Toolboxes at Net*Working 2003

The Toolboxes program involved three concurrent sessions across three rooms with thirteen sessions altogether. The program was well subscribed with most sessions having more than 15 people in attendance. In particular, the practical sessions in the Playroom were very popular. People had to stand in the doorway and share computers to participate in Play Room sessions. The Treasure Hunt activity available in the Play Room was a good initiative and many people came to the Toolboxes rooms to complete this fun activity. Overall it is estimated that approximately 200 people attended the Toolboxes three rooms across the program.

The Toolboxes presence on the Framework Exhibition Stand involved Toolbox Champions/project team being on hand during the conference to answer questions and direct people to Toolbox resources. A large screen at the Stand was used by nine of the Series 5 developers to preview their Toolboxes.

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS - Toolboxes: Tools for Cutting Edge Learning

Room A Playroom

Room B

Room C

Room A Playroom

Toolbox Treasures

Janice Wain: ACT Toolbox Champion, Canberra Institute of Technology
Lisa Wait: Project Manager Toolboxes, OTTE,
Steve Omant: TAS Toolbox Champion, Institute of TAFE Tasmania

Win a Toolbox of your choice by joining the Toolbox Treaure hunt! Drop into the Toolbox Playroom to explore any of 60 Toolboxes. Participants followed the Toolbox Treasure Hunt clues to join the draw for a Toolbox prize.

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Customising Toolboxes

Melanie Sorenson: WA Toolbox Champion, WestOne,
Ian Kenny: Manager Design and Development, West One

Beginners Guide to getting your hands dirty with Toolboxes This session introduced the basics of customising Toolboxes. It covered implementation options, skills needed for customisation and tools and resources available to assist with customisation. There was a hands-on session which covered how to change an image, edit a page, hide a competency and add a web link. Some basic HTML skills ere covered in this session. Participants were also given a brief overview of the Toolbox repository.

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Re-using Toolbox Resources

Graeme Brownfield, OTTE

Whereas each individual Toolbox is aligned with a particular Training Package, the Toolbox Resource Collection provides access to materials across all of the Toolboxes. Users can search the site for a topic of interest and download a selection of related pages from several Toolboxes. Participants accessed the Collection and learned how it works and how to use it effectively. They also had an opportunity to discuss possible further developments.

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Room B

Making the HR Toolbox More Flexible Using Learning Objects

Barry Reeves: Chief Learning Design Officer, OTEN,
David Drinkwater: XML Publishing Coordinator, OTEN
Kate Robinson: Kate Robinson Media

Making the HR Toolbox More Flexible Presentation (PowerPoint - 2 MB)

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OTEN's Model for Learning Object Development Underpins the Recently Completed Human Resources Diploma Toolbox (Series 5).

Barry, David Drinkwater and Kate demonstrated the combination of learning objects with a case study in the HR Toolbox, outlined the instructional design and technical development processes, and discussed the evaluation results of a pilot using one Unit in the Toolbox that was conducted with students enrolled at Central TAFE WA.

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Designing Educational Strategies in E-Learning Resources

Vivienne Blanksby, OTTE

The web-based environment provides exceptional opportunities for creating learning designs which motivate learners, build autonomy, and encourage reflective thinking and problem solving. This session explored, with examples from the Toolboxes, the types of learning tasks, resources and support mechanisms which can foster greater depth of understanding by promoting an active, empowered role for learners.

Online Learning Designs to Engage Learners - The Toolbox Initiative Presentation (PowerPoint - 441 KB)

Online Learning Designs to Engage Learners - The Toolbox Initiative (Word - 116 KB)

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Accessibility and Usability in E-Learning Materials

Pasquale Stella, OTTE

The flexible learning Toolboxes provide an exemplar of cutting-edge practices in the management and development of quality e-learning resources. A continuous improvement cycle has seen each Series of Toolbox development build on the knowledge and understandings of previous Toolbox development and usage. This session described and explained the Toolbox development lifecycle and how the products are developed to ensure compatibility, usability and accessibility.

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Toolboxes in Schools

Guy Kemshal-Bell, OTTE

This workshop focussed on the value that Toolboxes can provide to the schools sector. Some examples of successful integration of Toolboxes into VET in Schools programs were showcased.

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World One for Kids Using Cybertots

Carol Pundij, World One for Kids

Join One World to discover how their journey evolved as they join the fast growing online community. One World for Children used funding and support from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s team-based professional development program LearnScope to customise the Cybertots Toolbox and develop their own interactive training website for learners.

Website - http://www.oneworldforchildren.com.au/

Room C

The Manager’s Role in Toolbox Implementation

Denise Morgan: QLD Toolbox Champion
Lynne Stephens: Project Officer, Wide Bay TAFE

Successful implementation depends on you! Managers play an important part in the successful implementation of Toolboxes in the teaching and learning environment. This session discussed the practical steps involved in Toolbox implementation. It highlighted case studies from Toolbox field-testing best practice sites and provided practical implications for the manager.

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Trends in Uptake and Usage of Toolboxes

Robyn Francis: Director of Australian Training Products

Since their introduction in 1999 Toolboxes have become a part of the landscape of vocational education and training, adopted by a wide range of providers nationally. In this session Robyn, taking a national approach, examined the trends in adoption of Toolboxes as demonstrated through sales and customer responses. She demonstrated that they have been adopted not only by large TAFE and private providers, but also by large and small enterprises in their training - formal ( delivering AQF recognized qualifications ) and informal. There are some surprising results such as the uptake of Toolboxes by secondary schools, and some exciting trends in the strong sales of Toolboxes in some sectors such as community services. There are also some disappointing results, such as the slow adoption of some of the outstanding and unrecognized Equity Toolboxes.

Trends in adoption of Toolboxes Presentation (PowerPoint - 3.2 MB)

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Admin Toolbox Online

Marie Hunt and Vicki Marchant: TAFE NSW Riverina Institute

Marie and Vicki discussed how the Riverina has successfully delivered an online course using a Flexible Learning Toolbox as its content. They discussed how the course was structured, lessons learnt from their mistakes and the eventual success of the program.

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Learnscope and Toolboxes

Peter Robertson: VIC Toolbox Champion,
Doug Purcell: SA Toolbox Champion

Learnscope has afforded many opportunities for teachers to fully immerse themselves in new ways of delivering training. In this presentation two Toolbox Champions, Doug Purcell from SA and Peter Robertson from Victoria presented two wonderful LearnScope projects that used Toolboxes as the key in responding to some interesting demands of learners.

Learnscope Presentation (PowerPoint - 1 MB)

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