Mindmapping tool

As you work through your e-plan you may want to mindmap some of your ideas to assist with the layout or design. There is nothing worse than starting the site and changing your mind half way through or forgetting to insert a page! Ann likes mindmapping as a technique as it is essentially creating a storyboard where I create connectors that will become my pages or external links. Michael has been using the free tool called FreeMind Portable. This is a mindmapping tool that allows you to effectively brainstorm your Read More …

Next steps for the North-West

Wonderful. Thanks to all the NW e-learning leaders for keying in your availability for the site visits and the regular online drop-in sessions. You’ll see from the calendar page that almost everyone has organised a time for their site visit now. Please be in touch if the offered times don’t suit at all. We’ve also decided to set up a regular online drop-in session. This can be loosely structured, depending on the needs of the people who make it along. From people’s input, we’ve decided to go with 3pm on a Friday, Read More …

New way to book equipment

Hello to all the Wonderful Teachers and Staff at Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE). We’re moving to a new system for booking equipment like cameras, laptops and so forth. Essentially it’s a spreadsheet, and it’s online so you can access it any time you have internet nearby. No more looking for that piece of paper in the office at Merrilands, or having to ring Maria in the office. You need to login to google.com/docs*, so you’ll need to remember your PRACE gmail ID & login. [No i’m not putting any Read More …

September 15 and 23 Induction sessions: ideas for possible projects

Jill starts:  I really enjoyed meeting the new project participants today, and, of course, seeing a few who are continuing from last year. In the short time available to brainstorm the vast realm of everything ‘e’, we mapped our different students and contexts, identifying immediate needs and a range of ‘wish list’ skills and possible projects. Centres and course covered: vocational and pre-vocational certificates, VCAL, ESL Certificates and a range of short courses (too numerous to mention). Needs included: communication technology for web conferencing (online staff meetings, verification meetings, VCE Read More …

Getting started

Consider your e-learning needs First thing to do is take a look at your own teaching/learning or centre/course management practices and decide where and how you may want to improve them using e-learning strategies such as: networking with others in your field communicating in real time online storing and sharing resources creating or sourcing innovative learning resources exploring relevant web 2.0 tools for specific purposes getting help with an e-learning project setting up a learning management system Then consider how you are feeling and what you are currently doing in Read More …

e-learning adventures in the North-West

So it’s time to set off on some new journeys and adventures. Here in the North-West metro region of Melbourne, we’re welcoming a huge nine new organisations and two continuing organisations on board for the 2011-12 e-learning mentor projects.The organisations are: Australian Multicultural Community Services Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC) * Carringbush Adult Education Inc Djerriwarrh Employment and Education Services Lalor Living & Learning Centre Inc. Laverton Community Integrated Services Inc. Living & Learning Nillumbik Meadow Heights Learning Shop Inc SPAN Community House * Wingate Avenue Community Centre Yarraville Community Centre * Centres continuing from 2011.We’ve decided to establish this blog as a platform for sharing resources and for e-leaders and e-travellers from each organisation to reflect on their progress Read More …

E-projects in 2010: ‘North West Cafe’ opens for business

Just to give an idea of what happened last year, the following organisations participated: ACE NING North west Cafe Group Olympic Adult Education (OAE) Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA) Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC) Span Community House (in Thornbury) Yooralla (Flinders Lane, City of Melbourne) Thornbury Women’s Neighbourhood House (TWNH) Diamond Valley Learning Centre (DVLC) Participants explored a number of tools via the Victoria-wide web conferencing workshops that we conducted on: wiki for content management, Moodle course management, voice technologies and Flip video. We also arranged some site visits to Read More …

Music videos at the Reservoir Baptist Church

I went down to the Reservoir Baptist Church, where Yvonne and Paula have been wrestling with the machinery.. to get it under control. Internet, printers, the data projector.. and extension cords!  I was hunting around for more musical sites and found this one: Lyrics Training which actually has cloze activities at multiple levels for some videos.  We hooted in the Merrilands teacher room because  the Chris Isaak video is so suggestive. Would this motivate your students, distract them or upset them?Here’s one that might be more suitable: ABBA plays “Money Money Money”. Plus Read More …