Accepting the 2016 TES FE Award for outstanding use of technology for improving teaching and learning was a highlight of our year. At Highbury College, Portsmouth, we have long considered technology to be a strategic asset. We’ve taken a long-term approach to investment in digital technologies and we’ve got the basics right. This has come about through a process of sustained investment and development over a 10-year period. Our guiding principle is to adopt those technology solutions which add value and improve the students’ experience and achievement. Recognition through the TES FE Awards was both a great honour and a validation of our approach.
Making technology an everyday part of college life is the goal - to the point that wherever possible we adopt the principle of “digital by default”, knowing that immersion will have the most impact. Technology has to add value to the student experience. It has to make learning more accessible and inclusive, more engaging and more effective so that our students make the most of their talents.
‘Joy and delight’
Whilst we recognise that technology supports many areas of college life, it was particularly sweet to win the accolade for our approach to embedding technology in teaching and learning across our college. The team on stage alongside me to receive the award consisted of students, apprentices, lecturers, and IT and e-learning staff: we have taken a truly interdisciplinary approach and this has reaped benefits. Our lecturers are constantly looking for new tools and resources, our students work with us to guide our investment decisions and our employers and industry partners provide the critical eye to ensure we are developing the skills for the increasingly digital workplace.
Beyond the immediate joy and delight of being honoured by the TES FE Awards, the impact has been to inspire us to go further. An example of this is the Highbury Digital Academy Suite. Having started with maths and English, our team are now expanding this concept to other curriculum areas. While it was developed for our students, it has nevertheless been fantastic to see visitors from over 35 countries using the resources developed by our lecturers in our standalone Mooc version. It inspires our staff to see their work accessed by learners across the globe and it demonstrates to our students that they are part of a truly global learning community. This is the power of digital at the heart of teaching and learning, and it is why the award category was for me such a wonderful one to win.
Stella Mbubaegbu is principal and CEO of Highbury College in Portsmouth
The race has begun to see who will follow in Highbury’s footsteps, as nominations have opened for the TES FE Awards 2017, in association with the Education and Training Foundation. In total, there are 16 award categories, from teacher of the year and best teaching and learning initiative to lifetime achievement and outstanding use of technology.
Entry is free and open to all FE establishments in the UK. The deadline for entries is midnight on Friday 28 October 2016. The shortlist will be announced on 16 December, and the winners will be revealed on 24 February 2017 in a ceremony at Grosvenor House hotel in London.
For further information, including full details of how to enter, please visit www.tesfeawards.co.uk
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