Implementing learning platforms in schools and universities: lessons from England and Wales

ISSN： 1475-939X

Source： Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Vol.22, Iss.2, 2013-07, pp. : 247-266

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Abstract

This article is based on research funded by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency in 2009, to examine how new knowledge regarding the pedagogic uses of learning platforms has been developed by practitioners in universities and schools. The research found major differences in the levels of learning platform use between schools and universities, with practice more embedded in universities, because university staff have access to just-in-time support and training, enabling the rapid building of a critical mass of staff users. The research reported here focused on 12 case study sites and found that schools were at a much earlier stage of development than universities and that development is inhibited as school staff do not usually have access to dedicated training and support. The learning platform training and support that local authorities in the sample offered to schools was not equal to that offered within universities. Major findings were that teachers want and need continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to their knowledge of learning platform uses both technically and pedagogically, but this support and training is patchy and not always available at the time of need, in contrast to provision in universities. With respect to barriers: inter-operability problems between commonly used management information systems and the learning platforms were reported as hindering development of practice. In university/school partnerships, a key finding is that access rights to university platforms by school partners and to school learning platforms by university partners are limited, which is an issue surrounding the successful outworking of learning platforms.