Classroom

in the Cloud

Chris Evans

Classroom in the Cloud

• Introduction

• What is Classroom in the Cloud?

• Project Background

• What We Did

• Challenges

• Results

• What’s Next?

About the College

• Birmingham Metropolitan College

• 3rd Largest in UK

• 3 Main Campuses in and around Birmingham UK

• GCSEs, NVQs, A Levels, Access to HE, HNDs,

Professional certificates and HE Provision

About Me

• Multimedia Developer

• Web Developer

• E-Learning Innovator

• E-Learning Manager

• E-Communications Manager

• Teacher - IT (HE) & Teacher Training

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09H0Gk3xM8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_M259F6Mk&feature=youtu.be

What is

Classroom in the Cloud?

What is Classroom in the Cloud?

• IBM Partnership

• IBM SmartCloud

• Virtual Bridges

• Collaboratory

• Access to Online Research

From a College Perspective

• Communities

• IT Support

• CPD

• File Sharing

• Web Meetings

• Online Lessons

• Lesson

Repository

• Online Meetings

• Apprenticeship

• Mobile Apps

• Cross Campus

• Home Working

• International

Engagement

• Real Time Docs

Project Background

A Good Time for Change?

When or why should

Further/Higher Education

organizations choose for working

virtually?

…Lets go back in time

Two Years Ago….

• Matthew Boulton College, Sutton

College and James Watt College had

merged to become Birmingham

Metropolitan College (Bmet)

BMet Guiding Principles

By 2014…

• “BMet will have enabled a significant expansion of

blended learning approaches to our teaching

delivery, including in relation to our partnership

working and international agenda”

• “Bmet will be communicating differently with each

other, using virtualised environments to meet,

challenge, innovate, share and thrive. Many of the

new technologies that can enable transformational

learning will also enable new possibilities for

professional development and quality improvement”

By 2014…

• “BMet will be recognised as a centre of excellence for

its technology enabled inspiring learning practice.”

• “Technology enabled solutions to deliver learning

content to new markets in new ways will have

supported BMet in its strategic ambitions to extend its

global reach and position itself as a global provider of

education, training and connectivity.”

By 2014…

• “BMet will have developed an extensive

suite of video enabled learning content”

• “Location Independent learning will be

used where appropriate across the

College as an integral part of the

teaching and learning programme.”

Classroom in the Cloud

“Virtual Bridges + IBM SmartCloud”

• How did the idea come about?

How IBM and BMet Met

Why IBM?

• Product met our needs

• Challenge Driven Client focused

approach

• Similarities of the two organisations?

• Sector Leaders

• Values

• Work with the best

Project Timeline

Project Timeline

Project Timeline

Project Timeline

What We Did

What We Did - Over 25 Scenarios

Teachers teaching Students

Students teaching Students

& Students teaching Teachers

Cross Campus Delivery

Sutton Coldfield Campus

MBC Campus

My Teacher Training Students

Communities

Challenges

• Strategic

• Technical

• Integration

• Cultural

• Accessible

• Pedagogical

• Sustainable

Types of Challenge

Challenges

Strategic

Technical

Pedagogical

Cultural

Sustainable

Accessible

Strategic Challenges

Technical Challenges

Integration Challenges

Cultural

Accessible Challenges

Pedagogical Challenges

Sustainable Challenges

Results

"I left the session (unwillingly – I could

have literally stayed there all night!) with

a sense that I had just experienced the

future of teaching. The possibilities and

opportunities where this software could

be used as a teaching tool and a

teaching environment, which I reflected

on after the session, were endless."

Learner Feedback

"The session itself was brilliant. We were

a mixed group of individuals with

participants as far away as Bromsgrove

to Birmingham Airport. But the distance

was not an issue during the session; for

all intents and purposes we were all in

the same place discussing the same

lessons. The world really did seem a

very small place."

Learner Feedback

“My experience of IBM SmartCloud for

Social Business was as exciting as it

was inspirational. The potential for

teaching and learning opportunities is

now a far more flexible and interesting

new journey for us all. It’s clear that

exciting times lay ahead.”

Learner/Teacher Feedback

"Thoroughly enjoyed this staff

development session. Would be nice to

have an opportunity to try it in practice

with the FD (Education) particularly as

we experiment with distance and

blended learning"

Teacher Feedback

"I was thrilled to be invited to take part

and hope we can develop further. Some

of our students travel from Devon,

Milton Keynes, Welshpool, Leicester

and so on – this could be very good for

tutorials and course delivery. It is a

great learning tool and fun at the same

time!"

Teacher Feedback

"I was thrilled to be invited to take part

and hope we can develop further. Some

of our students travel from Devon,

Milton Keynes, Welshpool, Leicester

and so on – this could be very good for

tutorials and course delivery. It is a

great learning tool and fun at the same

time!"

Teacher Feedback

“For me, the main benefit has been the

new teaching and learning opportunities

that this new platform has created. We

can teach our current learners online, at

a time and location that is suitable for

them. We can also reach out to new

learners and create rich online

environments in a way that was never

before possible”

My Own Observations

What’s Next?

Product Growth

BYOD and Mobile Access

Expand Global Opportunities

Staff Development

App Development

IBM Collaboratory

• Top UK College

• IBM Partner

• 27,000 Students• 1000 HE

• Inc. 250 International

• 1000 Staff

• Top UK University

• IBM Partner

• 23,000 Students• 13,000 UG

• 10,000 PG

• Inc. 6000 International

• 5000 Staff

What’s Next For Me?

• Jamie Smith Director of Systems and Policy, BMETC

• Cailean Hargrave IBM UK Higher and Further Education Business

Development Manager , IBM

• Thomas McErleanEuropean Technical Sales Lead

• Dan Viner, Enterprise Collaboration Solutions Sales, IBM

• Chris BernbrockGlobal Education Strategic Programs, IBM

A Special Mention to….

Any questions?