flexible learning in ACE

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Workplace Trainer and Assessor Online

This scenario illustrates the benefits of being a student in an online course, both during and before delivering it to a wider audience. It details some of the benefits, challenges and pitfalls encountered in using third party content.

Merinda Park Learning and Community Centre
Southern Western Port region

E: mmerinda@ satlink.com.au

Merinda Park Learning and Community Centre Inc. is located in a growth corridor of the City of Casey,Victoria, provides in partnership with the community a range adult education, recreational and hobby classes, children’s services, counselling and youth programs. The centre is located in a low socio economic area. We offer low cost courses and accredited funded courses at a very reduced rate to make them affordable for our client base.

Merinda Park delivers the Certificate IV Assessment & Workplace Training course as an integrated online multimedia package. We purchased this training package from Pan Pacific Training Company Pty. Ltd (PPTC) in Sydney. They set up the clients and then we manage the course until students have completed. We have the Certificate on our scope of registration and all files are held at the Centre and certificates issued by us. Tech support is provided by the company but we manage all the students.

To provide participants with the opportunity to obtain their Cert IV while continuing to work and complete at the own pace. Students attend very few face to face sessions which they find does not interfere with work and other commitments to any great degree. Most of the students are already working in training or adult education and have good IT skills.

Keeping students motivated. Keeping up with students work being submitted at such irregular times and having it marked and results entered into the computer.
To handle all this we have two facilitators for the course. One handles administrative and documentation requirements - they prints off all the work and enters results into the computer. The other facilitator is the tutor who assesses and marks the actual work.

Even within a course that can be delivered completely online it is useful, even necessary, to have some face-to-face contact. This increases student motivation and establishes a relationship with the Centre and the course facilitators.

We will continue to offer this course online and perhaps look at what else is available to that we could offer in a similiar way.