Enhance Digital Teaching Platform continues to hit milestones and evolve
The Education and Training Foundation’s (ETF’s) EdTech online training service, the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform, has recently hit several important milestones:
- 2,000 bite-size training modules completed
- 1,000 digital badges awarded
- 700 registered users
What do these milestones mean and why does it matter to you?
These are significant achievements for the service, that was only launched in January 2019, as it continues to evolve in response to user and provider feedback.
One of the distinctive features about the ETF’s Enhance Digital Teaching Platform is its ease of access and non-prescriptive approach. The whole service is based round five-to-six-minute training modules on a wide variety of EdTech topics which can be accessed anywhere, anytime on any device with no requirement to register or to complete modules. The service is geared up to enable teachers and trainers to dip in and gain help as and when needed.
The training modules are mapped to the ETF’s Digital Teaching Professional Framework and designed to improve the use of technology in teaching and assessment to improve learners’ experiences and learner outcome.
Modules are based on three stages of personal development: Exploring; Adopting; and Leading.
Top 3 used modules
- Digital well-being for all (Part 2) – strategies that learners can use to guard, manage and control their exposure to risk online
- Enhancing learning resources with AR – how to create augmented reality learning objects to enhance learning
- Being confident – how to become confident in your digital practice and a force for positive change through your own practice.
A recent comment, gained from an Enhance Digital Teaching Platform anonymous user survey, suggests that users understand and warm to the bite-sized, flexible learning approach:
“I have trialled a couple of modules before rolling out to our department. The short informative modules will be a boon for tutors with very heavy teaching timetables. Offers the flexibility to dip in & develop skills realistically … little & often.”
I would like to thank you for making this content so accessible. High contrast mood was easy to find! Often when I start using software and systems I spend half an hour looking at settings and/or doing internet search to find out how to adjust displays. This was a welcome change.
— nina (@ninacollege) May 31, 2019
The fact that a substantial portion of users are choosing to register and complete modules is encouraging and suggests that people are starting to use the service more systematically.
Why register?
Registration provides a range of additional opportunities for users:
- Tracking progress through the training modules
- Rating training modules and providing feedback on them for others to see
- Earning digital badges for completion of modules
- Receiving recommendations for which modules to try next
- Participating in the ETF’s Enhance Community of Professional Learning to share ideas and experiences
Management Dashboard
In April, a new Management Dashboard feature was launched to support the strategic adoption of the service by learning providers looking to support workforce development plans. It will enable providers to encourage staff to register on the service and gain digital badges for completion of selected modules. At the moment, 14 providers are piloting the Management Dashboard to inform development prior to launch in September.
Next steps
Our next goal is to encourage more users to register on the service to benefit from tracking their learning, gaining digital badges and participating in the community of professional practice that is building around the service.
Supporting and growing that community to enable a vibrant network of peer-to-peer support for EdTech development in the Further Education and Training sector is one of our key ambitions for the next year.
Vikki Liogier, Head of Learning Technologies at the Education and Training Foundation (ETF)
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