2018 03 case study bonas macfarlane canvas · independent education canvas case study the challenge...
TRANSCRIPT
B O N A SM A C F A R L A N E
Using Technology to Expand Access to Top Qual i ty Tutor ing
I N D E P E N D E N T E D U C A T I O N C A N V A S C A S E S T U D Y
T H E C H A L L E N G E
Bonas MacFarlane Education is one of the UK’s most
respected providers of private tuition and educational
advice. Its university team specialises in preparing
promising students for leading universities in the UK
and the USA. Formerly only o�ering one-to-one
tuitions in person or online, the company has launched
a one-year pilot project with a group of students on
100% scholarships. The aim is to use technology to
make the very best university preparation programmes
available to sixth-form students worldwide.
“This is a very di�erent project for us,” Guy
Schady-Beckett, Head of Research at Bonas
MacFarlane, explained. “The majority of the tutoring
we o�er is to students readying themselves for
Oxbridge and top US universities, who have perhaps
already received a lot of support throughout their
studies or have a firm view of their educational path.
This project is set to o�er the same tutoring
opportunities to a much wider cohort of students.
Adapting to this larger scale approach required a lot of
thought, particularly in terms of the technological
challenges involved.”
“We’ve already been using video technology for
distance tutoring, but we wanted to do things
di�erently and o�er a more enriching experience,
almost like a trial run at attending uni at age 16,” Guy
continued. “Many of the scholarship students in our
pilot study were from backgrounds where they hadn’t
had the chance to interact with peers outside of their
own area, but we were keen to bring them together
with fellow applicants from around the world.”
www.CanvasVLE.co.uk • 0800 358 4330© 2017 Instructure Inc. All rights reserved.
L O N D O N , E N G L A N D
I N I T I A T I V E : U n i v e r s i t yp r e p a r a t i o n p i l o t p r o j e c t
U S A G E : 2 7 s t u d e n t s i n i n i t i a l c o h o r t , w i t h m o r e s e t t o j o i n
S T A R T E D U S I N GC A N V A S : 2 0 1 6
B O N A S M A C F A R L A N E A N D C A N V A S
G U Y S C H A D Y - B E C K E T T
Head of Research at Bonas MacFarlane
T H E C H A N G E
To meet their requirements, Guy felt Bonas MacFarlane
needed a VLE. “Once we had mapped out the project, it was
obvious we needed something to contain the whole teaching
experience, which we couldn’t do with WebEx alone. Having
no history in this area—and as such, no preconceptions—we
could look totally neutrally. With a relatively short time to
develop courses, it was essential that the VLE we chose was
easy to pick up and the ability to customise and adapt courses
was essential.”
“We trialled Canvas for six months and the results were
clear—it’s the only VLE that felt like it belonged in a
post-Web-2.0 world,” Guy explained. “The Canvas mobile app
was miles ahead of what we had seen of the competition, and
we knew that mobile was key to our o�ering. Having an app
that mirrors the desktop experience makes it far easier for our
students to engage with courses flexibly, watch lecture videos
on the move and interact with their peers, no matter where
they are in the world.”
Value for money was also a factor for Bonas MacFarlane,
according to Guy. “We didn’t have a big onboarding as it was
a pilot run, so we needed a VLE partner that could be nimble.
The fact that we started with a relatively small cohort wasn’t an
issue; Canvas worked with us to make a package suited to
our needs. Other platforms’ pricing structures were designed
for huge institutions and made no financial sense for us.”
T H E R E S U L T S
The pilot scheme has seen positive results already, with
Canvas technology helping to facilitate strong participation
figures. Guy explained, “We’re getting 100% participation on
assignments and tutorials, which is fantastic. For live classes
the figure is currently sitting at 76% because they take place at
fixed times, which might compete with school and family
commitments. But with all the lecture recordings hosted
online, our students are able to catch up and succeed.”
With this ease of access, Canvas is also helping to facilitate
student retention. “Everyone who got through the first few
weeks is still on the course. While you can’t control for
personal factors, retention is better here than for any project
we’ve done before—80% of students are logging in every
day, which is great for part-time learning. That flexibility goes
towards reducing dropout rates,” Guy added.
“One challenge we’re working hard to meet is that in an
education context, many of our students have only previously
interacted with their classmates rather than those at other
schools. For most, collaborating via digital technology is a new
experience, too,” Guy continued. “However, we’re looking for
gradual change over time. After around five weeks, 44% of the
cohort said they enjoyed working with others, but it’s now up
to 60%. Canvas’ ability to collate feedback and ideas clearly is
making it possible to expand our students’ horizons.”
With the ongoing success of the pilot scheme, Bonas
MacFarlane is looking to the future. “One way we’re looking at
expanding the o�ering is to give international students the
chance to get a sense of the UK education system that would
otherwise be impossible. Alongside this, with less funding
going to careers advice, there’s a need to make quality
university applications guidance and preparation more
accessible for a wider range of UK students. We see Canvas
as a long-term partner in this.”
www.CanvasVLE.co.uk • 0800 358 4330© 2017 Instructure Inc. All rights reserved.
“WE TRIALLED CANVAS FOR SIX MONTHS
AND THE RESULTS WERE CLEAR—IT’S THE
ONLY VLE THAT FELT L IKE IT BELONGED
IN A POST-WEB-2.0 WORLD.”