Borders College lecturer Dale Clancy scoops top prize at College Development Network Awards

Borders College lecturer Dale Clancy is celebrating after scooping the Digital Learning Award at the recent College Development Network Annual Awards.

Accompanied by Assistant Principal Heather Anderson and Programme Manager for Digitalisation of Delivery Conor Bradley, Dale travelled to Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel to enjoy an evening celebrating the successes and achievements of many outstanding projects and initiatives being delivered by colleges throughout Scotland.

Dale, who is 30 and from Broadmeadows, Yarrow, was up against some stiff opposition in the form of Argyll College UHI and Edinburgh College, so was more than delighted to come away with the top prize, which recognises creative ideas which have been implemented to “improve the quality and effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning”.

Over the last year, the Electrical Installation lecturer has been working to make his course more digitalised for students. Instead of carrying around large binders full of notes, students are now able to access their course material online.

This has had a big impact on the way teaching is delivered, with students now able to access all their materials from outside the College at the touch of a button, and even get real-time feedback and marking online, thanks to Dale.

Introducing this new way of delivering educational materials has also had an impact on other members of staff within Borders College, with a number lecturers now seeing the benefits and adopting these new teaching techniques.

On receiving his award, Dale Commented:

“I was delighted to receive such an accolade at the recent College Development Network Annual Awards. We have worked hard over the last year to change the way the Electrical Installation programme is delivered, and the benefits to the students have made it worthwhile. This is an ongoing process and we are still trying out different things to fine tune the way we teach our students.”

Heather Anderson commented:

“I am delighted that the transformational work on Digital Learning that Dale instigated with his Electrical Installation students has been recognised at the College Development Network National Awards. He not only changed the method of delivery to a digital platform, he continually encouraged the students to express their preferences throughout the process. This type of activity is contributing to Borders College success and enabling the college to meet the curriculum strategy of increasing digital delivery by 30% over the next three years.”