UserPage:HelenSandy

My facilitated page is: Your place or mine?? Portable learning environments

Pages I have contributed to include:

• VET teaching and learning
• Integration of Mobile Device To Support Learning
• Hints for using Microsoft Word
• YouTube and Education
• Digital Portfolios towards Recognition of Prior Learning

Strategy for facilitating my page

I hope to develop the page sufficiently so that it will become a useful resource for all members of KnowledgeGarden. It will be regularly reviewed and updated and other members will be encouraged to contribute. It should be visually appealing and easy to navigate. The major challenge I foresee is finding enough time within the scope of this course to develop an informative and interesting page. There is an abundance of information and I need to ensure that quality over quantity is a key element.

Topic: Using technology to support traineeships in a tourism context

I teach across the curricula of tourism and event management. The TAFE campus where I am situated focuses on vocational education in conjunction with industry but has not embraced flexible learning in the same way as other campuses or institutions, primarily through lack of resources. Throughout our campus, delivery is largely classroom based and teacher centred.

A small number of lecturers, of which I am one, would like to develop more flexible approaches to teaching and learning, but ‘flexible’ in our current context does not necessarily include the use of technology to access content, deliver instruction or provide opportunities for collaboration.

Educational Opportunity

The tourism and hospitality industry in Western Australia is experiencing a serious skills shortage and industry is demanding more flexible teaching and learning programs to afford employees the option of attaining accredited qualifications without having to study full-time. In response to this, we have entered into a partnership with industry to introduce traineeships in retail travel and have enrolled 18 trainees who have been employed by retail travel agents and need to complete (as a minimum) Certificate III in international retail sales. Two of my colleagues are responsible for the traineeship program and I will be working with them in a support role.

My proposal

I propose to explore the range of emerging technologies available that can be used in the design and delivery of a flexible training program to support traineeships. I intend to present my findings (in an academic paper) to my colleagues and our Learning Portfolio Manager and then work with my colleagues to design and implement an appropriate flexible training program.

Within the scope of this assignment I will:

Conduct preliminary research amongst trainees to determine levels of ‘technological literacy’ and preferred modes of communication etc.

Conduct a literature review to identify existing and emerging technologies appropriate to trainees’ needs and skill level

Propose tools and technology to be used for instructional design

Propose a plan for the development and introduction of a training program using identified tools and technology