Wednesday, 14 July 2010 13:11

Tutors and students at Sussex Coast College Hastings have been pioneering new ways of teaching and learning using digital technology.  A project run by Apple provided 162 students, aged 16-19, with an iPod Touch and twenty teachers were given ‘digital briefcases’ – containing a MacBook, digital camera, video camera and iPod touch.  The aim was to develop lesson content using multimedia software, and loading content loaded on the college’s virtual learning environment and wiki (an online information store) and a blog service was also used.

So far the project has proved a success, with increased course retention rates for learners involved.  Students reported that the technology was easy to use and helpful for revision. Teaching staff reported that the project had contributed to improving student engagement, attendance and course retention.

The scheme has convinced Sue Middlehurst, the college Principal, that mobile learning works when staff embrace innovation. “One of the Hair & Beauty teachers told me she felt we were leading-edge educationally, and it made her proud”, Sue says. “That enthusiasm makes other teachers want to get involved”.

The college has also invested in a classroom system that enables teachers to capture an entire lesson on an interactive whiteboard, and automatically publish it on a course blog, and as a podcast for students to access via iPod, a Mac or a PC – on campus or at home.

The aim is to extend mobile learning across the curriculum and to encourage staff to train for a portable mobile learning qualification.

The wiki and blog services have encouraged collaboration between staff and students, according to Professor Steve Molyneux, Apple Distinguished Educator and advisor to Sussex Coast College Hastings.  “One Biology A level student took his revision notes, scanned them and put them on his blog, invited his teacher to check accuracy, then created his own podcast by presenting the notes with his own narrative. That presentation is now on the Biology curriculum wiki for all students to access”.

Sue Middlehurst refuses to make dramatic claims for the college’s mobile learning strategy, but she is excited about the future.

“We have big academic and economic challenges in this town and we won’t sort them overnight. However there is good evidence that we are starting on the right journey. We have deployed a learning philosophy and supporting tools that has grabbed the attention of our students and teachers. It has to be the way ahead”.

You can read more about this project on the Apple website at http://www.apple.com/uk/education/profiles/hastings