E-learning Innovation
Funding produces e-learning innovator:
a VET success storyHow much support do workplace learners need to effectively learn online and progress through long-term study?
Wide Bay Institute of TAFE used their 2008 Queensland E-learning Innovations funding and support to discuss this issue with industry, employers and learners, and develop a program which provided exactly the right level of learner workplace support.
They found that workplace learners are strongly influenced by their social and cultural surroundings and that these influences can have a big, and sometimes negative, impact on their learning outcomes.
To minimise this impact, Wide Bay developed an E-coaching in the Workplace program, which online trainers used as part of their initial induction with learners and their workplace coaches to promote the importance of a positive learning culture and to facilitate e-learning. The program outlined clear strategies to help workplace coaches support their learners.
The online trainers also worked closely with first-time learners and their onsite supervisors to help them understand the learning material and ensure that the workplace provided an environment conducive to learning. They used phone, instant messaging and online chat sessions in their one-to-one contact with learners, which helped to increase learner participation and the ‘learning experience’, boosting the overall success of their e-learning programs.
Tracie Regan, project manager at Wide Bay discussed with Flex e-News how the program has developed over the past year.
So, what’s been happening since you finished up your formal E-learning Innovations project in 2008?
The 2008 project was so successful that we decided to extend its reach within vocational education and training. We applied for and received funding again in 2009 to work with the six regional TAFE institutes to explore and improve e-learning activity with rural and remote based learners.
This project trialled a model for embedding e-learning in regional and remote Queensland. During the trial, a network of workplace coaches accessed a range of e-coaching resources which helped them to support teachers to use e-learning with their learners. The support provided to the teachers enabled them to create personalised training solutions for their learners.
How has the original e-learning project impacted your organisation?
The project empowered workplace coaches to better understand the online learning environment of their trainees and created more positive participation and active discussions between the online trainer, workplace coaches and learners regarding learning content.
Through the project we also identified that resources are required for not just the actual learning and assessment, but to support the e-learner and their online environment in a more holistic manner. It changed our attitude to supporting e-learners and brought about a real difference in how our e-learning programs are implemented.
And what’s next?
Basically, we’re hooked on e-learning. We want to keep being innovative in the online learning space, and we’re going to look at how to develop better defined, simulated environments that can be customised to a specific workplace and job role. We’d also like to encourage close industry discussion about how the online trainer role can be integrated with the workplace, providing a greater level of support for learners.
For more information about the Framework, its products, resources and support networks, contact: (07) 3307 4700,
email: enquiries@flexiblelearning.net.au or visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au
a VET success storyHow much support do workplace learners need to effectively learn online and progress through long-term study?
Wide Bay Institute of TAFE used their 2008 Queensland E-learning Innovations funding and support to discuss this issue with industry, employers and learners, and develop a program which provided exactly the right level of learner workplace support.
They found that workplace learners are strongly influenced by their social and cultural surroundings and that these influences can have a big, and sometimes negative, impact on their learning outcomes.
To minimise this impact, Wide Bay developed an E-coaching in the Workplace program, which online trainers used as part of their initial induction with learners and their workplace coaches to promote the importance of a positive learning culture and to facilitate e-learning. The program outlined clear strategies to help workplace coaches support their learners.
The online trainers also worked closely with first-time learners and their onsite supervisors to help them understand the learning material and ensure that the workplace provided an environment conducive to learning. They used phone, instant messaging and online chat sessions in their one-to-one contact with learners, which helped to increase learner participation and the ‘learning experience’, boosting the overall success of their e-learning programs.
Tracie Regan, project manager at Wide Bay discussed with Flex e-News how the program has developed over the past year.
So, what’s been happening since you finished up your formal E-learning Innovations project in 2008?
The 2008 project was so successful that we decided to extend its reach within vocational education and training. We applied for and received funding again in 2009 to work with the six regional TAFE institutes to explore and improve e-learning activity with rural and remote based learners.
This project trialled a model for embedding e-learning in regional and remote Queensland. During the trial, a network of workplace coaches accessed a range of e-coaching resources which helped them to support teachers to use e-learning with their learners. The support provided to the teachers enabled them to create personalised training solutions for their learners.
How has the original e-learning project impacted your organisation?
The project empowered workplace coaches to better understand the online learning environment of their trainees and created more positive participation and active discussions between the online trainer, workplace coaches and learners regarding learning content.
Through the project we also identified that resources are required for not just the actual learning and assessment, but to support the e-learner and their online environment in a more holistic manner. It changed our attitude to supporting e-learners and brought about a real difference in how our e-learning programs are implemented.
And what’s next?
Basically, we’re hooked on e-learning. We want to keep being innovative in the online learning space, and we’re going to look at how to develop better defined, simulated environments that can be customised to a specific workplace and job role. We’d also like to encourage close industry discussion about how the online trainer role can be integrated with the workplace, providing a greater level of support for learners.
For more information about the Framework, its products, resources and support networks, contact: (07) 3307 4700,
email: enquiries@flexiblelearning.net.au or visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au
posted by Adult Learning Australia
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