The La Trobe/UNSW Distance Education Initiative
The La Trobe/UNSW Distance Education Initiative |
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The Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) has announced that the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics at La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales have been awarded a grant of $1,000,000 over three years to develop a flexible distance education mode for the Bachelor of Prosthetics and Orthotics degree. REHABTech at Monash University, Queensland University of Technology and the Department of Education and Training, NSW TAFE are institutional partners to the proposal.
The degree will be designed for school leavers but will allow recognition of prior learning to enable current practitioners (clinicians and technicians) to upgrade their qualifications. Clinical and technical training will be provided through approved Prosthetics and Orthotics facilities in the students' area and by block mode teaching. Theoretical training in P&O subjects will be provided through text and Web based materials. This represents the first time that such a mode of delivery has been attempted in Prosthetics and Orthotics education.
Work commenced towards the end of July on the translation of BP&O subjects into on-line versions that will enable a more flexible offering of the program. Over the next three years, teams at La Trobe and UNSW will be responsible for developing 25 subjects for on-line presentation. Stage 1 of the project will see 5 first year subjects developed by the La Trobe team and two by the UNSW team. The plan is to have four subjects ready to offer in first semester 2002 and a further three subjects ready for second semester 2002.
A consulting team led by Dr Len Webster and Ian Thomas is currently working with Rod Cooper and Wes Pryor on the development of two first year subjects. To date, the work has focussed on the general principles of getting material into on-line format (using WebCT), and in developing prototype units that can serve as models for the remaining topics in these two subjects. The developing materials will be trialled with staff and students over the next few months. The prototype stage will commence for the remaining three subjects some time during September.
Because of the significant practical, workshop and clinic based components of applied subjects and the importance of the interaction between the patient and the P&O health professional, we anticipate that some very interesting educational issues will emerge from the process of putting these subjects on-line. We expect some lively discussion of these issues over the life of the project.
The two subjects
currently under development are:
POR11CPI - Introduction to Prosthetics
& Orthotics Clinical Practice
POR12OTI - Introduction to
Orthotics Theory
Currently, the consulting team is operating out of Room 329 in the Health Sciences 2 Building. Please contact Mr Ian Thomas on phone: 9479 5787 for further information.
Students will be able to enrol in the degree from 2002. For further information please register your interest with the Student Enquiries Officer (See below). Whichever institution a student enrols at, (La Trobe or the UNSW) some subjects will be delivered by La Trobe and some by the UNSW.
To register your interest in the distance
education degree, contact:
Jan Johnston,
Enquiries Officer,
School of Human Biosciences
La Trobe University
Victoria, 3086
Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9479 5787
Facsimile: +61 3 9479 5784
Or Email:
Jan Johnston: Jan.Johnston@LaTrobe.edu.au
Jan will record your details and forward information to you when it is finalised.
More information about WebCT, which both institions will use for online content delivery.
The University of New South Wales P & O Programs web site.
Last modified October 1, 2001