This was an interesting day – I was pleased to hear about the activities underway in other jurisdictions and some great case studies. I’ve recorded my notes in graphic form – click on the thumbnails for full images.

Recent Changes Camp was held at the University of Canberra, and organised by Leigh Blackall. It was held as an ‘unconference’ which means that the schedule and agenda are framed by the participants at the start of the day around a central theme, in this case, wikis. The group formed a list of potential sessions and then placed names against which sessions they would like to attend.
URL: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/University_of_Canberra/RCC_Canberra
Through the day there were four sessions held:

• Usability and accessibility
• Wikiversity
• Wikis for learning and education
• Conversations and community behind wikis

My expectations prior to the event were to learn more about how other individuals and organisations were using wikis, both for learning and other purposes. I was also seeking wisdom about implementation and hosting implications.

During the sessions I captured my notes in mindmap form on my iPad as shown below (click thunbnails for larger images). The process I used is documented here.

One happy feature of an event like this is the shared note taking – notes were taken on the events Wikiversity pages (http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/University_of_Canberra/RCC_Canberra) and also in Twitter (link to hashtag archive for #ucrcc)

What came from the event for me?
1. I was able to start making decisions about our wiki solution for the Tasmanian Polytechnic. More here -
2. A recognition that the names Wikiversity/WikiEducator may actually be a barrier to teachers and students in our VET context or maybe not. This needs to be tested in student and teacher consultation.
3. Initial research suggests that an alternative to wiki pages is needed for student reflection/ journal type information for privacy, ownership and longevity.
4. A recognition that with the wiki work underway at the Poly we are actually a fair way down the path in terms of organisational approach, and there is much further we could go.
5. It would be useful to have a program on net safety and digital literacy that teachers could adopt and also be available to all learners. This is not just related to wikis, it is broader.
6. Participation in future events will be very useful as we move forward, and in terms of organisation it may be fairly simple to host a RCC event ourselves (plan for 2011?)
7. It reinforced the direction that we are taking with this year’s project, and that it is of strategic importance in relation to the development of learning activities and support materials that we adopt an open approach to facilitate collaboration.

Edit: Update links in post

• Adobe Ideas ($free) Nice tool, smooths lines so looks better when you zoom. Brush controls are harder to control than Sketchbook Pro. Free form drawing. Can’t type text in. Blank Canvas.
• Popplet ($free for Lite version) Text, drawing and images in boxes that can be moved around, resized and linked to each other. More mindmap-like than others.
• Sketchbook Pro ($9.99 AUD) Recommended by several reviews. Multiple (too many?) brush options, fine level colour controls, multiple layers, ability to import images, flexible output options.

I also tried, in no particular order:
AirSketch free, iBrainstorm, Stickyboard, Draw, Paperdesk LT, iPocketDraw, MindMash ,Idea Sketch, Iditia Free and some other ones I’ve since deleted. Some are better for different styles of recording than I’m talking about here.
My basis for comparison
What is important to me:

• Ease of use including quick colour change and eraser tool access
• Zooming in and out intuitively
• Cost
• VGA output option
• Export options and formats

Preparation for Use
I knew I’d soon want to use this approach for a real event, so I tested out tools and got to know them through doing graphical records of TV shows and evening conversations around the house – low risk and I wouldn’t be annoyed if I accidently deleted the lot! Through this process I settled on Sketchbook Pro because of the zooming, layers and colour changing speed possible. So I ended up with some pretty random images but it was fun. I played around more with a visual note taking approach, more so than my traditional mindmap technique and appearance.
Real life Use
Recent Changes Camp came up in Canberra and that was it – my challenge to myself was to use the iPad for note taking.
What I discovered:

• Found not typing/ writing with a pen shifted my focus from capturing words as such to capturing thoughts and ideas.
• The freeform conversational approach of the unconference gave a starting point to the notes, and suited my default mindmap style. I reverted pretty quickly to my standard style – you could put my handwritten maps from months ago next to my iPad ones and they are definitely both mine!
• When in a session where I talked a fair bit at the start I wanted to capture what was being said but graphic recording required too much brainpower to allow for talking. I relaxed when I reminded myself that other people were taking notes and I could access them later.

Usability session

Wikis in Learning and Education

• Use of colour and brush controls still requires conscious thought, much like picking up a different colour texta when starting a new subtopic.
• I found I captured what was for me the right balance of quality and quantity of notes while still participating reasonably in the discussion.

After the event
After the formal sessions I wanted to pull some of the overarching thoughts and issues into a more graphic style than my mindmaps. I planned it out roughly on paper and searched for visual cues to suit the topics. Being able to colour in areas of the canvas on a layer to allocate space and arrangement, and then put my actual text and graphics on another layer meant I could end up with a well organised output. I simply deleted the ‘underlayer’ when I was done.
What I learnt:

• I didn’t save often enough. Sketchbook Pro would crash occasionally and I couldn’t see a pattern as to why.
• Learnt about the layer transform tool and how that could be used to manipulate or edit an image you’ve imported from elsewhere.
• I would like to spend more time playing with the brush options
• Practice of large lettering styles would add more visual interest and variation.

Summary of my notes from #ucrcc

I love it!

(click for larger image)

As facilitator the group’ s responses comments suggested to me:

• We need to do some hands on in using these tools so that there is some professional development for participants
• The project team environment and dynamic is open for all to contribute
• Project team members felt we were making progress
• The links of what we want to achieve to today’s current workplace reality in Tasmania may be tenuous – we may be leading more than catching up.

Based in Broadmeadows – challenged cohort, early school leavers, non-attenders, non-achievers, generational unemployment. Teaches cabinetry at Kangan Batman, apprentices and pre-apprenticeship programs, VCAL learners. Lower value trade as it is not a registered/ licenced trade. As such, cohort’s completion rate at school are declining, in competition with other trades. Starting to get more 15-16 year old with lower completion levels. Teachers were grumbling more, we’ll try but …
Mary was shocked by that as learners were taking the brave step of giving formal education another go. So we then have a responsibility to make that second chance work. Needed an acknowledgement that This Is Our Cohort. Looked at linking VCAL program to cabinet making. Got a group of 12 students together. Goal was for them to be in a better position to make informed choices about what to do next, and for them to get a piece of paper (meaningful). Set it up as a business model, had a structure with people acting in positions, Understanding that learning doesn’t have to be chalk and talk. Had business meetings, real customers, production schedules etc. Wanted to build learner’s self-esteem. Teachers were working on the shop floor, foreman was one of the learners. If foreman can’t sort it out, then foreman goes to the teacher for support. Maths etc built in to the program daily work – not separated out, eg time and motion studies, quality control, cost of materials and consumables eg sandpaper @ $1-2 a sheet. Work Placement component to VCAL/ pre apprenticeship programs: learner are coming back and telling what the workplaces are doing wrong So they truly know this stuff.

Masters research to look at what was actually happening. Could see employability skills / Mayer key competencies simply weren’t being talked about by practitioners. A lot of the literature was saying that the key competencies weren’t clear, nor was there systematic PD in the key competencies. Did interviews with teachers (good, keen, commited ones) and some simply didn’t know what they were or didn’t focus on them or thought they weren’t qualified to teach ‘this stuff’. This included teachers who had recently gone through the Cert IV on TAA. Even the Cert IV TAA teachers were even a bit sketchy in their knowledge of and teaching of the Mayer key competencies.
Believes there should be a national approach to PD about employability skills, they should be something that underpin units, rather than an add-on.
Also suggests that there should be continuing professional development to validate/ maintain currency in Cert IV in TAA.

Also to get work placement spots, we offers to send prevoc stdents out to workplace when apprentices come in to TAFE

ACER – Larry Foster
ACER were involved in the development of the quality indicators for AQTF2007 standards to support the outcomes focus.

It’s interesting sitting here listening to the development process being described (methinks) in too much detail, especially after the suggestion by Rob Simons from The Smith Family that educational research needs to be about tools not papers! I would also suggest that when an abstract states the talk will be about ways of using the tools, you should do so pretty promptly. We’re now nearly half way through the time. Impatience is a core feeling right at this minute. Maybe I needed a nice cup of tea?

Survey developed will be mandatory use. Part of this consideration includes the need for administration of the tool being cheaper (time, energy, expnse) than the myriad of current processes scattered across training providers.
Ok- he must have heard my typed complaints! 35 mins in we get the hear details about tools.
Linked paper, phone, CD and online formats.
Employer questionnaires 20 items, 5 Mins completion time
Learner Questionnaires 30-40 questions, 5-10 mins completion. Includes demographic and context questions.
Where paper based, data entry will be direct into data system that others go into.
Don’t people think about font size on ppts???? Especially on the examples of questions which is what we’re here for?
Deep breath in, slow breath out…
How will it be administered? Eg per year/ per unit/ for all employees/ per employee? From Larry’s response the choice will be down to the RTO how often it will be done. Not yet specified by DEWA if such specifications will be made.
Tool will be available from August for further consultation from which point RTOs can test and consult and adapt. Full pacakge will include questionnaires, collection software, technical support, code of practice, various resources for RTOs to administer and make use of the quality indicator data. This will be available from August on http://www.training.com.au Roadshow from October.