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My name is Louise Duncan and I have been assistant manager at the Shepparton Science and Technology Centre (in Victoria, Australia) for the past two years. I am responsible for organising the primary and secondary programs, presenting professional development in the use of the Internet in Education and Learning Technologies for regional teaching staff, teaching interactive multimedia, among many other things. |
The Shepparton Science and Technology Centre (http://www.sheppstc.org.au) welcomes members of the regional community to participate in the many programs, courses and activities we have on offer to lead the Goulburn Valley into the 21st century in the field of Science and Technology.
Our daily activities include programs for primary and secondary students who visit us daily from the surrounding district to explore design concepts, environmental issues, multimedia titles, the Internet and specially tailored science programs.
On Wednesdays we become the VET (Vocational Education and Training) Skills Centre. Students from the Shepparton District schools come to the Centre to participate in Business and Administration, Automotive, Hospitality, Interactive Multimedia, Engineering and Electronics courses. Access to the VET program enables the students to experience the demands and learn the skills required in the workplace. The Centre is currently devising a program and training its staff in making these courses even more accessible through using the Internet for communication and delivery of some components. Students located in schools away from the McGuire College Campus would then be able to talk to their teachers and collect and complete work requirements without having to travel in on a regular basis.
The participation of the wider community plays an important role in the focus of the Centre in excellence in Science and Technology. Our soon to be launched Goulburn Broken Community Net project will provide low cost Internet access and training for groups such as Landcare and the CFA, business groups and the general public.
In the evenings, the Science and Technology Centre is still active in presenting the highest quality computer course training in Microsoft titles, the Internet and special courses for teachers.
I have recently acquired a role as project manager to train our VET staff in the skills required to approach flexible delivery of our VET courses, funded through the Learnscope Project at (http://www.learnscope.anta.gov.au). Have a look at our team action plan in the project gallery and while you are there you can find out what other teams are hoping to achieve.
I am also currently studying a course online covering the issues of developing, delivering and managing online education with the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. You can find ou about it at http://online.nmit.vic.edu.au/course_info/online/online.htm). This not only provides a chance to explore these issues and create working models, but we experience the highs and lows of being an online learner first hand. We use First Class for most of our communications and also the TAFE Virtual Campus at (http://www.tafevc.com/).
My interest in online learning and flexible delivery created quite a backlog of useful sites in my diary and bookmark file, so as part of my course assessment (and to reduce my diary dependance!) I have created a website to act as a resource for those interested in this field. It is located at (http://www.sheppstc.org.au/learning_online). Let me know what you think by adding a message to the bulletin board letting us know who you are. You may also be interested in videoconferencing and I have some thoughts on this topic based from another website I have constructed at (http://www.sheppstc.org.au/SheppSTC/courses/LWTInternet) - just follow the Professional Development links.
The WAOE is a great place to build an online community and share information about what is happening online. If you would like to ask any further questions I can be contacted at lduncan@sheppstc.org.au.
I should finish with some great and relevant quote about the learning journey we are all on.......but it eludes me!
See you online
Regards,
Louise Duncan
Assistant Manager
Shepparton Science and Technology Centre
phone: (03) 5831 8000
fax: (03) 5831 6676
In each issue of WEB a different member introduces him- or herself and talks about experiences and interests in online education and training. Drawing on the information and URLs provided on their registration forms, the WEB Editor is targetting individual members who are doing especially innovative and exciting things in online education with requests to provide a brief profile.
But why wait to be asked? All WEB readers are urged to use the Memberās Profile to help flesh out the person behind the impersonal email address youāre known by in WAOE. We are a member's organisation - reMEMBER!! Just a short piece will do. As well as giving us some background information, weād like you to tell colleagues why you joined WAOE, what you hope to gain from your involvement, and what you would like to contribute.