Configuring digital resources to support diverse community needs
The Challenge
Deploying e-learning to support
Key and Basic Skills
…what works best and why?
Issues with Key and Basic Skills
• Huge and varied needs• Strong need to contextualize and make
relevant for students• Requires combination of stand-alone
coaching and integrated delivery• Critical role of support from schools, colleges
and community centres
Issues with e-learning• Courseware often monolithic • Difficult to manipulate and integrate• Mixing the best elements of one publisher with
another is not usually possible• Difficult to adapt and integrate into local teaching
and learning strategies
Field trialling a new approach• Classification and storage of content in small-
sized, re-usable “learning objects” • All publisher content compatible• Mixing and matching best-quality and most
relevant content from multiple sources…including in-house materials
• Playable on any system• Individualized, contextualized courseware
Intended benefits
• Access to wide source of appropriate materials • Re-use and flexible assembly of materials versus
constant re-invention• More relevance for students and their communities• Encourages culture of collaboration and sharing• Enables teachers and support staff to support
more personalised learning
The Project
• Users - schools/colleges/community centres in South England
• Publishers from commercial and public sector• Digital repository/content management • Key Skills Support Programme (LSDA)• DfES (Adult and Basic Skills Strategy Unit),
BECTa, QCA• Demos & Ithaca
Why Kaleidoscope?
• Pool of common resources
• Can be personalised to fit the individual and his/her community
• “Spinning” on the kaleidoscope to locate appropriate resources puts controls in hands of users
Fit with other projects
• Curriculum On-Line
• JISC (JORUM+)
• National Learning Network
• Learning and Teach Scotland
• College On-line
• UfI
• Others (incl. abroad)
South East England Virtual Education Action Zone
• Unique• ‘Headteacher-led’ bid• Geographically spread• 19 schools Essex and Bromley• 10 Primary - 9 Secondary• Not primarily low socio-economic• New approach to improve student outcomes
FE and On-line Centres• FE colleges
• 6th Form colleges
• UK On-line centres
• Supported by FERL and Community Programmes teams at BECTa
• Seeking to enhance ability to meet particular learning needs using ICT
Issues for users
• Technical
• Motivation to teach Key and Basic Skills
• Training
• Organisational issues
• Project Management
How it works
Content Suppliers
Content Repository
SEEVEAZ Students
In-house content
Project portal & control station
FE Stude
ntsUK On-
line Centres
( via intranet or virtual learning environment)
Selection & assembly
Evaluation objectives
• How is Kaleidoscope supporting the teaching and learning of key and basic skills?
• How is the way the Kaleidoscope is being used affecting teachers, mentors and the way they work?
• How can the tools, resources and methodology be improved?
• What forms of organisational support facilitate the process?
Research Methodology
Methodology
Infrastructure
Culture change
Questionnaires
In-depth interviews with students and teachers
Observation days and group sessions
Findings
• Engagement
• Professional learning
• Time
• Management
• The wider context
Challenges
• How to measure change over time including an appreciation of each community’s starting point?
• How to understand the impact of other variables?
• How to foster good relationships with the communities?
Progress
• Infrastructure in place
• Materials from a variety of sources (including practitioners) assembled and catalogued
• Lesson planning for next term underway
• Evaluation capturing drivers, inhibitors and overall process of adoption
Contact
www.k-scope.org.uk
For username and password contact [email protected]
Tim Rudd, BECTa
Matthew Horne, Demos
Rod Paley, Ithaca Associates
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