VET IT

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VET IT in Schools VITTA Conference 2001
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Allan Barnes Box Hill TAFE Practising
Teacher 0409 428 221 ac_barnes_at_bigpond.com
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I teach
VET Certificate II in Information Technology VET
Certificate III in Information Technology
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The number of students picking up VET studies
has increased dramatically over the past two to
three years.
Traditionally, IT and Hospitality have been the
largest VET subjects, each attracting about 45
of enrolments.
In the past year or two, other VET subjects such
as VET Sport and Recreation have increased in
numbers dramatically.
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Why are VET subjects becoming increasingly
popular?

• are now mainstream subjects with respect to
  Outcomes (tasks),
• exams and ENTER contributions

• seen as being far more hands on, more prac
  oriented, and more
• interesting.

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How is the approach different?
VCE Business Studies/Economics/Accounting/IT/IPM/I
S is about teaching.
VET Certificate II and III in IT are about
training.
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What is the difference between teaching and
training?
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VET Cert III in IT
ICA30199 Certificate III in Information
Technology (Software Applications) Achievement of
eight core units of competence and four elective
units of competence is required for completion of
the qualification. In addition the VCE VET
program requires the achievement of the three
designated units of competence from Certificate
II.
ICA30299 Certificate III in Information
Technology (General) Achievement of eleven core
units of competence and four elective units of
competence is required for completion of the
qualification. In addition the VCE VET program
requires the achievement of the three designated
units of competence from Certificate II.
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ICA30399 Certificate III in Information
Technology (Network Administration) Achievement
of eleven core units of competence and four
elective units of competence is required for
completion of the qualification. In addition the
VCE VET program requires the achievement of the
three designated units of competence from
Certificate II.
Certificate III in Information Technology
Software Applications 430470 hours General
450580 hours Network Administration 440490
hours.
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It should be noted, however, that these hours are
nominal. They are an indication of how long it
might take to complete the unit, but some units
may take longer some will be quicker.
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Certificate III  
 
 
 
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You may find that there is overlap in units
between different training packages.
For instance, the Communicate in the Workplace
unit of competence will most likely be the same
as the Communicate in the Workplace unit that is
contained in VET Financial Services Training
Package.
The same probably applies for both the Work as
part of a team and Occupational health and
safety Procedures units of competence
So where does Recognition of Prior Learning come
into this?
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Study Score assessment A Study Score is available
for the Certificate III level programs. To be
eligible for a Study Score students must
achieve all of the competencies designated as the
unit 34 sequence be assessed in accordance
with the tools and procedures specified in the
current Information Technology Assessment Guide,
published by the VCAA undertake an examination
in the November examination period, based on the
competencies identified by VCAA
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Approaches to the Unit
I believe that there are two approaches that can
be taken in presenting VET to students.
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Approach One
Verbal and Non-verbal Communication
In a workplace, verbal communication can take a
number of forms, including talking on the
telephone, having a face-to-face meeting, an
informal meeting or small group discussion.
Non-verbal communication includes things such as
gestures, body language, the way you stand,
facial expressions, e-mail, graphics, diagrammes
and pictures, physical contact, as well as tone
and quality of your voice.
Whether we use verbal or non-verbal communication
will depend upon the situation that we are faced
with, and generally we will choose the type of
communication that best suits the outcome that
that we want to achieve. In some cases, we should
be aware of cultural differences. In some
cultures, it is considered rude to make eye
contact with your boss or superior, or ask for a
pay rise .
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Approach 2
Activity
Verbal (vs) Non-verbal Communication
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Motivating the students

• I have found that there is intrinsic motivation
  in the course for
• students.

• Provide constant feedback to students. This can
  be both
• verbal and non-verbal.

• Mark off units of competence in class as students
  complete
• them.

4. Students like to see units put behind them.
They like the fact that once the work is
done, they do not have to come back to it.
5. They like the practical nature of the work.
6. They like the self-paced, autonomous style of
learning
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7. They like to have targets or goals to reach
.i.e. complete three units by the end of
term 1 complete 5 units by the end of term
2, etc.
8. Many of them have liked the fact that
assessment has not included exams they can
get a TAFE certificate without sitting exams.
9. They like having a student workbook to work
through, as it gives them a great sense of
how much work needs to be covered in the
course.
10. They like a variety of approaches not just
chalk and talk, or providing responses to
written questions .
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Approaches to the Work as part of a team unit.
1. The traditional approach
When working as part of a team, each team member
will have a specific role and responsibility
..
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2. My approach to Work as part of a team.
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Resources
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and thats it ..
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Seriously
You will find that resources are generally quite
scarce.
Why?
The market isnt large enough for traditional
publishers to produce commercially viable
resources.
They take a wait and see approach lets see
what the market is like in two years time.
Great but what do you do in the meantime?
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Try Heinemann, Eastern House, Jacaranda, VCTA,
etc.
I wrote my own book which is commercially
available and has been book listed by a large
number of schools.
Extensive use of the Internet.
General text books that I have bought over the
years and are lying around.
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Human resources By the middle of next year, the
Office of ETTE will requires schools and
registered training organisations to ensure that
all assessors and trainers (ie the teachers) have
the following as a minimum Certificate IV in
Assessment and Workplace Training High level
proficiency in the competency being assessed
Proficiency in the identified related
competencies.
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RTO Partnerships
Use and abuse your RTO partner.
They are getting money and kudos out of you.
Get the most out of them.
Use VITTA. VITTA is now an RTO for Cert II and
Cert III, so you can use and abuse VITTA as
well, especially if you or your school is a
VITTA member.
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As such, it is now possible for VITTA to form a
partnership with you, your students and your
school to help you with your VET IT course.
We can come out and talk to you.
We can come out and talk to your students.
We can provide you with an assessment disk.
We can help with the tasks at the Unit 3 and 4
level.
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Why is VITTA doing this?
When I was teaching VET at my last school, I
heard from my RTO three times.
First time invoice.
Second time reminder I hadnt paid the invoice.
Third time reminder to send student work to
them.
Is this how an RTO should work?
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Keeping track of student progress
Students love to know where they are up to
They love to know where they stand in the course,
and how far they have to go.
I use an Excel spreadsheet that students have
access to. This lists the units of competencies,
and shows which units the students have or have
not completed.
I try to get students to work through the units
of competencies in the same order. I have tried
to work them out so that there is a mix of
theory and prac related units, and the work
generally tends to increase in difficulty
through the course.
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I also try to start off with one or two quick
units, so that the students can get into the
course, and can get a couple of units out of the
way before any malaise sets in.
In this way, the tend to think that they are
achieving well, and have a reason to continue
working.
On the other hand, if they whip through a couple
of the quicker units, they can tend to relax
because they think that they have it all under
control.
A very strong incentive is the fact that students
do not have to attend my classes once they have
finished the course. This tends to be a great
way of encouraging students to be on-task for
longer periods of time.
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Period 5 and 6 Friday afternoons.
Ughhhh.
Shiver.
Cringe.
My solution?
Work Placement !!!
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So to next year.
Tasks.
Exam.
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Time for questions .