Making learning about vocational education an EASI task
‘Providing a personalised service to help people make sense of information
rich environments in order to keep themselves informed (and quickly!) has
always underpinned my priorities- from early in my career working in research
libraries like those at the CSIRO and Premiers Department, right through
till today, working with TAFE. Working closely with management, educational
and administrative staff in the development of library and information services
I know all too well the time-related constraints facing today’s learners,
and when I saw alert services being used in other research libraries I knew
it was a facility that could be developed specifically for TAFE staff. A
couple of years later, here we are with EASI at the Sydney Institute, and
in the future I think we’ll see more information services like it being
tailored to meet the information needs of staff and learners.’
Paula Webb, Library Manager TAFE NSW Sydney Institute
Keeping up with the latest information related to Vocational Education and Training (VET) is often a difficult task, not helped any by the sheer volume of information available to the enquiring mind. Among those staff members trying to keep abreast of current situations is Paula Webb, Library Manager of Ultimo College and team leader in the development of a new service perhaps set to alleviate such woes.
The
EASI team: Jan Wrigley, Paula Webb and Tessa Bachmayer
Despite the frustration experienced by many a staff member in wading through all the latest VET developments and debates, doing so remains an integral part in fostering their ability to provide responsive and innovative learning environments - a fact recognised by Paula and her team mates Tessa Bachmayer and Jan Wrigley. Together they devised EASI (standing for Educational Alert Service Information), an alert service dedicated to the provision of high quality information concerning the latest news in vocational education at both a national and international level.
How EASI works
EASI collects relevant information from a variety of sources including
news reports, research paper findings and events and conferences of interest,
and presents the highlights to users via regular email updates. By filtering
information and presenting it in a user-friendly format the EASI team’s
development promotes the use of an elearning environment by allowing ease
of access to resources while adding some semblance of sense and control into
an otherwise potentially confusing eworld.
How it started
The idea for the development, originating in each team member’s own personal frustrations in navigating all the latest VET information, was consolidated out of a 2004 LearnScope Project meeting, where other attendees also expressed similar difficulties in information gathering.
The development process, which involved the selection of appropriate software and an evaluation of similar services, allowed for a trial version of EASI to be distributed within Sydney Institute’s Ultimo College Library and throughout the LearnScope Group by October 2004.
From the trial Paula’s team were able to tailor the service so that staff would be able to use the technology to its full potential - for example weekly updates, as opposed to monthly or daily ones, were decided upon to ensure staff were receiving adequate information without being overwhelmed.
The final version of EASI, released in early 2005, has been made available on a request only basis within the Sydney Institute and has received ‘an overwhelming response from staff in appreciation for the information (provided)’.
How it’s being used
The great benefit of EASI is more than just the ease of access to information it provides (in the form of educational news highlights as well as links to relevant publications or inserts of relevant articles). EASI also calls on a certain level of knowledge and experience when it comes to the selection of appropriate content for its updates – requiring the skill and expertise of knowledge and information managers, more commonly known as TAFE librarians! The right information enables well informed staff to not only engage in informed decision making, but also to discuss and debate current issues with colleagues, creating a stimulating learning environment where the sharing of knowledge is encouraged. EASI has proved an important tool for keeping staff well informed, and consequently contributes to key organisational outcomes, such as those set out in the Sydney Institute Strategic Directions 2005-2010 plan.
The EASI team were finalists in the Sydney Institute 2005 Staff Celebration of Achievement awards, in the award category of ‘innovative ideas and new inventions’.
For more information about EASI and to discuss subscribing to the service, contact Paula Webb on 02 9217 3340 or at paula.webb@tafensw.edu.au
