Identity, pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning: book now published

My book, a product of last year's academic study leave, is now published and available on Springer website. The book's subtitile: supporting the processes of becoming a tradesperson, draws from my framework of trades work learning as being a phased journey of belonging to a workplace, becoming  and eventually being a trades person.

It's a significant milestone for me, being my first monograph. I enjoyed the process of writing the many chapters and am grateful to my colleagues and my ex PhD supervisor, Professor Stephen Billett from Griffith University. for support as proofreaders and advisers.

I am hopeful the book fills a gap in the literature of work derived from a practitioner's perspective, both as a tradesperson and a teacher of trades work. No doubt large component of scholarship is also consolidated in the book. However, it is the learnings attained through my apprenticeship and work as a pastrycook/baker that inform the direction and premises woven through the book. My aim through each chapter being to answer the query - how is this useful to a trades teacher? and what can be applied to teaching trades work from these concepts?

I am now working towards bringing together a collaborative project to leverage off the coming merger of all the polytechnics in NZ into one entity - tentatively called Pukenga Aotearoa/Skills NZ. A 'small' project to gauge the digital literacy and affordances of vocational education learners will help be bring together a team of vocational educator researchers. I am hopeful this initial project will pave the way to a larger, externally funded project to implement and consolidate the system/process of consolidated off and on-job support for trades learners. In essence, if we are to 'put the learner at the heart of the learning' then we seriously need to 'hear the learners' voice' and to support their learning from their perspective (i.e. the experienced curriculum) and not impose from logistical/institutional/funding requirements.