ICVET Update: November 2006
From Maret Staron, Manager, TAFE NSW ICVET
As we move towards the end of the year, our focus here in ICVET turns to planning for the next two years. ICVET is meeting with management in each Institute and gathering feedback on our performance over the last two years, as well as discussing priorities for the next two years.
The feedback has been very positive. The learning events such as the Learning Powerhouse and Teaching and Learning Colloquium have been very well received and Institutes are very supportive of the research that we have undertaken. One area we need to focus on more is application. That is, how the showcasing of innovation can be taken by others and applied in the workplace.
The national project team in ICVET recently conducted an exciting two day elearning event at Sydney’s Randwick Race Course. The view was stunning and so were the innovative ways that the LearnScope teams shared their learning. Also featured were new practices from interstate and two international guest speakers – Nancy White and George Siemens. The message was clear – move to Web 2.0 social software tools and embrace the new opportunities for connection, learning and discovery as well as continually build networks and learn how to learn in various diverse and immediate ways. I must thank Jeff Saul, Robyn Jay and Alex Hayes for the creative and technologically enhanced way that they designed and conducted the event.
There is great interest in our research on strength based approaches to capability development and life based learning. Many sessions have been conducted within TAFE NSW, as well as nationally. A workshop is being held on 13 and 14 December 2006 to further examine ways of ‘grounding’ and applying the research.
The TAFE NSW Professional Development Framework for Teachers has been reviewed and statewide priorities are being determined for next year. Initiated in 2004 in response to a government commitment to the professional development of TAFE NSW teachers, the Framework is extensively used as a driver for professional and organisational development activities. With its state-wide focus, the Framework highlights a wide range of professional development activities that underpin quality teaching and learning practice.
Planning for 2007 is underway for the Capability Building Program of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework that we manage. Robby Weatherley of the ICVET team will be on one year’s leave during 2007. She will not only be missed here in ICVET but also nationally, as Robby has lead the Capability Building Program for the last three years and prior to that, LearnScope since 1998.
If you’re interested in social software or Web 2.0 technologies you’ll want to know about research being done by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. The Framework’s Knowledge Sharing Services (managed by ICVET) and Research and Policy Advice (managed by South Australia) projects have joined forces to look at how a focus on connecting people with each other is being used to engage students in learning as well as for VTE practitioners' own learning and professional development. Visit the Social Software Research Wiki to find out more. Contributions, insights, responses to specific research questions or just general musings related to this very contemporary subject are welcomed.
The research is investigating how social software/Web 2.0 technologies can best support teaching and learning in VTE and also capability development of VTE practitioners. The project is particularly keen to track down 'success stories'. In keeping with the social software theme, a blog has now also been established as another avenue for you to be involved. So keep an eye on that too and contribute your comments as the researchers post their ideas and chart their progress.
For more information, contact the project manager Alison McAllister, Research and Policy Advice (Alison.McAllister@tafesa.edu.au) or Paula Johnston, Knowledge Sharing Services (paula.johnston@det.nsw.edu.au).
I hope you all have a very happy, restful, safe festive season and New Year. I think many people are change-fatigued and I hope that we all come back in the New Year re-invigorated and refreshed.
See also
Life based learning: a strength based approach to capability development | A-Z Resources
See also
Summary of meetings with Institute Directors - October to November 2005 (46 KB)
TAFE NSW ICVET Second Quarterly Report - June 2005 (63 KB)
TAFE NSW ICVET First Quarterly Report - March 2005 (59 KB)