Central Water

Induction and Help

The Toolbox is a collection of flexible resources for selected units in the Certificate III in Water Industry operations. It is set in a virtual water authority – Central Water – where you take on the role of an operator.

The Central Water home page is shown below.

The units

The units covered by the Toolbox are listed in the following table. These are accessed from the home page.

Projects

Each unit has a project and a number of learning tasks. You need to complete a project for each unit however the learning tasks you select is up to you.

Projects are where you are asked to apply your knowledge to solve a “real” workplace problem. Learning tasks prepare you for the project by giving you background information. You may find that you don’t need to complete all the learning tasks. Your trainer or workplace supervisor may give you advice about learning tasks they consider most suitable.

Getting started

Select a unit to go to it - each unit has the following navigation buttons:

• home – takes you to Central Water home page
• overview  – gives you background to unit 
• project – allows you to apply your knowledge
• learning tasks - build your skills and knowledge prior to tackling the project.

Before you begin your first project, you should familiarise yourself with Central Water – look at the website intranet and glossary, listen and watch some of the unit overviews, and look at some of the learning tasks. You will find the overview useful particularly the key questions in helping you decide the best place for you to start.

Working through a Project

When you begin a project make sure you understand what is required of you. The learners guide contains additional information. If you are not sure what to do talk with others about it. The person you talk with might be your trainer, workplace supervisor or co-workers. You may even do a project working together with somebody else.

The following icons are used in orientation, learning task and project screens. These provide information to assist you in interacting with the learning materials. Each has a particular function.

Examples of their use are shown below.

Locate the SOPs or other documentation used at your work place in these situations.
Look for differences and similarities between these and the ones from Central Water. Consider ways that the SOPs you are using might be improved.

Discuss with co-workers or other learners the concerns of customers in situations of water supply interruption and how you would respond.

Record key points from your discussions.
Identify the key difference in procedures between scheduled and unscheduled supply interruptions.

Communication

Communication - sharing ideas, discussing problems, finding answers is a vital part of your work in the Toolbox. As you work through the Toolbox the share icon will point you to this. You may be completing the units in a classroom situation where you can talk 'face to face' with others which makes communication much easier. If you are studying online your trainer will set up a way that you can communicate with him or her, and with other learners undertaking the same program. This might use a variety of online communication tools e.g. email, SMS, chat and discussion boards.

Assessment

Every project forms part of your assessment. Learning tasks are generally not assessed. They are however useful as they give you feedback about how you are going. Check with your teacher whether or not they would like you to hand in your learning tasks.

Technical Requirements

In most cases the Toolbox should load when you insert it in your computer drive but if not it is worth checking the hardware and software specifications of your computer. To operate the Toolbox you will need following:

Hardware

• IBM® compatible with a 1000 MHz processor running Windows 2000, XP or Vista
  or
• Apple Macintosh® with a 500 MHz processor running OSX v10.3.9
  with:
• 128 Mb of RAM
• 800 x 600 pixel display
• CD-ROM drive
• Internet access
• Sound card

Software

Learners will also need the following software / plug-ins installed on their computer:

• Internet Explorer 6.0 or above (http://www.microsoft.com/ )
  or
• Firefox 1.5 or above (http://www.mozilla.com/ )
  or
• Safari 1.3 or above (http://www.apple.com/ )
• Microsoft® Word 97 or a similar word processing program to open and use downloadable forms, checklists and worksheets.
• Adobe® Flash Player 8. If you haven’t got this plug-in, you can download and install the latest free version from: www.adobe.com
• Adobe® PDF Reader 6.0 or above. If you haven’t got this plug-in, you can download and install the latest free version from: www.adobe.com

Other sources of information

The Teachers guide is a useful source of additional information.

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