Digital Economy: More than cryptcurrency

The Australian government has released a discussion paper on "THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: OPENING UP THE CONVERSATION". Four emerging technologies are identified: 5g, AI, Blockchain and Quantum Computing. Input is invited by 30 November 2017.

Taking Blockchain as an example, described more generally as "distributed ledger technology" (p. 19).  A point to emphasize is that this is not just about Bitcoin, as the discussion paper says: "It can be applied wherever a verified and trusted transaction is required—health, government services, real estate, media, energy and more." One area of interest to me is for education.

The paper asks two questions about distributed ledger:

"7. What opportunities do we have in standards development and regulation to:
– – enable digital entrepreneurship, innovation and trade?
– – mitigate the risks associated with digital disruption?

8.     What digital standards do we need to enable Australian businesses to participate in global supply chains and maximise the opportunities of the digital economy? " (p. 19)

Design Flaw in Queensland OneSchool Student Protection Module

The Deloitte report "Queensland Department of Education and Training: OneSchool – Investigation into the 2015 failure of the OneSchool Student Protection Module" (16 October 2015) provides an excellent analysis of the response to a serious fault in a contemporary software system. However, there appears to be a fundamental flaw in the design of the OneSchool system which is not addressed by the report and remains in the system. Queensland school children remain at risk as a result.

The OneSchool SPM is designed to allow teachers to report possible child abuse to the relevant authorities. A fault in the software resulted in 644 reports not being forwarded to the police. Deloitte were commissioned by the Queensland Minister for Education to "to assist the Department of Education and Training (DET) with a review of the Student Protection Reporting Module in OneSchool". Deloitte have provided a good description of the problem, how it was found and fixed and also a reconciliation to verify that all reports are now accounted for. However, this will not be sufficient to prevent a similar problem occurring in the future.

The OneSchool "submission protection" function (shown in Figure 4.2 page 18 of the Deloitte report), shows a purely one way process. The system sends email, to Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (DCCSDS), or the Queensland Police Service (QPS). There is no provision for the system to verify the report was received. Therefore a similar problem could occur again, in the OneSchool system, in the email system, or in the systems of the DCCSDS or QPS and it would remain undetected.

The OneSchool system needs to be modified so that there is positive acknowledgment of the receipt of every report by the agencies it was sent to. As it involves child safety, OneSchool is a "Safety Critical System", but does not appear to have been designed to the required standard.

Higher Education Academy Professional Recognition Scheme

The UK based Higher Education Academy (HEA) runs the HEA Professional Recognition Scheme.
This is intended to lift the professionalism of university teaching. The scheme is aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). There are four levels of recognition (and typical job descriptions):

1. AFHEA – Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
2. FHEA – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Lecturer)
3. SFHEA - Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (academic leader or middle management)
4. PFHEA – Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (senior leader)

The HEA is promoting their scheme internationally, with the Australian National University the first Australian subscribing institution. The HEA is more general than the Certified Membership Scheme run by UK Association for Learning Technology (ALT), which was also extended to Australia last year. The way the HEAPRS/UKPSF is structured is similar to schemes run for other professions, such as ACS CP/IP3/SFIA for computer professionals.

UK Professional Standards Framework

The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) consists of:

Framework 

An Introduction.

Descriptors 

Four categories of level of teaching responsibility, corresponding to the four levels of HEA recognition:

1. Associate
2. Fellow
3. Senior Fellow
4. Principal Fellow

Dimensions of Practice 

Three dimensions of practice:

1. Areas of activity:
   
   1. Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
   2. Teach and/or support learning
   3. Assess and give feedback to learners
   4. Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
   5. Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
2. Aspects of Core knowledge:
   1. The subject material
   2. Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
   3. How students learn, both generally and within their subject/disciplinary area(s)  
   4. The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
   5. Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
   6. The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
3. Professional values:
   1. Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities   
   2. Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
   3. Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development
   4. Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice

Recognition of Prior Learning for University Teachers

Greetings from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, where Richard Brawn, Head of the HEA's Teacher Excellence Team, is speaking on "Recognising and Promoting Staff Expertise in Teaching and Learning: the UK experience". The ANU is a subscribing institution of the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA). The HEA has a Professional Standards Framework (PSF) and HEA Fellowship. It should be noted that this is a separate program to the Certified Membership Scheme run by UK Association for Learning Technology (ALT), which was extended to Australia last year.

HEA's process is similar to Recognition to Prior Learning using an e-portfolio for Australian vocation teachers. In terms of positioning the organization, the ANU would see itself similar to the UK University of Cambridge, at least in the field of computing. Richard did not mention Cambridge, but I did a quick search and found a Higher Education Academy Briefing, scheduled for 13 May 2013.

The process, as Richard describes it, also has similarities to the Australian Computer Society's processes for promoting professionalism. It would be interesting to explore coordination between education certification and other professional certifications, including computing.

HEA Fellowships do not replace tertiary qualifications in Higher Education for ANU staff. The ANU Certificate of Higher Education was discontinued, but ANU staff can enroll in a program at another university to obtain tertiary qualifications in Higher Education (I undertook half my GCHE at USQ on-line).

At present I am certified by the ACS as a computer professional, have just finished the current ANU HE Certificate, applied for certification to teach in the vocational sector. If I need to be certified again through a UK based process to teach in a university, the regulatory burden starts to become high. It would be useful if these certifications were aligned. The ACS has achieved such an alignment internationally, through the "Seoul Accord", for IT professionals.

What can make such RPL processes easier is good on-line support. Learning Management Systems, such as Moodle, with  an e-portfolio package, such as Mahara, can be used for this.

Lego Linux Robot with iOS and Android Compatibility

Lego have announced that the "EV3 Intelligent Brick" for their LEGO Mindstorms Robot will run Linux and be able to be interfaced to Apple iOS and Google Android devices. The brick will have a USB port and SD slot will offer nearly unlimited programming and expansion capabilities. The brick will cost US$349.99, which is expensive for something with the equivalent computing power to a $25 USB computer, but would be useful for education, given Lego's  support and materials.

Portfollio for Professional Learning Technology Certification

The UK based Association for Learning Technology (ALT) last year announced extending their Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT) to Australia. The CMALT process might make a good model for other portfolio based accreditation processes. For the final unit of my Certificate in Higher Education, I am looking at how university higher degree programs can be flexible enough to support both professional accreditation and research.

CMALT support for candidates and assessors

CMALT provides support for both the candidates and the assessors. Often such assessment schemes fall down because they assume that those doing the assessment know what to do. But just because someone is an expert in the area being assessed, that does not mean they know how to do assessment. Even those familiar with exam based assessment will need some help assessing a portfolio.

CMALT Provide:

1. CMALT Prospectus: a guide to the process for candidates
2. CMALT Community: An on-line forum for candidates to get mutual support. On the Crowdvine platform.
3. Information for CMALT candidates: A short document to start the portfolio process.
4. CMALT webinar: A live on-line session every few weeks, with questions and answers. There appears to be no stored alternative offered, for those who cannot attend the live webinar. Also there does not appear to be an on-line non-real-time forum for questions and answers.
5. Guidelines for CMALT candidates and assessors: More detail on requirements for CMALT.
6. FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
7. CMALT Development Group: The email addresses of the individual developers of the CMAL process are provided for queries. This is an unusual personal touch for such a process, which usually has an anonymous administrative point of contact.
8. Portfolio submission form: A Microsoft Word document set up with fields to be completed (I was able to use LibreOffice to fill in the form).
9. Email address: For submitting the form. It is curious that ALT are not using a Learning Management System, such as Moodle for managing the student interaction and document submission.

Assessors are recruited from those who have already been through the CMALT process and are thus familiar with it (as well as being certified in the subject matter). In addition to the material for candidates, assessors are offered:

• CMALT webinar for assessors: A live on-line session, with questions and answers. It is not clear how often these are held (there were three webinars for candidates listed on the ALT Events Page, but none for assessors).
• Assessment form: A Microsoft Word based form. The form is clearly alid out and only two pages long. However, it appears that two people need to fill out the one form: Lead and Second Assessor, which would complicate the process. The new Outcomes feature in Moodle 2 might be a better way to accomplish this.

ICT E-portfolios for Higher Degrees

For the final unit of my Certificate in Higher Education, I am looking at how university higher degree programs can be flexible enough to support both professional accreditation and research. The Certified Member Association for Learning Technology Program, the Professional Practice Subject of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Certified Professional Program and ACS Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Application process all use some form of portfolio.

The ACS Professional Practice Subject of the Certified Professional Program requires four components:

1. Skill self assessment: the student assesses their own current skills against the Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) framework. Students are required to have reached SFIA Level 4 (generic skills:
   autonomy, influence, complexity and business skills) before commencing the activity.
2. Career plan: the student has to identify three areas to develop over the following five years, with  a plan for development,
3. Professional profile: the student prepares a professional profile in preparation for career advancement,
4. Reflective journal: the student records a weekly reflections on what they have learned, their skills, and workplace experience.

The guidelines allow for 1 to 3 hours per week for up to 52 weeks for the preparation of the Professional Practice.

The ACS "Key Areas of Knowledge" document provides a list of topics for applicants for membership to address in an application for RPL:

ACS Key Areas of Knowledge

1. Technology Resources (TR)
   • TR1. Hardware and software fundamentals
   • TR2. Data and information management
   • TR3. Networking
2. Technology Building (TB)
   • TB1. Programming
   • TB2. Human-computer interaction
   • TB3 & TB4.System development and acquisition
3. Services Management (SM)
   • SM1. Service management
   • SM2. Security management
4. Outcomes Management (OM)
   • OM1. Organisational and Management Concepts
   • OM2. Change management

As these are the topics an applicant for RPL is required to address, it should be possible to use these same topics in an e-portfolio to support membership for students in university programs. However, these topics do not appear to match those which have been used traditionally to define the ICT "Body of Knowledge" (known as the "BoK"). In particular there is no mention of professional skills in communication and ethics. So I should check the latest ACS BoK.

The ACS "ICT Profession Body of Knowledge" (ACS Professional Standards Board, July 2012), follows the '... approach to educational program design that focuses on the development of professionals rather than taking a strict bottom‐up “curriculum‐driven” approach'.  The BoK cites several international standards and frameworks for defining ICT courses and skills requirements, including the International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3), the the Seoul Accord graduate attributes and the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). It should be noted that the ACS has been closely involved in the development of these international programs. The BoK states: "It might be expected that a graduate from a degree program would be ready to assume Level 4 responsibilities in their area of specialisation". 

The "CORE Block" of the Core Body of Knowledge has six sub‐components:

1. ICT Problem Solving (PS)
2. Professional Knowledge (PK)
3. Technology Building (TB)
4. Technology Resources (TR)
5. Services Management (SM)
6. Outcomes Management (OM).

The last four of these (TB, TR, SM and OM) are also in the ACS "Key Areas of Knowledge" for RPL (but with TR before TB). It is not clear why "ICT Problem Solving" (PS) and Professional Knowledge (PK) are not included in the RPL process. Perhaps these are covered implicitly by the requirement for the applicant to provide case studies of their work. These two areas are the ones which are lest able to be covered in a traditional course based program and were the e-portolfio is most likely to be of use.

ICT Problem Solving

ICT Problem Solving (PS) covers modeling, abstraction and design. There are many different forms of modelling used in ICT, engineering and related disciplines which could be applied. It is likely that a student undertaking an ICT program will have covered this topic adequately somewhere, but may need to identify where they did and provide evidence of specific work.

Professional Knowledge

Professional Knowledge (PK) covers:

1. Ethics
2. Professionalism
3. Teamwork concepts and issues
4. Interpersonal communication
5. Societal issues/Legal issues/Privacy
6. History and status of discipline 

These are the topic which cause most difficulty in a traditional course based university program, as they do not fit within traditional technical categories. Teamwork is likely to be covered in a software engineering course, but less so in computer science. Ethics and other issues may be covered by one or two lectures and an assignment at best. The difficulty for university course designers is where to fit these topics.

Mapping of International Curriculum to ACS CBOK  

The ACS BoK includes an appendix Mapping of International Curriculum to ACS CBOK. This has a table indicating what BoK sub-components correspond to parts of the standard curricular of ACM, IEEE and IEEE CS. Notably ICT Problem Solving (PS) does not appear in the mapping. Professional Knowledge maps to the other curricular.

ACM/IEEE-CS Report on Masters Degree Programs in Europe and the United States

Of relevance to any new Australian Computing Masters is the "Report of the Joint ACM and IEEE-CS Committee on Masters Degree Programs in Europe and the United States" by Lillian N. Cassel, Arnold Pears, Michael Casperson Art Pyster, Gordon Davies and Heikki Topi (2012). This report looks at the European standardization of Masters programs under the Bologna model and the different US approach

The report categorises the types of Masters as:

1. Research: Students are assumed to be going to continue on to a PHD. 
2. Continuation/Integrated: Students undertake an undergraduate degree, then a Masters.
3. Conversion: Students enter the masters having an undergraduate degree in another discipline.
4. Professional/Industrial: Students study and work at the same time.

The Continuation/Integrated and Conversion categories match most closely what is proposed for ANU.

The report discusses "Professional Practice", which matches closely the ACS "Professional Knowledge". The ACS "Code of Professional Conduct and Professional Practice" is cited in the report. Also the "problem solving"and communication skills. Unfortunately the requirements for Professional Knowledge and Problem Solving are not detailed. Also the report ends without any recommendations on how US style masters can be harmonized with Europe, which is the issue Australia is now facing.

Computer Science Curricula 2013

The Computer Science Curricula 2013 (ACM/IEEE CS, Strawman Draft, February 2012) includes a section on "Social and Professional Practice" (SP, also referred to as "Social and Professional Issues" in some parts of the report) which matches closely the ACS "Professional Knowledge". This is covered over nine pages in in far more detail than the previously discussed reports. The joint committee which produced the curricula is due to produce an updated draft for comment in February 2013 and the final report in "Summer 2013".

Social and Professional Practice (SP) is allocated 11 Core-Tier 1 hours and 5 Core-Tier 2 hours of the curriculum (no change from 2001  and 2008 versions of the curriculum). In this context "hours" refers to the time required to present the material in a traditional lecture format, not counting other student work. Tier 1 are introductory and Tier 2 advanced courses. The total hours are 305 (163 Tier 1 and 142 Tier 2). So Social and Professional Practice represents 6.7% of the Tier 1 total hours and 3.5% of Tier 2, making 5.2% of the total program hours. Assuming an undergraduate program consists of 4 courses per semester, 2 semesters per year for 3 years (24 in total), then SP makes up 125% of a course.

Comments on the report are being collected using computingportal.org . This allows anyone to sign up to enter a comment, with contributors able to "earn" higher level access. This is part of the "Ensemble" NSF NSDL Pathways project on computing education. However, little use seems to have been made of the system for this report. I have submitted this comment:

The CS2013 Ironman draft refers to the Knowledge Area "SP" mostly as "Social and Professional Practice" but in a few places as "Social and Professional Issues".
I suggest using "Practice" rather than "Issues" throughout. Change:
Chapter 1, Page 7, Line 89,
Chapter 5, Page 33, Line 136

Social and Professional Practice (SP)

Social and Professional Practice (SP) is made up of ten topics:

SP. Social and Professional Practice
	Core-Tier1 hours	Core-Tier2 hours	Includes Electives
SP/Social Context	1	2	N
SP/Analytical Tools	2		N
SP/Professional Ethics	2	2	N
SP/Intellectual Property	2		Y
SP/Privacy and Civil Liberties	2		Y
SP/Professional Communication	1		Y
SP/Sustainability	1	1	Y
SP/History			Y
SP/Economies of Computing			Y
SP/Security Policies, Laws and Computer Crimes			Y

Curiously, "Professional Communication", makes up only one hour of the curriculum. This only about 0.3% of the total course, which appears inadequate, gen the importance of communication to any professional and the problems computer scientists have had communicating.

SP/ Professional Communication
[1 Core-Tier1 hour]
Topics:

• Reading, understanding and summarizing technical material, including source code and documentation
• Writing effective technical documentation and materials
• Dynamics of oral, written, and electronic team and group communication
• Communicating professionally with stakeholders
• Utilizing collaboration tools

[Elective]

• Dealing with cross-cultural environments
• Tradeoffs of competing risks in software projects, such as technology, structure/process, quality, people,
• market and financial

Learning Outcomes:
[Core-Tier1]

1. Write clear, concise, and accurate technical documents following well-defined standards for format and for including appropriate tables, figures, and references. [Application]
2. Evaluate written technical documentation to detect problems of various kinds. [Evaluation]
3. Develop and deliver a good quality formal presentation. [Evaluation]
4. Plan interactions (e.g. virtual, face-to-face, shared documents) with others in which they are able to get their point across, and are also able to listen carefully and appreciate the points of others, even when they
5. disagree, and are able to convey to others that they have heard. [Application]
6. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of various forms of communication (e.g. virtual, face-to-face, shared
7. documents) [Knowledge]
8. Examine appropriate measures used to communicate with stakeholders involved in a project. [Application]
9. Compare and contrast various collaboration tools. [Evaluation]

[Elective]

1. Discuss ways to influence performance and results in cross-cultural teams. [Knowledge]
2. Examine the tradeoffs and common sources of risk in software projects regarding technology, structure/process, quality, people, market and financial. [Application]

E-portfolios for Higher Degrees

For the final unit of my Certificate in Higher Education, I am looking at how university higher degree programs can be flexible enough to support both professional accreditation and research. I covered these issues in general terms in a previous assignment: "On-line Professional Education For Australian Research-Intensive Universities in the Asian Century", but now I am considering how to implement this. One approach is to have the students fill in an e-portfolio with evidence of their skills, alongside courses and research.
The e-portfolio could be used to ensure the students cover all the required graduate attributes, as well as the requirements for any professional accreditation. This could also address the issue of credit for prior study, professional skills and quality of written academic communication.

My experience as a student who has had to fill out such portfolios, suggests that simply saying to the student "fill out an e-portfolio using some tool or other" is not sufficient. The student needs more detail as to what is required in the e-portfolio, what formats are acceptable and provided with help filling it out. Also the e-portfolio should not be seen as an additional optional task, outside the regular educational program, but as an integral part of it. In particular, the e-portfolio has to count towards final results, has to replace some of the other work in the course and there have to be staff who are trained in how to prepare an e-portfolio to help.

Some examples of e-portfolio use are the Certified Member Association for Learning Technology Program and the Professional Practice Subject of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Certified Professional Program. The ACS also has a separate Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Application process (1 July 2012).

It needs to be kept in mind that e-portfolios have to be assessed. This will required assessors who are qualified in the specifics of e-portfolios, as well as educational assessment and the discipline area. One tool which shows promise for this "Outcomes for Moodle 2". This is a new function being introduced to allow assessment beyond small specific course units. An example is the "British Higher National Diplomas". This could be useful in overcoming the tedium of paperwork otherwise involved with such assessment.

Education is Australia’s Fourth Largest Export

According to "Education as an Export for Australia" (by Alan Olsen, SPRE, November 2012, education is Australia’s fourth largest export, after Iron, Coal and Gold. Education has a higher value than experts of Tourism and Natural Gas. Education is the largest export for Victoria, the second largest for NSW and  ACT, fourth for Queensland, and sixth for South Australia. Thanks to Chris Johnson for pointing this out.

A naive philosophy of action research

One of the resources for my current education studies is "A naive philosophy of action research" (Bob Dick, 2000).

The document appears to be a set of  notes for a program on "areol" (action research and evaluation on line) previously offered by Southern Cross University. Unfortunately the document assumes that the reader is familiar with the AREOL program, referring to the "number of sessions" provided before going in to discuss quantitative research and positivist philosophy

The document has a section headed "Systems thinking". Unfortunately the phrase is not mentioned again (apart from a circular reference in a footnote) so it is not clear what the author intended. The discussion of causality and research is superficial, appearing almost a parody of a philosophical discussion.

Flint explored the topic of systems thinking in a systematic way in his thesis (2006) and in a more approachable summary (2008).

References:

Flint, S. (2006). ANU-Digital Collections: Aspect-Oriented Thinking-An approach to bridging the disciplinary divides. (PHD), The Australian National University, Canberra. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49328

Flint, S 2008, 'Rethinking Systems Thinking', in David Cook (ed.), Proceedings of the 14th ANZSYS Australia New Zealand Systems Society Conference, Edith Cowan University, Perth, pp. 7 pages. Retrienved from http://www.anzsys.org/anzsys08/papers/Shayne%20Flint%20Rethinking%20Systems%20Thinking.pdf

Evaluating Education Projects

One of the resources for my current education studies is "Evaluating Projects (Chesterton)". This provides guidance in preparing applications for Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) grants. Unfortunately the link for the evaluation document changed when the OLT was created to replace the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). The document "ALTC Grants Scheme - Evaluating Projects" is available on the new OLT website. A PDF version titled "ALTC PROJECT EVALUATION RESOURCE" also available. It is not clear why the web and PDF versions of the document have different titles.

 

The document was developed by Paul Chesterton (ACU) and Rick Cummings (Murdoch University) for the ALTC. The document is dated 2001 and no changes appear to have been made since the creation of the OLT.

ALTC Grants Scheme - Evaluating Projects

Purpose of the Resource

This resource is designed to provide guidance and assistance on project and program evaluation to individuals and groups submitting proposals for funding under the ALTC’s Grants and Fellowships Programs. The guidance is in the nature of background information on what project evaluation is and what constitutes good practice in the evaluation of learning and teaching projects.
Assistance is provided in the form of templates for key elements of a project evaluation. The resource also links to resources that help you and/or the evaluation team to carry out the evaluation — from design to data collection, analysis and management to reporting the findings. This resource is designed around the development of an evaluation plan, and it is intended that every project proposal will show evidence of formal evaluation planning that focuses on questions such as those outlined in this resource.

Depending on the expertise and experience of the user, the resource might be used for a variety of purposes, including as a guide for an evaluation plan, a checklist to assess a draft plan, a resource to inform stakeholders of good practice in evaluation, or to review a completed evaluation study and report....

From:  "ALTC Grants Scheme - Evaluating Projects", OLT (ALTC), 2011

Learning: The 21st Century Growth Industry

It seems to me that education might be the new 21st century growth industry. This will be about everything from on-demand apps, community learning circles at the local library through to higher university degrees online.

The ACT Library sent me a survey about community learning. As the library points out  "Learning is not limited to formal education or study". The library provides a good venue for such less formal learning.

The President of the ACS in a recent newspaper column pointed out the value of education via the Internet.  The ACS President was specifically referring to MOOCS (Massive Online Open Courses).

Sylvia Pennington, writing in The Age newspaper reported some concern from academics about industry sponsored courses ("This lecture proudly brought to you by ...", December 6, 2012).

The ACS itself runs more bespoke courses online as a finishing school for computer professionals to teach them about management (I run the Green ICT course for the program).

Wikimedia Australia Education Workshop in Indonesia

Wikimedia Australia is organising LangCamp 2012 in Depok, Indonesia, 6–7 December 2012, to foster non-English wikis. This includes The "Open educational resources" (OER; Sumber pembelajaran terbuka) for universities.

In my view Wikimedia's approach to online education is far more useful than all the hype about Massively Online Open Courses (MOOCs).

ps: It happens I was at UIN Suska University of Riau (Fakultas Sains Dan Teknologi, Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau), a few weeks ago, discussing an Indonesian version of my ICT Sustainability course.

Teaching Research-Led Education

The capstone course for the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education requires me to reflect on what I have done so far. There was a one day workshop and here are my notes on the accompanying readings:

Akerlind (2005) reports research into academics' perceptions of their development. This is useful in seeing the motivations of academics, for further development, but can't tell us how accurate those perceptions are. Akerlind discusses the rise of university centres for academic development and undertook the work at ANU.

Akerlind (2005) criticizes the literature for concentrating on delivery options and development of teaching. However, not all university centres for academic development have prospered, I suggest because some have concentrated on research, rather than delivery of quality teaching. As a result university lecturers have not been enthusiastic to sign up for such courses and those who did sign up have not completed, due to poor course design. As a result such centres, face the prospect of being replaced by outsourced and on-line courses.

Akerlind (2005) summarised their findings into six categories:

1. Development as becoming more productive and efficient in one’s work output;
2. Development as achieving academic credibility and recognition for one’s work;
3. Development as ongoing improvements in the quality and effectiveness of one’s work;
4. Development as the ongoing accumulation of personal knowledge and skills;
5. Development as increasing depth and sophistication of understanding in one’s field;
6. Development as contributing to disciplinary growth or social change.

The first point, productivity and efficiency, is one often overlooked in university education courses, which tend to emphasise improving education as an esoteric goal, rather than improving the productivity of teachers. If university teaching courses were to emphasise techniques for making teaching and assessment more efficient (and less burdensome for lecturers), these courses might be more popular. Akerlind (2005) points to synergies between teaching and research for development, which is very relevant to a research-intensive university, such as ANU. Unfortunately they do not appear to have gone on to develop this idea. Brew (2010) argues “... new ideas about scholarship need to become central to academic life ...” and this will help academics cope with change. One difficulty with this is that Brew seems to be searching for one generally accepted view of what scholarship is and how universities do what they do. But I suggest a diversity of views is essential to the vital nature of university life. Brew interviewed academics about their conceptions of scholarship. Perhaps also legislators and others who fund and set regulations for universities should have been interviewed about their views. Some of the difficulties academics are currently experiencing are due to their forgetting that they are funded by the wider community and so must live up to that community's expectations. Brew argues that to teach, academics need knowledge of their subject and of pedagogical principles. But I suggest more is needed: academics also need to be trained and tested in teaching methods: it is not enough to know the principles, academics need to be able to put them into practice. Brew argues that graduate certificates in higher education allow academics to go beyond the mechanics of teaching to a higher level of reflection. But if the academic has not first been trained in basic teaching techniques, how will they get to the higher level? This, I suggest, has been the basic flaw in many university teaching programs: a failure to first build a sound teaching foundation at the technical level, before moving on to communicative and emancipatory levels. My colleagues from the Australian Computer Society are meeting shortly with government and industry to discuss how to improve education of ICT professionals. It is likely there will be pressure to use overseas on-line courses for basic education, in place of Australian face-to-face vocational and university courses. In theory, Australian educational institutions can then concentrate on advanced courses and research supervision. But I suggest without the basics, the Australian education system will be fatally weakened. The same issues are likely to arise with teaching of educators. Brew asks why problem solving is confined to the teaching and learning domain. Such a question shows a lack of knowledge of what goes on elsewhere in the university. Many other disciplines, including engineering and ICT (where I work) concentrate on problem solving. One of the problems of Brew's analysis is that it focuses in on teaching, as if that is an end in itself (likewise universities focus in on themselves), rather than being part of communities and disciplines. Brookfield (1995) starts out with somewhat flowery language about love and justice (perhaps inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:4). After that some useful questions are asked such as “What Makes Reflection critical?” but these questions are never answered. Perhaps because this is a chapter taken from a book the content makes little sense by being taken out of context. I get the impression that Brookfield is addressing a reader other than myself (I am someone wanting to learn how to teach). McAlpine, and Hopwood (2007) assert that the aim of doctoral education is the development of researchers and scholars. However, the Australian Qualifications Framework (July 2011), describes a doctoral degree as including “professional practice". Those undertaking a professional degree are doing so in order to work in a profession, not undertake research. Even those undertaking a traditional research PHD and remaining in academia are likely to spend most of their time teaching and administering, not researching. So McAlpine, and Hopwood's concept of ‘academic practice’ should be broadened to 'professional practice', in order to equip the graduate for the role they will be undertaking. Boyer’s four scholarships could still be applied (discovery, teaching, engagement and integration) as these are applicable to professional practice. As an example, the skills a PHD will need to supervise research are simpler to those need to mentor staff in the workplace.

References:

Akerlind, G. (2005). Academic Growth and development – How do university academics experience it? Higher Education. Vol.50, pp.1-32 Brew, A. (2010). Transforming academic practice through scholarship. International Journal for Academic Development. Vol. 15, No. 2, pp.105-116 Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass (Chapter One: What it means to be a critically reflective teacher) McAlpine, L. & Hopwood, N. (2007) Conceptualising the research PhD: Towards an integrative approach. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from McGill University at www. doc-work.mcgill.ca/past-presentations/shre-7-post-srhe.doc

Broadband and the future of education

The latest issue of the Telecommunications Journal of Australia  (Vol 62, No 5 2012) features education. The guest editorial, Learning fast: Broadband and the future of education, by Kate Cornick and Jock Given is freely available, but other articles require a subscription, or ACS membership.

As well as the content, the format of TJA is also worth studying. The Canadian developed free open source Open Journal Systems software is used, with papers published as HTML for on screen reading, as well as PDF for printing.

Table of Contents

Guest editorial

• Learning fast: Broadband and the future of education, Kate Cornick, Jock Given

Interviews

• Innovation and learning: Australia's national research and education network: An interview with Chris Hancock, Liz Fell

Broadband applications to education

• Inclusion during school absence: Using ambient technology to create a classroom presence for hospitalised children, Frank Vetere, Julie Green, Amy Nisselle, Xuan Thu Dang, Tsharni Zazryn, Paul Peng Deng
• Pre-figuring the 2020 NBN-enabled classroom: 'Zoo Connect', a case study, Wendy Doube, Mandy Salomon
• The role of IPTV in education, Ken Clarke, Michael Mccullough, Kursten Leins, Gil Tidhar, Doug Farmer
• NBN Virtual School of Emerging Sciences: How to transform the world one scientist at a time..., Nathan Bailey, Chris Harte, Debra Panizzon
• Universities as media organisations: A panel discussion, Jock Given
• From VHS to the Cloud: Audiovisual content in education comes a long way, Simon Lake
• A key performance indicator for journalists: The value of systems thinking for the field, John Cokley

Planning UK Vocation Skills Requirements

The City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development (CSD) issued the 104 page report "Britain's Got Talent: Unlocking the demand for skills". The UK Government has introduced a loan model for vocational students, as is being done in Australia. While better than direct government subsidies, the authors of this report argue that this will discourage students from enrolling in courses which have out of pocket expenses, even if these have better job prospects. The authors propose payment by results, with the institutions receiving payments proportional to the higher salary the graduate obtains after graduation. This sounds cumbersome to implement, but the tax office will have the past and future salary details of the students who take out loans, and so would be able to calculate a bonus for institutions where the student gets a salary increase.

Executive summary

...

Many adult skills courses offer excellent wage returns, and the average return for vocational qualifications the Government funds is 8%. However, too much of the UK’s provision fails to match the underlying demand. This is because the main government lever – subsidy of training – tends to aggravate misplaced incentives for learners and employers.

Would-be learners lack information about the skills that are most likely to secure the best employment outcomes, and so err towards courses they find interesting, rather than skills that will maximise their productivity. When government subsidises individuals, by offering them a range of free or reduced-cost courses to take, it reinforces the tendency to pick a course based upon its ‘consumption’ value, instead of a hard-headed appraisal of the benefits. While the extent to which a learner enjoys a course is an entirely legitimate aspect for teachers and learners to consider, it should not be the primary consideration of public subsidy, which should aim to maximise the productivity and employability of learners. Where learners are not putting their own money on the line – or less of it – they need appraise the course less as an investment and more as something to consume. Subsidy handed to individuals therefore weakens the link between government investment and employers’ demand for skills. ...

Improving the system’s performance depends upon strengthening accountability in order to reduce the number of:

• Types of qualification taken that do not lead to good employment or earnings outcomes
  
• Subjects taken within those qualifications that employers do not value
  
• Providers that teach to a mediocre or poor standard.

The Government therefore needs a mechanism to encourage learners to take the types of qualification and those subjects that add value, and which puts pressure on poor and mediocre quality providers to improve. Marginal improvements on each dimension could have a substantial impact on labour market outcomes, and hence the productivity of government skills spending....

The Government is introducing income-contingent loans, along the lines of the student loans model in higher education.

This reform will ensure that learners over 25 and those who already have qualifications must co-invest alongside the state. This should encourage learners to view training as an investment and appraise the costs and benefits of each course. But it will swap poor state investment under a more subsidised regime for under-investment by individuals under the new regime, as people are less likely to take a course if they have to invest themselves. ...

The state’s investment in human capital would be far more efficient if an actor in the system was liable for the labour market value of the skills delivered. Providers are the obvious candidate. They are 13 embedded in local economies, so are in a position to understand, forecast and supply the skills local employers need, and steer candidates towards more profitable courses. Exposing providers to the demands of the labour market would also make them more accountable for how well they impart skills employers value: the quality of their teaching as defined by the labour market.

A payment by results model would achieve this. Providers could be paid according to learners’ pay uplift and employment rates upon finishing courses. This would incentivise providers to act upon the ‘prices’ set by the demand for skills – higher pay and employment rates arise for those skills that are in relatively short supply. As they would be paid a premium for a course that led to good employment outcomes, providers could have strong incentives to invest in skills that local employers demand, and which allow workers to build the transferable skills that allow them to navigate the market.

Under such a system, providers would offer courses in, and steer individuals towards, skills that are most likely to lead to labour market success. Providers would have an incentive to seek out information from employers about what mix of skills they need and supply suitably trained workers. ...

From: Britain's Got Talent: Unlocking the demand for skills, John Springford and Ian Mulheirn, City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development (CSD), 2012

National Career Development Strategy Green Paper

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has released a 16 page National Career Development Strategy Green Paper (June 2012) with submissions closing 1 August 2012. Here are some excepts:

Why is career development important for Australia's future?

Career development assists people to gain the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to manage learning and work throughout a productive and engaging working life ...

This lifelong perspective on career development that has career self management skills at its heart is now widely accepted in OECD countries as a necessary foundation for labour market flexibility and lifelong learning. ...

Both individual needs and national productivity benefit from career development

The benefits of a lifelong career path (through school; from school to further education, training and employment; throughout a working life) for individuals with timely, quality career development support, have long been understood. ...

• Raising educational attainment and skill levels ...
• Successful Career Transitions ...
• Raising labour force participation ...
• Labour market flexibility and labour mobility ...
• Addressing disadvantage ...
• Responding to the challenges of an ageing population ...

Figure 1: illustrates how individual needs and public policy goals are both served by the attainment of career development skills.9

What is career development?

Career development is the term that best describes the complex process of managing life, learning and work over the lifespan.

Career development helps people throughout their lives to plan and to make decisions about education, training, and career choices, and provides the right skills to do this. Support for career development (through education providers, governments, employers, career industry) includes collection, organisation and provision of information needed to make these decisions; advice and guidance about education, training and work at key points in people's lives. ...

Career development support is provided to people whose life circumstances differ widely. ...

Career development support is provided in many different ways ...

Career development support is provided by a very wide variety of groups, e.g., schools, vocational education and training institutions, universities, parents, peers, community groups, employment service providers; private career development consultants, recruitment firms and private enterprises.

Career development services are provided by a wide variety of people. ...

Why does Australia need a National Career Development Strategy?

At present career development education, information, advice, support and services are provided across a multitude of organisations and individuals, through various avenues, with differences in content and quality. A national career development strategy, which promotes the development of career management skills, the provision of high quality career education, information and services that meet recognised quality standards, and equitable access could benefit all Australians.

Such a strategy could bring together all key stakeholders and promote high-quality career development education, information, advice, support and services that will bring Australia into line with recent international developments. This would lead to a future where all Australians at any stage of their life have the skills to manage their careers, enabling them to engage more effectively in the workforce, contributing to increased national productivity as well as their own well-being.

Substantial progress has been made

... At a national level the Australian Government has focused on three major policy priorities:

• professionalisation of the career industry ...
  
• development of a Certificate IV in Career Development
• establishment of the Career Industry Council of Australia
• development of the Professional Standards for Australian Career Development Practitioners
• annual scholarships to enable teachers and career practitioners to gain career development qualifications
• development of frameworks to guide effort:
• the Australian Blueprint for Career Development provides teachers, parents, career practitioners, employment service providers, employers or others who are in a position to support people's careers and transitions with a nationally consistent framework
• the Career and Transition Services Framework, developed in 2003 with state and territory governments, presents a range of options to support young people in making effective transitions through school and between school and post school destinations
• access to national career information:
• myfuture.edu.au (with state and territory governments)
• Job Guide and Australian Jobs publications
• Job Outlook and Skills Info websites.

At the state and territory level progress has also occurred in a number of ways, for example:

• Many states and territories are making pathway planning compulsory including the Northern Territory, Victoria, Queensland and South Australian public schools.
• In New South Wales, the School-to-Work Program in government schools supports students to develop their skills, understandings and capacities to self manage their transition through and from school to further education, training and employment.
• Victoria has developed a Careers Curriculum Framework based on the Australian Blueprint for Career Development, to support teachers, trainees and practitioners in preparing young people to make successful first transitions from school to further education, training or employment, in addition to the Regional Career Development Officers and Local Learning and Employment Networks programs.
• In Queensland, "My Future My Plan" translates the work in schools from Year 5 to Year 12 to the four phases of career development from the Australian Blueprint for Career Development. In Queensland there are a number of Indigenous specific programs targeting employment and training, e.g., Positive Dreaming, Solid Futures; Dare to Dream.
• South Australia has included career development as part of the curriculum and it is assessed as part of the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework, South Australian Certificate of Education and national training packages. Programs in South Australia include the Industry Pathways Program, Mentoring and Youth Development Program and Trade Schools for the Future. Seventeen career development services have been established across the state through the South Australia Works initiative, and the appointment of a number of career development practitioners as well as the Skills for All website.
• Western Australia has embraced new technology by establishing a career website. The website includes specific information for Western Australians and links to Australian Government resources, interactive career tools to assist all to manage their careers and social media. Western Australia has established 14 workforce development centres and five Aboriginal Workforce Development Centres.
• In Tasmania schools and Guaranteeing Futures initiatives support students with pathway planning and with access to a range of career development support staff and activities. A requirement of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education is for students to have a Pathway Plan that is developed and reviewed to support their education and training.
• The Australian Capital Territory is strengthening career education in schools and colleges through its Excellence and Enterprise Framework. The ACT has implemented a cross sectoral pathways planning initiative for all young people under the age of 17 which is aligned with the Australian Blueprint for Career Development. A website for the ACT Career and Transition Framework is under development, which will be a resource for all stakeholders.
• Northern Territory initiatives include "Try a Trade" events for Year 9 students; Work ready programs to increase School Based Apprenticeships; VET in Schools and VET in the Middle. Senior school students must pass with a confirmed 'C' standard the Personal Learning Plan subject as a completion requirement for their Northern Territory Certificate of Education & Training; eight Indigenous teacher and teacher assistants are training to provide career development services in remote Arnhem schools. Career Expos are run throughout the Northern Territory offering pathway and further education options to students and the wider community.

...

Major challenges remain

...

• Gaps in access to services remain, particularly for groups such as the unemployed (both adults and youth), early school leavers, those on the margins of the labour market, and older Australians ...
• Services are provided by a diverse range of public and private organisations ...
• National processes for leadership and priority setting that involve governments, those who receive career development support, practitioners and other key stakeholders are unclear. ...
• The knowledge base needed to inform policy development remains inadequate. ...

A national leadership body for career development

...

The leadership body could consist of representatives from key stakeholder groups and could develop advice on projects, which might include:

Involving industry more actively in career development	Australian industry needs a highly skilled workforce that is able to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing economy while both increasing Australia's productivity and responding to a shrinking workforce and ongoing skills shortages. It is also recognised that the ongoing employability of individuals is dependent on their set of relevant personal attributes and skills that will prepare them for both employment and further learning. Career information and industry expectations need to be clearly articulated for all Australians. Closer alignment with industry will ensure that career information and advice is up to date and relevant.
Building career development skills in individuals	Career development skills, including the life skills and general competencies that are important for managing a career, are needed throughout life. A better understanding of the personal attributes and skills that will prepare people for employment and further learning, and of how these can be developed, can help to ensure that career development support and assistance are provided appropriately at different stages of people's lives. This approach may lead to linking career development skills with the curriculum through general capabilities and potentially lead to a less ad hoc approach to the development of these skills.
Improving the quality of advice and professionalism of the industry	The quality of career advice in Australia can be variable and patchy, and that while tools like the Australian Blueprint for Career Development and the Professional Standards for Career Practitioners exist, it is not clear how widely they are utilised. Parents expect career practitioners to be appropriately qualified so that users can be confident that the information, advice and services they receive is of the highest quality. The establishment of benchmarks and the continuous improvement of standards for delivery of services, regardless of setting, and the regulation of strong national professional standards would provide this assurance. This approach could include a national pre-service and in-service teacher training program that includes career development. This work could be progressed in collaboration with other countries who are addressing similar issues.
Improving access to relevant work experience and vocational learning experiences	Research shows that young people want more exposure to the world of work through work experience to develop their skills and employability and make decisions on their career paths. The research also showed young people and their parents value such experiences over and above many other career development activities. Parents also noted that 'young people have the preference to speak to someone who has done the type of work they are interested in'. Targeted support needs to be provided for all young people including those at school, those not in school and those already in the workforce.

Supporting individuals to gain career development skills

Supporting individuals throughout their lives to make education, training and work choices, is a key to individuals' success and a key element in the growth of the national economy. Providing individuals with the right skills at the right time empowers them to manage their careers successfully. ...

Career information

The Australian Government believes that, central to this objective is the redevelopment of the myfuture.edu.au website, Australia's national career information service. The website could be redesigned with a more citizen-centric approach to improve ease of use and functionality, with further enhancements to consider its usability and the technological abilities of different age cohorts.

• Information could be tailored to support parents to provide career advice as the key influencers of their children.
• Through stronger connections with industry young people could have more of the information they want, presented in the format they want. Additionally, the same career information provided would be presented in a form relevant to workforce development needs, supporting individuals to make informed decisions about their careers.
• Through social technology networks young people may be able talk to someone working in the industry they are interested in.
• Through integration with the My Skills website more comprehensive information about course and training options could be made available in one place.

...

Victoria has embedded career development into their Curriculum

Victoria has created a Careers Curriculum Framework with career education embedded in the curriculum. The Framework provides a scaffold for a career education program for all young people from Year 7 to Year 12 and for young learners in the Adult and Community Education and Technical And Further Education sectors. The Framework is based on the eleven competencies identified in the Australian Blueprint for Career Development and links to the existing dimensions of learning in the Victorian Essential Learning Standards Strands and Domains.

Career development assistance in the labour market, including for those at risk

Support services available to jobseekers could be enhanced, to provide easier access for individuals to increase career development skills, and to improve career development information and advice. Some examples of current actions are provided below. Stronger links to these programs could be investigated.

Job Services Australia ...

Disability Employment Services ...

Australian Apprenticeships Advisers Program ...

Indigenous Youth Careers Pathways Program ...

Experience+: To assist mature age people to stay in the workforce, the Experience+ initiative is a suite of programs that provides information and support to mature age Australians. One component of Experience+ is access to professional career advice for people aged 45 years and over, delivered through a telephone and email based service.

Career Advice for Parents commenced 1 January 2012 as part of the Building Australia's Future Workforce package ...

A national policy-focused career development research agenda

... The models used for research conducted under the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, and national vocational training and education research are possible models. If it is established, a national leadership body could advise on priorities for the research. ...

Questions for Consideration

Do you have any comments on what you see as the key priorities and proposed direction for the National Career Development Strategy? ...

Do you have any comments on the possible direction for the Australian Government? ...

Do you have any comments on the ongoing and future role for the state and territory governments? ...

Do you have any suggestions for enhancing the role for industry? ...

Do you have any comments on the formation or proposed direction for a national leadership body? ...

Do you have any additional comments or suggestions? ...

Additional Information

... Reports from the research projects carried out for the Green paper are available at the Career Development page ...

Further information on resources referred to in the Green Paper is available at:

• Australian Apprenticeships Advisers Program ...
• Australian Blueprint for Career Development ...
• Australian Job Search ...
• Career Advice for Parents ...
• Career and Transition Services Framework ...
• Certificate IV in Career Development ...
• Disability Employment Services ...
  
• Experience + ...
  
• Indigenous Youth Careers Pathways Program ...
• Job Services Australia ...
  
• Myfuture ...
• Professional Standards for Career Practitioners ...

Further information on state and territory programs, developments and initiatives can be found on the following state and territory websites:

• NSW Department of Education and Training ...
  
• Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood ...
• Queensland Department of Education and Training ...
  
• South Australian Department for Education and Child Development ...
  
• South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology ...
  
• Western Australian Department of Education ...
• Tasmanian Department of Education ...
  
• Northern Territory Department of Education and Training ...
  
• ACT Education and Training Directorate ...

Further information on international approaches to career development and public policy is available from:

• European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network ...
  
• International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy ...
  
• International Labour Organisation career guidance resource handbook ...
  
• OECD career guidance policy review ...

From: National Career Development Strategy Green Paper, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, June 2012