CEBIT : Matching VET Needs Using POV Realism

[  image : mike_cogh ]

On Wednesday evening I paid $71.50 AUD to attend the CEBIT Australia 2009 conference of which I was able to catch 80 minutes of sheer exhibitor delight. Some accuse CEBIT of being nothing more than a tech-fan-fest meeting only industry needs however I’d refute that assertion given the number of diverse exhibitors present.

One of the more intersting stands I encountered was the http://www.scitech.com.au product presentation with it’s main representative harking from my old stomping ground of Perth, Western Australia.

Yes, the gym bunny’s were present and the coffee stands in place but how did I view this event in relation to where we are at the moment with VET needs in Australia ? …and what has this got to do with Michael Coghlan above.

Well, as my WIAOC09  presentation will attest, in addition to the reading I did to complete my recent interview presentation with the Framework , the Australian VET community stands united in it’s resolve not to be left behind in the wake of the Bradley Report or any emphasis of the current Labour government on ensuring each and every child is part of the DER debate.

Vocational training in Australia seems transfixed in a parallax of participation – on the one hand duty bound and AQTF -paper compliant and on the other searching madly for equitable solutions that will augment workplace assessors needs to travel into far-flung isolated paradises to remain  digitally ASH competitive. Likewise it’s national mandate for whole-of-business national training package affordance is still tested as it offers chunks of wisdom in every thing that keeps our printers printing.

POV or  wearable assessment/ connection / evidence generating human computing for some must resemble a far off dream, to others a gross infringement on civil rights and to others still a magical solution for providing live, real and affordable solutions for getting the work done. As many of our photos will confirm, we are immeersed in determining where POV might fit in the workforce development and participation debate, where it works as an e-portfolio enriched evidence gathering mechanism and where it might fit into the serious connection challenged educator / learner paradigm.

No matter which way we look at this technology, it seems to have it’s place ( and challenges ) in all areas of the education sector, has it’s critics and it’s growing community of practice and now we have an opportunity to build, report upon and seriously reflect on it’s importance in bringing us forward into a 21st century mode of learning.

Please inform the community you live within during those workplace hours that there will be an opportunity to network this discussion, to view up-coming versions of the technology and to connect with others who may inspire you to think more laterally as to its application at the upcoming AUPOV inaugural conference in Wollongong.

We have 90 tickets left, 4 weeks to go and a budget to expend.

Let others know and check out who is keynoting, presenting and genuinely happy to share a cocktail or two with you.