Certificate II in Business

TAFE Tasmania with Tasmanian Communities Online - John Tucker, Jon Paice

Approach

Tasmanian Communities Online have developed a blended delivery model using face-to-face study circles in four existing Online Access Centres to provide local support to rural learners enrolled in the TAFE Tasmania’s online course Certificate II in Business.

The coordinators of the Department of Education’s Online Access Centres facilitate the study circles. They are in turn supported in learning their facilitation role through an online community using forums and wikis, and this contributes to them gaining a qualification in Training and Assessment (TAA).
The project aimed to develop a model of local support for learners in isolated and disadvantaged rural communities, particularly mature age students returning to study.

View the design

In the story John describes how several agencies worked together to provide the program. He describes some of the challenges of meeting the needs of learners in rural communities and how the study circles model works.

The learning design map describes the overall delivery structure of the program.

Features

blended delivery, integrating distance learning, face-to-face support and work experience
local support provided through face-to-face facilitated study circles
12-24 weeks work experience in local centres to provide a real working environment for assessment
main course (12 units) delivered as distance learning using WebCT with materials and online support

Further details

Course	Certificate II in Business
Provider	TAFE Tasmania with Tasmania Communities Online
Location	Course available anywhere in Tasmania (distance delivery) Local support provided at four Online Access Centres in rural Tasmania as a trial
Staff	John Tucker – Tasmania Communities Online Jon Paice – Team Leader Business Services, TAFE Tasmania
Competencies	BSBCMN213A Produce simple word processed documents sBSBCMN214A Produce simple spreadsheets BSBCMN205A Use business technology BSBADM306A Create electronic presentations or BSBADM306A Produce business documents BSBCMN201A Work effectively in a business environment BSBCMN202A Organise and complete daily work activities BSBCMN203A Communicate in the workplace BSBCMN208A Deliver a service to customers BSBCMN209A Provide information to clients BSBCMN211A Participate in workplace safety BSBCMN216A Create customer relationships BSBCMN217A Process customer feedback
Training package	BSB01 Business Services Training Package
Courseware	CD and print materials, TAFE Tasmania
Features	Blended delivery approach for needs of students in isolated rural settings Study circle model for face-to-face local support Parallel professional development for study circle coordinators using online community (forums, wikis, teleconferences) Trial of a co-operative model between TAFE and community education, with support from the Department of Education.
Comments	“For many potential learners, beginning study at a mature age or after having children is daunting, especially for those in rural communities disadvantaged by isolation and limited post secondary learning opportunities.”