How we do things
in Adult Learning

• Who does what

• Essential Guide for Tutors

• Check 10 points for quality

Tutor hours for online courses are structured as:

1. Between one  and two hour of online delivery of a prepared session.  

2. If delivery time is less than 2 hours, the remaining time is used for an unstructured online 'Drop In' (time negotiated with the tutor 's group) 

3. 2 hours hours for preparation and marking

4. You are not expected to be open 24/7 for individual learners beyond these set hours, and ALS discourages conversation outside 'Classroom' by phone.  Please use your @nccadultlearning.ac.uk email for contact with learners.

Before the course begins, the tutor may  contact each enrolled learner personally to introduce themselves, check learners IT is working and send link to Video Meet.

Induction Material:  Standard induction material is included in the Google Classroom that the Curriculum Coordinator sets up and sends to the tutor.  Induction material can be enhanced using additional resources from the Shared Drive Tutors - All resources/4.Inuction resources

Learners enrol through the Adult Learning website www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/adultlearning 

Where possible all enrolments for online learning go through the ALS website. However if the learner does have genuine issues with enrolment, the business support team can enrol them to the course. This may involve arranging a call back whilst there is limited phone cover. The support services team can also support via email for issues like password resets.

Occasionally Tutors may add extra learners to their courses by direct invitation to their Classroom. If this happens, Tutors must ensure the enrolment is recorded correctly with the support services team, otherwise we will not be able to record the learner for funding.

Learners who arrive at a session without having enrolled can

• • Either complete the online enrolment form.  Adult Learning automatically recevies these enrolments

  • Or complete a paper version of the enrolment form - Tutors then need to send these enrolment forms to adultlearning@northnorthants.gov.uk

Confirmation Email

Once a learner has enrolled either online or by direct contact with the team, they will receive a confirmation email from the system that will include the Learner Charter, information about Google Classroom, the Course Information Sheet AND the Class Invitation Code for their course.

Email Reminder

This is automatically sent to learners, teaching staff and the Curriculum Coordinator on a working day before the course start date set by the Curriculum Coordinator when they set the course up. The Class Code and link  to  https://getgoing.nccadultlearning.ac.uk/it-tips/google-classroom also included in this reminder.  

Tutor Pack

At the point the email reminder is sent, the primary tutor receives the tutor pack by email (pdf) - usually one or two days before the start of the course.

Online tutor packs are the same across all programme areas and differ slightly to the usual packs you might receive for a face to face course.

• No document receipt forms to return – any emails returned to adultlearning@northnorthants.gov.uk  should be sufficient records of what was returned.

•  Just one course register - monthly registers are to be returned via the online portal (details below)

• No class profile – achievement data will also be returned via the online portal. Destination data will be collected separately by the back office.

• Personal Development / SWEMWBS data  - will need to be collected on an excel sheet which will be sent to you with your tutor pack. This can then be emailed in to  adultlearning@northnorthants.gov.uk at the end of the course

• No end of course evaluation sheets – we ask that you encourage learners to complete this at the end of your final session at the following link: www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/endofcoursesurvey

At the end of your course you will need to return several items of documentation:

• Registers – Instead of returning paper copies,  complete an online register for the course at the following link: https://courses.northantsglobal.net/onlineregister/TutorMenu.asp.   This can be done after every session or all in one go. To access the above system, use your Terms ID and the password for the Adult Learning booking site. For staff who have yet to access either system, please email adultlearning@northnorthants.gov.uk   and the team will help you access the system. Instruction for this will be sent with your tutor pack and we can arrange 1:1 support if required. 

• Achievement Data – At the end of your final session we also ask that you use the system above to mark your learners as passes or fails the same way you would with a class profile. This should take less that 1 minute per course and again written instructions will be included with your tutor pack email.

• Personal Development outcomes – during the course we use an online Individual Learning Plan which the tutor adds to the Class from Tutors - All resources

• Pay claims – tutor pay claims are included in the tutor pack in PDF form. You may need to return to your Curriculum Coordinator for approval who can then share with our finance team for processing.

Please read Who does what setting up a new course

During both face to face and online course delivery ALS will continue with quality processes as required by Ofsted.

ALS maintains Learning Walks to ensure quality and continuing support in our online delivery.  Tutors can expect managers to 'drop in' from time to time into a session.  A visitor (member of the management team) will normally be in contact to let the tutor know they are planning to 'visit'.

To enable this continuing support, tutors should:

1. Add tutorsupport@nccadultlearning.ac.uk as an additional tutor in all their Classes

2. Communicate regularly with their Curriculum Coordinators.

It is essential for GDPR and Adult Learning that relevant permissions are in place before recording online sessions.

The standard enrolment process includes an 'opt in/out' section.  If learners do not want sessions recorded the tutor will be notified to advise anyone who is concerned to keep their video and audio switched off.

From Summer 2020 (with existing learners on existing courses) tutors should ensure that for each session delivered, permission to record should be written in the Class Stream for the session. In this situation, if a learner does not give permission, the session cannot be recorded.

Copyright permissions are in line with the ALS Tutor handbook pages....

Broadly, ALS prefer to use our own resources although

1. External resources may be used for which we have a Service License

2. Individual free resources may be used where the proper copyright acknowledgement is displayed

Use of online images:  Find a list of sources with copyright free images which Tutors can use

Link to draft online handbook

Tutors should normally work within the resources of  our G-Suite domain, nccadultlearning.ac.uk and should not deliver online learning using a private or other external accounts. 

Examples:

• Use Meet rather than Zoom

• Use Padlet with the the login tutorsupport@nccadultlearning.ac.uk rather than a private or free account 

List of apps licensed for use within Adult Learning  Online Delivery: 

Initiative:

ALS wants to encourage initiative and use a wide range of the best online resources.  So, if a Tutor wants to recommend a great tool, they should contact their Curriculum Coordinator or davidlee@nccadultlearning.ac.uk so we explore how it could be incorporated into service wide delivery.

Useful apps we have found:   by experience or personal recommendation

Wordwall https://wordwall.net/  You can create all sorts of interactive exercises which is not possible on Google Docs. For example matching activities, wheels, crosswords etc – all in one place. (Janet Ellison)

QWiQR  https://qwiqr.education/  give feedback as a recorded audio not - easy and quick.  Learners love it!  (Holex seminar recommendation)

Flipgrid has captions  - can embed into Classroom    https://info.flipgrid.com/    a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions, embeddable in Classroom. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display.  (Holex seminar recommendation)

Immersive Reader  Built in to Microsoft, Immersive Reader is a free tool that implements proven techniques to improve reading and writing for people, regardless of their age or ability. Immersive Reader can improve reading comprehension and increase fluency for English language learners.   (Holex seminar recommendation)

Mentimeter.com  Create interactive presentations & meetings, wherever you are. Use live polls, quizzes, word clouds, Q&As and more to get real-time input - regardless if you’re remote, hybrid or face-to-face  (Holex seminar recommendation)

Timeclock - www.classroomscreen.com - free timer for learner tasks in Classroom   (Holex seminar recommendation)

Quizlet https://quizlet.com/en-gb   Quizlet is a web-based application developed to help students study information through interactive tools and games. Quizlet's mission is to help students (and teachers) practice and master what they're learning     (Holex seminar recommendation)