Major Recognition for College’s use of Technology
Farnborough College of Technology has been named as a Showcase College by Microsoft, thanks to its extensive use of technology and software in teaching and learning.
Showcase Colleges create student-centered, immersive, and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning, stimulating development of essential future-ready skills so students are empowered to achieve more.
Michael Cornwell, E-Learning Programme Manager at the College, was able to pull on various examples of the use of technology when presenting the College’s work to Microsoft.
One recent example was the commissioning of a virtual reality (VR) company to 3D scan a Cessna plane to create a maintenance programme for aeronautical engineering students at the College. This innovative programme allows learners to practice the skills needed when servicing and preparing a light aircraft for flight. With one light aircraft at the College, VR allows multiple learners to access the plane simultaneously, providing a safe environment for students to make mistakes and learn from them.
Foundation and Entry Level students, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, have used Minecraft Education Edition to create ‘Well-being Spaces’. These learners planned their spaces in Class Notebook and then created them within Minecraft, practicing communication, collaboration, empathy, and kindness. They also created posters to reflect upon the task and promote Minecraft use to others.
English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) learners created individual profiles in Minecraft, including likes/dislikes and national monuments, and presented this information to their peers. Our Entry Level Media learners used Minecraft to recreate famous moments from film and, using the camera feature, captured shots from various angles and distances.
The Microsoft Showcase Colleges Programme is an opportunity to engage with Microsoft and like-minded school leaders around the world to deepen and expand education transformation using the Education Transformation Framework.
Principal CEO Virginia Barrett said:
“This is the culmination of the College’s hard work to learn about and deliver digital solutions to enhance the learner experience. As one of only 15 Showcase colleges in the UK, it is a great honour for FCoT and recognises the progress we have made in using Microsoft products and innovative digital technologies.”
The College proved to be leading or advancing in: student and staff success, teaching and learning, having intelligent environments and leadership and policy. It took a year of evaluating where the College was, planning and implementing change and recording progress.
