Mobile learning device wins global learning award
A project which allows health and social care students to
use mobile devices to complete and upload assessments whilst on
work placements has received a prestigious award from an
international learning consortium.
Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings
(ALPS), a collaborative project in which the Faculty of Health and
Life Sciences at York St John is a partner organisation, received a
Gold Award from the IMS Global Learning Consortium. The Learning
Impact Awards are designed to recognise the most impactful use of
technology worldwide in support of learning.
Partners from Leeds Metropolitan University
presented the work of ALPS at the Learning Impact 2011 Conference
in Long Beach, California and received the award in the Research
and New Developments category. The ALPS submission was judged by a
panel of global experts and international delegates at the
conference, who rated it as an outstanding example of technology
being used to address education challenges.
ALPS is an ambitious, collaborative programme
that has involved five universities (Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds,
Leeds Metropolitan and York St John), 16 health and social care
professions, service users and carers, the NHS, the Strategic
Health Authority and commercial partners. Its mission is to improve
the competence and confidence of graduating health and social care
students by improving the standard and delivery of work based
learning and assessment.
The ALPS partners worked collaboratively to
develop an interprofessional mobile assessment and e-portfolio
system and to use this across the five universities to support 360
degree performance feedback and reflection. The developed system
has enabled York St John University’s Occupational Therapy and
Physiotherapy students on work placements to use mobile devices to
complete and upload assessments and feedback instead of having to
rely on paper or a PC. As well as mobile assessment, the mobile
devices have also been used to improve students’ access to learning
materials.
Peter Gray, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of
Health and Life Sciences and Site Lead for ALPS at York St John
University said:
“A high status international award for the
work of the ALPS is a fantastic vote of confidence in the ability
of colleagues to position themselves at the forefront of the
development of exceptional learning opportunities for
students.”
The Global Learning Impact Gold Award not only
recognises the great value of the research and development work
that was undertaken by ALPS, but also the impact that the ALPS
programme has had in helping to champion and embed mobile learning
within the five universities and more widely across higher
education.
About ALPS
Assessment and
Learning in Practice Settings (ALPS) is a collaborative programme
between five Higher Education Institutions with proven reputations
for excellence in learning and teaching in health and social care:
the University of Bradford, the University of Huddersfield, the
University of Leeds (lead); Leeds Metropolitan University, and York
St John University. There are 16 professions across the partnership
from Audiology to Social Work, and a wide range of partners
including Yorkshire and the Humber NHS, practice networks and
professional bodies. ALPS has three commercial partners;
MyKnowledgeMap, ecommnet and T-Mobile.
ALPS is one of the 74 Centres for Excellence
in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) funded by the Higher Education
Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to promote excellence across
all subjects and aspects of teaching and learning in higher
education. Funding of £315 million over five years from
2005-06 to 2009-10 represents HEFCE's largest ever single funding
initiative in teaching and learning.
For further information please contact Amy Hall, PR
& Communications Officer on T: 01904 876466 or E: a.hall@yorksj.ac.uk
