Help for teachers | Help for parents and community

What is a TaLe forum?

TaLe forums are a tool to support professional learning for teachers in NSW schools and TAFE, and for other DET staff. They enable online discussion and access to resource collections.

Find TaLe forums on the menubar of the Primary, Secondary and TAFE pages.

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What can I do in a forum?

Participants in a forum can start topics and reply to other people's contributions, as well as upload files and share links.

In each TaLe forum there are links to Discussion tips and to a Help area, which explains how specific features work. There is also a TaLe forum where anyone can experiment - Try out the TaLeForum.

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Who can join a TaLe forum?

TaLe forums are either open to all DET Users, or to a group of members.

DET forums are open to all DET staff as well as external guests of the TaLe forum host.
Member forums are for invited participants only, because sometimes discussion flourishes best amongst a defined group of people.

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Who can start a TaLe forum?

Tale forums can set up for Teachers in schools or TAFE and any DET officers who need a discussion forum to support formal and informal professional learning. Tale forums are currently being used by:

Individual schools and TAFE colleges of professional development activites.
Groups of schools and colleages for information and resource sharing.
Support for special interest groups and project implementations.

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How do I start a TaLe forum?

To start a Tale forum provide the following information to TaLe through the contact.tale

A title for the TaLe forum.
Make it meaningful, and as short as possible. Where names of Regions or Institutes are required, they are usually included as initials in brackets at the end of the title, e.g. ED-BD Network (WSR).
The name of a moderator who will administer the TaLe forum.
The first moderator is able to add others. The person who will moderate needs to visit any TaLe forum in the system before requesting moderator status. The TaLe Moderators forums is recommended because it contains relevant advice.
Whether the forum is open or for members only.
Who will be allowed to participate? All DET and TAFE staff or members only? Enquire separately to TaLe about inviting guests from outside DET and TAFE.

TaLe officers are also able to discuss and provide advice on how a TaLe forum can meet your needs, and be successful.

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What's special about professional learning in a TaLe forum?

It doesn’t matter where you are, you can join in if you can get online.
You can join in at any time and day, within the time span of TaLe forum activities.
Teachers with whom you have not had regular contact can become your working colleagues.
You can access guest experts without travel and expense.
Resources, background reading, etc are collected to create an online ready reference.
Discussion creates a record that you can use to reflect on and reinforce learning.

Whether you are a teacher, other practitioner, project leader or work in a program area, you can start a TaLe forum on TaLe.

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What does each forum need?

A purpose - learning goals or a strategic priority whose purpose is to increase knowledge and understanding leading to improved practice.
A moderator - an identified person or team with clear responsibility for professional learning support and management of the TaLe forum.
A focus for discussion - such as a teaching resource, a case study, a journal article, a research paper, a guest expert.
Participants – an identified target groups of professionals who share the purpose of the TaLe forum.

Your TaLe forum may decide that a face-to-face event would help you achieve your learning goals and meet your needs. You needn't limit your communication to online.

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What content do you put in a TaLe forum?

An introduction or “TaLe home” – to briefly orient your participants to purpose, focus and discussion leader.
Key readings and additional resource pages.
Discussion with file attachments.