Gold Coast Workshop - Where do I start?
11 people participated in the Gold Coast workshop.
This workshop had a very strong representation from the private sector.
One of the core issues addressed by the larger group was, "Where do we start"?
The general consensus, at least for private RTO's, was to start small and add incrementally all the time maintaining the focus on the needs of the learner cohort.
More experienced participants shared their ideas, resources and experiences and identified possible starting points.
Some of the resources mentioned were:
Moodle - a course management system (CMS) - a free, Open Source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. You can download and use it on any computer you have handy (including webhosts), yet it can scale from a single-teacher site to a 40,000-student University. The Moodle site itself is created using Moodle, so you can check out the Moodle Features demos, the Demonstration Courses or read the latest Moodle Buzz.
http://moodle.org/
Skype - is a little program for making free calls over the internet to anyone else who also has Skype. It’s free and easy to download and use, and works with most computers. Download Skype now or learn more about Skype (incl. screenshots).
http://www.skype.com/
(Note: Skype has been integrated into Moodle. To find out more, enter "Skype" into the search facility at http://moodle.org/ and you will find postings showing how people have made this work.)
SurveyMonkey - to enable anyone to create professional online surveys quickly and easily, collect responses and analyze results.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
Jenny Field (Specialised Training Services), Bridget Gray (Bridget Gray Training and Development) and Carmel Thompson (The Southern Cross Connection)will collaborate to explore online resources for the new Training and Assessment (TAA) Toolbox.
Judy Webber and Kim Williams (Gold Coast Institute of TAFE) indicated that they use a blended learning approach incorporating Moodle. Susanne Gunning, from the same Institute, conducts an online Certificate of Spoken and Written English.
posted by Ron Passfield @ 4:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Just out of interest, the TAFE sector is disadvantaged to some extent in the workplace due to security lockdowns. We keep hearing about 'cool tools' but our restriction (at least at my Institute & no doubt others) on any .exe downloads cuts us out of a number of useful software thingos - unless one is prepared to do it on home PCs. There are sometimes alternative remotely hosted items that can be used without the hoops, but seamless transition between home & work is not always easy.
Different Institutes at present use different LMSs - some wth Blackboard, Janison, iLearn, Moodle, with a TAFE wide option under consideration at present. N'less, Moodle remains an option (esp as a freebie& for private RTOs) As I understand it, EdNa allows access to create collaborative groups using Moodle, which may be an easier option for some - check EdNa groups.
I would like to use Skype, but I can't download at work (security problem mentioned above), & at home I run Win 98 (too old) on dial up (not good) - check your capabilities & those of students before trying. Skype has just been bought out by eBay, so there will be some interesting developments there...
Zoomerang is an alternative to Surveymonkey, & they seem to vary what they have on offer as freebies - check them both in case one won't do what you would like as a freebie.
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