Case studies on good e-practice: Improving teaching and learning

e-Learning staff at Barnfield College have created a revolutionary learning environment in Second Life. Following a successful bid for funding, Barnfield College has been involved in a collaborative project with Museums Luton to create a virtual museum. This has helped drive a culture of innovative and engaging learning in the College and has helped to raise the profile of local museums in Luton.

Ensuring staff are confident and proficient in IT is an essential prerequisite to achieving e-maturity. North West Kent College is not alone in trying to solve the various challenges associated with IT-based staff development. Using Adobe Captivate to quickly and efficiently create a series of animated ‘How To' guides, this College has found a highly effective way of providing anytime, anywhere and on-demand IT support for both staff and students alike.

A tutor at South Nottingham College has successfully adopted the use of an online resource, Turnitin, which allows the tutor to check at a glance which learners have submitted their work; who has met the deadline; and obtain a plagiarism percentage report for each submission. It also allows online marking and feedback.

Kaplan Financial Ltd has utilised Learning Innovation Grant funding from the Association of Learning Providers to develop a facility for live and recorded lectures. This has enabled it to introduce a wholly online version of its AAT Accountancy programme, attracting students who would not have been able to undertake the classroom-based programme.

Through the development of a set of standards, Weston College has improved the quality of its Moodle virtual learning environment course provision.

S&B Automotive Academy has developed a seamless and interactive online system for remotely assessing its apprentices on-demand. The system utilises state-of-the-art video technology deployed at workplaces throughout the UK, which links into the Academy's virtual learning environment (VLE). It has successfully gained Learning Innovation Grant 5 (LIG 5) funding to develop the technology, which is already cutting down travelling costs for assessors, as well as saving time and contributing to a substantial reduction in their carbon footprint.

The Manchester College has been addressing the issues of how technology can be used securely in offender learning through a co-ordinated project. This has involved specific OLASS-focused E-Guides training, providing access to appropriate technologies and e-resources, and bringing together security and teaching staff to try to overcome the barriers to using technology in prison establishments.

New College Durham has developed an interactive quiz that assesses learners in a fun way. The quiz encourages, enthuses and motivates learners, and adds value to the course by promoting co-operative learning. The quiz has been created on a low budget and uses a combination of different technologies. During the last Ofsted inspection the quiz was offered as an example of ILT integration and, along with other examples, was considered by inspectors to be 'good practice'.

Portsmouth College tutors are piloting an interactive, multimedia approach to individual learning plans for adult learners following the Working Towards Independence course. Many of these learners have learning, physical and sensory difficulties, making traditional paper-based plans inaccessible. Using a combination of interactive whiteboard, Microsoft PowerPoint, digital recorder, pocket video camcorder and internet connection, this course now enables its learners to take control of their own learning targets, develop self-advocacy, raise their own self-esteem and become much more engaged in the process of developing independent living skills.

'Sparks', Bexley College's Moodle-based virtual learning environment, was not a popular platform by September 2008 and was underused by both lecturers and learners. John Jackson, e-Learning and VLE Professional Tutor, and Dave Byrne, ILT Training and Development Co-ordinator, set out to discover what could be done to turn this situation around and start to embed e-learning across the College. Over 60 staff and 1,750 learners were involved in the drive to extend and enliven e-learning at Bexley College.