Learning Insite

What was all the Fuss About?

2006-06-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

Well it is the end of the first semester (almost) and my final assignments have gone in. In a post semester review, I must say that I am glad it is finished. Statistics and Data Analysis was not a subject that was warm to my heart. In fact, it was probably the worst in terms of my understanding and what I got out of it. Looking back, once I came to the acceptance to forget trying to learn the formulas and understand what they are really trying to achieve, it did get better. Besides, with computer and software programs like SPSS, we do not need to learn formulas anyway. The final assignment was a struggle but it is over now and if I can just get a pass in the subject, I will be satisfied.

The other subject was Knowledge Management in Organisations. This was a more interesting one and did not give me anywhere near the grief that the previous one did (fortunately). It is interesting to discover that despite the retoric, business is still a long way behind practicing what it preaches and/or desires to achieve. There are a number of reasons for this of course, but given that business know they cannot hire skilled personnel like they could as little as only a few years ago, the need to document and include knowledge and knowledge management as a key component of their core business, I think would have been essential. Unfortunately most still believe that concentrating on the immediate concerns of making money is the only thing they need to do is so short sighted and ultimately will be their downfall. The world is constantly changing and unless organsations plan and consolidate what they already have and hold in terms of knowledge and stategies for enhancing, growing and/or adapting existing knowledge, they will not be able to react and respond appropriately to new and emerging trends.

I am starting a new job in a few days time which will also keep me busy and motivated. It will make life difficult in the second semester with studies, particularly when the new workplace is over an hour and a half away from the university. Never mind, all part of the self improvement and expansion of knowledge and skills. At least with a months break I have time to develop a new routine and who knows, maybe even write some more important material in this blogg.

Statistics - Oh Dear!

2006-04-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

When I started Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis, I thought it would be like any other university subject so far. Complete some assignments, go to lectures and basically feed back what they want to hear. Boy! was I wrong about this one.

For a start, Introduction to Statistics is a smoke screen. From Day 1 it is as if I've walked into a language class like Japanese and am expected to speak it already. The lectures were okay but the learning materials used to support the subject are long winded and complicated to understand. They are written in "Academia" that really only professors and those above can understand.

We are just finishing the mid semester break and moving into the second half with deep reservations about what I will be able to achieve to pass the subject. My average so far in all my other subjects is "Distinction" but I fear this is about to take a significant hit. I will truly be satisfied if I just pass this one.

So why is this so difficult for me? I have tried to work it out with the only result being that the constant emphasis on formulas and trying to interpret what the end result is attempting to tell you without really spending enough time on examples and real world applications that make sense. The SPSS Survival Guide by Julie Pallant helps and Statistics without Tears by Derek Rowntree was a real blessing in simplifying the meaning of such things as standard error deviation and correlation co-efficient.

If I were to take on this subject again (hopefully not!) I would do this one on its own and not do it with another subject in the semester. This is part time study of course.

Time between Posts!

2006-03-14T01:22:00.000-08:00

Where has all the time gone?

I just overheard a comment from the ABC's 7:30 Report where Kerry O'Brien was interviewing a federal Government Minister and mentioned one of the ways to communicate and get the message across was blogging. Suddenly my mind leapt to this blog site and I realised I had forgotten all about it.

Well, its another new year and work and university studies are again taking a heavy toll on my time. But I still believe this blogg has value so will be posting new insites over the coming weeks and months now that I have "rediscovered" it.

New Technology in the Classroom.

2005-10-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

We are all aware of the changes taking place thanks to the rapid evolution of ICT. For some time now I have been advocating for the use of this technology as part of our training of apprentices and trainees, whether they are with us in the workshop or in their own workplaces. An report dated Wednesday October 5 2005 from the Advertiser newspaper, has highlighted an education report from the ACT Education Department titled the Emerging Technologies.

It is pleasing and gratifying to note that it supports much of what I have been suggesting. This is not to suggest in any way that colleagues or management have been opposed to the idea, just that we have not been investigating or planning how best to use new technologies as they become more readily available. For a number of years we have been critical of our students mobile phones constantly ringing during class times instead of turning this around and using the technology as part of our training. The fact that our students are more literate with the technology than most teachers what be part of it however as professionals, we cannot allow opportunities like this slip by and ignore the potential.

The key recommendations of the report as stated in the Advertiser were:

Teachers must acknowledge the cultural change created by new technologies and realise students are "native speakers" of the latest advancements.
New devices must be treated as educational opportunities, not "disruptive nuisances".
Wireless technology should be adopted as the new platform for schools.
Teachers must be encouraged and inspired to take risks and try out new methods of teaching, using the latest devices.
Education departments must provide teachers with the technology, rather than expecting them to buy it themselves.
Devices must be used to make education "more contemporary".

At TAFESA O'Halloran Hill, we have been lkeading and pushing the use of ICT in our training but more can and needs to be done to continue to remain at the forefront of Heavy Vehicle technician training.

Online Instruction Courses: Facilitator Still Needed!

2005-09-09T03:07:00.000-07:00

Recent studies in a University course have highlighted insites that anyone working or studying online should take note of.

I have been involved in designing and developing online courses since the early WebCT days in the late 1990's. Since then I have gained some considerable experience in this area. In terms of facilitation, my experience is more limited because I work in an area where the students are not as familar with online instruction as other higher level study programs and therefore they require further preliminary work and exposure to it before I would attempt to try and operate exclusively using this tool. As it is, I use an online program (Janison) for the competencies I manage in the TAFESA Heavy Vehicles faculty but it is only one tool amongst other methodologies and strategies for training apprentices. The students are becoming more familar with it since its introduction in 2003 but students still perfer to use and train using the online materials in a training environment with lecturers and other students for support. They have access 24/7 from anywhere with an Internet connection but very few have done more than take a cursory look around the materials.

I would have assumed that the Universities would be familar by now with many of the problems associated with external delivery modes and in particular using online courses where the students have very limited real contact with either a lecturer or other students studying the same course. How wrong was this assumption!!!

The current online course is a disaster. After having a face-to-face meeting with the group as an introductory session to the course, little or no contact has followed. The lecturer was assigned to teach in China and has been out of contact for most of the time since. He only made contact the other day to suggest we will not finish if we do not get a move on. Lets look at this for a moment.

To my knowledge, while we are all familar with using computers and various programs for study, none of us are completely competent with using this wiki and its layout. In fact, there have been components of the study course materials that I have only just managed to find after five weeks. No contact has been made directly and only in the last few hours as anyone at all made a comment about the discussions or activity responses I have made. (No comments, advise or encouragement has been made by the lecturer to any of us.)

While I am being critical about this current course of study, I am saddened to discover that this is not an isolated incident. It appears that some teachers (and more than I would have cared for) obviously believe that once the course materials are up, their job is almost over. Link in on occasion as it suits you and add the odd comment to a students assignment if you feel inclined to do so. This is absolutely rediculous!

Successful online learning only occurs when there is constant feedback and support. In fact, my experience has been that if you (as the facilitator of the course) are not spending as much time interacting in all soughts of ways with the learning materials, discussion and in the support and encouragement of online learners, they will quickly lose confidence, interest and enthusiasm for the study and , for many, just give up.

Online facilitation means far more commitment, dedication and energy by the facilitator than managing a real live class has ever done yet so very few teachers, managers and administrators obviously appreciate this. Yet it still gets pushed as the answer to rising operating costs and and easier workloads. Perhaps it is; students get fed up and drop out!

Effective Learning

2005-08-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bruner has been studying teaching and learning for many years and as a result it can be seen how his own learning has mirrored what he writes about on learning theory. The points he makes are little different to my own views. In The Process of Education (1960), he takes the view that:

The structure of learning is a practical task in preparation for what has been previously learnt and not mastery of facts.
Students, regardless of age, can be taught knowledge, skills and concepts considered difficult by many by building on and constantly revisiting basic ideas.
Intuition and analytical thinking are essential in any productive thinking process.
Learning should be designed to motivate learning rather than setting external goals and giving grades.

His ideas have obviously evolved and in later references he suggests that to teach someone is to participate in a learning process that encourages and creates the possibility of adding to knowledge. He states the “knowing is a process, not a product.”

It would be fair to say that prior to starting with TAFESA, I had given very little thought about the learning process and techniques I use to take in and develop knowledge. As a tradesperson though, it would also be fair to say that the learning process has been continuous, not just the informal learning that comes with living, but the more formal learning associated with maintaining and enhancing skills and concepts and in seeking and receiving promotions and incentives to progress.

Since beginning with TAFESA, the process of studying learning and teaching has been a major thrust of my continued personal and professional development. The philosophies suggested by Bruner clearly apply to skills based training of adults such as heavy vehicle mechanics. Unfortunately, even a superficial look at many of our teaching habits does not reflect this. In recent years I have had significant influence in changing many of the more traditional trade training practices by adopting more innovative and creative activities and processes more aligned to Bruner’s and other’s views given here. Bruner’s views are based on years of study and research; mine are based on experience in teaching adults and apprentices in a variety of situations.

His “Culture of Learning” (1996) adds to these with his ideas in agency, reflection, collaboration and culture. While I believe he is right in suggesting these points, they are more difficult to include because very few adult students, let alone the younger prevocational students would have any experience in being self directed to any real degree or taking an opportunity to reflect constructively about what they are doing or learning. Collaboration and culture are less of an issue for adult training because humans are by nature a “social” species and the training we offer has always encouraged cooperation and collaboration. Rarely would any tradesperson operate without collaboration with someone.

Culture too is not a big issue because each industry, community, cluster or association will have developed or will develop its own “culture” and will attract people of like-mind. Those that “do not fit in”, tend to move on at some point. Within that, there are sub-cultures such as the changing technologies and the influence on the younger adults, for example apprentices in the 17 to 24 year age group.

Mobile phone technology has a large impact on this age group and their constant need to “play with the phone” can be an immense frustration to lecturing staff. The real solution is not to fight it but to use it as a resource to reinforce student learning. In other words, change the situation to the advantage of all.

It is difficult for me to argue against the points Bruner makes on constructivism and discovery learning because I am a great advocate for both. Heavy Vehicle technician training is a very skills-based vocation with a strong emphasis on diagnosis and problem-solving. Constructing knowledge and skills that also provide scaffolding to develop beyond the known is essential and the one key requirement most sort after by employers. It is an essential component of our training.

Bransford et al (2000) does share a similar view with regard to knowledge having to be useful to support understanding and the transfer of knowledge to other contexts. His views on cognitive science recognises that prior learning can help shape the ability to remember, reason, solve problems and acquire new knowledge. He recognises that any understanding that isn’t quite complete should be clarified and dealt with rather than ignored to ensure future knowledge is built on a firm foundation and that constructivism is a collaboration process of building knowledge, skills and concepts using a variety of teaching and learning strategies.

Understanding is being able to operate effectively in changing situations and contexts by adapting existing skills and knowledge to formulate, modify and/or build on what is known and progressing confidently forward into new boundaries and frontiers.

Bransford et al (2000) states that active learning is people taking control of their own learning which in turn allows them to learn to recognise when they understand something and when more learning is needed.

Again, active learning is a process encouraged in the trade based training I am involved with. However the “café” style of training that has developed since the advent of training packages and grouping skills into competencies has tended to reduce the effectiveness of developing this skill into our apprentices. For example, I teach only second and third years students in engines and fuel systems. I may only see a student for a period of two weeks once or at best, twice in one year. The learning experience I provide for my students are quite different to those given by my colleagues. Any exposure to active learning techniques I provide may not necessarily be available in other training areas and the impact or practice of such a skill is reduced.

The sort of teaching practice that supports effective learning would be those that I have tried to employ and are continuing to introduce into my own teaching and learning programs. The effectiveness is measured by the positive feedback I have received from apprentices, employers and peers over the years. This is not to suggest that I have it all worked out, but the initiatives and learning environment I have adopted and provide has resulted in national and international recognition for innovative practice, learning materials design and development, and expertise in workplace training and assessment.

Have Times Changed?

2005-07-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

I have had my first session for semester 2 at University and received a rude shock. I arrived about fifteen minutes early and was the first there. The room was a mess with the previous group just getting up and walking out including the lecturing staff.

About five minutes to start time, my fellow students arrived enmasse and we renewed old acquaintances and/or made new ones. On the dot, the lecturer walked in and began lecturing. True, there were some preliminaries such as sit in a huge circle (there are thirty six of us) and say our name and where we work, then it was straight into it.

The first part was familarising us with the topic and assessment requirements. Important but delivered in a cold and calculated manner. Next a photocopied book of readings that should be studied before next session so that we can answer appropriate questions. Finally a "talk at you" session with accompanied powerpoint presentation.

At a few minutes past the official end of the session (mainly due because some students like me had to impertenence to ask a question or two) and it was "See you next time and be ready to discuss aspects of the readings." Lecturer now exits.

I have seen things like this on television, usually Hollywood movies, but I would not have believed it could actually happen for real. Since I have paid good money to study the subject, I hope this was just an example of what not to do. Otherwise it is going to be a very long semester. I would change if there were other options but my other subject was cancelled due to lack of interest by other students and the university. I had a hard enough time getting into another as a result and still don't really know if I'm in.

Obviously arrogance and indifference still exist in our tertiary system.

Integrating Technology & Curriculum

2005-05-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

In reading an article the other day, a cord was struck in why integrating technology into classrooms, workshops or other non-traditional ICT environment is difficult. The article "Rethinking the Technology Integration Challenge" makes a point which I have always believed. The note I make here can be summarised in the article in one particluar paragragh which states:

"Although the principal may set the tone, it is equally important to have a trusted technology leader in the school who knows technology itself. This technology knowledge then needs to be aligned strongly with the curriculum, based on a sound understanding of the curriculum itself. Where there is strong technology knowledge but a weak sense of alignment, technology may absorb scarse resources but not add substancially to students progress. When principals and technology leaders themselves connect all discussions about technology acquisition to the curriculum, the alignment is much more likely to take place."

At TAFESA Heavy Vehicles, this is one of the keys of success in using and adapting technology to suit the training being carried out. A key staff member had both a knowledge of technology and a strong connection with the curriculum. The result is a noteable training program and a model of successful integration which does not need or use the latest technology, but what is used adds value to the training and enhances the students willingness to use and learn from what is available. In terms of cost effectiveness, not would be very difficult to find another operational program which has achieved so much with so little.

It has not always been plain sailing and a period of development where this key person was moved away from the developments resulting in an increasing technology blow-out and eventually a key factor in the demise of an Education Technology Centre which could not provide the same benefits for anywhere near the same cost. Their personnel had very high technology skills but little or no concept of the curriculum or learning materials needed. Often the "Technology Leader" in a school is an ICT person who also does not understand the curriculum and how to closely align the two.

Equilibrium and Change

2005-04-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

TAFESA like every organization in recent years has changed significantly as a result of the introduction and continuing developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s). Even so, there is a strong sense of equilibrium in the system for a number of reasons.

TAFESA is a State Government body and although accountable to the State Government, it also accepts funding from the Federal Government and in doing so must also be accountable for that funding. Therefore TAFESA is subject to the desires and policies as dictated by those Governments. This extends beyond just funding but is answerable for access and equity, social justice, strategic directions, policy and sustainability. Yet despite strict controls over funding and accountability for the management of TAFESA, there is a more loosely coupled system with what occurs in the delivery of education and training.

Weick (1982) highlights a number of these when recognising that schools are not like other organizations. For example, classrooms are often tightly controlled to avoid anarchy amongst students but the goals and curriculum make it difficult to measure hard standards and individual performance. They need to be in order to solve local issues and problems quickly and appropriately. On the other hand, the management and administration of those schools are tightly controlled to ensure accountability to stakeholders.

TAFESA is predominantly used for Vocational Education and Training (VET). As such the curriculum is the training packages developed by representative industries and organizations outside the VET administrative system. These training packages represent the requirements by these organizations and systems are in place to audit and give account that the packages are being delivered as intended. However these are so broad that they do not include the learning materials, content or assessment criteria. This is the purview of the lecturer and therefore the quality of the actual training is based on the experience, tools and equipment, funding, initiative, and philosophy of the staff and culture of the individual training establishment.

This philosophy will continue because the low to middle level management is usually drawn from within the system using rigid selection guidelines with no account being considered as to whether the applicant can actually perform the role or duties based on prior knowledge or merit available to the selection panel. In recent times, senior management has been considered from outside the TAFE system however most appointments are still from within the TAFE management pool.

Despite this, the fact that the classrooms are an autonomous environment, many are open and flexible places that are bringing about change. This is often the individual lecturer’s himself or herself wanting to change and bring about greater relevance and renewed interest in their subject areas. The influences are coming from changes occurring in industry and the support available to TAFE. Changing social and environmental expectations including youth culture has led many to experiment with new technologies. Many traditional methods, while comfortable and secure for many staff, are starting to distance themselves from their students. This has been recognised by a number of individual staff members and evidence suggests that these members are having a greater impact on industry and returns on investment.

The Becta (2005) article outlines some assumptions and beliefs for the ICT maturity model. These beliefs include:

Organizations share common concerns about reliability, sustainability and return on investment.
A continuous process of review across all of an organization will promote continuous improvement.
While organizations are different, in general their development follows a rational pattern.
The cumulative effect of a number of small, incremental changes can lead to a qualitative change in how organizations operate.
While change is continuous, there are clear plateaus with well-defined characteristics.
Increased organisational maturity leads to increased organisational effectiveness.

Becta (2005) has also identified five levels of maturity, which are:

Localised use, where individual teachers innovate in their uses of ICT, but those innovations are limited by existing organisational practices and are not transferred or sustainable in the longer term.
Internal coordination, where a degree of sharing of assets and resources developed and individuals’ uses of ICT are managed in line with an overall school plan.
Process redesign, where the organization moves beyond automating existing approaches and begins to apply ICT more systematically to redesign processes.
Network redesign and embedding, where the redesigned processes become part of the essential, day-to-day working of the school and management processes have been in place to ensure their reliability.
Redefinition and innovative use, where the technology is used to offer new “learning services” in new ways to “new” learners.

Experience in the TAFE system suggest that ICT use has reached the first level in many areas but the internal coordination at level two is still a long way off. This is despite TAFE strategic directions suggesting an adoption of more widespread ICT use. This comes about because of the divide between the more technocratic view of ICT by senior management and the reformist, holistic views held by the more innovative lecturing staff trying to implement ICT into their classes.

In summary, the forces of equilibrium that maintain the present system include:

Government policies.
Accountability to stakeholders.
Staff experience and initiative.
Resources available.
Funding.
Assessment criteria,
Training packages.
TAFE culture.
Management drawn from within the system and selection based on how well they interview rather than prior knowledge or merit of the applicant.

The forces that help promote change, which includes ICT, are:

Changes occurring in industries that TAFE support with training.
Changing social and environmental expectations.
Youth culture.
Rapid changes in ICT’s being occupied by students.
Staff willingness to change and adapt.

All these forces have an impact on why TAFESA operates the way it does and will continue to do so for the future. Of critical importance is whether TAFESA will survive in its present form in the longer term with all these forces impacting it. It is doubtful that this will occur and so either a freeing up of forces such as funding and resources together with selection processes open for staff who are innovative, responsive to changing influences and can maintain a passion and drive for their role, or a divide will develop and fracture the effectiveness of TAFE’s longer term sustainability.

Bibliography:

Weick, K (1982), Administering Education in Loosely Coupled Schools Phi Delta Kappan, June, pp 673 – 676.

BECTA, (2005), ICT Maturity recovered from http://www.becta.org.uk/leaders/leaders.cfm?section=4&id=4590#lev

Learners Teaching Teachers:

2005-03-29T03:02:00.000-08:00

In an article titled “When The Learners Know More Than The Teachers” by Dr Alison Elliott, it struck a cord which is becoming increasingly obvious with each article I read relating to ICT. Not that this article says anything new; it does not. But what it does say brings together many of the issues facing all of us as teachers regardless whether we are primary school, high school of in tertiary education.

Firstly, ICT in education has been all about getting computers into libraries, administration and into computer suites. The hardest thing to accomplish is getting computers into a teaching situation either in the classroom or in TAFESA Heavy Vehicles, into the workshop. It has only been through determined efforts that Heavy Vehicles has managed to accomplish getting the hardware in place although access is limited to two or three students per unit and no Internet access. Internet access can be achieved through the libraries or Learning Resource Centre’s (LRC’s) but these must be booked and are away from the teaching areas where they would be of maximum use.

The “digital divide” is a big issue in that it is obvious that ICT skills vary dramatically between TAFESA Heavy Vehicle apprentices. During the introductory session into using the Heavy Vehicle Online program, it becomes obvious which students are likely to take advantage of the opportunity. It has less to do with getting access and more with having the confidence to give it a fair go. Discussions with apprentices during the introduction and immediately afterwards suggest a large interest and willingness to use it. However, to date, access outside the immediate program being studied at that time at O’Halloran Hill has been minimal. The next attendances for those with access will begin around June so it will be interesting to see if preliminary work is accessed and/or completed.

Despite the barriers to using ICT in the classroom situation, Dr Elliott supports the views of this writer that students will learn no matter what the barriers if they really want to. And this is a point worth noting. Youth of today are “building” their own culture which includes the use of a number of different ICT’s. They are not learning it at school. Elliot states:

“As members of the Business-Higher Education Forum say in Building a Nation of Learners, its not entirely clear what jobs will look like in 10~20 years given the continuing growth in technology and rapid pace of change, but one thing is certain, individuals who have sound communication and analytic skills will be well positioned for employment.”(p2).

At a tertiary level, we have been expecting our students to already be computer literate, and for the most part they are. However ICT is much more than using a computer for word processing and sending emails. How many times are we telling our students to turn off their mobile phones in class and still they ring at inconvenient moments. What a valuable resource and one the government does not have to supply yet we do not or can not see the potential.

There is a lot in this article and well worth reading. You can find it at http://www.infoage.idg.com.au/index.php/

ICT in Education: The Vision and the Reality

2005-03-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

There is a common theme underpinning the papers I will refer to in this article. Fulfilling the Potential and Toward a New Golden Age in American Education in particular relate closely, both in there vision for what ICT can or will offer and the contradictions based on evidence presented.

In Fulfilling the Potential, Secretary of State Charles Clarke suggests real progress has been made but the potential of real transformation has not yet been reached. The School Reform Agenda is in direct contradiction to the view that ICT has made real progress in student literacy and numeracy when it states:

“Significant gains have been made … 11 year olds reaching the expected standard in literacy and numeracy and of 16 year olds gaining 5 good GCSE’s.”

The same paragraph states a significant improvement in primary and secondary teaching and learning has been achieved. The next paragraph states:

“25% of 11 year olds do not achieve the expected level in literacy and numeracy; almost half of 16 year olds do not leave school with 5 good GCSE’s”

Clearly there is a direct contradiction as the percentages of students who were not doing well remain significantly high. All this can demonstrate is that ICT may suit some students but obviously not all. It would also be interesting to view previous history in the educational sector to see if a trend might exist to suggest these same students would have achieved these goals without new technologies anyway.

Similar anomalies lay in the American report. Both state that improvements will result from providing the hardware and improved access for students. They then go no the say that the promised increase in student performance has not been realised. The reasons have been identified in that providing the equipment and opportunity is not sufficient. Teachers and educators need to receive significant professional development and be allowed to become comfortable with the technology before it can be accepted that real benefits in the classroom environment are being achieved.

Towards a New Golden Age in American Education recognises that students are far ahead in their computer literacy. These “digital natives” think nothing of picking up and adapting technology to suit their own purposes. This is not the case with the current group of educators. At best educators can only play catch up and with time and resource pressure constantly being applied, they will probably continue to feel uncomfortable to some extent. Real change or improvements brought about by the use of e-learning and ICT will become more noticeable and widespread only when those digital natives become educators themselves. This is on the assumption that they themselves will keep adapting to change in technology. The vision outlined in both papers is grand and ambitious but clearly recognises that the full potential ICT might provide may not be reached.

Another answer to the problem can be found in the following paper by Aviram & Talmi. There “Are you a Technocrat? A Reformist? Or a Holist?” paper suggests that those in education can be grouped into three clusters when integrating ICT into the education system. In identifying the characteristics of these clusters, it becomes apparent that the Government departments and the ministers presenting the reports which underpin this article are of the technocratic viewpoint. Ample provision is being made to provide the equipment, although in the American example, it also suggests that schools need to be creative in budgeting for new and replacement technologies. Future funding from the Federal Government may not be forthcoming despite references being made to the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). In both the English and American papers it almost appears that the fact that educators have not embraced the full potential of e-learning in resource development or use has come as a surprise.

Experience in TAFESA reflect the views of Aviram & Talmi. Teaching staff using e-learning and new and/or innovative technologies could be grouped in the reformist or holist categories. However senior management and IT staff more closely align with the technocratic view. The challenge remains to bring the groups together for frank and honest discussion or the full benefit ICT can provide will never fully be realised.

It is the New Learning Paradigm in School Education which holds the closest keys to a successful meshing of technology and its use. This is particularly relevant in the skills and trades areas. Technical education is heavily oriented towards the constructionist visions and the potential changes outlined in this paper closely mirror the developments being undertaken in TAFESA Heavy Vehicles for example. Since it’s founding in 1989, the faculty has been leading in competency based education, self paced learning, problem solving and experimental learning to name a few. Computer technology in the form of interactive online learning materials, CD-Rom based learning objects and step-by-step service information in multimedia formats have been developed and slowly introduced into the teaching program since 1998. Evidence shows they have increased the confidence of students to tackling and achieving successful outcomes.

One point the reviewed papers do not recognise is that what is new technology today, will be history tomorrow. Never before has the world seen such rapid developments. The American paper in its conclusions recognised the “digital disconnect” as a big frustration amongst today’s students. Broadband is only a stop-gap until new developments require faster access or new mediums of transmission. Trying to keep up by having a redundancy program for computers is an older world fix to new and emerging problems. It further states:

“Reforms within the system will require strong leadership and a willingness to restructure the learning environment in fundamental ways.”

It will require more than this. It will require a willingness to remain constantly open to the changing environment to the point of leading change rather than adapting to change. Otherwise education will always be a follower of trends and developments and never a leader.

Bibliography:

Fulfilling the Potential: Transforming teaching and learning through ICT in schools UK Department for Education and Skills: 2003 http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/

Towards a Golden Age in American Education: National Education Technology Plan 2004 US Department of Education 2005 http://www.nationaledtechplan.org/default.asp

Are You a Technocrat? A Reformist? Or a Holist?: R. Aviram, D. Talmi, Centre for Futurism in Education, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel http://elearningeuropa.info/

The New Learning Paradigm in School Education: summary of Study of Innovative Learning Environments in School Education, a report to the European Commission DG Education and Culture 2004 http://elearningeuropa.info/

New Year - New Challenges

2005-02-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

This year just like recent ones is already shaping up to be a formidable one. Aside from the increasing pressures from work, family and community, I obviously haven't learnt when enough is enough and enrolled in Flinders University to complete a Masters degree in Education - Research & Innovation. I have also been asked to be part of a learnscope project and if successful, will add to the burdens as we look at developing and using new software to produce movie clips to enhance our training programs.

So what is this compulsion to keep taking on more in an already busy life? If you know the answer to this you are a much wiser person than I will ever be. This question however always comes up whenever I consider something new or different. I, like many people certainly don't need the stress or commitment usually involved in these things. I do not consider myself a workaholic, although some might think I'm leaning more and more towards being one based on the evidence. I do not have an ego that wants to drive me to being better than anyone else or even to be recognised for anything special.

Sadly, 2004 has been etched deeply into my life for the worst reason. In August that year I lost my 20 year old daughter after complicated but not uncommon surgery performed by the recognised leading medical team in the world for such operations. Since then I have reflected considerably about life in general and her life in particular. Lena was a special needs person with intellectual difficulties and had to struggle her entire life in almost every aspect of Australian life. She had no degrees from any formal education even though she did attend the local school until she was 17. She suffered emotional, social and, on occasions, physical abuse from people representing all age, gender, social, community, business and political walks of life. She could not be recognised as achieving anything out of the ordinary or special to be raised above "normal" expectations.

Yet despite this, she was the most recognised person in the district. Her funeral was the largest ever held in Hallett Cove with the Church (a rather large one at that) overflowing into the foyer with people standing four deep around the inside perimeter. There were people representing every aspect of life from political and community leaders to school children much younger than herself; all of whom were deeply affected by her passing. It was a very humbling and moving experience for me as her father. The Shopping Centre where she worked part time produced a memorial plaque which is now mounted in one of the benches outside the supermarket where she worked. An example of the mood of the community was relayed to me a few weeks later by a person who lived in the street. A young man whom we do not know living nowhere near us was celebrating his 21st birthday and had planned a large gathering of friends and family. Instead of being a joyful occasion, it turned out to be a somber one with most of the night being spent talking about what had happened to Lena. Before the singing and blowing out of the candles, he made a small tribute to Lena and toasted her life before cutting the cake. Other stories later came to light which again caused me to be very humble and feel very privileged. If my daughter could affect so many by just being who she was, there is nothing I could ever do to have a greater impact so it would be a waste of time trying.

On the Innovations in teaching and learning website hosted by Marie Jasinski, there is a wiki considering what makes an innovator and how do they survive in the TAFESA environment. The answer to why I keep taking on more may eventually lie there. One thing I know, I am not alone with many of the people I admire and respect having similar drive and commitment.

One of the key outcomes for 2005 I'm hoping for will be a better understanding of this motivation and how best to use it to further the teaching and learning opportunities for colleagues and students.

The Power of Satisfaction

2004-11-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like feeling pretty satisfied with yourself, no matter what the reason. This is different from being successful. It is possible to have a successful outcome yet not feel any emotion around it. But satisfaction, now there is something worth thinking about.

Last Wednesday a colleague was preparing for a class that is due to start tomorrow (Monday) which only runs once or twice a year. It is however an important one because it relates directly to our agricultural apprentices and setting up the headers and balers correctly for the farmers to reap the benefits of their hard work. Getting this wrong will cost them dearly in reduced revenue.

The resources we use are relevant but they are well worn. In a major section of the balers, slide packs are used in carusels with an audio tape to provide the commentary. They are presented in special slide machines which the Heavy Vehicle section has had since the facility opened in 1989. When this colleague went to get things organised, he realised that we can no longer use the machines because of abuse and deterioration. He was airing his frustration and delemma when I suggested he covert the slides to digital image, the audio tape to a digital one and combine them into Authorware, Dreamweaver or PowerPoint presentation. He immediately came over and asked: "How do you do that?". Already burdened with my own commitments, I realised too late that I had opened the door to a lot of extra work.

Now I didn't know how to do any of it either but I had been thrown a challenge and unfortunately I have a weakness for not saying no. The others in the team joined in the discussions and it came out that some years ago, we had converted some slides using an adaptor fitted to the front of a standard film camera. The adaptor was placed over and around the lens and a slide was inserted into the frame. A photograph was taken of each slide and the film developed. The photograph was then scanned into the comuter and the image adjusted using Photoshop. A very long process but it had worked.

Unfortunately a search of the campus could not find this adaptor. What do we do next? While in the library, another lecturer overheard us talking about what to do and shared that Geoscience had a computer with a slide adaptor attached. A trip over to Geoscience confirmed that in one corner of their computer suite there was indeed a slide adaptor connected to a computer. However there was no one around who knew anything about it or even whether it worked. I then had to sit down and over the next hour work out if it would work and if I could capture and use the images once they were in the computer. The slides themseleves were not the best quality any longer.

It worked and I could enhance the image to the point that it was very clear and probably better than new. Now the hard work of converting all the slides to images began and took the rest of that afternoon and evening. My colleague could not help because of his class commitments. I worked into the night and by 11:00pm had created the three presentations into PowerPoint with instructions and written commentary. I was very tired but very happy. I had met the challenge and provided a solution. I figured the audio tapes could be played in standard tape players and every time the tape indicated a change, the student would change the slide.

I went to work the next day and showed the fruits of my labour. Everyone was amazed and excited because not only did we have these resources, but the HV Resource Centre is three quarters full of similar slide packs and presentations and it was suggested I do the same for them all. Oh no! what I have created is a monster!

I had classes all Thursday so had left the others to arrange tape players and set them up. But by afternoon tea break it was made known to me that the tape players would be no good. While the machines we had used in the past changed the slides automatically and on que, there was no audio beep or recognition to change the slide. Numbering the PowerPoint screens identified where a student was in the presentation but the tape could be anywhere. Gloom filled the office. In thinking about how to resolve this new dilemma, I remembered an old software program I had on my computer at home that allowed limited audio editing. Again I spoke up, thinking out loud more than suggesting anything and all of a sudden, everyone jumped on it and suggested I try that night. (Oh dear.)

I gathered the tapes and that evening spent time trying to capture an audio signal from a CD to practice on because I had not used the program in years and then only once or twice. After about two hours I decided I wasn't getting anywhere. Copying was not the problem. The sound files were however in formats that this program I had could not recognise. Makes sense, otherwise people would be altering all types of music and interviews.

Then just before I gave up, I thought I should try to solve the problem rather than trying to find a process. Why play with a CD. What I needed was on a tape. Since I did not have a cable to link the tape player to the computer, I just placed a microphone linked to the computer next to the speaker of the tape player. Told everyone on the house to be quiet and attempted to record a signal. It worked perfectly and was so simple I became angry with myself for not doing this sooner. It had been too simple.

I spent the next half an hour cutting and shutting the signal and managed to link it to the appropriate screen in the PowerPoint presentation. It starts automatically the first time around, then if a student wanted to go back and review a previous screen, it was done and a link would replay the audio signal if required.

Another late night but another solution to a problem. My colleagues were again suitably amazed and impressed and everyone was happy because Tony could now work over the week end and have the programs ready for Monday morning. (Oh joy...) I had classes Friday so the weekend it would have to be.

Here it is, Sunday lunch time and it is all done. Tired but extremely satisfied. The classes next week will have no further input from me as I do not teach this subject but the glow of contentment comes from the fact that I have taken a problem once more and managed to come up with a viable solution. Into the bargain I have picked up some new skills to use in my own work.

Was it all worth it?

You better believe it!

Sleepless in Adelaide

2004-11-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is currently 2:30am on Saturday morning and instead of sleeping like any sane person, I'm sitting up thinking about work, learning and innovation. One might suggest I need to get a life but it has reminded me that learning, thinking and reflecting knows no boundaries or time limits.

As a TAFESA lecturer who has classes from 8:00am until 5:00pm weekdays normally, it is easy to forget that it does not mean that the job is the same hours. Far from it and although I hear from time to time that some lecturers insist that because they are paid for only 35 hours per week that's all they have to do, I know very few, if any now who practice it. If that were to be the case, it would be unlikely the department could function properly. Certainly the Heavy Vehicle facility at O'Halloran Hill would not be able to. And it isn't necessarily because of the added administation or section duties alone. I'm not suggesting it's right either but it is a reality.

Most of us really do want the best for our students and even the less imaginative of us do what we think offers the best opportunities for them to be successful. But for those of us who constantly challenge the status quo it becomes more like an obsession. Combine this with a little imagination and persistence and innovation is born.

I was tossing and turning earlier thinking about next year and the workplace partnership with a major industry organisation I will be leading. I have been trying to come up with a positive solution that would allow the learners to have every opportunity to be effective and valued members of the organisation as quickly as possible without compromising the assessment critieria of the competencies they must complete. They need to do it within the employers timeframes and expectations / requirements and still provide not only a successful outcome for TAFE with all competencies completed without adding to the staff or equipment burdens but also with a financial saving as well. It seemed a difficult task and one I might not be able to juggle to everyones satisfaction but that was because I was focusing on the practical requirements such as assessments, learning materials, practical projects, recording results, managing times, etc. While necessary I'm again reminded of the value of stepping out of the box and using a little critical thinking.

This is something together with reflective practice that many lecturers, particularly trades based ones do not do very well. Admittedly this is a general statement and does not apply to all but it certainly does to me. We are often so busy trying to stay in front of our students that we can't see the forest for the trees. Since innovative practice is normally implemented by so few in any organisation, it adds weight to my arguement.

It's currently 3:10am and the solution seems so easy to me now that I can't understand why I was so worried about it. I probably need to write it all down but that would interupt the free flow of ideas that are now floating around in my head. There is a danger of losing some of it once I eventually go back to sleep but in this case I don't think so.

Now I'm thinking about other colleagues and peers within TAFESA whom I believe to be innovators, movers and shakers. There are many and I don't think the Minister, our senior management, students or the general public will ever fully comprehend. I have read that only 2.5% of any organisation's workforce are innovators and if that's true, then TAFESA does have its fair share. What hides this fact is that while we often have heard or know others of like mind; people in this category tend to stick together and gain inspiration and energy from each other, but those outside the "circle" either just don't understand or think we're a bunch of dreamers and time wasters. What most people do not understand is that what is commonplace today was once an innovative practice.

So... while I'm alone at home typing this out, I'm not really alone. Others are probably doing the same thing out there, if not now, maybe yesterday or tomorrow. Either way, our society will be all the better because of it.

What is Innovation Anyway?

2004-11-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is a subject reasonably close to my heart but I have to confess that what it actually is, is something I have assumed or perhaps taken for granted that I understand its meaning. I have been invited to join a group known as the Southern Innovators; basically an informal loose network of Adelaide South TAFE persons interested in flexible and innovative practice. This got me linked to the wider TAFESA innovations group with a website known as the TAFESA Innovations in Teaching and Learning.

One of the resources is a collection of ideas about what innovation is, its purpose, impact, barriers, support and asks what is the role of innovative practitioners. Reading this article has made me think more deeply about these questions and I'm a little surprised at the assumptions I had made.

For example, my understanding of what innovation is means coming up with a new idea and putting it into practice that brings about a cost saving or benefit. Others represented in the article had similar views but I now believe that this is not strictly true. Coming up with a new idea means finding an original thought and putting it into practice. If one thinks about all the new developments taking place around us, very little of it comes from original thought. The vast majority of innovative ideas have come from someone else's use or concept that is then modified or adjusted to suit another.

That is certainly the case with developments at Onkaparinga Campus Heavy Vehicles. People who have come and reviewed what we have been doing are surprised and inspired. Many traditional teaching and learning methods and assumptions have been turned upside down with the focus firmly placed back where it belongs; with the learner. There are a range of resources and opportunities being developed to enhance the learning and provide valuable learning experiences which are not just strictly trade based training. I have been told on many occasions that you cannot teach a trade or skills based subject using flexible learning including online materials. This is rubbish of course because it isn't the learning that is the real issue but the assessment processes to ensure competency is really achieved, not surmised based on having met just knowledge based criteria. The key is to use the same assessment criteria that is needed to measure whether a person is competent or not and provide experiences that can enable the competency to be met. How that is done depends on the learners and their individual learning styles.

What we are trying to do is offer opportunities to try different learning experiences and have enough of them that at some point the learner has a "light bulb" moment when it all falls into place and becomes part of their skill and behaviour.

At the end of the day though we have not done anything original or exceptional. It would certainly be difficult to find an original concept in any of it!

Still, we are out there doing it differently and remaining open to new and alternative ways of structuring our courses. This has not been easy and will always be a challenge but the work must continue; for the sake of highly skilled imaginative technicians that will be needed to provide us with the quality, innovative solutions to improve and bring comfort to our everyday lives.

My primary role now must expand and encourage others to take up the challenge because I certainly cannot continue to do this on my own. It's the only way we can grow.

Building Innovation.

2004-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

I recently came across a document titled Building Innovative Vocational Education and Training Organisations by Victor Callan and believe it has some significant points for TAFESA and in particular at this time of repositioning. The NCVER document looks at three questions which relate to the practices of leading innovative organisations, what are VET providers doing to encourage innovation and what strategies are being adopted to create and nurture further innovation.

It highlights the fact that innovation has more to do with individuals who display a flare and imagination for innovation rather than a strategic approach. TAFE's across Australia tend to be traditionally conservative and do not encourage risk taking and as such minimise the implementation of new ideas. This is opposite to much of the retoric being used by many organisations who do see themselves as supporting innovation. There are a number of examples of innovative practice in the document and provides some practical steps that could be used by an organisation to create an innovative culture. These include:

Bringing new ideas into the organisation, encourage staff to attend conferences and workshops, join professional groups and to bring in outside experts who have a different or new opinion about issues.
Provide seed funding which can be applied to initiate new projects. Initially this funding might be limited to buying staff time to allow them to progress their ideas to some form of innovation or concept plan.
Select and promote those partnerships that allow the organisation to develop its skills and knowledge, and to have staff work closely with partners through sharing work arrangements, job rotations and exchanges of staff.
As an organisation, identify whole-of-enterprise issues which can best be resolved through cross-functional teams with members from various business divisions within the organisation.
Encourage the broad concept of communities of practice, including time for staff to meet informally and socially with others from inside and outside the enterprise to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and practical experiences.
Build the expectation among staff and members of the istitutions board of management that staff will be putting new ideas and projects to the board for consideration, debate and potential endorsement.
Define and publicise a simple process which staff can work through to propose new ideas for initial consideration. If the ideas are seen to have merit, subsequent steps need to be outlined which involve providing staff with time and support to prepare short feasibility statements outlining the benefits, risks, and opportunities created by the innovation.
Include within organisational websites details about innovations being considered and invite those from inside and outside the organisation to email comments and advice about how the idea might be further progressed.
Implement recognition programs that publicly support and celebrate innovative solutions to teaching and learning and to partnering and related activities.
Encourage innovative ideas from students through the sponsorship of "enterprise competitions" in which students can compete for cash and in-kind support to take their innovations to market.

A key theme through these steps is in giving staff time to further study, learn, develop, trial and implement new ideas. This however is usually the main stumbling block because staff are fully committed to their primary roles that have little or no flexibility in offering release time. It is interesting that the really successful organisations are those that have made an effort to allow innovative practice to occur. How long this can continue depends on the stamina of staff or whether the organisation is willing to remain open to furthering with time and real support towards innovation.

Boost Juice - All Attitude

2004-11-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

An article in the Advertiser newspaper dated October 24 2004 (page 29) talks about the winner of the Telstra Business Woman of the Year. Ms Janine Allis is the founder of Boost Juice and turned it from a one store show into a $65 Million success story. She now has 140 stores across Australia, employing over 1600 people and all done in four years.

The article highlights several issues although I will only mention a couple here. Firstly that the freedom to succeed is still alive and well in Australia. It has nothing to do with who you know or how much capitol you have to kick it off, although everyone would agree it would help. It has more to do with believing in the idea and not accepting that it cannot be done.

My own experience supports this albiet on a much smaller scale than what Ms Allis has accomplished. The system is often blamed for any failure but my experience has been that the system can be changed and it can be used to achieve anything you need it too. The CD-Rom development in the Onkaparinga Institute's Heavy Vehicle program is one case in point. It all started after I attended a LSREC conference on Learning Futures in 1997. It inspired me to write a report that made others in the Institute take note and helped kick the Education Technology Centre (ETC) at O'Halloran Hill to a running start. While I did not start ETC, it was the concept and programs I instigated that gave them the impotis that did. It also gave me an opportunity to learn about computers and to use a number of software programs. It got me out of teaching for 18 months and to participate in some real professional development. I returned to Heavy Vehicle teaching in 1999 in order to instigate flexible learning innovations in workplace training and development of the Automotive Traineeship program.

The CD-Rom program ran until late 2002 with the closure of ETC. This did not occur because the concept was flawed but because of a severe funding deficit in the wider Institute. These products became Internationally recognised and are currently being used in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, the South Pacific, Hong Kong and parts of Asia. They have been benchmarked against products in Australia and the United States and have faired very well. Their main claim to fame is that they are interactive, relevant and best of all, relatively cheap to produce.

Ms Allis states in the article "We don't tolerate no, because there is a solution to every problem. If you go in with a positive attitude you can do anything." It is obviously what helped Ms Allis become the success she is and can help anyone if they believe in it too. The other two qualities that are essential are persistence and perseverance. Never give up despite the challenges and stick with it.

Conative: An Essential Quality

2004-10-31T22:30:00.000-08:00

Marie Jasinski explores Conation in her Educhaos series of articles located on the Australian Flexible Learning Framework website.The conative domain is having the will, striving intentionally and with determination towards a goal.

It's a word I have not heard of until now even though it is a latin word to strive and has been used since the ancient Greeks first looked at the domains of the human psyche.

The importance for me is that in this article, Marie uses a soliloquy to describe the innovative practitioner. In my comments to her later I suggested she had been following my work for the last seven years and simply documented everything I had experienced. It is uncannily accurate and must be a typical example of what many innovators experience. Conversations I have had from time to time with other innovators do not suggest they have shared this experience but it may be that they only want to focus on the successes and not dwell on the hardships.

I am happy to do this too but the soliloquy is a timely reminder that one does not have to suffer a common path through a development and implementation phase of innovation. By understanding what conative thinking / planning is, it is possible to reflect on questions / points of reference which will lessen the pain of evolution.

Marie suggests the key points any innovator needs to think about are:

Align the innovations more strongly with the strategic intent of the organisation.
Develop influencing, marketing and change manoeuvering skills.
Know when to let go and hand over to others. In doing this it has to be understood that the innovation will be contaminated as part of the diffusion process.
Involve more stakeholders earlier in the process so they have ownership.
Have more of a grasp on the process of the diffusion of innovation.
Identify and target champions and advocates early.

While I did not know about conation, I had in varying degrees implemented most of these. The problem was that I had not done enough, particularly with senior management and the "powerbrokers" of the organisation. As a result, there is still a lot of hard work to come but now I have some pointers that should ease the process to implementation sooner.

Blogging or Blocking!

2004-10-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

In my first attempts to add a photo to this blogsite, I have found my first blockage. I.T.Services have placed security protocols which prevent programs or software being loaded onto the computer. Since HELLO is needed to add photos to this site, the situation has arisen that if either I or my students want to use a blog as a learning tool, we must do so outside a TAFE Institution. Text is fine but any additional software where part or all of a program is loaded onto a computer, it is not possible without first having the security measures removed.

The time and effort involved is not worth it. At best, the site will need to be managed somewhere else such as at home.

Chalk up another to the blockers!

Welcome!

2004-10-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome!

This is my first experience with a blog and although I intend to use it as a learning journal and assist in collecting and using information in order to enhance the learning of my students as well as myself, it will also be used to help keep the "powerbrokers" (those I need to influence to assist in getting whatever is needed to continue to develop or implement new learning practices) informed.

There are a number of articles and reports that I have written since 2002 and my Flexible Learning Leaders scholarship. As soon as I work out how to set them up here, they will become available.

This tool itself has learning implications for my students even though it would be a new experience for them and their trade studies. The problem with traditional trades such as automotive heavy vehicles is that the training and learning processes still tend to be in a traditional way. While the traditions of the past worked and still do to a large extent, the environment in which we live and work has meant that traditional training is a luxury many companies and industries are finding difficult to provide.

The society in which we find ourselves has changed dramatically, even in the last decade, which challenges who we are and where we are heading. Trades have suffered because the more glamourous vocations such as I.T. services and university pursuits have attracted the talented youth. The industry itself has not done itself any favors either by offering less than attractive salaries and packages to keep let alone attract people into it. The only way to change the perceptions of the trades, and in particular the heavy vehicle industries, is to make as many aspects as attractive as possible. This goes beyond just salaries but encompasses learning and professional development too.

This is my agenda and what I hope to do from this point.