A big thank you to John Davey for updating us on the latest Case Studies published on the Excellence Gateway.

John has listed the NW ones first, then loosely categorized the other regions’ studies.

NW case studies

Blackpool and The Fylde College: Feeling secure with an award-winning campus-wide wireless network

Published: 24 September 2009

Blackpool and The Fylde College has implemented a campus-wide wireless network that allows secure connectivity to College systems and services for learners and staff using their own laptops. The development has won a Cisco 'Secure Campus' award. Via a future development, the College hopes to provide learners with access to the College systems and services when out and about in Blackpool town centre.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=250716

Southport College: Hearing things – improving audibility in teaching rooms

Published: 16 September 2009

Southport College has been improving audibility in classrooms by installing a ceiling-mounted microphone at the front of the room above the interactive whiteboard. Linked to an amplifier and ceiling-mounted speakers, this distributes sound clearly and evenly across the classroom.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=247774

Southport College: Information on display – providing accessible information for students via digital screens

Published: 16 September 2009

Southport College has installed 24 centrally-controlled digital information display screens across the College to display a wide range of information. A user-friendly touch-screen facility has been developed and implemented on two of these screens, enabling students, visitors and staff to select college information they would like to view such as course details, news, events and videos. This information is presented to users in a virtual panel that automatically appears at a height suited to their needs.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=247623

Tools, Technologies, Resources

Southampton City College: EFL lecturer raises ILT game to achieve Moodle Gold

Published: 11 September 2009

This case study examines how one EFL (English as a foreign language) lecturer at Southampton City College decided to ‘raise his ILT game' by making full use of the Moodle virtual learning environment (VLE) to create blog-style resources and interactive forums to increase the levels of engagement, motivation and collaboration for four of his student classes. As a result, his courses have received a Gold Award under the College's Gold, Silver and Bronze Moodle benchmarking initiative.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=245988

South East Derbyshire College: Media server – one college's approach to providing video resources

Published: 8 September 2009

Getting video resources to staff and learners at South East Derbyshire College was a relatively costly and time-consuming process until the College adopted a new piece of cheap software and created their own media server. This has allowed far greater use of video resources and improved the quality of the picture.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=245582

RNIB College Loughborough: Visually-impaired learners benefit from audio and synchronised text on their mobile phones

Published: 7 September 2009

Using DAISY Player software on a mobile has allowed visually-impaired learners at RNIB College Loughborough to copy e-books to their mobile phones and to listen at their convenience.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=245477

Bromley College: eTracker enables personalised learning

Published: 18 September 2009

Bromley College offers a diverse range of learning opportunities from A-levels, BTECs and NVQs through to work-based learning and Train to Gain programmes. This diversity presents a major challenge in how to monitor the performance of its learners to ensure they achieve their potential. eTracker is an electronic individual learning plan (eILP) solution that enables lecturers to take a highly personalised approach to the individual needs of their learners. It enables them to identify issues early and intervene quickly – not just academic issues but also pastoral and behavioural. eTracker has been a motivating force for the learners at Bromley College and it facilitates good communication across the College.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=248227

Northampton College: Capturing TV programmes for use in the classroom

Published: 21 September 2009

Northampton College has introduced a commercial system (ClickView) for recording and then digitally distributing TV programmes within the classroom. This has allowed greater integration of video into traditional teaching methods than was previously happening via DVD-based resources.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=250739

Quality, Strategy, Approaches

Southampton City College: Southampton City College strives for Gold with Moodle benchmarking scheme

Published: 11 September 2009

How do you answer the question: “How well is your VLE being used?” Southampton City College rose to the challenge with the creation, development and implementation of a highly motivational ‘Gold, Silver and Bronze' benchmarking system to evaluate and recognise quality of content and activity on its College Moodle system. The results are impressive.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=245895

Hillcroft College: Introducing blended learning

Published: 18 September 2009

The staff responsible for the employability programme at Hillcroft have developed the College's use of blended learning in response to the needs and requirements of learners and their specialist tutors, some of whom live some distance away.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=248038

Tees Valley VLE Partnership: Collaboration success story

Published: 21 September 2009

The Adult Education Services from six local authorities in the North East joined forces to set-up a shared virtual learning environment (VLE) called TeesLearn. It provides their learners with new and inspiring learning opportunities, and supports them across a rural and wide geographical area.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=250707

Gateshead College: Hairdressers get a head start with technology

Published: 25 September 2009

Gateshead College's Hair and Beauty department uses IT for both effective course management and teaching and learning. Technologies such as interactive whiteboards, video, electronic individual learning plans (e-ILPs) and online course files have improved teaching and learning, as well as simplified course administration.

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=250753

Learning Spaces

Calderdale College: The end of the classroom?

Published: 15 September 2009

Calderdale College is creating a radically different learning culture and environment, based on using the most appropriate space for each "learning event".

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=247517