The ‘Festival of Futures’ event, inspired by Alfred McAlpine, saw Bradford College share its forward-thinking plans with delegates from colleges across the UK in a series of seminars run in conjunction with its service and support partners. The ‘Learning space of the future’, previewed with great success at this year’s AoC NILTA annual conference in conjunction with Cisco, is an interactive physical learning space that will enable conference delegates to experience new ways of learning in a technology-rich environment. It demonstrates how new technology solutions can meet student needs and encourage learning.
Rose Kane, Bradford College IT Services Manager, commented: “The future of education is bright but full of change and uncertainty. Talking to Alfred McAlpine has allowed us to realise a vision for the College, and the ‘Festival of Futures’ will let us share our plans for learning with our peers.”
Education through a remote network can allow students to effectively collaborate with their classmates and lecturers on a virtual level. Lectures or presentations can be broadcast live to remote sites or recorded for future use. Demonstrations showed how wireless solutions work between different learning environments and the security measures that ensure the safety of the college network.
The Alfred McAlpine vision for the ‘Learning space of the future’ at Bradford College was delivered in two sections:
The intelligent building
A presentation on Alfred McAlpine’s converged property services for further education colleges, which permits the central control of all building services through the IP network. This dramatically improves the efficiency of operating and maintaining campus facilities.
Learning innovation
A presentation on Alfred McAlpine’s vision for emerging and future technology solutions that will help shape the college and its infrastructure, together with reasons why these should form an integral part of the overall new college build programme.
Gareth Watts, National Sales Manager at Alfred McAlpine – IT Services, commented: “The learning environment has evolved and now goes beyond the traditional realms of the classroom. Students now want and need a virtual environment that will allow them to learn wherever they may be, at a time and via a medium that suits them.”
Website: www.alfredmcalpineplc.com/itservices
Phone: 01698 805 400
