An e-learning program aimed at helping young people overcome learning and
communications disabilities has been developed and implemented by AdVal Learning
Solutions on behalf of Heads, Teachers and Industry (HTI) Trust.
HTI is a national education charity that works in partnership with education,
business and government to enhance school leadership and develop the enterprise
and employability capabilities of young people. Its Leadership Centre offers
school leaders a wide range of professional development opportunities, including
national qualifications, skills-based training and secondments of up to a year
into a non-school environment.
The AdVal e-learning package - entitled 'What’s - Next?' - is based on
the findings of an HTI study investigating the levels of provision for young
people with barriers to learning as they embarked on the transition from school
to the world of work.
The study found that 25 per cent of people with barriers to learning are unemployed
in comparison with *15 per cent of people with disabilities to their limbs;
14 per cent of
people with hearing problems and 13 per cent of people with visual impairment.
(Editor Note: *DfEE statistics 1996/7) 'What’s - Next?' is the culmination
of this research.
The program’s content draws on HTI's work in the area of emotional intelligence,
which differentiates people who manage themselves and their relationships effectively.
With the help of AdVal, HTI has applied the concept of emotional intelligence
through a computer game- format e-learning course.
The course uses a number of innovative features to engage the student and enable
the teacher to adapt the program to individual needs - for example, one of four
identities can be selected for ‘Sam’, the program's virtual mentor,
to reflect the gender and, to an extent, the ethnicity of the student. Program
settings can also be adjusted to allow the student to work at his or her own
pace.
'What’s - Next?' has been well received since its launch at the House
of Commons in London, in late Spring.
"The program provides a rich learning experience that teaches social skills
through understanding your own emotions and being aware of how others around
you are feeling," says Peter Bonfield, Programme Director of AdVal Learning
Solutions. "The response to it has been very positive."
Commenting at the program launch event, William Atkinson, Head Teacher at Phoenix
High School, London, said that: "The proof of educational software is whether
it is relevant and meets childrens' learning needs in a way that they can relate
to.”
"'What’s - next?' certainly meets both requirements," he added.
AdVal manages a wide client portfolio spanning commercial and public sector
markets.
www.adval.co.uk
