ICVET Update - August 2006

ICVET Update: August 2006

From Maret Staron, Manager
As it’s half way through the year I think it’s time to stop and reflect on life, work and the universe – and also enjoy a ‘Christmas in July’! Time to get out the tinsel, the reindeer ears and the plum pudding. Well, I joke of course – but only half so! Here at ICVET we are planning a night out to reflect and celebrate and I’m looking forward to it.

We are gearing up for another exciting teaching and learning conference – The Learning Powerhouse. It will be on 4 August and we expect 500 TAFE NSW teachers and managers to attend. Lots of exciting features, including showcases, conversations, workshops, keynote speakers and James Valentine hosting a mystery quiz. You’ll find the details on this website. I look forward to seeing you there if you are one of the lucky ones to attend. Otherwise we will be video streaming the events live from the main theatre, and you will be able to access it from your computers if you work within the NSW Department of Education and Training and TAFE NSW.

Make sure you have a look at the new Indigenous Learning resources which are now available. These range from reports outlining historical and contemporary views of the challenges before all of us engaged in vocational education and training with Aboriginal learners and their communities, as well as links and publications addressing:

Capacity Building and Governance
Language and Literacy
VET Delivery
Training Packages
Professional development
Identities, cultures, knowledge and values
Partnerships
Enterprise, employment and training

Another highlight is the recent release of the report on our national research project Designing Professional Development for the Knowledge Era, which was jointly funded by DEST (Australian Department of Education, Science and Training) and TAFE NSW. The final report is titled Life based learning: a strength based approach to capability development in vocational and technical education and the title reflects the key findings of the research. I hope you will find time to read the articles in this ’Zine on life based learning, or more importantly, the actual research report.

Our work on VET pedagogy continues and the resources on this website are very popular. Out of the 10 most downloaded resources, four are from the VET pedagogy project. Our latest work on VET pedagogy is a series of think pieces to be released later this year, so stay tuned to this website. The think pieces focus on judging what needs to be learnt, getting value from learning at work and mastering new models of learning. Lynne Stallard manages the research on VET pedagogy and she is always happy to talk to you. So if you have any good examples of how theory is informing practice or of how to make the materials more accessible to teachers, please give her a call.

Robyn Jay, our NSW LearnScope Manager has just returned from Jamaica. She presented a workshop on using digital storytelling in education at the international Learning Conference. The trip was part of Robyn's planned activities for her 2005 Minister's Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Improving Literacy and/or Numeracy. The Learning Conference is held annually in different locations around the world, each selected for the particular role education is playing in social, cultural and economic change.

I’m most impressed with the elearning blog that Robyn has recently launched. I particularly like her posting on Capitalists embrace all we know about principles of deep learning and the photo of her typing on the beach in Jamaica! The blog encourages conversation and connections and during the coming weeks, LearnScope teams will be feeding in news and updates. There is also a weekly posting from Marie Jasinski. Marie was recently in New York and I like the quote she posts from a colleague, Alain Rostain – ‘ I think as long as you separate elearning from learning, the message is that it is something different. And it’s not. It’s just another element of an integrated whole’. So please join in the conversation and help enrich the elearning discussions.

In the area of Knowledge Sharing Services, a significant report on elearning knowledge sharing models was released earlier this year. One of the most memorable messages from that research was around the four quadrants for mapping cultural emphasis of knowledge sharing practices. The report is available on the Flexible Learning website. Paula Johnston, manager of the project, says the next phase of research will focus on the use of social software and online collaborative tools.

Both LearnScope and Toolboxes are embarking on significant professional development activities in NSW. LearnScope is running a workshop on social software and Shane Dowd our NSW Toolbox Champion is continuing to run Toolbox customisation workshops. Jeff Saul, as the NSW Framework Communications person, is embarking on resource distribution and is currently focusing on the 2005 New Practices CD for flexible learning. There will also be a range of other professional development resources and workshops available soon on the New Practices projects.

As we move into the second half of the year, my own attention is turning to planning for next year and also evaluating the effectiveness of what we provide to our clients. I believe that we have achieved a lot in the short time that we have been operating as ICVET. This website alone has only been going since August last year – thanks to Heather Ferguson and Stephanie Champion. So enjoy the August ’Zine and let us know what you think.

ICVET Promoting Emerging Practice, TAFE NSW International Centre for VET Teaching and Learning

August 2006 Headlines

ICVET Update: August 2006