Find and rate training resources ...
Questions I Wish People Would Ask
A short introduction to Training O2. Click on a link or read from the top for a guided tour. You might find it useful to print this page out and keep it beside you as you explore.
Training O2 is an attempt to bring these two things together. It's a social site, where you get to find and rate freely available training material along with other students from all over Australia. By voting and commenting on the resources found, the best ones will be promoted to the top of the list, meaning you get quick access to quality information that will help you pass courses. At the same time, you'll be honing those hunter/gatherer info skills that you'll need in order to survive in this new networked world of ours.
Once a resource has been posted, other people can rate it - giving it a score between 1 and 5. If a resource link is rated by 5 other people, and has an average rating of 3 or more, it gets promoted to a special 'save this resource' status. Resources that don't make the grade are dropped from the site after 30 days; saved resources stick around getting voted up or down depending on their usefulness.
The quality of a resource could change over time, but the ongoing voting system will ensure it moves down the food chain if it becomes less relevant, or floats up to the top if it's especially useful.
The longer explanation: the Australian vocational education system is built around industry written training packages. Each of these specify nationally recognised qualifications made up of specific units of study - and it's these units which have been taken as units for the Training O2 web site. At the moment (2007), there are about 15,000 units in the database, each of which consists of elements and performance criteria (which you can see at the bottom of any unit resource page - more on this later).
You can find the full list of units for any given training package by clicking on the 'Units' tag at the top of any page. This will take you to a list of all 73 training packages in the database. Clicking on any one training package code will list the units for that package.
Another way of finding a unit is to use the search form on the units page. Try it now with a search for some unit you're interested in (e.g. explosives :-).
You can also list resources for a unit by clicking on the unit link in your personal unit list. Before signing up, this 'personal list' consists of just three units: 'all', 'Practice area' and 'Training O2. Try clicking on the Practice area link and you'll see the resources for this pseudo-unit (the practice area's for learning about how to use Training O2, and doesn't have any goals). You'll be able to assign more units to your unit list once you're registered on the web site...
Enter a user name, email and password, then click on the 'create user' button. You'll be taken to a verification page where you'll need to enter the numbers shown in a picture on the page. This is to stop spammers and web-bots from infiltrating the site (or at least discourage them). Type in the numbers and click on 'continue' and you'll be taken to a short survey (I'll be using the answers gathered from this to improve the web site). Once you finish the survey you'll be logged in and ready to start using all the features of the site.
One of the things you can do in the modify details area is update the picture (avatar) that gets displayed next to your resources and on your profile page. The process is a bit clunky right now (fixing this is on my list of things to do), but in brief: you need to select the 'I want to upload my own avatar' radio button and then click on the 'Save' button. Then you can to browse for an image on your computer and click on the 'upload image' button to have it store a new picture for your account.
If you don't have a picture handy, you can find a new one using flickrCC (flickrcc.bluemountains.net) - do a search, right click on one of the little square pictures shown and then 'save picture as...' from the browser window that pops up. Once you have a picture saved on your hard drive you can upload it to Training O2 as outlined above.
Once you've voted on a resource you'll see that the flames are brighter, letting you know that your vote has been registered for that item. Try it out now with one of the practice area resources. Once you've voted on a few resources go to your profile page and at how how your stats have changed.
To add a unit to your list, you need to find it through searching or browsing, as described in the 'What are units?' section. Once you've located a unit, click on the link marked 'add to my unit list' - watch your unit list in the left hand navigation panel and you'll see the unit appear there. If you have the bandwidth, you can download and watch the whole thing as a short movie (1.1MB)
You can remove units from your list by clicking on the 'remove from my unit list' link that now appears below the unit on the main page, or through a link on your 'Manage Units' page.
Once you've added units to your list you can submit resources for that unit. Eventually you'll want to add all the subjects that you're enrolled in; but for now, just find and add a couple of the units that you're currently studying or are interested in.
Using the 'Submit a resource' screen: click on the 'Submit a resource' button at the top of the screen and you'll get a form that asks for the URL of the resource. You can type one in or cut and paste it from the address bar in your browser. Or you could...
Use the TO2 bookmarklet: This requires a little more setup, but will mean you can submit resources with less effort later. To set it up, go to your profile page. At the bottom of the page is a section marked 'Easy submission of new resources' which includes a link: TO2. Depending on what browser you're using you either drag this link to your bookmarks toolbar (Firefox - use: view, toolbars to display it), or right click and choose 'Bookmark link' (Internet Explorer and Opera). Here's a movie of the action (3.9MB). Once you've set it up, you surf the web as usual, and when you find a page you want to submit you just need to click on the bookmarklet or select the link from your favourites list. This will open a new browser window, look up the resource, and take you to the next step in the submission process...
Once you've started the submission using either method, you'll find yourself on a form that will suggest a title (from looking at the resource's web page). You can change it if you like, or leave it as it is. You will also have to enter some details about the resource. First you need to pick a unit from a combo box which lists all the units in your personal list, plus the generic 'Practice area' and 'Training O2' units (Training O2 is for any online tools that might be useful for fining or making resources, while the Training area is for practising in).
<>br /> Once you've selected a unit you should enter some tags for the resource. These are short one or two word descriptions that you might use to describe it; separated by commas. Good tags will let other people find your resources, even if they're not looking in the specific unit.
Finally, you must enter a sentence or two describing the resource in more detail. Once you're finished, click on the 'Preview and Submit' button and you'll get to see how the new resource link will look. If it all looks OK click on the 'Submit resource' button to post it to the site. You can now vote on the resource. Once you're finished, close the window and continue browsing in your original browser session.feel like stalking find interesting. You can see your friends list by clicking on the 'Friends' link on your profile page. Clicking on a user name here will take you to their profile, where you can see what resources they've posted, comments they've left and the things they've been voting on.
- What's Training O2 all about?
- What's a resource?
- What are units?
- What if I want to see resources for just one unit?
- How do I register?
- How do I update my details?
- How do I vote?
- How do I populate my unit list?
- How do I submit new resources?
- How do I leave comments?
- Friends? What friends?
- Which countries border the Iguazu Falls?
- Who's responsible for all this?
What's Training O2 all about?
In the last few years the focus of training has been moving from: 'learn everything you can' towards: 'learn what you need when you need it'. There's just too much knowledge out there; and it's evolving too fast for anyone to memorise it all. This calls for new skills in locating information, filtering out the rubbish, and connecting with others who might know parts of what you need to find out. On the other hand, employers still need some idea about what your skills are, and certification from a recongnised training organisation is one of the easiest criteria they can apply.Training O2 is an attempt to bring these two things together. It's a social site, where you get to find and rate freely available training material along with other students from all over Australia. By voting and commenting on the resources found, the best ones will be promoted to the top of the list, meaning you get quick access to quality information that will help you pass courses. At the same time, you'll be honing those hunter/gatherer info skills that you'll need in order to survive in this new networked world of ours.
What's a resource?
Training O2's got a lot of features, but whole purpose of the site is to collect quality links to online resources. These are submitted and voted on by registered users and can be seen by clicking on the 'Resources' tab near the top of the page.Once a resource has been posted, other people can rate it - giving it a score between 1 and 5. If a resource link is rated by 5 other people, and has an average rating of 3 or more, it gets promoted to a special 'save this resource' status. Resources that don't make the grade are dropped from the site after 30 days; saved resources stick around getting voted up or down depending on their usefulness.
The quality of a resource could change over time, but the ongoing voting system will ensure it moves down the food chain if it becomes less relevant, or floats up to the top if it's especially useful.
What are units?
The short answer: unitss are the subjects you might be studying.The longer explanation: the Australian vocational education system is built around industry written training packages. Each of these specify nationally recognised qualifications made up of specific units of study - and it's these units which have been taken as units for the Training O2 web site. At the moment (2007), there are about 15,000 units in the database, each of which consists of elements and performance criteria (which you can see at the bottom of any unit resource page - more on this later).
You can find the full list of units for any given training package by clicking on the 'Units' tag at the top of any page. This will take you to a list of all 73 training packages in the database. Clicking on any one training package code will list the units for that package.
Another way of finding a unit is to use the search form on the units page. Try it now with a search for some unit you're interested in (e.g. explosives :-).
What if I want to see resources for just one unit?
Once you have a list of units on the screen (see 'What are topics?' above) - you will find a link beneath each unit marked: 'view resources'. Clicking on this link will take you to a page showing any new resources that have been submitted for that unit, along with the elements and performance criteria specified for the unit (listed as the 'Goals for this Unit' at the bottom of the page).You can also list resources for a unit by clicking on the unit link in your personal unit list. Before signing up, this 'personal list' consists of just three units: 'all', 'Practice area' and 'Training O2. Try clicking on the Practice area link and you'll see the resources for this pseudo-unit (the practice area's for learning about how to use Training O2, and doesn't have any goals). You'll be able to assign more units to your unit list once you're registered on the web site...
How do I register?
If you want to submit resource links or vote on the stuff that's here already, you'll need to register. Just click on the 'Register' tab in the right hand navigation area, or visit the registration page.Enter a user name, email and password, then click on the 'create user' button. You'll be taken to a verification page where you'll need to enter the numbers shown in a picture on the page. This is to stop spammers and web-bots from infiltrating the site (or at least discourage them). Type in the numbers and click on 'continue' and you'll be taken to a short survey (I'll be using the answers gathered from this to improve the web site). Once you finish the survey you'll be logged in and ready to start using all the features of the site.
How do I update my details?
One of the first things you'll want to do after registering is update your user details. Clicking on the 'Profile' link at the top of the page will take you to your user page. From here you can see your stats (voting, comments etc.), the resources you've added to the site, and your friends list. For now we'll look at how you can update your avatar and personal details. Click on the 'modify' button in the Personal info box and you'll be taken to an area where you can enter some more details about yourself.One of the things you can do in the modify details area is update the picture (avatar) that gets displayed next to your resources and on your profile page. The process is a bit clunky right now (fixing this is on my list of things to do), but in brief: you need to select the 'I want to upload my own avatar' radio button and then click on the 'Save' button. Then you can to browse for an image on your computer and click on the 'upload image' button to have it store a new picture for your account.
If you don't have a picture handy, you can find a new one using flickrCC (flickrcc.bluemountains.net) - do a search, right click on one of the little square pictures shown and then 'save picture as...' from the browser window that pops up. Once you have a picture saved on your hard drive you can upload it to Training O2 as outlined above.
How do I vote?
Go to the 'Practice area' and have a look at the resources that are listed there. Beside each resource title there are 5 flames, showing how popular that resource is at the moment. Using the mouse, move your cursor over the flames from the left to the right. See how they light up? Clicking the mouse button while your cursor is over one of the flames will cast your vote for that resource. So, after visiting a resource to see how useful it is, you can rate it by clicking on the appropriate flame in the resource listing - 1 for sub-standard, 3 for average, and 5 for excellent.Once you've voted on a resource you'll see that the flames are brighter, letting you know that your vote has been registered for that item. Try it out now with one of the practice area resources. Once you've voted on a few resources go to your profile page and at how how your stats have changed.
How do I populate my unit list?
Finding units via the package lists or the search form on the browse units page is OK; but it's much faster to get to resources if you add relevant units to your personal list, ready to click on at any time.To add a unit to your list, you need to find it through searching or browsing, as described in the 'What are units?' section. Once you've located a unit, click on the link marked 'add to my unit list' - watch your unit list in the left hand navigation panel and you'll see the unit appear there. If you have the bandwidth, you can download and watch the whole thing as a short movie (1.1MB)
You can remove units from your list by clicking on the 'remove from my unit list' link that now appears below the unit on the main page, or through a link on your 'Manage Units' page.
Once you've added units to your list you can submit resources for that unit. Eventually you'll want to add all the subjects that you're enrolled in; but for now, just find and add a couple of the units that you're currently studying or are interested in.
How do I submit new resources?
Once you have some units in your personal list you're ready to find and post some resources for them. There are two ways to do this: using the 'Submit a resource' screen or by using the TO2 bookmarklet. The first is easier to explain, and the second easier to do; and they only differ in how you start the process off.Using the 'Submit a resource' screen: click on the 'Submit a resource' button at the top of the screen and you'll get a form that asks for the URL of the resource. You can type one in or cut and paste it from the address bar in your browser. Or you could...
Use the TO2 bookmarklet: This requires a little more setup, but will mean you can submit resources with less effort later. To set it up, go to your profile page. At the bottom of the page is a section marked 'Easy submission of new resources' which includes a link: TO2. Depending on what browser you're using you either drag this link to your bookmarks toolbar (Firefox - use: view, toolbars to display it), or right click and choose 'Bookmark link' (Internet Explorer and Opera). Here's a movie of the action (3.9MB). Once you've set it up, you surf the web as usual, and when you find a page you want to submit you just need to click on the bookmarklet or select the link from your favourites list. This will open a new browser window, look up the resource, and take you to the next step in the submission process...
Once you've started the submission using either method, you'll find yourself on a form that will suggest a title (from looking at the resource's web page). You can change it if you like, or leave it as it is. You will also have to enter some details about the resource. First you need to pick a unit from a combo box which lists all the units in your personal list, plus the generic 'Practice area' and 'Training O2' units (Training O2 is for any online tools that might be useful for fining or making resources, while the Training area is for practising in).
<>br /> Once you've selected a unit you should enter some tags for the resource. These are short one or two word descriptions that you might use to describe it; separated by commas. Good tags will let other people find your resources, even if they're not looking in the specific unit.
Finally, you must enter a sentence or two describing the resource in more detail. Once you're finished, click on the 'Preview and Submit' button and you'll get to see how the new resource link will look. If it all looks OK click on the 'Submit resource' button to post it to the site. You can now vote on the resource. Once you're finished, close the window and continue browsing in your original browser session.
