Education Portfolio Projects 2010

The Education Portfolio is funding a range of activities through its Initiatives and Commitments in 2010. These include a number of projects related to the Monash Passport and eLearning, support for indigenous activities, as well as funding a number of business improvements. The projects are listed in detail below.

Monash Passport Projects

Week 0: 2011

This project relates to the introduction of a comprehensive suite of activities for what will be a week of Orientation from 2011, to be known as Week 0. It will build on the lessons learnt from a pilot project that ran at the Berwick campus Orientation 2010, known as FLOAT (Faculty Lateral Orientation and Transition). Week 0 aims to optimise students' first experiences of the university's intellectual life. It will assist transition, provide opportunities for student friendships and help students connect their courses with wider social themes especially sustainability and Indigenous perspectives.

For more information go to http://www.monash.edu.au/orientation/berwick/float.html

Peer Assisted Learning and Peer Assisted Study Sessions

Three Peer Assisted Learning Projects will be funded in 2010:

• Investigation of student perceptions and experiences of learning when PAL is interfaced with elearning in order to provide opportunities for students to generate and share online lecture content with their peers,
  Integration of various disciplines in Radiologic Biology through a case studies and utilising PAL to improve student engagement and learning. This project will also provide information about how PAL can be used in a tutorial setting.
• Investigation of the use of multi-level PAL in nursing education by examining senior students' perceptions and experiences of peer assisted teaching with junior students. In addition the project will examine the perceptions that year one students hold about being taught and assessed by senior students.
• Peer Assisted Study Sessions is a continuation of the 2009 project. PASS uses 2nd- and 3rd Year students to facilitate regularly scheduled supplemental study sessions for 1st Year students in targeted units. Attendance is voluntary, and the sessions are open to all students enrolled in the target units.

For more information on PAL go to http://opvclt.monash.edu.au/pal/index.html

For more information on PASS go to http://opvclt.monash.edu.au/pass/index.html

Volunteering

Monash students have for decades been involved in activities to improve the human condition - at home and overseas.  Participation in volunteering and internship programs provide valuable career enhancing skills including leadership, negotiation, problem solving, communication, teamwork and contribute to making a direct, tangible difference to the quality of life of others. The project builds in the achievements of earlier projects including Work Integrated Learning, Monash Student Volunteering and Transition Scheme, Peer Assisted Study Scheme (PASS), and incorporates the objectives of new initiatives such as the Oxfam Internships Project, Monash Students as Staff, and Student Success Advisers. 

For more information go to http://www.monash.edu.au/students/careers/volunteering.html

Honours

This project is supporting a review of the Honours offerings at Monash particularly in line with developments in the Australian Qualification Framework and Bologna Process. Updates will be added progressively.

For more information go to http://www.odvce.monash.edu/projects/honours/honours-project.html

Educate10

Educate10 will be held 13 - 17 September 2010. Planning is underway and details will be added progressively.

For more information go to http://www.odvce.monash.edu/educate10/index.html

Schools Liaison

This project provides assistance to the two new schools located at Monash campuses at Clayton and Berwick. John Monash Science School, at Clayton, will be supported in the development of an innovative curriculum that succeeds in engaging greater numbers of secondary pupils in science and mathematics via enquiry-based learning and innovative use of technology. The selective-entry Nossal High School, located at Berwick will be supported to develop an innovative curriculum that succeeds in engaging greater numbers of high ability secondary pupils in education via enquiry-based learning, innovative pedagogies and innovative use of technology.

For more information about John Monash Science School go to http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/vp-admin/jmss/index.html

For more information about Nossal High School go to http://www.smr.vic.edu.au/berwicksehs/

Australian Science Olympiad

The annual Australian Science Olympiad program is a tangible way of enhancing students' interests in developments in science, opening them up to the future career opportunities they can provide. It enables students Years 11 and 12 to spend the next two weeks completing an entire first year university science course at Monash University, including lab work, lectures and exams in the students' chosen speciality of biology, chemistry or physics.

For more information go to http://www.monash.edu.au/study/local/science-olympiad/

eLearning Projects

Audio Lectures Refurbishment

This project follows the steady improvements in infrastructure achieved in the 2008 and 2009 project. Fifteen capture appliances will be rolled out to complete the implementation of the Echo 360 software and hardware in 43 theatres at Clayton, 16 theatres at Caulfield, 10 theatres at Gippsland, 8 theatres at Peninsula and 6 theatres at Berwick. The implementation and recording in those theatres using Echo360 will be completed during 2010 with the majority of appliances installed by 2nd semester 2010.

For more information go to http://www.its.monash.edu/staff/projects/audio-lectures/index.html

myLearningSpace

This project commenced in 2008. Its objectives included the development of an integrated learning environment across a number of domains. MyLearning Spaces supports personal study, peer collaboration and student-teacher interaction through the innovative ise of tablet laptop computers.

For more information go to http://www.its.monash.edu/staff/projects/mylearningspace.html

Next Generation Learning Management System Pilot

This project begins the process of evaluating a range of new-generation learning management systems to replace the current LMS. It is trialling an open source product, developing strategic priorities for the new system and evaluating a range of systems against these strategic priorities.

For more information go to  http://www.its.monash.edu/staff/projects/muso-moodle.html

Indigenous Projects

Indigenous Initiatives Support

This project covers a number of related activities including the appointment of staff to two new positions viz. Manager, Indigenous Staffing and Manager, Indigenous Employment, the establishment of several Indigenous Internships and support for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) program which provides a culturally sensitive mentoring program by Monash University students to Indigenous secondary school students.

Student Affairs Officer

This project supports the appointment of a Project Officer in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs) in order to strengthen the capacity of the Office to undertake activities with particular focus on student-centred projects and projects that will contribute to a high quality campus experience.

Monash Indigenous Research Honours Award

Two Monash Indigenous Research Honours Award will be offered in 2010 for Indigenous students to commence a postgraduate research degree, including a conjoint honours/research degree.

For more information go to http://www.mrgs.monash.edu.au/scholarships/apply/

Business Improvement Projects

Kronos 2010 Development and Enhancement

The Kronos 2010 development and enhancements will be lead to further development of the Admissions Planning module to enable the conversion of load plans into actual places and take into consideration acceptance and retention rates and full/part-time enrolment ratios. This is the last step in providing a system which mitigates the risk to the University in undertaking admissions. The project also seeks to expand the reports available through the Admissions Monitoring module to include redevelopment and/or refinement of reports that are currently manually generated by Marketing and Future Students.

For more information go to
http://www.its.monash.edu.au/staff/management/services-catalogue/administration/load-planning-and-monitoring.html

ePress

In 2010 Monash University ePress will be rebranding as ‘Monash University Publishing' and become the ‘shopfront' for all Monash University-based publishing operations. This project will deliver an essential part of this rebrand with a shift to a new system and workflow for publishing content online. The new system and workflow will directly enable a strong and immediately evident ‘jump' in the quality of the press's products and operations.

For more information go to http://www.epress.monash.edu.au/

Staff Mobility Framework

This project comprises two programs: the Cross-Campus Staff Mobility Program (CCSMP) which focuses on supporting academic and professional staff to travel to other Monash campuses and the Travelling Fellowship for Professional Staff (TF) which supports the professional development of professional staff to undertake their roles. The benefits are wide ranging and encapsulate University and personal benefits. They include greater cross cultural awareness, improved curriculum design and delivery, improved team working relationships for cross campus delivery and increased skill development and positive profiling of the University. It can also showcase Monash achievements internationally and assist staff to build professional relationships and networks.

 For more information go to http://www.monash.edu.au/international/dvc/mobility/