ALaN WA Newsletter – February 2014

Welcome to edition 11 of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Network of Western Australia Newsletter!

Views expressed by contributors to the newsletter are their own and, unless expressly stated, do not reflect the opinions of their employers/organisations.

This contents page links individually to each article enabling you to go immediately to those of your choice. Alternatively, if you go to the main blog link, you can access the articles by scrolling down the page.

We welcome your comments and contributions to our newsletter. If you are an Adult Literacy/Numeracy practitioner in Western Australia or indeed, anywhere in the world, we invite you to subscribe and comment. If you are interested in joining the GoogleGroup for our network, please visit our “How to join” page and complete the online form.

Contents

1. Supporting effective delivery of foundation skills to Indigenous, remote and disadvantaged learners

Input sought for a National VET E-Learning Strategy foundation skills project

2. Slideshare for sharing on the web

Using Slideshare can make resources more accessible.

3. WA curriculum update Feb 2014

Re-accreditation activities

4. PD coming up/continuing

PD available through the network and beyond

5. Some conferences this year

Update on conference information for 2014

Supporting effective delivery of foundation skills to Indigenous, remote and disadvantaged learners

We are looking for input from foundation skills (LLN and Employability Skills) practitioners into the “Technology Innovations Applied Research Project” that CY O’Connor Institute is currently undertaking (funded through the National Vocational E-Learning Strategy (NVELS)).

The project focus is on building the e-capability of the VET workforce to identify and address the foundation skills needs of disadvantaged learners.

Natures window distance

One of the main outputs from the project will be a “toolkit” for foundation skills teachers working with the identified learner groups that will provide them with:

  • A framework of e-pedagogy outlining the key principles for teaching foundation skills to disadvantaged learners in VET
  • Advice on the use of selected media and technological applications for foundation skills training for disadvantaged learners
  • Good practice examples of the use of e-learning technologies for the development of foundation skills for the identified equity groups
  • Case studies of ‘e-mbedding’ foundation skills in vocational training for the identified equity groups
  • E-teaching strategies that will enable foundation skills teachers to ‘deliberately’ introduce and teach the literacies, numeracies and foundation skills that are taken for granted within the vocational course.

We are seeking examples and ideas from foundation skills (LLN/Employability Skills) practitioners to help us create a useful resource for others. So please, please share if you use/have used any e-tools and strategies with your students.

We are looking particularly for:

  • case studies of how you/your students have used technology to support LLN/Employability Skills development, in a vocational or general education context;
  • information about any media/technology/apps you have trialled/used and how successful these were (especially if you had any bandwidth – speed – issues)
  • any strategies you have used to introduce vocationally specific foundation skills to students

Please add a comment here on the post or visit the Google group and comment on the post there so that we can contact you for more information. It is so important that we have input from as many people as possible so that we can create a terrific toolkit!

Sharon Ross, Lina Zampichelli, Jo Hart (CY O’Connor Institute)

Slideshare – sharing on the web!

Slideshare is one of my favourite tools for sharing the slides from any PD sessions that I deliver. If you have been to any of my BlackboardCollaborate or face-to-face sessions for the ALaN network it is quite likely that I have shared my slides via Slideshare. I have found it a really useful and easy to use tool for both me and my students. I use it mainly to share presentations and resources created in Powerpoint (.ppt and .pptx) so that students and others accessing the content are not required to have Microsoft Office in order to open the resource. My students who have used it have used it for sharing their own presentations and stories – again they don’t need to have Powerpoint, presentations made in OpenOffice Presentation Document (.odp) can be uploaded as can .pdf and other documents.

This short screencast gives the steps for signing up to Slideshare. Once you have signed up you are directly in an upload screen. However you will get an email with a link for you to click to confirm your membership. Remember to click this or your account will disappear!

The embedded Slideshare below will show you how to upload and embed a Slideshare in a blog or other website, however you can also easily just share the link.

If you already use Slideshare please add a comment about how you use it. If you are encouraged by this post to try it yourself and/or to use it with your students, then again please post a comment to share your ideas and feedback.

PD coming up and continuing Feb 2014

PD within the WA ALaN network

If you are joining the Face-to-face numeracy workshops with Beth Marr (application process now complete) you can still apply for travel support to attend but applications close very soon at 10:00am Tuesday 4th of March. Application forms are available on the GoogleGroup in a post entitled “Adult Literacy Sponsorship Program (WA)”

The “What’s in a number!” project is still in progress with the most recent blog post being the last of three about algebra: “Using letters instead of numbers – Part 3”. If you haven’t visited for a while there have been continuing posts over the summer except for a couple of weeks over Christmas so you might want to catch up by going to the “What’s in a number” blog and scrolling back through the posts, Don’t forget to check out the comments and feedback and add your own!

This year’s Teach Me Grammar is getting underway with Friday workshops. Check out the GoogleGroup and if you are intersted but have not yet said so then let Cheryl know because there may be another “run” starting in July.

Other PD

Coming up from IBSA/Velg are “Foundation Skills Workshops for VET Practitioners”  – NOTE that the target audience for these is NOT LLN/Foundation Skills specialists but VET practitioners. However they may be relevant for others in your organisation. As we already use CAVSS here in WA to support vocational learners through team teaching, these workshops with their focus is on identifying foundation skills in units and then using the Foundation Skills (FSK) Training Package are perhaps less relevant to our VET practitioners than they would be elsewhere.

 

ALaN WA Newsletter – December 2013

Welcome to edition 10 of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Network of Western Australia Newsletter!

Views expressed by contributors to the newsletter are their own and, unless expressly stated, do not reflect the opinions of their employers/organisations.

This contents page links individually to each article enabling you to go immediately to those of your choice. Alternatively, if you go to the main blog link, you can access the articles by scrolling down the page.

We welcome your comments and contributions to our newsletter. If you are an Adult Literacy/Numeracy practitioner in Western Australia or indeed, anywhere in the world, we invite you to subscribe and comment. If you are interested in joining the GoogleGroup for our network, please visit our “How to join” page and complete the online form.

Contents

1. Shared links from the network this year

Some of the links to free learning resources shared this year through our ALaN network GoogleGroup

2. What’s in a name – PLN, PLE, CoP

Our Community of Practice – what is it and why you should be involved.

3. Last WA curriculum update 2013

Re-accreditation activities

4. PD coming up/continuing next year

PD available through the network

5. Some conferences next year

Update on conferences in 2014

 

What’s in a name – PLN, PLE, CoP?

I posted in the last newsletter about what is a “Personal Learning Network” (PLN). There have been some discussions in my PLN recently about Communities of Practice (CoP) and whether they are the same as PLNs – this seemed a good time to talk a little about our own ALaN network and where it “fits” in to the scheme of things.

If you work for an RTO you probably have the perpetual problem of proving your industry currency and professional development actvities. This is particularly difficult for LLN practitioners like ourselves who have no “industry”. Belonging to and participating in a CoP is one way that you can provide some evidence that may be helpful in convincing employers and auditors of your currency and ongoing PD activities.

I agree with Steve Wheeler’s  http://www.blogger.com/profile/08782623154703147473 interpretation as given in his recent post PLN or CoP? http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/pln-or-cop.html For me the significant factors are:

  • that a CoP often has some form of facilitation/moderation which may be formal or informal, whereas my PLN operates largely though serendipitous interactions;
  • interactions in a CoP are almost entirely related to professional matters in a fairly narrow field whereas in my PLN they include personal and social interaction as well as a broad range of professional interactions not limited to a narrow focus.

I see the PLN/CoP as a continuum with the PLN at one end of the spectrum, and at the other, the very formal facilitated/moderated CoP with one or more managers having allocated time to spend fostering interactions between the members.

PLN or CoP

My personal perspective in seeing the PLN/CoP as a continuum is, of course, based on my own experience. I have a well established PLN that I began developing in 2008 and I have also been involved for about the same length of time in our very specific CoP made up of Adult Literacy and Numeracy teachers in Western Australia. As those of you in the network are probably aware I am a facilitator for this network/CoP which operates primarily through a GoogleGroup. My perception is that many of the aggregations formed on and through social networks are CoPs to varying degrees. For example on Twitter some of the #tag chats such as #kinderchat and #gtchat:

  • focus on professional practice;
  • are facilitated/moderated;
  • are at least semi-formal;
  • aim to share knowledge; and also
  • provide opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction.

Groups in Facebook eg “FacingIT” and LinkedIn eg “Australian VET Leaders”, and Communities in G+ eg “The Global Classroom Project” provide similar opportunities.

If you are not already a member of our network then consider joining (visit the “How to join” page in the newsletter to find out how to do this). If you are already a member of the ALaN network (especially if you mostly “lurk” – this means read the posts/emails but not participate much) then think about taking a more active part in the future so that you can add your participation in the ALaN network to your auditable records for industry currency and PD .

PD coming up/continuing next year

PD within the WA ALaN network

Project still in progress.

“What’s in a number!” has changed focus from webinars to blog posting and is getting some increased participation through comments. Pressure of work for everyone at this time of year has been a problem raised by several people in respect of finding time to take part. The current post is on “Time”  so if you can make the TIME please read the post and add your comments. There will be one more post before Christmas – intended to be about “Date”.

If you are interested in Teach Me Grammar checkout the GoogleGroup and even if it is past the deadline for applications register your interest because there may be the potential for additional “runs” if there is sufficient interest.

Expressions of interest

Expressions of interest are still being sought from those interested in attending any of the following:

  • Face-to-face numeracy workshops with Beth Marr

Please send a separate email to literacy@dtwd.wa.gov.au

Also watch out for more information on the GoogleGroup

Conferences next year

An online conference, 2014 OZeLIVE – Ed Tech Down Under. #OZeLIVE is happening in February 2014 and currently in the planning stage. This conference is cross-sectoral, designed to be at Australia friendly times and will be via BlackboardCollaborate.  Currently information and updates are available via the AustraliaSeries blog  this would be a great conference to be a participant in and also, if you are looking to “dip a toe” in the waters of presenting or moderating online, the organisers are currently seeking presenters and volunteers. Visit the blog for more information.

The National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference 2014 will be held in Melbourne on May 1st and 2nd 2014.

Few details on the website yet, but the next Australian WELL Practitioners’ Conference appears to have been postponed again and is now scheduled (on the website front page) to take place in Hobart on the 4th and 5th of September 2014. The theme is “Foundation Skills at Work”. However check carefully because the events  page has not been updated and still says March 2014 as the conference date.

Next year’s ACAL Conference “Literacy: a learning spiral for life” is on October 2nd to 4th at Surfers Paradise in Queensland. Keep up to date with call for papers and all other information by registering an expression of interest on the ACAL website.

The next Western Australian Adult Literacy Council state conference is planned for April 2015.  That’s a different time of the year than usual and there won’t be one in 2014.

ALaN WA Newsletter – October 2013

Welcome to edition 9 of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Network of Western Australia Newsletter!

Views expressed by contributors to the newsletter are their own and, unless expressly stated, do not reflect the opinions of their employers/organisations.

This contents page links individually to each article enabling you to go immediately to those of your choice. Alternatively, if you go to the main blog link, you can access the articles by scrolling down the page.

We welcome your comments and contributions to our newsletter. If you are an Adult Literacy/Numeracy practitioner in Western Australia or indeed, anywhere in the world, we invite you to subscribe and comment. If you interested in joining the GoogleGroup for our network, please visit our “How to join” page and complete the online form.

Contents

1. Where do you get these sites from?

A Personal Learning Network is a great source of useful links, resources and ideas

2. WA curriculum update

Re-accreditation activities

3. Updates on available PD

PD coming up in the near future

4. Conferences coming up

Conferences in the early part of 2014

5. Foundation Skills Workforce Development Project – Professional Standards scoping.

A summary of some WA feedback.

Where do you get these sites from?

This post will be cross-posted to my personal blog so apologies if you have seen it twice.

Introduction

This question was posed in response to a recent post by Phil on the ALaN GoogleGroup – Phil shared a site called Visuwords, a visual dictionary that gives a visual representaion of associations between words. Phil’s answer was that he gets many of these kinds of links via his Personal (Professional) Learning Network (PLN).

Like Phil I have an extensive, global PLN – mine is in excess of 4,000 educators globally with fewer than 20% of these in Australia and less than 10% in WA. I find this network invaluable in helping me to stay up to date and innovative in my teaching and learning. The inevitable next questions are of course “What is a PLN, how do I get one, and what are the benefits?”

A PLN is …

A PLN is a network of people often, but not always, with similar interests to your own. We all have a PLN of some sort even if it is just the network of colleagues we meet through our daily work. However the most useful and effective PLN is one which extends outside our own day to day physical environment, outside our own specialist teaching area and outside our particular educational sector.

My own PLN is global, cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral. It makes considerable use of social media and online tools in general. So my Personal Learning Environment (PLE) through which I access my PLN is largely electronic. The main point here is that no two PLN’s are the same! We all have our own preferred balance of people and communication environments/strategies. Mine (like most others) has evolved over time and now looks something like the diagram below.

PLN PLE 500I expect that my PLN will continue to change and evolve – I currently use a variety of platforms so that I don’t miss out on posts from people for whom I have enormous professional respect but who don’t use my preferred platform for the majority of their interactions.

Getting a PLN

There are many different strategies for developing your own PLN. Mine started inadvertently, when a fellow e-learning enthusiast who was also a TAFE lecturer but in a different college introduced me to Twitter. This is still my “favourite” PLN environment although I now use many other social networks as well. Many members of my own PLN have been introduced to the concept and started developing their own PLN through PD activities. If you are thinking about building your own PLN there are a few strategies that can be particularly useful:

  • Start with one social media platform – find a mentor on that platform who is very experienced and has a medium to large network of their own.
  • Sign up to the platform – make sure you complete your profile and have an avatar, many potential followers/friends won’t connect with you unless they have a little information about you
  • Don’t rush it – allow your contacts to grow fairly slowly at least initially
  • Give as well as taking – join conversations, make comments, share resources and links
  • Be social, be human – the social interactions are important despite the derision you see levelled at some platforms regarding the triviality of some posts, social interaction – the personal relationship “oils the wheels” of the professional relationship.

If you are interested in PD to help you get started with developing your PLN then leave a comment here in the newsletter or in the ALaN GoogleGroup because if enough people are interested we could do one or two webinars on this. If you are going to take the plunge anyway and your chosen first platform is any of: Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn then please feel free to follow/friend, or whatever the connection label is, me. You can find me as follows:

I do check out profiles before I connect back (because like all online contexts there are plenty of “black hats” out there) although if I already know you from another context I may not. I will usually connect back within a few days.

What are the benefits?

The benefits are many! The list below is just a few of the positive gains shared by members of my PLN:

  • Keeping up with innovation in education
  • Links to great tools and resources
  • Instant help with tech problems and other questions
  • Learning, learning always learning!
  • Support in coping with issues
  • Sharing, sharing and sharing again!
  • Opportunities for global collaboration on projects
  • Opportunities for PD through online discussions
  • Overseas “e-visitors” to classes (via Skype or similar)
  • Broadening perspective from local to global
  • Learning about other cultures
  • Never feeling isolated at a conference (someone from your PLN is almost certainly there!)
  • People (that you feel you already know) to meet up with when overseas/away from home
  • Someone to “talk” to in the small hours – there is always someone awake

Some members of my own PLN have become good friends without us ever meeting! When chance gives us opportunities to meet there is none of the awkwardness of strangers meeting for the first time. This is a huge benefit for me as, despite my advanced age and years of teaching, I am quite shy when meeting strangers.

Conclusion

For more ideas about PLN’s checkout this post “What the heck is a PLN?” by a local West Australian teacher, with a global presence, who is part of my PLN and is now a good “real face-to-face” friend that I first “met” online via Twitter.

For me personally the global nature of my own PLN and the opportunity to be involved in learning from such a diverse group are the “icing on the cake”! I have been immeasurably enriched by many people in my own PLN and can only hope that I am able to “pay this forward” in some way.