By Gemma Simpson, 22 May 2007 12:18
NEWS
The Home Office has splashed out on 20 video iPods to deliver 'leadership lessons' to senior civil servants.
The pilot scheme will cost around £9,000.
A Home Office spokeswoman told silicon.com: "Compared to the cost for in-classroom training, the iPods are very competitive, with the capacity on one iPod representing the equivalent of three days of classroom training - and the [iPod-based] training material can be recycled."
The spokeswoman said the iPods will hold up to 50 three-to-five-minute leadership tutorials for the civil servants to view "at their leisure" - for flexible learning.
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The gadgets will be held as a central resource - rather than being given out to individuals - and will be monitored to check they are only being used for work purposes, she added.
The iPod has been adopted for some weird and wonderful uses over the past few years, with Duke University in the US giving away free iPods to all incoming students to encourage them to use the devices for educational purposes.
Comments
There are 10 comments. Join the discussion
1. Ian Ashton
err - if they're already senior why are they being given leadership lessons? Is there any evidence this is an effective way to deliver this sort of training? Especially for senior staff?
Please follow this one up and report back in 6 months - when the iPods will no doubt be in the pockets of the senior civil servants' children - or a drawer.
2. Richard Davies
Why couldn't they post the video on an intranet / extranet which could then be viewed from any workstation that can access the network?
Wouldn't this be even cheaper as they would already have all the equipment necessary.
Also, how exactly do they think they will secure the devices to avoid misuse?
3. Sarah
What a ridiculous waste of money. How much would it have cost to produce a DVD that these "senior" civil servants could have played on either their laptops, which they will obviously have or on their DVD player or desktop PC at home? A fraction of the cost of these iPods. And then they could have been able to keep the DVD so that they could continue to watch these videos.
No wonder John Reid described the Home Office as "not fit for purpose". It would seem to be the case other than, of course, on wasting our money and creating spin.
4. Jon Strong
Hey, lighten up.
Firstly, it is obvious that they need training. Then again we all need to keep our skills up todate and advance them. There is the concept of lifetime learning.
Secondly, just using the audio downloads, from a post graduate course I'm undertaking, on a standard iPod is a great way of utilising the time I spend on the train and tube.
Different people learn in different ways and find different approaches useful. To me it doesn't seem like a bad investment for a trial.
Getting laptops out and up and running on the tube or train is always a hassle.
5. Jeremy Wickins
John, you are correct. But, by your own argument, there are some who would hate this - I'm one of them. Despite being technologically literate, the thought of learning anything from a poxy little machine gives me the willies. Better, I would have thought, to put the files on a server and let the learner choose when, where and how to do the work, including downloading to an iPod.
I suppose there might be an issue with security of the learning material, it being the Home Office and all, but in that case, why have it removable from the office where it could be shoulder-surfed on the Tube/bus, or stolen because it is on the most expensive and desirable-to-thieves gadget known to man??
Seems like an expensive gimmick to me.
6. anonymous
The Home Office spokeswoman needs to learn the difference between 'compared to' and 'compared with'.
7. Chris Goodman
It is customary (except apparently in the Civil Service) not to promote someone into a post until he/she is fully trained and competent to adequately carry out those duties.
Presumably these senior civil servants have been salaried as competent when in actual fact they are not - because they need further training.
And when they have completed their "lessons", do I take it that the iPods will be returned to store and then sold on the open market - or is this another "perk" to be kept (without telling the taxman of course!!).
8. Radical Meldrew
Toys for the boys? I would wholly endorse the use of ipods for learning packages if they were pooled centrally for use on future courses. The salient question is do they get to keep them at the tax payer's expense and, if they are, will they be classed as taxable benefits? I doubt it!
9. Richard
Ruggedized iPods for MoD?
Assuming that these iPods will be used across government, I'm trying to picture the multi-billion pound, 20 year MoD development programme to produce a ruggedized iPod - complete with alternative power-sources and shoulder straps to support its weight.
We need to know: Has such a programme started?
10. Benn Achilleas
20 video ipods = £9,000
A Home Office spokeswoman told silicon.com: "... the iPods are very competitive"
wouldn't you just love that iPod salesperson working for you.