Briefings, Updates and Introductions

Hi, and many thanks to everyone for continuing to visit! It's been a little while since we last posted, so here's a quick summary of what's been happening:


Second Round of National Briefings

As our second round of national briefings comes to an end we would like to once again thank everyone for their support of the AHN project, as well as the many very helpful questions, suggestions and comments that we received at each location. Your input has been invaluable, and we hope that you will continue to work with us to build complete solutions for homestay leading up to our 2008 launch and beyond. Anyone who may have missed a briefing and would like a copy of the current AHN presentation should contact Ella at ebalsamo@homestaynetwork.org.


StudyGoldCoast Agreement

We are also happy to announce that StudyGoldCoast, representing 2000 Homestay placements per annum, have agreed to become our first member from 1 July 2008! We would like to congratulate them on taking the plunge with us during our foundation period, and we are now in the process of arranging individual briefings with additional institutions and organisations who may be interested in coming on board AHN in the next twelve to eighteen months. Anyone wishing to discuss the options for transition should contact Ella at the email address posted above.


Introducing Sylvia Lewohl

And as those who attended the latest briefings will already know, we are also very excited to welcome Sylvia Lewohl into the organisation. With almost twenty years experience in Homestay, Sylvia is Queensland President of ISANA – International Education Association, Chair of the Special Interest Group for this Association. She has worked with the Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) and produced a Homestay Manual for use in schools and universities, and in recent times has been invited to join Brisbane City Council's newly established taskforce on Student Safety and Accommodation.

Sylvia has been instrumental in designing the AHN system flow, policies and procedures, including personally writing our online training for Homestay Hosts. She makes her own personal introduction below:

My eldest daughter won a scholarship to Japan in 1986, when she was almost seventeen and had just completed Grade 12. At that time there were no policies or procedures in place for homestay Students, only trust that her school and the school in Japan had made the very best arrangements for her. The first three months passed by, letters and telephone calls were exchanged almost daily and it was obvious that the decision to let her go had been a good one. However, the prearranged move to a new family was not successful, and following a very stressful period she was moved back to her first family where she happily stayed for the rest of her exchange.

It was through this experience that I became aware of the serious incidents that can and do occur in Homestay, and it could be said that my interest began here. I entered the industry with a commitment to make the experience the best it could be for Students coming to Australia, so full of expectation and excitement. Most went back with wonderful memories, but some with dreadful experiences of their life in homestay. I became very disappointed in how some families treated their Students, not necessarily for any other reason than they did not know how to interact with a Student when communication was not straightforward.

I set about establishing policy, introducing orientation programs and carrying out home interviews for each and every family hosting for Griffith University, where I was a member of staff for eighteen years. Homestay has become my passion and I have been fortunate to have had the backing of Griffith University and ISANA – International Education Association to be able to hold seminars nationally to assist in the development of new homestay programs and improving established ones to become compliant with legislation now in place.

I view a national network as the logical next step in the evolution of Australian Homestay, and I am pleased to be able to assist AHN in developing a system that I believe will be tremendously beneficial to coordinators of Homestay. Please feel free to contact me at slewohl@homestaynetwork.org if you would like to discuss anything to do with AHN or my involvement.

Regards,

S. Lewohl

Community discussion forum and online training

Two new features to introduce to the upcoming Homestay Network website are the community discussion forums and online training.

Homestay community discussion forums

The Homestay Network website features a community-driven discussion forum for all members of the site to participate in. Families, students and supervisors alike can communicate and interact with other members of similar type within the network. This ease and efficiency of communication will assist students in learning and interacting with other students from around the country, and also provide Homestay Hosts with a valuable community for asking questions and discussing matters amongst each other.

Online training

A major feature of the Homestay Network website is the online training and testing modules. We are currently working hard to develop a comprehensive training system into the site which will essentially provide Homestay Hosts with all the information they will ever need in regard to operating a Homestay within Australia. All training will be undertaken online and the system will provide users with self-assessment tests so they can actively judge their own knowledge in relation to Homestay.

Aside from providing training for Homestay Hosts, the system will also provide professional development for Supervisors and Managers alike, in order to improve the professionalism, efficiency and compliance of all homestay providers within Australia. I will post screen-shots shortly offering a more visual understanding of the new Homestay Network Training modules as the development continues.

Website features: Interactive mapping tools

Another fantastic feature that we are proud to announce is the interactive mapping that is built into the Homestay Network website system. By integrating Google Maps into the website, we have developed an extremely fast and useful system for allowing students to find the exact homestay that appeals to them.

By searching within the region that their institution is located, a student is automatically presented with a list of hosts that match their specific needs. We'll go into further detail of the search and matching criteria that the system relies upon in another post. For now, please have a look at the following two screen captures of the Homestay Network mapping system in action.

Homestay Network mapping tool

This page displays a map of Brisbane Australia with a number of 'placemarks' listed. The main placemark that is open is a brief introduction to a Host's profile. The student can click the link in this window to view the full profile of this Host.

Important placemarks and other local amenities

Other placemarks are listed on the map to give the student a better idea of the features and amenities that are located in the surrounding area. This will help the student in choosing which Homestay to stay with. These placemarks may include local shopping centres, public transport and sports/activity venues.

We're sure you'll agree that the introduction of interactive mapping will have huge benefits in the placement of students in Homestay throughout Australia, and also of giving the students a much clearer understanding of the homes they will be living in during their stay.

If you have any feedback or questions, please use the comments link below.

Website features and design

Hello,

My name is Ben Petro and I'm the lead system developer for the Australian Homestay Network website. Over the coming weeks, I will be introducing you to a selection of screen-captures and features of the system that we are developing. The purpose of these brief presentations will be to showcase the fruits of our labour and give you a chance to see the product in its development stage.

I would also like to encourage you to comment on the posts and give us your feedback and thoughts. The Australian Homestay Network is a revolutionary system aimed at improving and streamlining the access and delivery of all aspects of Homestay within Australia. The only way we will successfully reach this goal is by responding to the feedback of its users.

And now, on with the show....

Site Interface

This displays the homepage of the AHN website. From this screen, the main access points for entry are Guests, Students, Hosts, Supervisors and Managers. Each 'user-type' has control over different aspects and features of the system. Users access the site via a login screen (below) by entering a unique username and password. Each user of the site, whether they are a student, host, supervisor of any other, has their own personal login information which ensures only the correct person can access any confidential information in the system.

Student login

That's all for today's brief introduction to the Australian Homestay Network website system. I look forward to providing you with more insight into the development in the coming weeks. If you have any feedback or questions, please add a 'comment' to this post.

Disclaimer: Please remember that all content and images shown are in their development phase only and may include errors/omissions.