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Beacon Award

The Bournemouth and Poole College’s Learning Resources Team has scooped its second Beacon Award in five yearsThe national Association of College’s annual conference was the scene for an exciting announcement that The Bournemouth and Poole College’s Learning Resources Team has scooped its second Beacon Award in five years.

The CoLRiC Award (Council for Learning Resources in Colleges) has been granted for The College librarians and Information Learning Technology (ILT) ‘champions’ pioneering work with e-learning technologies, and specifically in recognition for the way that they have helped college lecturers integrate these technologies into the main college curriculum.

Assistant Principal Quinton O’Kane commented, "The judges were impressed by our multi-faceted transformation programme. We have created Information Learning Technology ‘champions’ who work with our librarians in cascading this new ethos and have assisted with staff training to help tutors embrace modern learning systems."

"The College has a ‘virtual learning environment’ which contains on-line learning tools, master-classes and learning aids. We have to some extent been experimenting with new ways to embed e-learning materials into everyday teaching and this award recognises this developmental work."

The Bournemouth and Poole College is quick to embrace change and to always put the student experience at the heart of all that we do.

The Beacon Award follows months of judging and assessing where representatives reviewed The College’s e-learning and web based work and materials. The process included meeting staff and students using the new systems, talking to the ILT champions and librarians, and watching demonstrations of prototype technologies.

The CoLRiC Beacon Assessor stated, "We were impressed by the various aspects of the initiative and were pleased to learn of plans to continue to extend it throughout The College and outside. This Beacon Award has been won against stiff competition given the high number of applicants this year."

As new technologies are being developed, college staff are blending this form of learning activity into the wide range of curriculum areas provided. Students are being introduced to the new e-learning materials both as classroom based activity, self-study, and are also able to seek support from staff at The College’s learning resources centres on each main campus.

Quinton added, "Beacon Awards are given in recognition of excellence, and we are proud to receive another award which symbolises the way in which The Bournemouth and Poole College is quick to embrace change and to always put the student experience at the heart of all that we do."

The Beacon Award will also help raise the profile of The College’s flexible e-based training solutions both locally, regionally and nationally and it is hoped will improve their chances of securing sponsorship for the new Digital College planned as part of the major refurbishment and re-build project.

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