Luke Hodgson, Project Manager Learning Technologies, Curriculum Services Division, NT DEET
Peter White, Project Manager Assessment for Learning, Curriculum Services Division, NT DEET
ABSTRACT
The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training (NT DEET) has made an ongoing investment in the improvement of learning outcomes for students through the use of technology by building infrastructure, conducting research and providing professional learning opportunities that transform, enhance, enable and amplify education programs.
The Le@rning Federation is an initiative of State and Federal governments of Australia and New
Zealand which has the goal of procuring high quality online curriculum content for delivery to State and Territory systems in Australia and New Zealand.
The Northern Territory program to distribute The Le@rning Federation online content to schools and to ensure accessibility and planning support to teachers wishing to utilise the learning objects has involved a multi-stage process. This process has allowed NT DEET to explore issues relating to access to, planning for and use of learning objects. The ‘Action Learning with Learning Objects’ (ALLO) project for NT teachers has been designed to address the specific learning needs that were identified by educators involved in the Trial and Pilot stages of the program.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Le@rning Federation is commissioning and obtaining online content in the form of learning objects – digital material and interactive resources that can be used for a variety of educational contexts and purposes.
These materials can provide, for example, simulated interactive opportunities for students to engage with learning experiences that they might not normally have the opportunity to access. Discrete ‘chunks’ of explicit learning content in the form of learning objects can be integrated into a larger education plan that incorporates further learning and targeted assessment (The Le@rning
Federation, & Northern Territory Government, 2004).
The Northern Territory is distributing these learning objects via a resource repository system called
“Explore NT”. This system stores and catalogues a variety of resources, including The Le@rning
Federation online content. Teachers can search or browse for resources stored in Explore NT which can be downloaded for professional use or that can later be used for online delivery to students.
The Basic E Learning Tool Set (BELTS) is an open source, flexible and interactive piece of software that has been designed to assist teachers in the creation of learning sequences. BELTS supports the management of learning objects and their integration into a larger sequence of learning, providing a format for students to access learning objects within the structure of an outcomes focussed series of learning experiences (The Le@rning Federation, & Northern Territory Government, 2004).
Educators can use BELTS to create online learning sequences for students that can incorporate learning objects, websites, activities and other digital materials.
TRIAL STAGE
In mid 2003, NT DEET with support from the Le@rning Federation conducted a school based trial of the harvesting, distribution and use of The Le@rning Federation learning objects. This trial was run at
Woodroffe Primary School and focussed on ascertaining the professional learning needs of teachers who wish to use learning objects through the Explore NT content management system and the BELTS electronic delivery system. Furthermore, its purpose was to explore potential management and technical issues in relation to access to the learning objects.

Woodroffe Primary School is a medium size primary school located in Palmerston near Darwin. Of the nineteen teachers in the school, eight participated in the trial and they were encouraged to integrate lessons and learning objects into their programmed units of work, rather than use them in artificial, stand alone lessons (The Le@rning Federation, & Northern Territory Government, 2004).
The findings of this trial revealed key points about the optimum conditions for professional learning in the use of learning objects. Time was spent in assisting the teachers to learn the technical skills of how to use BELTS and they subsequently found BELTS to be ‘an extremely useful and effective way to integrate learning technology outcomes and create meaningful lessons for students’ (The Le@rning
Federation, & Northern Territory Government, 2004, p. 10).
The trial demonstrated that teachers required only a small amount of learning time to enable them to use BELTS. However, it was noted that longer and more involved professional learning would be required to address the pedagogical considerations of integrating learning objects in a meaningful way.
‘To ensure that online learning is an effective way to enhance student learning and engagement, teachers wanted to understand how to make learning objects more meaningful, using follow up tasks which would allow students to reflect on their learning, evaluate and apply their knowledge, research further topics, present understandings of topics.’ (The Le@rning Federation, & Northern Territory
Government, 2004, p. 4)
Among the recommendations of the trial were several specifically related to professional learning in the use of BELTS and learning objects:

That school based personnel be identified to work with teachers in their school to assist in planning for the integrated use of learning objects.

That teachers have access to a variety of forms of professional learning including regular inservices be provided at the system and school level.
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That modelling be provided by teachers or school leaders in the effective use of BELTS and learning objects.
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That opportunities for learning reflection be provided for teachers.
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That a repository of lessons be developed to share good ideas and practices.
PILOT STAGE
The NT resource discovery, content management and electronic delivery pilot commenced in in April
2004 and involved the roll out for the first time of Explore NT and BELTS to five schools from various locations and demographics across the Northern Territory.
Nightcliff Primary School in Darwin, Larapinta Primary School in Alice Springs and Katherine South
Primary School were selected, as they were three of the Northern Territory “Lighthouse Schools” which showcase the integration of ICT through their sharing of their practice with other schools.
Woodroffe Primary School was involved in the original BELTS Trial in 2003 and their teachers were keen to be involved in a further pilot after the success of the first one.
Gunbalanya Community Education Centre (CEC) caters for Indigenous students ranging from
Preschool to Year 10 as well as co-ordinating three remote homeland education centres that were also involved in the pilot.
Schools were asked to describe how they incorporated and used resources available to them through participating in this pilot. Teachers at the schools kept learning logs about their experiences using
Expolore NT and BELTS to access a range of resources including learning objects. A facility created using online course delivery software was used to share these journals and reflections. The schools used the resources in a number of ways, including the incorporation of learning objects into maths contract work, a trial of students accessing a learning sequence from home, as part of an Independent
Learning Program, and the use of learning objects as part of a fully integrated unit of work. Teachers spent time planning for the use of learning objects through Explore NT and BELTS, and students were able to access them individually or as part of a small group.
Analysis of Explore NT and BELTS was done through a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and
Threats (SWOT) analysis, in which it was identified that, although both of these facilities offer the advantages of versatility, improved student motivation and engagement, and opportunity to sequentially plan for the integration of ICT in classroom practice, there were concerns that teachers in

the Implementation Stage would need extra time to experiment with the resources. In identifying their needs as part of the Pilot, teachers placed emphasis on the need for time to experiment and to actually construct learning sequences. Teachers involved in the trial also recognised that there was a risk of “a disproportionate focus on the development of content” (Miers, 2004), with the resource driving students’ learning rather than learning being driven by student needs in a constructivist manner.
EVOLUTION OF ALLO
The design of a professional learning model to address the concerns of teachers and the findings of the pilot and trial phases, commenced with a review of literature focusing on teacher professional learning. McKenzie (1999, p. 65-74) describes a list of success factors designed to blend the use of
ICT into the life of classrooms. These success factors form one strand of influence that resulted in the key features of the ALLO Project. The other strand of influence from literature included the constructivist elearning principles from Miers (2004). In developing a project that focuses on student learning through the use of ICT, a set of learning principles were identified to underpin and drive particular features of the project. Table 1 lists Mackenzie’s success factors and the principles of elearning and aligns them with the features of the ALLO project.
Table 1 Alignment of Project Features
McKenzie Miers Project features
Invest in human infrastructure
Worthwhile tasks
Use adult learning principles
Focus on student learning
Develop confidence, comfort and calm with competence
Team work and a culture of support
Rich menu of learning experiences
Provide time
Persist
Use of learning models
Constructive and reflective
Authentic
Purposeful/ intentional
Cooperative, collaborative and conversational
Active
Long term commitment
Provide substantial funding for the life of the project
Use action learning processes for teachers and promote a variety of approaches for students
Use professional learning structures that provide choice and focus on their concerns
Teachers implement classroom projects that focus on student learning issues.
Peer support strategies are used to develop confidence and competence
Mutual support systems are designed into the program
Meeting programs respond to teacher concerns
Reflection and planning time are provided
ALLO PROJECT FEATURES
The primary focus of the project is to develop teacher confidence and competence in the integrated use of learning technologies in classroom programs, particularly the use of The Le@rning Federation online content. It also offers opportunities for the development of skills in working with others to mentor and provide feedback on classroom projects; and, knowledge of a repository of online resources available through and BELTS. These project outcomes are designed to be achieved through a number of key project features. Explore NT

Meetings
Teachers meet during the school year to learn about the range of learning objects available at the time, share classroom projects and develop new skills in using ICT to promote student learning.
Action learning processes will be used to develop integrated ICT learning programs for students.
These projects will focus on the use of online content (learning objects) as well as other ICT.
Reports of the classroom projects will feature as part of the meeting days through the sharing sessions and have the potential to form resources / case studies for distribution to wider audiences.
Peer mentoring
Peer mentoring strategies will be a major feature of the project. These processes will be used to guide the in-class support processes and the sharing sessions. ecollaboration
While working on classroom projects participants will be able to interact using a range of ICT tools including the Janison environment, email, and other web based tools.
CONCLUSION
The ALLO project commenced with a project meeting in March 2006. The journeys these teachers are embarking on with their students are emerging. Their stories and the successes of the project are yet to evolve. The implementation phase of the project is subject to further investigation.
REFERENCES
McKenzie, J (1999). How Teachers Learn Technology Best. FNO Press Bellingham, Washington.
Miers, J. (2004). BELTS or braces? Is BELTS, (Basic e-Learning Tool Set) developed by The
Le@rning Federation to enable schools to gain access to its digital learning objects, able to support a constructivist e-learning environment for students or is a different solution required?
Government of South Australia. Retrieved March 13, 2006 from http://www.tsof.edu.au/research/Reports04/miers.asp
The Le@rning Federation & Northern Territory Government. (2004). Trial of the Le@rning
Federation Content Distribution and Implementation of the Basic E Learning Toolset
(BELTS): Northern Territory trial. Curriculum Corporation and education.au limited.