Federation’s Connected Classrooms technology reaching more students

Federation TAFE’s Connected Classrooms technology is increasing access to learning for students and bumping up enrolment numbers in rural and regional areas, ensuring courses are sustainable and viable.

The Connected Classroom is a technology enhanced physical classroom that allows students to connect to class through Microsoft Teams. Students can simultaneously attend the Connected Classroom in-person on-campus or as an online learner off-campus or from another campus.

The learning experience is designed to be active and engaging and allows students to collaborate and interact with their peers and teachers regardless of location.

Federation TAFE is delivering classes in Early Childhood Education and Care, Training and Assessment, Community Services, Business, Building and Construction, Building Surveying and Design and Engineering and Electrotechnology in the hybrid mode.

Kylie Mookhoek, Early Childhood Education and Care teacher, says the flexibility of attending class online using the Connected Classroom technology is of particular benefit to students with family commitments.

The Early Childhood Education team moved to the hybrid mode in response to student demand in the Wimmera where there were interested students but not enough enrolments to field a “full” class on campus, and because of a skills shortage for Wimmera-based trainers.

By using a Connected Classroom, the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care class size has doubled compared to the same time last year, with students learning from Connected Classrooms in Horsham and Ballarat and more students attending class solely online.

To ensure classes don’t become Ballarat-centric, a trainer travels to teach from the Connected Classroom at the Wimmera campus each month which also has the benefit of building better working relationships between teachers and Wimmera students.

Building and Construction teacher John English has been using online technologies to teach since 2019 and says Connected Classrooms have increased reach and improved efficiency in teaching and learning.

John teaches both Diploma of Building and Construction and Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying from Connected Classrooms which has enabled students in Melbourne, Melton, Warrnambool, Mildura, and Albury Wodonga to learn through Federation TAFE.

With most students in his classes attending online, John says preparation and planning for how the class will be delivered is key to a successful lesson and helps students online engage as much as those in the room so they're not just "passive dots on a screen".

Another course to benefit from hybrid modes of learning and Connected Classrooms is the Diploma of Community Services, one of Federation’s most in-demand courses, which has seen a 15 to 20 per cent increase in enrolments since using the technology.

The Diploma of Community Services has approximately 80 students across two classes with two trainers teaching students in the classroom and online in Wimmera, Ballarat, and other locations.

The hybrid mode and a versatile timetable has enabled students over 100km from the Wimmera campus to study at home for one day and come into class for one day reducing the financial and family impact of travelling to study in-person.

Community Services Teacher, Mark Tonzing says the flexible delivery, as well as Free TAFE has given students much more choice when it comes to how they train and gain their qualifications.

“This method is enabling us to meet the demand for these important skills, with many of our students able to secure jobs as soon as they graduate.”

Federation TAFE is using Connected Classrooms technology to meet employer and student demand for skills in more locations, catering to students not normally able to enrol in training or attend class in-person who want more flexible learning options.

Connected Classrooms technology is a feature of the Co-operative Centre of Excellence at Federation’s SMB Campus in Ballarat, which was developed thanks to a $9.5 million grant from the Victorian state government.