Supporting real-world knowledge checks at a forward-thinking College

East Durham College have created a game applied to digital services skills. The game is to be used in contemporary further education programmes at the college related to computing and IT management. Used as both a learning aid and knowledge check, the game is applied to vocational learning about digital services, with a focus on how to set up a networked server.

The game is being deployed alongside NCFE and OCR provided case studies for T Level, and level 4 qualifications. The courses provide a wide range of job opportunities such as support and infrastructure engineering, to cyber and network security.

In the game, students are challenged to implement server installations across a variety of carefully selected scenarios, including case studies provided in formal syllabus.

The game has been built in response to challenges in the learning environment, specifically:

• • The need to better prepare students for practical aspects of real-world placements

• • The need to enhance the learning experience in College

• • The need for better real-world knowledge checks and assessment methods

• • The need to better enable engaging group work and self-study

• • The need to improve understanding of the differing needs of digital service clients, and variations to standard server setup processes, for example, to support physical versus cloud-based servers, or to better serve remote working or multiple offices.

• • Overcoming challenges associated with optimising hardware access and teaching time limitations for practicals and tests

Importantly for the tutors involved, the resultant BrightGame is easy to edit and update as technology and syllabus updates are required.

Andrew Cummins, Vocational Lead in Digital IT at East Durham College said;

‘The BrightGame initiative is driven by the needs of tutors for easy-to-use and deploy learning games that we can tailor to meet our needs.  The idea of collaborating with colleagues to create and share games aligned with the world of work and directly linked to vocational outcomes with little cost is excellent. 

The game gives tutors a greater range of learning options to engage students with allowing them to better simulate real-world situations. This is potentially a great North East innovation and could be of huge benefit to our students.!’