This document discusses an online learning program called iScoil that provides education to students aged 13-16 who are outside of mainstream schooling. It presents information about the students in the program, what students and teachers think about iScoil, how learning activities are structured, and metrics on time spent in different subject areas. The document evaluates what aspects of iScoil work well, such as its self-paced and personalized nature, and considers how the program could be improved, such as through more interactive learning activities and adaptive difficulty levels tailored to individual students.

1. CESI 2014
Perspectives on what Creates and
Effective Online Learning Experience

2. ‣ Young people aged
between 13-16yrs who
are out of mainstream
education
‣ At-home learners
‣ Blended Centre learners
‣ FETAC Accreditation L3
‣ Progression to further
Education, Training and
Employment
Stephen Heppell
(Heppell.net)
Notschool UK
Notschool Ireland
Pilot 2007-2009
iScoil 2009-

3. iScoil 2012-13
Fig: Gender 2012-2013 N=52
Fig: Accreditation 2012-2013
N=52
Fig: Reason for Referral 2012-
2013 N=52
Fig: Progression Routes 2012-2013 N=28

6. What the Students think.....
“Well you are not stuck in all day
From early in the morning till
night”
I really liked that I could log on later in the day and do the tasks then, My brain works better
when I'm fully awake and when I was in regular schooling I would be really tired and
couldn't concentrate as much because of it. I also like that I can use the Internet to look up
things I'm not 100% sure about.
“Like in school you are trying to keep up with
the rest of the class.”
“I used to have that problem
where you would be writing
something down and then
you haven’t it all and she
wipes the board.
I hate that.”

7. “Very handy better than writing or books rather the computer.
I’m terrible at writing I’d rather the computer it’s handy.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic so I’d
probably bring some things like that on to it [iScoil].
There’s bits on it already how you do this with a car
and things like that if there was more up on it you’d
learn more.”
“Yeah sometimes the videos have writing in it isn’t it
when you have to read the writing.
And it trips on very fast.”
“I felt like I knew her (mentor) like even though I never seen her before. I felt
comfortable like.”

8. What the Teachers think .....
they don’t feel confined to a classroom, do you know like, just the
pressure of having an adult, building up a different relationship with
adults.
it’s going to be private and individual to them,
nobody is looking over their shoulder to see what
they’ve done, nobody is comparing it to what
they’re doing next to them. And it’s that that takes
that pressure away.
Very often in mainstream schools as well, is just that curriculum, where in iScoil, the
project courses, we try to outline their interests and their likes and that really gets
them going, if they’re able to do quite well on ‘Man Utd’ tasks or whatever might
entice them to try another communication task and that really gets the ball
rolling

9. but sometimes the hard thing is you don’t
even get any feedback (from students)
..... like if you do kind of set projects task and previously you’d only
kind of be getting short answers for that and then you suddenly give
them a task about World War Two or something and you come back
and they’re written this big long essay full of descriptive language and
it’s that they actually have no problems with literacy, just that they
weren’t interested in what you were giving them.......
think that sometimes you have to try and assess students by stealth
on the other hand I feel that lack, you get a
sense of someone when they come in, their
mood, where they’re coming from

11. Fig: Pedagogical Pattern Collector - Communications Unit 2
Fig: Pedagogical Pattern Collector - Maths Unit 3.2
Total 335mins
Total: 170mins

12. Studies in interventions using technology emphasise the ability of online
learning environments to provide a highly individualised and differentiated
learning experience (Archambault et al 2010)
What we know works ......
Self Paced Personalised
Interest Led Safe
How it works .....
Student Centred Competency Based Active Learning
Assessment
Synchronous vs
Asynchronous
Could it work better....
Interaction Instruction
Adaptable
Flexible
Discussion

13. What did you not like or what would you change?
I would change some of the tasks difficulty to make them more challenging for the
students of course it all depends on the students strong & weak points how the
tasks should change for example a student who is weak at math could start of at
a 1 out of 5 on a difficulty scale and work their way up to 4 or 5 eventually
while a student who is strong at math could start of at a 3 out of 5 etc.

14. Blended Learning Centres Partners
School Completion Programme
Garda Youth Diversion Project
Justice and Probation Project
Youth Work Ireland
FAS
Pathways