Could we have copies of these slides please

yes these can be available and this is also being recorded

One of the key benefits of eLearning/blended learning is the asynchronous nature of the learning. It has often been thought that this may work better for adult learners rather than younger learners. Do you have any observations on this.

Not a question but something prompted by Richard Beynon is Herbert Simon's 'axiom': “Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.”

For me as a Board member we are being told (as per Richard’s slides) there is plenty of stuff going on ( and this may continue into next year if social distancing continues) but how do we know that its effective and how does it compare with face to face? What should we be measuring and what questions should be asked?

Talk for yourself Richard :-)

This probably flags something about the kind of skills we need amongst board members. There are people out there to whom these issues of measuring qualitative outcomes in an entirely digital domain will be second nature. They're younger than most of us...

I’m not sure I can accept the assertion that blended learning is necessarily superior to on-line teaching in the current circumstances. Whats the evidence for this?. Zoom type approaches would allow whole class interaction between students as well as teacher student dialogue. This might be more motivating than leaving lonely students to dredge through learning materials alone in their bedroom

I am a management system auditor and have had to conduct completely remote audits with a lot of success but it is more difficult and you have to be much more diligent.

Digital and educational poverty are endemic in many parts of the country and will have huge implications for how we go forward with learners. How can we ensure that future learning is inclusive - there needs to be a proper strategy for this with support from the likes of ETF.

How do we as a Board ensure tangible outcomes - what are the key indicators of success we should look for?

I'm interested to know how good practice in this current OFSTED activity will be judged in such a subjective environment ie are there concrete outcomes against which to judge what this good practice is achieving?

I don't know about other governors, but my gut feeling is that it is very easy to underestimate how difficult it is to shift beyond the "emergency remote teaching/learning" that colleges have been providing, and a steadier state of redesigned provision for 20/21. I'd be interested in David and Richard's comments on this.

Asynchronous with pedagogical structure has worked to support learning that has been more meaningful, as classroom management hasn't been as much of a confounding issue and the synchronous learning spaces have provided key for applied and critical thinking for 16-19 yr old learners - this is where CPD may be required for some teachers - the planning needs to be highly structured and re-focuses on planning of the 'what do we want students to know'

Have heard from several governors now that ‘sitting in’ on online lessons has been massively helpful in helping them understand how to approach scrutiny.

I believe that it is essential that Governors familiarise themselves with what online learning actually is. It is radically different from the classroom environment. Without in any way straying from the strategic to the operational, we do need to understand our 'business'.

There are other advantages to having students in College. The College I am Governor at has many students with safeguarding issues and they see College as a "safe" place. This is an important part of creating a positive environment for learning. The College is trying to maintain access for these students as much as possible and need to consider how to do this for the longer-term, balanced with the online learning offer.

Thank you Richard, really helpful and thought-provoking

" Sitting in" in an online environment is far less intrusive than it is in a conventional classroom setting. Richard has just suggested that we should log in on learners, I agree the best way to get the learner experience but again if " seen " by students your are identifiable as the distinguished visitor. Careful balance needed between benign lurking and intrusion

Thank you Paul and Andrew - can you say more about what viewers of 'My Virtual College' get to see?

Worth bearing in mind that face to face is what we are good at. Students who want a pure on line experience might be better off with DuoLingo etc..

Is it worth mentioning what is happening with accountability data Hilary?

Research has shown that it is the quality of teaching that makes the biggest difference regardless of this being on-line, blended, or classroom based delivery.

what technology are you using for the virtual college to facilitate this?

Can you bring me in Hilary?

sorry David

I'm multitasking. I'm making sausage rolls whilst listening.😊

Ym yum, sausage rolls

I’m making notes to ask the governors, but I am a student governor, and our college have been told zoom is not safe for under 19’s. Is there a way we can make zoom safer? as this appears to be a better platform than the likes of Teams in my personal experience.

Re My Virtual College-is this using commercially available software or built in-house?

We have teaching staff who are trained and experienced mainly with face-to-face teaching. What can be done to help make on-line/ blended teaching the default option? Is this something Teacher Training Colleges are taking on board?

in house

Charlotte my understanding is that Zoom has tightened up security after some early breaches. We use Zoom with passwords for our Beaver Scouts meetings. Interested to hear of any ongoing concerns about Zoom?

Charlotte, I agree - Zoom is much more popular and has greater usability for younger learners. Teams is more a business tool. The makers of Zoom are bring out glitch-fixes almost daily - it is getting safer. Review the position?

Thank you Jo and Richard

Can I make some points please

Thank you - Very useful topic.

I'm looking to improve the reliability of attendance recording in the context of blended learning. ldeas very welcome

Well said Richard

This and other offerings may be relevant: https://www.futurelearn.com/programs/blended-learning-essentials

We have an increasing number of lower level learners wanting to resit this year as they are not confident to progress but currently funding doesn't allow this - but it would be beneficial if they could

There also needs to be consideration of licence costs for digital resources and maintaining and testing these in learning, coupled with the costs of improving IT infrastructure - are there discussions in government to support this unprecedented growth in digital learning.

Very useful session, Thanks to all.

thank you all its been a really useful webinar !

Thank you for hosting this. Really useful discussion and lots of notes taken!

really useful and some great comments and questions

Thank you!

Thank you

Thanks to everyone - this has been very useful