1. Learning World Roadshow
The Learning World Roadshow takes the Learning World’s thinking and seminar on tour visiting local communities within geographic proximity.
A typical community consists of formal education institutions, social organizations, community associations and community leaders. A tailored programme is designed for each community that:
- Introduces the Learning Worlds philosophy and strategy
- Discusses their overall implications for the community, and,
- Summarises the application for the community
2. DreamStream
This project is premised on the view that for Aboriginal communities living in remote regions, education should be viewed not only as a means for individual accomplishment, but also as a catalyst for community progress and development. However, despite good intentions by government, related agencies, and their support staff, the limited engagement of Indigenous Australians with education remains one of this country’s most perplexing and intractable problems.
Nationally, Indigenous educational participation levels are low, retention rates, though climbing, stubbornly remain at around half that of other Australians, literacy and numeracy gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children are disturbingly persistent, and absenteeism among Indigenous children is seen by many to have reached crisis levels.
If Indigenous Australians are to truly integrate in the real economy and be afforded the same opportunities as non-Indigenous Australians, then it is vital that Aboriginal adolescents and young adults are not left behind. However, this project also recognises that the problems to be resolved extend well beyond educational equity and strongly argues the need to incorporate proficiency in the use of information and communication technologies. With the preceding factors in mind, this project focuses on:
- Developing a dynamic model for learning (and teaching) that specifically aims to improve the educational experiences of adolescent and young adult aboriginal people.
- In particular, resolving the issues that hinder the effective delivery of education and related support to young Aboriginal people living in the rural and remote communities of Australia who have withdrawn from formalised education.
- Identifying how best to design and deliver high quality, culturally sensitive and effective educational solutions.
- Provide a delivery platform for empowering self-directed learning and learner-centred learning pathways whilst embracing lifelong learning principles, all with direct application to cultivating employment, personal, and community development opportunities.
- Grounding the project in the fields of Education and Aboriginal Studies with an emphasis on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supported learning systems.
- The development of national approaches and policies related to the complex issues of providing online and distance education to culturally diverse students.
- Learning and teaching being viewed as more than a means for individual achievement, but also as a catalyst for community progress and development.
- Developing indigenous mentors / leaders to sustain and expand the programme.
3. University of New South Wales (UNSW)
A research consultancy that aims to:
- Complete the Technology Enhanced Learning and Teaching (TELT) Platform pedagogical vision, strategy, policy, and planning document. This document ties in with task 2 as it informs the underlying methodology and approach to be applied to the sub-layer cycle of the TELT Evaluation Framework
- Establish the research foundation that underpin Sub-layers 2 and 3 of the TELT Evaluation Framework and design / prepare the related survey instruments and analysis methodologies. These sub-layers are critical to the success of the BlackBoard 9.1 <-> Moodle 2.0 comparison analysis
- Prepare the design and development guidelines for object-orientated learning resources
- Conduct an institute wide benchmarking study of TELT at UNSW, which will further inform tasks 1 and 2.
Learning in the World 