Praise for digital learning
A digital handbook is one of the innovations developed by staff at West Lothian Council’s Adult Learning Team to keep its community classes connected.
The team worked with more than 300 adults between April and September despite the Covid lockdown.
The digital handbook has been developed to support people to learn remotely. The handbook covers topics such as setting up an email account, using social media and video conferencing platforms to stay in touch with friends and family, staying safe online and using YouTube to learn new skills.
The handbook has been widely distributed to local voluntary organisations to support staff who are helping their clients to connect online.
The team has also relaunched its successful Tea n Tablet course. This has been adapted for online delivery and began on November 17 for six weeks. This course is aimed at seniors who want to improve their online digital skills and to use their devices to stay connected.
Laura Wilson, the council’s adult learning manager, continues to chair the West Lothian Digital Inclusion Partnership. This is a group of council officers and external agencies which considers issues of digital inclusion which impact the lives of West Lothian residents and employees.
The group has continued to meet during lockdown and has been sharing examples of good practice in adapting to online and remote delivery. A recent survey of members highlighted that most teams and services were coping well with the new digital ways of working and some teams had developed new services as a result.
The adult learning service has also been praised by those who have taken part in digital learning. One said: “I am enjoying learning on Zoom.
“The day and the time are good for me and I get more done in the private session. It has been good to get this personal support from the tutors and it has been a very positive focus for me during the week and in lockdown.”
Laura has been the West Lothian lead officer for the delivery of the Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland programme.
Phase 1 of the programme saw 285 internet enabled digital devices distributed to shielding and clinically vulnerable residents who could not afford a device of their own. The device is theirs to keep and they will receive 20GB of data per month for 12 months.
Phase 2 applications have recently been approved and 382 devices will be gifted early next year to families with children and care leavers aged 26 and under.
The data package with phase 2 allocations will be unlimited for a period of 24 months, and it is expected that phase 1 recipients will be upgraded to this data package.
The devices are being distributed by local charities and council services and these organisations are responsible for supporting the end users for a minimum of six months and collecting monitoring information. Adult Learning has offered additional digital learning support to any organisation or device owner who needs it.
A partnership with West Lothian College at the start of the year saw courses in cookery and child development taken out into the community.
Both proved popular though both were affected by the Covid lockdown. A total of 27 people signed up to the Child Development SQA level 4 course but this had dropped to 11 by mid-April after the course moved online due to Covid19.
Three learners completed the course in June and received the qualification. A further two participants secured employment.
The plan is to restart courses in the community when face to face teaching restarts.
Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan paid tribute to the team who work across a variety of adult learning projects which include literacy courses and ESOL, as well as leisure classes.
She thanked Laura, who delivered her report to the PDSP and praised the work done.
She added: “There’s some really good work being done here thank you.”