Community Learning and Development Device Fund 2022 (360G-SCVO-a133z00000LvoLNAAZ)

The aim is to purchase an 86-inch smart screen alongside iPads in order to deliver educational, motivational and lifestyle services to individuals who will access the Marie Trust hub in Albion Street. There are many barriers to learning and making informed lifestyle decisions, including a lack of IT access and awareness and curiosity. Having both the smart screen and iPads to allow users to become more confident with the notion of using IT in a number of ways, including to enhance their lives e.g., access to emails, learning how to navigate the web to access online services and Universal Credit Journals to communicate with advisors, this itself will give people more control over their lives, as well as when accessing SQA education courses delivered by the Trust and partners. The use of the devices will be wide and varied, from; accessing the internet for services (many users of the facility have no access to the internet due to poverty and exclusion, which can then affect the speed in which they can access help or benefits such as Universal Credit and to simply hold an email account to allow for speedy contact and messaging) creating visual CVs and using Skills development Scotland My World of World sites. completing application forms and college enrolments, getting used to online forms and what is required ie National Insurance numbers. creative applications such as reading, viewing visual materials creating visual and audio materials (photographic, graphic design, video, podcasts, radio etc.) short course delivery to allow integrated learning to occur between the smart screen and the users on the iPads (will allow the sharing and viewing of work and ultimately to move them on to accredited courses and further education/employment). For example our photography course could use a smart board to show their work, get it peer assessed and deliver presentations as part of their coursework. This in turn will raise the user’s confidence and IT literacy as they progress as learners with the aim that these skills are carried on into their everyday lives with transitions into education and employment. The IT curiosity of the smart board will also include having the ability to utilise the smart screen to present material and simply explore using advanced technology, something that many learners from the Trust’s cohort do not have access to. The devices will be permanently based in the café learning site at our Albion Street hub. Here there will be 80+ people using the devices on a daily basis. The devices will allow tactile learning and discovery and for an inclusive experience for those with disabilities including wheelchair access using the height adjustable stand on the smart screen, the opportunity to zoom in to specific areas of the screen for the visually impaired as well as simply allowing learners and café users’ confidence to increase by touching the screens as they use them. We want to instil learning and when someone comes into the hub for a meal, they will see the smart screen and be curious, be able to touch it and have a IT experience they realise they were going to have – but lead to other learning! The screen and the iPads will be permanently based in the café learning suite and will not be available on a loan basis. We currently have a laptop lending scheme for learners but will use the iPads specifically for internet café experience.