Settle+In!+-+The+Results

=Teacher Evaluations=

We had regular hook-ups via Office Communicator with the participating teachers. We also interviewed the Hobart teachers (Helen - CSWE 2 and Jane - CSWE 3) in the early weeks of their projects. Here are some extracts from those early interviews:
 * **Listen to the interviews here (1&2)**

//“The students are very interested in settlement issues, especially Health Services – they’re settling!” // //“Attendance is a bit erratic, so it is difficult to make the groups work” // //“It doesn’t work well logistically having two interviews because the interviewers lose momentum and the interviewees have difficulty fitting it into busy schedules. It would be better to get information by email and letter to prepare the interview questions.” //
 * //Helen on introducing the project to the students: //**
 * //Jane re managing the project with her class: //**

//“One of the students who is very shy came back beaming (from interviewing a service provider) and really proud of what they’d done”. //
 * //About the experience for the learners: //**

//“It’s quite nerve-wracking because it is difficult to keep track of who is doing what, when – but the students are really into it and quite determined to get it done.” //
 * //About the “messiness” about project-based learning: //**

At the end of the project we recorded a discussion with Anna (Project Manager), Jane (Hobart, CSWE 3) and Ari (Devonport - CSWE 2 and 3). Here are some paraphrased extracts from that discussion:
 * Listen to the discussion here (3)

//“The project made us use all sorts of computer skills so we all improved, me included!” (Ari)//
 * About computer skills**

//“I don’t think my students learnt many computer skills that they didn’t already have because in the groups the most skilled member tended to lead. But they did learn how to use Flip cameras and really enjoyed that. And they did learn how to forward emails – I was surprised they didn’t know that before.” (Jane)//

//"They learnt to be a lot more confident with negotiating." (Jane)//
 * About language skills being practised in real life situations, rather than role play**

// " They had to be aggressive or assertive with following up when targets weren’t responding" (Ari) //

// "They learnt how to write formal emails - using standard expressions" (Jane) //

// "The level 2 students had to order a taxi and communicate with the driver when they went out to take photos for the podwalk. They'd never done that before and were nervous but it really empowered them." (Ari) //

**// About learning about settlement services //** //"Mine learnt that there were services out there that they didn’t even know existed and have since made lots of suggestions about services they'd like to find out more about." (Ari)//

**//About employability skills//**
 * //﻿//**// "They learnt about patience and not expecting an immediate reply. They learnt that it’s OK and necessary to be assertive." (Ari) //

//"Teamwork skills and delegating – real life stuff that doesn’t happen when you role play". (Jane)// // "The Flip cameras are the best piece of technology I’ve come across. We used the flip cameras for audio recording too because they are so easy to use – unlike the audio recorders." (Jane) //
 * //What went well//**

// "I really like the purpose of it – the purpose kept everyone motivated." (Ari) //

// "The students met a member of the public who wasn't an ESL teacher and established a relationship with them. They found that really empowering." (Jane) //

**//What you would differently next time//** //"Keep the projects small and short" (Jane)//

// "I couldn’t do it on my own again – I really needed a relief teacher or aide to help manage the groups." (Ari) //

=Student Evaluations=

The main method of capturing feedback from our learners was on-line (Survey Monkey) surveys posted next to each podwalk and video on the wiki. This worked well for the higher level students with reasonable computer skills but was time-consuming with the newly-arrived humanitarian (special preparatory program) class. We took an hour to do the survey with them, with about 5 staff members helping, and then lost most of the responses because of an unexplained glitch! The results of the student surveys (68 completed) were overwhelmingly positive with a significant majority responding that: - They could find the website on their own or if someone helped them - The information was useful - The information was mostly new for them - They would like to see more like this - They would like to help make one like this All the learners who listened in their language were satisfied with the translations.
 * View one of the surveys here
 * View the summary results of one of the surveys here

We also recorded interviews with CSWE 3 students.
 * Listen to the interviews here

//"If I had watched the video two years ago when I first arrived I would have found it very useful but still now I find it useful and it is translated into very simple language so I can understand it."// //"I would like to know about the police, ambulance, school, university, transportation. Actually I know a lot of this information because I've been here 2 years but people who have just arrived and don't have much English would find it very useful."// //"Now that I have been here longer, I can appreciate better what I need to know so it is good to hear the information again"// //"I would prefer to listen to the Australian accent to practise my listening - but I understand that the intention is for people to understand the information".// //"I listened to the interview with the Migrant Liaison Officer at the hospital and that was good for me because I missed her visit to the level 2 class because I changed level."// //"I would like to have information about cultural topics like death and the rituals ... because they are different in different cultures".//

The Hobart CSWE 3 teacher recorded a discussion with the students who participated in the project. She was surprised and pleased at how positive they were about the experience because she had thought that they had been frustrated with the difficulties they had in making contact with target interviewees and organising the interviews. In fact, the students had found that part of the project the most useful and had learnt a lot of useful skills like telephone transactions, writing emails etc.
 * Listen to the discussion here (2)

The Devonport teacher gave her students a short evaluation form to complete. The students all said they thought the podwalks and videos were useful. Most of them commented on poor sound quality on the Devonport MRC videoed interview, when asked about what was wrong or bad. The students had many suggestions for additions - Doctors, Police, Community Houses, Adult Education, Entertainment.

=Stakeholders Evaluation=

At the end of the project, we attended a special meeting at the Hobart Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) office of the Regional Settlement Planning Committee. The Committee is considering creating a one-stop-shop Web portal for settlement service providers to promote their services and had asked us to show our wiki as an example of what could be done. We had wanted to also show the Settle In resources and get feedback from the 20+ representative service providers present at the meeting but the DIAC firewalls prevented us from playing the videos.

We emailed all the attendees after the meeting and gave them the links to the videos so they could watch and evaluate them. There seems to be restrictions to access on many government service providers' internet servers and this is an issue we will need to address. We think that in future we will keep the videos small enough to be able to upload as files and embed on the wiki site. Alternatively we can make DVDs and send them to service providers. Another issue brought to our attention was about accreditation of the interpreters. Service providers need to be assured that translations are professional and accurate. We decided to place the logo and contact details of the Translating company we used on the wiki pages.

Here is some feedback we received:
 * Please comment on the information resource (podwalk/interview) that you have viewed.**

//I really liked both the resources - love that it can be in other languages. (Volunteering Tas)// //Looks really comprehensive but the podwalk didn't work for me - probably work restrictions on the computer. (Clarence City Council)// //I could hear the Hospital podwalk in English, but I could not access anything else on this page. The volume of the speakers seemed to reduce after the first two speakers, but if I turned up my volume button, then I could hear it again, but I missed some bits of information by having to do this. Great information. Department of Health and Human Services(DHHS)// //I tried the wiki, which was easy to access and excellent, except for the interview / Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) info – that I couldn’t access – we don’t usually have problems accessing video links etc here so wondering why that might be?// //I started filling in the survey response, but can’t really comment on the interview / RHH podcast as I can’t access it! Will try again later and see whether I can view the video. (Colony 47)//

//It's a good framework and really useful tool. (Clarence City Council)// //Definitely. The interview with Jenny is FABULOUS...just wondering if the translation is done by a person with accreditation? (DHHS)//
 * Would you be interested in using this platform to promote your organisation's services to migrants and people from refugee backgrounds?**

//volunteering in your community (VT)// //Metro, Employment, accommodation, libraries (CCC)// //It would be great with other key DHHS services such as Housing, Oral Health, Ambulance, etc....but I may need to look first at whether they are allowed/able to do this...DHHS has guidelines on things on the web, etc. Also need to know if the translations are being done professionally. FANTASTIC! (DHHS)//
 * Can you suggest topics for future podwalks or interviews?**
 * A few comments from the Resource Development Advisor - Tasmanian Polytechnic NW:**

I’ve just had a look and am really impressed with what has been put together. As you thought, I do have a couple of suggestions to make navigation a little easier: · I Wondered about having hyperlinked image on the Information page as well as text. · Also, perhaps placing a linked information icon on each of the new pages. The Youtube video had difficulty streaming (which is probably more to do with my internet connection than anything else). Having said that, it did open up to full screen beautifully. The other videos took a too long to open in full screen and I wondered if it might be worthwhile making the video frame sizes larger (if possible). Having said that, it’s fantastic to see you and your students embracing the wonders of wikis.

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