FELTAG Coalition

The FELTAG Coalition consists of membership bodies representing the whole of the FE and Skills sector and the full range of provision that is available to learners, employers and the wider community. National agencies such as Jisc and the ETF are working with and supporting the coalition to help realise the ambitions of the FELTAG Report for;

  • Learners to be empowered to fully exploit their own understanding of, and familiarity with digital technology for their own learning
  • Capability and capacity of FE and Skills Providers – the entire workforce being brought up to speed to fully understand the potential of learning technology
  • Employers – relationships between the Further Education community and employers should become closer and richer, and enhanced by learning technology inside and outside the workplace
  • English, Maths and ESOL – exploring how innovative uses of learning technology can be used to help people develop these functional skills
  • Investment – Providers should aim to provide industry-standard technological infrastructure (including broadband resilience) to maximise the effective use of learning technology working with employers and their communities to help prepare learners for work

The coalition supports these aspirations and has produced the following statement to set out our beliefs and what we think is needed to implement the FELTAG Agenda. When you have read the statement and agree with it as an individual or as an organisation please sign up to support us and to receive updates on progress.

WHY THIS LEARNING TECHNOLOGY COALITION?

We have come together for one reason: to improve teaching, learning, assessment and management across our sector.  Technology has the potential to transform UK Further Education and Skills[i] (FE), making learning more accessible, engaging, collaborative and effective.  Imaginatively applied and exploited, technology benefits learners, employers and the UK economy.

By coordinating efforts, by sharing resources and practice and by eliminating duplication, we can:

  • ensure that FE and skills providers – and their learners – survive and thrive in our digital world
  • provide a voice for all FE and skills stakeholders on technology matters
  • ensure that the FELTAG recommendations are implemented consistently, coherently and fairly  across all providers.

This means transforming how the sector works.  What we have now are physical assets – often under-used buildings and land which trap essential resources.  What we need – what we are working towards – is to free those resources.  That is, enabling the infrastructure, leadership and workforce to prepare our learners for work and citizenship in a competitive digital global economy.

Many colleges and providers already use technology effectively and creatively.  We want to help them to advance further, and to help those where technology is less established to make the shift.

WHAT WE NEED FROM THE FE AND SKILLS SECTOR WHAT WE NEED FROM GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE UK
  • To encourage, join and challenge us.
  • To examine cultures and practices inhibiting innovative learning technology in the sector.
  • To invest in the workforce’s technology skills.
  • To develop with us a strategy for ‘blended’ provision, making the best use of face to face and online/virtual learning and assessment.
  • To replace current piecemeal approaches with a comprehensive, long-term approach for learning technology.

 

  • To embrace the potential of digital technology to empower learners, improve learning and benefit UK Plc.
  • To join us and the sector in developing a long-term vision for technology.
  • To consider with us how best to put learning technology on a par with other forms of learning (for example, by reforming capital regulations).
  • To share their view of the horizon, make informed decisions and talk with us.
  • To draw in partners such as the Inspectorates, qualification and funding bodies and relevant government departments to support coherent policy.
  • To ensure that FE and skills stakeholders, including employers and regional bodies, such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, drive the transformation of the sector.

 

WHAT WE DO

  • We have committed resources and are supporting projects to implement FELTAG.
  • We encourage the development of leaders and good governance.
  • We support the professional development of the FE workforce.
  • We ensure everyone has the basic skills to use the technology.
  • We promote assistive technologies.
  • We share intelligence about developments and trends in learning technology.
  • We commission and publish research.
  • We provide advice and guidance to colleges and providers, including through conferences and case studies.

We meet regularly and connect virtually. Jisc co-ordinates and manages our coalition. We use #FELTAGcoalition on Twitter.

WHO WE ARE

FELTAG_Coalitio2015

 

[i] Further Education: Our definition of Further Education is consciously broad.  We include education and training after the age of 18, provided by further education colleges, private training organisations, adult and community learning providers, voluntary and community groups, offender learning, Apprenticeships and vocational learning provided by employers.