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ECDL
for Educators, Hereford
Herefordshire teaching staff in driving seat as LEA signs up to ECDL for Educators ICT training course
Working in partnership with European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) for Educators, Herefordshire LEA has signed a deal that will enable its entire teaching staff to gain the internationally-recognised ECDL qualification in ICT skills. Herefordshire LEA is one of the first authorities to sign up for the ECDL for Educators courseware, which covers all the core skills required to use computers effectively for school administration, classroom and home use.
Herefordshire has chosen to supply the ECDL for Educators courseware to all Teachers, Support Staff, School Managers and Administrators throughout the whole county. The teaching staff in Herefordshire will receive their ECDL certificates on successful completion of all seven modules. The course can be delivered face-to-face, as a self study option or as a combination of the two, enabling it to be adapted to fit into the Teachers’ working timetable.
Martin
Fowler, ICT Project Officer, Herefordshire LEA, said, “The ECDL for educators
is open to anyone working in Herefordshire schools, early years settings,
nursery units, post 16 education and private education. The qualification
will provide a very good grounding in using computers for teaching and
administration purposes. It will establish that all of our staff have
achieved a recognised standard in ICT, a skill that has become essential for
teaching in the 21st century. We are delighted to be able to offer it to
the whole LEA.” (See www.education.herefordshire.gov.uk/ecdl_intro.htm
)
Teachers
in Herefordshire LEA will be able to undertake the course in any order and at
their own speed. Participants can take up to 3 years to complete the
course and can attend support sessions free of charge to receive support and
guidance from one of the ECDL tutors. Each of the seven modules will be
examined using an on-line testing system at the Hereford Education and
Conference Centre.
The
seven modules of the qualification are written with a classroom focus that
provides teachers, teaching assistants and anyone working in schools with the
core ICT skills based upon developing resources for the classroom. Creating
lesson plans using a word processor, managing classroom data using a spreadsheet
and searching the Internet for classroom resources are just a few of the very
practical skills that can be acquired. Written by Aston Swann, a company
that has over ten years’ experience delivering computer training to the
education sector, the new ECDL for Educators product is a tailored version of
the established ECDL qualification, recognised by employers in the business
world as an illustration of employee competence in computing. The
implementation of ECDL in the UK is managed by the British Computer Society and
Aston Swann is the first company in the country to tailor the course for a
specific ‘vertical sector’ (i.e. education).
Debbie Skyrme, Education Programme Developer, Aston Swann, explained, “We are thrilled that Herefordshire LEA has decided to implement ECDL for Educators for use by all of its academic staff. Teachers who complete this course will be more comfortable with ICT and will be able to use it as a teaching and learning tool within the classroom far more effectively than teachers who are uncomfortable and resistant towards technology. The ECDL for Educators courseware has been designed specifically for those in the teaching profession and uses examples that can be applied to the daily routines of those in the sector, making it far more relevant to the teachers taking the course.”
Further
information and pricing can be obtained from:
Head office:
Website:
www.educatorsecdl.com Email:
ws@educatorsecdl.com
Welsh
office:
Aston Swann, Regus House, Cardiff Gate Business Park, Cardiff, CF2
7TU Tel: 02920 263608 Email:
ws@educatorsecdl.com
Issued:
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