UK – 7th October, 2008 –  A National Skills Academy for IT, announced today and due to open in 2009, will bring together an unprecedented, sector-wide collaboration of employers, educators and stakeholders to meet the skills needs of the IT workforce.

Information technology (IT) skills are critical to the growth of the UK economy. There are currently over a million IT professionals in the UK, with 141,000 new recruits needed every year. The IT industry is predicted to grow at five times the rate of the workforce as a whole and recent research suggests that optimising the ICT capabilities of the UK economy is worth as much as £35 billion a year.

Karen Price, Chief Executive of e-skills UK said: “e-skills UK is delighted to be working with employers across the sector to get the skills academy off the ground. It offers a unique opportunity for employers to take collective responsibility for the skills and accreditation of the IT workforce, with innovative development programmes and qualifications that are valued by the sector. I believe this will play a major role in helping the UK become a world leader in IT in the coming years.”

Peter Butler, Head of Learning for the BT Group, said: “BT’s engagement with the National Skills Academy is based on the premise that by collaborating with other employers we can take a significant step in ensuring that the sector develops the skills of its people in order to remain competitive in a global economy. We are delighted that the government has acknowledged the important role that the IT and Telecoms sector plays in the success of UK PLC and is supporting the further development of the National Skills Academy. We are looking forward to working with e-skills UK on this exciting agenda.”

Skills Secretary John Denham said: “Now, more than ever, we need to develop innovative training that inspires and empowers a new generation to realise their ambitions. A new National Skills Academy for IT will help build a world-beating workforce that will improve productivity and competitiveness – not just among new recruits but within the existing workforce.”

The National Skills Academy for IT will focus in particular on accelerating the productivity of new recruits into the workforce, addressing the training needs of the existing IT professional workforce, and enabling the workforce to achieve external recognition of skills.

Through the skills academy, employers will have access to high quality, cost-effective programmes, and be able to source training and internationally-relevant qualifications from trusted providers. Employers will be able to share proven training across the sector and have their own training accredited. Providers of education and training will find it easier to understand and respond to employer demand, and individuals will be able to achieve accreditation and more easily access valued training and qualifications.

Becta, the education technology agency, is urging schools to improve the way they use technology to support learning, as evidence continues to build around the positive impact on GCSE results and grades.

Research reveals that schools that embrace technology see a significant improvement in GCSE results compared with those that do not. Key findings from six years of research by Becta include:

* school ‘e-maturity’ – where technology is integrated across the curriculum and wider school life – is statistically linked to lower absence rates and higher points and percentage A*-C grades at GCSE

* in GCSE science, the average gain from ICT use is 0.56 of a grade (in 2002, 52,484 pupils moved from grade D to C as a result of using technology in their learning)

* schools making good use of broadband and connectivity demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the percentage of pupils gaining 5+ A-Cs at GCSE in the year after broadband introduction

* a study of young people’s ICT use in the home showed a significant positive association between pupils’ home use of ICT for educational purposes and improved attainment in national tests for maths and English GCSE

* the introduction of interactive whiteboards results in pupils’ performance in national tests in English (particularly for low-achieving pupils and for writing), maths and science, improving more than that of pupils in schools without interactive whiteboards.

Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive of Becta said:
“The evidence is clear; when schools use technology effectively, it can have a direct impact on pupil attainment and results. As pupils across the country find out their GCSE results, schools need to think about whether grades could be improved even further by better use of technology. We know that currently only 20 per cent of schools are using technology effectively right across the curriculum, which means there is real potential out there to improve results and raise grades if schools take full advantage of the benefits technology can bring.

“Schools should make the most of the Internet, mobile phones, interactive whiteboards, school radio stations, blogs, podcasts and video conferencing, helping to create a stimulating and engaging environment for their students.”

It’s not just pupils that see the benefits of better use of technology. The majority of teachers feel that technology in the classroom has a positive impact on the engagement, motivation and achievement of their learners. Technology also has the potential to provide parents with more timely information about their children’s work and progress, for example via secure on-line access, so they can in turn support their children.

The research cited in this PublicTechnology.Net press release comes from the following evaluations and research studies on the impact of ICT use in schools:

* Butt, S and Cebulla, A (2006), E-maturity and school performance – A secondary analysis of COL evaluation data. London: National Centre for Social Research

* Harrison, C et al (2002), ImpaCT2: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Pupils Learning and Attainment. ICT in Schools Research and Evaluation Series No.7

* Somekh, B et al (2007), Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project

* Underwood, J et al. (2005), The Impact of Broadband in Schools.

* Valentine, G, Marsh, J and Pattie, C (2005), Children and Young Peoples Home Use of ICT for Educational Purposes: The impact on attainment at key stages 1-4, DfES

“This research highlight the need to embrace technology in Education and also training to enhance performance and training outcomes”, said Sean Griffin, Co-Founder of Learn Skills, the web-based skills and compliance training company.

UK – 5 September 2008 – This fact was highlighted in a  recent research study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and carried out by Sara Hennessy and Rosemary Deaney, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ.

‘These IWBs(interactive whiteboards) have had a meteoric rise in popularity in schools,’ says Sara Hennessy who carried out the project with Rosemary Deaney of Cambridge University. ‘But, until recently, assumptions about how they have transformed teaching were not based on hard evidence.’

The system consists of a computer linked to a data projector and a large touch-sensitive board, which displays images, graphics, animations and videos. You can write captions directly onto the board and instantly convert your handwriting to type. You can create suspense by hiding and revealing text and graphics.  They can also be used with a special camera so that pupils can develop their own written ideas and images, and then share them with the class by projecting their work onto the IWB.

‘We explored how teachers might use projection technology to give space, time and status to pupils’ contributions to lessons. We wanted to look at the ways in which it could be used to challenge and develop pupils’ thinking,’ Dr Hennessy says. The research also discusses the dangers of technology-driven teaching and warns that time constraints can lead to superficial use of the technology.

In the study, English, history, mathematics and science teachers used interactive whiteboards and data projectors in various ways.

• Circling and highlighting make complex ideas more concrete and draw attention to particular features
• Spotlighting, enlarging and zooming can help to investigate detail and keep attention on key concepts
• Dragging and dropping are used to classify objects.

A unique strength of IWB technology is that it allows teachers and students to revisit previous sessions of saved activity, which helps to reignite and build on earlier learning. The researchers also found that using IWBs can:

• Provide new opportunities for learners to express themselves publicly, receive critical feedback and reformulate their thoughts.
• Stimulate discussion.
• Allow teachers to adapt to individual learning needs.

The project has provoked interest from academics, trainees and teacher educators. A series of 5 interactive CD-ROMs have been developed for teachers. These are designed to stimulate debate around key issues rather than offering models of ‘best practice’ and they are already proving influential in teacher education. The researchers are confident that the project will be welcomed by policymakers seeking a return on investment.

‘We have shown that in the right hands the IWB can be a motivating and immensely powerful tool,’ says Dr Hennessy. ‘It allows teachers and pupils to build and test complex ideas together, and supports active learning in new ways.’

Further information about this study can be found on the Cambridge University website, Faculty of Education by clicking here.

Galway, Ireland – 28th August 2008 – Learn Skills, a web-based skills and compliance training company is pleased to announce that from September they will be offering InfoSource Learning’s “How To Master” online content training libraries to corporate, academic and government clients.

With this new partnership, Learn Skills’ corporate and government clients will now have access to content training libraries covering areas such as the Microsoft Suite; including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Access, 2000 up to 2007. These libraries feature a unique, content-rich environment of interactive, self-paced learning and testing.  Learners will gain experience, retain information, and increase productivity by training in these simulated software environments.

“This partnership will address many of the key concerns that our clients have concerning Digital Literacy by providing them with high quality, up-to-date online courses increases skills levels in this area, said Sean Griffin, Co-Founder of Learn Skills.  “With InfoSource Learning as our partner, our online training library will make it incredibly easy for our customers to start training and address key areas for improving ICT skills and performance.”

These courses can be purchased on an individual basis or as part of an overall bundle of courses for larger numbers of employees through the Learn Skills LMS delivery model.  Some of the key courses that can be purchased through the Learn Skills platform include:

• Internet & Computing Core Certification (IC3)
• Microsoft Office 2007
• Microsoft Office 2003
• Microsoft Office 2002 (XP)
• Windows Operating Systems & Internet

Tom Dalton, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at InfoSource Learning stated, “We firmly believe in the value of our unique training and are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with an excellent company such as Learn Skills.”

Galway, Ireland – 3rd September, 2008 – Learn Skills the web-based skills and compliance based company has now partnered with Interaction Training, a leading innovative learning solutions provider from Australia.

Learn Skills will be able to provide a comprehensive range of high quality, interactive course direct from the Learn Skills platform, a total of 89 courses ranging for basic Digital Literacy, ICT skills to Leadership and Management Training.  “The quality of these materials will greatly enhance the learning experience and lead to a more informed and skilled workforce”, said Sean Grifffin, Co-Founder of Learn Skills.

Some of the more interesting titles include:

• Word 2007 (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
• Excel 2007 (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
• Goal Centred Time Management
• Stress Management
• Leadership Approaches and Theories
• Motivation Concepts

These courses are available for individual purchase or as part of a bundle options supported by the Learn Skills LMS.