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WA lecturers to benefit from PDA training
13/06/2006
The explosion in the use of mobile technology is changing ideas and expectations about how it can and should be used in vocational education and training.
This year approximately 90 practitioners and lecturers from TAFEWA are participating in a professional development program to enhance their skills using personal digital assistants often referred to as PDAs.
The PD for Working with Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) program comprises of nine teams situated throughout the State.
The program is funded by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training and is supported by the National training system’s e-Learning strategy, the 2005 – 2006 Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s LearnScope and E-learning Networks projects.
Western Australian LearnScope Manager Ann Odgers said PDAs offered practitioners and lecturers a range of educational options which are not currently available.
“With growing uses of new technology, there are different expectations from client groups such as learners and industry about how vocational education and training should be delivered,” Ms Odgers said.
“There are increasing demands for more flexible and targeted delivery options which allow for ‘anytime/anywhere’ training. PDAs are an ideal tool to help practitioners and lecturers meet that demand.”
The PDA trials are focusing on their use for both teaching and assessment and will be conducted across a range of subject areas from health to agriculture.
Susan Waters from Challenger TAFE in Perth said the WA Maritime Training Centre had purchased 20 PDAs for use in aquaculture and maritime classes and additional sets for lecturers.
“The first thing we did when the PDAs arrived was to put them in the hands of the lecturers to let them explore the technology.” Ms Waters said.
She believes that the use for PDAs in classrooms is only limited by the imagination of the lecturer.
Robert Svanberg from Great Southern TAFE in Albany said his college had been exploring PDA technology for a few years.
“Our college has really encouraged the exploration and use of new technology. It offers so many benefits for lecturers and can be applied in so many ways,” Mr Svanberg said.
“Our project is looking at how PDAs can be used in health training and we have found that PDAs can be an invaluable resource to support learning, such as allowing a nurse to look up information or cross check other types of medical information.”
For more information on LearnScope and the PDA trials being undertaken in the Western Australia visit:
