inDEPTH
Sam Hart is a lecturer in education and English at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College( MET). She is a keen adopter of learning technology and Member of SET.
people are still taking part in some sort of education,” he says.
John Mitchell, data support manager and teacher at Royal College Manchester, part of the Seashell Trust which supports young people with complex and severe learning disabilities, strongly supports the use of assistive technologies.
“ Technology plays a huge role in improving inclusion for all, with a huge impact seen for those with SEND,” he says.“ This could be the use of augmentative and alternative communication which can offer a voice for some learners; word processing, which offers the use of symbol support; or even 3D printed designs that can aid in activities such as safely setting down a cup.” But teaching using technology is not the same as teaching to use technology. There are concerns that, even if teachers are‘ going digital’, students are not necessarily gaining all of the skills they will need to thrive in a future where technology merges the real and virtual worlds.
A 2016 report from the Prince’ s Trust, Slipping Through the Net, found that young people were woefully lacking in confidence and softer‘ netiquette’ skills, such as communication.
“ We need to dispel the myth that all millennials know how to make the most of the digital world,” says Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’ s Trust.
“ Many disadvantaged young people are not achieving positive outcomes online, in particular when it comes to education or employment.”
Student involvement in digital learning is critical. Yet, the ongoing JISC Digital Student project has found that, while students are keen to work collaboratively with teachers to explore technology, they often feel they are being sidelined.
Providers like Gloucestershire College are addressing this issue and have created a Student Innovator Project in which students advise teachers which apps they could be using in the classrooms.
It is inevitable that technology will play a larger part in all our lives, and today’ s students and apprentices will have to be creative, flexible and resilient if they are going to thrive.
TECH TIPS
THE BASICS For those on the bottom rung of the digital literacy ladder, the Good Things Foundation has a network of community providers operating in local libraries to help improve confidence and digital inclusion among those at risk of being lest behind goo. gl / SMmRUq
WHICH APP? Teachers are osten overwhelmed by the abundance of apps and tools available to them.
Lecturer and Intel visionary Tony Gilbert advises starting with two or three apps and building up slowly. Here are three of his favourites:
Plickers – a clever formative assessment tool which allows you to collect student data using just one app goo. gl / qYsQc9 Also see page 29 in this issue.
Microsost Forms – allows students and teachers to creative surveys and quizzes. Really handy for revision goo. gl / Yu4zBc
ClickView – allows you to embed questions in educational videos. A great way to make them more interactive and to encourage critical thinking goo. gl / w7DDTP
DIGITALLY LITERATE? The South West Grid for Learning’ s Digital Literacy website has a comprehensive list of lesson plans accessing all aspects of digital literacy, including online identity, collective knowledge and building an online community goo. gl / 1P0urQ
And a trawl of shared resource sites, such as Prezi and Nearpod, will unearth a wealth of teacher-created resources on this topic.
BECOME A GOOGLE MASTER The Google for Education Training Center offers a programme of free online teacher training, starting at the basics and moving up to advanced sessions for those hoping to achieve‘ Google Mastery’ goo. gl / 17aGID
GET CERTIFIED The Association for Learning Technology’ s certified membership programme( CMALT) offers a framework for teachers to have their skills certified by their peers via an online portfolio. CMALT also enables teachers to access each other’ s accredited portfolios and share good practice goo. gl / WcTxj0
“ We are crossing frontiers,” says SET Fellow Geoff Rebbeck, a consultant and chair of the Feltag Action Group at the Association for Learning Technology( ALT).
“ It is a matter of what condition we are in on the other side, rather than whether we want to take up the challenge of crossing.
“ The evolution of technology is beyond our control, but it is not beyond our ability to respond and adapt.”
REFERENCES
• The Education and Training Foundation’ s Learning Technology Self- Assessment Project Final Report 2015 is available here goo. gl / 3Db7xb
• 2014 report of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group( Feltag)
• Tom Bennett’ s recent report, Creating a Culture: How school leaders can optimise behaviour, is available here goo. gl / T87HZ3
• OECD, Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey on Adult Skills,
• Digital Skills for the Economy, released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills( BIS) in 2016
• A 2016 report from the Prince’ s Trust, Slipping Through the Net, is available here goo. gl / HXHD64
• For more information about the Jisc Digital Student project, including information on current practice across the FE sector, visit goo. gl / 2oYM0F
14 ISSUE 28 • SUMMER 2017 INTUITION