Posted: 24 May 2017
We conducted a study with 26 further education centres to find out about the key issues faced by centres today. We wanted to understand their concerns for the future, any obstacles blocking the efficiency of their delivery, as well as their attitude towards digital. The general consensus reveals that while digital tools are welcome, some find it difficult to integrate them into their delivery. Furthermore, colleges aren’t reaping the full benefits of these tools.
The need for digital support comes at a crucial time for the FE sector, as this report highlights, resources are slim, while demands on quality are sky-high, and with the Technical Education Act and potential future changes inflicted by government, the sector is in need of a transformation.
Current attitudes
Educators want change and are excited by the benefits that digital can offer to their classrooms, however, the shows that there is apprehension about the implementation of these tools, and the growing fear that these tools will introduce low quality training to the market.
70% of survey takers welcome these tools and a small 4% oppose the rise of digital learning because of their fear of low quality training. Though there are justified concerns about becoming more digital, students are anticipating a rise in digitisation as society has already evolved so much in that area.
The research suggests that there is a gap between some FE institutions who are embracing the benefits of digital learning and those who are not. While the majority (56%) are welcoming the tools, 20% don’t feel that they know enough about digital learning to fully utilise these tools.
So, is the issue only around the implementation of these tools?
The facts
It is evident that these tools have an impressive impact on the market.
Our study revealed that 44% of centres have already invested heavily in digital and 42% are seeing an improvement in efficiency of their course delivery when tools are used frequently. To maximise potential, digital tools should be used daily and positioned as an essential and indispensable part of the classroom. This will empower centres to stay current in this ever-changing industry, making their offering more appealing to students and partners.
When asked the question, what are your concerns for the future?’ 68% of centres say that limited resources, with the pressure to maintain a high quality, are a major issue. Unsurprisingly, 54% say that working out-of-office-hours causes issues and software to speed up the marking process (66%) would help to remove these issues.
In answer to these concerns and issues, we have created a digital toolkit that will help to support educators in overcoming the challenges highlighted in this survey. And if you want to find out more about how we can help transform your delivery, fill in your details here and we will get in touch. Find out more about how we can help to transform your delivery
This report looks at how maximising digital tools to their full potential learning environments are transformed.