Taking opportunities as they arise

Recently I ran a new CPD workshop "The Connected Therapists: Introduction to Social Media & Professional Learning Networks" for our local branch of the BABCP where my wife, Tamsin, is Secretary. It was a fantastic opportunity to introduce new concepts to a group of mental health professionals with mixed skills and experience of using digital technologies in a work context.

Whilst the session focused on using social media for professional networking (see the presentation below), one of the most interesting discussions stimulated by the workshop was on the potential role of video calls in extending the reach of talking therapies to people and communities that otherwise may struggle to access services both at home and around the world. Views differed as to the potential merits and dangers of this approach, but the consensus was that it would be interesting to consider in future.



The upshot of this discussion was an email I received yesterday from Cai, a colleague of a BABCP member who attended the workshop, asking if DigiSkills Cymru could give assistance to another mental health charity. They want to offer an alternative and accessible ways for sufferers to meet and be supported by peers and professionals; in particular they're working on the idea of running a support group for some of their clients using web conferencing technologies.

Now that's a result in my book - a workshop producing a change in how a service is delivered and the learning being cascaded to people who couldn't attend the session themselves - so I gladly offered to help.

The immediate result of this is that I've produced a short, step-by-step guide to using Google Hangouts to hold group discussions. Once up and running, a Google Hangout group call is, for me, a much nicer web conference service than many of the paid-for services. Being browser-based, it doesn't require a full software download and doesn't require sign-up beyond a google, gmail or YouTube account.

However, it can be a little bit of a struggle to get started Hangouts, largely due to network restrictions when accessing it from work (especially related to the required browser plug-in) and it's pretty demanding on your broadband network.  One of the tips I put in the guide was to use the "switch off camera" button

So, here's the first draft of the DigiSkills Cymru Guide to Google Hangouts.

I hope this short guide will evolve into a full Best Practice Guideline that could be useful to a range of audiences, including trade union learning projects and public service professionals. Looking at my inbox this morning, I've already received another message from Cai with some more really ambitious ideas about how they might use Hangouts. As always with this blog, watch this space....

Innovation in schools

Too many times I've seen people working in public services being sent to generic "Basic ICT" training courses only to return to the same course a couple of years later when the company IT system changes, or a new version of Word and Excel are released. They may pass the course and get their certificate, but I've always wondered whether their digital skills have improved as a result. 

That's essentially why one of the main tasks of our Project is to lead the co-design of bespoke learning opportunities for public service workers that either develop digital skills or use digital technology as an integral part of the teaching and learning process when developing any other skill or competency (and usually, it's a combination of the two).

At the minute, we're working with Wrexham ITEC and the Key Connections adult community learning programme to design a course that not only helps school support staff such as teaching assistants to use iPads in the classroom (the hook) but helps them develop the digital literacies that means they have the confidence to embrace future technologies as they emerge.

We started by asking the staff who'll be on the course about how they use computers and the internet when they attended the launch of our new Digital Learning Hub at BAWSO in Wrexham. Clearly, as you can see from the photo, they can all use an iPad. And I know they can all scan a QR code and fill in an online questionnaire, because that's how we gathered the information. An important finding from that questionnaire was that the group is split 60:40 between those who already use iPads at work and those who don't.  Therefore one of the techniques we might well employ will be to get those with experience of using the iPad in the classroom to buddy with those who don't.

I've done a bit of digging, and found that Apple themselves have produced a range of resources for educators on getting the best out of the technology in the classroom. These look great and I'm sure that we'll use them as materials on the course, but for me, the more interesting side of this work is how we develop the kinds of transferable skills and confidence in people that will allow them to pick up new apps or bits of kit that are not yet even on the market, play with them without fear, and find new ways of applying them to their work and beyond.

My primary objective in this is to have this group ready and able to embrace the new technologies around them for years to come. It will also, hopefully, make formal training on specific devices, services or apps in the workplace more effective - crucial when training budgets are being squeezed everywhere. Beyond this, we want to enthuse the learners on this course to pass on their new found confidence to their colleagues, the children in the classroom, the parents in the Key Connections groups and their local communities. There are, we hope, wins here for everyone.  

Tomorrow morning I will be speaking with the tutor, Tim, who'll be delivering the course and we'll have a better idea how we're going to do this. 

More to follow....

  

In the Spirit of Openness

On Saturday  27th September I attended Gov Camp Cymru and was kindly given a "laptop upgrade" by Dafyd Vaughan of the UK's Government Digital Service.

GDS Laptop Upgrade

After leaving the power cable for my MacBook at the Gov Camp venue in Cardiff and receiving it back here in North Wales yesterday (thanks to my wonderful WEA Cymru colleagues for rescuing it for me), I'm now back in front of my computer and constantly reminded of the GDS mantra.

I've been using Twitter to log our day-to-day project activities since day 1 in this job, and I'll keep doing so. But in the spirit of openness I'm resolving to blog regularly about the progress that DigiSkills Cymru is making towards our goal of helping people working in Welsh public services to gain the digital skills they need in the 21st century.

So, this blog is now up and running. It doesn't in any replace the website, www.digiskillscymru.org.uk, which is still the go-to place for general information about the project.

Instead, this is where those interested enough can come to get the inside story on the par-baked ideas, unfinished products, new connections and big questions that keep me as Project Manager awake at night.

I'll be sharing the best bits from around the web relating to digital learning, banging on about Mozilla Open Badges, wondering how we upskill an entire workforce in the context of swinging spending cuts, challenging Welsh public services to think big and differently about digital transformations, asking trade unions to consider their future in the digital world and much, more.

You lucky people.