Case Study: Using Mobile Technology to deliver eILPs for NEETS By Sarah Hoss Exec Summary This is a report to inform the mTransition project (led by Pembrokeshire College) of a short pilot study conducted in the summer break 2014 to trial the use of the mTransition App to deliver a short intervention of one month to two groups of VET learners (14 learners) attending an engagement course to encourage them back into education and training. By giving learners the opportunity to participate in the planning and completion of their eILP and monitor and document progress against agreed targets through the use of mobile technology, we aimed to enrich their experience by increasing engagement and introducing them to online learning resources. It is hoped this intervention will assist Pembrokeshire College improve outcomes of these young people. The ambition is that what we learned through this pilot can help and inform our partners to deliver similar activities to learners and progress the use of the mTransition App for mobility learning, pastoral support and virtual tutoring. Key to the success of this pilot was the face-to-face as well as remote support offered to assist the learners develop their IT skills to make the most of the experience.
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Case Study: Using Mobile Technology
to deliver eILPs for NEETS
By Sarah Hoss
Exec Summary
This is a report to inform the mTransition project (led by Pembrokeshire College) of a
short pilot study conducted in the summer break 2014 to trial the use of the mTransition
App to deliver a short intervention of one month to two groups of VET learners (14
learners) attending an engagement course to encourage them back into education and
training.
By giving learners the opportunity to participate in the planning and completion of their
eILP and monitor and document progress against agreed targets through the use of
mobile technology, we aimed to enrich their experience by increasing engagement and
introducing them to online learning resources.
It is hoped this intervention will assist Pembrokeshire College improve outcomes of these
young people.
The ambition is that what we learned through this pilot can help and inform our partners
to deliver similar activities to learners and progress the use of the mTransition App for
mobility learning, pastoral support and virtual tutoring.
Key to the success of this pilot was the face-to-face as well as remote support offered to
assist the learners develop their IT skills to make the most of the experience.
Introduction
Mobile learning at its best is where the equipment isn’t the main focus of the activity, but enhances
the experience of the learner and encourages them to want to progress their learning by making it
an enjoyable, empowering experience.
Traditional desktop computers can be barriers to learning amongst small groups and less
experienced learners, Almond, Chawla, Brydges (2007) whilst mobile devices, because of their size,
mobility and wide adoption for social experiences, have the potential to engage learners in such a
way that the equipment becomes secondary.
Weiser (1991) stated ‘the most profound technologies are those that disappear’ – a perceptive
observation at the time. What Weiser was referring to was how technology becomes ‘invisible’ once
it becomes ‘the norm’. One doesn’t reflect on the remarkable thinness and opacity of paper; the way
the ball in a biro rolls seamlessly to deliver a thin layer of ink onto the paper; we just write things
down. The same is true of IT equipment when the context and equipment match. Young learners are
completely comfortable using hand held devices – which ‘disappear’ as they are used for texting,
keeping a diary and taking photos.
Hand held devices not only liberate the learner from the traditional classroom setting, but also
foster a sense of ownership. Most of the young people handed tablets greeted them with delight
and learned very quickly how to operate them.
The Pilot
The pilot would help achieve these aims and objectives of the project:
-use of the App as part of the pedagogical framework
-evaluate the App used with VET learners at risk to prevent them from becoming NEET
-Evaluate the App in learning mobility to address the problems of communication between involved
parties and the recording of learners’ non-formal learning experiences systematically.
Location
Pembrokeshire College is the largest provider of post-16 education in the county of Pembrokeshire,
located in rural west Wales, UK. The college employs about 500 staff and has over 10,000 learners.
The College delivers a wide range of academic and vocational training particularly focused on
delivering work-based learning and apprenticeships.
The college is committed to investing in IT and innovating in the application of IT in education,
specialising in the use of mobile technology for fostering engagement with those identified as being
NEET or at risk of becoming NEET.
As part of the transfer of innovation, the mTransition project is promoting its eILP App to tutors and
Learner Coaches who have direct contact with learners at risk of becoming NEET currently on work-
based learning programmes.
Methodology
Two groups of learners were identified. The learners were attending an ICT and an Engineering
‘taster’ course in the summer holiday having left school for a variety of reasons. The learners arrived
at college having been referred by the local careers service. From their referral form we were able to
ascertain their current educational position. Individual learner accounts were created on Moodle.
The main aim of the course was to up-skill and inspire the learners to progress to further study,
employment or work-based learning after completing the course. In the event we engaged with 14
learners.
Each learner was introduced to the project through an initial registration form which allowed them
to document their agreed personal statement of learning after consultation at the outset and
completion of the course.
The methodology was to engage face-to-face initially, introducing the learners to an android tablet
and train each learner in its use. A user name and password was created for each learner. A short
course was built onto Moodle and all learners enrolled onto the course.
An eILP was drawn up to encourage each learner to fully participate in their course. Targets were
agreed and completion dates were set up to enable learners to manage their time. Activities that
they could undertake on their own outside of the formal classroom setting to complete their course
were set up on their devices. Learners were also shown how to contact their mTransition tutor via
Instant Messaging. Progress was checked daily.
The learners were required to complete a course built around eight key elements:
1 Personal Development and Wellbeing
2 Employability
3 Health and Safety
4 Enterprise/selling
5 ESDGC
6 Welsh Language and Culture
7 Numeracy
8 Literacy
A short course on Moodle was developed covering these eight areas and activities were set to help
the learners fulfil them. Individual targets were discussed and agreed assist the learners through this
process.
The learners were also required to assist the project by feeding back their experiences of using the
tablet and the App. They were also empowered to exercise their learner voice using an online
platform (VocalEyes Digital Democracy) to register their own ideas for improving the course and rate
and debate each other’s ideas. This information was sent to the College’s Managers. Some of their
ideas were turned into tangible actions. The most highly-rated ideas included changing the course
time to start later in the morning; having a higher rate of student allowance paid and cheaper food
made available in the canteen. The engineering uniforms were also highlighted as being not suitable
to fit female students – feedback which helped the institution meet the learner’s needs.
mTransition activities to be accessed via the App outside the formal classroom:
Pathway link Targets/Goals
1&2 Personal Development/Employability 1. Do your TRaCIO at outset of course
Target: Increase score 2. Do your interim TRaCIO test
3. Do your final TRaCIO test
EVIDENCE: automatically generated on TRaCIO – which measures key ‘soft’ skills via self-assessment by learners and assessment by tutor with the results showing any differences.
2 Employability 1. Research potential careers/jobs
Target: Develop career pathway
EVIDENCE: post a potential job on Padlet (an online noticeboard platform for collaboration)
2. Research qualifications needed and courses
EVIDENCE: Prepare a route-map
5 ESDGC 1. Participate in digital decision-making in-house
Become a digital citizen
EVIDENCE: Show user account activity on VocalEyes (a digital engagement tool)
2. Participate in Government consultation online
EVIDENCE: show 'Wales We want' activity on VocalEyes.
7&8 Numeracy/Literacy
1. Gain knowledge of online learning thro web-based tool e.g. Khan Academy; (maths) BBC Bitesize;(curriculum-based fun activities) Topmarks (maths utility).
Generate content and progress EVIDENCE: set up user account, participate.
2. Improve your LIT/NUM
EVIDENCE:Scores improving on the platforms used and reported via the App.
The cross-cutting themes of equality/diversity and sustainability were also reflected.
Examples of user journeys
Student A
Student A had agreed to attend the engineering course following advice from her careers advisor.
Aged 16, student A had spent recent months in a pupil referral unit having had disciplinary issues in
the past. As a result of extended periods of absence and disrupted schooling student A’s educational
progress had been somewhat limited and she expressed at the initial meeting frustration that she
had not achieved what she felt she was capable of. In the Initial Assessment (online test) she had
achieved a level 2 grade in literacy an entry level 3 in numeracy – the highest mark in her class. She
was keen to pursue learning and a possible career path into motor vehicle.
Student A did not have her own mobile device. Therefore, a Nexus android tablet was loaned to her
through the project. She was familiar with gaming and social media functions but had no prior
experience of using a mobile device in an educational context.
She quickly became familiar with using the App and was able to send instant messages to the tutor.
She was provided with access to the tablet whilst at College (using the institution’s wifi connection).
This learner required face-to-face as well as virtual tutor support. As part of the course she was
introduced to an online learning resource (Khan Academy). This particularly sparked the learner’s
great interest. She spent some of her own time working through mathematical assignments. By the
end of the course, this learner was progressing to being able to take more charge of her own
learning and progress.
As part of the course, she participated in providing feedback to the institution via an online ideas
and crowd-sourcing system – VocalEyes - and saw her suggestion (for better-fitting protective
overalls and boots for female students) turned into action. This experience, along with her mobile
learning, helped to increase her confidence levels and feel more engaged.
Student B
Student B was a young man hoping to gain employment as a coder/games designer attending an
introductory IT course. He was open enough to admit he had issues with attendance and
punctuality. He had achieved level 1 in both literacy and numeracy on his initial assessment. He
played an active role in the classroom and seemed to be really enjoying his course. He also
volunteered to make a film about using the App but struggled to recruit learners to take on the
presenting roles.
By the end of the course, he was proudly reporting that he’d managed to attend each day on time.
As part of his individual targets he was tasked with researching job vacancies. By the end of his
course, with help, he had successfully researched potential job opportunities, and applied online for
two vacancies. This was seen as a very positive outcome for this particular learner. Since then, the
learner has enrolled onto a full-time college course.
Learner Feedback
‘I’d rather use a tablet because it’s easier to use and I get my work done quicker’.
‘I enjoyed doing the targets the tutors set. I would like to continue using a tablet’.
‘Using the App helped make the learning more enjoyable and interesting’.
‘The App was great and easy to use. I will use it again in the future’.
Tutor Experience
The mTransition project has its own dedicated
tutor working directly with learners and
subject tutors (Sarah Hoss). One of the first
College tutors Sarah worked with on this pliot
was an IT tutor who was very enthusiastic
about using mobile technology for learning.
As part of the pilot, Heather (pictured) was
also issued with a tablet device and enrolled
as a tutor onto the Moodle course.
As had agreed that the learners were not
allowed to remove the devices from the
college campus, a negotiation took place in
which it was agreed that Heather would use
the tablets to deliver some of her classroom
based activities, such as taking photos and researching certain topics online, to assist the learners to
operate the tablet and manage the physical safety of the equipment by supervising the students
signing for the tablets and storing them in small lockers.
The tutor then agreed to give over some of her contact time to this pilot because we needed to give
the learners some time where they took ownership of their own learning outside of the classroom.
On two afternoons, Heather allowed the learners to be away from their main classroom and did
their own work completing targets set on the eILP with support from Sarah, their mobile learning
tutor.
Tutor Feedback
‘Using the tables improved the student’s self-confidence enormously. They loved using them
and felt that they had ownership of their learning’.
‘I gave them a topic to research using the tablets they came back with great ideas. Then they
emailed each other the links for the webpages’.
‘I feel that tablets are the way forward in learning and I look forward to the day that all
students at Pembrokeshire College will be able to be provided with tables to use with their
studies’.
‘Being able to keep track of progress via eILPs is crucial for assisting ‘at risk’ learners to
complete their studies by deepening the engagement between learner and provider.’
Dissemination and Awareness Raising
During the delivery of this pilot, the mTransition tutor wrote a blog contemporaneously - see the
blog page of the mTransition website: www.mtransition.eu capturing the challenges and progress as
the project progressed. These were also shared via Twitter. It was planned to involve the learners in
filming a short video about their experience with the project (using the tablet video function) but in
the end this did not happen as time ran out, having struggled to recruit a presenter.
Course Evaluation
Upon completion of the course, all participants were invited to provide feedback via a survey
conducted by our independent evaluators, NIACE.
Outcomes
NIACE survey results:
Summary
(For details see the results box below provided by dissemination partner NIACE)
The learners who participated in the online survey reported that:
Of 11 students who participated in the online survey; eight reported the mobile app very or
quite useful in supporting their learning; eight reported they would like a tablet for keeping
track of their learning in future; seven agreed or strongly agreed it made learning more fun.
The App functions that they enjoyed the most were the individual targets; instant messaging
and courses. Two learners reported that they didn’t enjoy using any parts of the App.
The majority used the App to demonstrate they had completed tasks; to keep track of their
work and to set and keep track of learning goals.
Eight of the 11 reported that they felt the App had benefited them by helping with their
employability skills (2 strongly agreed, 6 agreed), five agreed it helped with motivation (4
disagreed); that it made learning more interesting.