A scuba diving training program is changing lives for people with disabilities who are swapping wheelchairs for water. Mark Slingo had just qualified as a diving instructor in Thailand when he had a fall from a balcony that left him a paraplegic. ‘My boss said “Why don’t you come back to work to see if […]
Devonport Tasmania has launched a ‘Live & Learn’ Strategy to set a new direction for the city and establish a flourishing culture of lifelong learning. Devonport Mayor, Alderman Steve Martin left school at 16 then returned to study in 2011 aged 52 as a business student at University of Tasmania. ‘Back in high school I was good at maths but I […]
If you’ve outsourced management of your website you know making changes and updates can be difficult and costly. An outdated website can be worse than no website at all. But changes in web publishing make updating and maintaining a website easier than it’s ever been. Here’s our tips on taking back control of your website. 1. Choose an intuitive content management system (CMS) A […]
Diamond Valley Learning Centre in Melbourne is running mental health first aid courses to help staff and students develop skills to identify and help others who are struggling emotionally. If a tutor or student accidently cuts themselves during a cooking class or hammers a finger instead of a nail in a workshop, you know to reach immediately […]
Position Business Trainer and Assessor Organisation Inverell Community College Details To train CIII in Business. TAE40110 CIV Training and Assessment, qualifications and experience in business required Contact For further information email: eo@communitycollegeni.nsw.edu.au Close TBA Position Program Coordinator Organisation Bingara Community College Details Ideal for an independent […]
Vicki Mennie, ABC Open contributor, lives near Moruya a small rural community on the far south coast of NSW, where the large local population of kangaroos almost equals the number of residents. A former hairdressing teacher, Vicki jumped at the chance when she saw the ad for ABC Open’s 500 words writing workshop at a […]
ABC Open producer Vanessa Milton’s patch takes up an area in New South Wales stretching from the Victorian border to Batemans Bay and across to the Snowy Mountains. On any given day she can be running a writing workshop, teaching an amateur historian how to record interviews or helping a farmer make a film about […]
In small village halls, bush libraries and regional towns across Australia, ABC Open producers teach locals how to hone and share digital stories to share with a huge online community. Before he went to his first workshop five years ago, Wyndham farmer Norm Clarke’s only experience with computers was ‘pulling the plug out of the […]
Trials of the new National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) have been underway since July 2013. Participants in the trials say planning ahead is key for everyone involved – including community organisations. Are you NDIS ready? The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the biggest social reform in Australia since the introduction of Medicare. The goal of the NDIS is to enable people […]
We know that students learn best when they’re enjoying themselves. The same goes for staff. People do their best work when they enjoy their jobs, trust the people they work with, and are proud of the work they do. Here are some tips for injecting fun and creativity into your workplace. Create opportunities and places […]
Hacker or makerspaces are the latest in a long tradition of community spaces that offer opportunities for informal learning. On a dark winter’s night in Melbourne’s Hawthorn, a lime green perspex door trimmed with LED lights up a cobbled laneway. The Connected Community HackerSpace (CCHS) in the converted garage welcomes people who want to work on DIY technology or artistic projects. Over […]
A whole-of-community adult literacy campaign based on a revolutionary Cuban education method is having life-changing results in Indigenous communities in outback NSW. The first pilot of the Cuban-designed mass literacy education program conducted in Wilcannia in 2012 helped reduce crime and increase school attendance. Now it’s flourishing in Bourke and Enngonia and is about to […]
Recent elections have brought some fresh faces to the ALA Board. Here’s a chance to learn a little more about some of our newer Board members. Chris McCall (Vic) I manage the Yarraville Community Centre (YCC) in the inner west of Melbourne. We are a medium sized not for profit delivering a broad range of programs and […]
Professor Alan Tuckett OBE, acknowledged guru of adult education, shares his views on intergenerational and lifelong learning. In the northern UK city of Sunderland there’s a learning centre underneath the stands at the Sunderland Football Club. Local football fans – many of whom are unemployed – can attend a literacy program, get advice on preparing a CV, attend courses on the history of […]
Pairing tech savvy schoolkids with older people struggling with new technology has proved a perfect match in the Victorian town of Traralgon. The idea of a service to help older peoplein the community with their digital devices staffed by local high school students seemed logical to Joh Lyons, project worker for the Digital Shed, a project of Traralgon Neighbourhood […]
