Who are your learners?

1. Who are your learners? Darrah Long SLDO TAFE NSW eLearning Hub

2. Are all students the same? In 'Dangers of doing the wrong thing righter,' Elton writes, 'I cannot think of anything more unfair than...to treat all students as if they are the same, when they so manifestly are not.' ( Elton, L. 2000)

3. Poll: Who are your learners? Do you have learners who • Are from regional/remote areas • Are 15 – 19 year olds • Are out of employment (unemployed) • Are from language backgrounds other than English • Are mature-age students (45 and older) • Have a disability • Are Indigenous students • Have Language, Literacy or Numeracy issues • Are expert learners • Other (answer in Chat Pod)

4. TAFE NSW Students: 2010 • 50% were from regional/remote areas • 25% were 15 – 19 year olds • 24% were out of employment (unemployed) • 23% were from backgrounds other than English • 21% were mature-age students (45 and older) • 10% indicated they had a disability • 6% were Indigenous students • LLN: Percentage of Australians who don’t have the LLN skills needed for everyday life: Literacy: 7.3 million (44%) Numeracy: 8.9 million (55%) (2011 – 2012 ABS Survey: Adult competencies)

5. Implications: Building choice and providing options These statistics should inform • How you set up your course • The types of resources you create • How you choose to engage with your students online • How you communicate with your students • How you facilitate their communication with each other • The types of assessments you create and the options you offer students Remember: Build bridges, not barriers

6. Screen share Learner support: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=287&section=1 LLN Hub: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=223&section=1 Digital literacy Hub: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=107&section=1 UDL and accessibility: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=104&section=1 TAFE Connects: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=138&section=1

7. Poll: Study skills What study skills do your students need the most help with? • Time management • Note-taking • Research • Referencing and plagiarism • Essays, assignments and exams • Other (put in chat pod)

8. My digital literacy skills How would you describe your own digital literacy skills? Are you • A beginner • Developing skills • Gaining confidence • An independent user • An advanced user • A mentor

9. Resources and communication polls • Poll: My resources What resources do you typically use? • Poll: My communication tools How do you communicate with your students?

10. Share screen UDL and accessibility: Top tips for creating resources • http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1729&chapterid=287

11. Learner support discussion forum: Feedback The Learner support discussion forum provides a place for you to • Provide feedback on the site • Ask questions • Add a new discussion topic • Confer with your colleagues • Build a community of practice • Share resources and tips • And more! Join us online at http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/mod/forum/view.php?id=6852 My contact details: darrah.long@tafensw.edu.au

12. Links • Top tips for creating resources (UDL and accessibility): http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1729 • Nine things you need to know to improve the design of your Moodle (layout; accessibility; writing for the web) (TAFE Connects): http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=323&section=6 • Yourtutor(TAFE Connects):http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=323&section=11 • LLN Indicator tools: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=5514 • LLN Teaching strategies: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=5516 • Digital literacy hub: Self-assessment and reflection tool: http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/course/view.php?id=107&section=1

13. Thank you Darrah Long (darrah.long@tafensw.edu.au) SLDO www.ehub.tafensw.edu.au