Project proposals should clearly indicate plans to engage staff and learners in (and throughout) the investigation process. A key outcome of the OTLA 8 Programme will be that practitioners can lead their own learning in the future.  It is very important that practitioners themselves are those who will be developing and growing solutions to the challenges they face -we would expect to see this reflected in your proposal. 

 

 

During the project we would hope to improve the reading comprehension of all digital skills learners to enable them to become more independent, both during and after, their digital skills course.  We want to develop strategies to embed the skills of reading comprehension into the digital skills provision for all learners to ensure they have those skills to become more autonomous when they progress to the next stage in their individual journey.  The Service would also want to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of the digital/ICT tutors to embed and deliver the required English skills to their own cohort of learners.  An initial team meeting to engage and develop cross-curricula delivery would be required to engage tutors, as well as identifying the level of reading comprehension skills required for learners and to identify the approach to be taken.  All tutors involved in the project need to be clear on the roles of the English tutor and decide collaboratively whether a mentoring, coaching or co-delivery model is adopted.  Learners would be informed at the start of their digital skills course about the research we were undertaking and ask if they would be willing to contribute either through a focus group, survey or individual interviews.  This project would enable both teams to work collaboratively to develop and share good practice, which can be embedded in future delivery.  To support the Service’s Digital Strategy, both sets of tutors would deliver sessions in staff development to share good practice across the Service. 

 

Impact on learner experience, achievement and attendance? 

It is anticipated that the learners will develop their reading comprehension skills and also become less dependent on the tutor and develop confidence in solving their own issues – this supports the move to be able to develop their digital skills which they are using in their learning, home life and work life.  The development of the reading comprehension skills will lead to improved learner engagement and a sense of self-satisfaction by the learners.  It is anticipated the learners will work more collaboratively and support each other in the development of their digital skills. 

 

Improved collaboration and changes in organisational practices

The proposed activities could lead to improved collaboration and changes in organisational practices by:- 

 

The use of a collaborative Padlet as a working document and a community space where the tutors will be able to reflect on the sessions and the Lead Tutor/Project Lead can contribute and share their ideas and experiences. 

 

The collaboration between tutors, with the English team supporting the digital tutors to deliver the skills of reading comprehension to the learners, will give them the confidence, skills and knowledge to support the learners in the development of their English skills. 

 

Creating opportunities for the tutors to develop themselves as reflective practitioners and focus upon aspects of their established teaching strategies, and collaboratively explore opportunities to develop and try new techniques and resources to improve learner participation both in and between the sessions.  Tutors will learn from each other and develop strategies and techniques that can be used in their future teaching. 

 

Developing a supportive Community of Practice will result in the sharing of good practice, especially between the English and digital teams.  The tutors will be encouraged to collaborate and share ideas which could also lead to improved working relationships between tutors from different curriculum areas. 

 

Equality and Diversity 

Participation in the action research project will be available to all tutors within the English and digital/ICT team of tutors. 

 

Our Service has a mission to work with the most vulnerable and socially-excluded people within the Borough and therefore we do not discriminate against anyone who wishes to enrol on one of our learning programmes.  We have an Equality and Diversity Policy that is central to our daily working life and this ensures the Service’s commitment to equality of opportunity and valuing diversity across all elements of our Service, especially within the delivery of the provision. 

 

Within the last academic year, across the Service, 50% of our learners have self-declared a learning difficulty and/or disability.  To support these learners we have a support plan in place to ensure their individual needs are addressed as appropriate to support them while on programme. 

 

They enjoy the different styles of quizzes because there is no repetition, and it makes them think more. I.e., the following quiz had been used a few times, but the learners said that even though they are still a bit unsure at times, they can remember the routine of which applies to which; https://wordwall.net/resource/5264820/computing/phishing-smishing-pharming-and-vishing

 

When asked if they felt they were understanding the terminologies better and being able to remember which is which, they said that they do feel it’s sinking in more, but they tend to remember better some times than others still, but when these terminologies are being said, they know it’s about online scams and generally have a good understanding what they mean.

 

Overall, everyone said that they enjoy all the different types of quizzes, and find it more exciting having a range of different formats to use. Those who are confident enough have said that they would like to access these types of quizzes at home, and so each quiz that we have done in class is in the quizzes folder in learners class notebook, as well as other quizzes for them to complete should they want to get more practice in.

 

Continuing with experimenting with bitesize quizzes, embedding terminologies and using different formats, I have created the following quizzes;

 

https://wordwall.net/resource/28633156/online-scam-terminology-match-up Good for a group starter, containing Phishing, Smishing, Vishing and Pharming

 

The following 3 are designed for individuals to match up, something that I will be asking my learners to complete Thursday and I will give them all different ones to complete so that they are not able to copy what the person next to them is doing;

 

 

 

 

 

The learners enjoyed these quizzes so much, that rather than completing only 1 quiz individually, they eagerly asked if they could do another one – I of course said yes! I really loved their enthusiasm and they all said that they really enjoyed the start of the session.

 

However, on Friday afternoon, I gave them a different topic of quiz to do after a colleague suggested using it, and even though they said they found it useful, they were not particularly keen on the style because it isn’t fast enough (https://wordwall.net/resource/28699438/microsoft-office )

 

Two learners were followed throughout this project and identified for case studies.  Both learners were part of the first group, working at Level 1.

Case Study 1 – AT

AT joined ASCL with a history of requiring support throughout her earlier education.  She required support for emotional behaviour and low literacy (since being assessed at E2 for English and dyslexia).  Her digital skill level was assessed at E2 and she started her learning journey by completing digital skills courses at Entry 2 and entry 3  before progressing to L1 Essential Digital Skills. 

With AT completing 2 courses before she had been told key terms such as ‘internet browser’, ‘alignment’ and ‘word processing document’.  Even though AT had heard these terms before she couldn’t recall them, and this showed they hadn’t transferred into her long-term memory. 

Feedback from AT: “Before I started at ASCL, I did not know what all of the terms meant in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel but by completing the little quizzes, they helped me to understand the key terms better.  I could work out from the options on the matching quizzes which term went with which definition. I enjoyed the drag and drop quizzes because they  helped me work out some of the terms that I didn’t know before and with the results showing  straight away I could see how well I had done rather than having to wait for my work to be marked.  I did access one of the quizzes from home to check what I knew before I sat my final assessment.  It really helped me with my learning, and I can remember most of the new terms now.”

AT would like to use Microsoft Applications more efficiently as she would like to work in admin.  Since starting with ASCL, she has signed up to volunteer at the local hospital.  She recognised the need to improve her English and it was agreed that she will concentrate on this before continuing with the IT studies.   It will be interesting to follow up what AT recalls around terminology, especially linked to the Microsoft Applications when she does return.  She still has access to the mini quizzes to help her retain the information.

 

Case Study 2 – TA

This learner was assessed at working towards level 1 for digital skills, having studied with other providers a few years ago.  TA had a good understanding of some of the practical aspects but was unsure of the key terms. On the first exercise TA was looking at the terms and the ones she didn’t know she used her internet searching skills to find the definition. This showed she could use the internet independently to find what she needed but whilst doing this it showed she didn’t fully understand the key terms that would have been expected at the level she was working at.  Feedback from TA: “I did think I knew what some of the key terms meant but I couldn’t remember them.  I did google them but this didn’t really help me to remember them later when I was asked to explain them myself.  The quizzes helped confirm to me that I already had some familiarity with key words and this consolidated my learning and thinking. I liked the drag & drop, and matching terms quizzes best as they clarified things, better than trying to explain in my own words.  I accessed quizzes mainly when I was in class rather than from home, but I knew I could I if wanted to. The quizzes had a good impact on my learning and gave me firmer understanding of concepts and I was able to see what I already had in my memory.”

TA complete the Level 1 Digital Skills course and has now progressed on to studying a level 2 qualification (ECDL).  She has retained key terminology and is continuing to benefit from this better understanding while on her new course.  This course is delivered online and it has enabled her to ask for help using the correct terminology when needed.