Flexible Learning in the Community (FLiC): Eval Report - Executive Summary

1.         The impact on teachers, pupils and the learning environment

i.          Enthusiasm was high at the launch of FLiC (http://egfl.net/news/news/flic.html), but this was not translated into the anticipated numbers of actively involved teachers and pupils.

ii.         The usage of each of the strands of FLiC was less than anticipated.  This was, in the main, due to delays in the supply of equipment and training as well as difficulties with the managed system (Syntegra) and the firewall. 

iii.        Considerable frustration and disillusionment were reported due to the unreliability of equipment and network connections, both during training and in classroom use.  Several had access to ICT at home which was far superior to that available in school (e.g. broadband), which they found irritating.

iv.         Teachers and pupils who persevered were very enthusiastic and saw real potential in the extension and integration of all 3 strands into the classroom.  Where this enthusiasm existed it has continued to develop, albeit through the efforts of particular individuals rather than as a whole-school phenomenon. 

v.         These teachers were positive about the benefits of using technology in the classroom in relation to enhancing pupil motivation, attainment, confidence and skills. FLiC activities were reported as encouraging young people to work collaboratively; Kar2ouche, in particular, encouraged dialogue and discussion.

vi.        The majority of pupils were very enthusiastic, although this was tempered at times by the frustrations of establishing contact and getting online. There was some evidence that pupils were ahead of the teachers in their ICT competence but as we were able to observe very few genuine lessons involving the FLiC strands, it is difficult to make judgements on the impact on the relationship between teacher and learner. 

2.         The use of digitalbrain, Kar2ouche and video-conferencing

i.          Both pupils and teachers reported high levels of experience in using computers and standard software packages; the frustrations reported in using some of the strands are unlikely to result from lack of knowledge and confidence generally.

ii.         Video-conferencing was more readily used than digitalbrain or Kar2ouche in the pilot phase, possibly because it required less investment of time to acquire new knowledge and skills and there were existing events that could be enhanced by its use, e.g. transition. It was also used to provide opportunities for pupils to share learning, particularly modern language skills.

iii.        The use of digitalbrain and Kar2ouche initially had been confined primarily to the learning and teaching of modern languages, where they were seen as effective in encouraging imagination, creativity and confidence in speaking. Digitalbrain was also used to support learning in maths and Environmental Studies and the use of Kar2ouche was developing in other subjects.

iv.         The use of the virtual learning environment, digitalbrain, is the most relevant to the impact on home study, homework and revision. It was, however, the least used of the three strands and teachers saw providing information for pupils and their parents by electronic means, as low priority. Technical issues, including time to download, caused some annoyance amongst pupils.

v.         The limitations of Kar2ouche (static characters, French, limited number and type of characters) has led to the development of iMovies. These use the storyboards created on Kar2ouche, still photographs or ‘live’ videos, as the basis for a digital video which is then edited on the computer. In one school, the videos were used as assessment evidence for the talking component of the Standard Grade examination.

vi.         A number of teachers (primary and secondary) expressed a desire to link with schools and organisations in other countries by video-conference facilities, and use the language skills in an international context. The authority firewall prevented that, however.

3.         The impact of community learning

i.         The hoped-for increased involvement of parents and improved home-school links had been very limited. Parents were marginally involved in digitalbrain, as discussed earlier, and we can assume that their children told them of some of the events in schools, but otherwise parents appear to have been largely unaware of the initiative.

ii.         The community dimension of the FLiC initiative was never really developed.  Although talks were held, in the early stages, with representatives of the community education sector, they did not get involved in the roll-out for reasons that were not made clear.

iii.         Schools were interested in becoming more involved in the wider community – local, national and international – through video-conferencing in particular. However, issues with the stability of the video-conferencing network and firewall restrictions had inhibited this development.

4.        Gender-related differences

While some attempt was made to determine whether there were any gender-related differences in relation to attainment and/or motivation, sample sizes were relatively small and any differences observed were inconclusive. There was some evidence that teachers varied in their perceptions of whether boys or girls were gaining more from their involvement, but most appeared to believe that both groups were benefiting similarly. Any benefits are likely to attributable to a range of factors, including the wider availability of ICT generally and the impact of out-of-school access as much as in-school.

There are signs that some of the aims of the project have resulted in effective changes to learning and teaching, using ICT, in some schools for some pupils. Primarily, this is where an enthusiastic and committed member of staff has taken on the initiative and persevered with it. One of the key obstacles has been the unreliability of the technology. The infrastructure of networking, hardware and software was not sufficiently robust to give teachers confidence in implementing the initiative within the classroom. The ITSU supported schools quite intensively during the pilot phase and more recently as more schools have become involved. However, the three strands will only become embedded in practice if they are easily managed and maintained. At the time of the evaluation, they were not perceived as such. Teachers and pupils did see significant advantages to be gained from video-conferencing, virtual learning environments and multi-media applications but were frustrated in their attempts to implement them. Teachers’ concerns focused on the mastery of the applications rather than on the impact that they might have on learning and teaching or on relationships within the classroom. A constant theme was the need for time – time to familiarise themselves with the applications and the technology as well as time to reflect upon and plan for the integration with learning and teaching.

FLiC Final Evaluation Report (193 KB)

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