LSN developments

The Learning & Skills Network came into existence a year ago when the LSDA's activities were divided between a directly-funded Quality Improvement Agency and the non-profit organisation LSN who have to bid in an open market for contracts from QIA and other agencies and organisations. One part of LSN's activities is their E-learning and Technology programme which funded LSN Regional E-learning Co-ordinators, mostly individuals on part-time secondment from FE institutions. This team of Co-ordinators, also known as the NeLSNs, had been around for several years with one or two changes of personnel and had gained an excellent reputation in the field where we worked in close co-operation with the JISC Regional Support Centres and had modest budgets for events and small staff development project grants.

At a recent meeting of what are now termed LSN Associates we learned that LSN planned to start using new technology themselves to bring smarter methods of communication, assessment tools and training and support solutions to not just the FE and ACL sector where we had originally tended to focus our activities but also schools, industry and basically anywhere that we might be useful.

Now the one thing that neither LSDA nor LSN had been doing particularly well in the past was precisely that - using technology effectively. At meeting after meeting we were presented with what may have been sound academic ideas but pretty lousy communication methods so the announcement was more than welcome. Indeed, we had, as a team, expected that we would be training LSN managers, advisers and staff; being the key people in the organisation with proven skills in both the technology and training people to use it effectively.

No. From 1 April this year we are advised that our contracts have expired and that is basically that. What a missed opportunity! naturally we asked 'why?' and the reply was that there is no funding for the e-learning and technology team to do that. It seems that there are, though, literally millions of pounds available but the way the Department or the Learning & Skills Council allocate that money is either so rigidly linked to 'approved strands' of Government policy pronouncements, initiatives and the like or so complex a bidding process that a good chunk of what could have been really usefully spent on either training staff or for that matter helping buy some time for people in the field to get some training gets spent in filling out forms, attending meetings and a good deal of behind closed doors activity. Amazingly, it seems that the crazy business of budgets still goes on as it did in the bad old days - if money allocated to a particular type of activity isn't spent then people get embarrassed and run around trying to find ways to spend it before a random date in the budget calendar! I understand from one source that there is a significant 'underspend' on capital expenditure and that could mean that organisations could, in theory, be provided with grants for equipment, maybe software too to support e-learning development but there is nothing to help them pay for people to learn how to use it (or for us to advise or help them). Whilst some juggling may be possible which will enable an organisation to apply for a grant to buy £10,000 of stuff if they commit to buying £10,000 worth of training from us which, in turn, some internal further juggling may enable the organisation to get some free help and equipment, it is all a bit crazy.

Basically, everyone seems to mean well and have good intentions but have their noses far too close to the grindstone of compliance and seem so fearful of their Department masters that it is difficult for some to see the wider picture. Whatever great statistics may be published to show how brilliantly everyone in education is using new technology now and how well the Government's policies have worked, the truth is that there are still vast areas where ILT use is little more than a PowerPoint show and having a VLE is seen as a statement of maturity in the e-learning age. ILT Champions have all but disappeared in the FE sector and those that remain often have cross-college roles, single-handedly trying to enthuse several hundred staff who have no spare time to learn anything new. If it's not an 'initiatve' then there's no money for it and ILT or e-learning have sunk below every child mattering and equalling opportunities at present.

There is some hope. If LSN are serious about the internal and external communication enhancements then people like me will be able to make our voices heard and rally support for our causes in a way that will get the attention of others in the agency who previously didn't even know we existed. Some of us may eventually be able to get involved in bringing some of the wonders of the new technology to the desktops of decision-makers and demonstrate our skills and start to have some influence. The juggling exercise referred to above might just work and some of the NeLSNs will be able to continue to work in the field and stay on the scene where we can get invited to speak at events and train people in areas previously not reached.

Leaving good people like my colleagues hanging on a thread for weeks is not sensible and the paltry sum that would be required to keep them on board and enthusiastic for a few more months would be a small price to pay for their help in maintaining the image of LSN and, indeed, getting their own staff's ICT and ILT skills up to a respectable level. A lot of other advisers in the field have disappeared as a result of the Government believing that the job is done. It isn't. There's a lot still to do and we can do it. Let's see if we get a chance and what LSN's next move is.