Our subject network event at Reid Kerr went really well, with over 40 delegates attending. Feedback was very positive. Motivational, informative and with some part of the day hitting the mark for hopefully everyone.
One suggestion coming out of the event was for colleges interested to put forward a representative to discuss 'sustainability' and to form a forum for our subject network. If this is something you are interested in and would like to get involved please contact me.

We had a great meeting last week with Colin & Julia and most of the team of subject mentors and it was nice to meet our newly appointed subject mentors. Though I did feel for them, as I still remember clearly my first meeting and it all seemed quite daunting. I hope they remember the old saying 'Rome wasn't build in a day'

A lot of great ideas were discussed and more information will follow so watch this space!

Peggy

Planning events

I seem to have been busy since I lasted posted anything.

Trying to finalise our Subject Network event at Reid Kerr on the 20th November has been quite time consuming. Hopefully, we have a really interesting, informative day and provide a great chance to network with fellow colleagues.

Our first joint event with the Care Subject Network on the 9th Oct, though not heavily subscribed with delegates, still remained a helpful and informative day. Interesting that their were areas/issues that crossed over with our Care sector practitioners.

Christine, Janet and myself met last week to look at devising a programme for our next joint event in December in Inverness. Again looking at presentations/workshops which would have commonality across the subject networks. We hope we have come up with a suitable programme, though still some issues to check before finalising.

Must remember to check my emails. I receive quite a few now through SFEU, which is great and I try to get back to any queries asap. I still often think it would be better if these queries/questions were posted on the discussion board, so many more people could have an input or perhaps would find the answers interesting.

Hope to see you soon at one our planned events/workshops in the near future.

Peggy

Can't believe we are near the end of September already and well into to another academic year.

I missed the first subject mentors meeting, but managed to meet up with Christine who gave me all the up to date information regarding the networks and the proposed calendar of events. A busy year ahead!
I am looking forward to meeting with my advisory group on the 2nd October and finalising our hairdressing, beauty, and complementary therapies subject network event planned for the 20th November at Reid Kerr College. As well as looking at ideas for further workshops and shaping the future for the subject network.
Hope the events and workshops will give me an opportunity to meet up with many of my fellow practitioners.

Habia Barbering Network Support Meeting

Sfeu and habia held a joint meeting with represnetatives from different colleges to support the babering network which was created earlier in the year, with the purpose of promoting babering and to provide support to enable colleges to provide the qualifications. Lilian Cameron habia's development manager for Scotland gave an update from habia.
Thank you to all who came as I know this is a busy time of year.

It was a very successful meeting with a great input from Dawn Murray an employer representative who was able to suggest ideas to the college lecturers on ways of filling any skill gaps they may have highlighted. Dawn was also able to give us a very update insight into the barbering techniques being asked for in the industry.
Joan Walker form JISC gave an insight into learning resources for hairdressing which the group found interesting. One college lecturer who attended the meeting has now had one of the learning resources Joan demonstrated installed on her college VLE already!

I hope to have more feedback from habia after they have reviewed the comments they received from the meeting. Keep looking out for this on Practitioner's Plus.

Looking forward to College People Week and hope to see some of you there on the 4th June

Peggy

Hello

Hello

I have finally managed to publish a post thanks to Annamarie guidance. Thanks Annamarie.

Everything and everybody seem very busy at this time of year. I have been trying to rally up my advisory group to collect their thoughts on what the advisory group has meant to them, in order to mull over, prior to the subject mentors evaluation meeting next week. Though I cannot attend the actual meeting, I would like to put our points forward for consideration in the grand scale of things. A final document will be put together, which all mentors under the guidance of Colin are working on presently.

I have also asked my group to suggest any ideas for the future direction of the network. One comment has been for a continuation of the e-portfolio concept and the desire to try to encourage greater participation for our students. My own thoughts, are of having a community blog similar to the type we saw from Dumfries & Galloway College , but with a group of local colleges sharing a blog, for instance for a particular course.
Another has been for colleges to get together to look at standardising.....benchmarking with each other.
A consistent theme seems to be for local focus groups to emerge and provide support for each other. Great!
We have the habia/sfeu barbering network meeting next week also, so I will report back from this, with the progress we make in the take up of barbering qualifications. Habia will have representatives to discuss the delivery of barbering qualifications, and SFEU have an input by providing some hairdressing learning material available from a representative from JISC.

Will need to go now and try to get a good nights sleep, suppose to be running the 10km race in Glasgow tomorrow morning......I say running more like a fast walk really.

Up-date

I have been busy catching up with my emails prior to the holidays. I wrote an article for the SFEU e-zine which is to be sent out to our subject network contacts. The idea of the e-zine is to keep everyone up-todate with what is happening within the network.
I have also been trying to write an article for th Broadcast 79 magazine which will be published in time for College People Week.
We have arranged to have JISC demonstrate the concept of using mobile phones to deliver online learning and teaching materials to hairdressing and barbering students at out joint Habia/SFEU event on the 20th May.
Discusssions with fellow hairdressing practitioners feel this is a really great idea and seem keen to be involved in any further developments. JISC have only recently launched the concept and are keen the show its potential to hairdressing FE lecturers.

I have been in contact this week with the Scottish Development Manager for Habia who is working though still presently visiting family in New Zealand.

We are hoping to arrange a meeting to gather trainers together from the Barbering Network at the end of May to discuss the barbering qualifications and frameworks in particular the modern apprenticeship. Habia would like to give an update and to discuss perhaps the need for partnerships with employers in order to delivers parts of the qualifications. A steering group has been formed including a employer representative from the barbering world to move and drive these qualifications forward in Scotland for the future.

Look out for the date and venue of the meeting which should be finalised in the near future.

Hairdressing event

Here are some of the many delegates at the hairdressing event on the 6th March watching one of the demonstrations.

Hairdressing & Beauty Events at SFEU

Its been a busy time! We had two events last week, one for Hairdressing & one for Beauty & Complementary Therapies. I think they went really well and looking through the feedback questionnaires there were lots of really positive responses to the network.

We had demonstrations on e-portfolios and blogs for learners to use from Dumfries & Galloway college, an update on new qualifications from SQA, updates from habia, demonstrations of online material used in a beauty therapy department, SFEU sametime web conferencing and of course where to send your teaching/learning material you wish to share with fellow practitioners. Great inspiring and informative events

Many delegates suggesting for similar subject specific events in the future! So watch this space.

26th February

I am off this morning to meet up with Susan Wilson and Janice Stienlet from SQA who are taking part in the events next week.
It is really to discuss and decide what would be the most beneficial format from the practioners point of view. My advisory group had felt an open forum regarding graded units would be useful, so we intend to include this in the morning session.
Their are a lot of new qualifications coming on board for our subject area and I think this would be an opportunity for SQA to impart all their recent updates, as quite often this information goes to the college SQA co-ordinator and not to the relevant people.

Annamarie has hopefully made contact with Lilian Cameron from Habia our sector skills council. She is in New Zealand at the moment, but through wonderful technology we hope to link up with her for one of the events!

Update

Busy trying to spread the word about the Hairdressing and Beauty subject network events coming up at the start of March. SFEU have made posters to be sent out to colleges and will send an e-zine.
I have been sending out emails to as many contact as I can, so we will wait and hope for a good response. We had our Beauty Care EV update meeting this week at SQA, so was able to ask them to spread the word. They all hope to attend so it will be nice to know I have a core of supportive colleagues along with my advisory group.
I have managed to set up a blog for my HND Beauty Therapy 1st year group. Trying out the different ways to customise the blog when I have the time. The group have had a look and say they will they try to use it. Checked today and no comments so far, but fingers cross! I feel if one would start then that would perhaps encourage a few others. I also need to show my other colleagues involved with the group.

Update

Claire, myself and Steve McCabe my 'Blended Learning Manager' from James Watt had a very informative visit to Dumfries & Galloway College. Duncan Gillespie showed us the community blogs and individual e-portfolios they use with groups of students. It was really inspiring, although some of the technical jargon I didn't fully understand, I realised there are ways round this. I am continuing to work with Steve at James Watt to implement some form of e-portfolio.

Duncan and Robert Brown from Dumfries came up last week to give a further demonstration on e-portfolios to my Hairdressing & Beauty advisory group at SFEU. We had a great session and many questions asked. The members of the group present seemed very interested and hopefully inspired to take similar on board.

The advisory group also had a training session from Colin and Tony on Sametime web conferencing again with many questions and many laughs along the way! Raising your hand comes instantly to mind.

We discussed as a group, ideas we would like to have included in the forth coming SQA/SFEU Hairdressing & Beauty events. The group were very supportive of the network and enthusiastic of it's future which was great for me.

What will tomorrows Subject Mentor's meeting bring...........training on moodle.......Annamaire's podcasts

Hi everyone

I promised Annamarie I would have a go!

Trying tonight to catch up with my SFEU correspondence. I am off to visit Dumfries & Galloway college tomorrow with Claire and Gen to visit Duncan Gillespie and his version of e-portfolio's they use at Dumfries. They were also involved in the ISLE project, which was the starting block for our subject networks project where we plan to encourage other partners to use e-portfolio's and blogs to produce reflective learners and perhaps lecturer's too!
I am looking forward to seeing their blogging system and students work. Will let you know what we find!