WIREDGOV

Today the 300th case study of good e-practice is published on the Excellence Gateway – The Learning and Skills Improvement Service’s online service for everyone who works in the further education and skills sector in England.

The case studies aim to stimulate and support innovation and improvement in learning and skills and are produced by the JISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) on behalf of the Excellence Gateway. 

The 300th case study looks at Linkage College’s eco-friendly, touchscreen PCs, which have improved access to communication for learners while delivering cost benefits. It joins a bank of case studies which show how learning providers across England are making the most of new technologies to help curriculum design, management and delivery, as well as improve organisational quality, planning and performance. The case studies of good e-practice represent an invaluable pool of knowledge from within the FE and skills sector. Available exclusively on the Excellence Gateway, the case studies explore good e-practice by FE, Sixth Form and specialist colleges, adult and community learning providers and work-based learning providers.

Over the past year alone, the good e-practice case studies section received 130,204 views, averaging approximately 10,000 views per month.

Visitors can browse the case studies to find those relevant to their area of interest or to the type of technology they wish to explore. Key topics covered to date include:

• virtual learning environments;
• Web 2.0 technologies;
• social networking;
• continuing professional development;
• successful models of staff development;
• collaboration between learning providers and employers; and
• accessibility and inclusion for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

One of the most popular case studies of 2010 features Croydon Adult Learning and Training, which made use of its Moodle virtual learning platform to work collaboratively with a range of organisations to provide new learning opportunities and to meet the needs of specific groups of learners. Another case study features Abingdon and Witney College which used a social network to deliver part of its Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTTLS) teacher training qualification. Not only did this provide ITT students with first-hand experience of remote online collaboration, it also allowed them to evaluate the relevance and value of such teaching methods for eventual use with their own students.

Wendy Beckett is an IT Trainer and Developer at North Warwickshire & Hinckley College. Her role is to look at how technology can be incorporated into teaching and learning effectively. She says:

“I find the Excellence Gateway a valuable source of inspiration for teaching and learning. In particular, I found the information on the 'busbi' cameras very useful and was able to incorporate some of the innovative ideas when presenting to trainee teachers and existing practitioners. I have had one case study published on the Excellence Gateway and fully intend to complete another one to help others by sharing my exciting experiences.”

Rob Wye, LSIS chief executive, says:

“The good e-practice case studies section consistently appears in the top 10 most accessed content on the Excellence Gateway and we receive feedback from users on how useful they are for inspiring improvements in their day-to-day work. What is important is that most of the case studies offer supporting files and advice from the featured providers themselves, which will help anyone wishing to replicate the good practice.”

Angela Harvey, JISC RSC Services Co-ordinator, adds:

“Reading, hearing or seeing how a colleague in another learning provider has used technology to good effect in their work, or how a learning provider has used technology on a wider scale to improve its effectiveness, can be enlightening.

“One of the roles of the RSCs is to help share the good practice around the country and these case studies are an excellent way to do that.”