Archive for the ‘Scholarships’ Category
Education Network Australia (edna) was a collaborative project between all Australian governments, states and territories and sectors of education and training. The project was partly funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Initiated in 1994 as a means to facilitate access to the internet for schools and vocational education providers, edna developed as a national framework for all levels and sectors of education. Technical development began in earnest in 1996 with an online directory being created. It was considered to be amongst the first database driven website of its kind in Australia and considered to be very much ?state-of-the-art.? edna underpinned key government strategies and policies of national and jurisdictional governments in Australia by providing infrastructure, resources and support in a cost-effective model of service delivery.
Over its life edna has historically played an important strategic role in supporting the uptake of ICT in education and training, supporting practitioners in implementing current technologies and showing leadership and best practice in addressing emerging needs that come with advancement in technology.
Today marks the end of an era. Education Services Australia would like to acknowledge all those innovative, Information Management and Education professionals who have worked on edna over the years and wish them well for the future.
The decommissioning of edna will commence on 30 June 2011, and be completed on 30 September 2011. This decision is the outcome of a recent review. For further information on which services will be affected, please visit the site.
The 2012 DEEWR Scholarships for Career Advisers applications are now open. The Industry Placement Scholarships provide $10,000 to enable short-term industry placements and the Study Scholarships provide $5,000 to undertake post graduate study in career education. Applications close 8 July 2011.
From 11 May, 2011, educators around the world have a new online tool that will help them communicate better with their staff and students when it comes to social media. The Facebook For Educators Guide is available for free download in the Facebook Family Safety Center. It aims to answer teachers' top questions about Facebook from the most appropriate tools to connect with students, to teaching parents how to reinforce lessons of 'digital citizenship'. This guide is designed to minimize the risks, while maximizing the benefits of social media in education.
Facebook has sparked a storm with parents and privacy groups over plans to open its popular social network to children under 13. Premier Anna Bligh also weighed into the fierce debate after Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg told an education forum in the US he wants to loosen the current age restriction and allow pre-teens to use the site as a study tool.
On Monday 23 May 2011, the House Standing Committee on Education and Employment tabled its report on the inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools entitled School libraries and teacher librarians in 21st century Australia.
The UK e-Learning Foundation says pupils whose families have a computer are likely to achieve a higher grade. The charity says that children without access to a computer in the evening are being increasingly disadvantaged in the classroom. BBC Research suggests that 1.2 million teenagers log on to revision pages every week and those using online resources were on average likely to attain a grade higher in exams.
An Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) report released this week by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations calls for the wider use of aptitude testing to ensure that senior secondary students with the capacity to do well at university are able to gain admission. Report co-author, ACER Higher Education Research Director, Associate Professor Hamish Coates said there is a need to develop new approaches to university selection that are simple and transparent for prospective students, and that maintain practical benefits for institutions.
The electronic versions of "Feathers for Phoebe" are now available for download from the National Simultaneous Storytime website, for use only in conjunction with National Simultaneous Storytime events and activities. National Simultaneous Storytime will be at 11 am on 25 May. Every year, at over a thousand locations around Australia - libraries, schools, kindergartens, childcare centres and bookshops - 140,000 children read the same Australian children's book simultaneously and enjoy a range of supporting educational activities that promote the value of reading and literacy.
Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development Mark Arbib launched the Indigenous Youth Careers Pathways Program (IYCP) on 16 May 2011. Starting in the 2012 school year, IYCP will give up to 6400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students the opportunity to get a school-based traineeship. The program will assist Indigenous students in years 10 to 12 in targeted high schools, with mentoring and case management to help them deal with issues that make the transition from school to work difficult. The Budget initiative is funded for $50.7 million over four years.
