2007_007

**Title** : **txtme07** - Engaging ESL Learners using new and emergent technologies
Other links: http://cooltoolteams.wikispaces.com/
 * Links :** This is our main project space for 2007 -


 * FINAL REPORT**

As part of the TXTme007 AMES Learnscope project the team at Bankstown, on Aug 27th, ran an Adult Learners' Week Event comprising 2 hugely successful student workshops with 43 students in each session, and many more turned away. We provided activities using their mobile phones to help increase their skills. To see these sessions:- go to our moblog: [|http://txtme007.tumblr.com/page/2]- go to the bottom of the page.- click **Next** to see the 2 very successful student sessions at Bankstown You can listen to the team members’ experiences and observations on our project website on the Final report link: http://txtme07.wikispaces.com/AMEP+presentation
 * Highlight of the project**

We provided a hands on session reporting on our project and demonstrating the SMS activities, at the recent AMEP conference. This had excellent reviews by participants. **Immediate Uptake of m-learning from project by AMES** Mary St and Bankstown AMES are planning on running similar 2 hour workshops over the next few weeks, as part of their retention strategies. I will be working with a LearnScope team member to run the workshops, and have suggested including any staff who would like to assist me and become familiar with what we have been doing in the project wth capability building and succession planning in mind.All other centers have been informed and are interested in using aspects from the project.
 * AMEP Conference**

This has been by far **our most successful Learnscope project for involving students** and **immediate application** to our day to day business

NSW [|Adult Migrant English Service] 84 - 86 Mary St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 PhoneWork: 02 92899182 To contact me quickly E: Dorothy.waterhouse[at]det.nsw.edu.au|| M: 041 8640086
 * PROJECT MANAGER**
 * Dorothy Waterhouse** Senior Education Officer, Online Learning Implementation

As above
 * PROJECT FACILITATOR**

Communication with a student population who regularly moves house is an issue that NSW AMES has faced for some time. A 2006 survey of NSW AMES students indicated a willingness to be contacted on their mobile phones for course related purposes. Resulting from this NSW AMES management decided to trial the use of SMS technology, and SMS hardware and software has been installed in one region. This LearnScope project builds on that first trial and involves cross RTO sub teams developing and sharing m-technology skills, knowledge and networks, whilst trialling and evaluating m-technology with students and other clients. Education and administrative staff, will be exploring a number of ways to incorporate SMS conversations to increase student retention, provide additional access to job information and enhance general client satisfaction
 * PROJECT SUMMARY**

NSW AMES provides students with opportunities to study online and a majority of students are enrolled in online courses for part of their studies. These students communicate with their teachers digitally through email. Introducing SMS options extends to all other sections of AMES the ability to communicate quickly and cheaply with students, particularly in the pre-course period where we depend on mail outs, often with incorrect or out of date addresses. SMS also opens up possibilities for our Job Seeker courses to both provide training in effective use of this technology and increase strategies for teacher and student communication. Our Rural programs and Distance Learning program are also largely supported using email or post. As a follow on from last year’s Learnscope project other communication tools will be trialed with these programs e.g. Wikis and Moodle as well as SMS, to provide rural and remote teachers and students connections and quick access to shared resources.
 * PROJECT CONTEXT**


 * PROJECT TARGET GROUPS** - Rural and remote teachers - Sydney based, rural and remote adult ESL students

Meet the team**- NSW AMES Operations Manager, Southern Sydney and Illawarra Region and Rural NSW- Co-ordinator AMES Rural program- Registrar and office staff representative, Co-ordinators of Studies, Co-coordinator of Course Information and Admission, and teachers, from NSW AMES Bankstown, Campsie and Hornsby- Head Teacher AMEP distance learning program NSW TAFE OTEN -
 * PROJECT TEAM OVERVIEW

PROJECT SPONSOR Stephen Glassock Stephen.GLASSOCKatdet.nsw.edu.au Operations Manager, Southern Sydney and Illawarra Region and Rural NSW Louis Azzopardi Louis.AZZOPARDIatdet.nsw.edu.au Course Information and assessment Teacher Lorraine Eagles lorraine.eaglesattafensw.edu.au Head Teacher ESOL, OTEN Mary Lee Mary.Leeattafensw.edu.au teacher AMEP OTEN Kate Hutchison Kate.HUTCHISONatdet.nsw.edu.au Co-ordinator Course Information and Admissions Osvaldo Munoz Osvaldo.MUNOZatdet.nsw.edu.au Registrar Megan Singer Megan.SINGERatdet.nsw.edu.au Coordinator, NSW AMES Rural Program Carolyn Tibbet Carolyn.TIBBETTatdet.nsw.edu.au Course Information and assessment Teacher Rick Jenkins onlyonerickatyahoo.com.au Class teacher Toni Cameron Class teacher eleanor_tonicameron2001atyahoo.com.au Arup Chowdhury Arup.CHOWDHURYatdet.nsw.edu.au Registrar Kian ER Kian.ERatdet.nsw.edu.au Clerk
 * TEAM**

- Induction media type="custom" key="76855"
 * KEY DATES FOR TEAM / EVENTS**

- Meeting dates - set by subteams - see wiki for details - Team sends of SMS to students and actions and replies - set by subteams - see wiki for details - Workshop/ guest speaker - Date TBA (early Term 3) - Meet with Alex and or Robyn - Demonstrations and reports to Organisations (NSW AMES and OTEN) - Presentation at AMEP Conference October


 * LS MANAGEMENT VISIT/S**

Date - 1st August 2007

Location - Burwood

Attending - Alexand Hayes / Robyn Jay

- WIKI http://txtme07.wikispaces.com - del.icio.us tag: txtme - flickr tag txtme07 - NSW Rural and Remote teachers network wiki: http://rnrteam.wikispaces.com
 * STRATEGIES FOR SHARING KNOWLEDGE**

- Digital stories to record some of the technical procedures developed and demonstrations of best practice and case studies. These will be stored and documented to enable quick training of new staff. - General resources, knowledge and discussions will be shared through our Wiki. - Resources and reports will be posted on intranets used by staff and students - materials, ideas and experiences will be shared at staff meetings and through publishing reports in the Staff Bulletin - recommendations to plan and implement ongoing training of staff beyond the project team - Practical demos to staff to challenge and engage them in trying out SMS - with a view to eliciting their active support of the proposed changes to knowledge collection and use, and to stimulate thinking about the potential for the technology beyond the scope of this project. - Inclusion of members of other LearnScope projects in our events - Presentations and demonstrations at relevant professional events and conferences - Reports and papers in professional paper based, and online journals - Showcases for partners

The teams will be very quickly engaging with students using sms technology so are very motivated to learn and apply new skills. Teams will then discuss what worked and include improovments in next cycle - an action research approach. There is a wide range of knowledge and skills. To enable invidual team members to design, implement and reflect on their learning journey we will: - Demonstrate at the first workshop a range of shared editable spaces that could be used to plan, reflect and access shared resources, eg. individual pages in the our Wiki or a private protopage. Team members can have their space shareable or private. - Encourage time set aside at each meeting to reflect and record their learning journey and report back briefly to team.
 * WORKBASED LEARNING STRATEGIES**

- Increased speed of follow up contact, retention and referral of students at risk of dropping out of courses - Inclusion of SMS as a job seeking and information collecting tool for students - Building of networks and sense of community with Sydney based, rural and remote teachers and students - Processes and procedures improving e - knowledge management - A resource kit including a set of template SMS messages and responses
 * ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES**

Will occure through: - Use of guest speakers with expertise in skills shortage job search areas, presenting in a virtual classroom with SMS used to register and send questions and follow up forums. - Discussions with the provider of the SMS software both for training but also feedback on possible improvements where appropriate. - Discussions with others about their use of SMS
 * LEARNERS / CLIENT / INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT**

Will be demonstarted by: - a report comparing Term 1 2007 and Term 3 communication strategies with students at risk of dropping out - a set of Processes and procedures improving e - knowledge management presented to peak management groups for service wide endorsement. - a set of template SMS messages and responses prepared as part of a resource kit - post trial surveys of participating students and rural and remote teachers - post trial surveys of staff trialing new processes and procedures
 * IMPACTS ON LEARNER / CLIENTS**

REPORTING MID PROJECT

http://txtme07.wikispaces.com/Mid+project+REPORT
 * Podcast** - interviews with team members comprising 5 min segments equaling a 20-30 minute recording ( audio), It can be found at: