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ALaN Network Google Group and Google Docs

Other ALaN Network  services

The ALaN WA Edublog is the public face of the ALaN Network in Western Australia – available to everyone on the net.  Our other services require you to be have a Google account and an invitation to be a member of our group. Membership is free and we encourage everyone who teaches adult literacy and numeracy in Western Australia to join.  People from other locations can apply to join as a guest.

If you aren’t already a member, see below.

CGEA Network – Google Group

The Certificates of General Education for Adults (CGEA) is one of the most used courses for adults and adolescents developing their literacy and numeracy skills in Australia.  The course was implemented in WA in 1994 and there has been a network to support teachers right from the start, known as the CGEA Network.

Since 2007,  the CGEA Network Google Group has been our key method of collaboration.  The Google Group offers a discussion board where members of the CGEA Network can post questions (e.g. relating to the curriculum, to moderation of anything to do with Adult Literacy and Numeracy) or comments. All members can add to the discussions or give their opinions on questions raised.  This year for the first time, we have some funding for  ALaN Facilitators to encourage participation in our online activities.

Messages are saved according to the date of the message, but if you are looking for information on a particular topic (e.g. accreditation), you can type this into the search box and all messages regarding accreditation will be displayed.

All members can access the membership list to see if there are any other teachers in their area and can email them directly if they wish to.

All members can invite new members, or you can ask an ALaN facilitator to help you with it.

CGEA Network Files – Google Docs

Your membership of the CGEA Network Google Group also provides access to some collections of files saved in Google Documents.  Files that were created in the first three years of the Google group have been moved here to a collection called 2008-2010 files. ALaN Model Activities contains a colelction of moderated atsks

Current files are being loaded to the 2011 CGEA Network Files. This contains individual folders (collections) for

  • Resource Ideas (contains lists of useful websites and resources developed and shared by CGEA teachers. We are encouraging teachers to use the VBQU number in the title to make it easier to identify units.
  • Professional Development (details of forthcoming PD and files from events)
  • Moderation
  • Teaching and Assessment Tools
  • Integrated Resources

All members can access these files and can download and upload documents.  If you save files in Google format, joint editing online is possible. The files are copyright free but we encourage you to upload new versions you create so others can benefit.

In 2011, no moderation samples were shared among members, but we hope that in 2012 moderation samples will start to be uploaded and that members can share more issues form their internal organisational moderation activities.  We also have access to webconferencing via BlackboardCollaborate (Elluminate Live!) to resolve  issues or to bring together people who are isolated.

Problem Solving

If anyone is having any issues joining or accessing the Google Group, they can contact any of the ALaN facilitators, who will help them.

Some members have experienced problems with uploading documents. Sometimes this results from using Internet Explorer.  If you are having problems, first try using a different browser (e.g. Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).  If this doesn’t help, ask for help in the CGEA Network Google Group.

If you would like to become a member of the Google Group then please complete and submit the form on the How to Join the GoogleGroup page