Digital skills are essential in today’s workplace: there are few jobs that don’t require them, yet employers report a shortage of digital skills. It is therefore vital for teachers to expand the digital skills of their learners. The Blended Learning Essentials programme consists of four free online courses to promote effective practice and pedagogy in blended learning: https://www.futurelearn.com/programs/blended-learning-essentials
Commissioned and funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust, the BLE programme of courses is designed specifically for the Vocational Education and Training sector. If you are working in further education, skills training, vocational education, workplace learning, lifelong learning or adult education, this free online course is designed to help you understand the benefits of blended learning and how to make more effective use of technology to support your learners.
Professor Diana Laurillard, one of the lead educators behind Blended Learning Essentials, says: ‘We’re hearing every day about the need for digital skills in all kinds of jobs in the modern workplace. The idea of this course is to help the FE and Skills sector with gearing up to supply the graduates industry so desperately needs.’
Ufi Chief Executive, Rebecca Garrod-Waters, says, ‘our BLE programme is a great example of how Ufi is working to develop products where we see a market need; supporting the increased use of VocTech for teaching and learning. User feedback shows how valuable BLE is in giving teachers and trainers the skills and confidence to make more use of digital technology and improve outcomes for vocational learners.’
The programme is entirely online and can be completed at the participant’s own pace. It will be delivered on Futurelearn, the UK’s leading platform for delivering open courses. The programme starts on 17 September and is free of charge.
Find out more and join the programme: https://www.futurelearn.com/programs/blended-learning-essentials
Blended Learning Essentials is a free online course developed by the University of Leeds and UCL Institute of Education, supported by the Association for Learning Technology and funded by the Ufi Trust.
You can contact Blended Learning Essentials by emailing ble@alt.ac.uk, or on social media @BLECourse