Broadening the horizons of students in further education with Lyfta

Lyfta's storyworlds

Broaden horizons

Lyfta provides teachers and students with the opportunity to experience an array of new places and settings in an accessible way. Our content and lesson plans are mapped against a wide range of competencies and values that aim to nurture self-esteem, metacognitive thinking and a love of learning.

"We need to teach our youth how to master social interaction, how to build relationships and how to collaborate together. Humility, emergent leadership and creativity are essential competencies in the future where many routine jobs might not be available on a similar scale as now."

GAVIN DYKES

EDUCATION FAST FORWARD

Lyfta content also maps against Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications like BTEC Firsts; animal care, health and social care and sport to name a few. As career–focused vocational qualifications aimed at students who benefit more from practical application rather than theory, Lyfta is a perfect fit because our learning experience caters to different learning needs.

Gaining experience of the world and different cultural backgrounds

A study done by University of Tampere with groups of 18 - 21 year olds found that virtual immersive environments that contain interactive human stories can help reduce learners' social anxiety around meeting people from different cultural backgrounds.

"When I was younger I grew up in a very rural area of this country and didn't really see the world outside of it, I didn't see a motorway until I was 10 and so I've come a long way since then. If I was younger and had been shown those things it would have been a lot more impactful for me because I would've seen the world in a whole different way a whole lot sooner."

6-YEAR-OLD STUDENT

WYEDEAN SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE

By creating safe learning environments for young people to virtually travel the world and hear the stories of others in their own settings and environments, Lyfta supports the building of an intercultural capital 'resource bank' of sorts.

Viewing lives around the world is important as it gives students a more global perspective when considering their futures. In the Lyfta Awra Amba series, we introduce a community in Ethiopia that values equality, compassion and self-sufficiency. Awra Amba, now a thriving village of around 500 people, has 83 university graduates, several successful businesses, a kindergarten, a primary and secondary school, and even a health centre with its own lab.

Diversity, equity and inclusion education

Lyfta is helping vocational education providers address DEI education agendas and the 2010 Equality Act through content that includes representation of most of the nine protected characteristics, and data shows that young people would like more of these sorts of learning opportunities in the latter years of formal schooling to better prepare them for the wider world.

Pamela Chimutwi, Head of Sixth Form - UCGS

Engaging with new people in an immersive virtual setting gives students the opportunity to identify common interests and, as a result, develop more positive feelings towards them.' And for those students who may have experienced discrimination or marginalisation, Lyfta's storyworlds and documentary films also allow them an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the stories presented to them at school.

There are a wide range of storyworlds that can support teachers in exploring DEI issues with their students, as well as helping to make their curriculum offering more diverse and inclusive. For example Lyfta's immersive storyworlds cover a vast range of different countries around the world.

Although a lot of formal education is about ensuring young people attain strong academic outcomes, we know that by focusing on embedding values, not only are we helping to nurture their character but we're also supporting the development of key competencies crucial to successful academic achievement.

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