North American Web Developers Conference, October 1998:
Mike Kidney
Nova Scotia Community College
Apprenticeship combines the acquisition of skills with training. Apprentices gain up-to-date quality training and learn to work efficiently, using the latest techniques. Traditionally, in each year of apprenticeship, apprentices have been required to leave their place of work for periods from three to eight weeks to attend technical training sessions. For many employers and apprentices, this arrangement has become increasingly inconvenient. Employers lose the productivity of a valuable employee and apprentices often must incur the expenses related to traveling to the training institution. Refocusing Apprenticeship is a pilot project exploring the potential of a new approach to the delivery of apprenticeship training. The goal of the project is to provide maximum access to apprenticeship training and reduce the financial burden to external funding agencies and to apprentices. Another major component of Refocusing Apprenticeship establishes a system of accreditation through which accredited employers and training providers will be recognized to a predetermined standard by the Apprenticeship Training Division. Taking advantage of the most current communication technologies, Refocusing Apprenticeship has established a Virtual Campus that allows apprentices to access their technical training through a computer terminal. Classes will combine user-friendly, interactive distance education methods with part-time classroom instruction and self-study. The Virtual Campus allows apprentices to access their technical training wherever a computer Internet connection is located: at home, at work, in the nearest training institution or Internet access point in their community. The initiative stands as an innovative example of where apprenticeship training can and should be going as we progress into the new millennium.
Keywords: access, apprenticeship training, Virtual Campus.
Outline:
1. Introduction
Apprenticeship combines the acquisition of skills with training.
Apprentices gain up-to-date quality training and learn to work
efficiently, using the latest techniques. Traditionally, in each year
of apprenticeship, apprentices have been required to leave their
place of work for periods from three to eight weeks to attend
technical training sessions. For many employers and apprentices, this
arrangement has become increasingly inconvenient. Employers lose the
productivity of a valuable employee and apprentices often must incur
the expenses related to traveling to the training institution.
Refocusing Apprenticeship is a pilot project exploring the potential
of a new approach to the delivery of apprenticeship training. The
goal of the project is to provide maximum access to apprenticeship
training and reduce the financial burden to external funding agencies
and to apprentices. Another major component of Refocusing
Apprenticeship establishes a system of accreditation through which
accredited employers and training providers will be recognized to a
predetermined standard by the Apprenticeship Training Division.
Taking advantage of the most current communication technologies, Refocusing Apprenticeship has established a Virtual Campus that allows apprentices to access their technical training through a computer terminal. Classes will combine user-friendly, interactive distance education methods with part-time classroom instruction and self-study. The Virtual Campus allows apprentices to access their technical training wherever a computer internet connection is located: at home, at work, in the nearest training institution or Internet access point in their community.
2. The Virtual Campus
The Virtual Campus is known as the ACCESS.Campus: ACCESS is an
acronym for "Alternate Community College Educational StrategieS." The
ACCESS.Campus is "located" on the Internet, as opposed to an actual
physical building on a piece of land. The address of the
ACCESS.Campus is designated by a Universal Resource Locator (URL)
which is: http://access.nscc.ns.ca.
The best way to see what the Campus is all about is to take a tour of the campus, starting at the main page.
The campus is set up using a "point and click" easy-to-use format. The ACCESS.Campus contains many of the elements that any post secondary institution campus would contain. This includes different buildings that will allow you to access different parts of the campus, as well as different doors that will allow you to access different aspects of the campus. As you investigate and explore throughout the ACCESS.Campus, you may find that a number of the buildings and other parts of the campus are "under construction." What this means is that, like any public service, client-based industry, the staff at the ACCESS.Campus are constantly striving to make the institution the best that it can possibly be. Although sometimes inconvenient, "construction" on the site of the ACCESS.Campus is an absolutely necessary aspect of the campus' commitment to continuous quality improvement.
A. Campus Areas: The Banner Bar of Doors
At the top of the ACCESS.Campus main screen is a banner bar
containing a number of doors. Each of the doors provides access to
different things. In total there are five doors: the office, the
library, the lounge, the staff room and the help room. These are
described in further detail in the sections that follow:
i. The Office: The Office is the area where administrative tasks can be taken care of. This includes registration, orientation, human resource matters as well as other related administrative tasks. Within the Office, there is an icon which links to an on-line request for registration or information. This form can be completed on line and then submitted. In the office, there is also a link to the campus calendar which contains important campus events and scheduling details (i.e., course offerings), a link to the Nova Scotia Community College calendar, as well as a link to a demonstration of the campus orientation course.
ii. The Library: Libraries are important reference and information centers for all educational institutions. Similarly, the ACCESS.Campus library is an area dedicated to resource storage, annotation and links to other materials. The library contains links to the reference material for all courses offered through the ACCESS.Campus.
iii. The Lounge: The Lounge is an area for relaxation and leisure, a place where students and instructors alike can gather to meet and discuss, to relax and enjoy life. Many of the icon options present in the lounge have been placed there in the spirit of relaxation and leisure. There is access to an online notice board, a newspaper area where people can catch up on current events as well as areas relating to other recreational pursuits such as entertainment and sports. There is also an on-line virtual art gallery which can be browsed through.
iv. The Staff Room: The Staff Room is an area dedicated solely for Refocusing Apprenticeship instructors and other campus staff. The purpose of this area is to provide a space where instructors may collectively gather and share ideas and troubleshooting insights relating to the alternate delivery format of the project. From the staff room, project team staff and instructors may be accessed from a drop down list box of names which, once a name has been found and selected you can send a pre-addressed e-mail message to the desired person. Also, in the staff room are a number of staff professional development opportunities and links. Some of these courses require that you be registered for the professional development course, whereas others provide online access to information and resources.
v. The Help Room: The Help Room is an area for on-line help and technical support. The help room also contains information about system requirements for running the ACCESS.Campus including both software and hardware requirements. As well, there is a listing of "Frequently Asked Questions" (or FAQs as they are often called). Having access to questions that are frequently asked, and the coinciding answers can often help people through challenging times or situations. There are links for finding a person as well as links for accessing WebBoard help information.
B. Campus Areas: The Campus Sidebar
To the left of the ACCESS.Campus main page you will see a vertical
bar containing an icon of the virtual campus along with a number of
button options. This sidebar, or one with other button choices is
present from most areas of the ACCESS.Campus. These buttons provide
links to other relevant information including information about the
project partners, as well as information about the courses offered
through the campus.
C. Campus Areas: Campus Buildings
In the main window of the ACCESS.Campus are icons for a number of
campus buildings. Each of these buildings has a different icon and a
different color background. There are four different buildings and
each of these buildings provides a link to different areas and
different programs.
The first building has a dark-brown color background. It is the building housing the College Core Programs. Nova Scotia Community College alternate delivery courses can be accessed through this building. The second building is for ACCESS.Campus Programs and has a red background. This building will house special ACCESS.Campus courses as well as institutes or industry programs that encompass several different program streams and a number of courses. The third building houses the Extension Programs. This building has a light green background. Extension programs represent customized and/or continuing education programs not offered through the College Core Programs. The fourth building in the main campus screen is the Apprenticeship Training Building. This building has a light blue background. This building provides access to alternate delivery apprenticeship training programs. You can enter any of these buildings by single clicking on the icon of the building. The color scheme of the building will be continued throughout the subsequent rooms you enter through the building.
3. The Alternate Delivery
Model
Refocusing Apprenticeship uses an "Alternate Delivery" approach to
learning. Alternate delivery methods means that a blend of
educational methods will be utilized to best meet the needs of
learners. This may include face to face classroom instruction,
distance delivery, self directed study as well as the utilization of
supporting educational technologies such as audio-graphics
conferencing, web conferencing, and telephone support. Using a
combination of these components, learners will engage in synchronous
(learners and instructors together at the same time) as well as
asynchronous (working at different times) learning methods. Many
different types of learning methods will be used to deliver the
technical apprenticeship training. Such a flexible approach helps to
ensure that learners can work at their own pace while at the same
time maintaining appropriate contact with their instructor.
At the centre of the alternate delivery model is the Virtual Campus. The campus has been created along the lines of a college metaphor and as such has many of the features and aspects that any post-secondary education institution would contain. The Virtual Campus provides a virtual meeting place for learners and instructors. The Virtual Classrooms provide access to on-line course materials, reference links and materials as well as opportunities for on-line tutorials and assessment. The learning system behind the Virtual Campus allows on-line testing through randomly generated evaluations that are linked directly to the learning objectives.
A. Distance Delivery
Distance education describes an approach to education by which
learners can study at the time, place and pace of their choosing
using a variety of methods ranging from independent study to
conferencing seminars. Audio-graphics conferencing is an important
part of distance education. Audio-graphics conferencing sessions have
the potential to bridge instructors and learners who are separated by
geographical distances. An audio-graphics conference consists of both
an audio component and a graphical computer component. The sessions
allow learners and instructors from a number of different locations
to communicate with each other by utilizing sound (i.e.,
tele-conference phone call) and visual elements (i.e., slides shared
over an electronic whiteboard). Broadcasts using sound, visual and
video elements over the Internet are utilized for site to site
conferencing.
B. Face to Face Instruction
Although the basis of the Refocusing Apprenticeship Project is the
ACCESS.Campus which is a virtual campus, learning opportunities will
be structured in a flexible format which allows the utilization of a
number of different learning and instructional methods. The methods
will vary depending on the needs of a given situation and the
resources available. This ensures that the learning methods best suit
the content being covered. Being in the same physical location at the
same time provides learners with ample opportunities for questions
and answers, feedback and support. There is no time lag in terms of
having queries responded to, and there are additional non-verbal
communications which can be picked up and communicated when learners
and instructors are together in the same place at the same time.
Face-to-face classroom instruction sessions will be scheduled as
suited and necessitated by the apprenticeship content that is being
covered. Learners will consult the course schedule on a regular basis
in order to determine the scheduling of face-to-face classroom
sessions.
C. Electronic Mail
Electronic mail (also known as e-mail), like postal mail, is used to
exchange messages or other information with people. Instead of being
delivered by the postal service to a postal address, e-mail is
delivered by Internet software through a computer network to a
computer address. E-mail will be available as an option for students
to communicate with each other and with the instructor. E-mail
messages can be exchanged through a number of methods. This includes
direct e-mail and electronic bulletin boards.
Direct e-mail is private communication between one person and another. Direct e-mail allows for feedback from the instructor to be received more quickly than messages sent by traditional mail. As well, information between students taking the same class or completing group work for the same class is facilitated by direct electronic mail. E-mail allows students to read messages at their convenience and easily store them for later reference.
Through the ACCESS.Campus, there will be several mechanisms for learners to send e-mail messages. From the Staff Room of the ACCESS.Campus banner bar, project staff members and instructors may be reached by clicking on the down arrow of a drop down list box of names. Additionally, from each of the classrooms that have been established for each of the courses being offered, learners can press a "Pager" icon.
Electronic Bulletin Boards encompass another avenue for the utilization of e-mail. Electronic bulletin boards utilize e-mail to facilitate communication, however, instead of sending a personal e-mail message this type of system allows a more public message to be sent to everyone using the board. The ACCRSS.Campus utilizes a computer-based electronic bulletin board system that lets system users interact via threaded discussion forums and/or real-time chat, using their regular Web browsers.
D. Telephone Support
The telephone has not outlived its usefulness and will comprise an
important aspect of the ACCESS.Campus. Aside from the voice to voice
access provided through the Audio-graphics conferencing sessions,
students will be able to communicate with the instructor during
certain times by telephone. The phone numbers and time schedules will
be provided to students so that they may have increased levels of
communication with their instructor(s) as required.
E. Course Materials
The courses that you take through Refocusing Apprenticeship will have
different types of course resources and materials which are necessary
and to be used in conjunction with your course work. The scope of
potential course materials and resources is quite vast and could
include: course textbooks, course CD-ROMs, course video recordings,
course audio recordings, course computer programs, Internet sites as
well as other types of learning resources.
A number of trades are being piloted for this phase of the Refocusing Apprenticeship initiative. For these pilot trades, apprenticeship training will be divided into courses structured around the tasks and the sub-tasks of the National Occupational Analyses Series. The team is comprised of a Project Manager, a Programmer Analyst, two Curriculum Consultants, an Administrative Assistant and four Instructors/Developers who have been working steadily towards achieving the project goals. The initiative stands as an innovative example of where apprenticeship training can and should be going as we progress into the new millennium.
For further information, please refer to the Refocusing Apprenticeship Virtual Campus home page (http://access.nscc.ns.ca), where you will be able to take a tour of the Virtual Campus.