Group items tagged

On November 9 2011, Adobe announced that it will stop development of the Flash player for mobile devices following the release of v11.1 for Android and BlackBerry.  (http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html (Opens in new window)) As a result, at their meeting in Melbourne on 29th November 2011 the E-standards Expert Group decided that as of 2013 it will no longer recommend Flash (swf) as a content format  for delivery of learner content in the VET sector, because it can no longer be deemed interoperable across the existing recommended devices. This does not mean that support is withdrawn for existing content, or that  the recommendation is withdrawn immediately. It does mean that content developers should consider transitioning to alternative methods (for example JavaScript/HTML) of delivering accessible interactive content. Unfortunately HTML5 is not recommended at this time for use in development of content intended for widespread use in the VET sector because of the inconsistent implementation by browser developers.  Please see the E-standards for Training 2011 HTML5 Research report. If you choose to use HTML5 functionality, you should provide a fall-back mechanism for browsers not supporting that element.

The use of e-assessment is increasing rapidly in the vocational education and training(VET) sector in Australia. Recent national benchmarking surveys, conducted by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), revealed that over forty per cent of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and more than sixty per cent of teachers and trainers are using some form of e-assessment (Australian Flexible Learning Framework 2010).The most common form of e-assessment appears to be the online quiz (Callan and Clayton, 2010). However the consultations conducted during the development of these guidelines revealed that assessors are using a wide range of e-assessment strategies to collect evidence, provide feedback and record and report assessment outcomes. Both the Framework and the former National Quality Council have been keen to promote e-assessment and to ensure that e-assessment materials and practices are consistent with the principles of good assessment that are embedded in the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF).To this end, the Council and the Framework commissioned the development of this set of guidelines. These are designed to: promote quality e-assessment materials and practices that are consistent with the (AQTF), ensure that e-assessment materials are readily accessible across the VET system,and  encourage further innovation in the design and deployment of e-assessment materials and systems.It is envisaged that a range of stakeholders will use the guidelines. For example: enterprise and industry organisations may use the guidelines to check that eassessment materials meet the relevant competency standards, are accessible to all employees and are deployed in the most efficient manner. RTOs may use the guidelines to inform decisions about the acquisition or development of e-assessment materials and systems.  assessors may apply the guidelines in deciding how e-assessment materials and systems may be used to enha

Interesting community development site

Community Development website, great site

yeah, I love this site, so rich!

Cultural dimensions of Indigenous participation in vocational education and training: new perspectives by Alfred Michael Dockery, Centre for Labour Market Research and Curtin University This report provides new evidence on the interrelationships between Indigenous Australians' affiliation with their traditional culture and the nature of their engagement with vocational education and training (VET). It aims to enhance our understanding of the causal channels through which culture shapes VET participation and outcomes, and vice versa, and builds on previous work presented in the author's 2009 publication, Cultural dimensions of Indigenous participation in education and training, in a number of ways. Most importantly, richer measures of culture are developed which capture separate elements of the broader concept of 'cultural attachment'. Using these measures and more recent data, previous findings relating to past educational attainment and participation in training are reassessed. Evidence is also presented on the links between cultural attachment and current participation in education and on the benefits Indigenous Australians derive from education and training, conditional upon remoteness and cultural attachment.

Moodle 2.2 ships for the first time with a smartphone-friendly theme called MyMobile. This can be set either as the site's primary theme or as the default theme for mobiles. This theme by John Stabinger has been around a while but makes it into Moodle core so congratulations to John on this achievement! This is a great way to use Moodle's functionality from a mobile, a web connection is required of course as this is not a native mobile app, but it more than fills the gap while development on the official Moodle native apps continues.

Professor Carlo Di Clemente who with Professor Prochaska developed the trans-theoretical stages of change model.

http://groupworksolutions.com.au/Home.htm Groupwork Solutions is a training company that specialises in dynamic learning, mastery of practice skills, resource development, working with men, using strengths based approaches and creative group work.

Article behind a paywall, but info worth knowing. No mention of the report itself of course! INDIGENOUS employment statistics are not just bleak, they're opaque and often out of date, making it harder to develop a coherent policy response to the problem. This concern, raised in research to be published today, has prompted key Aboriginal employment groups to call on the federal government to change its approach to collecting employment data for indigenous Australians.

The purpose of the Learning Design Tool (LDT) is to assist you in the process of choosing and developing a learning design for a learning resource which covers a unit of competence, or elements of a unit, in a Training Package. The LDT has been designed for both experienced and non-experienced users.

This booklet outlines the results of research the Frameworkcommissioned into how e-learning innovations can be sustained withinorganisations, available athttp://flexiblelearning.net.au/content/benchmarking-and-researchpublications.The research identifies what Australian organisations just like yours, aredoing to build e-learning into how they deliver training now and in thefuture. Their experiences provide some valuable lessons to save yourorganisation time and money in developing more flexible staff trainingsolutions.The booklet summarises the:* evidence for the uptake of e-learning in the delivery of training* benefits of e-learning for employees, employers and training organisations* findings from the Framework funded research into practices that sustain the use of e-learning in training* guidelines around e-learning good practice.