The Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (FELTAG) have recently made some recommendations on using technology in education, one of which being that every publicly-funded learning programme from 2015-16 includes a 10% wholly-online component, with incentives to increase this to 50% by 2017-18.
Both the SFA and Ofsted have responded to this recommendation with a slightly different approach.
The SFA would like providers to complete a temperature check survey to indicate the current level of online learning in their existing provision; they don’t currently have plans to make funding decisions based on percentage of online learning.
Ofsted have commented that they value the quality of learning regardless of delivery method and that they’d assess effectiveness of online and eLearning through learner responses to a new ‘learner view’ question: “I am enabled and empowered to use technology and online resources to support my learning…”
The regulatory body are not necessarily looking for computers but are more interested in looking ‘to celebrate those who are using technology well, pushing boundaries and overcoming barriers’.
Online and eLearning is something that we should consider as it will only become more and more popular in the tech-savvy world that we live in today.
Resources are a great place to start and test the water in eLearning; that’s why NCFE has developed various resources to assist learners on their journey of achieving their qualifications.
To help support the study programme, we have FREE Digital Books available for various substantial qualifications. The aims of these resources are to support learner engagement and enable remote study for learners.
We've also created the NCFE Level 4 Award for Technology Enabled Educators (601/4775/1); This unique qualification is designed to support the CPD of college educators, training providers, and commercial trainers to use technology in ways which inspire their learners. It will also enable them to embed technology effectively into the learning process and empower them to further strengthen their teaching.
Recent recommendations from FELTAG would suggest that the answer is yes, the future of education is digital.
