Getting Better Together

The Greenhouse Learning Difficulties, Literacy project draws on
tertiary and school sector expertise to collaboratively develop, trial
and launch an interactive web-based resource. The website provides
research-based, accessible information and advice to teachers, teacher
trainees, school and district-based personnel including school
psychologists and support officers and will ultimately include parents
and other members of the broader community about the learning needs of
the target cohort.

The website assists users to:
• identify the target group with quality, research-based
information;
• plan and implement effective and inclusive intervention;
• interact and collaborate with other people with similar needs
and questions;
• access expert support and advice that is not readily available
at
their worksite;
• engage in self-paced on-line professional development; and
• apply effective monitoring and review processes to the
strategies
outlined in the site content, as well as the evaluation of learning
outcomes for students

The Website content is 'presented' in three sections:
• information and research
• online professional learning; and
• interactive internet-based communication facilities and online
services

The website had over 700 members in Western Australia before its
offical launch scheduled for 2007. The Greenhouse LDL website
provides a much needed source of up-to-date information on learning
difficulties and literacy which is easily available to teaching staff
in any school in the state, at virtually no cost to the school. The
three tier structure of the website is designed to create a
sustainable knowledge resource, but it faces several challenges in
meeting this desired outcome including being maintained and kept up to
date, encouraging members to contribute, the need for moderation where
there is no obvious source of trained or confident moderators, and
locating and providing access to the tools and resources needed by
staff to address the specific needs of their particular students.