The Connected Classroom – a collaborative approach to learning

Blog by College Expo19 Sponsor Ajenta – Vscene

The Connected Classroom has become a hot topic in recent years, with a significant rise in the delivery of remote teaching at all levels of education. The advent of innovative new technology enables universities and colleges to connect with schools with the purpose of curriculum enhancement and equity for many individuals regardless of geographical location.

The South of Scotland has recently benefited from investment from the South of Scotland Economic Partnership (SoSEP). In order to boost digital learning and greater accessibility to learning opportunities for individuals in the region, an innovative partnership was formed between Borders College and Dumfries and Galloway College after receiving funding totalling over £6million. It is anticipated that the partnership will allow for the sharing of knowledge and expertise between the two colleges, and further afield. Training and education will be provided remotely to users; broadening the equity of learning in the region.

The partnership has appointed Ajenta to design the learning spaces using their Vscene software platform and in-class dedicated video-teaching hardware. This will be used join up Digital Hubs (within the colleges) and Spoke sites (within participating schools and community centres) across the South of Scotland, allowing teaching to be delivered to multiple classrooms across the region as well as enabling remote student access.

Calum Rodgers, ICT Manager at Dumfries and Galloway College commented: “This project will allow delivery of both on-site and remote teaching in the region.
“It provides us with a great opportunity to engage and work with other educational establishments as well as significantly enhancing curriculum choices in the schools and college.”
E-Learning Manager for Borders College, Conor Bradley added: “The Digital Hubs will provide opportunities for new ways of delivering remote teaching and learning across the Borders.
“These new delivery modes are designed with the aim of improving students’ equity of access to a wider range of subjects”.

Vscene, previously provided by Jisc is now fully owned and operated by Ajenta and is the only video collaboration platform design for the education sector. The platform removes geographical barriers and enables remote conferencing and collaboration in education throughout schools, FE, HE and research.

Ajenta CEO John Wilson says: “The Vscene platform enables us to make a tangible improvement to the availability and the efficiency of learning across areas that would otherwise not have access to critical parts of the curriculum. We can now work with teachers not only to help deliver core teaching but to give access to a very diverse range of subjects”

To learn more about this innovative collaboration, join Calum, Conor and John for their session ‘The Evolution of the Connected Classroom & Remote Teaching Delivery’ at 1300hours on Thursday 13th June 2019 at College Expo 2019.

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