About this site
I'm developing my professional portfolio for accreditation with the Association for Learning Technology.
This is an open site and content will be updated as I work through this process.
My CMALT Journey records my learning as I develop this portfolio, whilst my previous, somewhat intermittent, learning blogs, are at Share Learn Live.
The section below summarises my skills and experience in Vocational Education and Training and my future career plans.
I'm developing my professional portfolio for accreditation with the Association for Learning Technology.
This is an open site and content will be updated as I work through this process.
My CMALT Journey records my learning as I develop this portfolio, whilst my previous, somewhat intermittent, learning blogs, are at Share Learn Live.
The section below summarises my skills and experience in Vocational Education and Training and my future career plans.
My Contextual Statement
I have been working in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) environment since 2001 in a variety of roles.
In my current role as a VET Developer, I support teaching staff in learning design, pedagogy, use of educational technology as well as assisting them in maintaining compliance with internal systems and external regulators.
I provide support and guidance in course development and planning; designing, developing and mapping assessments and with assessment validation and moderation and assist staff in understanding and working within our VET Quality Management System and provide support with the registration of courses through ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority - the Australian VET regulator).
I also provide assistance in the design and delivery of online courses using Learnline, our Blackboard Learn hosted online learning environment.
I design and deliver continuing professional development for my colleagues who are VET trainers and assessors in Community Services, Children's Services, Nursing and Creative Arts. I am passionate about enriching the student experience and using every possible means to make learning more accessible and more enjoyable. Learning should be fun! I love sharing with my colleagues new (to them) tools and technology to help them develop their own digital skills and then apply those skills in their practice. I am continually seeking out opportunities to develop my own skills and share that with my colleagues through modelling and professional development.
I love the opportunities I have to help new staff settle into a new work environment and really enjoy assisting staff in the transition to online learning and developing online courses that are innovative and interactive.
Prior to my appointment as a VET Developer I worked in a number of different roles, including Quality Officer, Trainer/Assessor of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (and the earlier Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training), as well as a range of tourism qualifications including guiding, meetings & events & retail travel.
Before working in VET, I worked as a tour guide / cook for about twelve years and prior to that was a paediatric intensive care nurse in the UK.
I’m also passionate about advancing educational and professional development opportunities for those in developing countries and spent four months long service leave in Nepal in 2015, supporting two Nepali NGOs in developing the computer skills of their staff, specifically in using Microsoft Office, but also including training in a range of other technologies such as blogging and using Twitter. My Holidays with a Difference blog records that time.
In 2016, I completed my Diploma of Training Design and Development and I am now seeking to formalise the skills and knowledge I have gained in educational technology. Given there are no formal Australian VET qualifications with this focus, and having developed relationships with several CMALT members through online networking over recent years, I am keen to develop this professional portfolio and seek accreditation as a means of documenting my professional journey and experience. I value the feedback I receive from my peers and see CMALT accreditation as a valuable way of evaluating my current position and determining my plans.
Career plans
I'm currently bringing together my previous experience and consolidating that with further studies that will position me for possible short term volunteer roles overseas on retirement from full time paid employment. I am halfway to completing my Bachelor of Training and Development at the University of New England and aim to graduate in 2020.
I'm currently bringing together my previous experience and consolidating that with further studies that will position me for possible short term volunteer roles overseas on retirement from full time paid employment. I am halfway to completing my Bachelor of Training and Development at the University of New England and aim to graduate in 2020.
Declaration
I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, the statements and evidence included in this submission accurately describe my practice and are drawn from my own work, with the input and support of others duly and clearly recognised.
Signed:
Date:
I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, the statements and evidence included in this submission accurately describe my practice and are drawn from my own work, with the input and support of others duly and clearly recognised.
Signed:
Date:
