As the threat of coronavirus increases, so does the possibility that FE colleges will need to close. So far, there hasn’t been much clarity for the further education sector on whether or not they should be preparing staff and students for closures. 

On Thursday, prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed that schools and colleges were to stay open. However with universities already switching to online teaching, how realistic is it that all learning could be transferred online? What do colleges need to be doing now, and how will things work in practice?

Coronavirus: What can the college sector do

Background: Should FE colleges close due to coronavirus?

More: 'The chancellor must commit to supporting FE through coronavirus'

Tes spoke to Steve Bailey, the head of consultancy at not-for-profit technology company Jisc, about the practicalities of preparing for closure and facilitating online learning if they do.  

What do colleges need to be doing right now?

Bailey says that practicality is key: now is not the time for grand visions and transformation plans. He says that colleges need to recognise how technology-minded they currently are, and work with what their teachers, students and IT staff are comfortable with.

“There’s lots of noise about platforms like Microsoft Teams, which can facilitate online collaboration and be a virtual classroom environment. But these can’t be built from scratch overnight. If you are already somewhere down the path of using Microsoft Teams and IT, teachers and students are used to using it then great,” he says. 

“But if you are starting from scratch, you’re better investing your time looking at what platforms you already have and that your staff, students and IT staff are used to engaging with, and thinking creatively about how you can make use of them.”

Bailey says that most colleges will have virtual learning environments, and making sure that staff and students can all log in from home, and know how to use it remotely, should be the first step.

Ensuring that all staff have all the necessary equipment to be able to deliver online tutorials is key: staff need to have webcams, headsets and microphones, says Bailey – and if they don’t, colleges should consider allowing staff to buy these and then being reimbursed the cost.

What about assessment?

Again, Bailey says that how you deliver and receive assessment will be dependent on how you currently do so. If you already use your VLE to assess work online then that should say the same. If you don’t, then considering options like using email as a way of submitting work, even if you’ve never done this before, is key. 

How can colleges protect student and staff wellbeing?

Colleges will be concerned about protecting student and staff wellbeing, says Bailey. It’s a stressful time for everyone, and if staff are working from home, they don’t have the support network physically around them as they do in college. 

“When working from home is a choice it can be great, but when it is suddenly forced upon you that is a very different proposition. Staff are going to have to be able to support the learners through that process, and this is going to be a massive strain on them,” says Bailey.

“There will also be the new expectation that staff have to engage with platforms that they either have never used or haven’t used in a long time. Colleges need to manage that: they have an obligation and a need to support their staff and give them those safe spaces and ways to communicate with each other.”

When it comes to communicating with students to ensure that they not only have the tools they need to be able to complete work, but also that mentally healthy, teachers should utilise more than one form of communication, says Bailey.

“It’s easy to say well we’ve got student email, and if we broadcast a message from that we know everyone has it. Well do you? There could be a dysfunction there, likewise if you just put it on your VLE, or you just use a text service,” he says. 

“You might want to use a combination of all of those, on the basis that through a combination you are most likely to get most people. A reliance on one may mean you’re excluding key people.”

What are the safeguarding risks?

Colleges do have limited communication methods with students – teachers cannot give out their personal phone numbers or contact details. Bailey says that it’s crucial that in times of crisis, colleges don’t inadvertently set things in motion that could have wider and serious implications. 

“I’ve heard horror stories from past incidents where learners have had to communicate from home unexpectedly with the teaching staff and have popped up on video chats in nightwear to the horror of the tutor who has had to quickly hang up and tell them to get ready to receive a call.”

What about students with no smartphones or access to the internet?

Bailey says there is no easy answer to this – he says that colleges could utilise text-based services, so at the very least if students haven got access to a non-smart phone, there are ways in which they can receive messages from central sources in the college or their teaching staff.

“Colleges could explore whether it’s possible to provide students with access to technology. There are some who routinely provide hardware on a loan basis. If you do that already, that’s great, if you don’t, that’s hard to suddenly spin up overnight,” he says.

“Perhaps there are already bits of kit that can be used that are currently being used for other purposes? They might be the latest tech but they might be good enough to lend out on a temporary basis, but that, of course, assumes there is an internet connection. There are all sorts of implications.”

The threat from cybersecurity 

Colleges must make staff aware that there are ongoing phishing scams around the coronavirus, says Bailey.

“Scammers are starting to put fake emails out pretending to be the employer, saying please sign up here to hear the latest on coronavirus, and it’s a scam to receive personal details. 

“When staff are feeling stressed, vulnerable, away from those sources of support they rely on, it’s crucial that they are on their guard.”

How can colleges learn from each other?

“One of the things you hear about is the talk of the FE community and this is going to be one of those times where we see that in action. We want to be able to enable those conversations to happen, whatever the answers are they are going to be very different and made up of lots of different pieces of learning and experience,” says Bailey.

Jisc has set up a community of practice open to any Jisc member, which is an online forum in which colleges can ask questions and share ideas with each other. They are also running a webinar on Monday 14 March with more advice for colleges. More information can be found here.