Since 2002, The Knowledge Tree has been sharing the latest research and innovation in global e-learning practice with Australian vocational education and training (VET) practitioners.

Produced by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), The Knowledge Tree features peer-reviewed articles, ‘think-pieces’, case-studies and interviews.

If you’re new to The Knowledge Tree or haven’t visited this resource in a while, here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening:

2010 – Edition 21 Inclusivit-e examined the role e-learning can play in addressing social inclusion targets as part of the national VET agenda. Edition 20 It’s e-asy being green explored how e-learning can provide a model of training delivery that uses sustainable practices and helps to meet demand for green skills training.

2009 – Edition 19 focused on Exposing e-learning skill sets that are vital for VET practitioners in order to develop lively, interesting, informative and educational e-learning. Edition 18 examined how practitioners are Putting the learner in the driver’s seat using e-learning tools such as e-portfolios and point of view technologies.

2008 – How training organisations are using e-learning to inspire young learners was the focus of Edition 17 Youth learning the e-asy way. Edition 16 Partnering with industry to embed e-learning solutions included cases studies and perspectives on using innovative business strategies and training provider–industry partnerships to encourage the use of e-learning and promote workforce productivity.

2007 – Edition 15 Making ground looked at how changes in teaching practice are playing out in learner achievement. Edition 14 Connecting Intelligence focused on how organisations can make use of web 2.0 technologies and open source tools to promote organisational learning. Edition 13 From the fringe examined what’s happening in teaching and learning innovation outside of, and despite, the formal structure and systems of education.

2006 – Five editions were published, looking at a range of topics including Edition 12 Connecting with learners and Edition 8 Tensions in the Convergence of e-Learning and e-Business. The year 2006 also saw a series of editions focused on social, aural and communal learning (Editions 9-11).

Seven further editions of The Knowledge Tree covering a range of hot e-learning topics were released between 2002 and 2005.

Browse the ‘Archives‘ section to read and download the articles, interviews and case studies.

Dear Knowledge Tree subscribers

Here is wishing you all a very happy and safe festive season and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Look forward to your continued support in 2011!

from The Knowledge Tree editorial team

There’s no doubt that e-learning has opened an exciting range of possibilities and opportunities for learners around the globe. But have all learners had the chance to join in the revolution?

In this edition of The Knowledge Tree we tackle the question of whether e-learning fosters social inclusion and ask how it can foster amongst equity groups equal participation in training and workforce development.

Contributions include:

Lead article: Engaging Indigenous learners through mobile learning: more than adding a new gadget

In this lead article, Ruth Wallace, Senior VET Lecturer and researcher at Charles Darwin University, explores how socially inclusive m-learning pedagogy and technologies can engage Indigenous learners, drawing on two examples from the Northern Territory.

Creating inclusive e-learning

Psychologist Andrew Downie, who is currently working at the NSW Centre for Learning Innovation, considers the impact of the e-learning revolution on learners from various backgrounds, including learners with disabilities. Focusing on interactive, remotely delivered resources, Andrew recommends ways to accentuate e-learning’s benefits while minimising its potential disadvantages.

Are the digital natives restless?

Research specialists Victor Callan, Annie Fergusson and Melanie Worrall provide an overview of upcoming research into how young learners engage with new technologies, and how technology can act as an enabler for youth disengaged from traditional learning approaches.

 You can also read the articles Learning technology for all by Helen Lynch and

Looking @ 2.0 – A program to meet a community need by Linda Barron.

Interviews

·         Jean Johnson and Jonny Dyer from Inclusion Trust discuss how to foster social inclusion and empower marginalised members of society through innovative learning strategies.

·         Owen O’Neill from the Framework’s E-standards for Training team talks about the importance of technical standards and how they can be implemented to develop accessible and inclusive e-learning.

·         Lesley Cioccarelli from Canberra Institute of Technology discusses the innovative use of virtual classroom (web-conferencing) technology with migrant learners, and learners with low literacy and numeracy levels.

You can also view a video presentation by Peter Shanks on the future of e-learning!

We hope you enjoy Inclusivit-e Edition 21 of The Knowledge Tree!

The Knowledge Tree: an e-journal of learning innovation is calling for contributions for the next edition (Edition 21), due for publication on 12 October 2010.

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) is interested in hearing from vocational education and training (VET) providers, businesses, trainers and practitioners who would like to publish peer-reviewed articles (short or lead), ‘think-pieces’, case-studies, interviews and other contributions in this quality VET e-journal. Contributions are also encouraged from international educators and from the wider educational community within Australia. 

Edition 20 was published on 20 July with a focus on ‘e-learning and green skills/sustainability’. If you are interested in making a contribution, we recommend that you read past editions.

The theme for Edition 21 is ‘e-learning and social inclusion’. In an educational context, ‘social inclusion’ involves catering for the diverse needs of learners to promote positive learning experiences and greater participation in training.

Edition 21 will explore the question:
How can e-learning foster opportunities for equal participation in training and workforce development among the following equity groups:

• female learners
• learners with a disability
• linguistically and culturally diverse learners
• Indigenous learners.

Contributions which explore how e-learning can foster social inclusion among the following additional learner groups are also encouraged:

• rural/remote learners
• youth (including disengaged youth)
• mature age learners
• learners with low literacy and numeracy levels
• learners who are disengaged from the workforce
• learners from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Successful contributions will provide insights into how e-learning and technology can foster social inclusion.

To submit an article or to provide an idea for a contribution, please email the editorial team at: e-events@flexiblelearning.net.au

More details about contribution guidelines can be found at: http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/contribute-to-the-knowledge-tree

Kermit the Frog might have sung that it wasn’t easy being green, but we at The Knowledge Tree wanted to find out if he was wrong! But, of course, the ‘e’ in our ‘easy’ stands for e-learning. In what way can it help make it easy for Australia to be green?

Edition 20 explores various ways the vocational education and training (VET) system is responding to the Green Skills Agreement, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in December 2009. The Agreement aims to create national standards for sustainable practice in VET; to revise training packages to include sustainability principles and competencies; and to upskill VET practitioners on sustainability skill delivery.

With this in mind, Edition 20 examines how e-learning can provide a model of training delivery that uses sustainable practices, and helps to meet the demand for green skills training.

Highlights
Jason Patten and Michael Abulencia from RMIT University in their lead article ‘Eyes on a green horizon‘ discuss how RMIT successfully transitioned its Optical Training Program to an e-learning model, and explain how the program implemented sustainable practices with benefits for training organisations, learners and the community.

Michele A Parker, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Watson School of Education, University of North Carolina, in her article writes about how virtual classrooms can foster sustainable practices in education and training delivery. She argues that as technology advances it is increasingly important to use it less for convenience and more for systemic practices that will benefit learners and the environment.

Steve McVey, Director of Skills Strategies International in Western Australia, in his article discusses the Great Gardens project, funded and supported by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s (Framework) E-learning Innovations business activity.

Helen Zwicker, Kiama Community College in New South Wales, explains in an interview how the Business Sustainabilit-e project helped Business Treading Lightly (an environmental and sustainability consultancy) to adopt web 2.0 technologies and web conferencing. Business Treading Lightly used these technologies to network and communicate with their clients, and to reduce the ecological and financial expenses associated with travel.

Carole McCulloch, freelance e-learning consultant and Penny Neudendorf, e-learning manager, Canberra Institute of Technology, answer questions in their interviews on how specific e-learning technologies are facilitating environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. Carole examines virtual classrooms while Penny looks at virtual worlds.

We hope you enjoy ‘It’s not e-asy being green‘ edition 20 of The Knowledge Tree and, as always, we look forward to your feedback.

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) is now calling for contributions relating to current research in learning innovation for Edition 20 which is due for publication on 20 July, 2010.  To submit an article or have an idea for a theme or item please contact the editorial team via email:  e-events@flexiblelearning.net.au.

Edition 20 focuses on: E-learning and green skills/sustainability (publication date 20 July 2010)

This edition will explore such questions as:

• How can e-learning help build the green skills needed by business and individuals to contribute towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy?
• What’s the implication of the current demand for skilling and re-skilling workers to meet Australia’s sustainability targets?
• What features of e-learning could foster sustainable practices in training delivery eg flexibility, web-based meetings/file sharing and virtual classrooms?

Submissions for the 20 July 2010 Edition closes on Friday 16 April 2010.  More details about contribution guidelines can be found at http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/contribute-to-the-knowledge-tree

Edition 21:  will explore social inclusion (publication date 12 October 2010)

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Likewise, you can lead students to computers, but you can’t offer them engaging courses – unless VET practitioners have developed and honed the skill sets required to effectively implement e-learning.

In this edition of The Knowledge Tree we expose the vital skill sets needed by vocational education and training (VET) practitioners to offer lively and engaging e-learning and to ensure classroom teachers and trainers aren’t left behind.

Highlights:
Internationally recognized futurist Elliott Masie offers a think-piece, Defining the ‘e’ in e-learning, in which he takes readers on a journey from e-learning’s humble beginnings to current global practices and future possibilities.

Annie Fergusson, Benchmarking and Research Business Manager of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), provides an overview of what must happen on a macro level if VET practitioners are to effectively update their skills to adapt to e-learning environments. She makes her points using recent VET research and the Framework’s 2009 annual Benchmarking survey.

Cathy Moore, an international e-learning instructional designer, soon to tour Australia explains in an interview how we can ‘dump the drone’ of e-learning design and instead create engaging, memorable and lively e-learning.

In addition, we offer several interviews with Australian e-learning practitioners as they consider, among other issues, the differences between skills needed for face-to-face teaching and e-learning, the effective use of Web 2.0 tools, and ‘the how’ in acknowledging new skill sets.

Edition 19 also sees Sue Lapham, Western Australia representative on the Flexible Learning Advisory Group (FLAG), inviting VET practitioners to the new interactive Framework website. Here providers can develop e-learning skills sets and knowledge by finding resources and collaborating with others. To help introduce readers to this new e-learning hub, we offer Flash presentations based on Kim Edgar’s recent ‘e-Gems’ web-conferencing session.

We hope you enjoy ‘Exposing e-learning skills sets‘ edition 19 of The Knowledge Tree and, as always, we look forward to your feedback.

As anyone who has a teenager will attest, putting a first time learner in the driver’s seat of a car is a scary proposition.  Edition 18 of The Knowledge Tree looks at how web 2.0 technologies, particularly e-portfolios and point of view (POV) technologies, are allowing learners to ‘take the wheel’ in the learning process.

Highlights:

Lead article, The world of e-portfolios (lead article) by Allison Miller, E-portfolios Business Manager at the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, writes that as we move further into the digital age, e-portfolios are beginning to play a key role in RPL (recognition of prior learning). In this article she also provides an international perspective on the use of e-portfolios for RPL.

Allison will be available for a live conversation on Monday 10 August from 12.30 – 1.30pm AEST as part of the Framework’s e-Gems 09 series of web conferencing sessions.

Article, Dis-integrating e-portfolios by Stephen Downes writes about the evolution of e-portfolios and the need to ensure they don’t become just another box for learners to tick in order to gain their qualifications.

Co-written article using wiki, Sci-fi learning - The power of POV by Vicki Marchant, Leigh Blackall and Simon Brown provide how point of view technologies, such as camera glasses and video cameras, can enhance an e-portfolio by quickly and easily capturing live evidence in the workplace.

Interviews include using e-portfolios for RPL, predicting a future where e-portfolios are increasingly linked to community networking applications such as Facebook, and blurring the lines between social and educational environments by Mark Hunwicks, Meaghan Botteril and Glenn Searle.

Hope you enjoy Edition 18, Putting the learner in the driver’s seat! Edition 19 will be published on 13 October 2009.

The Knowledge Tree editorial team

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) is now calling for contributions relating to current research in learning innovation for Edition 19 of The Knowledge Tree: an E-journal of Learning Innovation. This edition is due for publication on 13 October, 2009.  To submit an article or to have an idea for an item, please contact the editorial team via email:  e-events@flexiblelearning.net.au.

The theme for Edition 19 will focus on case studies for mainstreaming e-learning. It will also explore issues connected with the role and upskilling of VET professionals within the demands of a flexible e-learning context, and the demand for effective RTO/business/community partnerships. We ask: ‘What new skill sets are needed by VET professionals and how will these be acknowledged?’

Submissions for the October 2009 Edition of The Knowledge Tree close on the 10 July. To find out more details go to guidelines for contributions.

Edition 18 of The Knowledge Tree will be published on 28 July and has a focus on e-assessment, recognition of prior learning (RPL) and e-portfolios. Allison Miller writes the lead article and along with a range of interviews and other items, watch out for a short article on ‘Dis-integrating e-Portfolios’ by Stephen Downes!

The KT editorial team

Dear Knowledge Tree readers

We are planning two editions of The Knowledge Tree in 2009. Edition 18 is likely to be published in July and Edition 19 in October.

The theme for Edition 18 is likely to be about e-assessment, RPL and e-portfolios. The theme for Edition 19 is likely to focus on case studies for mainstreaming e-learning. It could also explore issues to do with the role and upskilling of VET professionals within the demands of a  flexible e-learning context and the demand for effective RTO/business/community partnerships. There is scope to also have articles/items not confined to these themes.  A continuing FOCUS for KT 2009 editions is on INNOVATIVE e-learning practice and research relating to the VET system and/or other educational contexts both in Australia and overseas.

You are invited to submit ideas for contributions and actual contributions for 2009 Editions of The Knowledge Tree. We are looking for lead article (peer reviewed) writers and other writers of shorter articles, and case studies - along with contributions of interviews, discussion, debates, commentary or a multi-media item, such as digital storytelling. To find out more details go to guidelines for contributions.

To submit an article – or have an idea for a theme or item, please do not hesitate to contact via email:  e-events@flexiblelearning.net.au.   Submissions close on 1 May for the July Edition.

We look forward to your ideas and contributions!

Cathy Baxter and Jyothi Jayaram