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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

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.

I work in a private RTO. When can I use copyright material for my work without seeking permission from the copyright owner? Your private RTO is unlikely to have been declared an 'educational institution' under the Copyright Act 1968 10A(4) declaration and will not be operating under statutory licences that allow it to reproduce other peoples creations.Private RTO's can purchase 'blanket licences' that allow it to operate in the same way as the statutory licences. Contact the Copyright Agency Limited for detailed information.Otherwise, if a work is subject to copyright you will generally need the copyright owner's permission to reproduce it. However, listed below are several circumstances where you won't need permission:Owner gives permission Some authors, want to make their work more freely available so they put an alternative copyright statement on their work. This is often true in the VET system where there is a strong culture of collaboration. To check this - read the copyright statements on hard copy items. In the electronic environment look out for items bearing a Free for Education (FfE) or Creative Commons logo.Work is now in the public domain What is the public domain? This is where all works go when their copyright expires. In Australia, that is 70 years after the author dies. Once a work is in public domain you can use as much or as little of it as you like without the author's permission. To find out more try typing "public domain" into any major search engine.

There are plenty of sites dealing with the use of the apostrophe in English, but many people just want a quick answer to a question that arises in the course of their work.  The following examples show correct usage for questions that arise frequently, and apply equally to British English, American English, Australian English and New Zealand English. A general tip for checking that your use of apostrophes is correct is to change the phrase around so that the part before the apostrophe becomes the last word.  If it still has the same meaning, the apostrophe was correct.

Great page with quick references and easy to follow.

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.

THERE is a concept in telecommunications called "the last mile," that part of any phone system that is the most difficult to connect - the part that goes from the main lines into people's homes. Prem Kalra, the director of the new Indian Institute of Technology in Rajasthan, one of the elite M.I.T.'s of India, has dedicated his school to overcoming a different challenge: connecting "the last person."

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.

I'm currently listening to David Rock's 'Your Brain at Work' in which he uses the metaphor of a stage and actors against a narrative of a typical day in the lives of two protagonists to explain neuroscience and how our brains function. In doing so, Rock explores what we can do to maximise our finite energy and be more mindful of how we are using our brains. This is a compelling book that has already spawned several AHA moments for me - and the two characters are still only half way through their work days! So far, the biggest take-aways for me include: - our mental 'stage' only has room for a few actors at a time - there are times of day that are better for complex tasks than others - by paying attention to your mental processes, you can control the factors that impact the way your brain functions - being 'mindful' and paying attention to your physical surrounds can give you a much-needed break from the narrative processes that would have you dwell on planning and scenarios. Am enjoying this journey immensely and will be sad when it's over. Am looking forward to learning more about how to get the most out of my 1.3 kilos or so of grey matter at my disposal.

we recorded how 232 users looked at thousands of Web pages. We found that users' main reading behavior was fairly consistent across many different sites and tasks. This dominant reading pattern looks somewhat like an F and has the following three components: Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area. This initial element forms the F's top bar.Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This additional element forms the F's lower bar.Finally, users scan the content's left side in a vertical movement. 

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.

Executive Summary Severe overspending habits can be highly resistant to change because they share many characteristics of addictions. Prochaska's Stages-of-Change Model has been used effectively in treating addictions and has been helpful in debt counseling. This article explains the Stages-of-Change Model using language easily accessible to financial advisers and their clients. Five stages of change are described in this paper: denial, ambivalence, preparation, action, and maintenance-along with the client's potential slide into relapse. The article provides guidance for assessing the overspending client's readiness to change and describes techniques for moving clients toward lasting success in controlling overspending habits.

Anal HPV infection more likely to persist in gay men compared to heterosexual men Sexually transmitted infections > Michael Carter Published: 03 November 2011 An international team of investigators have found a possible explanation for the higher rates of anal cancer observed in men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to men who have sex with women (MSW). In the December 1st edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers from the HIM study report that anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were significantly more likely to persist in MSM than MSW

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.

The architect of early intervention in Australian psychiatry, Patrick McGorry, has abandoned the idea pre-psychosis should be listed as a new psychiatric disorder.

By analysing topics of interest and concern to Australians the researchers have been able to build a 'network map' [of Twitter users] showing the connections between different issues and areas. "Just as newspapers have circulation reports and TV has its ratings, it is important to understand the role which new media are playing in our society," they say.

Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor's care.

As we sidle into 2012, the same old questions will greet us. They're about a world that's rapidly changing and about our ability or inability to change with it. Let's face it. The cat's out of the bag, but some of us are still trying to lure it back in.

Co-founded by Drs. John and Julie Schwartz Gottman, the Gottman Relationship Institute has two major functions: helping couples directly, and providing state-of-the-art training to mental health professionals and other health care providers. The Gottman Relationship Institute applies leading-edge research on marriage in a practical, down-to-earth therapy and trains therapists committed to helping couples

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.

This report addresses two critical questions: Q1. What is the evidence around how Australian RTOs are sustaining e-learning?  Q2. Going forward, what factors might guide the achievement of more sustainable  e-learning innovations in the future?