UFB, RBI, Ulearn, Learn-now and more...

Dog Training Online?!
Students can now learn to train their own dog, with the expert instruction and assistance of a highly experienced dog trainer and ex-dog trialist online, with Learn-Now.

As Learn-Now continues to recruit new staff, Masterton's Tony Gibson steps up as one of its newest facilitators, leading the way forward for students to learn dog handling techniques, online.

After decades working within the rural sector and chasing dog trials from one end of New Zealand to the other, he's now developing a cutting edge dog training programme to provide personalised, student centred support. Tony will merge information based websites, with discussion forums, online meetings and movie clips. Mid-late October 2010, will see the launch of the new dog training programme. We welcome enrolments now with admittance on a first in, first served basis. This course is limited to 6 new students per month. Once enrolled, students are recommended to undertake a 6 month programme. For further discussion contact Jo...

Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB)
Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI)

As our core business expands further into Ministry of Education and rural sectors we're thoroughly enjoying a more direct ear to ground with information streams and networks. Of huge appeal is the latest, now more publicly profiled next step in NZ's UFB and RBI as alerted to today, on WikiEducator...

Ulearn - A Conference MUST for Educators!

October 5-8, Christchurch, New Zealand... This is the best conference in my mind, for keeping abreast of just how it is in the educator sector, from the toddlers to the university age. This year, we're stepping out from behind the web, to present 3 'Taster Sessions' and high on our agenda is the design and development of online learning centres. We'll be presenting an insight into:

1) Learn-Now's online learning centre, life abroad and its offers
2) A snapshot of the Learn-Now's Gifted & Talented sector and
3) A guide into how one can create their own online learning centre.
If attending Ulearn, these are tagged as Breakouts 4A, 4B and 6B.

While AEO's got a 14 year history of eLearning, the last 10 years have been wholeheartedly involved in designing online learning centres. We've had wonderful support along the way, scoring an innovations award, becaming a MOE research project and most recently, an ICTELT Consultant for the MOE.

It's been a thrill to design the National Plan for Primary on the (MOE's) Virtual Learning Network NZ for the MOE's eLearning Department and help design and build what is perhaps becoming one of NZ's most comprehensive, specialised online learning centres - for the Ministry of Education's ESOL sector. We can't but help think we need to give a little back in return! So, hence the tasters on offer... The kids love online learning centres, they're easier to create than imagined and we'd love to see and support more of them... They are the way of effective, efficient, student centred, student-networked education.

ImageCodr.org

by aussiegall

Best find this week? The site that takes the pain out of sourcing the most user friendly images to use as we're in full flight redesigning all our web spaces! More on those spaces next time, but for now, see ImageCodr.org - a wonderful tool in association with Creative Commons.

In just 90mins per week...

It's snapshot time
It's time to record an insight into the Learn-Now 'online learning centre' as it is for just one group. In brief, it's a taste of what 90min sessions per week have encompassed. The mechanics of elearning, global connectivity, international community service work, financial literacy, responsibility for personal impact, strategic planning, design, productivity and social inquiry reign high on their agenda...

It's Thursday
...and as is the case every Thursday there's a team of 13 students who give up half their lunch hour to take a quick flight to Uganda, Peru and wherever else is on their itinerary. It's a 90min flight, more easily recognised by the students as a 90min Learn-Now session. They're classified as Gifted and Talented 9-10 year olds, and have the luxury of a computer each, to use during this flight. They require little in the way of encouragement to turn up on time, to think twice about what they could be doing, or which tool, site or technique to be using.

General Operations

The sessions are a combination of teacher and student driven components with a range of activities to deal with as per choice, mandate and routine. There can be 13 very different activities on the go at times and aside from 2-3, most can also be found chatting through all that's being learnt, considered, designed and developed. In that Learn-Now's a collaborative programme, silence rarely prevails unless we're Skyping, composing complex text or presenting for team input and due consideration.

Managing Impact
The team may only be 9-10 year olds, but they're engrossed in 'life as it is out there'. Curriculum management of Learn-Now sees the staff team source or design opportunities to match, designed to enable students to drill down into life around them and consider making an impact. What impact does 'life out there' have on their life and how best might they consider managing that impact? What impact in turn, could they have on these environments, now or in time? It's amazing how much can be covered in just one 90min session per week.

Life as it is 'out there'...
Over the past many week, these students have gone live with Learn-Now Project Architects Lucy and Cushla, in Uganda and Peru respectively. One moment, they're tuning into the NZ Heifer Project with 18 year old Lucy, and coming to terms with the plight of the abandoned babies she's also looking after. Next, they're learning Spanish, ensuring their English is a perfect model for a 10 year old in Peru, before tuning into the incas or Peruvian culture with Cushla.

There's Operation Christmas Child to fall in love with and of the greatest hype of all, is their financial literacy programme... There's a wow factor developing around what tax, interest and GST are. So too credit cards, online banking, loans and mortgages. They earn virtual Learn-Now dollars as they work and cover the ground of entrepreneurial thinking, employment and sales pitching... They're creating business websites, employing one another, selling goods and services to each other and in all, doing an amazing job of developing a community spirit (give 'n take a little competition which threatens some).

They want more?
As of this week, 90mins may well be a thing of the past for many of them. For some, it has been for a long time. Independent time at home has been instigated by some, in pursuit of further depth to a focus. Now, student-organised sessions for additional facilitation steps up the anti... I couldn't have asked for more! Did they have a little encouragement? Of course...they're still learning to speak up and see support as more than something that is put upon them. The beauty, lay in their enthusiasm and desire.