14. flexiblelearning.net.au Learner Trial (something that is new to the learner) Awareness of related feelings and thoughts Events Key features Description of situation and feelings Collect feedback Identify knowledge Challenge assumptions Explore alternatives Analyse feedback Identify strengths, weaknesses and relevance Modify accordingly
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16. QUESTIONS This is a NSW E-learning Innovations project output, developed by National Training and Business IT Training Specialists (BITTS) P/L, with seed funding from the Framework. flexiblelearning.net.au
Editor's Notes
I would like to thank the Australian Flexible Learning Framework for their confidence in funding this project and The J2S Group and National Training for being the sponsors of the project. This presentation will discuss the Innovations 09 project POV09, which is only just at the beginning stages, so I am going to focus on what we are planning to do, and what we hope to achieve
This is a NSW E-learning Innovations project output, developed by National Training and Business IT Training Specialists (BITTS) P/L, with seed funding from the Framework. The J2S Group own a number of RTO’s and National Training are the sponsoring RTO for this project. BITTS is the company that I and my business partner Les Skennar, run on the Far North Coast of NSW, and we work both in classroom training, mixed mode training and with workplace trainees in a range of industries and across a range of training package.
Projects link on Left > select 2009 Projects > Project 60 POV09
Now we all know that this technology works. I don’t think there is anyone doubting that, or thinking that we need a project to show the technology works. What we are really all about in this project is to show how valid this technology is for an assessment tool and that authentication of POV video is a simple matter if you approach your evidence collection logically. What I mean by this is: Any new technology that is introduced in an educational context seems to spark a debate over authenticating that the student actually did the work. I’ve heard several debates over the POV technology and it’s usually the same concerns as I’ve heard over any form of online assessment, and I’ve often felt personally that too much emphasis can be put on these concerns, though I admit that possibly if you are dealing with thousands of students then it is a larger concern. I think that since uni students have always been able to get someone to walk into an examination room with their student pass and sit exams for them, then the precedence for this kind of cheating is there, it does happen, but then since it has always happened, I’m not convinced that the concern is the actual piece of technology, but rather is more concerned with the total assessment process used.
We believe that the assessor must establish a relationship with the trainee in order to validate any type of assessment. If I got sent an essay from a student I had never had any contact with, how would I know they wrote the essay, even if it is hand written? So our approach is from the angle that POV technology would only be one of a range of assessment methods and tools and that it is critical that there is some interaction between the assessor and the trainee that will provide the authentication. This is one of the critical aspects in our project – building an assessment routine whereby the assessor is able to authenticate the work of the trainee regardless of where either party are situated geographically. I don’t know that we are going to discover any huge new startling things, but we propose to build a model that demonstrates effective mixes of assessment strategies to ensure authentication, across any training package.
Another smaller focus of the project is to trial turning some assessment material submitted into learning objects. These will be available for other trainees to learn from, both from a technical aspect and to assist in feeling prepared to use the technology themselves. We anticipate there will be as much value in having learning objects of competence and learning objects that display less than perfect examples for students to learn from.
The actual output for the project will be a model that can be used across any training package. The model will demonstrate assessment strategies involving POV technology, showing how this technology fits into a range of assessment tools, and methods of authenticating student work for assessment. The model will be available for public use at the completion of the project. Running a project like this creates a need for a range of project tools besides the wiki we just looked at. We need tools for the team, and tools for the learners who are taking part in the project.
A blog is a web application for logging or journaling. We have found in past years that project blogs are an invaluable tool, particularly if categories are well utilized. We prefer a Word Press blog for this kind of work rather than the moodle blog.
In past projects we have found that capturing everything in a blog streamlines the process of reporting during the project. Reports have to be submitted halfway and at the end of the project. Capturing events as they happen, planning events and tasks, links to information and tools found etc means that writing reports becomes a fairly simple task, and the collaborative nature of the blog ensures that the whole team are able to contribute to the capturing of all the relevant information and keep up to date.
A web calendar is a very useful project tool as the calendar belongs to the project and team members have a log in to view and edit the calendar. We have elected to trial a web calendar tool on our own server rather than that moodle calendar which we have used before. The only real reason for this decision is to check some of the features the web calendar offers that we were not getting in the moodle calendar. We use the calendar to set dates for events and tasks so that everyone has a clear view of the project against the timeline.
The project web calendar is a shared calendar in use by the team. These are great tools as they are accessible from anywhere you have a connection and able to be used by a team of people. Going back to the calendar in conjunction with the blog when reporting makes the tracking task far easier and accurate.
These are the units from Certificate III in Logistics and Transport (Warehousing and Storage) that we will be addressing during our trial. Supervisor sign off on all POV recordings will be mandatory as part of the authentication process.
The project will use a cyclic approach. We have a further 5 months to conduct the project and produce the model output. We will spend 4 months conducting the actual trials following the process pictured on the screen. A trial will be prepared, POV glasses given out, the trial conducted and then a comprehensive feedback process undertaken analysing the trial and assisting to prepare for the next trial. In practicality we envision that the process will involve: Learners will plan assessment tasks for the trial with their assessors, according to the workload they will have and which units they are studying during the week they have the glasses. Planning for assessment will be important for the learner. They will receive their glasses and have them for 1 week at a time only and make as many recordings as they feel they need either to show competence well if they find a task difficult or to provide multiple recordings of similar tasks. The glasses will then go to a second group of learners. This means that 2 weeks of each month will involve learners using the technology in the workplace and being supported as needed for this. The other 2 weeks of the month will involve collection and analysis of feedback from learners and assessors, and any modifications to the trial process that may arise from the feedback. This will be a fairly tight schedule, and will need close monitoring.
I don’t believe in re-inventing the wheel. Whilst our trials are extremely important, we would rather build on what others have already done than simply start again. Anyone here today who has been involved in these type of trials, please make contact with me during today or after the conference.
Thank you for your time in attending this session.
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