Vital Course materials
The Vital Course materials are published in the Library, separately from each instance of a Course.
If you have already signed up for a Vital Course, or are interested in what is on offer, register or login to browse through the materials here.
When you sign up for a Vital Course, you will have more than the materials . . . you will join a cohort of fellow-students with online support from a Vital Facilitator over a period of time. On many of our Courses, there is also a two-hour face-to-face session to get everyone started. Two of our IT Specialist Courses include a full-day employer-hosted event at the beginning to get you started.
The lists below provide a quick overview of what's involved in a Vital Course, with a link to the Course materials in the Library.
New in the Autumn: Project courses
Based around classroom or whole-school development projects, these new Courses focus on a key aspect of teaching and learning. You can complete a mini-project over about half a term by signing up to a Project course.
Tie this in with your own personal targets or school improvement plans. Work and learn with a small group of teachers with a shared interest, led by a specialist facilitator.
Topics include literacy, maths, games, assessment and the teaching of ICT.
Each course involves about one hour per week over half a term and costs less than £200. Leave your details at info@vital.ac.uk for more information.
Secondary
V01s Learning together: developing wikis
How to use wikis, and other media embedded in them, to improve teaching and learning
V02s Blogs: skills for subject specialists
Using blogs to support teaching and curriculum-based activities
V04s Learning platforms: all aboard
The opportunities your learning platform offers, implementation models and how to successfully roll it out
V08s Learning together: introducing wikis
A basic introduction to wikis and how to use them in the classroom
V09s Blogging: beyond social networking
Exploring how learners can contribute and share ideas using blogs
IT Specialist (Key Stage 4 & 5)
V06s Working with multimedia
How to use e-skills resources to deliver the unit in 60 guided learning hours
V07s Exploring organisations
How to use the e-skills resources and engage local employers to help learners understand how organisations operate
V10s The potential of technology
Focusing on the John Lewis retail lifecycle, this looks at how the retail industry can help learners understand where technology can add value to business
V21s Project management in the IT industry (released September 2010)
Starting with an employer-hosted event in October 2010, this course introduces the principles of project management.
V22s Multimedia skills and application (released September 2010)
Starting with an employer-hosted event in October 2010, this course explores the stages in development of a multimedia product from brief to delivery.
Primary
V01p Sharing ideas: developing wikis
How to use wikis, and other media embedded in them, to improve teaching and learning
V02p Getting a buzz out of blogging
Using blogs to support teaching and curriculum-based activities
V04p Learning platforms: a step up
How to use your learning platform to improve teaching and learning
V08p Sharing ideas: introducing wikis
A basic introduction to wikis and how to use them in the classroom
Cross-phase
V05c Wow them with Wikipedia
How to create and maintain pages and use it for collaborative projects
V11c Copyright: keep it legal
How and where to locate digital resources and use them legally in the classroom
V16c Tap into Twitter (released July 2010)
How to use Twitter personally, professionally and in your teaching practice
V17c Collaborative documents online (released July 2010)
How to use free online services in educational contexts to share documents
Contact us for further information on any of these courses.