the system does not replace practical training and assessments. Moodle students will also benefit from these elements being delivered at satellite Centres of Excellence located around the country (at, for example, Bristol University, Caterham School and Stamford School). These centres provide a wide range of resources to support the delivery of the qualification or training. All have good quality classrooms, IT facilities and a full range of equipment, and they provide natural and synthetic sporting surfaces as well as horticultural areas to complement each course. Qualifications currently available include the Level 2 National Certificate in Sports Turf and Amenity Maintenance and the new Level 3 National Certificate in Sports Turf and Amenity
Management. Both were developed by the IOG in conjunction with NPTC and City & Guilds specifically for grounds professionals.
IOG training courses also have an optional assessment, delivered via Moodle, which transforms a certificate of attendance into a more useful certificate of achievement. In many cases, this will give students’ employers the assurance that delegates have absorbed and retained the course content - thus justifying the financial outlay.
Ian Lacy, the IOG’s Head of Professional Services, is pleased with the progress of Moodle in its pilot first year: “We have had 24 students starting various units throughout the year and while there have been teething problems which were expected with such an innovative system, we have a dedicated team to support Moodle and the employers and students using it. Feedback has been positive and constructive, allowing for improvements to be made before the system will be used at full capacity in 2009.”
He continues: “The flexibility of the system has proved to be a huge benefit. One student currently studying towards the NC L2 is off to Asia for a three-month sabbatical – and while he’s away he’ll be able to access Moodle and continue with his studies.
“The system is evolving and we have no doubt that it will be the medium of choice for the delivery of sports turf qualifications within the next 3-5 years.”
Want to know more? Contact Ian Lacy, Head of Professional Services, by email at ilacy@iog.org or by phone on 01908 312511
Case study: Millfield School
Three grounds care professionals of mixed age (from 20 to 40 years old) at Millfield School, Somerset, are currently using Moodle for Level 2 accreditation and, according to Grounds and Gardens Manager, David Warner: “They’ve been using the system since August and are finding it a very flexible and manageable module-based learning route. There have been no problems at all in accessing the appropriate information and they are all making steady progress.”
Case study: North Somerset Council
Reflecting on North Somerset Council’s adoption of Moodle for Level 2 accreditation for six of its grounds staff (plus one tractor driver interested only in certain individual Level 2 units), Grounds DSO Manager Pauline Pearce says there is a clear difference between online and traditional learning routes.
“While the end result is the same, the learning process is like chalk and cheese,” she comments. “Our six level 2 students – of mixed ages and involved in a range of tasks at schools, cemeteries and highways – have found the Moodle multiple choice modules straightforward, and the practical tests have not been a problem, either.
“But it would be wrong to say they have sailed through all the online modules - a level of computer literacy is required so some have fared better than others.”
