"There is too little cross-sector collaboration in supporting learners as they move through the education system - we need a greater focus on linking our public sector systems to provide unified support for learners throughout life." (Towards a Unified e-Learning Strategy: consultation document executive summary, 2003; full consultation document no longer available online, 25 February 2009)
Exploiting e-learning means taking a collaborative approach to building resource materials by organising on-line communities linking subject experts and teaching practitioners together, thereby achieving economies of scale and reducing the potential for 'reinventing the wheel'. This approach will provide affordable, scalable and sustainable e-learning. Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) developed in this way can be used to build or support on-line modules and courses or to complement traditional delivery. For end-users, there are additional benefits. Students on an Access to HE course at an FE college using a repository of learning objects to support their studies move to university nursing courses and have access to the same repository and a similar set of learning objects (albeit at a different academic level). Later on, these individuals would be able to access the repository as qualified nurses continuing their education in the workplace. A common repository of learning objects to support learning helps to create a seamless transition as students move across learning sectors. Although their origins are in nursing, the kinds of topics proposed for RLO development will be relevant to the full range of health and social care workers.
This research project will answer the following questions:
The project's outcomes will be:
