JISC

Wakefield College has gained by engaging with the JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber.

Bringing it together

'The JISC RSC is a trusted and invaluable partner in our journey towards e-maturity'

Wakefield College is a highly successful innovator and leader in the use of technology for learning. Building a strategic relationship with the JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber and active engagement with its direct services and the networks that the it has built up, constitutes an essential and cost-effective component of Wakefield College’s development process and of its risk reduction strategy.

About JISC RSCs

The core mission of the JISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) is to stimulate innovation in learning and the use of technology. The UK wide network of thirteen RSCs provides advice and support to post-16 learning institutions.  RSCs advise leaders and practitioners in colleges to help them to develop and implement effective e-learning strategies and e-learning capacity. 

They offer advice and support to FE colleges in a number of areas including:

• Strategy development
• e-Progress review
• Learning space design
• Network management
• Accessibility
• Pedagogy and e-assessment
• Electronic resources
• Learning technologies technical support.

Challenge

Wakefield College enrols around 10,000 students each year onto courses at three major sites.  Ofsted describes it as ‘a place where learners enjoy their work, make good progress and develop their confidence and skills‘, with particular strengths in teaching, training and learning and the effectiveness and quality of provision marked by achievements above the national averages.

The College aims to encourage inspirational teaching. The innovative use of technology is a fundamental building block. Wakefield has a track record of successful innovation and a talented expert team with experience in applying technology to learning. ILT Development can be risky in terms of the finance tied up and also in ensuring that it delivers value to learners and staff.

Even with so much expertise and understanding in-house, maintaining and developing excellence in the use of ILT presents challenges for Wakefield College.

These can be summarised as:

• Updating the skills and knowledge of the team
• Keeping at the forefront of development and good practice
• Reducing the risk element of investment in ICT hardware and software

Solution

Wakefield College has taken advantage of the direct services provided by the RSC and has embraced the networks and infrastructure that it has created and facilitates. The College has relied upon the RSC to support its strategic development of ILT and to provide an expert outsider’s assessment of its progress from the outset. Wakefield was the first in the region to undertake an ILT health check in 2005.

In February 2009 was again the first to carry out e-learning progress review. This flushed out critical issues for discussion at a strategic level and enabled the RSC to contribute to the College’s ongoing strategic development process.

These strategic College-wide exercises are the most high profile instances of the RSC’s work and are influential in helping Wakefield to drive forward its ILT vision, but of equal importance is the ongoing working relationship that has built up through regular contact between the college and RSC staff.  This is an important factor in identifying and testing options and opportunities for development.

A core activity of RSCs is building and supporting regional networks and communities of practice for specialists such as ILT managers, LRC and information professionals and for technical staff. They allow the sharing of information and from a College perspective constitute a cost effective method of keeping on top of continual change. Wakefield’s ILT Development team relies upon these networks to keep up to date.

Impact on the learning provider

The close strategic relationship that Wakefield has built up with the RSC has allowed it to innovate with confidence that its vision for ILT is robust and that its strategy is indeed on the right road.

Principal Sue Griffiths sees real value in the power of the RSC’s advice and services, coupled with its networks and communities of practice to identify those who have been there already, or who are currently travelling in the same direction.

Taken together, these have enabled the college to dip into a deep well of professional and community expertise, informing decisions, reducing risk and delivering genuine cost savings. 

We put a lot of energy and effort into ILT and we value the services of the RSC very highly. Sue Griffiths (Principal)

Key messages

1. RSCs are a key strategic partner for providers in the development of e-learning capacity and practice and in cost-effective innovation and investment
2. RSCs offer a wide range of advice and guidance on all aspects of the application of technology to learning
3. Providers get the best out their RSC by building and sustaining close relationships between key staff and engaging actively in the formal and informal networks they support
4. The access this gives colleges to the wider FE community reduces both the uncertainty and cost of development and offers tangible benefits to the experienced as well as to the less advanced

 

Case Study Video

 

Further information

JISC RSC UK 

JISC RSC Yorkshire and Humberside

Wakefield College