Using In-Room technology at HMYOI Wetherby

Learners at HMYOI Wetherby who are enrolled on the Functional Skills courses have recently moved to a blended learning module, with both learners and teachers exploring the in-room technology available to them.  This approach has enabled learners to take full advantage of their in-room devices as well as further develop their digital skills. 

Having access to a device and the Virtual Campus (VC2) in their rooms means that learners can now be more independent and responsible for their learning. The Functional Skills team at HMYOI Wetherby have embraced and supported this approach to enhance the learning experience for learners.

Using In-Room technology to enhance learning

To ensure that learners would be able to access the in-room resources, members of the Digital Learning Team conducted testing at HMYOI Wetherby to ensure that the content downloaded and played correctly. 

The Digital Learning Team then supported the site in mapping the content of their existing Schemes of Learning to the City and Guilds SmartScreen videos that are available to learners through their in-room device on VC2, to see where each resource could be used to enhance their classroom delivery. This content can also be used as an introduction to a topic or to consolidate learning. 

Once the content was mapped, teachers started to embed this into their daily lesson plans. Wetherby’s Digital Learning Technologist, Christine, supported learners with how to log into VC2 for the first time and how to add their ‘homework’ task to their wallet to complete later in their room. Whilst some learners were hesitant at first, they soon got the hang of adding resources and many were grateful for the opportunity to continue their learning outside of the classroom and have something to occupy their time in the evenings. 

A positive example of this comes from the maths teacher at Wetherby who has commented positively on utilising in-room technology in his lessons:

“The in-room learning project has been a good addition to teaching and learning and is helping my learners to learn better. I have a young learner who after teaching the percentage of money topic, he went on and watched a video on the same topic. This has helped him to understand how to find percentage of money as well as how to find a number as a percentage of another. Then in class I asked him a few questions and realised that his understanding on the topic had improved. I believe that learners having access to Maths videos from their cells is a good thing as they can learn on their own time when their minds are free.”

To find out more about our digital provision, take a look at our 2024/25 digital strategy.