When the first lockdown was introduced in the Covid-19 pandemic, Weymouth College staff had to adopt remote teaching in line with colleges up and down the country. James Foster, the College’s Quality Manager, was determined to support staff to improve their digital skills and use of educational technology (EdTech) and has introduced the ETF’s Enhance Digital Teaching Platform to staff across the organisation. During a whole-college CPD day, staff were asked to assess their digital skills using the Essential Digital Skills self-assessment tool on the platform, then given time to undertake the ‘60-Minute Starter Pack for EdTech Training’. The college now has an EdTech best practice group and is about to set up a digital committee with a view to creating a digital strategy.
We interviewed:
In his Quality Manager capacity, James Foster reviews CPD opportunities for staff at Weymouth College. It was clear after the first Covid-19 related lockdown when staff had to support students studying at home as best as they could, that further CPD was needed to help staff develop their online and blended learning skills. One of the college’s Governors flagged up the ETF’s Enhance Digital Teaching Platform (EnhanceDTP) as a potential training tool. James tried out some of the modules with colleague Lesley Kellett and they both liked the structure, the reference to useful resources and the digital badging scheme. They decided to introduce the EnhanceDTP to every member of staff in the college on the next staff development day.
“What I really love about the Enhance platform is that bit when you get to the end of a module and there’s a list of other resources. In terms of providing a useful list of things that I can use in my own teaching, I think that’s probably the best part.” – James Foster
A phenomenal journey
Collecting badges on the EnhanceDTP
Collecting badges on the EnhanceDTP
James and Lesley led a cross-college staff development day on 25 November 2020 entitled ‘Enhancing digital skills and exploring new platforms’. After introducing the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform, they asked staff to register and complete the Essential Digital Skills self-assessment to provide each member of staff with their own capability profile.
They then showed staff the ‘60-minute Starter Pack for EdTech Training’ on the platform, which contains 12 selected training modules, each five minutes long. The modules provide an overview of the basics of using EdTech for those who are just starting out.
Staff were asked to complete the 12 modules within departments, splitting into different groups to look at different modules, then asked to give feedback on how they thought they could use them in their teaching.
Aim of the day
Introducing the EdTech Starter Pack
In the afternoon, staff were given details on how to install Google ScreenCastify and then asked to review the use of 10 different platforms and learning tools for online and blended learning delivery, with a view to making a video about each platform.
Each group of staff was given a video to watch about the platform or tool allocated to them, then they had to choose a feature and apply it to a teaching activity and make a video about it. All the videos had to be submitted back to the Quality team who then posted them to the Quality of Education resource page. This provided 10 new resources and also enabled the Quality team to get a feel for staff’s digital skills.
The day was a great success and James would now like to bring a digital CPD element into every cross-college staff CPD day.
Making a one-minute video
Identifying skills gaps
Building confidence on different platforms
James took the opportunity to become an EdTech Mentor on the ETF’s grant-funded scheme to support 80 practitioners and managers to mentor staff in their organisation, with a specific aim of improving skills for remote delivery.
James has now set up an EdTech best practice group within the College with someone from each department. Each month members of the group showcase either elements of the ETF’s Enhance Digital Teaching Platform or other platforms and tools. Inputs at the meetings are recorded and then shared out with the wider organisation. The college has also started collaborating with other colleges on EdTech and will shortly be receiving training from Exeter College.
Reflections
The Quality team is now emphasising that blended learning is here to stay, and Lesley feels that even staff who have been reluctant to engage with digital CPD are on board and starting to develop those skills. There is evidence that staff want to carry on using new tools and techniques discovered over the past year.
A new digital committee
Ongoing value of using EdTech
Ofsted graded ‘Good’, Weymouth College is a general further education provider on the coast of Dorset, operating from four main sites. The College delivers education and training to over 1,300 young people, 500 adults and 500 apprenticeships in partnership with more than 400 employers. The curriculum is broad and varied, offering a range of academic, technical, professional and apprenticeship programmes alongside a substantial corporate training offer for employers, with centres of excellence in Construction and Motor Vehicle Engineering. The College delivers across further and adult education from Entry Level 3 to Level 6 and has recently launched its first BSc Honours degree.