WIREDGOV

The conference is being held at Maple House in Birmingham city centre on Tuesday 5 February. The conference keynote speeches include one from a senior member of Birmingham Metropolitan College, who will be discussing the effect of a college initiative to give an iPad to every member of the teaching staff. Another keynote speech will be delivered by a team from LSIS which is working with partners to identify the implications of the new Common Inspection Framework for the use of technology.

A major theme of the conference will be demonstrating the effective use of iPads and other tablets with learners, including work being done at Loughborough College on its motor vehicle programmes, the use of iPads for learners with speech difficulties, and a range of other creative uses and resources for tablets. East Durham College’s work using cameras to enable animal management students to remotely monitor livestock will also be highlighted.

Kendal College’s pioneering work with augmented reality will also be featured at the conference. The technology has been applied to bring the college’s 2012-2013 prospectus to life featuring embedded clips of students describing their learning experiences. The first of its kind nationally, it was succeeded by the 2013-2014 prospectus which took the opportunity for incorporating augmented reality even further with a video clip for each curriculum area featuring students talking about their career progressions and aspirations following completion. 

The college took augmented reality further using funding from LSIS’s Leadership in Technology programme.  A teaching and learning resource is now being created by teaming voice overlays with filming of a busy catering kitchen. This has made the resource, which focuses on challenging learners, more interactive.  The film shows the tutor providing a demonstration of how he motivates his students and ensures each of them is challenged to develop their own knowledge and skills. The overlay will direct the viewer to how this is done.

LSIS Programme Development Manager, Bob Powell, said: “The conference this year aims to be a real celebration of technology in the sector. There is so much that the providers can learn from one another. Delegates will be able to learn from colleges and providers who have not only tried out  something new but committed to embedding technology to improve teaching and learning.

“Support for teaching and learning is LSIS’s number one priority for the sector and the conference aims to show attendees how other organisations can use technology cheaply and simply to improve the standard of teaching and learning within their organisation.”