Executive+Summary+083

This project focuses on providing an accreditation pathway for women in rural, remote and isolated communities in New South Wales, Australia utilising one key online platform.

The problem this Project is seeking to resolve is the limitation that students face in providing remote online evidence as part of the accreditation pathway.

It is part of TAFE NSW – Western Institute’s commitment to providing new and emerging innovative approaches to support RPL and gap training. The outcome will be workplace opportunities in the areas of business and business management by recognising skills.

In 2007 twenty three (23) women undertook the Women Advanced Knowledge and Skills Program conducted in the mid and far west regions of NSW Australia. This Program identified a need to enhance the skills of women who had been conducting both paid and unpaid work, often working in partnership running agribusiness or small businesses with little or no formal qualifications.

To recognise the skills that these and many other women in rural and remote areas possess, this project under the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, will offer the opportunity for candidates to enrol in the Certificate IV in Business or Certificate IV in Small Business Management.

The Project will provide a platform for students as part of an assessment recognition pathway for a nationally accredited qualification using low cost, easy to access and sustainable e-leaning solutions.

Learners will be encouraged to develop an e-portfolio in the form of project reflections, interaction with local, state, national and international communities and will contain digital assets housed in the WIT wikispace which is a corporate private label wiki environment.

To quantify and qualify the benefits of this Project, candidates will be divided into three case study groups. The three groups will utilise the WIT wikispace for presentation of their RPL evidence.

Group 1 will present their e-portfolio evidence in the form of uploaded basic work and excel related resources

Group 2 will present their e-portfolio evidence in the form of uploaded basic work and excel related resources as well as digital storytelling, MP3 recording or other digital media resource

Group 3 will present their e-portfolio evidence in the form of uploaded basic work and excel related resources as well as digital storytelling, MP3 recording or other digital media resource in addition to participating in collaborative discussions and other more advanced features of the WIT wiki space

A DVD will be developed and made available to the AFLF community containing case study documentation of all three groups and project facilitation management to aid future e-learning development at Western Institute and potentially other RTO environments.