as well as the gifted and talented who are seeking A / B grades at A Level. Students will also be able to access these on an increased number of platforms, including: mp3 and mp4 players, smart phones and other wireless devices (including own devices) from a College-wide student wi-fi network.

Project Aim

The main aim of this project is to provide students with access to an e-learning revision structure during non-contact time, delivered through the use of podcasting and vodcasting.

The target students for the project are those who take subjects that typically perform below national benchmarks in achievement and higher grades. The project will enable students to receive additional exam guidance and revision in bite-sized chunks during non-contact time.

The project will also provide equality of service to those students who do not have access to the internet at home, through the use of loaned equipment.

Project Objectives

The physical devices will enable the College to provide equality of access to our students who do not have access to the internet at home. As the College is moving more towards providing a fuller e-learning experience for students, we need to ensure that we remove any barriers to learning and providing them with access to these new initiatives is critical.

We aim to produce a wide range of podcasts to enhance the learning within the classroom. This will include recaps of previous lessons and bite-sized exam technique guides. The College has also been working on developing a structured revision system for the students for a few years in the form of physical revision packs and taught sessions. The main disadvantage to this is that the packs are not particularly stimulating to students and the sessions are not able to cater for large numbers. The introduction of purpose built podcasts and vodcasts will enable us to meet the needs of a wider range of students as guarantee access to additional sessions.

We also plan to use the technology to record lectures and theory sessions, which can then be turned into mp3s and accessed on Moodle to enable students who miss lessons to catch up. This will also allow students to revisit complex topics covered in class during non-contact time.

Ultimately, the College plans to move towards a ‘complete revision system’ that provides a programme of structured, progressive revision that students can complete on a day-to-day basis during exam leave. Vodcasts and enhanced podcasts will provide a firm basis for this as it enables staff to use a variety of resources and media to interact with the student.

A specific range of podcasts and vodcasts will be produced aimed at weaker students to help improve overall achievement in the courses. These bite-sized casts will dramatically improve the differentiation of lessons and support materials available to our students.

In a similar way, the College is keen to use this technology to with the high ability students. Focused revision of topics and exam technique are key to achieving the highest grades and we feel that the use of focused podcasts and vodcasts will enable us to target these students more effectively and help provide them with additional support that cannot be given in class due to time constraints.

The College currently operates Every Child Matters (ECM) through central assemblies. This brings with it several logistical issues, which vodcasts will be able to eliminate. We would use the technology to produce vodcasts that can then be broadcast to all of our students, who could then produce higher standard work based on the content.

Finally, we hope to use podcasts and vodcasts to help share good practice with our staff and other Colleges, which is a requirement of our Beacon status. It will enable us to develop our ILT practices and disseminate what we have learnt to our colleagues and other institutions. Therefore, the project findings will benefit even more students in the long-term.