Let's Get Digital FE

In this episode Eve chats to Liz Wilcox, an award-winning Dyslexia tutor who works in the Additional Learning Support team at Oldham College. Liz reflects on how the ALS team have adapted to remote learning, and talks through the huge range of assistive technology available to support students with additional needs. This technology has the power to transform learning and unlock potential by removing barriers experienced by a large number of both students and staff. There truly is something for everyone, with clever tools to make communication and access to information easier for all.

In this episode I chat to Sharon, a fellow ESOL teacher. Sharon has used a flipped learning approach with her adult ESOL classes this year. She tells me about the rationale for her approach and the digital tools she used. Our chat takes in motivation, differentiation, assessment for learning and resource creation. Flipped learning empowered ESOL students to take responsibility for their own learning and assessment, and was so successful that Sharon plans to continue the approach next year.

In this episode I talk to Wayne who teaches in the Skills and Employability faculty. The students in Wayne's online classes are working below Level 1 and often have a history of struggling with school and learning.  Wayne talks about how he puts trust and relationships at the heart of his online teaching.  This year Wayne has taught both hybrid and fully online classes and found that whilst sometimes challenging, blended learning provided new ways to personalise learning and give students a voice.

In this episode we talk to Sulbia who teaches on the Level 3 Paralegal Apprenticeships programme, as well as Business and Law programmes in college. Sulbia talks about the teaching techniques she uses to build learner confidence and develop the secure understanding they need to pass challenging exams and assessments. When the pandemic forced us into remote teaching, Sulbia was able to transfer her tried and tested methods to the online world with outstanding results. Sulbia tells us how she and her students navigated various online systems to continue their studies and support each other with collaborative online learning.

In this episode we chat to Roni, an Early Years tutor who recently joined our Advanced Practitioner team. We talk about Learning for Distinction, the college programme for developing good study habits and a positive mindset. Roni's enthusiasm for the programme is infectious as she shares her top tips for supporting well-being online and how she helps students develop the skills they need to be successful in college and beyond.

In this episode we chat to Leah, a fellow Advanced Practitioner at Oldham College.  Leah talks to us about CPD she has created to support our new process for learning walks and teacher development. We discuss the advantages of using digital resources for staff development, including our online teacher workbook based on Teaching Walkthrus by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli. Leah also shares her top tips for teaching online, as a vocational tutor in Beauty Therapy.

In this episode we chat to Dave and Nathan from our Uniformed Public Services team. With a course heavily reliant on teamwork and practical outdoor activities, remote teaching presented quite a challenge. Dave and Nathan were committed to providing engaging experiences for their learners and found that a difficult situation led to some creative solutions, new connections and a real sense of community.

In this episode Stacey chats with Lisa, a teacher in Hair and Beauty, about how she teaches practical skills for Beauty Therapy through video, Google documents and Hangouts. These online resources are accessed before, during and after live sessions, providing continuity throughout the vocational course.

In this episode we chat with Mike who teaches business and enterprise. We discuss how technology is transforming how we teach and assess students, by enhancing communication, promoting collaboration and providing alternatives to traditional assessment and feedback.