Healthy response to NHS blended learning

Citation

(2003), "Healthy response to NHS blended learning", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 35 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2003.03735eab.005

Healthy response to NHS blended learning

Healthy response to NHS blended learning

Completion rates of 93.8 per cent are being achieved in blended learning commissioned by National Health Service Information Authority (NHSIA), and average learner-satisfaction ratings are 5.95 out of a maximum score of 6.

NHSIA last year registered 200 NHS trainers on to places on e-tutoring skills courses operated by the Training Foundation under the Institute of IT Training certified e-learning professional (CeLP) programme.

At the time, Diane Benjamin, NHSIA programme manager, commented: "The NHS in England is committed to a major basic IT skill-development programme for some 700,000 staff over the next five years. We anticipate that most will choose to study through e-learning, so it is vital that we put in place effective learner support to help staff, many of whom will be studying online for the first time."

The blended programme, developed for the NHSIA by the Training Foundation, begins with a one-day classroom course, the e-tutor programme start-up day. Delegates are then issued with joining instructions for the CeLP primer, methods and skills. Subsequent learning takes place online, with a high level of remote tutor support and peer-to-peer interaction.

Hywel Thomas, CeLP programme co-ordinator for the Training Foundation, commented: "We have been operating e-tutor training programmes for almost four years and have generated a great deal of specialist expertise in the process. We have invested a great deal of time and effort to ensure that learners enrolled on certified e-learning professional courses become rapidly engaged and committed to the learning process."

Carol Hulm, project manager for the NHSIA, explained how the trainee e-tutors have responded. "From the outset the feedback we received from learners has been excellent," she said. "In fact, we were so impressed that we enrolled a further 50 trainees just before Christmas 2002.

"Since the inception of the project, 91 learners have completed the programme in 17 groups and have qualified as e-tutors. Some 97 learners started the programme, so that makes the current overall completion rate to date 93.8 per cent. The six learners who have not passed have either withdrawn for health reasons or because of pressure of work, or still have to complete one or more course assignments. Training Foundation CeLP programme e-tutors are continuing to provide support to two people to help them to complete the programme successfully."

Les Hobbs, operations director for the Training Foundation, singled out the programme e-tutors and CeLP support staff for praise. "The NHS e-tutor programme is already a success in the eyes of the delegates, and we continue to look for ways to improve on that success," he said.

Carol Hulm continued: "Being a blended programme has certainly shown benefits in terms of completion and satisfaction rates. The added complexity of running a programme with both face-to-face and online components has been handled well by a lot of unsung heroes behind the scenes as well as the start-up day trainers and CeLP programme e-tutors."