Reading an article about technology the concept of "blended learning" was mentioned several times without offering a clear definition. I did a bit of research and I found a couple of articles including some cases implemented in an University setting which provide you with basic definitions. I have attached the links of the readings to this blog entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning
http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/197143/BlendedLearningStrategy.pdf
http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/stacey.pdf
happy reading
MF
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Workforce Issues - Interview: Kate Lee (ASU)
Kate Lee who is the Assistant Secretary of the Australian Services Union NSW has been interviewed on the Sector Workforce Issues by Miguel Ferrero (MF), convener of the Traning Directions Network. This is a summary of the conversation.
What has been your career path to your current job?
I’m currently employed as an organiser in the Social & Community Services Division of the Australian Services Union.
What in your opinion are the key workforce issues faced by the community sector?
The biggest issues could be summarized as: low pay compared to work of equal value in the public sector; high turnover of staff into other sectors/industries; lack of career paths and opportunities; lack of minimum qualifications to work in the industry; short term funding and competitive funding arrangements which provide no job security for staff.
What strategies the sector could develop to address these issues?
The biggest current strategy would be if everyone in the sector backed the campaign for Equal Pay being run in our sector . The ASU is running the legal case for equal pay in 2010 however we are also wanting to work with everyone on a coordinated concurrent campaign for full funding for the outcome of the case. The campaign is known as “Equal Pay= Full Funding”.
What is your advice to the Community Sector that could be helpful to face these issues?
There are many small-scale workplace things that employers can do to improve on things like turnover of staff. However all of the issues listed above really require sector-wide agreement on what we need to do to address them. Addressing the issue of low pay through the Equal Pay case will certainly go a long way to helping keep skilled and qualified workers in our sector. However on many of the other issues we need a single and agreed message to government on how to address them.
What has been your career path to your current job?
I’m currently employed as an organiser in the Social & Community Services Division of the Australian Services Union.
What in your opinion are the key workforce issues faced by the community sector?
The biggest issues could be summarized as: low pay compared to work of equal value in the public sector; high turnover of staff into other sectors/industries; lack of career paths and opportunities; lack of minimum qualifications to work in the industry; short term funding and competitive funding arrangements which provide no job security for staff.
What strategies the sector could develop to address these issues?
The biggest current strategy would be if everyone in the sector backed the campaign for Equal Pay being run in our sector . The ASU is running the legal case for equal pay in 2010 however we are also wanting to work with everyone on a coordinated concurrent campaign for full funding for the outcome of the case. The campaign is known as “Equal Pay= Full Funding”.
What is your advice to the Community Sector that could be helpful to face these issues?
There are many small-scale workplace things that employers can do to improve on things like turnover of staff. However all of the issues listed above really require sector-wide agreement on what we need to do to address them. Addressing the issue of low pay through the Equal Pay case will certainly go a long way to helping keep skilled and qualified workers in our sector. However on many of the other issues we need a single and agreed message to government on how to address them.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
"Embedding a YouTube Video in Power Point"
I found this short video that can help you embed a YouTube Video in Power Point. It is really simple and i really enjoyed it.
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/03/embedding-a-youtube-video-in-power-point.html
MF
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/03/embedding-a-youtube-video-in-power-point.html
MF
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
SYDNEY FACILITATORS NETWORK - April Meeting
'Wisdom—Whence and Whither' with Jay Hayes
This session is a series of dialogues and enquiries into the nature of wisdom: where it comes from; why it’s needed; and what impedes it. Participants confront and engage “the wisdom paradox”: Wisdom is both abundant in the world and seldom observed.”
The session moves through the following themes:
1. The wisdom around us.
2. The importance of wisdom.
3. The roots of wisdom.
4. Impediments to wisdom.
5. Cultivating wisdom.
6. Applying wisdom to today’s problems.
The basic aspiration is to come to a shared understanding of wisdom and its potential, and to apply wisdom in a practical way to one or more real-life problems affecting the group.
At a meta-level, the session promotes, relies upon, and acknowledges the collective, communal wisdom of participants as a whole and reveals one way that “the getting” of such wisdom can be elicited.
This session draws upon recent work with Dialogue, the Team Learning Pyramid and Collective Intelligence.
About Jay Hayes
Jay teaches courses in management and leadership, including “Leading High-Performance Teams” and a management and organisation course titled “The Community Project,” at the Australian National University, Canberra. He is also a practicing management consultant and has led a wide range of Organisational Development and Change projects on four continents, most recently assisting in a major change program in Zambia, Africa. Jay is involved as facilitator and coach in several Community of Practice initiatives at the university and in the local community. His research interests include the development of wisdom and enlightened leadership, teamwork and collaboration, and organisational ecology. His present focus is on Dialogue and its use as an instrument of learning and change. Jay is author of three books, several book chapters, and thirty peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Jay will be moving to Swinburne University in Melbourne in July 2010, where he will serve as Academic Advisor, Professional Practice.
Extra information:
http://cbe.anu.edu.au/staff/info.asp?Surname=Hays&Firstname=Jay
Venue:
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.
Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium foot bridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.
Time:
from 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp No RSVP - Just turn up
This session is a series of dialogues and enquiries into the nature of wisdom: where it comes from; why it’s needed; and what impedes it. Participants confront and engage “the wisdom paradox”: Wisdom is both abundant in the world and seldom observed.”
The session moves through the following themes:
1. The wisdom around us.
2. The importance of wisdom.
3. The roots of wisdom.
4. Impediments to wisdom.
5. Cultivating wisdom.
6. Applying wisdom to today’s problems.
The basic aspiration is to come to a shared understanding of wisdom and its potential, and to apply wisdom in a practical way to one or more real-life problems affecting the group.
At a meta-level, the session promotes, relies upon, and acknowledges the collective, communal wisdom of participants as a whole and reveals one way that “the getting” of such wisdom can be elicited.
This session draws upon recent work with Dialogue, the Team Learning Pyramid and Collective Intelligence.
About Jay Hayes
Jay teaches courses in management and leadership, including “Leading High-Performance Teams” and a management and organisation course titled “The Community Project,” at the Australian National University, Canberra. He is also a practicing management consultant and has led a wide range of Organisational Development and Change projects on four continents, most recently assisting in a major change program in Zambia, Africa. Jay is involved as facilitator and coach in several Community of Practice initiatives at the university and in the local community. His research interests include the development of wisdom and enlightened leadership, teamwork and collaboration, and organisational ecology. His present focus is on Dialogue and its use as an instrument of learning and change. Jay is author of three books, several book chapters, and thirty peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Jay will be moving to Swinburne University in Melbourne in July 2010, where he will serve as Academic Advisor, Professional Practice.
Extra information:
http://cbe.anu.edu.au/staff/info.asp?Surname=Hays&Firstname=Jay
Venue:
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.
Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium foot bridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.
Time:
from 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp No RSVP - Just turn up
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