ICT in Post Compulsory Education

I have begun to teach in a new sector this year, and I’m really enjoying it. It is the PGCE/PCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) here at UWTSD Swansea. Our website boasts “The programme aims to help existing or intending full or part-time teachers, tutors, etc., in Further, Higher and Adult/Community Education to gain an understanding of the principles and methods of learning and teaching.” So for me it brings a range of new challenges, not least because my new students have such vastly different backgrounds, not only in their ICT experience and expertise, but also their life experience too. The range of activities that we engaged with this week were not so different from those on my undergraduate course, however, the ways in which they were performed and discussed were very different. According to Lindeman (1920), who is considered to be a major philosopher of adult education in the US, adult education is "a co-operative venture in non-authoritarian, informal learning - the chief purpose of which is to discover the meaning of experience." With this smidge of insight in to andragogy I began to enjoy myself. The session was so rich in dialogue and confab that I lost track of time, and, unfortunately overran the session by half an hour! So sorry guys!
Our discussion topics were based on the ICT Skill for Life Curriculum document that was developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) back in 2007. Although 2007 is a long time ago in terms of technology and advancement, the documents raises some excellent areas for discussion, with the use of ICT in post 16 education..
The Curriculum document outlined a clear set of skills required to meet the national Skill for Life ICT standards, together with the knowledge and understanding to underpin those skills, and aims to:

1. link to purposeful use of ICT in everyday life;
   
2. emphasise transferable skills;
3. foster critical judgement;
4. develop independent use of ICT;
5. prepare learners for the future.

The document was written for learners in various post-16 settings including further and adult education, the workplace, prisons, and programmes for the unemployed, community and family. Therefore, it seemed like a good place to begin our investigations into technology and education.
Here is a little taster; the group discussing the development of independent use of ICT provided the class with passionate discourse along the following lines;

• To encourage the individual to research and use self-motivation in preparation for the development of ICT skills.
• This can be achieved by linking their special interest or employment/professional vocational skills, and the value of ICT.
• To demonstrate to the individual the benefits (which are somewhat tangible) to the user.
• Necessary to define the purpose of using IT skills within their own backgrounds.
• To make the use of ICT dynamic, interactive; enjoyable and purposeful.
• To demonstrate the increasing popular diversity of the specific sites that can assist the user to develop their particular skills (e.g. YouTube, emailing, social media and blogging).
• To enable them to use popular 'search engines' such as Google; Yahoo and Bing.
• To set tasks/exercises that can be achievable independently. 

 For more you have to be on the course, but is gives you a flavour of the session!