Event Report: Becta Generator Workshop

25th February 2010
Brettenham House, London

What people said about the event:

"Relaxed with opportunities to discuss things"
"Opportunity to mix hands-on with discussion"
"Good pace of activities"

And on the Generator itself, a delegate also liked “the actual results of the survey; it gave an in-depth overview of areas that would allow for strategies to be made and implemented".

An RSC London/Becta Workshop

As part of the RSC UK support to the Becta Generator initiative, this event was the second of two workshops prepared for the London community this academic year. The event was Organised by the RSC London and facilitated by Graciano Soares, Kav Dev and Max Norton. Becta Project Manager for FE and Skills Lisa Tyler was also available to answer delegate's questions and suggestions for improvement.

The workshop provided delegates from the FE & Skills sector an opportunity to explore the tool and discuss how it could be used to best effect in their organisations.

Pre-event survey

Similarly to the previous workshop a pre-event survey investigated delegates’ experience of Generator to date and their expectations, which included:

Lead the organisation in the use of Generator
Develop staff e-confidence
Clear direction for well-planned and structured developments
Identify strengths and areas for improvement
Understand current use of ICT to develop a comprehensive organisation-wide ILT Strategy
Benefit more from our existing technology setup
Understand its benefits and application
Evidence use of IT - feedback to justify strategic plans
How to use the tool to find out where we are now.

Some key messages

The event had a balanced mixture of RSC input, delegates' hands-on and Q&A, which promoted a deeper understanding of the tool and how it could be used by learning providers of all sectors.

Delegate participation was enhanced by the use of EtherPad, which allowed everyone to share views, queries and concerns as the day progressed.

Delegates appreciated the fact that they could access the RSCs' case studies via the Excellence Gateway as a follow-up step to the review. Other key points included:

Delegates understood the role of the Primary User and agreed that it would be more effective if this person were part of SMT or supported by it
Key stakeholders should be involved in responding the reviews
Reviews must be managed well to optimize people’s time
To overcome time constraints, a full review could be planned over a period of time, when key managers would come together to tackle one or two of the business areas at a time
A facility to track the history of changes to the questions would be useful
Use voting systems for completing the reviews in self-assessment sessions.

Where to find help and support

The RSC London has welcomed the Generator and has added it to its advice areas in order to help providers to find out the best ways of using it to support strategic development.

For queries related to the tool, how to register and password issues, contact the Becta Generator Helpdesk on 0800 877 8777 or enquiries@generatorfeandskills.com. You might also want to read the Generator Help pages.

For help with technology progress reviews, contact your RSC London Advisor.

Important links

Generator help pages:
http://www.generatorfeandskills.com/Content/ViewContentList.aspx?contentTypeId=2

Generator Guide:
http://feandskills.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=41450&page=1889&catID=1866

About the Becta Generator:
http://feandskills.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=1897

Generator Slides:
Link to Slides

EtherPad:
www.etherpad.com

If you have any queries regarding this event, please contact Graciano Soares