Showcasing+E-learning+in+Practice

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Hi everyone and welcome to the **Showcasing E-learning in Practice** space.

We thought we'd do some showcasing in here too! What we'd like is for you to share a story of one aspect of your e-learning practice that you'd like to showcase. :) You can cover anything you like within those 100 words, provide any links to spaces that enhance your tale and if you'd prefer a different medium then feel free to add a 100 word podcast or provide a graphic/photo or diagram that takes up the space of approximate 100 words. Will we get 100 stories? I hope so. Oh! and did I mention the PRIZE? I didn't?... Ah, well the Framework has some mystery prizes for entries that tickle our fancy - there are no other criteria and the judges decision is final ;).
 * 100 Word Stories!**

Firstly warm congratulations and thanks to all those who contributed to this site. You are all ‘winners’ as the information you provided is now accessible to those who want some great ideas in using the e-world effectively. Thank you! However, we promised a prize to the winning entry and, difficult though it was, the judges have decided to award an mpeg player to **Jill Lyall** for her entry on **Experiments with** **Quandary Exercises** **for trainees in the Employment Services area.**
 * And we have a winner!**

Well done Jill!

=Jean's experiments with Wikis= I have two experiments under way. What follows is obviously more than 100 words but I will cut it later to go for the big PRIZE!


 * Experiment 1: My ESL overseas students are certainly "digital natives", although some less privileged students from China and Vietnam are less aware of possibilities ~ an extremely sociable and lively group. I wanted more innovative and constructivist teaching methodology. I need them to read and write frequently and collaboratively, with feedback, to extend their English literacy.**

A current research topic lends itself ideally to emerging technologies: //The Future of Work//.I established a Wiki to refocus the research, set up three kinds of structures within this, to monitor how they develop, and get feedback from the class on how this helps their learning.

§ a group of two or three “whole class” pages, seeded with some questions and links as starting points, to see where these go when taken over by the students ( individual contributions made to this page each homework) § single pages for small groups to work on their own specific research (suggestions from the students eg architect in the future, body-sculpting, living forever, clothing and fashion in the future).These pages offered a common repository for ideas and serve as an electronic portfolio for the research phase of the assessment. Some also chose to use the Wiki for the presentation phase of the project § students were also offered the opportunity to set up their own individual pages to play with as they like in journal format to let me get to know them better as individuals in a non-threatening way as I see the “personality” they give these pages and I could also see what tools and technologies they use in creating these that can be shared with the group. You are welcome to visit the wiki at [|http://www.futurework.wetpaint.com] and you will be able to find my report in KnowlegeGarden in about two weeks at http://knowledgegarden.usq.edu.au/tiki-index.php?page_id=784

I am learning Chinese myself, and found ChinesePod http://www.chinesepod.com/, which offers online audio-podding supported by a range of materials, as a model. I am trying out audio-podding tools and seeing what else might be useful for my Moodle in language/cultural input. I am looking into opportunities and inhibitors, and reporting on progress in KnowledgeGarden http://knowledgegarden.usq.edu.au/tiki-index.php?page_id=784
 * Experiment 2: a small private class in a small country town to whom I have been teaching Italian for 6 months. The situation is uneconomic and I terminated at the end of this term, but didn’t want to abandon them. All have internet access, and so I set up a Moodle to see what would happen:**
 * quite tightly structured with learning materials in a sequence that will support learning at this level
 * with open areas where they can learn by interacting with each other and with other people who may wish to help us.

You can visit at http://groups.byte-on.org.au/course/. Click on EasyItalian and register free to access.


 * 100 words from Coach Carole**

The learning for those who take the [|e-learning] journey into the unknown will be different for each traveller. There is no right or wrong pathway or outcome - it all depends on the perspective of the traveller. It is the sharing of the story of their learning that is most important and most valuable in itself. [|My story] is one of continuous improvement in the ability to share the [|stories] - looking for new ways that [|engage] with many learners and seeking [|opportunities] to enable others to celebrate their achievements. The 'new pedagogy' embraces a critical mass of [|connectivity]!

I've been using Wikis to show are Literacy and TESOL students work to others. We are a small provider based in the Mid North Coast region of NSW. Our students have bben able to link in with students 200kms North at Coffs Harbour. I think it makes the world also seem a lot closer. Janette Jones

**Welcome to the e-world!**
In this world encouraging teachers to Blog by offering a Chocolate Frog (a //Choc Frog Blog?//) is worth a try, but there are no guarantees of success. This is the world of Textiles 'E-Learning Skills Initiative' Learnscope project. As I have facilitated this project there have been the tensions, a-la **[|Nancy White]**, of:

Our foray into the teeming waters of our e-world and the promise of valuable outcomes has lured us in ways which Chocolate Frogs will never match.
 * Individual || v || Group ||
 * Participation || v || Reifercation (creating objects that represent our actions) ||
 * Together || v || Separateness ||
 * Control || v || Emergence ||

Kristi.Robertson@tafe.tas.edu.au
 * Kristi**

I was intrigued with the idea of a maze puzzle which had to be solved by participants, with consequences for wrong decisions. Much of hte material I am developing for Employment Services is about working within legal and ethical standards, exercising duty of care, obtaining information from clients and giving information to clients. So I thought maybe I could create a kind of game where the participants lose or win "duty of care" and "rapport building points" in their interactions with their clients. However it is alot more complicated than it would be for say, aquaculture, or infornation technology for example. If only people were as easy to deal with as fish! See my work at the following links: http://centraltafe.bur.st/ES/EmploymentServices/Client%201%20Alemnesh%20DESTA.htm http://centraltafe.bur.st/ES/EmploymentServices/Interview%20with%20Alemnesh.htm
 * Jill's experiments with Quandary Exercises for trainees in the Employment Services area**

PS if anyone would like to find out more about Quandary or give me their thoughts on what I am doing, my email is jill.lyall@central.wa.edu.au

One of the interesting things that came up during our Indigenous Engagement - E-Learning for Tourism project, was the concept of inviting people to participate in e-learning and how that can be done in a very effective way if you focus on the learners rather than the technology. We used a blended approach with project champions inviting people to join us, show casing (playing) with a range of e-learning programs and tools in a 'face to face' workshop and then allowing the participants to drive the way forward. This meant that people took very different e-learning pathways depending on their interests and current needs. This was logistically challenging but the motivation was high, as we hope are the outcomes. [|www.topendgroove.com.au] - coming very soon!**
 * TOP END GROOVE eo@charttes.com.au

This solution was born out of necessity, as I don’t share a drive with most of the staff I work with, but it has actually proven useful in a number of ways. To work with staff I create a course site in our LMS. Everyone in it has an instructor/designer role, so we can share files, ask questions of each other, create common documents (like style guides) and exchange tasks. It doesn’t need to be an entire site, it can also be a separate section of your course, while you are collaborating on the development of the rest of it. And it can be copied to your next course development project.
 * Tip: Using your LMS as a PMS (Joyce Seitzinger)**

Vivian Evans elearning practice vivevans@hwy.com.au
Working collaboratively in a team (big or small) and planning ahead are 'e'ssential :-) This allows for sharing ideas with colleagues...mentoring and then letting them run with new skills & own ideas. Googledocs and Wikispaces have been great tools for me this year working with teachers and students. See these wikispaces where working with indigenous students http://girlstalk06.wikispaces.com for distance connections and http://coonamob.wikispaces.com for F2F team work and follow up. http://docs.google.com/ is fantastic for planning and preparing collaborative online sessions eg [|Our collaborative Virtual session plan] and how to guides for asynchronous activities eg. [|A basic guide to Audacity (part 1)]


 * If you have a story you'd like to add please click on Edit this page, scroll down to this spot and post your story here! Remember to press 'Save'.**