ALT is a partner in creating a new course for the Vocational Education and Training sector, commissioned by the Ufi Charitable Trust, which will launch on Futurelearn, the UK’s leading platform for delivering open courses. The aim is to promote effective practice and pedagogy in blended learning. Following on from the Association's work on the Open Course in Technology Enhanced Learning, ocTEL, in professional development and Open Badges, the new course will incorporate an accreditation route to CMALT, ALT's peer-based accreditation scheme.
Maren Deepwell, Chief Executive of ALT, emphasised the importance of this new project as a "key opportunity for the Association to contribute to building and accrediting essential skills for teachers and trainers across vocational education. CMALT is increasingly valued by providers and employers alike as it offers flexible, fit for purpose professional recognition for skills and experience that continually change due to technological innovation."
A session dedicated to the new course, and led by Diana Laurillard and Neil Morris, will feature as part of the programme of ALT's forthcoming Annual Conference, 8-10 September in Manchester. In addition a free webinar about the course will take place on 15 October.
Below read the full press release issued by the Ufi Trust:
On 2 November a free course for the Vocational Education and Training sector, commissioned by the Ufi Charitable Trust, will launch on Futurelearn, the UK’s leading platform for delivering open courses. The aim is to promote effective practice and pedagogy in blended learning.
“This could be a real boost for innovation in the sector”, said Diana Laurillard, Professor of Learning with Digital Technology at UCL, and co-director of the project, “because the course supports teachers and trainers in learning together about blended learning, as they experience it themselves”.
The open course is designed to provide all the essentials for using technology for learning, teaching and assessment in Vocational Education and Training using practical examples from experienced teachers and trainers. Sharing tried and tested methods, using openly available tools, this course will show how teachers and trainers can use technology to help learners succeed and gain the digital skills they need.
Prof Neil Morris, Director of Digital Learning and Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Leeds, and co-director of the project, said “This project, and the freely available open courses, are hugely important for teachers and trainers to help them make the most effective use of digital technologies to improve their learners’ success.”
Built by a practitioner-led consortium from across the sector the course is the first of its kind in the UK, open to all and free to attend. It will help practitioners at all levels of competency to develop their confidence in using the digital opportunities now available to them in their own classroom, workplace or community.
This course was commissioned by the Ufi Charitable Trust, who are committed to an increase in the numbers of people accessing and gaining vocational skills through the use of digital technology.
The Chief Executive, Rebecca Garrod-Waters, says, “The Ufi Charitable Trust wants to catalyse change in the vocational world and engaging the professionals who deliver the teaching is a fundamental step in achieving this.”
You don’t need to be an expert to be part of something ground-breaking. Help us put vocational learning, teaching and assessment firmly on the digital path to increasing learner success - and join Blended Learning Essentials this autumn.
Sign up now at https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/blended-learning-getting-started
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Use the hashtag #FLble1 to join and contribute to social media conversations about this course.