gettingstarted

Getting started
THED is a learning community of like-minded individuals interested in helping each other out to learn new ways of working and using technolgies within the tourism and hospitality faculty and industry. Click //'Join this space'// (top left of screen) to become a member of the THED community wiki.

Here are the recommended steps to work through at your own pace...

A- Establish your learning plan
//'A learning plan is a tool for managing one's knowledge and skills and a way to expand one's personal network. It can also become a record of what one has learned and how one learned it. And in some cases, a learning plan becomes a valuable resource when teaching or mentoring.' - [|Steven Forth, A learning plan for life]//


 * 1) Think about your learning goals and timeline for achieving them.
 * 2) Make an appointment with your organisations education technologist/ mentor.
 * 3) Refer to learning plan example and template.
 * 4) [|Create your own wiki page] and [|link to] the [|thed wiki navigation] under faculty section (or simply link t your own blog, portfolio under your area of expertise).
 * 5) Identify resources and record steps or actions in your wiki page that you will take to take to achieve goals, discuss with your mentor and manager what resources you need e.g. time, equipment...
 * 6) Identify how you will collect evidence to demonstrate the outcomes from your actions i.e blog, wiki, photos...
 * 7) Share your learning plan with others to gain support and advice from THED community by.

Click here for a learning plan example. Click here for the learning plan template.

B- Learn the communication technologies
To start of with you'll want to be able to contact, talk to and keep tabs on what's going on in the THED community.

First you'll need to familiarise and develop your capability with the key THED communication technologies, here's a summary:
 * [|Adobe connect web conferencing]
 * Timetabled online professional development activities.
 * Atending ad hoc meetings and informal support.
 * [|Google calendar]
 * Shared calendar to keep tabs on stuff of interest.
 * [|Google group]and [|Wiki Discussion]
 * Online group for posting updates and discussion forums.
 * Del.icio.us
 * Used for sharing links to online resources for different teaching sections.

To learn how to use:
 * [|Check out key dates for training in the technologies.]
 * Go to cool tools and activity sheets.
 * Links to useful online tools and activity sheets step by step instructions on how to use.
 * You can work through activity sheets at your own pace and use with your students.
 * [|Contact your educational technologist mentor for your section to arrange training.]

Note: Learning these can form part of the outcomes for your learning plan. You'll also be able to use them in your classroom teaching.

C - In class student engagement
Soon you'll want to implement what you learn from the THED network in your classroom right? (All with in class hands on support from your mentor.)
 * 1) Consult your mentor and indentify a simple list of practical student tasks signed off against assessment criteria.
 * 2) Session plan how you are going to incorporate the technology within the classroom. For example how can the students capture video and photos using mobiles or digital cameras of the various stages of their assessment activities? How are you going to publish student's media?
 * 3) Develop activity sheets with step by step instructions for students to folllow.
 * 4) Brief students and trial use of technology in the classroom, then implement.
 * 5) Publish student media for example using a class blog or wiki.
 * 6) Link the teaching outcomes of your work to your e-portfolio.

Note: The activity sheets and session plans can be showcased with colleagues in your section or in adobe connect as part of your final e-portfolio.