Developing authentic assessment through open educational practices

Abstract

This Pecha Kucha presentation will showcase The Adaptable Resources for Teaching with Technology (ARTT) project journey, emphasising partnerships, open educational practices (OEP), and a collection of learning activities and authentic assessments.

Background to the ARTT Collection

In higher education, academics comprise both formally trained educators and those who rely on their own teaching practice. The latter often navigate through their experiences, relying on trial and error, intuition, and muddling through situations to articulate and justify their teaching choices (Echempati, 2023; Lund, 2016). While the teaching practices honed by experienced academics through years are highly valuable, they often remain overlooked and underutilised. This project seeks to address this void by providing a platform to share practices and resources in a collaborative and accessible way.

What is ARTT?

The Adaptable Resources for Teaching with Technology (ARTT) (LX.lab, 2023) collection was launched by LX.lab from The Institute for Interactive Media & Learning (IML) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2019. ARTT’s focus is on enhancing student learning experiences through the pedagogically sound use of technology drawing on authentic teaching practices from within UTS and other higher educational institutions. Resources are developed into practical solutions that are easy to adapt by other educators in different teaching contexts. As an open collection, the resources within ARTT are accessible, reusable and adaptable by any academic seeking to enhance student learning experiences in a technology enhanced learning environment.

How is ARTT collaborative?

The ARTT collection has been collaboratively developed by a team of learning designers and curriculum developers, resulting in the capture of a diverse range of learning activities and assessments, all derived from high-quality teaching and learning designs. ARTT promotes diverse perspectives and innovative approaches to learning, fostering openness and empowerment among contributors. The complexities of education, particularly in the assessment sphere, have increased, emphasising the need to partner intentionally with students, academics, faculties, external industries, and communities to broaden the scope of these resources (Krause, 2023). This collaborative partnership, rooted in OEP, guarantees the preservation of authorship and upholds the integrity of the artefacts.

How is ARTT used?

The collection is hosted on the UTS website, comprising two distinct sections: learning activities and assessments. These resources are thoughtfully organised, commencing with clear objectives, followed by detailed, step-by-step implementation instructions for educators. Additionally, each resource provides estimated time commitments for both teachers and students, outlines the required technologies for effective implementation, and includes supporting evidence from the literature to validate its efficacy in teaching. Proper attribution to the original authors, in this instance, the dedicated academics and learning designers responsible for their development, is maintained, and the resources are made available under Creative Commons licenses.

How is ARTT Future Focused?

The COVID-19 pandemic disruption and advancements in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) have brought digital learning spaces and workplaces into sharper focus (McGuire & De Cremer, 2022). ARTT is an evolving collection continually adapts to changing needs and challenges in technology-enhanced learning. Our goal is to expand the selection of teaching and assessment resources through collaboration with new contributors. We endeavour to expand the ARTT collection through promoting it in learning and teaching forums. Future work will involve regular updates and iterations of the collection based on user feedback, emerging trends, and advancements in pedagogy and technology. Importantly, we aim for the collection to foster deeper partnerships, provide academics with a platform to share their teaching practices and offer open resources to enhance the student learning experience within and beyond our university.