Summary of the week

1.12YOU’VE COMPLETED 2 STEPS IN WEEK 1

Summary of the week

This week we have covered some of the ways in which digital technology can enrich your apprenticeship, with respect to the stages of Preparation and Planning, specifically, by:

  • deciding to build opportunities for using digital methods into every phase of the apprenticeship programme
  • getting ideas from existing online toolkits such as Future Apprenticeships and the Jisc toolkit
  • using a communication tool like the Padlet and Googledoc to exchange ideas for ways of using digital with other teachers and trainers
  • using a design tool like the Learning Designer to exchange designs for using digital with other teachers and trainer
  • using quizzes to motivate learners to focus on the resources you are providing
  • enriching your induction session: with videos, accessible later online; online quizzes to check the apprentices’ level of need, for later comparison
  • training on an online learning support environment to encourage learners to communicate with their tutor and each other, and track and improve their own achievements
  • integrating an electronic Individual Learning Plan, with apps such as One File, PebblePad, or Open portfolios such as WordPress.

At each stage there have been some helpful and insightful discussions relating to the videos or exercise steps.

One important issue is the need for time for professional development in the provider organisations. This is not trivial, as integrating technology needs serious attention and experimentation over a long period. Who has the time to do this? That is a question not just for teachers and trainers but for senior managers as well. Many of the comments testify to the refusal, in so many organisations, of senior management to take responsibility for this crucial form of innovation – crucial to the successful future of that organisation.

In general, the responses to sharing learning designs seemed positive. Everyone appreciates the importance of not reinventing the wheel, and the value of learning from others, and these values seemed to permeate your comments on these ideas. There is so much to learn about how to use digital well to enrich apprenticeships – how can we deny the value of doing that together? That’s how knowledge develops throughout the sciences and humanities.

Thank you for all your participation and contributions.

Diana

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