East Gippsland online communities launched!
On Friday the 15th June the East Gippsland Online communities launched their project with great success and tremendous enthusiasm.The day started with partner organisations meeting to discuss project business, and at lunchtime a crowd of about 30 had gathered for the launch.The launch was attended by local members of the East Gippsland Shire Council, library staff members and two guests from the Yarra Plenty library services, who will be supporting Denence and Jan in the introduction of the 23 things program into the more remote communities of East Gippsland. The project was also pleased to acknowledge the attendance of both East Gippsland Institute of TAFE and GippsTAFE (as a previously funded project) to the launch.
The project was officially launched by Ray Ferres OAM – Director of Community College East Gippsland (CCEG). Ray spoke about the tyranny of distance, the tremendous potential of e-learning to reach remote communities, and the importance of projects like this and programs like 23 things to give communities experiences with and exposure to theweb, and its potential for personal and professional development.
In the afternoon Josie conducted a session for project partners and other interested attendees on how the Community Engagement project uses web 2.0 tools to promote the project, and support the community leaders. The participants were on a steep learning curve but very excited by the potential for their communities. Jan and Denece were well pleased with the level of excitement and enthusiasm generated by the end of the day. Everyone is looking forward to the training day on the 28th June, where they will be meeting the first of their 23 things!
SO, what are these 23 things?
Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library in North Carolina developed a self-discovery training program called “23 Things”. These are 23 small exercises you can do on the web to explore and expand your knowledge of Web 2.0 tools and new technologies.With support from Helen Blowers of Public Library Charlotte Mecklenberg County (PLCMC) and Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Melbourne, Denece and Jan have incorporated the “23 Things” into their project. The East Gippsland library service have set up access to the project and the program though this link at egipps.vic.gov.au/
Denece told us that Helen Blowers is in fact coming out to Australia later this year, and may have opportunity to visit them – a fabulous example of how community education and regional library staff are working together to forge international partnerships and at the same time develop opportunties for greater access to education in East Gippsland.
