A growing body of research confirms that learners who undertake VET in Schools programs are more likely to find employment post-school, succeed in their careers and increase their earning power.*

In line with a key priority of the Australian Government, vocational education and training (VET) at school gives students a head start in developing industry specific skills, gaining nationally recognised VET qualifications, and developing employability skills and an understanding of the world of work.

Several innovative projects, funded and supported by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) have shown how e-learning can strengthen VET in schools by supporting training that is more flexible, engaging and relevant.

By adopting a blended learning approach and a range of e-learning tools two registered training organisations (RTOs) have demonstrated how schools can use e-learning to harness the benefits of VET without large outlays of time or money.

E-portfolios supporting hands-on learning

E-portfolios – a learner-driven collection of digital objects demonstrating experiences, achievements and evidence of learning – are becoming popular in Australia as a tool to enhance learning and assist with personal career development.

Following a successful trial of an e-portfolio system, Tasmania’s Rosny College partnered with training provider, Recognise-IT, to embed e-portfolios in instruction, coaching, reflection and assessment.

Rosny College enhanced the free Skillsbook e-portfolio system for use with approximately 60 year 11 and 12 students completing VET and Tasmanian Certificate of Education outdoor qualifications.

Students were able to record and document their engagement in outdoor education courses, using multiple media streams such as digital photos and videos, web files, blogs, wikis, forums, bulletins, RSS feeds and online chat rooms. Teachers viewed and managed their students’ Skillsbook activities using the free Klipfolio personal dashboard, which shows students’ e-portfolios activities on their teachers desktop.

Rosny College found that e-portfolios are well suited to outdoor courses, as students can quickly and easily capture and submit non-written evidence of competency while learning outside. They also provide a valuable means for students to arrange the logistics of outdoor trips, and to reflect on their learning experiences and leadership styles.

Students responded positively to the flexible and ‘real time’ nature of e-portfolios, which allows quick responses to questions and feedback on their work from teachers and peers. Several of the students are continuing to use their e-portfolios post-school as records of their experience for job applications.

Due to the resounding success of the Rosny College trial, outdoor teachers across Tasmania are considering using e-portfolios to assist in the delivery of VET outdoor courses. Rosny College is also exploring the possibility of using e-portfolios with their hospitality students.

Delivering trades theory online

In 2008, SkillsTech Australia’s Sustainable Australia through vocational education (SAVE) project used a blended learning model to provide electro technology vocational training for students in years 11 and 12.

The SAVE project was embraced by schools and students, so in 2009 SkillsTech applied the same model to develop flexible and cost-effective computer aided design (CAD) and water operations training for senior school students.

The project brought together a team of teachers, subject experts and an instructional designer who worked together to pool existing resources and develop effective and tailored courses. They used a range of online resources to deliver theoretical training, including video, animation, activities and chat rooms. This training complements and supports work placement and face-to-face instruction, workshops and practical demonstrations in school. The blended delivery model ensures a vocational edge is maintained to achieve maximum job-readiness; as well as providing a means for regional and remote students to access quality trades training.

The project is designed to be quickly and seamlessly integrated into schools, by recognising and building on teachers’ existing qualifications and skills. For example, the CAD program can be delivered by graphics teachers with minimal updating of training required.

SkillsTech will trial the project with a group of 100 students across two Brisbane high schools in 2010.

For more information about the range of E-learning Innovations projects funded and supported by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au/innovations

*Do school based VET pathways work in Transport and Logistics (report): http://www.tlisc.com.au/resources/documents/TL_vet_in_school_report_final.pdf; VET provides pathways to work (media release): http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Gillard/Media/Releases/Pages/Article_081008_155226.aspx

Trudy Stoddard, E-learning Development Manager at Tabor Adelaide in South Australia, is a lady who has learnt to like change.

Her current role didn’t exist 15 months ago, but when Tabor decided to investigate how e-learning could benefit their organisation, Trudy put up her hand to lead the charge.

Investigating e-learning

“We were new to e-learning, so we applied for Australian Flexible Learning Framework funding as a jumping off point for our investigations.

Tabor used their 2008 E-learning Innovations funding to explore employing a variety of voice tools and virtual classrooms with ESL (English as a Second Language) and TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) learners.

They created an online learning environment which provided new opportunities for learners disadvantaged by distance, personal circumstance and low language/literacy.

“We received really good feedback from this trial – learners told us they felt much more connected to their classmates because of these new technologies and methodologies. It was clear that we were on the right track.”

Adopting an e-learning strategy

Tabor are continuing to roll out an e-learning strategy across their organisation by embedding e-learning technologies, including Adobe Connect Pro and VoiceThread, into a number of their courses.

In mid 2008, Trudy was appointed as the E-learning Development Manager at Tabor, representing a clear commitment by the college to provide a quality online learning environment that was supported by a clear business strategy.

Then in 2009 Tabor joined forces with the South Australian Baptist Union, under additional E-learning Innovations funding, to implement the i-Youth project. This project used virtual world Second Life to deliver several competencies from the Certificate IV in Youth Work to more than 80 youth workers. Learners were able to role play youth work activities, as well as discuss key topics such as ethics and youth worker job descriptions.

“Learners felt that they were truly immersed in the content due to the immediacy and virtual reality experienced through the Second Life medium – and this was apparent by the high level of engagement and interaction with the content displayed by all of the students.”

Embedding e-learning

It is clear from talking to Trudy that e-learning has been truly embedded into everyday life at Tabor Adelaide.

“We’ve gone from not having an e-learning platform in January 2008 to the majority of staff and learners interacting within and using our e-learning environment on a daily basis.

“And we have more that we want to accomplish to refine and further develop our e-learning strategy. We will be taking time in 2010 to review our online materials and processes, evaluate learner feedback, and generally look to improve and provide an engaging, innovative and effective e-learning experience for our learners.”

For more information about the Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s E-learning Innovations funding and support, including 2010 funding opportunities, visit the E-learning Innovations web page.

Can virtual worlds really be used as tools for meaningful teaching and learning, or are they just a bit of fun?

Within vocational education and training (VET), a widespread acceptance of the benefits of hands-on learning is driving the growing adoption of virtual worlds as safe places for learners to experiment, solve problems and practise what they learn.

And increasingly, VET practitioners are recognising the further benefits of virtual worlds – that they:

• are valuable tools for connecting with learners who can’t attend face-to-face classes
• can improve learners’ computer literacy and increase their awareness of online personal security
• can help to develop patience and confidence that is often carried over into real life (this has particularly been noted among at-risk and disengaged learners)
• cater to a broad range of learning needs and styles
• enable real-time support and feedback.

A number of innovative VET practitioners are leading the way in using virtual worlds as valuable teaching and training tools.

Starting at a grassroots level with virtual world discovery projects, these practitioners are systematically building on their knowledge and expertise and expanding the scope of their projects from year to year.

Two examples of practitioners at different stages in their journeys to embed virtual worlds are TAFE SA and Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE (GippsTAFE).

This year, TAFE SA launched a virtual world project which delivered one unit of a Women’s Studies course to nine learners dispersed across different TAFE SA campuses.

Instruction was delivered entirely in Second Life with learners creating avatars who attended virtual classes each week.

The course was well received by learners, who reported it improved their computer skills, increased their confidence and gave them access to training they would otherwise have been unable to complete. After piloting virtual classes, TAFE SA is in a strong position to implement similar initiatives for regional and remote learners, and plans to further develop the project in 2010.

GippsTAFE has considerably expanded its use of virtual worlds since conducting a Second Life discovery project in 2006.

This year, GippsTAFE used Second Life with a number of learner groups, including learners completing a Diploma of VET Practice or a Certificate II in Retail, and learners with a disability. Virtual worlds enabled these learners to put theory into practice: for example, retail learners gained purchasing, merchandising, marketing and customer service skills by creating their own shop in Second Life.

The project was a significant step forward in the process of embedding virtual worlds at GippsTAFE, as for the first time they integrated Second Life with Moodle through Sloodle to streamline the administrative and reporting processes associated with using virtual worlds.

Linking the two systems enabled text-based communication between learners and their teachers/trainers in Second Life to be automatically documented in Moodle, making it quicker and easier for learners to use their activities in Second Life as evidence of their learning and competence.

Virtual world Project Managers Helaine Costello, Cathryn Gauci and Michelle Potts from TAFE SA, and Malcolm Jolley from GippsTAFE, offer some advice for practitioners at all stages of embedding virtual worlds for teaching and training:

• Private islands can be rented or purchased in virtual worlds, and are safe, secure and private sites in which to hold virtual classes.
• Practitioners may encounter technical and access issues when they first try to access social networking sites – these can take time to resolve, and perseverance and patience are vital. Establishing strong IT support is important, particularly for first-time adopters.
• Ensure that you provide learners with adequate support while they’re familiarising themselves with new websites and systems. TAFE SA accomplished this by keeping in touch with learners through a range of other mediums in addition to Second Life (email, Skype, Facebook, Moodle and telephone); and GippsTAFE adopted a blended learning approach (online tutorials in conjunction with face-to-face access to a teacher/trainer).
• Allow for spontaneity – be flexible with processes and respond to the preferences and capabilities of your learners.

A number of other 2009 E-learning Innovations projects explored virtual worlds, such as projects from Canberra Institute of Technology and Tabor Adelaide. These projects were funded and supported by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework).

Tasmania’s largest private sector employer has turned to e-learning to address the challenges involved in the retention and training of its remote, geographically dispersed and seasonally-based workforce.

Operating a range of tourism and hospitality businesses throughout Tasmania, the Federal Group has long shouldered the time and cost burden associated with conducting centralised, face-to-face orientation programs for a constant stream of new employees.

With the support of the 2009 Tasmanian E-learning Innovations funding, the Federal Group partnered with GlobalNet ICT to develop e-Orientation - a high quality and dynamic online orientation training and assessment program.

According to Project Manager Ian Whitehouse, e-Orientation provides an enabling product for the Federal Group to more effectively train employees, creating equity, access and a real sense of organisational culture, regardless of geographical location.

“The project provides tailored orientation information for each group’s businesses online, such as an organisational video, overview of workplace protocols and healthy and safety guidelines,” Ian said.

“In doing this, it meets the training needs of the large number of employees who move within the company, eliminating the need for costly face to face re-orientation.”

e-Orientation is delivered via Moodle but can be readily transferred to other compatible learning management systems.

It was piloted extensively prior to its release in early December, both to refine the program and to build confidence in the project from within the organisation.

Ian said that the first round of piloting, undertaken with the Federal Group’s Director of Tourism and Director of Gaming and Entertainment, ensured that the program had buy-in from the top.

“We received pages and pages of feedback from the second round of piloting, conducted with human resources and recruitment representatives, which we fully implemented for the third round,” he said.

“We found that the piloting process not only produced a better program, it doubled as an internal engagement strategy – building champions for the program from within the organisation.”

Federal Group Learning and Development Advisor Rachel Moore said that through the e-Orientation project, the company had gained an appreciation of the value of integrating e-learning into a blended learning program.

“The success of the project has definitely inspired future e-learning developments, and we will look to make greater use of technology so as to build communication and collaboration with our geographically dispersed employees,” she said.

E-learning Innovations is a business activity of the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.

An innovative project which uses e-learning to deliver vital safety induction training to Indigenous night patrol workers in the Northern Territory (NT) has been highly commended at the coveted 2009 Australian Safer Communities Award, in the education, training and research category.

The Sundowner Project, a joint initiative between the Council for Aboriginal Alcohol Program Services (CAAPS) and the Human Services Training Advisory Council (HSTAC), uses digital stories to allow learners to see and hear the experiences of others.

Night patrol services were extended to 73 remote NT communities as part of the 2007 Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), which seeks to make children and communities safe.

Night patrol workers work within communities to break the cycle of violence and crime and have contributed to improving community safety, protecting children and reducing individuals’ contact with the criminal justice system.

The Sundowner training DVD, which is designed to provide course material to staff in an easy and effective manner, has evolved into a far-reaching e-learning strategy which trains night patrol workers across the NT in two units of competency from the Community Services Training Package.

Program Manager, Judy McKay, credits the personalised nature of the Sundowner e-learning resource with the ultimate success of the project.

“The Sundowner DVD is a raw, emotional and captivating story of life in NT communities. It contains photos, videos, music and drawings which are overlaid with storytelling and focus on Indigenous learners in remote communities. This ensures material is culturally appropriate and stimulates interest,” she said.

“We can’t always reach night patrol workers for face-to-face training but they all have access to computers and this project gives new recruits an insight into what the job entails.”

Stephen Banderson, a night patrol worker and the main voice on the DVD, said: “I feel very proud that the Sundowner Project has been recognised among the calibre of contestants competing in these Awards…Sundowner is a great training tool for night patrols across the Northern Territory and I am honoured to stand here and receive this award,” he said.

Hosted by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, the awards recognise individuals and organisations that use best practice to build safer communities across Australia. The awards cover all aspects of community safety including risk assessment, research, education and training, information and knowledge management, and prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

The Sundowner Project was developed through funding and support from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework). The Framework’s E-learning Innovations activity integrates and embeds e-learning into the national training system by supporting and enabling innovation in training design and delivery.

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.

Central Institute of Technology received E-learning Innovations funding and support from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework).

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 skills

The 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 International

In 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 College

Business 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.

For more information about the Framework’s E-learning Innovations projects, visit http://flexiblelearning.net.au/innovations

How 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.

The team behind a Victorian E-learning Innovations project, which is delivering just-in-time mobile learning for hospitality workers, has competed in the finals of the Handheld Learning Awards, held this week in London.

The awards were judged by an international panel of technology and e-learning experts, who commended the quality of the content management system developed for mobile devices by Goal Training and Development.

The judges praised the project as an innovative platform to deliver any type of training content to industry and business.

The project involves providing learners with a mobile phone or PDA (personal digital assistant) loaded with an innovative content management system that features a range of site-specific and current multimedia resources, including text, images, audio, video, assessment activities, captioning, and sign language.

These resources are providing learners in the hospitality industry with ‘just in time’ information about workplace specific products and processes, anywhere and anytime – including on the job and in remote locations – and at their own pace.

Developed with funding and support from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), the project is addressing the diverse training needs of hospitality learners, including youth and mature age learners, and casual, part-time and full-time employees with varying qualifications and levels of experience.

These resources cater for different learning styles, and are easy for individual employers and training providers to customise and update.

Joe Pavlekovic, Managing Director of Goal Training and Development, said that it was an honour to be a finalist for the prestigious award.

“This has been a great opportunity to get the word out to business and industry about the benefits of our product to learners.

“The content management system we’ve developed allows learners to access flexible training that caters to their individual learning style – and they don’t even need continuous access to the internet,” Joe explained.

The project is also providing a cost-effective training solution for employers, by eliminating high training delivery costs including trainer fees, employee wages during training, and travel costs.

For more information about the Framework’s E-learning Innovations projects, visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au/innovations

Commencing today, Adult Learners’ Week 2009 will promote and celebrate the benefits of all forms of adult learning – in the home, at work and in the community – and will highlight the many delivery options available.

Last year’s Australia-wide E-learning Benchmarking Survey – conducted by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) – highlighted some impressive results for adult and community education (ACE). The results suggested the sector is well on the way to adopting e-learning practices to meet the demands of learners and practitioners.

The survey found that the uptake of e-learning in ACE is on par with schools and ahead of private registered training organisations (RTOs). ACE practitioners were also extremely positive about the impact of e-learning on their teaching and training, and on learner experiences.

In fact, there are some exciting examples of e-learning being used within ACE which give learners control over the time, place and content of their learning.

Coonara Community House is a small, Melbourne-based RTO which has used wikis (an online tool for sharing information and collaborating with other learners) to deliver a Certificate III in Community Work to a learner group made up predominately of return-to-work mums.

Through their own private wiki, each learner creates an e-portfolio using technologies such as podcasts, blogs and digital storytelling to produce an electronic record of their skills and work experience. This benefits learners in a number of ways.

The use of technology builds their IT skills, making them more marketable to employers. The interactive nature of the wikis encourages a more engaging and beneficial type of learning, and enables learners to better engage with future employers. The e-portfolio also enables learners to apply for RPL (recognition of prior learning), using previous experience to qualify for AQTF (Australian Quality Training Framework) recognised units of training.

For mature age Australians, the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association (ASCCA), which has clubs in every state of Australia, is supporting members to learn through a number of technologies, with the aim of making technology accessible and fun.

Some of ASCCA’s members are unable to travel to attend training, due to a lack of public transport or incapacitation. However, to allow them to actively participate in society, they require basic training to keep pace with new technologies. These skills help them to keep in touch with their families and community, improving their quality of life.

ASCCA is currently investigating the use of the web conferencing technology, Elluminate, to teach mature age learners computer basics in the comfort of their own home. Through Elluminate, trainers can train learners in skills such as sending an email, browsing the internet and using Skype, plus other popular computer subjects such as word processing, digital photography and genealogy.

Elluminate allows teachers and trainers to interact better with their learners, tailoring training to the skill level of each learner. Training can involve demonstrating the technologies on each individual’s computer screen, and learners are able to practice in a non threatening environment.

Last year, the Byron Region Community College (BRCC) used e-learning to improve the Byron Shire Council’s (BSC) environmental sustainability. They worked to move the organisation from paper-based to online communication by developing employees’ skills in video, audio and the uploading and sharing of information in an online environment.

As a result, BSC staff used their new skills to create an interactive online induction kit for new employees, which encouraged greater interaction in the induction process, and reduced the organisation’s carbon footprint.

In 2009, the BRCC has received further funding and support from the Framework to develop e-learning resources for three new units of the Business Services Training Package, designed to develop ‘green skills’ within organisations.

The Framework also researched the ACE sector in its commissioned E-learning for the mature age worker: final report which produced three case studies of e-learning in practice. These can be found in the E-learning for the mature age worker: case studies at the Benchmarking and Research Publications page.

With such a rich source of e-learning programs being investigated and implemented in ACE, there is a need for the sector to communicate their learnings to each other and more widely within education and training.

The Framework recently released an enhanced website, flexiblelearning.net.au, which allows practitioners to learn from each other, share ideas, and ensure they aren’t continuing to reinvent the e-learning wheel.

Through the use of blogs, shared networks, communities of practice and the ability for anyone to upload relevant e-learning material to the site, the Framework aims to provide a one-stop hub for people working in e-learning.

Practitioners can also sign-up for the Framework’s e-newsletter, Flex e-News, for a monthly update of news and trends in e-learning. E-learning Coordinators are available in each state and territory to provide localised support in using and implementing e-learning.

This article appeared in the Winter 2009 edition of Adult Learning Australia’s Quest magazine.