The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced that we are now in the “fourth industrial revolution”, where physical, digital and biological realities merge. This promises a teaching and learning revolution, too. Worldwide, commercially focused education and training organisations are embracing the digital revolution - but it has to be asked if FE in the UK has the same capability.
Let’s look at the facts.
Leadership capability
Leadership is the key to successful change; not least when technology is involved. To lead an organisation, one must first understand the challenge. But having referenced FE senior staff and corporations against a literature search and LinkedIn profiles, it is difficult to find leaders with the digital or IT background to fully comprehend the challenge and implement necessary change. Certainly no one I’ve spoken to has made plans to go beyond digital and innovate.
Websites
There are an increasing number of good FE sites with online application, payment and other essential digital functions. A few even have chat lines to help prospective students ask questions live. But the majority of FE websites are poor, with dated software that may only allow the visitor to turn the pages of the online prospectus. I can’t, as of yet, find any that allow prospective students to download their prospectus from Kindle. With a 14 to 80 age range in FE, and Amazon now selling more online than physical books, surely the Kindle deficit is an oversight.
Far too many FE websites also struggle with integrating Management Information Systems (MIS) data exchange. Yet the need to ensure that both the website and MIS carry exactly the same key data is paramount to customer satisfaction and funding.
Classroom teaching
FE classrooms and workshops abound with poorly used interactive white boards. Too many teaching staff seem impressed by the fact that they can tap the board to advance their PowerPoint presentation, but fail to realise this ties them to the front of the room. Few seem to use a remote control and have the freedom to walk around the class.
Even fewer seem to make wide use of tablets, video, webinars and social media as part of their teaching and learning strategy.
Online teaching
The situation described above is against a background where the overseas-based commercial trainers I work with make a huge impact (and a lot of money) from using webinars, conference calls, Facebook groups, video and membership sites to reach large numbers of 14 to 80-year-old students. Several have recently crowdsourced the funding for new training products, and have then launched them internationally. The gross income for these courses often exceeds £1 million per course in the first month after launch.
In most cases these courses are produced by sole traders or by very small teams. It is a market that a digitally aware FE college could dominate. So far, it seems that FE leaders have failed to recognise the potential, with most being totally unaware the market exists. Internationally, the next teaching move is into virtual reality, dynamic binaural sound and beyond, as a way to augment learning. Has any UK FE college a strategy for this?
FE marketing
The website issues mentioned above are just the tip of the FE marketing iceberg. Marketing is about communication, and yet finding the telephone number on far too many FE websites is problematic. Often it is hidden several clicks away or in the footer that is only found after scrolling down and down the page.
Even worse is the problem of keeping prospective students warm. Fail this test and the conversion from application to enrolment can be far lower than need be. Many colleges have an intranet to keep in touch with their students, but do not keep in touch with their prospective students nearly well enough. A good luck postcard at exam time no longer cuts it.
The digital world enables switched-on FE colleges to keep in touch with prospective students (and employers) in so many ways. Whereas universities use Moocs (massive open online courses) as both a teaching and marketing tool, FE has largely neglected this approach.
Some university-produced Moocs now carry credits and are potentially becoming more attractive to students. But FE is yet to embrace the technology and opportunities this offers.
Where are the webinars, Moocs and social media posts to prepare school leavers to transit from school to employment, apprenticeships or full-time FE? Where are the employer-focused videos, demonstrating key principles and tips on new techniques and equipment, designed to encourage them and their employees on to short or part-time courses and into CPD?
FE has yet to appreciate the fourth industrial revolution, and the evidence seems to argue that it has yet to fully grasp the third or even the digital age.
Stefan Drew is a former head of marketing at South Essex College and marketing consultant. He tweets at @StefanDrewe
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