Learning through digital

Over the past year, we have begun to widen the impact of our network and our online products to support people not only with their digital skills learning, but with other learning, both formal and non-formal.

This came both from demand within the network for a progression route beyond basic digital skills, and also from the experience that with a local approach and expert online products, learning could reach people who had traditionally felt excluded from it.

eReading Rooms Pilot

In March 2012, the then Skills Minister, John Hayes, announced support for OCF to run the eReading Rooms pilot. The pilot, which took place in 20 locations throughout the country, aimed to open up non-formal learning opportunities to those who hadn’t traditionally engaged with them.

The 20 projects were given a small grant, but most importantly were supported and mentored by the OCF central team, and given the opportunity to share their experiences in order to maximise the impact in their own communities. In total, the programme’s 20 pilot centres used 77 paid staff to engage 134 volunteers, who in turn reached 1337 learners. All of the eReading Rooms pilots attracted and engaged hard-to-reach groups, with 60% engaging older learners, 65% working with unemployed learners, 55% working with disabled learners and 30% working with ESOL learners.

There were five key themes that emerged from the eReading Rooms pilot. These were:

• Hyper-local and very non-formal learning is important
• Learner-led sessions lead to local ownership
• Culture shift is needed, with organisations becoming more open and innovative.
• Technology inspires new content and new learning
• The OCF network effect drives increased scale, speed and impact

Although the eReading Rooms pilot came to an end in February, we will continue to develop My Learning Zone, the curated site that was developed alongside the pilot, to broaden its reach and improve the journey for learners. We’ll also work to embed the eReading Rooms findings for the wider UK online centres network.

Starting Point - an eReading Room

Starting Point is a social enterprise cafe based in Woodley, near Stockport, which offers free internet access, IT classes and other learning . The eReading Rooms project offered them the opportunity to extend their reach and use new ways to engage people in the community.

The project used the alpha My Learning Zone site to break the ice, offering “a first step into learning with other websites”. The classes started out in a room at the back of the coffee shop, but soon moved to a corner of the coffee shop itself, an even more informal site - and the sessions began catching the eye of some of the coffee shop’s other customers.

Tutors Nicola and Ryan were able to respond to what learners wanted to explore, and put on sessions specifically about tablets, family history and Skype. They also bought tablets they could lend to learners.

One of the main outcomes of the project for Starting Point - and especially the new technology - was that it made volunteering “a bit cooler”, driving intergenerational learning. Another real success has been in using it to take learning out of the classroom, attracting more learners and volunteers.

For Nicola, the eReading Rooms sessions have been the missing link in building learners’ confidence, as well as providing a real progression route from learning through to volunteering, allowing many learners to achieve personal rewards.

Starting Point will continue to build on the eReading Rooms pilot, setting up a centre at a local day nursery to teach parents and children, using touch screen technology to ensure children have opportunities to experience it before they start school.

Action on Adult Maths

In order to support and encourage other learning activity within our network, in December 2012 we got involved with NIACE’s Action on Adult Maths project. The project aimed to help the UK online centres network to embed maths activities within the existing learning journey, with the aim of encouraging learners to improve their maths skills “through stealth”.

The pilot project kicked off during the Start something campaign, weaving maths activities into the other digital skills and employability activities run by centres. The project will be developed over the coming year, through regular embedding of maths activities into the learner journey, and a mini campaign - Baking with Friends - which will use baking activities as a way of hooking learners, then supporting them to improve both their maths and digital skills.

Online Basics qualification

Following demand from within the network, in 2012 we began to offer the Online Basics Entry Level 3 qualification. With UK online centres acting as a City and Guilds accredited super-centre, centres within the network can deliver without having to become accredited themselves, reducing administration significantly.

The qualification has provided a great opportunity for both organisations and learners, allowing centres to extend their reach and provide broader learning opportunities. For learners, a qualification helps them to build their confidence, and is recognised by employers, providing a real boost in their search for work.

At the end of the year, 52 centres had become assessment centres. There is now significant interest in using the qualification both within and outside the network, with colleges and third sector organisations starting to realise its potential for their learners.