Power of AI in Education 

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Shruti Malavde.

Come on a journey with us to explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence in the education sector, with a focus on empowering teachers. We will delve into practical applications of large language models, including lesson planning, content generation, and personalised learning.

Additionally, the session will cover the integration of AI tools in mobile phones, enabling on-the-go access to educational resources and real-time assistance. If time permits, we will also discuss how AI-powered features in Microsoft Office products can enhance teacher efficiency.

Join us to discover how AI can be a powerful ally in creating a more efficient and enriching educational experience for both teachers and students. 

To emphasize the topic and introduce myself, I would like to use an AI-generated video for my bio.

Click here - Shruti

Shruti has been working passionately in the Adult Education Sector for the past 15 years. During her career, she has successfully completed projects like Virtual Staffroom, Google Classrooms, Volunteer Database website and has written several courses: Operate Windows 10 efficiently, Zoom and Cybersecurity pathways, to name a few.

Experienced Information Communication Technology professional with a demonstrated history of working in the adult education sector, a compassionate IT Support Manager helping teachers educate the community to bridge the digital divide amongst CALD learners. Shruti is skilled in E-Learning, Learning Management, Educational Technology, virtual classroom, Instructional Design and Resource Development. She is also Microsoft Office Specialist Word Expert and Google Ambassador.

We look forward to seeing you there.

VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who: Shruti Malavde

When: Thursday, 12^th September 2024, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom

What engaging literacy tasks look like between CGEA I, II, III 

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Stephen Robertson.

This presentation is designed for you to understand literacy task development across CGEA levels I, II and III, whilst highlighting task complexity, appropriate terminology, and useful tools you can utilise throughout the process.

We will be looking at what types of terminology are used for each of the 3 levels. We will then be analysing the reading, writing, and oral structure of tasks aimed at the 3 different levels.

With understanding the structure used, we will then be reviewing some example tasks for reading, writing and oracy across the 3 levels. After this, we will be discussing ways you could create and deliver more engaging and well thoug-thought-sks for your students. Finally, at the end, we will be recapping the key points about literacy tasks at each certification level, task creation, terminology used, and tools we could use to create a more engaging classroom experience.

Stephen has been teaching CGEA for over 6 years at all 3 levels. He started off as a graphic designer, then studied and worked in the IT internet security field. He then studied a diploma in community services which allowed him to learn about the CGEA and VCAL educational field. He started to then work as a support worker whilst going back to university to do a double degree in health sciences and secondary teaching. Whilst studying this course from 2018 onwards, he started to teach CGEA units and when he completed in 2021, he then started to teach CGEA full time. 

Who: Stephen Roberson

When: Thursday, 22^nd August 2024, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Teaching adult beginner learners to read and spell: a systematic phonics-based classroom program incorporating strategies to enhance memory

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Anna Fishley.

VALBEC presents another great Professional Learning Session presented by Anna Fishley.

The first part of this session examines current research and recommendations for teaching reading and spelling to beginner adult learners, focusing on the EAL classroom.  It incorporates research into structured phonics- based instruction and strategies to enhance learner memory.

The second part is application-focused, with a demonstration of a reading and spelling program for adult beginner learners in the EAL classroom.  The program is user-friendly for teachers and empowers learners by systematically building up their literacy skills.  The program empowers learners both inside the classroom and through exercises they can do independently at home.

Participants will come away with strategies for teaching foundational reading and spelling skills as well as ideas for creating their own classroom resources.

Anna has been teaching EAL to adult migrants for 17 years and prior to that, worked for 18 years as a psychologist in the field of educational and developmental psychology.  She combines her knowledge of cognitive processes involved in learning with her passion for teaching engaging evidence- based EAL lessons.   

Who: Anna Fishley

When: Tuesday 23rd July 2024 

Where: Zoom

Lean and Green - The Global Machine

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by John Blake.

VALBEC presents another great Professional Learning Session presented by John Blake.

Research recently defined three inhibitors of sustainability development: Management adoption, communication, education. Are Australian RTOs contributing to the solution or the problem?

This session highlights pain-points and provides ideas for solutions in normalising Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) within vocational education and seeks to answer questions for students to graduate work ready and ESG savvy

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is UNESCO’s education sector response to the urgent 21st century challenges. Many schools conduct inclusive green projects, but often VET and Higher Education are not involved in personal or industry sustainability activities unless students are studying sustainability within their unit delivery.

• What are areas for focus?
• How can ESG become a part of the students’ and RTO’s daily routine?
• How can trainers incorporate ESG within units without increasing the curriculum workload?
• How can your RTO involve students for some quick-wins and creative ESG learning opportunities?

John is passionate about the opportunity to inspire educators to excel in enthusing learners. With more than 25 years in Australian and international teaching contexts (Teacher Education, Foundation Skills, Hospitality), John applies technology in the classroom to meet the needs of students using hands-on and interactive resources.

An accomplished conference presenter, John has taught in schools, TAFEs, private RTOs, prisons, industry, and universities across 20 countries re-inventing vocational education experiences and ringing theory alive through creative and contextualised delivery to support, engage and enable learners from all walks of life.

We look forward to seeing you there.
VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who: John Blake

When: Thursday, 20^th June 2024, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $10

Maths in the VET Sector

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Ruth Patterson.

VALBEC presents another great Professional Learning Session presented by Ruth Patterson.

From traditional trades, Business and IT courses, Hair and Beauty, and food studies, the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector provides thousands of students with affordable, practical study options which align to industry, and provide pathways to employment. The Maths and Numeracy skills required in these courses can vary from basic calculations to more complex algebra and problem solving.

This presentation will look at some of the different examples of maths in VET courses, with emphasis on practical applications, and the “number sense” which we all have, and just need to apply it!

Ruth Patterson spent 10 years in the paint, plastics and packaging industries as an Industrial Chemist and technical sales representative. After having 3 sons, she did a Dip Ed and has now taught numeracy in the VET sector for almost 20 years, with some secondary school teaching in the background.

She taught at Victoria University for many years, and with Kangan TAFE in Corrections Education for seven years. She now teaches Maths in the Learning Support area, primarily with the Trades students, at Melbourne Polytechnic.

Who: Ruth Patterson

When: Tuesday, 23^rd April 2024, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

It Is All About Money

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Chris Tully.

This session is a follow on from the Financial Literacy session delivered for Learn Local practitioners through Adult Learning Australia on 25/01/2024.

It will look at delivering money concepts to low level numeracy students. It is designed for both numeracy teachers and literacy teachers who need to deliver numeracy. It is a standalone session so if you didn’t attend the session on 25^th Jan, you should still be able to gain something from the session.

Chris Tully has worked in the Adult Education field for 33 years across a range of areas, teaching numeracy. Prior to this, she worked as a Mathematics teacher in the secondary system.

Over the last 12 years she has worked in the Literacy and Numeracy support area, coordinating literacy and numeracy support to a variety of VET programs.

She also has contributed to the Australian Core Skills Framework as an expert commentator. She has been involved in the accreditation and re-accreditation of various curriculum and training packages including the Certificates in General Education for Adults.

We look forward to seeing you there.
VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who: Chris Tully
When: Wednesday, 20^th March 2024, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom
Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

The role of GRIT in the vocational classroom

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Liam Frost-Camilleri.

Motivating and engaging students in a vocational setting is a complex task and in this professional learning session, Liam Frost-Camilleri will examine the role of GRIT in the vocational classroom.

The focus of this presentation will be on the pivotal role this psychological theory plays in cultivating passion, determination, engagement and motivation within the classroom. By fostering a resilient mindset and encouraging students to persevere through challenges, GRIT becomes a powerful tool in shaping student success and personal growth.

Liam will discuss how GRIT serves as a catalyst for career adaptability, equipping students with the resilience needed to navigate the ever-changing landscape of employment. This presentation will explore how the cultivation of GRIT nurtures autonomy, empowering students to take ownership of their learning experiences.

Liam is an early career researcher in the education space. He is an academic at Federation University Australia, lecturing in the Master of Teaching and enabling programs and is the current President at VALBEC. 

Liam completed his Masters in 2018 on VCAL teachers and how they navigate the core skills and compliance space, which led him to his current doctoral study topic; reengagement of early school leavers in second chance education institutions. 

A passionate educator, Liam has spent his career working in secondary schools (public and private) teaching at Primary level as well as alternative education settings, in Vocational Education and more recently in Higher Education.

'It's all about you' - Exploring Strategies for Educator Wellbeing

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Alexandra Vardis.

Being an educator can be immensely meaningful and rewarding, and at the same time incredibly challenging and stressful. In this workshop we will reflect on our experience as educators and explore self-care strategies to support our wellbeing at work. We will examine the PERMA framework for understanding our mental and emotional health and identify protective factors to enhance our resilience when challenges arise. Finally, we will consider the importance of setting boundaries to care for our own and others’ wellbeing. 

Alexandra Vardis is an Instructional Coach in the Professional Teaching Practice team at Melbourne Polytechnic.  She has extensive experience teaching young people in VCAL and Youth EAL programs and has been a Program Leader of Youth EAL courses. Alexandra is passionate about partnering with educators to enhance creativity, collaboration and innovation in learning and teaching to ensure that all learners have the opportunity to achieve and realise their learning goals, regardless of their background or life circumstances.

Who: Alexandra Vardis
When: Wednesday, 4^th October 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom

Teaching Literacy at Loddon Prison

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Helen Lucas.

Helen’s students are prisoners – In her presentation she will explain the structure and complexities of delivering CGEA literacy classes within a prison context.

Education in prison is called ‘Edjo’ and is voluntary. Helen will discuss the practicalities and complexities of teaching in this dynamic environment - engagement and retention, obstacles, content, assessment, student-based learning, etc.

Helen Lucas has been teaching adult literacy for over twenty years, primarily in community settings. She has been teaching literacy at Loddon Prison, a medium security Corrections facility for men in Castlemaine for three years.
She is also a writer; her work includes poetry, short stories, children's books, a play, and teaching resources. Alongside her teaching and writing, Helen convened a monthly poetry reading for the Shire of Nillumbik for seventeen years.

We look forward to seeing you there.
VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who: Helen Lucas
When: Tuesday, 12^th September 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom

"How Coping Skills can help and hinder students in adult education" 

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Linno Rhodes.

We all have coping skills or strategies - some of them serve us well, others, not so much. This interactive workshop will guide you in understanding your own and others’ ‘go to' behaviours and actions when the going gets tough. The focus will be on the adult Language, Literacy. Numeracy and Digital (LLND) skills + classroom.

Linno Rhodes works in community-based adult education and is on the ACAL committee and Fine Print (the VALBEC journal) editorial committee.

She is an International Specialised Skills Fellow where her research centred on adult literacy and the relational sciences.

We look forward to seeing you there.
VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who:   Linno Rhodes
When: Wednesday, 9^th August 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom

Blended learning strategies and tools

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Melanie Kyle.

The aim of this presentation is to share findings from Melanie’s ISSI Fellowship with examples of international best practice in blended learning for disadvantaged VET learners. The presentation will highlight strategies to improve engagement and participation using the blended learning approach. The rapid shift to blended learning at VET institutions requires increased staff capability and skills in this area.

Melanie is a  passionate educator, advocate of life-long learning and a keen traveller. She has worked at RMIT University since 2008 as a VE teacher for 14 years and now as a Learning Designer. At the end of 2020 she was awarded an ISSI Fellowship with the aim to identify international best practice in blended learning for disadvantaged VET learners. Specifically, her Fellowship research focuses on how to improve engagement, participation, and completion rates using the blended learning approach.

We look forward to seeing you there.
Valbec PL Forums Team

Who:   Melanie Kyle

When: Monday 24th July 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

Sport and recreation - good themes to use in your numeracy teaching

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Dave Tout.

This session will focus on practical and hands-on approaches that use the theme or topic of sport and recreation to encourage and support learners to engage with and understand maths and numeracy concepts.

This theme is an accessible and extensive context to use in your teaching. Sport and recreational activities can reveal a range of quantitative, measurement, spatial and statistical (and even algebraic) numeracy knowledge and skills embedded in people’s everyday life.

Come along and learn how to use the theme of sport and recreation in your classrooms, across all levels of the ACSF – from pre-level 1 through to level 5. 

Dave is an adult and youth LLN educator who is particularly interested in making mathematics relevant, interesting, and fun for all students, and is recognised as one of Australia's leading numeracy personnel with over 50 years' experience working across schools, TAFEs, community providers, universities, national education bodies and workplaces.

He has worked at a state, national and international level in research, curriculum, assessment, and professional development. Dave has written many numeracy and maths curriculum, teaching, and PD resources, and is also an author of the Australian Core Skills Framework.

Dave has been involved in international numeracy assessments including the OECD's PIAAC and PISA surveys of adults and young people. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

Valbec PL Forums Team

Who:   Dave Tout

When: Wednesday 12th July 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

It is all about you - exploring strategies for educator wellbeing

A Professional Learning session presented by VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council).

This session had to be cancelled, unfortunately.

In this session Gilly Robson will guide educators to reflect on teacher well-being and discuss some strategies to make boundaries your friend.

Gilly Robson is an experienced educator in the areas of EAL and support for students with additional needs in education settings.

She is currently working in the Professional Teaching Practice team at Melbourne Polytechnic where she supports educator capability through mentoring, coaching and professional learning.

She also supports staff to understand and manage their workload requirements and wellbeing as part of her union representative role with the AEU. 

We look forward to seeing you there.
Valbec PL Forums Team

Who:   Gilly Robson

When: Cancelled

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

Why context is the critical starting point in numeracy

A Professional Learning session presented by VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council).

Real-world contexts are critical for engaging learners and providing the purpose for learning about how to use and apply maths in the real world. Starting with the real-world in teaching maths and numeracy provides numerous benefits in enhancing our learner’ successful learning and understanding of numeracy and maths skills and can overcome our learner’s anxiety to the world of mathematics.

This session will look at why and how this works in practice, both in your planning and in your teaching. It will use examples such as shopping, food, and sport to illustrate how this can work. 

Dave is an adult and youth LLN educator who is particularly interested in making mathematics relevant, interesting, and fun for all students, and is recognised as one of Australia's leading numeracy personnel with over 50 years' experience working across schools, TAFEs, community providers, universities, national education bodies and workplaces.

He has worked at a state, national and international level in research, curriculum, assessment, and professional development. Dave has written many numeracy and maths curriculum, teaching, and PD resources, and is also an author of the Australian Core Skills Framework.

Dave has been involved in international numeracy assessments including the OECD's PIAAC and PISA surveys of adults and young people. 

Who:   Dave Tout

When: Tuesday 16th May 2023, 5-6 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

Fostering self-efficacy and autonomy in the classroom

Now that classrooms are returning to ‘normal’, it’s important to focus on ways of supporting our students in their educational pursuits.

In this Professional Learning session Liam Frost-Camilleri, academic at Federation University and President of VALBEC, will share research and strategies that will help you to foster student self-efficacy and autonomy.

Belief in the self is a key ingredient for student engagement and success in the classroom as is the ability to create independent leaners who are able to take control of their learning.

Using strategies that help to expose thinking, develop rapport, and engage students, Liam will use his professional experience teaching in TAFE classrooms and university enabling programs to highlight the best ways a teacher can foster self-efficacy and autonomy in their students.

Liam is an early career researcher in the education space. He is an academic at Federation University, lecturing in the Master of Teaching and enabling programs and is the current President at VALBEC.

Liam completed his Masters in 2018 on VCAL teachers and how they navigate the core skills and compliance space, which led him to his current doctoral study topic; reengagement of early school leavers in second chance education institutions. A passionate educator, Liam has spent his career working in secondary schools (public and private) teaching at Primary level as well as alternative education settings, in Vocational Education and more recently in Higher Education.

Who:   Liam Frost-Camilleri

When: Wednesday 3rd May 2023, 5-6 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

Engaging classroom activities to address trauma informed learning

Dan has been teaching in the AMEP for 8 years. He is currently based at Chisholm Dandenong, teaching a Youth Class. His other interests include hanging out with his family, singing in choirs and at weddings.

Dan has a stack of activities that he has amassed after researching for ways to improve outcomes in his AMEP Youth Class. He had significant behavioural and learning issues and he needed to find more creative ways to address these.

Guided by a Trauma-Informed Learning Guide from Foundation House, Dan became a member of a team-building group called 'Playmeo', got some mentoring from its director and went through a stack of 'old school' Drama Games for EAL books.

From this he has collated activities for the different outcomes, experimented with a lot of them and now he is here to disseminate!

Who:  Dan Greig

When: Wednesday 30th November 2022, 5-6 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25

Recording: