In brief induction may 2014

Technological tips and tricks to help with the business of getting students and staff on board and familiar with the organisation.

13/04/2023 Induction and Technology

Induction

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Phil Hardcastle, Catriona Moore, Trevor Eeles

Aims and Objectives

To make some practical suggestions about how some aspects of the induction process can be delivered online.

To help make Student and staff induction a more useful experience.

To give some ideas about the ways that technology can be used to provide activities which will help the induction process.

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We hope, in this webinar:

Why do induction?

Understand the ethos of the organisation – what it

expects of its staff and students and what it will

do for them.

Orientation – help newcomers to know what

to do, where to go and how to get there.

The underlying objective is to get both staff and

students settled in quickly and working

productively.

Induction in detail

Generic – organisational induction

• Ethos

• Familiarise students with the site and buildings

• Discipline

• Safety & Support

• Social & Recreational

Course induction

• Learning programme

• Guidance

• Study skills

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There’s a lot to cover

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The dreaded checklist – death by tickbox!

How do you do induction?

Checklist

Video clips

Facebook

Games

Online Induction

Forms

QR Codes

Virtual tour

Depends on the business model.

ACL, WBL may be recruiting and inducting learners as they go. FE/HE may have a significant induction need in October.

Both have their problems – consistency and impact are problems with the roll on, roll off method. The large numbers involved in induction days predicate against individual attention.

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Roll on, roll off or all at once

Jan FebMarAprMayJun Jul AugSep OctNovDec

0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Enrolment Patterns

ACLWBLFE

Stud

ent N

os

Geographical dispersion is also an issue – county wide ACL services have to induct people in a wide variety of venues.

1 Adult and Community Learning

2 FE College

3 Specialist College

4 Work-based Learning

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Which sector are you?

The key to successful induction is to spread it out.

There is a huge amount of information to be given, but not all of it needs to come in one day.

Besides, students ability to absorb all this is limited – remember the 20 minute attention span!

Pre- Induction•Familiarisation•Making friends•Transmitting ethos

•Preparation

On the day•Ethos, essential geography

During the week•Forms, IT•Course info

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Induction: breaking it down

Using social media it is possible to

provide new students with a link to the organisation and to their peers

who are also starting.

Web based activities such as familiarisation with the layout of the buildings through a

virtual tour – particularly useful for

students with accessibility needs. See example from

New College, Stamford

http://www.stamford.ac.uk/360-tour/

Attitudes towards the

course could be influenced by

short video clips of other

students talking about the

course and their experience.

FAQs could be set up

which answer the

most commonly

asked questions.

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Pre-induction activities

Channel Via

Social Media

Friendly welcome

Lots of signposting to web and mobile resources

Information via multiple channels

Receive important

College informati

on:

Talk to our

tutors:

Talk to our

students:

Find out about the support

available to you:

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The Open Day

Many students/learners

will have mobiles – think about how you

can use this as a channel of

information. Facebook and other

social media are now predominantly

using mobile.

If you’re going to use mobile prepare

the students by telling them which apps they might

need – a QR reader for example.

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Get their mobiles ready

Examples of video being used

“Sorry I can't be with you” video

Pre-induction welcomeInduction: getting to know you for studentsPost-induction video wall

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Use Video

WBL

Trevor Eeles from Lagat

Web-site used to get info to students

Adult and Community Learning

Derby City staff induction

Learner induction by tutor

Some providers now emailing essential info out early

Complaints about form filling from learners

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Dispersed staff and studentsExamples

Induction day

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Ok, so much of this might be face to face - but everyone gets bored with long checklists.

Data collection is important, but too much makes it a tedious introduction to the course. Are there ways some of it could be put online for filling in later?

Give them a break – do a mystery tour with clues and QR codes.

Use IT as an icebreaker – Mentimeter, Padlet etc.

Games – see induction video on our Moodle

Get feedback through mobile voting systems. Signpost to more detailed info on VLE/Website

Induction week

There’s lots of different inductions needed – IT in particular with e-safety, & IT systems etc to be sorted. Much of this can be done online the first time they log on.

Reminders – posters with QR codes with photos of the people who can help – IAG, Student Support, Health Issues, Counselling

Lots of signposting to web info – remember lots of learners/students will have their own mobiles.

How can it be improved?

Less form filling

Shorter

More online information

Fewer speeches

Your views

Did it work?

Information overload, both verbal and printed. Avoid hours of speeches and presentations and voluminous policy manuals or information packages. What matters is what the student/employee understands and retains, not how much he/she is told.

The process is too passive. Provide activities that students/employees can participate in, not just watch and listen to. The most important ones are self-training (eg computer-based) and having 'real work' to do from an early stage.

Information is irrelevant. Remember to start with the 'basic survival' principle, and gradually build from there.

Don’t forget the online student survey – how was it for you?

Reasons why induction programmes fail

Links & Upcoming Events

ILT Forum Basford Hall, Wednesday 7th May, 9:30am for 10am

Work Based Learning Forum, 16th May. MESMA will talk about their software for quality improvement planning and KM Training of Derby will be sharing details of their Traineeship Staff support programme. 

Moodle user group, 23rd May at Derby College’s Roundhouse site next to the railway station. 

Finally there is our summer jamboree of online and face to face workshops – Insight 2014. As last year there are two days of online events (5th & 6th June) and a face to face day repeated in Leicester and Nottingham (10th & 11th June). Booking is open from this weekwhen the programme details will be available.

Work Based Learning Forum

Links and EventsEMFEC are running a workshop on Active approaches to learner induction on  Tue 13 May 2014. Time: 09:30 - 16:00

http://www.emfec.co.uk/cpd/active-approaches-to-learner-induction

Contact Information

RSC

Phil Hardcastle

[email protected]

Catriona Moore

[email protected]

Trevor Eeles

www.lagat.co.uk