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Let's Get Digital FE

Let's Get Digital FE

By Eve Sheppard and Stacey Salt

Let's Get Digital is all about blended and online learning in FE. Stacey Salt and Eve Sheppard are FE teachers, Advanced Practitioners and Digital Champions at The Oldham College. In this podcast we chat to colleagues about what works for them in digital and blended learning. Please let us know if you've enjoyed listening or if you have any comments or questions. We're on Twitter @TutorStacey_AP and @ESOL_Eve, or you can send us an email at letsgetdigital@oldham.ac.uk.
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Currently playing episode

Flipping the Access to HE classroom

Let's Get Digital FEMar 03, 2021

00:00
12:57
Assistive technology - something for everyone

Assistive technology - something for everyone

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.
Jul 02, 202131:26
Student voice - securing excellence with digital and blended learning

Student voice - securing excellence with digital and blended learning

Student Voice - Sandra Cassidy, Business Level 3

In this episode we talk to Sandra about her experiences of digital and blended learning. Sandra explains how G-Suite tools have helped her to access resources more easily, leading to her achieving excellent exam results. Sandra shares her top tips for working online, which we can all learn from - students and teachers. We also refer to wellbeing; Sandra has a job, which she does from home - this alongside online learning has been difficult and Sandra shares her experiences with us.

Jun 21, 202119:38
ESOL: more flipping, less flopping

ESOL: more flipping, less flopping

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.
Jun 17, 202138:42
Relationships and trust in the online classroom

Relationships and trust in the online classroom

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.
May 24, 202121:19
Trust Your Instincts - Professional TLA for Apprentices

Trust Your Instincts - Professional TLA for Apprentices

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.
May 14, 202131:32
The student journey - beyond the classroom

The student journey - beyond the classroom

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.
Apr 26, 202123:55
A new approach to CPD

A new approach to CPD

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.
Apr 14, 202125:21
Community, connections and compasses

Community, connections and compasses

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.
Mar 24, 202120:37
Nailing online practicals

Nailing online practicals

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.
Mar 15, 202114:29
Transforming Learning with Edtech

Transforming Learning with Edtech

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.
Mar 08, 202120:59
Flipping the Access to HE classroom

Flipping the Access to HE classroom

Danielle talks to us about how a flipped learning approach helps to equip her Access to HE students with the independent study skills they need for University, whilst also enabling them to cover more of the curriculum in a shorter time. The approach gives the students more ownership of their learning and has led Danielle to look for further ways to develop peer learning and collaborative work online. As with previous episodes, Danielle found that adapting teaching for COVID restrictions led to unforeseen benefits for both teacher and students.
Mar 03, 202112:57
Plumbing and Gas - a digital success story

Plumbing and Gas - a digital success story

Tom Leahy, a tutor on Plumbing and Gas Apprenticeships, talks about the positive impacts of his blended learning approach and the fantastic results his apprentices saw in their exams and practical work. Having started in February 2020 his apprentices had only one month on their course before the first lockdown began. Since then Tom has found that well-designed online activities have helped his learners to develop their understanding of both theory and practical work.

Feb 25, 202114:25
Saving time with digital literacy

Saving time with digital literacy

In this episode we chat with Debs, an accounting tutor and digital teaching and learning enthusiast. She shares the blended learning strategies that have worked for her, along with her top three tips for managing workload and saving time online. We talk about the importance of teaching students the digital literacy skills they need to keep on top of their online learning.
Feb 19, 202118:56
The Power of YouTube

The Power of YouTube

Joanne and Louise chat to us about how they got over 200 hits on YouTube with their revision videos.
Feb 04, 202118:41
February 1, 2021

February 1, 2021

Feb 01, 202100:36