South Devon College, Learning Resource Centre, Paignton
| Contact Details: | Karen Brazier, LRC Manager Karen.Brazier@southdevon.ac.uk Fiona Mills (responsible for IT and ILT across the College) Fiona.Mills@southdevon.ac.uk Stephen Criddle, Deputy Principal Stephen.Criddle@southdevon.ac.uk John Evans, Head of Technology Department John.Evans@southdevon.ac.uk |
| Type of Project: | The whole college moved to a three-year old building that was originally used as a factory so was a very big open space with few internal walls and limited natural light |
| Start/End Date: | The whole project took 3-4 years. The move took place in 2 phases: the technology department (construction and motor vehicle) moved in Sept 2005 and the rest of the College moved Dec 2005/Jan 2006. |
Technology
Subsequent to the move the College has implemented a site-wide wireless network. It actually has two separate networks - the College network and a guest network so that users can bring in their own laptops and still be able to access the Internet.
The College has data projectors in 94% of rooms and interactive white boards in 54%. There is an ongoing programme of looking at whether or not that number is adequate for their needs.
PCs are available in the LRC and 6 open access areas. They also have 2 sets of 16 wireless laptops and some tablet PCs that can be set up in classrooms without PCs. An ILT Facilitator trains all staff on how to use IT effectively for learning and manages the Moodle VLE. The emphasis is for all full time courses to use the VLE and part time courses are increasingly being encouraged.
Portable equipment is used for a range of events and presentations such as a health and fitness week where the students organised a big seminar in The Street. Technology is used to support learning but not always traditional learning.
Adding Value
The emphasis on technology is new for the College. The technology in the classroom shows students the College is engaging a modern approach to learning. They feel like they are in a College which has spent a lot of money on technology for their education and that makes people appreciate what they have. The College has also promoted use of its VLE as part of the change thus giving better support to students on and off campus and enabling students who miss classes to catch up.
