AS046

=**AS046 E-lectrotechnology**=

Background
A current challenge in rural Australia is the reduced access to training opportunities caused by geographic isolation. Potential students are often unable to access training opportunities due to the long distance required to attend classes. Current students are also restricted in the learning activities due to long work hours and inflexible work environments. The combination of these challenges will make it difficult to meet the critical skills shortage in the area of Electrotechnology in regional Australia, particularly in light of the increased demand that will be caused by the roll out of the National Broad Band infrastructure.



Project Summary
How will the project improve learner access to improve employment outcomes? This project will repackage existing units of competence (UOC) undertaken by all Electrotechnology students and deliver this material in a flexible online mode. These UOC will assist in improving the flexibility of learning for Electrotechnology trade students as well as assist in addressing the critical skills shortage that will result from the roll out of the NBN infrastructure. The skill set will be delivered by synchronous and asynchronous methods including Web Conferencing and Moodle to rural and regional students.

The project will also expose a greater number of teachers within the Electrotechnology faculty at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute to online delivery embedding a range of learning tools into their suite of delivery practices.



How does this project align to the jurisdictional and national priorities? The project aligns to the following:


 * Meet the training needs to address the critical shortage of competent workers to roll out the NBN
 * Providing a more flexible delivery option for existing trade students in the Electrotechnology department
 * Address the challenges of delivering course material in rural and regional settings
 * Provide employers with more flexible work arrangements for staff
 * Provide training organisation staff with greater flexibility in the delivery of content
 * Giving rural communities access to the same training opportunities as their metropolitan counterparts
 * Boost the skill level and employment opportunities for rural communities

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Consultation with stakeholders <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have consulted widely with stakeholder groups including regional Electrical and Electrotechnology enterprises, employers of apprentices, Group Training companies and Employment Services providers. These stakeholders have assisted in identifying skills shortage areas and opportunities for improvement or greater flexibility in current modes of delivery for the units specified.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each of these stakeholders have employees or clients participating in Electrical or Electrotechnology & Communications training and recognise the barriers to participation caused by geographic isolation and acknowledge the opportunity for of e-learning to be used as a potential tool to assist with the development of skills and qualifications for students in these areas.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These stakeholders are providing learner groups that will be prepared to participate in pilot evaluations as they believe they will directly benefit from the project implementation. These stakeholders will promote the outcomes of the project to their member associations and networks.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Intended outcomes from your project
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you hope to achieve with the funding?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The project will deliver the following units of competence using online and new learning technologies:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">UEENEEE001B – Apply OHS practices in the workplace
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">UEENEEE005B – Fix and secure equipment
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">UEENEEE007B – Use drawings, diagrams, schedules and manuals

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Actual Outcomes resulting from this project
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What was done?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The above 3 units of competence were developed on the moodle platform, using a variety of E-Learning strategies such as: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Power points, screen grabs, quizes, videos, You-tube and appropriate software to enhance learning experiences. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The content was adapted from a range of resources such as the Electrotechnology Toolbox to meet the essential knowledge and skills required within the UEE training package.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Benefits experienced by
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TAFE NSW - Riverina Institute, Wagga Wagga Campus: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Staff have had direct exposure and training in E-Learning technologies to keep updated and upskilled <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For audit requirements, Moodle provides evidence of training attendance, assessment submissions, and online participation. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ability for teachers to validate and moderate assessments from other campuses. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Employers have more flexibility with their training needs. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Students:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Self paced learning
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ability to review missed classes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Submit assessments online
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remote access to training
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Online examinations

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reflections and Suggestions
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">E-Learning will play a definite role in the future of training needs. Employers will be able to have extended use of their employees increasing their bottom line due to the nature of online training. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On reflection, creating the online learning content such as Moodle is extremely demanding in terms of time. Without the experience and knowledge of the staff, the Moodle would not be a possibility. Remembering that the staff have teaching obligations concurrently. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This project is a work in progress and will continue to evolve as more teachers realise the benefit of the online environment to themselves, students and stakeholders.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sustainability of project outcomes
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The units of competence that have been developed are currently being used by teachers beyond the scope of the project. Through video conferences, faculty meetings and e-mail, other units of competence can be futher developed. Funding will continue to be sought to asssit in achieving the goal of developing the core units of competence within the Electrotechnology course.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Acknowledgement = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a an Access to Skills project output, developed by TAFE NSW Riverina Institute with seed funding from the National VET e-learning strategy.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For more information = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For more information on AS046 project please contact:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael Harmer <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teacher- Electronic and Communication Trades <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, Wagga Wagga Campus, NSW 2650 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">P +61 2 6938 1343 F +61 2 6938 1275 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael.Harmer1@det.nsw.edu.au

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For more information on technologies used for project - e.g. moodle, equella please contact:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leanne Hogan <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relieving Manager New Learning Technologies <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, Wagga Wagga Campus, NSW 2650 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">M +61 0457 535852 P +61 2 6938 1323 F +61 2 6938 1432 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leanne.Hogan@det.nsw.edu.au

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For more information on the Access to Skills program: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Phone: (08) 9229 5200 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Email: accesstoskills@dtwd.wa.gov.au <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Website: www.flexiblelearning.net.au