<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><channel><title>joelthompson</title><description>joelthompson</description><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/blog</link><item><title>First International Camp in Hubei: China</title><description><![CDATA[It was my absolute pleasure to work with the Provincial Education Bureau of Hubei and our local partners in delivering the First International Leadership and Language Camp to hundreds of Students in Wuhan.The program took months of development and coordinating with both local and international partners to bring this project to life.Check out the Video above.<img src="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/668535609_640.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>JT</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/11/02/First-International-Camp-in-Hubei-China</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/11/02/First-International-Camp-in-Hubei-China</guid><pubDate>Thu, 02 Nov 2017 01:55:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>It was my absolute pleasure to work with the Provincial Education Bureau of Hubei and our local partners in delivering the First International Leadership and Language Camp to hundreds of Students in Wuhan.</div><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/242490630"/><div>The program took months of development and coordinating with both local and international partners to bring this project to life.</div><div>Check out the Video above.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Melbourne University &quot;hands-on&quot; engaging educational activities with OutBeyond - &quot;The Amazing Race&quot; activity with school-aged International Students</title><description><![CDATA[Explore Melbourne University with OutBeyond on our incredible Outdoor Education Australian English Language programs that last from 7 up to 21 days, visiting Melbourne's most Iconic destinations, living with the locals and learning the local language.-----Contact the Founder of OutBeyond to learn more todayJoel Thompson Managing director of OutBeyond+61 417 384 041joel@outbeyond.com.auSkype: joel.t.thompsonWeChat: JtthompsonAUS<img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/-agVJ8bQXVA/mqdefault.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/09/20/Melbourne-University-hands-on-engaging-educational-activities-with-OutBeyond---The-Amazing-Race-activity-with-school-aged-International-Students</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/09/20/Melbourne-University-hands-on-engaging-educational-activities-with-OutBeyond---The-Amazing-Race-activity-with-school-aged-International-Students</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 01:17:30 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>Explore Melbourne University with OutBeyond on our incredible Outdoor Education Australian English Language programs that last from 7 up to 21 days, visiting Melbourne's most Iconic destinations, living with the locals and learning the local language.</div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-agVJ8bQXVA"/><div>-----</div><div>Contact the Founder of OutBeyond to learn more today</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_d246b61529dd4ebfb13c68accb823aac~mv2.jpg"/><div>Joel Thompson </div><div>Managing director of OutBeyond</div><div>+61 417 384 041</div><div><a href="mailto:joel@outbeyond.com.au?subject=">joel@outbeyond.com.au</a></div><div>Skype: joel.t.thompson</div><div>WeChat: JtthompsonAUS</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>An Australian Perspective on Outdoor Education</title><description><![CDATA[Photo Credit: from OutBeyond Australia - Outdoor Education and School Camp Company, Brighton Beach Boxes, Melbourne, AustraliaAustralia has always had a strong association with the outdoors. This association was formalised in the school curriculum in the 20th century, and since that time the outdoor education industry has gone from strength to strength. The majority of Australian students now have opportunities to participate in outdoor programs during their time at school, whether that’s<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_d11b3f6cb88c411395018c9d71358c21%7Emv2_d_5813_3270_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_352/a5dc31_d11b3f6cb88c411395018c9d71358c21%7Emv2_d_5813_3270_s_4_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/09/19/An-Australian-Perspective-on-Outdoor-Education</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2017/09/19/An-Australian-Perspective-on-Outdoor-Education</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 Sep 2017 13:09:22 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_d11b3f6cb88c411395018c9d71358c21~mv2_d_5813_3270_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Photo Credit: from OutBeyond Australia - Outdoor Education and School Camp Company, Brighton Beach Boxes, Melbourne, Australia</div><div>Australia has always had a strong association with the outdoors. This association was formalised in the school curriculum in the 20th century, and since that time the outdoor education industry has gone from strength to strength. The majority of Australian students now have opportunities to participate in outdoor programs during their time at school, whether that’s through the school’s curriculum or an external provider like OutBeyond. While definitions of what truly constitutes ‘outdoor education’ often differ, for our purposes we’ll simply define it as ‘education outside the walls of the classroom, using the outdoors to facilitate learning outcomes.’</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_a32a282c33f9446db82d3aa7ac4811aa~mv2_d_5760_3840_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Photo Credit: from OutBeyond Australia - Tree-surfing and Adventure Activities in Melbourne, Australia</div><div>Research has proven that these experiences outside the classroom are hugely beneficial in the development of young people. There are opportunities for leadership, social interaction and personal responsibility in a potentially uncomfortable environment, and when facilitated correctly these opportunities become concrete learnings. There is, perhaps, no better provider of ‘teachable moments’ than the outdoors.</div><div>Joseph Badaracco, a Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard University and author of Managing the Grey, believes ‘you have to choose, commit, act, and live with the consequences and persuade others to follow your lead. Grey areas test your skills as a manager, your judgment, and even your humanity. How do you get these decisions right?’</div><div>To answer Joseph, I’ll quote Mark Twain (I think), who said that good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from poor judgement. What we try to do at OutBeyond is give students an opportunity to make judgements and gain experience in a safe, supervised environment, so they may one day make important judgement calls with a solid experience base to call on.</div><div>That’s not to say that outdoor education is necessarily risky. Yes, there is risk, but it’s a question of perceived risk vs. actual risk. Outdoor education programs are run according to the Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAS), school standards and, of course, laws relating to working with minors. The key to a successful program is controlling actual risk without losing the perceived risk experienced by students, so the conditions for growth are still present without compromising safety. Safety is always, always the number one consideration on any OutBeyond program.</div><div>Outdoor education as a whole has a tremendous track record in Australia. According to Dr Andrew Brookes, from LaTrobe University, between 1960 and 2007 there was an average of 2.6 serious incidents in outdoor education. While one incident is one too many, given the large volumes of students going on trips each year this is still an incredibly small number.</div><div>I strongly believe education should be a holistic and never-ending endeavour. For school students, in particular, there must be a balance between academic achievement and character development. China’s school system, for example, has a huge emphasis on academics – and why shouldn’t it – but research suggests that perhaps traditional models of education aren’t necessarily the most effective. Just look at Finland. They’re consistently topping international education ranking with perhaps the most unorthodox education system.</div><div>In Australia, schools have realised that emotional intelligence (EQ) is just as important, if not more important, than a student’s intelligence quotient (IQ). This is particularly true in the elite private and independent school, with relatively new concepts like positive education quickly becoming embedded in all aspects of a student’s schooling. Parents consider holistic education and non-academic experiences to be a key driver when choosing a school for their children, as they know life skills and global citizenship are extremely important for modern graduates, and believe in the transformative power of overseas programs.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_0650f1f583954690a9193d7681ba5eea~mv2.jpg"/><div>Photo Credit: from www.Schools100.com - Haileybury College Students</div><div>Last year, outdoor education trips in Australia averaged three days in length and focused on a balance of soft and hard skills. Over 400,000 students took part in physical activities, like canoeing or hiking, as vehicles for exploring softer skills like leadership, creating a sense of community and conflict resolution.</div><div>OutBeyond takes a slightly different approach. Yes, we use the outdoors as a learning tool, but our programs are specifically tailored to the Chinese market and we recognise that whilst taking students out of their comfort zone is important, there’s no benefit to pushing them too far. Every single program we run should be able to be completed by any Chinese students, and instead of pushing students too far physically, our programs focus on the four C’s of 21st century education: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. We just use the outdoors, as well as urban centres, as a way of facilitating the learning because we truly believe there’s no better way.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_a4b2ba7bb3a24d93ad444a72e1642be0~mv2_d_2000_1335_s_2.jpg"/><div>Photo Credit: from OutBeyond Australia - Student from China on an OutBeyond Outdoor Leadership Camp and Study Tour, Melbourne, Australia</div><div>Summary:</div><div>Outdoor education and overseas leadership programs can have huge benefits for student learnings when facilitated correctly. Leading schools in Australia have recognised this, and the majority offer strong outdoor and overseas programs to foster skills in leadership, decision-making, personal responsibility and confidence. At OutBeyond, we tailor our programs to the Chinese market to ensure students are given an opportunity to safely learn how to make decisions and, more importantly, make mistakes in a controlled environment.</div><div>--</div><div>Contact the Author for comment:</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_b8631c5e61304eada2dd4a843b805f39~mv2_d_3979_3979_s_4_2.png"/><div>Joel Thompson</div><div>Managing director of <a href="http://www.outbeyond.com.au">OutBeyond</a></div><div>+61 417 384 041</div><div><a href="mailto:joel@outbeyond.com.au?subject=From your Blog posts">joel@outbeyond.com.au</a></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What is GRIT and why do we need it?</title><description><![CDATA[Traditional education has many strengths but also many limitations (it’s no secret).Innovative leaders must continue to question traditional education in order to meet the individual needs of learners and the ever-changing knowledge economy, we often label as higher education.Not reinventing a system that works so well – instead complementing this system with innovative outdoor education experiences and outcomes-focussed program architecture.We must also remind ourselves as educators, that long<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_e148a27e3cdd48108be6813b3630c4b4%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/29/What-is-GRIT-and-why-do-we-need-it</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/29/What-is-GRIT-and-why-do-we-need-it</guid><pubDate>Sat, 29 Oct 2016 13:56:13 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_e148a27e3cdd48108be6813b3630c4b4~mv2.jpg"/><div>Traditional education has many strengths but also many limitations (it’s no secret).</div><div>Innovative leaders must continue to question traditional education in order to meet the individual needs of learners and the ever-changing knowledge economy, we often label as higher education.</div><div>Not reinventing a system that works so well – instead complementing this system with innovative outdoor education experiences and outcomes-focussed program architecture.</div><div>We must also remind ourselves as educators, that long term student success depends on achieving much more than just academic success.</div><div>How? Education beyond the walls of the classroom</div><div>One of the most complimentary support mechanisms to academic orientated education is outdoor education and the ability to utilise natural and unfamiliar environments to build character and develop key life skills in young people.</div><div>Many of our forward thinking Independent Australian schools have adopted sequential outdoor education or outdoor experiences into their curriculum as a core fundamental of the school’s philosophy and values. Knowing what can be achieved from students participating in an intrinsically designed program, is why photos of these experiences are proudly framed and hung on the school's reception wall.</div><div>Some of these schools engage with contractual providers like us. Others employ key individuals to coordinate their programs internally.</div><div>Either way, this ‘extra or co-curricular’ school program should be seen and viewed by educational leaders as a ‘core-curricular’ program. Not something we simply do, if we feel like it.</div><div>Government schools do a great job of including outdoor education experiences as a part of their co-curricular activities, however many schools are faced with an array of challenges preventing them from successfully adopting outdoor education.</div><div>The greatest challenge being funding.</div><div>The Victorian State Government should be given praise, as their Camps, Sports and Excursions fund has assisted thousands socio-disadvantaged school students in helping them attend school camp, and co-curricular experiences – something I am very passionate about.</div><div>No student should miss out on school camp due to financial reasons.</div><div>We have a responsibility as outdoor educators, be it expert lecturers, program designers, camp owners and operators, facilitators, instructors, group leaders, camp coordinators and managers. The responsibility to educate the knowledge economy on the importance of education and experiential learning beyond the walls of the classroom or lecture theatre.</div><div><a href="http://www.outbeyond.com.au">Out Beyond</a> focuses on the development of life skills within 8 key areas:</div><div>· Leadership</div><div>· Problem Solving</div><div>· Communication</div><div>· Global Citizenship</div><div>· Teamwork</div><div>· Resilience and Grit</div><div>· Innovation</div><div>· Emotional Intelligence</div><div>Richard Miller the founding president of Olin College talks about how the correlation between how much you know, and how well your life turns out to be, is not very good.</div><div>“The 3 times better predictor; of positive life outcomes, than either knowledge or intelligence; is what is called grit.” – Richard Miller</div><div>Again, creating a culture that fosters the beliefs that drive perseverance along with teaching the strategies for overcoming academic blocks can make all the difference.</div><div>Grit, is loosely defined as persistence over time to overcome challenges and accomplish big goals (Duckworth, 2013; Shechtman, DeBarger, Dornsife, Rosier, &amp; Yarnall, 2013).</div><div>Grit comprises a suite of traits and behaviours, including;</div><div>Goal-directedness (knowing where to go and how to get there)Motivation (having a strong will to achieve identified goals)Self-control (avoiding distractions and focusing on the task at hand)Positive mind-set (embracing challenge and viewing failure as a learning opportunity)</div><div>It's a combination of passion and perseverance, it’s attitudes, behaviours and motivations – its not knowledge.</div><div>The knowledge economy is about putting content into kids heads, whereas the experience economy that Out Beyond creates- is about allowing students to draw out their creative content, and apply it, in simulated environments.</div><div>In our <a href="http://www.outbeyond.com.au">student-led programs</a>, the teacher is not the expert, the teacher is the coach.</div><div>The best organisation of students in this case is not in a large auditorium sitting in rows or in the classroom, but in small groups talking to each other, on some kind of a maker project, or solving a problem.</div><div>It’s not about what you know its about what you can do with what you know – Meet the Maker Economy.</div><div>Is Outdoor education a kind of Maker Project?</div><div>I certainly can not comment on outdoor education as a whole – however <a href="http://www.outbeyond.com.au">Out Beyond</a> considers each and every one of its camp programs, study tours, outdoor leadership and incursion workshops to be maker projects.</div><div>We involve students in the ideation, planning, design, architecture and build of each and every one of their programs – giving them ownership, responsibility and empowerment.</div><div>This sets up the foundation for greater learning as students are engaged from the very beginning.</div><div>It’s what comes out of the students heads that's important. Creativity has less to do with your DNA than it does to do with your environment. Experiential learning at its finest!</div><div>We use experiential learning to help students learn to persevere and succeed. A research summary by Diamond and Lee (2011) concluded that the best way to teach self-regulation skills may not be to teach them directly, but rather to have students learn them indirectly through experiences that tap into their passions and interests, help them to develop a sense of pride, and give them &quot;a sense of belonging and social acceptance&quot;. Thoughtfully delivered Out Beyond activities, such as camps, adventure activities, drama, and sports, can help students develop self-discipline and persistence through structured opportunities to challenge themselves, learn through failure, and experience improvement.</div><div>Twenty-five years of research has shown that giving students challenging goals encourages greater effort and persistence than providing moderate, &quot;do-your-best&quot; goals or no goals at all (Locke &amp; Latham, 2006). However, simply setting a high bar is inadequate. Students also need the will to achieve goals (Poropat, 2009); a growth mind-set, or the belief that they can become smarter and turn failure into success through their own efforts (Dweck, 2006); and the ability to delay gratification and stay focused on the task at hand—what psychologists call self-regulation.</div><div>When we look at some of the worlds most successful people, athletes, business people, entrepreneurs -at first glance we only see where they stand right now. Tune in a little closer, we begin to understand that they each possess an enormous amount of grit.</div><div>Grit is an essential ingredient in achieving positive life outcomes. Grit teaches us how to turn failure into greatness; and we must develop this characteristic in all young people.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>School Incursions in Southern China</title><description><![CDATA[Our team of coaches and youth development facilitators have been travelling through Southern China over the last 3 weeks, working closely with education agents and schools to introduce outdoor education and Australian camping and experiential learning education to students.In an effort to support the development of cross-curricular activities in local schools, Out Beyond has been working tirelessly to enhance the student educational experience, eventually leading to study and travel abroad<img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/CGkV97YTmtE/mqdefault.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/26/School-Incursions-in-Southern-China</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/26/School-Incursions-in-Southern-China</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2016 22:04:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CGkV97YTmtE"/><div> Our team of coaches and youth development facilitators have been travelling through Southern China over the last 3 weeks, working closely with education agents and schools to introduce outdoor education and Australian camping and experiential learning education to students.</div><div>In an effort to support the development of cross-curricular activities in local schools, Out Beyond has been working tirelessly to enhance the student educational experience, eventually leading to study and travel abroad outdoor education and leadership development programs.</div><div>Stay tuned for more..</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>China meets Regional Victoria</title><description><![CDATA[A regional Victoria, privately funded pilot tourism campaign that promotes the most unique visitor experiences within the most remarkable regions of our State to China.The campaign will give the team at Out Beyond the tools and marketing material to communicate directly at presentations to more than 600 students, parents and educational professionals in China.Indirectly the campaign will saturate the wechat social media channel and be pushed out to more than 15,000 users in China.As well as<img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/mJd0OOzox4o/mqdefault.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/01/A-sneak-peak-at-our-first-meetaustralia-campaign</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/10/01/A-sneak-peak-at-our-first-meetaustralia-campaign</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2016 20:34:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>A regional Victoria, privately funded pilot tourism campaign that promotes the most unique visitor experiences within the most remarkable regions of our State to China.</div><div>The campaign will give the team at Out Beyond the tools and marketing material to communicate directly at presentations to more than 600 students, parents and educational professionals in China.</div><div>Indirectly the campaign will saturate the wechat social media channel and be pushed out to more than 15,000 users in China.</div><div>As well as focussing on the campaign push in China, we have also invested in local Australian destination based marketing.</div><div>We look forward to raising the capital to promote the next phase of the big picture, international marketing campaign.</div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mJd0OOzox4o"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>On tour with our Meet Australia campaign for Out Beyond and School Camps Australia</title><description><![CDATA[Harley, Joel, Todd, Ben and BJ are on a mission to gather the best regional tourism and camp content here in Victoria.A campaign labeled the #meetaustralia campaign see's young outdoor education professionals, creative marketers, innovators and youth leaders come together to help refresh the image of our sector. The campaign aims to rebrand the outdoor education and tourism industry through a cross pollination, community engagement and local business development initiatives."We're not just<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_9c233dbbfce842e4a19cbba1f7c69b01%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/08/25/On-tour-with-our-Meet-Australia-campaign-for-Out-Beyond-and-School-Camps-Australia</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/08/25/On-tour-with-our-Meet-Australia-campaign-for-Out-Beyond-and-School-Camps-Australia</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2016 01:03:18 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_63b6b41d16824e1386fc44c3f2ff95a4~mv2.png"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_0c3eca87f6a54d4a82c08f2b8d43db40~mv2.png"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_3045754bce2045978e1afa83072bd9e2~mv2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_72074e7346104455967f4ea24d8f24ce~mv2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_f4d5caa59dc249b9b286d6149c32b37b~mv2.png"/></div><div>Harley, Joel, Todd, Ben and BJ are on a mission to gather the best regional tourism and camp content here in Victoria.</div><div>A campaign labeled the #meetaustralia campaign see's young outdoor education professionals, creative marketers, innovators and youth leaders come together to help refresh the image of our sector. </div><div>The campaign aims to rebrand the outdoor education and tourism industry through a cross pollination, community engagement and local business development initiatives.</div><div>&quot;We're not just building a movement that puts our own Victorian business on the International map, we're building a campaign that promotes the whole sector&quot; says Joel Thompson, the Managing director at <a href="http://www.outbeyond.com.au">Out Beyond</a> and Board Member of the <a href="http://www.auscamps.asn.au">Australian Camps Association</a>&quot;</div><div>The content will be used to promote direct to the China Education and Travel market place, linking schools, universities, travel agents and education agents to Australia.</div><div>Harley says &quot;that the ability to capture content in key regional destinations, curate it and share it with International markets is very rewarding and exciting for the future of what is to come..&quot;</div><div>Our company is building a relationship between China-Australia in a unique outdoor educational ecosystem.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_9c233dbbfce842e4a19cbba1f7c69b01~mv2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Song of the Year to Briggs for The Children Came Back – featuring Dewayne Everettsmith and Gurrumul</title><description><![CDATA[A huge congratulations to APRA AMCOS members Gurrumul, Briggs and Gawurra who have all taken home awards at the National Indigenous Music Awards.Joel Thompson has a short feature in the powerful film clip, alongside various artists and stand up community members of Australia.In remote Aboriginal communities film clips are powerful modes of communication. They play crucial roles in educating communities and delivering important messages of all kinds. This year’s National Community Music Clip went<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_4b671cbc9f834a31b59b0cb202fc71a9%7Emv2_d_2560_1600_s_2.png/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_391/a5dc31_4b671cbc9f834a31b59b0cb202fc71a9%7Emv2_d_2560_1600_s_2.png"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/08/09/Song-of-the-Year-to-Briggs-for-The-Children-Came-Back-%E2%80%93-featuring-Dewayne-Everettsmith-and-Gurrumul</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/08/09/Song-of-the-Year-to-Briggs-for-The-Children-Came-Back-%E2%80%93-featuring-Dewayne-Everettsmith-and-Gurrumul</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2016 14:19:24 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_4b671cbc9f834a31b59b0cb202fc71a9~mv2_d_2560_1600_s_2.png"/><div>A huge congratulations to APRA AMCOS members Gurrumul, Briggs and Gawurra who have all taken home awards at the National Indigenous Music Awards.</div><div>Joel Thompson has a short feature in the powerful film clip, alongside various artists and stand up community members of Australia.</div><div>In remote Aboriginal communities film clips are powerful modes of communication. They play crucial roles in educating communities and delivering important messages of all kinds. This year’s National Community Music Clip went to Break the silence, a clip produced by the remote South East Arnhem Land community of Ngukurr. The community partnered with the Ngukurr School, White Ribbon Australia and Indigenous Hip Hop Projects to create a film clip and resource touching on the powerful messages of the White Ribbon campaign – Break The Silence</div><div>Song of the Year The Children Came Back – Briggs Written by Gurrumul Yunupingu, Archie Roach, Corey McGregor, James Mangohig, Adam Briggs Performed by Briggs, Dewayne Everettsmith &amp; Gurrumul</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-wMbFntrTo">Watch the video by clicking here</a></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What economic impact does the school camps sector have on regional tourism?</title><description><![CDATA[How does the camps industry contribute to regional tourism?When you think of a school camp what is your first thought?Young kids and a few days away in the bush maybe, high ropes in the morning, followed by lunch in the dining hall, then canoeing in the afternoon, followed by dinner around a camp fire – toasted marshmallows and some good stories of reflection, shared underneath the stars... One of the greatest commodities camps possess, is that they are all so different – each and every camp<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_8425238e400a49848a25ecb8092f539d%7Emv2_d_2500_1667_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/07/31/What-economic-impact-does-the-school-camps-sector-have-on-regional-tourism</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/07/31/What-economic-impact-does-the-school-camps-sector-have-on-regional-tourism</guid><pubDate>Sun, 31 Jul 2016 05:58:26 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_8425238e400a49848a25ecb8092f539d~mv2_d_2500_1667_s_2.jpg"/><div>How does the camps industry contribute to regional tourism?</div><div>When you think of a school camp what is your first thought?</div><div>Young kids and a few days away in the bush maybe, high ropes in the morning, followed by lunch in the dining hall, then canoeing in the afternoon, followed by dinner around a camp fire – toasted marshmallows and some good stories of reflection, shared underneath the stars... </div><div>One of the greatest commodities camps possess, is that they are all so different – each and every camp provider or program operator has their own unique story to tell, a narrative, which gives our industry the culture, and the identity that it needs.</div><div>Young people coming through our programs are given limitless opportunity due to the diversity and the nature of each and every camp operators ethos and programming curriculum. We don’t conduct activities for the sake of conducting an activity.</div><div>It is also truly incredible that we have such a competitive community of camps, yet our industry footprint is one that promotes standing together – which is a key fundamental to supporting a young persons development, through a wide range of opportunities – even if only just for a few days, the positive impact that our programs have on a participant can last a lifetime.</div><div>Perhaps when we look at the big Australian operators, the ones that work with tens of thousands of students every year – we can sometimes criticise their model or their philosophies – without looking deeper into their ‘why’ and the positive impact that they truly have on the wider community.</div><div>When we look at the large majority of smaller campsites and operators – key contributors to our sector, we often find that they are owned and operated by families, husband and wife – making an enormous difference to our younger generations.</div><div>A consistent theme amongst our industry, like many others; is that we are all here for one reason. We care about the development of young people and the natural and outdoor environment that we use to convey this.</div><div>We invest more than just time and money.</div><div>We invest a currency much bigger.</div><div>Passion.</div><div>It is from this currency that without question, we build a thriving community that does much more, than just run camps. </div><div>Without this passion, the heavy downward pressure of Term 1 and Term 4 - running back to back camps, week in week out due to seasonality; our industry would look much different. </div><div>A large majority of the camps in Victoria are located in the regions. Schools travel up to 4 hours to attend camps because often our regions offer insurmountable experiences that cannot be found closer to home. The geography of our industry is key to supporting the local economic climates.</div><div>Our sector plays an important role in growing, developing and sustaining our regions. Some would say that we are lifeblood to regional tourism – but are we considered tourism?</div><div>Victoria alone has 21 tourism regions and 8 of these destinations are in Australia’s top 20 most important economic tourism locations. </div><div>On a global level, and according to WTTC’s (the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel and Tourism) annual economic report – Travel and Tourism generated 10% of global GDP and created more than 277 million jobs worldwide. </div><div>Direct travel and tourism commodities are named as:</div><div>AccommodationTransportEntertainment &amp; ActivitiesAttractionsCultural, sports and recreational servicesFood &amp; Beverage services</div><div>So do camps offer these services? Absolutely. </div><div>One of the most humbling and profound experiences that I get when I walk onto an Australian camp comes from the people that I meet, be it kitchen staff, catering, activity instructors, program facilitators, maintenance staff, logistics and support, managers and directors – all equally important as each other to the bigger picture of developing youth.</div><div>Local people, doing remarkable things!</div><div>We create jobs, we create wealth, but most importantly we create and international community.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Student-Led Experiences: Why experiential learning is so Important in youth development</title><description><![CDATA[For me personally, I have found that some of my greatest life lessons and teachings, have come from ‘learning through experience’, some more uncomfortable than others. At the heart of all learning is the way we process our experiences, especially our critical reflections on our experiences. Experiential education is a key approach to student-centred learning for a sustainable future.Experiential learning engages students in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making in contexts that<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_633b717adb944f5992fa227b039d52a9%7Emv2_d_2000_1333_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/05/04/StudentLed-Experiences-Why-experiential-learning-is-so-Important-in-youth-development</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/05/04/StudentLed-Experiences-Why-experiential-learning-is-so-Important-in-youth-development</guid><pubDate>Wed, 04 May 2016 07:44:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_633b717adb944f5992fa227b039d52a9~mv2_d_2000_1333_s_2.jpg"/><div>For me personally, I have found that some of my greatest life lessons and teachings, have come from ‘learning through experience’, some more uncomfortable than others. </div><div>At the heart of all learning is the way we process our experiences, especially our critical reflections on our experiences. Experiential education is a key approach to student-centred learning for a sustainable future.</div><div>Experiential learning engages students in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making in contexts that are personally relevant to them. This approach to learning also involves making opportunities for debriefing and consolidation of ideas and skills through feedback, reflection, and the application of the ideas and skills to new situations.</div><div>It is often said that the greatest form of learning comes from learning by experience, by doing. However simply navigating your way through the experience without a clear purpose and without the opportunity to reflect and debrief or discuss the experience had, can set learners up to fail.</div><div> A key element of all cutting edge and innovative outdoor education and school camp experiences is to incorporate experiential learning into some part of the program. These sessions or programming elements, guided by the group leader or what some organisations label as ‘facilitators’ are vitally important to the development of the participant(s).</div><div>As these programs are generally delivered to classroom size groups, the peer-experience and the successful collaboration of participants- working as a team successfully, comes down to two major factors; the structure of the program and the program facilitator.</div><div>Put simply, if each experience or activity has a; Plan, Do &amp; Review model, then the chances of having a real and powerful educational impact on the program participant’s increases. Facilitators who posses the skill to identify these ‘teachable moments’ in an outdoor setting, where momentarily opening up a group discussion could amplify the individual or groups learning well beyond what was first expected, are the future leaders of our industry.</div><div>It is this type of facilitation style; inquiry-based and student-led learning, that will enable young people to develop contextual life skills that will enable them to become better prepared for the real world.</div><div>Learning and innovation skills are being recognised as the skills that separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future. What has been coined as the term ‘the 4 c’s’.</div><div>Organisations working in the outdoor education and youth development sector should consider the purpose behind their programming, rather than running activities and sessions with no meaningful thought into the outcomes that we set out to achieve. This approach will give the students attending their camps and programs a greater understanding and appreciation of others and of themselves.</div><div>If organisations can consistently innovate and adapt their programming style to the needs of our current and future generations, whilst connecting with and involving young people in the process, the outcomes become real ‘student focussed outcomes’, and their achievements become a daily reminder of why we chose to do the work that we do.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Innovation within the Outdoor Camp Community</title><description><![CDATA[Our fondest childhood memories are often those that involve nature and the freedom of play, and the unbridled use of imagination to create and live out fantasies. As human beings we never lose the inner joy of creativity, but it tends to be suppressed by the responsibilities of adult life - we swap the playground for the office.Like the playgrounds of our childhoods though, businesses that embrace creativity and innovation as "invasive and perpetual' - as consultant Shapiro puts it - are<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_9093e122562d4352963d363bd6005346%7Emv2_d_1800_1344_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Joel Thompson</dc:creator><link>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/04/01/Innovation-within-the-Outdoor-Camp-Community</link><guid>https://www.joelthompson.com.au/single-post/2016/04/01/Innovation-within-the-Outdoor-Camp-Community</guid><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 07:00:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5dc31_9093e122562d4352963d363bd6005346~mv2_d_1800_1344_s_2.jpg"/><div>Our fondest childhood memories are often those that involve nature and the freedom of play, and the unbridled use of imagination to create and live out fantasies. As human beings we never lose the inner joy of creativity, but it tends to be suppressed by the responsibilities of adult life - we swap the playground for the office.</div><div>Like the playgrounds of our childhoods though, businesses that embrace creativity and innovation as &quot;invasive and perpetual' - as consultant Shapiro puts it - are exciting places to be.</div><div>Thought leading and forward thinking companies are renowned for hiring and nurturing creative people, and for rewarding imagination and invention. They attract thousands of applicants as a result.</div><div>Moreover, creativity is not only a potential source for ideas that can yield economic value, but is a vital asset for individuals and companies operating in increasingly changeable global markets.</div><div>Organisations that foster creativity are normally challenged with balancing creativity with financial prudence. Harvested creativity, if unbridled, rarely leads to commercial success, and at the end of the day, companies are required to make profits in order to survive...?</div><div>The vital ingredients to success within creative organisations, must then be perpetual; everyone, everywhere and all of the time...?</div><div>The desire to create and invent is deeply embedded in all of us.As children, creativity comes naturally......but for many adults, it has to be worked at.For businesses establishing a climate of perpetual creativity motivates staff....and improves the companies competitiveness</div><div>Organisations within the outdoors community under utilise the outdoors or nature, as a marketable product in itself. Often overlooked, the outdoors has been labeled as not only the 'Biggest Classroom in the World' but also the 'Biggest Office in the World'. Why not push old boundaries and get back to where we often played and discovered new ideas as children..</div><div>Those companies that can define their creativity, measure their creativity against their competition, and move quickly to innovate - be first, or be better - have an unfair advantage.</div><div>A social enterprise for young outdoor education and youth development professionals has been created to assist with creativity within our community. For more information please visit www.youthleaders.org.au</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>