SmartScreen

Alison Aysbury, Head of School Health and Lifestyles, South Nottingham College.  Currently teaches City & Guilds Hair NVQ (3014) Level 1, 2 & 3. 

“For learners, SmartScreen has helped engage them in lessons and motivated them to achieve more.  We have run a mature group of accelerated learners and they have all achieved more as they have been able to work in their own time either at home or in the local library.  

Previously these students would take longer to complete work as they would need more support where as now it’s no problem as SmartScreen can be accessed 24/7, it has encouraged independent personalised learning.  It has also eased in the ‘catch up’ of students who miss sessions as they can either go on at home or work can be downloaded. 

Learners particularly like the learning plans and the way the units are set out as it is easy for them to find the information they need.  The careers advice and guidance on SmartScreen helps learners with their employment and progression prospects, all of my students are staying within the industry and some are returning to take the next level. 

Our recent inspection reports have shown an improvement in student retention with those using SmartScreen particularly in the mature learners group.  Previously we had stopped running this group so retention here has improved 100%.  Also lesson observations have been graded higher because Smartscreen is clear and user friendly.   

Some of our mature students had no IT Skills when they first started out but SmartScreen has given them confidence and an ability to use a computer, go online and download information.  I think this has also helped increase our ICT rates within the centre. 

For tutors SmartScreen has assisted in the use of ILT and a computer and projector is permanently in the base room so instant access us available. Tutors have found lesson and course planning easier and it provides a good opportunity to use different methods of learning and rethinking of how lessons are delivered e.g. encouraging group work and getting students involved.

SmartScreen is saving my tutors more and more time as the year progresses and they realised the capabilities. By being able to guide students to materials they can access in their own time it saves us 1:1 time.  Tutors particularly like to use the Learning Styles Profiler at the beginning of the course as it helps understand how their learners like to learn and so aids them in preparing for to teach the lesson.  Our new tutors also find the tutor forums extremely useful as they can ask questions without feeling daft."