FE News Blog

Riding along in my automobile...

So...training for the transport industry...

Of course, an excellent thing! And if the skills are properly judged and correctly implemented in the training, it can only benefit everyone. The question that springs to mind, though, is whether or not the cost will be passed on to the consumer.

Being a monkey, this does not panic me quite as much - after all, as long as there are trees to swing from my means of transportation are fairly steady, and there is a limited amount of training that a tree requires. But for a country beginning to slowly face the problems of traffic congestion and high oil prices, affordable public transport must surely be a priority.

If the pseudo private companies that operate some transport in the country pass on the costs to the traveller, then the attempt to take people out of their cars will backfire badly.

Lulu Thertrolle

Paths...

I just can't get over the evaluation report on the 14-19 Pathfinder Initiative.

Finally, it is seen as catering to the entire age group! Apparently, in the past two years of the initiative, the attention was concentrated particularly on 14-16 years olds, even though the initiative called itself a '14-19' one. While admittedly, there is a lot more FE territory to cover between the the 16-19 sector, it is this group that needs all the attention they can get!

Gasp at me for stating the obvious, but aren't most 14-16 year olds still in school ? Even though some schools deliver lessons on careers options, there is still a good share of students who drop out from education and therefore opportunities and the standards of vocational education need to be monitored and enhanced. Hopefully, next year's report will shed more light on this!

Lulu Thertrolle...Comments? Contact us!

Who's listening...

Not wishing to publicise a specific show too clearly, but there is a certain fictional radio psychologist whose undulating voice does spring to mind...

Ellie Russell of the NUS spoke at the recent ALP conference of the need for student voices to be heard. Sometimes, looking down on the FE outback from my perch in the branches on the edge of the forest, it can seem as though everyone's radio has simply been turned off by the time it comes to student voices being heard. So all we get is the feedback of static and maybe a commercial for off road vehicles that will apparently make every single person 0n the planet both sexier and braver.

That will be why so many of them are driven at approximately three miles an hour on the incredibly narrow streets of London, then. Leaving aside the fact that a major metropolitan sprawl probably won't require the ability to cross unmanageable terrain (except for driving down York Road, relaid so many times that you sometimes feel they should have just put all the cables and pipes above ground for a smoother ride!), FE doe s need to take heed.

After all...for all the successes that various agencies enjoy highlighting, there would be a lot of empty colleges and vacant computer terminals without the students. The way to ensure that a programme of study is beneficial and fair is not only to focus on the final product end (or the needs of the employer); if FE does not meet the needs of the student, and listen to the concerns and experiences of those actually engaged in study, then all the good work will be for nothing.

Lulu Thertrolle

Access for All?

It does sound familiar, doesn't it?

Not only will the use of technology improve the quality of provision, it will also improve the quantity. A veritable landslide of education and learning will pour over Cornwall through the new online initiative, with the virtual classroom replacing the musty room in a 1950's shack of a building where someone named Roger has carved into the wooden desktop that he has certain amorous intentions towards a lady named Tracey...

If you're lucky, he stopped with describing his feelings! However, the move to technology won't simply exclude the lovesick puppies out there. Computers, contrary to popular belief, are still expensive devices. Moreover, the software that they come equipped with becomes obsolete fairly rapidly - and when this software is out of date, the newer learning packages will not work with that computer.

So for all that distance learning should take an immense step forward with e-learning, perhaps something should be done to make sure that the hidden costs don't exclude people who do not have as much money. Hmmm...a group of people excluded from conventional education media...it certainly sounds like a job for FE...

Lulu Thertrolle

United We Stand?

"United we Stand, Divided we...er...sit down?"

Admittedly, that may not be entirely accurate as far as quotations go! But then again, we live in the age of approximations. For instance, the government figures for the workforce in 2020, or the belief that exactly 70% of that future workforce are already in work. Or the belief that aliens exist and have abducted many people and cattle because they can't tell the difference...?

Well, maybe the aliens need FE more than we do. But with the best will in the world, these figures are just that; figures. Essentially guesses, albeit educated ones. But they afford us a remarkable power, the ability to see the future. But can we? Fourteen years is a long time. Fourteen years ago mobile phones were the size of a small hatchback, avian flu was a badly pronounced brand of yuppy water, and the Labour Party was looking unelectable and riven by internal dissension.

Apart from the spooky way that history repeats itself with regards to our beloved leaders in the House of Commons, it is important to realise not only how far we have come, but how much further we have come than we expected in some parts! Whatever happens in the future cannot be predicted; policies need to have just that much flexibility or they will buckle under the need to actually cater to the change in demand.

Lulu Thertrolle

Learning from the past

And a bonny afternoon to you all!

I trust that everyone enjoyed their weekend jaunts to wheresoever they may have gone? It won't shock those who know this monkey best to learn that again the monkey did not leave this glorious connurbation. For those who are returning from a brief trip away, it is entirely possible that you will have found an environment of sunshine, light and laughter?

And then, we all sit down at the desk and find that very little has changed. How familiar everything looks, except of course for the fact that we have almost made it all the way through to June. One organisation seeking to change things about a little, apparently, is learndirect through their @ college programme, offering IT training to learners.

The irony of typing an opinion on this in an online blog is not lost on this flea brained primate! However, for all the new programmes launched, the troubles that were reported earlier in the year should be countered before promising delivery that might be interrupted if changes need to be made.

So...maybe the sunlight of a beach holiday is no longer dazzling us?

Lulu Thertrolle

Once Upon A Time…

Gather around everyone! Someone is having a dream...Lulu, tell us the story!

"Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there was to be found the paradise of Further Education Land. This land was made up of many happy individuals who were all paid fairly, and the same amount as their neighbours in the unknown and mysterious Higher Educationia. Inceed the citizens of the two were the very best of friends, sharing everything and wanting nothing that their neighbour possessed.

"Yay, verily, in the endless light of a perpetual summer's bliss there was much dancing and singing and eating and toasting at the seven meals that could be afforded each and every day. The food, of course, was both nutritious and affordable for all.

"Every year, the people of Further Education Land would gather together and would sing and dance in celebration of their unity and single purpose, and of the changeless happiness and bliss within which their land basked. The Lecturer Birds could be found flitting merrily through the Funding Forest, boughs light and flexible. The Training Provider Dolphins leapt and swirled happily in the Lake of Learner Accounts and Equitable Provision. Everyone was equal and happy. Everyone had the same chance for sunshine and for..."

Wake up, Lulu! It is just a dream!

Lulu Thertrolle

Square Eyes

What can be said about technology that hasn't been said before?

Well...sometimes it is used for good, and helps to make society better and richer. For example, the way the internal combustion engine revolutionised transportation. Or the way that medical advances continue to improve life expectancy. Or the way that television allows different cultures to appreciate differences and grow to understand neighbours better.

Then again, it has been used foolishly. For example, the way the internal combustion engine revolutionised the ozone layer. Or the way that unscrupulous medical advances lead to catastrophic side effects. Or television.

The system known as "Talkback" was used at the CEL Conference - Summit - Gathering of FE Professionals, which was designed to make the session more of a participation sport and less akin to golf. This is a wonderful idea, and if people truly advance their understanding of the system surrounding FE then there is hope for actual procedural reform where needed. Two questions that spring to mind - will the discussion sound strangely familiar in a year's time? And where are the students asking questions?

Even if FE is doing marvellously well, part of the point of education is continual improvement and development. The best way to learn what is lacking is to ask the people taking part; that is why so many companies have customer staisfaction surveys, even if all they end up offering is the opportunity for the immature and the bored to write "yes please" next to "sex". But asking the students, well, that might just expose the problems of tomorrow ahead of time.

Lulu Thertrolle

Pride Goeth...something something...

I think it is before a fall. But I am not certain...and my pride won't allow me to ask.

I could always look it up, but my pride would never suffer the shame of having to open the "Big Book of Obvious Quotes" to check. I could call someone, I suppose, but then I would have to admit that i didn't know this item of knowledge. Then my pride would be injured, and in order to repair my pride I would have to act in the fairly typical manner - namely, try to make myself feel better through telling my self all about the things about myself that I am proud of...

I could go on. But I think that should suffice! It seems that Welsh FE Colleges are looking to slash admin costs for exams, and hope to spend the extra revenue on front line training provision. For the English - speakers amongst us, that means teachers and students. First of all, great! Fantastic! More money for actual educating, excellent...always assuming that their cuts don't lead hypothetical funding bodies to look at their budget and think: "Well, if they don't need that money for exams, they can lose it in the next budget..."

But another point has to be made. Welsh FE enjoyed an incredibly successful 2005. of all the Beacon Awards, something like 20% went to Welsh FE Colleges, and there are only 25 of them! If they are doing that well, and cutting costs at the same time, is it simple pride that prevents others from learning from their methods?

Lulu Thertrolle

Ready, Aim...

Another day, another conference...

Sometimes, it can seem that May and June are the months to be spent in great big grey concrete block hotels with a choice of faded gold vertical stripes or blue wallpaper, plenty of free pads o paper, pens and so forth. Few can be touching on a subject so in need of attention as the BLI conference in the ICC in Birmingham today.

The issue of inclusion and the importance of good leadership for an organisation is more important now than ever. Plenty of good work is being done as well. Two questions occur, however. The first, as always, is whether enough is bing done. In an age when humans seem to be utterly obsessed with targets, levels and the like, the government simply stating a target to be achieved can sometimes substitute for actual achievement.

And what of the second question? Well, it is more an observation, I suppose. In a recent workshop on a related topic, it was pointed out that national inclusion targets do not take into account demographic changes from area to area. Will the BLI conference meet this issue head on? Will inclusion and participation be truly responsive to local demands - or is it going to fade into that great quagmire of targets as soon as the next guidelines come out? The BLI does excellent work, and is so important - let's hope the targets allow them to achieve as much as they promise!

Lulu Thertrolle