Brisbane Seminar

POLITICS, POLICY, RESEARCH: COORDINATION OF A NATIONAL APPROACH TO E-SKILLING SOUTH AFRICA YOU ARE INVITED TO THE EIDOS INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL EVENT SERIES LUNCHTIME SEMINAR

On Friday December 4, Eidos Institute, in collaboration with QUT’s Institute for Creative Industries and the South African e-Skills University Alliance, will be hosting a free lunchtime seminar at the Eidos Institute Head Office, 166 Ann St Brisbane.


The seminar will focus on the Meraka e-Skills (e-SI) Institute’s development of an e-Skills agenda in South Africa using a ‘4 x 4’ model which involves four universities, four categories of e-Skills and four localities in which to commence demonstrating the potential impact of a coordinated approach.

NCVER Scholarships

Giving novice VET researchers a boost


Ten NCVER Communities of Practice scholarships are available for novice researchers working in the VET sector. Successful applicants will receive $4,000 to help them participate in a community of practice where they will receive peer support as well as the assistance of a mentor to guide them through a research project.



If you have a problem in your workplace that research could help you solve then we want to hear from you!



Applications close Wednesday, 17 February 2010. For more information, including how to apply and eligibility criteria visit www.ncver.edu.au/research/opportunities.html#Community_of_practice_scholarships_for_VET_practitioners or contact Bridget Wibrow on 08 8230 8450.

E-learning News

From experiment to embedding – how one WA business embraced e-learning


It started as an idea and developed into a fully-fledged commitment to embed e-learning as a teaching and training tool.


When the Central Institute of Technology in Western Australia (formerly Central TAFE) applied for E-learning Innovations funding in 2008, pockets of teachers within the organisation were delivering e-learning, but with little coordination.


To address this Central made a bold commitment that in three years they wanted to embed e-learning within their organisation, improving online delivery and enhancing support for those learners engaged in e-learning.


The funding was used to develop a new e-learning facilitation model which provided a template to train current and future online facilitators. This training included guidelines on developing and updating online courses; as well as timing, delivery methods, expectations and staff requirements for a successful e-learning program.


From speaking to project manager Keith Critchett, it’s clear that Central has gone from strength to strength since receiving their initial E-learning Innovations seed funding.


What's happened since you developed your e-learning facilitation model in 2008?


We have a much more holistic view of e-learning. Dedicated e-learning staff are now employed at the college, including three mentors and a Leader Online Learning. Our new innovative practice budget is allocated solely to the development of e-learning resources and educational technologies and integrates e-learning into the college’s business planning. Priorities are set to review IT services to ensure infrastructure can continue to support e-learning.

This focus has seen the number of students with access to online resources double from April to October this year, and up to 74 new e-learning projects are underway.

Most importantly though, there’s an enthusiastic cohort of teaching staff providing their students with a range of e-learning services in a consistent way. Teachers are using wikis, new course development, social media, audio recording, vodcasting and podcasting to better connect with their learners.

Can you give an example of how e-learning has been embedded at Central?

This year we launched the E-PR program, which received 2009 E-learning Innovations funding, to deliver e-learning to public relations students.

With social media emerging as a valuable channel for organisations to engage in dialogue with their clients, we wanted to give our students the PR 2.0 (social media) expertise that would help them stand out to future employers.

We encouraged students studying the Certificate IV and the Diploma of Public Relations to experiment with a range of media including Twitter, Facebook, wikis and blogs. The aim of the trial was to create responsible digital citizens and help students understand why they were using social media and the effect it had.

The students used a range of social media to market their road safety event and media campaigns, and feedback from their work experience placements was that the social media knowledge they brought to the organisation was hugely beneficial. Their campaign was also financially endorsed by RoadWise and Optus.


What started as an experiment has now been embedded as a key component of the PR courses at Central and will continue to be rolled out in 2010.


Is the sky the limit for e-learning at Central?


We think so. We’re going to use a mix of high profile online developments for Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications to increase Central's online brand. By the end of 2011, we’re planning for each course to have at least a minimum online presence, plus we want to increase the number of courses using online collaboration, e-assessment, communication tools and interactive learning materials.


This will contribute to enhancing our organisational capability to sustain e-learning and mainstream innovation in education.

New Tender for Migrant English

The Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson, today announced the new tender for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), the Government’s largest settlement program.


It currently provides English language tuition and support to eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants in more than 250 locations.


“This tender is for a new model of services, including enhanced vocational counselling to help migrants identify their own learning path and track their progress through the program,” Mr Ferguson said.

ABS Report

EDUCATION AND WORK, AUSTRALIA, MAY 2009


The proportion of people studying information technology decreased from 9% in 2001 to 3% in 2009. The most common field of education (for persons enrolled in a non-school qualification) was Management and commerce (26%), followed by Society and culture (19%), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. About 2.7 million people (19% of all Australians aged 15-64) were enrolled in a course of study in May 2009 compared to 18% in 2001. Qualifications such as Bachelor Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates are being undertaken by more Australians than in previous years. However, the number of apprentices dropped from 188,700 in 2008 to 163,000 in 2009.

See http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6227.0?OpenDocument

E-learning for a greener future

As Australia seeks to build a sustainable economy, the vocational education and training (VET) system is playing a vital role in ensuring that today’s learners have the skills they need for the jobs of the future.


Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Education Julia Gillard has confirmed that the Government is taking a National Green Skills Agreement to the COAG (Council of Australian Governments) meeting next month that will:


set national standards of green practice and teaching in VET,

update existing training for apprentices to include green skills,

assist VET practitioners to learn new green skills to pass on to learners,

develop a program to assist vulnerable workers to develop green skills.


The National Green Skills Agreement has been endorsed by all states and territories, and will give businesses and individuals a valuable opportunity to contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon economy in their workplaces and communities.


Minister Gillard has said that the new green skills program is essential to support the VET system to “re-equip or re-skill millions of Australians between now and 2025”, in order to meet Australia’s sustainability targets and goals.


E-learning and green skillsThe flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and just-in-time nature of e-learning means that it is well placed to assist the VET system to deliver green skills to this new generation of learners.


For several years, innovative VET practitioners have been using e-learning to support sustainable practices across a range of industries, with funding and support from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework).


Sustainability has been a focus of several of the Framework’s E-learning Innovations projects in 2008 and 2009. These projects deliver innovative e-learning solutions to support a greener future in a variety of ways, including helping businesses to develop sustainable office practices, developing specific training in sustainability for managers, and supporting sustainable change in urban landscapes.


Environmental Sustainabilit-e Online – Skills Strategies InternationalIn 2008, this project used online training to increase the provision of the sustainable land management program delivered by not-for-profit organisation, Great Gardens. The Great Gardens program provides free environmental sustainability workshops across Western Australia which show participants how they can create a sustainable home and garden which uses less water, energy and nutrients, and produces less waste.


In its initial phase, the project used e-learning in a range of ways to supplement and support the delivery of Great Gardens’ face-to-face workshops. This included redeveloping the Great Gardens website, resulting in a 35% increase in use of the site. The revamped site comprised a mixture of:


E-information – Skills Strategies International worked with the Great Gardens trainers to film and edit a series of short gardening instructional videos, which are available for free on the website. The site also features an article database and soil search database, which allows users to type in their suburb name or postcard to access a document explaining the properties of the soil in their local area, and associated plants suitable for their garden.
E-learning – Skills Strategies International used Ning software to create a social network which is accessible through the website. The network is a popular way for people who have attended a Great Gardens workshop to maintain a community of practice, and currently has more than 300 members.
E-business services – The site includes an online events calendar, and an electronic booking system where users can see upcoming workshop dates, and book in to attend.
Project Manager Steve McVey explained that due to the success of the project in 2008, Skills Strategies International has continued to work with Great Gardens to extend their adoption of e-learning.


“Great Gardens is now working to deliver their workshops in remote areas via Elluminate web conferencing, and they’re also using RFID technology to deliver just-in-time learning to workshop participants,” Steve said.


“Great Gardens also recently negotiated to make the Western Australian Water Corporation’s Water Wise professional level training program available for free online. Great Gardens will transform the delivery of this program, making it more engaging by using Moodle software to give learners access to a range of material including PowerPoint presentations and interactive quizzes.”


Business Sustainabilit-e – Kiama Community CollegeBusiness Treading Lightly (BTL) is a project team of sustainability consultants within the New South Wales Southern Councils Group who help businesses in south east New South Wales to implement sustainable business practices.
When BTL recognised they were not using technology to its full potential as part of their sustainability solution, they enlisted Kiama Community College to teach them to use web 2.0 technologies to enhance how BTL networks and communicates with their clients, and to also reduce the need for travel and the associated ecological and financial expense.


Kiama Community College helped BTL to take the step from teleconferencing to web conferencing, using applications including Elluminate, discovere and edna Groups. BTL also learned how to use cost effective web based file sharing options to enhance their organisational communication.


Project Manager Helen Zwicker from Kiama Community College said that the Business Sustainabilit-e project will have an ongoing positive impact beyond BTL, as BTL is passing on their new knowledge to their clients.


“The BTL team have the skills and capacity to introduce these sustainable technologies to their client groups, and will be supported by Kiama Community College, who are continuing to develop resources to help BTL’s clients to embed sustainable e-practices into their business,” Helen said.

Social Inclusion Week

Social Inclusion Week spotlights the need to think inclusively


The Australian Human Right Commission welcomes today’s launch of Social Inclusion Week.
Commission President Cathy Branson said the week provided an opportunity to celebrate our commitment to creating an Australia where everyone can get a ‘fair go’.


“Social Inclusion Week is a time to consider the efforts we are individually and collectively making towards creating a genuinely inclusive society,” Ms Branson said.


“It is also a time to reflect on the challenges we, as a community, face in creating a society in which all, including the more vulnerable among us, are able to participate fully in all aspects of community life. Ensuring that we better understand and respect human rights is one of these challenges,” she said.


“Knowing about your human rights, and also about your obligations to respect the rights of others, is critical to an inclusive society.”


She said the Social Inclusion Agenda focused attention on key human rights such as: the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the provision of the widest possible protection and assistance to the family; and the right to live free from discrimination.


“Social Inclusion is also about ensuring that every child has access to an education which will develop the child’s abilities to their fullest potential,” Ms Branson said.


“Social Inclusion reminds us that if these rights are to be enjoyed by all, it is important that we address multiple and persistent disadvantage, and that we recognise when intervention and assistance to individuals or families is critically required. It reminds us also of how essential it is that we maintain supportive and functional communities.”


Ms Branson said the Commission was currently involved in several projects that advanced the social inclusion agenda including the Close the Gap Campaign for Indigenous health equality and efforts to promote adequate retirement incomes for Australian women.


Other Commission work that has a strong social inclusion dimension includes:

research into the life long impacts of hearing impairments and deafness on Indigenous children;
national consultations on the barriers and positive strategies to improve social inclusion for people from African Australian backgrounds;
mapping the geography of racism in Australia and developing locational strategies to promote cohesion; and
advancing the participation of people with a disability and their families by improving accessibility in areas such as public transport, public buildings, education and media - such as cinema and TV captions.


“The Australian Human Rights Commission is keen to strengthen the Social Inclusion Agenda so that it benefits all people in Australia,” Ms Branson said.


“We are also thinking about how social inclusion approaches can positively influence our own ways of working with communities.


“I hope that Social Inclusion week will remind everyone to consider these questions and challenges.”

Indigenous statistical resource

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has developed an online resource which brings together all of its statistics and research on Indigenous Australians and vocational education and training (VET).

Anyone with an interest in Indigenous issues can access a range of publications which have been organised into themes such as Indigenous participation in VET, identity and culture and community involvement at www.indigenousvet.edu.au.

This resource also contains data from NCVER's three major statistical collections; the National VET Provider Collection, the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection and the Student Outcomes Survey.

A similar resource on disability research and statistics is currently being developed and will be available at the end of 2009.

Meanwhile you can access all of NCVER’s statistics on people with a disability at: http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2157.html.

NSW e-conference

elearning09 engaging e-learners is being held on 7 -8 December 2009 at The Menzies Hotel, Sydney.

Hear leading Instructional Designer Cathy Moore and learn about the 40 NSW programs funded through E-learning Innovations

Go to http://flexiblelearning.net.au/contents/nsw-framework-group for details

Conference Paper

Introducing Open Classroom 2.0 to teachers through immersive learning

EDEN Seventh Open Classroom Conference

18 November, 2009

This paper addresses the challenge of engaging teachers in opening up the learning environment through the use of social software and other Web 2.0 tools.

New paper

Learning to teach in Second Life

Lina Morgado, Angelina Macedo

EDEN Seventh Open Classroom Conference

18 November, 2009

Virtual environment tools and Second Life, in particular, have great potential for teaching and learning as they enhance the development of socialization skills, peer and group work, critical thinking and problem solving.

Developments in Victoria

JOB PATHWAYS NOW CLEARER FOR LOWEST-SKILLED LEARNERS


Victoria's lowest-skilled learners now have clearer pathways to getting the jobs they want thanks to a new $4 million teaching and learning model launched for the community-based education sector today. Skills and Workforce Participation Minister Jacinta Allan said the A-Frame model for Victoria's 350 adult and community education providers was designed to streamline students' movements from community-based learning providers into TAFE, training or university.


"We know there are 1.6 million Victorians without post secondary education, and that's why the Brumby Labor Government is strengthening adult community education," Ms Allan said.

New Toolboxes

Get flexible with new e-learning Toolboxes


Three new Flexible Learning Toolboxes (Toolboxes) have just been released by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.


These Toolboxes were developed in consultation with Industry Skills Councils and have been upgraded to Series 12 specifications, with content designed to meet changed Training Package requirements. Learning objects from these Toolboxes are also available from the Toolbox Repository.


TAA E-learning E-lectives (12.10)
The TAA E-learning Electives Toolbox supports the delivery of three units from the e-learning stream of the Diploma in Training and Assessment (TAA50104) that can also be used as chosen elective/s in either the Certificate IV or the Diploma qualifications. This Toolbox also acts as a useful professional development tool for trainers and assessors that would like to develop their skills as an e-learning facilitator and/or designer of e-learning resources.
The scenario based learning approach is developed around Optimal Learning Solutions (OLS), a fictitious registered training organisation providing training and assessment services to a range of government, private and industry bodies. It is designed to complement the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment Toolbox (607) which is also based on OLS.


Cybertots (12.11)
The Cybertots Toolbox supports delivery of the Certificate III in Community Services (Children's Services). The revamped Toolbox immerses the learner in a virtual child care centre allowing them to experience the role of a caregiver. Through problem-based projects and communication activities in which they interact with the workers and children at Cybertots, learners develop skills and knowledge necessary for working in the child care profession.
Units of competency are grouped into projects, with each project containing one or more sections to focus learning on a particular skills set or area of knowledge. This approach reflects the way learners are assessed in the workplace, allowing them to follow a natural learning progression.
The Toolbox prepares the learner for workplace assessment where they can put the skills learnt into practice, and also offers a skills recognition tool to support RPL (recognition of prior learning) processes.


Small Business Management (12.12)
This Toolbox covers 10 units of competency from the Certificate IV in Small Business Management (BSB40407). Each competency provides a variety of information and activities to support qualifications in managing a small business.

The Toolbox is designed to:
assist people working in or planning to work in small business
provide small business owners and managers with a range of skills and competencies to enable them to establish and grow their small business ventures.


Learners can work through an entire unit of competency, or simply explore specific topics or activities of personal interest.After choosing a unit of competency, learners are presented with an overarching task requiring them to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the unit to a small business. Learners may choose to apply this task to their own business, another business that they can access or one of the example businesses provided within the Toolbox.


For more information about Toolboxes, visit http://flexiblelearning.net.au/toolboxes

Victorian Draft Guidelines

VRQA DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR VET PROVIDERS


On 12 September 2009 the Minister for Skills, the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, directed the VRQA to develop guidelines to strengthen the quality of Vocational Education & Training (VET) providers. VRQA consulted with major stakeholders, including the Victorian TAFE Association and the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, to draft the Guidelines.

The Guidelines are now open for public feedback and are available on the VRQA website www.vrqa.vic.gov.au. Training providers are being briefed in detail from today and more detailed workshops around the draft Guidelines with senior VRQA staff will be offered to interested providers.

NCVER Report

Apprenticeships in the downturn


_Tom Karmel, Josie Misko


A description of what we know about apprenticeships and traineeships, and the likely impact of the recent economic downturn on them.


http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2197.html

NCVER Paper

Practitioner experiences and expectations with the Certificate IV in Training
and Assessment (TAA40104):

A discussion of the issues


_Berwyn Clayton_


The history of the Certificate IV Training and Assessment (TAA04) qualification and some key issues relating to the quality of delivery.
http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2183.html

2009 VET Teacher of the Year Award

A diverse and original body of work has seen the 2009 Vocational Education and Training (VET) Researcher of the Year Award posthumously awarded to Professor Chris Selby Smith.

Dr Tom Karmel, Managing Director of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) said Chris was a major contributor to research on the economics of education for nearly 40 years.

MCTEE Meeting Outcome

The Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) meeting agreed to strengthen the tertiary education sector and its capacity to meet Australia's future demands for a highly skilled workforce. Ministers agreed on key reforms and structures to improve the quality and integrity of Australia's tertiary education sector and agreed to steps to mitigate the current economic climate. Australia is one step closer to a stronger more inter-connected tertiary sector as a result of today's Ministerial Council. The Council considered: regulatory arrangements; international education; economic demands; Green Skills; higher education; progress on equity outcomes; and a more effective Ministerial Council.

MCTEE Outcome

LANDMARK DECISION ON NATIONAL REGULATOR


The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, welcomed a landmark decision by the majority of State and Territory Education Ministers to support the formation of a new, independent national regulator for the vocational education and training sector. The regulator will be responsible for undertaking the registration and audit of registered training providers across the country. The agreement was made at the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) meeting in Canberra today, with a framework for the new regulation to be agreed by the end of May 2010 and the regulator beginning operation from 2011. Ministers will be recommending to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that the new vocational education regulator will be a Commonwealth statutory authority with the Victorian and Western Australia Ministers supported the consideration of other models to achieve national regulation.

BELEM

FISC: REGISTRATION FOR PARTICIPANTS CLOSES ON NOVEMBER, 21ST

Over 1200 people are expected to participate at the FISC, to be held in Belém do Pará, Brazil, from 28 to 30 NovemberRegistration for participants closes on November, 21st. The FISC is open to the participation of organizations and individuals from all countries around the world.

Approximately 1200 participants are expected to gather together in Belém, among them: activists, learners and educators from all over the world and academics in the field of Youth and Adult Education.Participants from the State of Pará must contact fiscpara@fisc2009.org

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in order to register. All the rest of the participants, whether from other Brazilian States or from abroad, must complete the registration form, available here.

Confirmation will be sent via e-mail. Doubts must be sent to fisc2009@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .FISC programme includes conceptual activities, coordinated by experts in the field of Youth and Adult Education, activists, educators and learners.

Education in prison, interculturality, rural education and environmental education, among many others, are some of the issues that will be discussed at the Forum. Participants can also propose their own activities (click here to know more).

The FISC will be held at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA, for its acronym in Portuguese).

The event will promote the exchange and articulation of different civil society movements, networks and organizations and prepare the participation of the civil society in the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI).

New research to bring assessment into the digital age

As well as transforming how learning is being designed and delivered, advances in technology are driving significant changes in how the Australian vocational education and training (VET) system is assessing learners and recognising competency.

Reliable, fair and flexible assessment that demonstrates competence against industry standards is the cornerstone of a strong VET system [1]. The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) 2007 supports this by promoting standards that ensure assessment is aligned with well-established principles and rules of evidence.

According to the 2009 national E-learning Benchmarking Survey, 62% of teachers and 46% of registered training organisations (RTOs) are using online assessment activities.

However, the challenge of designing quality assessment in a digital age can result in uncertainty around processes, practices, quality assurance, and initial and ongoing training for assessors and auditors.

University of Queensland Professor Victor Callan, together with Berwyn Clayton from Victoria University, is conducting a national research project to examine what can be done to promote greater confidence in the validity of e-assessment in the Australian VET system.

Funded and supported by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), this research will explore the views of expert practitioners, assessors and auditors on establishing practical recommendations for e-assessment processes that require auditing under the AQTF.

The research is based on the premise that quality online assessment requires practical information and guidelines around:

creating better methods to ensure e-assessment yields evidence that is relevant, valid and authentic
expanding learning and assessment options to include self assessment, peer assessment and group/collaborative assessment
monitoring and measuring online interactions and contributions between learners and between learners and teachers
supporting learners in gathering evidence that demonstrates authentic learner performance on tasks.

Professor Callan suggests that current uncertainty around e-assessment has resulted from an attempt to fit existing traditional assessment methods into a new training agenda that requires more on-the-job and flexible training.

“Flexible delivery has become a key priority to meet the changing skill needs of industry, but with that is the need for greater flexibility in assessment principles and new approaches for assessing and recognising learner competence,” Professor Callan said.

“The key challenge for e-learning and e-assessment is to ensure that this flexibility does not impact negatively upon quality.”

Professor Callan will work with Berwyn Clayton to conduct widespread consultation with a range of VET stakeholders in late 2009 and early 2010.

If you can assist with this research project, or would like to suggest a particular individual or organisation for consultation, please contact Professor Victor Callan by phone: (07) 3365 9009, or by email: v.callan@business.uq.edu.au

For further information about the auditing and assessment research project, please contact the Framework’s Benchmarking and Research Business Manager, Annie Fergusson, by phone: (08) 8348 4071, or email: annie.fergusson@sa.gov.au

Innovative e-assessment tools and technologies
According to the National Audit and Registration Agency’s (NARA) Julie Northridge, there are many new assessment tools and technologies that can help address the challenges of e-assessment including the importance of valid and authentic assessment, rules of evidence and quality assurance.

“Some RTOs are providing online learners with webcams and are using Skype to verify the learner’s identity for assessment,” Ms Northridge said.

“The days when auditors only looked at paper-based evidence are gone. Today, desk audits often involve the review of soft-copy files, websites and intranet systems.”

The QTImPlayer is one example of good practice in e-assessment. Developed by Tasmanian Polytechnic with funding and support from the Framework, the QTImPlayer can operate on any hand-held mobile device with Microsoft Windows Mobile software.

It allows teachers and trainers to download AQTF-compliant assessment tools to a device, assess learners in a practical, hands-on environment, upload the results, and collect and store electronic evidence such as photos, video and audio. This evidence can be emailed back into the organisation’s IT system and can be easily accessed by an auditor.

Professor Callan also points to the e-portfolio as an example of an innovative tool that is helping to meet the assessment needs of a new training environment. He says that the new training agenda’s demand for more RPL (recognition of prior learning) and on-the-job assessment has led to an increase in the uptake of new approaches like e-portfolios, which streamline evidence gathering and validation.

[1] Callan, V. & Clayton, B. (2009) A project examining and promoting a greater understanding by both auditors and practitioners of the issues in relation to e-learning assessment (e-assessment) http://2009.edayz.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=155

AARNET

AARNet takes large files to the cloud


CloudStor to improve collaboration and information-sharing opportunities


Sydney, AUSTRALIA – 19 November 2009 – AARNet (Australia’s Academic and Research Network) has launched CloudStor, a new web-based large file transfer service for customers which allows the secure electronic transfer of virtually any file type regardless of size. File transfers of up to 55 gigabytes have already been proven on CloudStor and trials are currently underway for the transfer of larger files.


Developed in collaboration between AARNet and its overseas partner organisations in Norway and Ireland (UniNett and HEANet), CloudStor is a complimentary service for AARNet members. It has been designed to facilitate the distribution of large files such as large data sets generated in a research workflow or academic presentations. CloudStor is hosted on AARNet natively and allows users to securely upload files to a central storage point from which Australian and overseas collaborators can then download the file by following simple instructions sent to them in an automatically generated email notification.


Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet said, “The ability to share information between Australian and international scientific and research communities is critical for seamless collaboration to take place. CloudStor demonstrates the importance of a high speed network to improve the productivity of our users by enabling large file transfers to take place over AARNet’s network.”
Guido Aben, Director eResearch at AARNet said, “In the past, a variety of reasons forced many of our customers to use physical media such as hard disks or thumb drives sent through the postal service if they had to transfer large files. That situation had to stop, and with CloudStor we believe we’re providing a compelling reason for customers to keep their hard disks at home.”
All file transfers are done over HTTP or HTTPS so there is no need for users to open additional ports on their firewall. CloudStor allows files to be temporarily saved for downloading — multiple times if needed — before they are automatically deleted.


AARNet members involved in the initial trials for CloudStor have overwhelmingly endorsed their experience with the service:

Dr Christine Wells from the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research said, “We are generating very large data files from whole-genome or whole-transcriptome sequencing, which we wanted to share with collaborators in the USA and Europe. Until now, we have had to rely on couriering the information on external hard drives. The new AARNet application has made sharing large files a much faster, simpler process.”

Stirling Bowen, Manager of the Southern Cross Plant Genomics Facility of Southern Cross University said, “We needed to send a large amount of compressed data to colleagues in Copenhagen quickly, so we trialled CloudStor. The results were excellent. We were impressed by how easy it is to use and it has become an important part of our operation.”

Dr David Parsons, Chief Medical Scientist of the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Women’s & Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide said, “Recently while attending a conference in the United States I needed to send a large amount of image information from a collaborator for rapid assessment to my team in Australia. Fortunately, I was able to do this through CloudStor. It has brought about greater flexibility in our approach to collaboration and information sharing with colleagues.”


About AARNet


AARNet Pty Ltd (APL) is the company that operates Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet). It is a not-for-profit company limited by shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO. AARNet provides high-capacity leading edge Internet services for the tertiary education and research sector communities and their research partners. AARNet serves more than one million end users who access the network through local area networks at member institutions.

For further information, please visit: www.aarnet.edu.au.

Gillard announcement

The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, announced on Thursday 5 November 2009 an important new program commitment from the Australian Government to boost productivity and skills of existing workers in small, medium and national enterprises.

The Minister’s media release - Government partners with industry to provide additional training places

The announcement identifies that Industry Skills Councils, including IBSA, will work with businesses and national professional associations and industry organisations to recommend skilling and productivity proposals to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) for shared industry-government funding.

As arrangements for the program are put into place further information will be available on the IBSA website or the DEEWR website - Enterprise Based Productivity Places Program.

ATA Innovative Business Award

Blue Dog Training was last night awarded the prestigious Innovative Business Award at the Australian Training Awards in Canberra.

The award recognises Blue Dog Training as a vocational education and training (VET) system leader in using technology to deliver high quality, flexible and engaging training which is tailored to the needs of their learners.

Blue Dog Training, a Queensland-based training provider, has embedded e-learning at the theoretical, practical and assessment stages of the training process. This allows Blue Dog to deliver truly flexible training to their carpentry, engineering and concreting apprentices.

Blue Dog has custom-designed, interactive, animation-rich learning resources and quizzes which learners complete online during work down time. Blue Dog also uses an electronic skills profile which documents photographic and journal evidence of learners’ practical competencies, and is an integral part of the assessment process.

The comprehensive and well-designed way in which Blue Dog has embedded e-learning at all stages of the training process saw Blue Dog overcome a number of quality finalists to receive the Innovative Business Award, sponsored by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework).

Rod Arthur, Chair of the Framework’s managing body, the Flexible Learning Advisory Group (FLAG), said the selection panel was particularly impressed by how Blue Dog is creating learner-centred e-learning solutions, and using technology to deliver a high rate of training qualifications in a skills shortage area.

“Blue Dog Training is not only using technology to provide learners with greater choice and control over when, where and how training is delivered, but is specifically designing hands-on e-learning to suit the practical learning style of many learners in the trades,” Mr Arthur said.

“By working in a close three-way partnership with employers and apprentices, Blue Dog Training is developing opportunities for tailored training that addresses skills gaps in the workforce.”

Kris Andre, a Director of Blue Dog Training, said that it was an honour to receive the Innovative Business Award, and that Blue Dog is not resting on their achievements.

“We’re currently developing our own tailored learning platform which will allow us to customise our learning resources even further; and have developed and implemented a successful numeracy program for school students.”

The Innovative Business Award was presented at the gala awards dinner held at Exhibition Park in Canberra.

The award recognises an organisation which has demonstrated excellence in using ICT to deliver education and training programs. For more information on the 2009 Australian Training Awards, visit: http://australiantrainingawards.gov.au

NCVER Paper

Job requirements and lifelong learning for older workers

Chris Ryan, Mathias G. Sinning National Centre for Vocational Education Research13 November, 2009

The relationship between job requirements, individual skills and the participation of workers in further education and training, with an emphasis on older workers, is the focus of this report.

Darwin Australian Technical College

The Australian and Northern Territory Governments announced that the Australian Technical College (ATC) - Darwin will be integrated into the Northern Territory education and training system. The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard and Northern Territory Chief Minister and Minister for Education and Training, The Hon Paul Henderson, welcomed the agreement. The Australian Government has decided to move funding from the ATC to the trade training model in the Northern Territory.

CONFINTEA VI

ON THE PROGRAMME


CONFINTEA VI’s main aim will be to draw attention to the ways in which adult learning and education relate and contribute to sustainable development in all its facets – social, economic, ecological and cultural. It will explore the issues affecting adult learning and education today, including policies, structures and financing; inclusion and participation; quality; and literacy.
The programme will consist of a series of plenary sessions (keynote addresses, presentations and roundtable discussions), commissions and workshops.


The timetable for CONFINTEA VI can be downloaded from the official website www.unesco.org/en/confinteavi/confintea‐vi/programme.


Keynote Addresses:


•• "Living and Learning for a Viable Future: The Power of Adult Learning"
Speaker: Senator Maria Osmarina Marina Silva Vaz de Lima, Senado Federal, Brazil (Tuesday, 1 December)
•• "Towards Lifelong Learning"
Speaker: Kasama Varavarn, former Secretary‐General of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand (Thursday, 3 December)
••"From Rhetoric to Action"
Speaker: Paul Bélanger, Professor for Lifelong Learning, Université du Québec à Montréal, and President of ICAE (Friday, 4 December)
A series of Roundtables will offer participants the opportunity to attend moderated discussions with a range of highlevel panellists and respondents from Member States, most of
them ministers. These sessions will focus on the following key issues:
••Policies and Governance for Adult Education
••Financing of Adult Education
••Literacy as a Key Competence for Lifelong Learning
••Assuring Quality of Adult Education and Assessing Learning Outcomes
••The Way Forward



A special session will be held on "Inclusion and Participation in and through Adult Education".
The Commission will be open to all delegations.


Its role will be to carry out discussions and reach agreements on pending issues and recommendations based on the draft outcome document. The Commission’s proposals will then be submitted to the Drafting Committee for consideration.


The themes of the workshops reflect the key issues of the Conference.


The main working documents for CONFINTEA VI are available on the website, including the Annotated Agenda and the preliminary draft of the Belém Framework for Action.

11 November launch

SENATOR THE HON URSULA STEPHENS
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

LAUNCH OF UNITED WAY AUSTRALIA COMMUNITY IMPACT STRATEGY AND 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNITED WAY SYDNEY

11 NOVEMBER 2009

Acknowledgements
- Dr Peter Shergold, Macquarie Group Foundation, Centre for Social Impact
- Catherine Hunter, Director Corporate Citizenship, KPMG
- Teresa Hall Bartels, Senior Vice President, United Way Worldwide
- Mr Doug Taylor, CEO, United Way Australia

Before I begin, I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Cadigal people, and pay my respects to their Elders, both past and present.

It’s a pleasure to be here again at the United Way Australia conference. Yesterday I had the chance to speak with United Way staff about the transformational changes taking place across the sector. And so it’s lovely to be back here again to celebrate 25 years of commitment by United Way Sydney to supporting grassroots activity in its community.

But today also marks another important occasion – Remembrance Day. A day to acknowledge the men and women who died during the First World War and all wars.

So today we reflect a little on our past, which serves to remind us that the freedom we enjoy today came at a cost. And to remember how all Australians pulled together to support each other during those times of adversity.

We have seen some of this generosity of spirit just this year in the overwhelming outpouring of public support for fellow Australians caught up in the tragedy of floods and fires.

The image of a flood affected Queenslander mailing off their disaster recovery payment cheque to the Australian Bushfire Fund is a poignant picture of our innate desire to help out others who are doing it tougher than us.

And this deeply human need to help, is at the heart of the government’s social inclusion agenda.

This agenda is about making a real difference in the lives of people who are struggling to get by and who feel little hope for the future.

It’s about creating a community where everyone has the right and the opportunity to seek to fulfil their potential – whether that be through learning, working in paid employment or participation in the life of the community, and most importantly of all, having their voice heard.

These seem like such basic needs that it should be easy enough to ensure are met. And yet, despite so much effort over so many years, we still don’t seem to have broken the back of deep disadvantage. The work of Professor Tony Vinson in revealing that just 1.7 per cent of postcodes and communities across Australia account for more than seven times their share of intergenerational poverty, made that strikingly clear.

So all of us working in this space have to face up to the reality that many of the approaches we’ve tried in the past simply haven’t worked. Despite the good intentions, the dollars spent and the effort invested, people remain excluded from community life.

This is humbling stuff, and so I take my hat off to United Way for its decision to invest in research and reflective thinking to reassess the approaches of the past, and to come up with better ways to achieve a real community impact.

I understand that the late Mark Lyons assisted in preparing The Common Cause report which led to the development of your Community Impact Strategy. So I would like to acknowledge this contribution and the many other contributions he made to the sector. Mark’s gift of knowledge to the sector was so important because it has helped the sector to understand itself. I know that all of us who work in this space will be deeply saddened by this loss.

Mark also contributed significantly to the government’s thinking around how we engage with the sector and work together towards our vision of a more inclusive Australia.

We have also sought the advice and counsel of other Australian experts in social policy and praxis. Soon after coming to government, the Prime Minister appointed the Australian Social Inclusion Board to help guide the government’s new approach to tackling entrenched disadvantage.

The board developed a new approach to social policy-making that focused on the need to build partnerships across and between governments, and with the communities and organisations on the ground. It advocated the need for evidence-based policy – finding out what programs and services work well and understanding why, so you can share good ideas. And there was also a strong focus on using locational approaches and developing tailored services so that each person’s individual needs could be met.

A lot of this will seem oddly familiar if you’ve read United Way’s Community Impact Strategy!

The interesting thing is that individually, we have arrived at a similar destination. Which of course is comforting given the old adage “great minds think alike.”

We have both come to the conclusion that innovative approaches, based on evidence and carried out in partnership, are the best way to make a positive community impact.

So what might this look like?

Last month I had the pleasure of being part of a vibrant, buzzy world forum on social enterprise in Melbourne, where I chaired a session about demonstrating the value of social enterprise. Session panellists explored ways of expanding the traditional reporting framework to take into account the environmental and social impact of an organisation.

What struck me as I listened to their presentations was the multiple benefits of being able to gather triple-bottom-line evidence. Not only does building such an evidence-base improve the organisation’s chances of securing investment but it also enables practitioners themselves to determine whether the social enterprise is succeeding in its mission. And it enables channelling of increased resources into programs that work.

The Social Enterprise World Forum also provided some good case studies of innovative approaches made possible through cross-sector partnerships.

The UK’s “Spark Challenge” is one of my favourite examples of a perhaps slightly audacious approach to using private-public-community partnerships to build social enterprise.

Spark’s ultimate mission is to enable others to develop viable businesses that will create a sustainable route out of homelessness. And it is a formal partner with the UK government’s homelessness strategy, ‘No One Left Out’, which aims to bring an end to rough sleeping by 2012.

Spark works by facilitating support to a wide variety of organisations – such as charities, housing associations and small business – and individuals, who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness, to develop viable businesses that will create a sustainable route out of homelessness.

The support comes in two forms – a financial grant and business mentoring from a corporate team allocated to help them grow the business. Together, the social enterprise and corporate team take a combined commercial and social approach to maximise the impact of the financial grant received.

This is an example of clever collaboration across the public, private and third sectors, building on the strengths of each to make a true community impact.

The social enterprise movement is clearly very much at the forefront of innovation. And so the Australian Government is keenly interested in further exploring its potential for providing opportunities for participation to people who would otherwise find it difficult to engage with the working world.

Already we have supported 75 social enterprises under the first round of the $650 Jobs Fund and $41 million Innovation Fund. The second round of the Jobs Fund opened just last week with an even greater focus on funding social enterprises, and we are currently exploring ways that the government can provide further support to these enterprises.

Yet, whilst we focus on strategic approaches and innovative solutions, it is very important that we never lose sight of the people at the centre of our efforts.

Generating a positive community impact requires a “yes we can” kind of attitude – that is, a refusal to accept that entrenched disadvantage is just a part of life. But, some people at various stages in their lives can struggle to even say “yes, I can” – they can feel as if they have nothing to offer, no contribution to make.

Social inclusion – or community impact, if you prefer – is about challenging this belief: helping people identify their own skills and interests, creating opportunities and building within them the capacity to make the most of them.

So as we collaborate, innovate and work from a sound evidence base, we must never forget the human dimension, the person who is at the centre of it all.

Only then will we be able to make a community impact that ends exclusion and creates the kind of inclusive fairer Australia we all want to live in.

In its Community Impact Strategy, United Way is mapping out the way it intends to contribute to this vision. I congratulate United Way on this important piece of strategic work and it’s with great pleasure that I launch The Common Good: United Way Australia’s Community Impact Statement.

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

NCVER Reports

A competent recovery? Economic downturn and Australia’s vocational education and training system reflects on the impact of the recent financial crisis on particular groups in Australian society and comments on whether the VET sector is well placed to meet the challenges of the recovery.

To download a copy of this paper visit http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2193.html.

An overview accompanies this paper which can be downloaded from http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2194.html.

Do you want to have a say?

PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION DRAFT REPORT OPEN FOR COMMENT

Last month the Productivity Commission released the draft report of its study into the contribution of the not-for-profit sector. MORE >>

National Compact

The second and final phase of consultations to progress a National Compact are now complete. The second stage focused on engaging the diverse views of the Sector and the Government on the content of the Compact. MORE >>

First Meeting

VOLUNTEERING POLICY ADVISORY GROUP ANNOUNCED AND INAUGURAL VOLUNTEER MINISTERS MEETING

The first meeting of the Volunteering Policy Advisory Group was held on 23 October 2009. The Advisory Group, appointed and chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, Senator Ursula Stephens, will be a key source of expertise and advice to guide Australia's vision for volunteering to 2021.

Senator Stephens also chaired a video-conference with State and Territory Ministers on 23 October 2009 to work collaboratively towards a National Volunteering Strategy. The Strategy will formally recognise the importance of volunteering in Australia and outline the Australian Government's commitments to supporting and encouraging Australia's diverse volunteers. MORE >>

POSITIVE AGEING GRANTS - 27 November

Positive Ageing grants are provided to support creative projects that promote active ageing, opportunities for lifelong learning and positive images of older people. Funding is available for a range of creative projects, from theatre, music and multimedia to literature, dance, the visual arts and story telling. MORE >>

TAA E-learning E-lectives learning objects released

The learning objects from the Series 12 Flexible Learning Toolbox

(Toolbox) TAA E-learning E-lectives are now available for download from the Toolbox Repository.

Click here to search the Repository for the following learning objects*:

TAA Research and design e-learning resources
TAA Develop and evaluate e-learning resources
TAA Facilitate e-learning


TAA E-learning E-lectives supports delivery of three units from the e-learning stream of the new Diploma in Training and Assessment (TAA50104) qualification, which can also be used as chosen elective/s in either the Certificate IV or the Diploma qualifications. The learning objects also provide an excellent starting point for vocational education and training practitioners and assessors who would like to develop their skills as an e-learning facilitator and/or designer of e-learning resources.

*Note: to find the new TAA learning objects, go to the Toolbox Repository and search for the full learning object title, beginning with TAA.


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

Have you read these tomes?

All lifelong learners need to be aware of this recently published list of inportant reading:

"100 Essential Reads for the Lifelong Learner "

(http://onlineschool.net/2009/11/03/100-essential-reads-for-the-lifelong-learner/)

Skills Initiative Timely and Well Targeted

Australia's structural skills shortage is one of the biggest constraints on our future growth and the action by the Federal Government to support 11,000 additional training places is timely and well targeted, the Australian Industry Group said. Small and medium sized companies in particular have found it hard during the downturn to maintain training budgets and especially apprenticeship numbers. Indeed, recent Ai Group research found that overall, the uptake of new apprentices is expected to be down by 10.6% over the current financial year and the number of apprentices in training will be down 5.9%. For SMEs the percentages are higher.

NCVER Report

New research argues that apprentice commencements, more than completions are in need of attention in a recession.

Released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Apprenticeships and traineeships in the downturn assesses the likely impact of the economic slump on apprentices and trainees.

To download a copy of this publication visit http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2197.html

Research Supports Government Moves to Kickstart Apprenticeships

There is considerable evidence the global recession has hurt apprenticeship commencements in Australia with "sizeable declines" in most trades, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research has revealed. Minister for Employment Participation Mark Arbib said the research, commissioned by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, supported the Government's decision to boost the incentive for businesses to employ apprentices. "The National Centre for Vocational Education Research indicates that apprenticeship commencement rates need attention," Senator Arbib said.

More Training Places

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS WITH INDUSTRY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRAINING PLACES


The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced that the Rudd Government will co-fund up to 11,000 additional training places for small and medium business in a $25 million program designed to address skills shortages as the economy improves. The Enterprise Based Productivity Places Program (EBPPP) will provide up to 90 per cent of the cost of training from Certificate III to Advanced Diploma level. It is designed to increase the skills of existing workers especially in occupations on the priority occupations list.

The Government's contribution will depend on the size of the business, with organisations with less than 100 employees receiving 90 per cent of their training costs, those with between 100 and 199 receiving 75 percent, and those with 200 or more employees receiving 50 per cent of their training costs.

Collection On-line

Australian National Training Authority (ANTA)


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over 400 resources produced by ANTA from 1992-1995 are now in the VOCED database. Tick the ANTA resources box on the VOCED homepage/search page to access these.
http://www.voced.edu.au/

NCVER Paper

Job requirements and lifelong learning for older workers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_Chris Ryan, Mathias Sinning_


The relationship between job requirements, individual skills and the participation of workers in further education and training, with an emphasis on older workers, is the focus of this report.
http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2186.html

NCVER Reports

Literacy and numeracy skills and their use by the Australian workforce
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_Chris Ryan_


This summary of two research reports examines the use of literacy and numeracy skills by older workers and how this affects their VET participation.
http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2184.html

Lifelong Learning Inquiry - UK

Independent review calls for new learning entitlements for all


The financial crisis and rising unemployment open up opportunities for a major rethink on how we shape future patterns of work and learning, at all ages.
The first person in the UK to reach her 120th birthday has already been born and she is approaching 60…but she can expect little public support for learning in the second half of her life.
On average, over £8,000 is spent annually on education and training for each 18-24 year old. The equivalent figures are under £300 for an adult aged 25-50; £86 for those aged 50-75; and just £60 for an adult aged over 75.

..... to read the full report go to http://www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry

Don't leave your e-learners begging for support

E-learning is enabling business and industry to provide flexible, efficient and cost-effective workplace training which can be delivered anywhere and anytime, customised to suit organisational needs, and completed by learners at their own pace.

However, the success of workplace e-learning hinges on providing learners with appropriate and effective support, and one of the most common mistakes is not providing enough support.
Increasingly businesses are adopting supportive online learning environments that allow learners to interact and engage in an interesting and dynamic way.

The dairy industry
Bega Cheese, through the Industry Integration of E-learning funding and support received by the dairy industry, is one business which is getting the most out of e-learning by providing workplace learners with a combination of computer-based content delivery, and teacher/trainer facilitation.

Elluminate web conferencing technology was used in the delivery of the Diploma of Food Science and Technology (Dairy), enabling learners at Bega Cheese to ask questions, interact and engage with their teachers/trainers and with other learners in real time.

The web conferences were presented by Australian and international dairy industry experts who would otherwise have been unable to deliver the course due to distance and cost restrictions. A mentoring program was established to support industry professionals in using e-learning, and policies and guidelines were developed for dairy processing companies wanting to use e-learning tools and technologies.

The company saw immediate benefits including:

· no downtime or lost productivity due to staff having to attend off-site training
· operators became more confident and comfortable with manufacturing their product
· OH&S issues associated with external training were eliminated.

According to Steve McKinnon, Plant Manager at Bega Cheese, providing access to industry experts also helped to solve a real workplace problem.

“One of the web conferences which learners participated in was directly relevant to a product trial Bega was conducting at the time. As a result, our learners acquired knowledge which enabled them to overcome a production problem that would otherwise have aborted the trial.

“For Bega Cheese, e-learning represents a real bottom-line benefit and is something we hope to pursue further,” Mr McKinnon said.


The stainless steel industry

Employers of apprentices in the stainless steel fabrication industry are also implementing e-learning in the workplace. To do this they are using a mentoring program for workplace supervisors which was constructed by the Australian Stainless Steel Development Association and their registered training organisation partner, Skills Tech Australia, also part of the Industry Integration of E-learning funding and support.

As apprentices complete their curriculum online, and therefore spend less time on campus, it is vital that their online learning schedule, achieving competencies and motivation does not decline. The mentor program has been developed to ensure that workplace mentors, TAFE mentors and apprentices in training understand their own, and each others, roles, responsibilities and expectations.

The workplace mentoring program is:

designed to produce a stable model for training programs undertaken in the workplace by providing a supportive learning environment for the learner
about assisting mentors (supervisors, workplace trainers) to operate effectively in an e-learning environment
familiarising mentors with the training material, expectations on the learner, assessment requirements, assessment criteria, tracking and technologies used in e-learning
adaptable to suit a wide range of workplaces and training requirements
one method of providing training support in the workplace
evaluated throughout the pilot program.

Applying e-learning to your business

Businesses wanting more information about maximising the benefits of e-learning can access the Guidelines for supporting learners using e-learning in workplaces, from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework).

The guidelines set out three working models to assist businesses with decision making involved with planning support for workplace e-learners:

· Model 1: Link support for workplace e-learning to business impact.
· Model 2: Assess the need to facilitate workplace e-learning.
· Model 3: Select strategies to support workplace e-learners.

The guidelines also include handy checklists to help businesses get ready to implement e-learning effectively, and to determine the best learner support model for the organisation.

To find out more about industry use of e-learning register to attend the Industry E-learning Showcase and Exhibition on Tuesday 24 November in Melbourne.

Registration details are available on the E-learning for Industry website at:
http://industry.flexiblelearning.net.au

For more information on how business and industry are embedding e-learning in workforce development, and to access the guidelines, visit the E-learning for Industry website at:

http://industry.flexiblelearning.net.au

ATC - Northern Tasmania

NORTHERN TASMANIA ATC TO JOIN TASMANIAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEM


The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, welcomed the agreement to integrate the Australian Technical College - Northern Tasmania into the Tasmanian education and training system. The agreement was reached after Catholic Education Tasmania made a decision to not proceed with its proposal to take ownership of the Northern Tasmania ATC.

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have worked closely with the Board of the Australian Technical College to develop plans for the integration of the ATC into Tasmania's system.

CONFINTEA VI

KNOW THE PANELS

Prominent scholars, experts and activists from around the globe will be panelists at the ForumThe International Civil Society Forum (FISC, for its Portuguese acronym) is a global event that will be held in Belém, capital of the state of Pará, Brazil, from November 28th to 30th, 2009 to prepare the participation of civil society at the official International Adult Education Conference (CONFINTEA VI) and also to articulate with other movements, networks and civil society organizations that have been working on the right to Youth and Adult Education.Different thematic panels are being organized within the framework of the International Civil Society Forum (FISC): "For the right to youth and adult education” that will take place in Belém

NOVEMBER 29, 12 PANELS WILL TAKE PLACE:

Adult Literacy Resources

Go to

http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/adult-literacy-practitioner-web-resources

for a valuable list of resources.