Executive+Summary+043

The proposed outcome of this project 08/043 will be the development of an equitable partnership with industry to co-deliver the Diploma in Veterinary Nursing using a range of supporting technologies to meet the expectations of all key stakeholders.

In order to assist us to achieve this outcome we have initiated a partnership with a referral veterinary practice to allow us to test a range of technologies and tools that could be used for delivery of the course in the workplace. A pilot group of students will be used to trial the tools and technologies with the intent of gathering and documenting feedback on the advantages or disadvantages of each particular aspect of delivery so that we can develop the best model possible.

Included in this trial will be student management systems, course resources, communication tools, web navigation tools, class facilitation methods and attendance options. Team members have been specifically selected after a skills audit to identify individuals that are competent to manage each aspect of the project simultaneously to allow documentation of outcomes in the final report.

The project has been broken down into three distinct phases; 1. gathering data to assist with planning 2. researching to find existing resources that can be utilised for the project 3. testing and documenting the performance of a range of delivery tools.

The outcomes of each phase of this project will be clearly documented and recommendations will be made in a final report after considering the findings.


 * Rationale**

It is a requirement of the training package (RUV 50404) that students have access to a veterinary nursing workplace, (specialising in Emergency and Critical Care and/or Surgical procedures) through full or part time employment or work placement. The on job component provides the opportunity for students to: experience a range of work practices, practice their skills in a workplace environment, participate in enterprise specific work practices, gather evidence of their competence and undertake workplace assessment. As there are very few specialist practices in New South Wales, the opportunity for nurses to meet this requirement of the training package is very limited. Therefore a delivery model needed to be developed to not only meet this requirement but to also allow maximum flexibility for attendance to students that were working full time in busy practices located all over the state.

This project will comply with TAFE NSW: doing business in the 21st Century functional descriptors by using technology to deliver and support learning, by using technology to do business and by meeting the needs of diverse learners. This project will address 8 of the 11 “industry, employers and enterprises” performance targets that were set to be increased in future planning in the Institute Strategic Directions for 2008-2010 documents. It also supports the aims of the TAFE in the 21st Century proposals, particularly the goals to increase personalised and flexible learning opportunities, align with industry needs and develop eLearning capability of staff. In addition to this it will assist our teaching section to meet the guiding principles of NSW DET.