APPENDIX: 1 Promotional material
ANNOUNCING nationwide Symposia on e-learning in education and training with International keynote speaker, Dr Tony Bates.
Four Symposia are being held around New Zealand between 22nd September and 1st October 2008.
The Keynote speaker at each symposium will be Dr Tony Bates an internationally recognised authority on e-learning and learning technologies. Tony will provide insights into the current trends in elearning and learning technologies internationally and their impact on vocational education and training.
He will also be prepared to comment on current New Zealand activities and address a range of issues associated with e-learning resources and learning technologies in education on and off the Web. During each symposium, host institutions will also invite Tony to respond and facilitate discussion and debate on the nature and impact of their own elearning initiatives and related topical issues.
Each symposium will consist of all full day of activities. It is the intention to have complementary presentations given by Industry representatives and other invited presenters. Panel discussion, workshops and showcase presentations of e-learning in action from practitioners in industry and education will be highlights of each symposium.
Schedule:
September 22nd: HAMILTON: Waikato Institute of Technology.
Facilitator: Dr John Clayton (e-mail: ).
September 24th CHRISTCHURCH: Core ED.
Facilitator: Mr Derek Wenmoth (e-mail: ).
September 29th WELLINGTON: Victoria University of Wellington.
Facilitator: Dr Stephen Marshall (e-mail: ).
September 30th WELLINGTON: Wellington Loop Trust
Facilitator: Marg McLeod (e-mail: ).
October 1st AUCKLAND: Manukau Institute of Technology.
Facilitator: Mrs Oriel Kelly (e-mail: ).
Cost of attendance will be confirmed by each host institution.
These symposia have been made possible by the support and generous grant from Ako Aotearoa [The National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence] the Ministry of Education. Other financial support has been provided by the various host institutions.
APPENDIX 2: Sample Tony Bates Symposium Programme
Christchurch, Wednesday 24 September
Russley Golf Club
Programme:
Time / Programme / Presenter9.30 / Tea and coffee available
9.50 / Welcome and introduction / Derek Wenmoth
10.00 / Keynote: eLearning and vocational education and training, an International Perspective. / Tony Bates
11.00 / Examples in action:
1. Using virtual-reality technology for the teaching and assessment of clinical skills
2. Project VIPER (Visual Interactive Practice Environment Resource) / Tobi Gefken, lead developer, HitLab
Nick Ford, CPIT
12.00 / Lunch
12.45 / A New Zealand View: an overview of eLearning activities in industry in NZ / Dr J. Clayton
1.35 / Examples in Action:
1. m-Learning for formative assessment
2. Mulit-modal company induction programme / Selena Chan, CPIT
Phil Garing, Synapsis
2.35 / Workshop pt.1: What are the benefits for and barriers to embedding eLearning in industry training? National and international perspectives / Tony Bates
2.45 / Afternoon Tea
3.15 / Workshop pt.2: What are the benefits for and barriers to embedding eLearning in industry training? National and international perspectives / Tony Bates
3.45 / Panel Discussion: issues and current trends in eLearning and strategies for embedding eLearning in industry training / Tony Bates, facilitator
4.15 / Close / Derek Wenmoth
APPENDIX 3: Feedback from Symposium Venues
Auckland 1- 2nd October
Very privileged to have access to one of the foremost international experts in the field of planning for and implementing technology supported learning in organisations. Tony related well to the NZ context and raised a number of issues that are common internationally and in New Zealand.
Would have liked more people there - but semester break and a couple of competing events meant we had quality if not quantity. Got a good lead on another way to advertise if the event is repeated next year - which was asked for.
Positive aspects -
- the more intimate gathering at MIT meant that the audience felt comfortable enough to ask questions of the presenters both after their session and over the breaks.
- good opportunities for networking across the sector
- good to see an international perspective balanced by an excellent example of creative approaches used in an NZ industry
- good to get a report back on the research into what ITOs and PTEs are doing with regard to elearning
- great to get a chance to have a guided tour of the website that evolved from the research.
Oriel Kelly: Manager: Learning Technologies: Manukau Institute of Technology
Hamilton September 22- 23rd September
Hamilton enjoyed an excellent turn out for the symposium with 75 participants from a wide range of organisations. A breakdown of the participants identified people from several industries, education institutions (including the Wananga), the hospital board and a number of businesses.
The keynote presentation by Dr Tony Bates provided an insight into the elearning developments in trade training in British Columbia and drew on several parallels with New Zealand activities. Dr Bates emphasised the importance of a clear plan and gaining support from senior management to ensure any e-learning initiative was adequately resourced. He outlined a very different approach being taken by British Columbia to ensure e-learning was used effectively and efficiently in trade training with collaboration between industry and educational institutes at all levels being an important facet in achieving success. The ultimate aim was to reduce the severe shortage of qualified tradespeople in Canada.
He thought the approach could serve as a model for future New Zealand developments in this area. His very informative presentation set the tone for the rest of the day. Later in the programme Dr Bates challenged the audience with an in depth analysis of the cost/benefits of introducing e-learning in industry.
The day followed a full timetable with a number of organisations presenting an overview of the current e-learning initiatives. An overview of the current research on elearning in industry in New Zealand was the subject of a lively presentation from Dr John Clayton. Audience participation in the discussion sessions following each presentation was very active and productive. It was evident at break times that the presentations had stimulated active discussion on the issues being raised and the nature of some of the solutions and initiatives undertaken by different organisations.
Of particular interest to the audience were the approaches to incorporating e-learning in training by Genesis Energy, Fonterra and the District Health Board. Each presented different and interesting perspective with different issues and solutions. The presentation from Genesis highlighted the collaboration that occurred with local schools and tertiary institutions.
The symposium wound up with an excellent panel discussion involving all the presenters who answered questions from the audience relating to current trends in e-learning and strategies for embedding e-learning in industry training.
Richard Elliott: Research Analyst: Waikato Institute of Technology
Wellington 29 - 30th September
Tony Bates offered two workshops at the UTDC which were well attended by colleagues both from within Victoria and from around New Zealand. It was a genuine pleasure to be able to host Tony and to share his experience with colleagues in this way.
We have received a number of unsolicited comments from attendees indicating that they valued the sessions and our evaluations were all positive and indicating a desire that a similar event be repeated in the future. It was particularly helpful to have someone with Tony's authority and experience able to talk about institutional aspects of e-learning here at Wellington and we were happy to have a number of folk from TEC, NZQA and the Ministry of Education attending as well as others in leadership positions including the Victoria AVC Academic. "
Dr. S J Marshall: Teaching Development Centre: Victoria University of Wellington
Christchurch 24 - 25th September
The Seminar in Christchurch attracted a small but eclectic group of around 18 people involved in the industry training and enterprise education fields, including instructional designers, university and polytechnic staff and trainers from the NZ Institute of Management.
The programme followed the suggested format sent out by the organising group, and included presentations from Tony Bates and John Clayton, and four local examples of eLearning in industry training contexts. The format was successful, with very positive feedback received from those attending, and several follow-up connections being made as a result of those meeting in this group (that I am aware of).
Keys to the success of the day were
- the venue - wonderful views out on the golf course, good catering, and a feeling of 'space'
- Tony's obvious depth of experience and understanding as conveyed in his opening presentation, and his ability to draw from international experience and relate key issues and trends that people in the group could identify with. Having an internationally recognised speaker of Tony's capability to provide an important catalyst for the day, without overly dominating it - it was great to see him able to sit back and absorb ideas and information for the local presenters for example, then refer to them and use as illustrations in his summing up session.
- the four local presentations - for the fact that it provided an opportunity for people to see other examples of things happening in a local context, and for the illustrations they provided of solutions that could be applied in other areas
- John Clayton's input in that it summarised a lot of information from NZ research into a short span, and provided opportunity for engagement with these issues in the final part of the day
- Tony's expertise in conducing the final part of the day in a whole-group workshop situation where there was a high level of participation by those present, and questions answered and explored in some depth and detail.
- lastly, the nature of the group itself - many met there for the first time and were genuinely interested to discover what each other does etc - plus sharing similar interests.
In all a very positive experience, leaving most with a feeling of wanting to do something similar again.
A reflection on how things might improve for next time.
Based on this experience, I now have a better understanding of the dynamics of such a forum, and the value it provides to the eLearning community. I'd feel much more confident on approaching others for a future event, understanding more now of how it can be run and what sorts of things people might gain from coming.
Derek Wenmoth: Director, eLearning: CORE Education Ltd
APPENDIX 4: Feedback from Dr W.A (Tony) Bates
Dr Bates provided some feedback on his visit and his impressions of e-learning in New Zealand. An extract from his report is given below:
E-LEARNING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN NEW ZEALAND
I gave a series of keynotes and workshops in New Zealand from 22 September to 2 October 2008, primarily focused on e-learning in vocational and technical training. I focused particularly on British Columbia's nascent project for flexible learning for trades training. The trip was funded by a grant from Ako Aotearoa, the NZ National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and the Host institutions in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland
I visited two institutes of technology, two universities, NZ ministry officials, two schools co-operatives, and a total of over 500 people working in e-learning in New Zealand in four of the major cities (Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch). It is difficult to get an accurate picture of the state of e-learning during a short visit, however New Zealand has many similarities with British Columbia. It has approximately the same number of people. Nearly half the population live in two major urban areas (the commercial centre, Auckland, and the capital, Wellington). NZ also has a similar post-secondary structure of public universities and colleges. Thus it is not surprising that New Zealand is facing similar challenges in vocational and technical education and training, such as, for instance, a chronic shortage of skilled and qualified trades people. Similarly, in the university sector, many of the challenges regarding e-learning are similar to those in BC.
e-Learning activities in New Zealand
I was generally impressed with the extent and sophistication of the e-learning activities in NZ. In particular:
e-Learning in Industry <ito.elearning.ac.nz>
As part of the government’s Tertiary e-Learning Research Funded projects for 2008, the NZ Ministry of Education is supporting research examining the role of e-learning in building workforce capability to meet regional and national industry needs. This interactive web-space has been designed to inform industry leaders, managers and staff on the issues associated with the use of e-learning applications in vocational education and industry training. As well as providing access reports and web-sites on e-learning in industry the site also has a number of interactive tools such as forums, surveys and private communication spaces. This is a must-visit site for anyone interested in the use of e-learning in industry.
The e-Learning Maturity Model
The e-Learning Maturity Model <http://www.utdc.vuw.ac.nz/research/emm>, developed by Dr. Stephen Marshall and colleagues at Victoria University of Wellington, provides a quality improvement framework by which institutions can assess and compare their capability to sustainably develop, deploy and support e-learning. The underlying idea is that the ability of an institution to be effective in a particular area of work is dependent on their capability to engage in high quality processes that are reproducible and able to be sustained and built upon. This is now being applied to a number of institutions in New Zealand and internationally.
Simulations and animations
Several NZ training providers are developing top quality simulations and animations. I was particularly impressed by the work being done by:
Marops Ltd. <http://www.marops.net/> MAROPS was developed out of the need to provide quality advice on the use of aircraft in the Maritime Role. The original concept has evolved beyond just aviation and now includes the delivery of customer specific computer based training solutions, the authoring and enhancement of operational and technical publications, evaluation and testing work, and the development of software for instrumentation and part task trainers. (OK - I was influenced by the fact that I have a pilot's licence - but they do make excellent low to medium-cost animations and simulations)