phew!

What with "Post this and chat there and forums and web sites" it's all getting rather overwhelming! but having croaked to Caroline from stinking sick bed on Monday I was really chuffed to learn that the centre was very busy (and somehow managed to cope without me!) so I just thought I would post a couple of pix of the centre before we did it up!Anyway, as I am mostly incompetent, I would be grateful if youse guys would get on here and the new forum site as often as possible (Big brownie point to Wendy!) So thats enough for today - I look forward to your comments! Onwards and upwards!

Union Learning Reps Network Meeting

Today was the ULR Network Meeting in London, and some of our Southeastern RULR's attended amongst the many attendees.

The morning started (after coffee and biscuits) with a fascinating presentation on 'Understanding Dyslexia' by Derek Kennedy of BFAWU. It was extremely useful, and raised a lot of interesting questions from the reps. After a mid-morning break, Natasha Owusu discussed Learning at Work Day (what events were held, and how to obtain funding), before watching a presentation from the Metroline ULR about their Learning at Work event and mobile learning centre buses!

The meeting was a good opportunity to meet other reps, and I would recommend all RULR's attending later in the year when the next meeting is held. Visit www.unionlearn.org for further details.

FORUM 2 for SER RULRs CREATES A TEAM ETHOS

The Red Star Learning Centre hosted the second Rep's Forum for Southeastern RULRs on Monday 17th September.

With attendance at over 60% (some were on their hols in Spain Karl) the venue was buzzing with enthusiasm and fresh ideas on how to maximise on the success we have had so far.

Their were several threads that ran through the forum one of which was that whilst we are all prepared to put a good bit of our own time towards achieving the goals we have set. The Company whilst at higher level are extremely supportive and indeed many managers at local and middle level have really engaged with us, there are still some who are reluctant to trust their staff by releasing them to carry out the work that is required. There were several members of the company Lifelong Learning Steering Group present and they agreed to feed this back to the LLSG.

The Reps were also asked to think about a new system for electing their union Lead Learning Rep which will be discussed at Forum 3 in December 2007.

There were lots of other activities during the day including a team building excercise, a presentation from Ivor Riddell on the importance of public relations in promoting Adult Learning in the workplace and a presentation on the use of IT in supporting the role of the learning Rep by Kendal May.

Another thread that passed through the day was that whilst we were enjoying great success in some areas such as Medway this was patchy and manyb areas were feeling on the fringe, which could be disheartening to learners and Reps alike.

Mike Sargent said we would look at setting up roadshows around the company taking learning opportunities to those in the more remote locations and look at more innovative ways of delivering distance learning for those who can't access regular classes.

The day was a great success and the buffet lunch was lovely, not much left for the station staff to pick over at the end I'm afraid.

If anyone is interested in improving their key skills or signing up for one of our many courses then simply email rslc-c@hotmail.co.uk or Tel: 01634 815909

Rail Union Learning Reps Forum

We had our 2nd Rail Union Learning Reps Forum at the Red Star Centre today, and it was well attended with RULR's from across the Southeastern area. Topics discussed including electing Lead Learning Reps, fulfilling the role of a RULR, promoting teamwork, overcoming barriers to learning, using IT to promote learning, and future Learning Roadshows. Everyone was well fed up (courtesy of a fantastic buffet lunch)and went away having learned something from the forum. It was a great chance to meet other RULR's that should improve the teamwork of our reps and help drive forward our ethos of learning at work.

Mike's back!

Well, that was a holiday to remember and no mistake! It rained every day so that by the end of two weeks I felt I had webbed feet! Still, it is unusual to see the Norfolk Broads from underwater!
Back at work now (Have been for over a week actually) and the centre is kicking off! We are helping the TUC out with their courses, and we have our own Spanish starting soon, French on the go now, and BSL sign language starting shortly, so it is all looking rather busy. We are also starting to provide a service at the RMT office in Dover which was recently refurbished and is now a really nice place to hold a course. I have been out on the cross channel ferries talking to learners and discussing their learning needs, so watch this space for more news! Oh, and while I think of it - why don't you lot put more stuff on here? I haven't got all day to muck about!
Bye for now - Mike

ICT based free learning - http://alison.com/

Taken from www.unionreps.org.uk

I have just picked up this information from the UnionLearn website regarding some free ICT learning online.

I have registered and had a go at some of the packages myself and I have been highly impressed with what is available. However, don't take my word for it - register and have a go yourself...it's free!

Nikki

ALISON is a FREE learning resource of interactive multimedia and certification / standards-based learning. On ALISON, ALL learning is FREE to access for individual learners.

The mission of ALISON is to enable anyone, anywhere, to educate themselves for FREE via interactive multimedia via the Internet. Through ALISON, one of the greatest barriers to universally free education and training, that is the cost of high-quality educational materials is removed.