WBLWAY - Importance to FD Development

East Staffordshire Childrens' centre registered for WBLWAY Infomation Point services today. Hayley Johnson (training Officer) will be the point of contact. Staff and students relayed their appreciation of WBLWAY aims (the report posted in Google Groups details their response). One outcome from todays meeting is the role that the project is playing in the development of FD's, particularly in respect of administration and delivery.
Ian Watts and Dan Robinson's document (Google Groups 2007) covers "Responsibilities" of parties involved with Staffordshire Universities FD's. Perhaps this could do with some prescriptive elaboration, particularly around the role of tutors delivering the courses and expectations regarding use of ILT and Information Services. It would be helpful to both the project and immediate classroom delivery to FD students at Burton if expectations were restated or even made mandatory.

Employer Registers and college upgrades IT software for WBL.

Rachel Huyton from Burton Arts Centre registered on 10th Jan 2008. A report has been filed in Google Groups, detailing Rachels first impresssions. The Aim Higher Survey on local employer attitudes towards the service proved useful during the process of introducing Rachel to the information point. Hayley Johnson, Training Officer East Staffs Childrens' Centre is sheduled to be introduced to the service, alongside Sue Cornes and Sally Whitbread the centres management team, on Thursday 17th Jan 08.

The IT infrastructure at Burton continues to be developed. The updated list of MIS developments presented via Google Groups in July 2007 has been supplemented by Trax, Covalent, and Frame-up. As staff have to routinely use course management packages such as Pro Achieve etc, the software training consequences for the college are difficult to counter. Add to this Moodle, its ancillary software, and Well at College and staff are understandably "IT overloaded".

I would welcome the team's opinions on Frame-Up (www.wblresources.co.uk) and its implications for the project.

Scheduled meetings with employers

Having piloted the information point with Ruth Gill at Burton College, meetings with other employers have been scheduled. The Burton Arts Centre manager is to review WBLWAY on Thursday 10th January 2008 followed by the training manager for East Staffordshire Childrens' Centre on Thursday 17th January 2008.