Digital Diaries
The Digital diaries project had been developed as part of a large training materials project for the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, on behalf of the Departments of Child and Family Studies and Community and Further Education (TAFE). The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare is the peak body in Victoria for all non government agencies who provide out of home care services for children and young people in protective care.
The digital diaries are about the thoughts and experiences of young people in residential care who, as well as recording their story, also participated in the development of the design features of their stories with Design Centre students.
It was a collaboration over a period of 8-10 weeks with one design student being assigned to work one on one with a young person.
The digital diaries create a positive and lasting memory for these young people but most importantly they are an extremely effective training tool for direct carers who work in out of home care settings.
The training materials, including these AV materials, will be rolled out across all training organisations who deliver the Certificate IV in Protective Care in Victoria. They will also be used by the Department of Human Services and placed in every residential care organisation in Victoria.