Let's get together, and re-focus your mini-projects

Hello Amazing North-West e-learning People. Who can believe we're looking at the final term for these e-mentor projects!

(1) Remember your "e-learning plan"? What about this for an idea: depending where you're at, let's re-work this into a "mini-project" so that you can present with pride to your peers, and feel you've made some progress. It's possible you've done some remarkable things you just don't recognise.

(2) We would very much like to offer you a face-to-face session in term 2 so you can all get together, ask questions, share ideas and network**.

Here are the dates we're looking at (what's your preference?):

• 26 April, 1.30pm – 4.30pm (CAE 278 Flinders Lane) 
• 1 May, 1.30 - 4.30pm (CAE 253 Flinders Lane) 

The menu could include:
=> How to "find the amazing" in what you've done already,
=> Assist each other with your mini-project work,
=> Hands-on workshopping,
=> Tech focus: Powerpoint in the classroom and/or optimising your photos for publishing in online resources.

Please tell us your thoughts As Soon As You Can (asayc):
1) Will you join us in a face-to-face networking workshop day 
    (a) Yes (b) No (c) Please visit me instead.
2) What else does this menu need? (It needs your input).

Please respond via email, a comment reply here, or via the iPadio.

Progress at Lalor LLC phlogged to the world

In response to our plea to try out the very simple phone blogging tool, ipadio, Assunta has produced a wonderful progress report on her and Carmela's e-project.

We've embedded it here to inspire you to have a go:



Thanks very much for participating with enthusiasm and dedication so far, Assunta and Carmela. We look forward to hearing and seeing your presie online or in our June showcase (more on that later...)

You can find a previous post about Progress at Lalor here or Search using the new Search Feature (top of the right sidebar).

How to phone blog with iPadio - Listen to the recording of the webinar

#1) Live session / workshop - a North West Cafe webinar.

One of the simplest ways to get people talking on the web: we're running a session introducing newcomers to iPadio (phone blogging). Because people have such complicated lives, we're running it twice. And we're offering this out to the other regions, so we need to have your RSVP.

A hands-on tutorial in making a phone blog using ipadio. For people with absolutely no experience in this wonderfully easy podcasting tool. For e-leaders in the current e-mentors program plus anyone else with curiosity and a sense of adventure. People with experience are welcome to attend too. We hope to have some time to discuss your thoughts on the applications of this tool for teaching and learning.

This was held on Tuesday 21 February. If you would like to hear the recording, click the following link to view a list of our webinars, then select the webinar dated 21 February 2012:
 https://sas.elluminate.com/mrtbl?suid=M.6669D01BE3EA01F2A81B65EE234956&sid=2008142

There might be an opportunity in a few months for a Phone blogging How-to webinar Part 2 - on customising the podcast details, embedding the podcast and registering for your own account/ channel.

[If you're still having trouble getting in to Blackboard Collaborate, pleeeease contact Jill, Ann or myself for some problem-solving assistance.]

Shortcut link to attend a live session in the Blackboard Collaborate room:

http://sn.im/ace-openhouse

More details in the ACE network Ning (events page). (login req'd)

Stay tuned, because this is the first of a whole series of online professional development for e-learning practitioners across the regions. This means sessions delivered not only by Jill, Ann & Michael in the North-West, but also many more amazing e-learning people right around Victoria.

Phone blog your Progress, Part 2: E-skills at Carlton NLC

Further to the post, Phone blog your Progress, here are some interesting phone blogs kindly shared with us by staff from Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC). They were asked to describe how the teaching and learning in their ESL classes changed in 2011 with the introduction of internet and the projector into the classrooms.

The CNLC ipadio player:

The following phone blogs or 'phlogs' can be heard by clicking the little red + icon in the bottom right corner of the player (found as you move your mouse over the little spanner). You'll be taken to CNLC's ipadio channel where you can listen to each of them.

Or you can visit CNLC's ipadio channel to hear them.

Phone blog your progress here via our iPadio phonecast channel

Below is a phone blog posted by Jill to our North West e-Mentors ipadio channel. Phone blogging is very easy to do - once you're feeling confident with the technology you could even create a channel for your students to use.

Please consider joining us here with your first phone blog.



Our iPadio channel is open for business: using ipadio you can call a special number (from anywhere in Australia it's 1800-802569) from either your landline or mobile and follow the prompts to provide the registered phone number and PIN.

(iPadio will detect that you're not calling from the registered phone - don't worry about that, just enter the registered number and PIN.)

You then say what you want to us to hear, that's right, no-one will interrupt you! When you're finished, just hang up.

Here are the details:

1. Call 1800-802-569
2. When prompted, enter the registered phone number: 613-9347 2739 and press #
3. Enter PIN: XXXX (ask us in person)
4. TALK and then hang up.

So we look forward to hearing your phlogs about your e-learning adventures. And we will also embed the phlogs here for your colleagues in the North west to share.

Here is Panayota from CNLC talking about how her teaching has benefited from having access to the internet and a data projector in the ESL classroom this year. Good on you for going first, Panayota! (She's using the CNLC ipadio channel).

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 holiday intensives, PD drop-in, skill-focused workshop)
• some sort of course management system (CMS) for secure e-lodgement of assessments (eg. Moodle, Wikispace with custom permissions,

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 come out and discuss projects and assist with specific tasks. We had a group in the ACE NING, a virtual meeting place like this, but with a Forum and a few other additional features.