ASCILITE Publications

Learning maps

2024-06-03T12:26:17+10:00

This paper addresses the importance of creating high quality and contextualized resources for capacity building of academics for online learning and teaching. Drawing on a design-based research framework, the paper presents work-in-progress learning maps. Learning maps are an increasingly popular concept and resource among learning designers which capture and organize various theories and resources for the target learners. In a climate where the tertiary sector struggles to provide quality resources and support for teaching and learning practice, we argue that the creation and implementation of learning maps poses clear advantages and a successful model for teacher capacity building, and subsequently improves student learning.

Using Learning Design to Unleash the Power of Learning Analytics

2024-06-03T12:13:57+10:00

New learning technologies require designers and faculty to take a fresh approach to the design of the learner experience. Adaptive learning, and responsive and predicative learning systems, are emerging with advances in learning analytics. This process of collecting, measuring, analysing and reporting data has the intention of optimising the student learning experience itself and/or the environment in which the experience of learning occurs. However, it is suggested here that no matter how sophisticated the learning analytics platforms, algorithms and user interfaces may become, it is the fundamentals of the learning design, exercised by individual learning designers and faculty, that will ensure that technology solutions will deliver significant and sustainable benefits. This paper argues that effective learning analytics is contingent on well structured and effectively mapped learning designs.

The future of practice-based research in educational technology

2024-06-03T11:59:34+10:00

Implicit in the discourse of evidence-based practice are two fundamental concerns. One is the generalisability of research evidence where issues of external validity are integral to translation, relevance, and application in complex and multifaceted higher educational contexts. The other relates to practice-based evidence, where issues of internal validity impact on the design, interpretation, and dissemination of research. While practice-based research has an advantage in terms of high external validity, threats to internal validity can cause significant issues in terms of the subsequent inference, translation, and generalisability of findings. In educational technology, evaluation and research of e-learning in higher education is conducted by both practitioners and academics, each contributing different pieces of the puzzle towards a better understanding of the learning processes in complex real world settings. In this paper, I propose small, practical steps towards improving the generalisability of practice-based research.

Features of an online English language testing interface

2024-06-03T11:43:20+10:00

This paper describes an online English language proficiency testing platform that uses Moodle- hosted selected and open response questions along with other useful features. These features include enhanced test security settings aided by the Safe Exam Browser; an embedded MP3 player for listening skills; and a split screen mode for reading tests. The paper highlights significant elements of this particular approach to testing as they apply to formal high-stakes e-exams (testing of learning) and for continuous assessment (testing for learning). Snapshots of sample online test materials illustrate these features. Issues of concern in the field of web-based, computer-assisted assessment will be discussed in light of experience gained from a recent pilot study in which this interface was used in a series of mock exams in 2015.

Fostering deep understanding in geography by inducing and managing confusion

2024-06-03T11:31:51+10:00

Confusion is an emotion that is likely to occur when learning complex concepts. While this emotion is often seen as undesirable because of its potential to induce frustration and boredom, recent research has highlighted the vital role confusion can play in student learning. The learning of topics in geography such as tropical cyclone causes and processes can be particularly difficult because it requires the reconstruction of intuitive mental models that are often robust and resistant to change. This paper presents the design framework for an online module designed to enhance university students’ depth of knowledge of tropical cyclones. In particular, the intervention aims to manage the level of confusion during learning. We hypothesise that in this way learners can engage with the cognitively demanding ideas in this topic and they are less likely to experience emotions such as frustration and boredom, which would be detrimental to the development of deep understanding.

Using expectation confirmation theory to understand the learning outcomes of online business simulations

2024-06-03T11:20:09+10:00

The purpose of this paper is to contrast learners’ expectations of the knowledge and skills developed by an online business simulation at the start of the semester with their perceptions of how well the simulation performed in meeting these expectations at the end of the semester. The study draws on expectation confirmation theory to measure the expectations and perceived performance of two business simulations. Data were collected from 225 students studying at two Australian universities. The findings indicate that both online business simulations performed strongly in terms of helping learners understand strategy, real world problems and the importance of interaction and cooperation between different business departments. Both simulations also performed well in developing skills across all five levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. There were some notable differences between expectations and performance between the two cohorts and the implications of these differences for business simulation choice and design is discussed.

Towards a Pedagogy of Comparative Visualization in 3D Design Disciplines

2024-06-03T11:00:29+10:00

Spatial visualization and interpretation are important skills for designers. However, these skills generally require significant experiential development over the course of years. Visualizations allow the human brain to convey complex spatial concepts in intuitive, navigable and manipulable forms improving learner outcomes and perceptions. But often these visualizations are studied as single modality solutions. Dual modality and multimedia presentation studies show positive improvements in learner outcomes but dual modality is often difficult to compare. This paper presents ongoing research in the use of comparative multimodal visualizations produced with emerging technology solutions in 3D Design classrooms. Presented are previous findings from multimedia design and a methodology to widen the scope of study. The context for this study is a university first year undergraduate course in architectural design. The presupposed outcome is that students become adept at interpretation and mental conversion at a rate greater than they would through more traditional curricular means.

Implementing blended learning at faculty level

2024-06-02T12:09:42+10:00

More and more Australian universities are mandating blended learning approaches, whether for efficiency reasons to reduce face-to-face classes or the need for scarce teaching spaces, to create more engaging learning environments by accessing the benefits online learning provides, or simply to keep up with competitors who have implemented such approaches. The challenges surrounding the adoption of online teaching approaches are not new. In the face of pressure to offer greater flexibility in their course offerings, Australian universities have, for a number of years, grappled with how to successfully embrace technology-supported learning in a way which engages both academic staff and their students. In this paper, we use an action research approach to describe how blended learning was introduced at a STEM faculty. We focus on how this has resulted in certain types of staff support provided. We also highlight the faster than expected diffusion of innovation that we have observed.

The ethical considerations of using social media in educational environments

2024-06-02T11:58:09+10:00

Students in an undergraduate pre-service teacher education course were asked to utilise Twitter to access the professional educational community. Their tweets were to be used to promote the sharing of educational resources and establish a local supportive community of practice, to keep others informed of their teaching experiences and provide a vehicle for support and advice, both inside and outside the university. The ethical issues in relation to the use of social media in educational environments were wide-reaching and complex. This paper reports on a pilot study that begins an investigation on the practices of university students using social media in their studies. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop workable guidelines on the ethical use and practice of social media use in university education.

TPACK Framework

2024-06-02T11:28:56+10:00

With the advent ubiquitous computing, cloud-based content creation is becoming more popular and readily accessible. In Malaysia the government equipped 10,000 public primary and secondary schools with 4G Internet connectivity and a cloud-based learning environment called the Frog VLE. This study investigated the alignment and compatibility the TPACK framework to teachers’ learning designs. A rubric was developed, based on the TPACK framework, and after feedback from an expert panel, 152 cloud-based sites were analysed. Results show that most areas were somewhat aligned with the TPACK framework while three areas were fully aligned and one area was minimally aligned. The fully aligned areas were use of links, design navigation flow and design functionality. The minimally aligned area was interactivity. This research finding can potentially inform teacher education as if specifically taught this can empower teachers when creating cloud-based content.

The Next Wave of Learning with Humanoid Robot

2024-06-02T11:45:53+10:00

Today, humanoid robotics research is a growing field and humanoid robots are now increasingly being used in the area such as education, hospitality and healthcare. They are expected to serve as humans’ daily companion and personal assistant in including in education. On the other hand, students may complain that the classroom today is boring and not engaging. Students are using mobile devices extensively but the traditional lectures remain PowerPoints. Is there an educational synergy for integrating a humanoid robot in daily teaching? Responding to the needs, the paper reports a work-in progress pilot study that designs the learning innovation with humanoid robot, NAO. Initial experiences are reported. Rule-based reasoning and progress test design are developed and recommended. The educational program is developed based on the design and pilot tested at the learning and teaching at Monash University Malaysia. Future work and recommendation are discussed in innovative technology engaging learning.

Loop

2024-06-02T08:43:40+10:00

One of the great promises of learning analytics is the ability of digital systems to generate meaningful data about students’ learning interactions that can be returned to teachers. If provided in appropriate and timely ways, such data could be used by teachers to inform their current and future teaching practice. In this paper we showcase the learning analytics tool, Loop, which has been developed as part of an Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching project. The project aimed to develop ways to deliver learning analytics data to academics in a meaningful way to support the enhancement of teaching and learning practice. In this paper elements of the tool will be described. The paper concludes with an outline of the next steps for the project including the evaluation of the effectiveness of the tool.

Teaching Complex Theoretical Multi-Step Problems in ICT Networking through 3D Printing and Augmented Reality

2024-06-02T08:32:53+10:00

This paper presents a pilot study rationale and research methodology using a mixed media visualisation (3D printing and Augmented Reality simulation) learning intervention to help students in an ICT degree represent theoretical complex multi-step problems without a corresponding real world physical analog model. This is important because these concepts are difficult to visualise without a corresponding mental model. The proposed intervention uses an augmented reality application programmed with free commercially available tools, tested through an action research methodology, to evaluate the effectiveness of the mixed media visualisation techniques to teach ICT students networking. Specifically, 3D models of network equipment will be placed in a field and then the augmented reality app can be used to observe packet traversal and routing between the different devices as data travels from the source to the destination. Outcomes are expected to be an overall improvement in final skill level for all students.

An investigation of blended learning experiences of first-year Chinese transnational program students at an Australian university

2024-06-02T08:15:46+10:00

The extensive uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education have reformed the traditional classroom-based study mode. Blended learning, the combination of online and offline learning methods, has become an essential teaching and learning strategy for both instructors and students. An increasing number of Chinese students choose to conduct their undergraduate study through China-Australia transnational programs. Due to the differences in teaching and learning styles between Chinese and Australian universities, the perceptions of transnational students on blended learning strategies may impact their study experience and the adaptation to a different environment. Although previous studies have investigated learning experiences and adaptation issues of Chinese students from various perspectives, limited studies have explored the perceptions of Chinese transnational program students on blended learning in their first-year Australian study. This study describes a series of preliminary qualitative findings of these students blended learning experiences, especially the online section, in an Australian university.

A comparison of undergraduate student experiences of assessed versus non-assessed participation in online asynchronous discussion groups

2024-06-02T07:26:17+10:00

This paper discusses a pilot study investigating perceptions from undergraduate students enrolled in units in which asynchronous online discussion boards were utilised formatively or linked to summative assessment. Of the influences that determine level of student engagement in online discussions, one key factor is whether discussions are assessed. Whilst assessing student discussions does motivate participation, this approach is not always valued by students as they are critical of the value of asynchronous discussion boards to their learning. The type of postings can be an influencing factor in student engagement, with effective facilitation, clear purpose and group participation perceived to be important. Students also viewed discussion boards as a platform in which peer engagement and information sharing occurred. Students who were enrolled in a unit in which discussion postings were assessed demonstrated emerging critical thinking skills. Students strongly indicated discussion boards must be fit-for-purpose and integrated into the curriculum regardless of whether they are assessed or not.

Digital Futures research and society

2024-06-02T07:11:28+10:00

The contemporary Higher Education research environment demands ‘real-world’ impact as a key means of accounting for public sector funding. As such, there is increased pressure on researchers and research institutions to ensure research delivers outcomes for public good. This paper reports on research focused on a Digital Futures collaborative research program. The aim of the research was to explore how researchers and research stakeholders understand research impact. Impact was articulated as ‘making a difference’ however that ‘difference’ was translated by research participants as meaning the tangible impacts relating to quantitative components of research activities. The subtler influences of research impact on society were less well articulated. Results from this research suggest that in the complex world of impact, action, awareness and accountability, as elements of research practice, are key to creating maximum value from knowledge creation initiatives.

Making the Connection

2024-06-02T06:53:16+10:00

In most Australian correctional jurisdictions, prisoners are not allowed access to the internet precluding them from participating in higher education online. This paper reports on an Australian government-funded project, Making the Connection, which is taking digital technologies, that don’t require internet access, into correctional centres to enable prisoners to enroll in a suite of pre-tertiary and undergraduate programs. A version of the University of Southern Queensland’s learning management system has been installed onto the education server of participating correctional centres. The second stage of the project will see notebook computers preloaded with course materials, allocated to participating prisoners. At the time of writing, the project has been deployed at eight correctional centres in Queensland and Western Australia, with negotiations underway for further rollout to Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. It is expected that the technologies and processes developed for this project will enable the delivery of higher education to other cohorts without access to reliable internet access.

Badging digital pathways of learning

2024-06-02T06:43:42+10:00

Educators worldwide are witnessing a change in thinking concerning digital learning, teaching and assessment resources as well as the theories and practices connected to making claims about learning based on digital evidence. These shifts are occurring as three elements have combined to form new digital pathways for learning: 1. Self-organizing online global communities engaged in informal learning activities, 2. A new globally supported mechanism for sharing and managing data, files, images and metadata concerning those activities known as ‘open badges’, and 3. Rapidly changing conceptions of higher education, continuing education, and the boundaries of informal to formal learning. So in addition to learners being on a personal learning journey to fulfill their aspirations for professional growth, higher education institutions world wide are also on learning journeys to modernize and respond to these changes, which have the potential for disruption and transformation of the university’s business model and role in society.

The Agile Learning Model

2024-06-01T08:44:55+10:00

Big data mirrors the accounting process to the extent that it deals with how we capture, categorise, summarise and report information so that users can make informed decisions. By modelling this process, we can both demonstrate the future of accounting to our students, and build an agile learning environment that identifies for a student their ‘next crucial action’ in the learning process. Presented in this paper is a pilot study.

PST Online

2024-06-01T08:36:46+10:00

Improvements in available technologies and an increased popularity of online learning spaces have seen a shift in the dominant ways students engage with formal and informal learning in their day-to-day lives. This is especially true for the distance education experience through the rise in virtual schools. As this shift occurs, it becomes increasingly important to reflect these new changes in curriculum design for pre-service teachers. Increasingly, these pre-service teachers will be engaging with students, not just in the traditional, physical classroom space, but also in online spaces and via distance. These new virtual learning environments require their own separate skillset to be properly navigated by both the learner and teacher to provide meaningful and rich learning experiences. In order to develop resources to facilitate the learning of these skills, current pre-service teachers have identified their own understandings of online learning and their readiness to teach within these new spaces.

Occupational Medicine Simulation Project

2024-06-01T08:17:15+10:00

In 2013 the Occupational and Aviation Medicine (OAM) unit of the University of Otago secured a project grant to develop a simulated virtual world environment for students of this unit, specifically those studying occupational medicine as distance learners. The simulation would be employed by facilitated student groups to contextualize occupational data for specific work processes, to re-enact occupational health examinations in the compiling of clinical assessments and to develop a research proposal for assessing health outcomes in these hazard environments. Developmentally, the underlying intent of the project was twofold; firstly, to investigate the virtual elements essential to the creation of an authentic context for learning and secondly, to explore those virtual aspects that might provide a supportive learning environment for the geographically dispersed student body. This paper details the pedagogical and design rationale employed by the author in the pursuit of this intent.

Can learning analytics provide useful insights?

2024-06-01T07:40:51+10:00

This concise paper reports on an analysis of access logs of a first year university course that was delivered in a blended format. This analysis is an initial step in a wider project aimed at investigating if learning analytics can provided useful insights on course level, targeting both student learning and the needs of teachers. Preliminary findings show potential in noting when students need targeted help, a lack of correlation between access logs and grades, and insights into the degree by which course completion rates are affected by the lack of student engagement.

A pedagogical end game for exams

2024-06-01T07:30:37+10:00

This short paper looks ahead 10 years to a possible future for high stakes assessment in Australian higher education. The authors discuss some of the drivers pushing towards this future along with desirable operational features and pedagogical capabilities of an e-exam system for the year 2025. This paper represents a vision or road map to which a newly established, half million-dollar, Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching national project on e-exams will be contributing over the next three years.

Are Higher Education Institutions Prepared for Learning Analytics?

2024-06-01T07:22:14+10:00

Learning analytics may provide multiple benefits for higher education institutions and for involved stakeholders by using different data analytics strategies to produce summative, real-time and predictive insights and recommendations. However, are institutions and academic as well as administrative staff prepared for learning analytics? Considering a learning analytics benefits matrix, this study investigates the current capabilities for learning analytics at higher education institutions, explores the importance of data sources for a valid learning analytics framework, and builds an understanding on how important insights from learning analytics are perceived. Findings revealed a lack of staff and technology being available for learning analytics projects. It is concluded that more empirical research focussing on the validity of learning analytics frameworks and on expected benefits for learning and instruction is required to confirm the high hopes this promising emerging technology is suggesting.

A blended learning ecosystem

2024-06-01T07:10:37+10:00

As technologies evolve, the places and spaces for learning are rapidly changing and learners are required to take increasing responsibility for directing their own learning. By doing so, students are presented with a range of opportunities and challenges within these complex learning environments. Research suggests that an important consideration is the effect on learner motivation. This paper reports on motivational issues for students working within an online post-graduate professional teacher education programme that blends lecturer-directed and student-directed learning. In 2014, students completed a survey about their experiences of setting their own learning goals and negotiating their own curriculum with an emphasis on motivation. This was followed by a series of interviews aimed at exploring these experiences in more depth. Preliminary findings highlight anxiety about choosing course content and setting learning goals were among key concerns identified by students. Results provide insight into motivational considerations for learners in complex learning eco-systems.

Measuring creativity in collaborative design projects in pre-service teacher education

2024-06-01T06:52:26+10:00

Pre-service teacher education in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been the focus of numerous studies. In this paper, we further extend this body of research by examining the functions of creativity and how creative outputs are measured in pre-service teacher education, chiefly by discussing how students are assessed in terms of their creativities in design projects. The research aimed to evaluate the measures that had been put in place to ensure that the creative value of the student tasks was assessed objectively. Several strategies were used including a process-based task design, opportunities for students to revisit and refine designs, collaborative brainstorming, self-assessment, rubrics, panel marking by experts, and a design space that supported creativity. It was found that while interpretations of creativity were subjective, the students’ aim to develop creative outputs was fostered by the peer review and self-review processes adopted for the study.

How to develop an online community for pre-service and early career teachers?

2024-06-01T06:41:07+10:00

This paper contributes a number of design principles for developing large-scale online communities of pre-service and early career teachers (PS&ECTs). It presents the paradigms of connected learning, networked learning and communities of practice and contrasts them. It describes the potential for online communities to meet the needs of PS&ECTs and it identifies gaps that exist within certain types of existing online communities that currently support PS&ECTs. The paper proposes design principles for a new type of online community for PS&ECTs. These principles are drawn from the literature and from the preliminary outcomes of a pilot study.

Collaboration between Primary Students and the Use of an Online Learning Environment

2024-06-01T06:25:38+10:00

This paper reports findings from a research study which involved the use of an Online Learning Environment by Greek primary students in their school classroom and from home for a period of six weeks for the development of a wiki for a school project. This research study sought to answer whether and how collaboration can be supported between primary students with the use of an Online Learning Environment. Although collaboration is often reported as the outcome from the use of technology in an educational context, this paper presents research findings to show that collaboration between primary students with the use of an Online Learning Environment is associated with students' previous collaborative work experiences.

A digital what?

2024-05-31T14:13:35+10:00

This paper outlines a work in progress to create a shared learning space that will enable teaching staff to be exposed to a broad range of established and emerging digital technologies with the aim of increasing their digital literacy and self-efficacy levels so that technologies can be integrated into teaching practice. The project is a partnership between the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and the Library and will facilitate easy, supported access to technologies that individual teaching staff would not otherwise be able to experience. Premised on the importance of experiential learning to develop knowledge, skills and confidence the space will be designed for collaborative and playbased learning and development.

The three pillars to building staff capability to create digital learning experiences

2024-05-31T13:55:47+10:00

Many institutions are grappling with building staff capability in the complex task of designing and creating high-quality, technology-rich digital learning experiences informed by pedagogy. This paper provides an overview of a pilot program with two interactions implemented at the University of Melbourne called the Digital Learning Design (DLD) program. Focused on building Library’s organisational capability the program was built on three pillars of staff capability; deep knowledge of learning theory, learning design principles and skills in selecting digital technologies. The DLD design drew on research in change management, effective capability building as well as best practice in developing digital technology skills. Learners experienced the learning theories taught with the program design including the concepts of the flipped classroom, authentic learning and community of practice. This paper showcases an innovative and successful approach to addressing the issue of enduring staff capability to create digital learning experiences.

Developing Self-Regulated Learning through Reflection on Learning Analytics in Online Learning Environments

2024-05-31T13:46:00+10:00

This paper describes a conceptual framework for developing self-regulated learning through facilitated dialogue and reflection on learner activity in online learning environments. In particular, the framework focuses on the motivational and contextual aspects of self-regulated learning and how the field of learning analytics can support student metacognitive knowledge in these two areas and distribute instructional support.

Personalising professional learning mobility in Higher Education

2024-05-31T13:31:01+10:00

The trends and impacts of digital technologies in the higher education sector mean that change is an ongoing, organic factor in response to the personalised nature in which society works, learns, lives, communicates, and connects. Such dynamic educational settings provide new environments for learning mobility that transcend boundaries of time, place, convention and learning community. This paper is fundamentally concerned with how educators, as adult learners, learn in a time when institutions, through their teaching staff, are attempting to address the fast pace innovations in learning and teaching. This paper describes a regional university’s approach to reconceptualising a model of professional learning that offers personalised, collaborative, and transformative learning experiences for its educators. The aim is to develop professional learning initiatives that are responsive to the educator’s learning mobility needs whilst also enriching the student learning experience and addressing institutional strategic priorities.

Connecting fun and learning

2024-05-31T08:28:41+10:00

Games-based learning has the potential to improve engagement and skill development. This research explores the development of the White Card Game and the impact that fun has on learning outcomes. The first-person shooter style game offers a contextualised, situated experience that equips learners with skills and an understanding of the socially complex world of work. The research has approached the analysis through an Activity Theoretical framework. This approach involved: analysing the interactions between components in the games-based learning activity system while they evolved; identifying contradictions and exploring the mediation that progressed the activity outcome; and examining fun within the games-based learning context. This analysis revealed significant increases in knowledge transfer, skill development and engagement with the curriculum in comparison to conventional pedagogical approaches.

Learners’ confusion

2024-05-31T08:16:24+10:00

Research often treats confusion as a turning point of the learners’ cognitive-affective dynamics in digital environments (e.g. D’Mello, Grasser and colleagues). The origin of confusion, however, is a topic of a debate. Could inaccurate prior knowledge serve as a source of confusion, or does confusion relate to metacognitive processes? In this paper we are attempting to address this question by employing case study analysis with fourteen participants who worked through simulated learning problems with feedback in a digital environment. Physiological and self-reported data were combined to examine problem-solving patterns. Preliminary findings highlighted the role of metacognitive monitoring in confusion development and its interrelation with inaccurate prior knowledge.

Exploring my university students’ online learning activities in Wikis

2024-05-31T08:00:12+10:00

Students’ responses in an online learning environment serve as a powerful means to communicate feedback to instructors’ instructional design and facilitation of student learning. This study tapped on the metadata in wikis (supported by Google Sites) as online classroom data to investigate 72 university students’ online learning activities performed for their module weekly. The students were engaged most frequently in commenting and editing, but least frequently in updating and recovering files. Trends of students’ responses towards online learning over four semesters provided an insight for instructors to reflect on the appropriateness of their design and types of learning activities for their students.

Learning to swim in an ocean of student data

2024-05-31T07:48:03+10:00

Like other Australian universities, Western Sydney University collects a large amount of data on student learning experiences, including their use of technologies. For busy discipline academics the task of mining and analysing all the data, to create meaningful evidence that informs teaching practice, can seem overwhelming. Graphs of responses to multiple choice questions are relatively straightforward to generate and share. But text comments in response to open-ended questions, although potentially very revealing, are often not used systematically. The University is making both quantitative and qualitative student survey responses available in a format that teaching staff can access directly through an institutional data dashboard. There has been some progress and there are some challenges. During 2015 we have been aiming to encourage teaching staff not just to dip their toes in the water but to take the plunge and use both quantitative and qualitative data actively and with purpose.

Benchmarking for technology enhanced learning

2024-05-31T07:18:14+10:00

It is one thing to undertake Benchmarking in the areas of technology enhanced learning (TEL) as a one-off activity, but it is quite another to build this form of activity into your strategy for future and long-term growth at an institution. This paper reports on a follow up study conducted in 2015 with 22 of the 24 institutions who first participated in major inter-institutional benchmarking activity in June 2014, using the ACODE Benchmarks. The study was conducted eight months after the initial activity to understand how the institutions that had participated in the initial activity had used this to build their capacity for future growth. It will provide evidence of the longer-term value of this type of activity and will conclude with a series of recommendations on how an institution may apply this methodology to enhance its capacity to deal with the rapidly changing TEL space.

Building a framework for improved workplace assessment practice and better outcomes through online platforms

2024-05-31T07:08:43+10:00

This paper discusses the development of an online platform used to build upon an existing system for assessing student workplace learning. It includes the background and rationale for the project, an overview of a rubric developed for the purpose of improving the understanding of the assessment criteria for all stakeholders. Our aim was to improve the pedagogical approach to student workplace learning in order to enhance learning outcomes for students as well as providing benefits to the university and workplace supervisors. To do this, we created a streamlined approach to assessment within the LMS at our university (Blackboard) enabling students to upload and submit their WIL portfolios. A more consistent process for academic supervisors to grade and provide timely feedback to the students, greater clarity in assessment requirements for students and workplace supervisors appears to have has been well achieved.

Promoting Critical Thinking in a Large Class through Outcomes-Based Approach by Means of an Audience Response System

2024-05-31T06:38:11+10:00

One of the first considerations that comes to bear in the design of a new course will inevitably be the learning outcomes. Some of the learning outcomes are specifically related to the subject matter while others may be more broad-based goals like the honing of critical thinking skills. The General Biology course that is offered at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is one such course in which the promotion of critical thinking skills is incrementally weaved into the various learning activities and assessment components of the course. The large enrolment of the course also necessitates taking into consideration the affordances of technology in the outcomes-based design of the course. This paper aims to share how the General Biology course, using the topic of fermentation as an example, could be designed using outcomes-based approach, with learning activities supported by an audience response system, in order to promote critical thinking in a large class setting. As this is a work-in-progress project, some preliminary findings from the feedback of the students of the course are presented here.

Digital andragogy

2024-05-31T06:26:51+10:00

This paper revisits the term “andragogy” (adult education) and develops new ways of working in tertiary education based upon an analysis of the skills and dispositions of 21st century learners through the lens of adult education, and the affordances of readily accessible digital technologies. These ways of working constitute what we term “digital andragogy”. In order to engage and retain students and revitalise tertiary education, lecturers need to take account of the profiles of their learners and seek to create learning spaces that best suit their needs and wants. We posit that tertiary learners should be encouraged and supported to transition from pedagogical practices experienced in their school years to tertiary education contexts for learning that are grounded in digital andragogy. Described in this paper is a proof-of-concept project that is currently being undertaken with 88 undergraduate students in a Bachelor of Education Primary course.

Blended Learning Adoption Monitoring

2024-05-31T06:18:32+10:00

A debate exists regarding blended learning definitions; current research relies heavily on concepts developed in online and distance education contexts. A recent review of blended learning studies reveals that colleges and universities do not readily keep records of who teaches blended courses, and faculty are not fully cognizant of whether they are teaching in blended learning format (Skrypnyk et al, 2015). Driven by needs such as improved course delivery and student retention, tertiary institutions are strategically increasing their blended learning offerings, yet there exists no widely accepted reporting mechanism to monitor blended learning adoption. This paper introduces a practical method for monitoring blended learning adoption at an institution, and recommends an approach towards semi-automating the process.

The value of digital critical reflection to global citizenship and global health

2024-05-30T14:57:40+10:00

This paper will contend that digital critical reflection can play a key role in tackling contemporary global health concerns. More specifically, institutes of higher education can utilize study abroad to foster global citizenship, which in turn may empower students to become civically engaged and potentially drive social change. However, global citizenship, as an educational outcome, is optimally facilitated when educational experiences are married with appropriate pedagogy, including the shaping of subsequent understandings and actions with critical reflection. This paper will discuss a pre-existing global health study abroad course, and outline: (1) why critical reflection is an essential step to fostering global citizenship, and (2) how digital story telling is being utilized to enrich the critical reflection process.

Authentic context as a foundation for gamification and game-based learning

2024-05-30T14:41:17+10:00

Engage learners, the results of these endeavours are varied and there is still limited understanding of the success factors and design principles of pedagogically meaningful gamified and game-based learning Gamified and game-based learning are becoming increasingly widespread in formal education. While the primary motivation for employing gamification and game-based learning tends to be the attempt to motivate and. This paper suggests that understanding the role of an authentic context is a useful starting point for a meaningful gamified learning design. Drawing from human-computer interaction and educational research in situated and authentic learning it proposes the first steps for a roadmap towards a deeper understanding of the phenomena of gamification and game-based learning, venturing beyond the “fun factor”.

A gamified eLearning approach to teaching food regulation

2024-05-30T14:24:53+10:00

Knowledge of food regulation in Australia and New Zealand is fundamental for higher education nutrition students. Despite its importance, students are often disengaged with the learning content as it involves legislation, regulatory bodies, complex application procedures, food safety testing and political debates that often dismiss scientific fact. At a university in Victoria, students were taught this content in a passive, 2-hour, face-to-face lecture. This lecture did not provide any active learning opportunities for the students to apply their newfound knowledge. This paper describes a proposed pilot project to address learner disengagement through a gamified eLearning tool, The Story of Hemp. This digitally immersive teaching approach aims to reengage students with a real world context for their learning, leaving them with a greater sense of identity and significance as budding nutritionists.

Pre-service teachers’ reflections on their participation in 1:1 laptop programs

2024-05-30T13:59:50+10:00

A number of government and non-government schools have implemented a one-laptopper-student (1:1) policy. Whilst there was initial interest in the implementation of these programs, little has been done to track the uptake of digital learning technologies afforded by access to the laptops. This study examined tertiary students’ reflections on their experiences with 1:1 laptop programs after graduating from secondary school and at the commencement of their Bachelor of Education course. It is an extension of a previous study conducted by the researchers (authors, 2015) that presented findings about teachers’ use of laptops in 1:1 laptop program schools. The objectives of this second-phase research were to: 1) Capture recollections of the students’ experience of 1:1 laptop programs, 2) Categorise these recollections into positive and negative experiences, 3) Investigate the impact of 1:1 laptop programs on students’ perceptions of teaching with ICTs and their personal learning at University.

Mind the Gap

2024-05-30T13:48:27+10:00

Open access, digitally-enabled learning can provide freedom and choice for new learners - not only in how and what they study, but when. With this freedom comes risk. One potential risk lies in the timing of enrolment in courses, particularly where fundamental knowledge is built across a year and where extended gaps between sequential courses might cause knowledge decay. Mathematics may be susceptible here. Our concerns were allayed; an examination of data suggested that new students preferentially minimise gaps and found no significant evidence for knowledge decay over periods of up to 12 months. Nevertheless, to support student learning in open online learning environments, it could be important to provide resources for student self-assessment of knowledge deficiencies, and the facility to refresh and regain understanding.

Clearing the Fog

2024-05-30T07:43:35+10:00

Learning Analytics is an area of practice that impacts the legal and ethical obligations of educational institutions. New legislative regimes, growing concern about online privacy, and the affordances of the data being collected mean Learning Analytics could represent a risk to universities to the same extent that it represents an opportunity. These risks augur the need for institutions to develop formal practice and/or policy frameworks around Learning Analytics to define supported practice, actively manage risks and begin to build trust and ethical practice through transparency. There is a danger for Australian universities that the development of such “checks and balances” are not keeping pace with the technological advancements in this field. This paper outlines how one university is seeking to provide a frame for lawful and ethical practice of Learning Analytics through a Code of Practice.

Dreaming of Electric Sheep

2024-05-30T07:28:03+10:00

Current institutional approaches to Learning Analytics which focus on student risk and engagement are problematic in terms of their ability to support improved student learning and success outside of retention. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU’s) deductive work on defining its institutional model of Learning Analytics has led it to reconfigure its Learning Analytics activities into an Adaptive Learning and Teaching program. Adaptive Learning and Teaching is defined as any educational approach that utilises feedback or analytics on student learning to adapt content, teaching, systems and/or design to enhance learning effectiveness. A key feature of the CSU vision is to focus analytic processes on students’ representations of knowledge and integrate with the student “digital footprint” to provide real-time adaptation of online learning experiences and personalise online learning. Concurrently, CSU’s Adaptive Learning and Teaching Services team is working to build capability in using Learning Analytics to inform adaptation in learning and teaching practices.

SkillBox

2024-05-30T07:13:20+10:00

The aim of this project is to research, develop and evaluate a set of tools that can be used in tertiary subjects to formatively scaffold the skill base of students. The SkillBox instrument uses text, video and quizzes to deliver learning materials and formative assessment to students on a specific topic within a discipline area. A pilot project evaluated the use of a Matrix SkillBox in a Charles Sturt University (CSU) Distance Education (DE) subject and found its use appeared to increase knowledge and confidence in the topic areas covered. These findings will be further investigated in ongoing research involving larger numbers of students.

Digital equity

2024-05-30T06:59:21+10:00

It can be forgotten that it is not simply students who face the challenges of digital equity in higher education. Staff can also face digital challenges, and employment at an institution is not necessarily a safety net to protect staff from the digital divide. This paper attempts to give this voice to this issue. The digital equity challenges that they may face can range from internet accessibility, diversity in skills, or access to the required equipment and software, including necessary upgrades. This process is, however, is compounded when staff are geographically dispersed from the institution, disconnected by time, or where access to technology and Internet connectivity varies greatly between the institution’s sites. Much of these issues can be beyond the control and capacity of staff to alter. However, in terms of a staff-led approach to address such issues and empower others, a robust professional development program on digital technology is but one means to help stem the digital divide between staff ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.

Metacognitive Development in Professional Educators

2024-06-11T19:27:17+10:00

This research focuses on three areas: 1) The interaction between practising teachers’ metacognitive knowledge and regulation skills in relation to their classroom practices using mobile technologies; 2) perceived barriers and facilitators to the successful integration and use of mobile technology in the classroom; and 3) the impact of introducing a professional development programme (iPads Professional Development Programme) (iPDP) aimed at developing tertiary teachers’ metacognitive knowledge and regulation skills in order to improve their classroom practices. The main purpose of this study is to determine whether the development of teachers’ metacognitive knowledge and skills improves teachers’ pedagogical practices and integration of mobile technologies, such as iPads, and increases their proficiency using mobile devices for teaching and learning in tertiary blended classroom environments in New Zealand. This aligns with the “educational design research’s” (EDR) characteristics of offering practical solutions to real-world problems from the perspectives of both the participants and the researchers.

Digitise Your Dreams the Indigenous Way

2024-06-11T19:10:37+10:00

Dreamtime stories are the Indigenous way of understanding the world. These stories gave unity and purpose to Indigenous societies in the past and are important today in maintaining their identity and culture. They are seen to be the beginning of knowledge and thus make them good artefacts for capturing learning experiences. Research has shown that the sharing of stories from experience helps student see the purpose of learning hypothetical or conceptual content (Bittel & Bettoi, 2014). As such, the key to learning would lie with the choice and design of stories to make sure their connections with real world problems and prior knowledge are prominent. A digital story strategy captures the entire enquiry process by acting as the channel for self-expression in a digital era, including students’ information fluency towards constructing knowledge based on what they have observed and reflected on, to developing the ability to apply this new knowledge to a problem later (Kervin et. al., 2014). Riesland (2005) wrote that visual literacy education will empower the twenty-first century students with the skill to survive in a dynamic and fast revolving online world as they learn to decipher hypermedia information to develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

Introducing StatHand

2024-06-11T18:57:17+10:00

Quantitative research methods are essential to the development of professional competence across a broad range of disciplines. They are also an area of weakness for many students. In particular, students are known to struggle with the skill of selecting quantitative analytical strategies appropriate for common research questions, hypotheses and data types, and this skill is not often practiced in class. Decision trees (or graphic organisers) are known to facilitate this decision making process, but extant trees have limitations. Furthermore, research indicates that students are more likely to access mobile-based material than content delivered via the web or face-to-face. It is within this context, and with funding from the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, that we developed StatHand (see https://stathand.net), a cross-platform mobile application to designed to support students’ statistical decision making. In this poster, we will briefly articulate the rationale behind StatHand, highlight ongoing research into its efficacy and provide delegates with hands-on experience with the application.

E-learning, resilience and change in higher education

2024-06-11T18:38:10+10:00

What can e-learning offer in a crisis that closes the University campus? This paper presents the emerging findings in a case study of one College of Business impacted in 2011 by earthquakes in New Zealand. Analyses from interviews of nine staff and documents they recommended were used to describe processes of increasing resilience with e-learning over the worst seismic events. Increasing deployment of the University’s learning management system by staff and students plus audio recordings and video recordings of lectures enabled the College to continue its teaching. The Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989) and the generic model of organisational resilience by Resilient Organisations (Resilient Organisations, 2012) will be used to evaluate the adoption and adaptation of e-learning when a crisis occurs.

Enhancing Student Learning Outcomes with Simulation-based Pedagogies

2024-06-11T18:25:39+10:00

This poster reports on an Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) project to assist business educators to embed simulations into the curriculum. The purpose of this project was to gather and disseminate good practice in the design of pedagogy and assessment in simulation-based units in business. Data collection included interviews with educators and decision makers, student focus groups and surveys. The project included the development of an online toolkit consisting of case studies, a good practice guide and a simulation learning barometer. A ‘framework for simulation-based pedagogy’ is presented as a key outcome of the project.

Creating concept vignettes as a module supplement for active and authentic learning

2024-06-11T18:11:56+10:00

Teaching Quantum Mechanics can be a daunting task for instructors. Typical classroom lectures may not be sufficient at times for proper understanding of the fundamental concepts. Hence there is a need to incorporate an effective scheme in the present teaching curriculum to further the learning experience of the students thereby enhancing their understanding of complex and abstract concepts. As such developing short educational and instructional videos known as Concept Vignettes on selected topics can help to supplement the existing lesson materials in quantum mechanics (Garik et al, 2005; Kohnle et al, 2010). Concept Vignette videos have been created on various topics previously by MIT's Teaching and Learning Laboratory and are specially designed to enable students to learn a key concept in Science or Engineering (McKagan et al, 2008; Muller R et al, 2002) . My study will involve developing similar videos (in collaboration with MIT lecturers) with focus on the fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics.

Preparing Students for Future Learning

2024-06-11T16:08:43+10:00

UTS:Insearch is the premium pathway provider to the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). With education increasingly moving towards technology enhanced delivery, we identified the need to appraise our teaching approaches to better prepare students for future learning. This proposal represents the Blended Learning Framework adopted for the process of designing and implementing blended learning within the academic subjects. We initiated a suite of strategies with the intention to create classroom environment where learning occurs through seamless integration of technology enhanced strategies and face-to-face activities, characterised by the best features of interaction within a subject, that will promote academic enhancement and innovation in learning and teaching. The 'hands on' strategies allowed teaching staff to experience first-hand how students could be engaged with content through the meaningful use of technologies. This has led to 76% of our subjects either well progressed or fully compliant with a blended learning approach within a year.

The use of rubrics for the assessment of digital products in language learning

2024-06-11T15:58:46+10:00

Many language teachers incorporate the use of digital technology into their classrooms in various forms such as videos, blogs and slideshares. However, both teachers and students need a new level of awareness in assessing such web-authored products. A possible way for both teachers and students to learn to assess such digital products is for both parties to get involved in the process of assessment, specifically in rubric construction. This poster presentation will investigate the process in which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and students in a Japanese university collaboratively negotiate the process of rubric construction and the use of such an assessment tool throughout one academic semester. The collaborative process highlights two challenges that the teachers and students face: 1) how to assess the combination of language use and digital products; and, 2) how to empower teachers and students in the digital age.

Developing an online challenge-based learning platform

2024-06-11T15:50:37+10:00

This poster provides an overview of the early development of a platform to facilitate online challenge-based learning that has potential for widespread global application. Challenge is a highly scalable platform that can personalise education for a massive global audience. Two challenges delivering learning activities and interactive content with gamified incentives to promote learner engagement have been developed and piloted. The primary concepts underpinning the student learning experience are individual and group-based problem solving, globally relevant challenges, personalisation and gamification of outcomes.

Let's Talk Learning Analytics and Student Retention

2024-06-11T15:43:12+10:00

This poster presents a summary of an Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching strategic commissioned project titled Learning Analytics: Assisting Universities with Student Retention. The project was descriptive and exploratory, with data collection occurring between July, 2014 and March, 2015. A mixed method design was employed. The project occurred at a time when many institutions were actively exploring their options so a primary focus was on highlighting crucial issues in relation to learning analytics implementation. Following the data collection phase, a framework and accompanying set of discussion questions were developed to emphasise the importance of systematic discussion in making sense of and harnessing the opportunities afforded by learning analytics for student retention purposes.

Experiential Learning in Accounting

2024-06-11T15:03:44+10:00

Accounting is a client focused profession requiring interpersonal skills; however multiple offshore and onshore locations and large student numbers preclude all students experiencing work placements. This poster reports the outcomes of experiential learning activities, in the form of short role plays, designed to enhance accounting students' communication skills, problem solving, ethical decision making and application of accounting knowledge. Online video, using YouTube, provided teacher training and student support in how to do role plays in tutorial classes. Online students were encouraged to participate through any electronic medium. Teachers and students from all locations reported the video was a vital resource for the class activity. Students and teachers enjoyed the role plays and perceived the activity was effective in building communication confidence. Online students did not engage with role plays and delivering role play activities to these cohorts presents challenges.

The CSU Online Learning model

2024-06-11T14:55:41+10:00

One of the key components of the CSU Distance Education Strategy is the articulation of an Online Learning and Teaching Model consisting of a set of elements which are known to result in increased student engagement. Increasing student engagement and connectedness is an important goal because of its link to measures of teaching quality, retention and overall satisfaction. This poster is a visual representation of those key elements and provides a unique way contextualizing learning design, activity and technology that results in increased student engagement.

MOOCs as spaces to innovate

2024-06-11T14:49:19+10:00

MOOCs have gained momentum in recent years and offer a new opportunity to interact with potential students to the university. While MOOCs have been seen as a disruptive force for higher education they have provided spaces to explore innovative approaches and emerging technology. The poster will showcase CDU's process and expereinces in this innovative space.

Mobile devices in an Interprofessional Community of Practice #NPF14LMD

2024-06-11T14:40:41+10:00

The use of mobile devices shows promise in supporting practitioners to develop professional ePortfolios to document their ongoing learning and practice. This poster illustrates how practitioners within an interprofessional community of practice use mobile devices to develop professional identities. The affordances of mobile technology enable transformative ways of using multi-media in ePortfolios to showcase authentic practice and field-based learning in developing professional identities. The experiences of a practitioner focus group using mobile devices is analysed using a cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) framework to foreground changes in conceptions about Professional Learning and Identity Development (PLID).

Technology for Learning

2024-06-11T14:32:40+10:00

To assist in the design/selection and implementation of educational technologies in a regional medical program, first-year students were surveyed to determine the technologies used for academic purposes and their technology usage habits. The perceived usefulness and usability of technologies have been noted as important factors in technology adoption, as well as student engagement with technology. To address these conditions, the researchers surveyed students regarding the technologies they used for specific educational tasks. While still in our early stages of research, the results suggest that smartphones and tablets, while popular with students, still have not displaced laptops as the preferred devices for most tasks.

The Flipped Teacher and the Flipped Learner Framework

2024-06-11T11:26:26+10:00

We propose an 11 step framework to support educators and students to teach and learn with the Flipped Classroom (FC) model. Based on principles of blended and student-centred learning, organisational appearance, universal design and evaluation, the framework acts as a conduit between theory and good practice. Elements of the framework include: (1) planning stage, why and what to flip; (2) storyboard and lesson plan; (3) timing for activities; (4) online, (pre or post classroom) activities; (5) classroom work; (6) organisation of content; (7) visual design; (8) usability and accessibility; (9) building, testing and deployment; (10) communication of the benefits of the flipped model to students; and (11) evaluation and improvement. This paper will present the evidence behind each of these elements in a practical way to guide teachers and students through a flipped model of teaching and learning.

Enhancing Workplace Learning through Mobile Technology

2024-06-11T11:05:38+10:00

Technology-mediated learning (TML) and workplace learning (WPL) are major priorities for universities. TML is core to the dynamic growth and modernization of university education, and WPL is an essential strategy used by universities to prepare students for future work. In Australia, both are rapidly changing practices, providing new possibilities and challenges. Though these two areas have largely remained separate in educational literature and practice, the integration of TML and WPL can provide important opportunities to bridge university and the workplace as well as build students' digital capacities and online professional identities. This poster presents a mobile resource for named the "GPS for WPL", aimed at helping students, academics and workplace educators to improve professional learning experiences by making better use of mobile technology. This resource was designed as part of a project funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching, entitled "Enhancing Workplace Learning through Mobile Technology"

Refocussing support on locally connected, digitally enabled communities of practice

2024-06-11T10:49:36+10:00

Investigation of a new support model for professional development in the pedagogical use of technologies found that local communities of practice were preferred over a panuniversity online community of practice. The support model was refocussed to digitally enable the development of locally connected communities of practice. This poster displays the two models, the research findings which supported their development, and recommendations for future developments.

Enhancing Queensland Pre-service Teachers' Self-efficacy to Teach STEM By the use of Remote Access Laboratories

2024-06-11T10:35:49+10:00

Education for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is acknowledged as a priority around the world. However, many primary and secondary teachers are inadequately prepared for teaching STEM because of their limited exposure in their own schooling and teacher preparation. The Remote Access Laboratories for Fun, Innovation and Education (RALfie) project offer opportunities to provide a variety of STEM experiences available to students and teachers in schools, especially those in remote locations. they also have potential for influencing teachers' self-efficacy to teach STEM by building up their capacities and capabilities to teach technologies. The mixed methods research is investigating how engagement with RALfie influences teachers' self-efficacy for teaching STEM.

Developing the Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning (SOTEL)

2024-06-15T11:02:20+10:00

Embedding a reflective practice framework based upon SOTEL within collaborative curriculum design critically informs the evaluation and impact of the curriculum redesign process and provides a mechanism for dissemination to a broader, global audience. This symposium explores the potential of developing collaborative open scholarship networks for SOTEL and educational design research.

#NPF14LMD Learners and Mobile Devices: Sharing Practice

2024-06-15T09:25:56+10:00

NPF14LMD is a National AKO Aotearoa funded two year project exploring the key issues surrounding learners and mobile devices. The project encompassed six tertiary institutions across New Zealand, involving over 50 practitioners and several hundred students. The sharing practice session will report on some of the key findings from this project after two years of implementation.

Learning Analytics Special Interest Group

2024-06-15T09:17:18+10:00

The ascilite Learning Analytics Special Interest Group (LA SIG) aims to promote and develop awareness and resources surrounding Learning Analytics and its application to learning and teaching. The LA SIG sharing practice session will: ???? facilitate networking for LA researchers and practitioners; ???? facilitate sharing of outstanding practice in LA via presentations from the three finalists in the LA SIG Awards program. The Awards finalists will share their experiences and lessons learned in relation to their nominated projects/practices. The 2015 Award winner will also be announced during the session; and provide updates on what’s happening in the Learning Analytics community within Australia/New Zealand and beyond. The session will have the following structure: 1. Latest developments in the Learning Analytics community in Australia/NZ and an update from the Society of Learning Analytics Research (Dr Grace Lynch and Dr Abelardo Pardo) 2. Presentations from the finalists for the 2015 Award for Excellence in Learning Analytics: moderated by Simon Welsh 3. Discussion and Q&A: moderated by Simon Welsh 4. Announcement of the 2015 Award winner: Dr Grace Lynch and Dr Abelardo Pardo.

Easing into mobile learning

2024-06-15T08:59:43+10:00

Research has identified that students have access to and use a wide range of mobile devices to informally support their learning practices, however few students have access to educator-led initiatives to support mobile learning (Farley, Lane, Hafeez-Baig & Carter, 2014). Many educators are keen to leverage the affordances of mobile technologies to improve collaboration, interactivity and personalization within their courses, yet tight budgets and lack of training opportunities leave them wondering where to begin. This session will discuss a eight principles that have emerged from a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), in partnership with researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of South Australia (UniSA) (Farley, Murphy & Johnson, 2015). The aim of the project is to develop a Mobile Learning Evaluation Framework (MLEF) and is funded by the Australian Government’s Collaborative Research Network (CRN) program. The eight principles offer educators practical, low-cost tactics that will facilitate their engagement with mobile learning and encourage them to challenge their current teaching methods. This discussion will also report on the findings of the research on the differences between students studying primarily on-campus compared to those who study primarily in an online environment. This discussion will assist educators who have both on-campus and online students with adjusting their approach to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to maximize the benefits of mobile learning and feel included and integrated despite their geographic location.

Clinical Logs

2024-06-15T08:50:06+10:00

Clinical logs as used in medical education provide data to track students’ clinical experiences and patient encounters. These data have been used to ensure consistency of experience across clinical placements, to measure compliance with course outcomes, and to enable students to identify and address gaps in their learning. A variety of paper-based and technology-assisted logging methods have been used. Electronic logs provide the advantages of convenient data access, storage, and real-time analytics, with the potential for both student and faculty access. To ensure the soundness of design and implementation of their clinical log, researchers at the University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine conducted a review of the pitfalls and best practices in using clinical logs, particularly electronic logging platforms, to ensure soundness of design and implementation of their clinical log. Briefly, the clinical log provides an excellent tool to administratively track the experiences of students in their clinical placements and to assess the gaps in their learning. However, the usefulness of the logs may be limited by the validity of the student-reported data and the students’ perceived educational benefits of the log. This presentation will discuss the purpose, benefits, challenges, and recommendations in the implementation of clinical logs in medical education.

Institution wide information privacy frameworks to support academics in the use of learning analytics

2024-06-15T08:41:41+10:00

Lecturers invest time and effort in developing, implementing and evaluating their learning designs. They are also increasingly interested in and engaged with the capture of changes in student engagement and utilization patterns and learning outcomes using learning analytics tools. These new analytics tools make individual student surveillance possible. Given these rapid developments, there is now an urgent need for educators and learning analytics researchers to think about the ethics of learning analytics and the protection of individual privacy. This presentation will consider the importance of an Institution wide privacy framework to support learning analytics. Institution wide frameworks provide protection for both students and academic staff as they engage with learning analytics and should provide the academic staff with clarity regarding ethical matters that often arise in this domain. Key features of institution wide frameworks include: governance structures; responsibility for action; maximum transparency; privacy principles consistent across diverse education delivery methods; legislative requirements met; suitable student consent mechanisms and; a clear secondary use of data policy.

Digitally enabled learning through Bb+

2024-06-14T21:41:11+10:00

Ensuring the learning journey of each student is digitally enabled and supported through the effective use of technology was the driver for the introduction of what we have called Blackboard Plus (Bb+). The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) uses the learning management system Blackboard (Bb) and all courses have a Blackboard course site, whether the course is taught face-to-face or online, locally or globally. Academics are encouraged to consider their Blackboard course site as an extension of their physical classroom to digitally enable student learning.

Using interactive multimedia for “flipped lecture” preparation

2024-06-14T09:30:41+10:00

In our example, a model combining interactive multimedia module and “flipped lecture” was successfully used across two disciplines to prepare students for active learning lectures. Work is underway to expand and further evaluate this model of content delivery.

Attention as skill

2024-06-14T09:22:53+10:00

This is an exploration of the need to cultivate attention as a skill in online learning ecosystems. Taylor’s College is an alternative pathway provider to the University of Western Australia. It is redesigning its diploma program delivery, equivalent to the first year of university, to include non-traditional spaces both online and physical. One of the concerns of online spaces is in equipping the students with the skill of attention control. In online environments it is easy to have reactive attention to stimuli that is not always within one’s control. I suggest having an internal locus of control for attention is a skill to be cultivated to ensure effective learning in online environments. This research looks at the field of contemplative education to see what is offered in this space. Contemplation involves attention and awareness.

Applying Adaptive Comparative Judgement to videos as an indicator of ‘At Risk’ teaching performance

2024-06-14T09:02:52+10:00

This presentation will discuss whether the findings of this investigative study have been effective in identifying 'At risk' pre service teachers.

Vertical learning in Agricultural Science

2024-06-14T08:24:22+10:00

This discussion paper will report on the development, trial and evaluation of an initial pilot, and invites suggestions and constructive criticism from interested peers. The online biosphere will be trialled in semester 2, 2015, with a prototype biosphere environment consisting of background stories contextualising one narrative and associated problem-solving learning activity relevant to two second year subjects, Animal Nutrition (AGR2AN) and Biochemistry for Agricultural and Animal Sciences (AGR2BAA).

The Conceived, the Perceived and the Lived

2024-06-06T18:03:09+10:00

A bespoke course design framework was implemented in an Australian university to help academics convert face-to-face courses to blended or online offerings in response to increasing demand for universities to offer 21st century learning environments. While the design framework was grounded in evidence-based approaches that exemplify quality delivery, these course designs have had variable reactions from students in their implementation. As such, a student dimension to the evaluation of the framework was added and the findings from the initial pilot are reported here. It has been found that students may not be as ready for 21st century learning and teaching practices as current rhetoric implies. This paper begins to formulate a theory to help resolve this through an exploration of ideas through the lens of Lefebvre’s production of space (1991).

Learning design for science teacher training and educational development

2024-06-06T17:46:15+10:00

This paper presents the impact and perception of two initiatives at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University: the teacher training module ‘Digital Learning Design’ (DiLD) for assistant professors and postdocs, and the STREAM learning design model and toolkit for enhancing and transforming modules. Both DiLD and the STREAM model have proven to be effective and scalable approaches to encourage educators across all career steps to embrace the potentials of educational technology in science higher education. Moreover, the transformed modules have resulted in higher student satisfaction, increased flexibility in time, pace, and place, and in some cases also improved grades, pass rates and/or feedback.

Tensions and turning points: exploring teacher decision-making in a complex eLearning environment

2024-06-06T17:30:35+10:00

Understanding how university teachers experience and respond to imperatives to integrate digital technologies into their curricula and teaching practice is essential for addressing the gap between the potential of such technologies to articulate with institutional objectives and their uptake by university teachers. This article reports on a study in a regional Australian university focused on capturing the complex ways that individual and contextual factors can interact to support or impede the integration of technology into teaching practice. The lens of cultural-historical activity theory is used to describe and interpret the complex activity of designing and teaching a blended-mode course from the perspective of an experienced lecturer. An analytical focus on emergent tensions and the identification of turning points as markers of critical encounters requiring the lecturer to make decisions and take action provides an insight into potential transformations in their thinking and practice.

Navigate Me

2024-06-06T17:09:02+10:00

This paper reports on the development of NavigateMe, an online tool currently being trialled at the University of New South Wales. The tool is a student-centred initiative designed to support students in accessing university-wide, faculty-based and external information and support services to improve and enhance their learning and university life. Based on responses provided, an action plan is produced that allows students to reflect on their current situation and be directed to specific services and information according to their individual needs and interest at any point in their student life. The tool was developed through a collaborative and iterative process in consultation with staff, students and faculties. The tool is in the strategic plan approved by the DVC(A) and it has received significant funding from the university.

Designing an authentic professional development cMOOC

2024-06-06T12:33:51+10:00

While there has been a lot of hype surrounding the potential of MOOCs to transform access to education, the reality of completion rates and participant profiles has tempered this hype such that within the hype cycle MOOCs have already hit the trough of disillusionment. However we argue that embedding cMOOC design within an educational design research methodology can enable the design of authentic professional development model that can indeed demonstrate transformation in pedagogical practice. Our design model links mobile learning theory, practice, and critical reflection within an EDR methodology to create an authentic experience for participating lecturers.

Investigating the effectiveness of an ecological approach to learning design in a first year mathematics for engineering unit

2024-06-06T06:28:33+10:00

This paper reports on the results of a project aimed at creating a research informed, pedagogically reliable, technology-enhanced learning and teaching environment that would foster engagement with learning. A first-year mathematics for engineering unit offered at a large, metropolitan Australian university provides the context for this research. As part of the project, the unit was redesigned using a framework that employed flexible, modular, connected e-learning and teaching experiences. The researchers, interested in an ecological perspective on educational processes, grounded the redesign principles in probabilistic learning design (Kirschner et al., 2004). The effectiveness of the redesigned environment was assessed through the lens of the notion of affordance (Gibson, 1977,1979, Greeno, 1994, Good, 2007). A qualitative analysis of the questionnaire distributed to students at the end of the teaching period provided insight into factors impacting on the successful creation of an environment that encourages complex, multidimensional and multilayered interactions conducive to learning.

Community volunteers in collaborative OER development

2024-06-06T06:11:12+10:00

The purpose of this comparative case study is to explore and examine the practices of open course design and development community volunteers undertaken in the Open Education Resource universitas (OERu) network, an international partnership of member post-secondary institutions. With a focus on the design and development of an OER-based university-level course, the study identifies and describes features of an OERu open design and development volunteer community and compares and contrasts it to a similar community in the free and open source software (FOSS) development field.

A ‘participant first’ approach to designing for collaborative group work in MOOCs

2024-06-05T16:52:08+10:00

This paper discusses the learning design of two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), the Carpe Diem MOOC and the Autism MOOC, both of which were designed and delivered by Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. The authors propose a set of principles to guide the design and development of MOOCs where the intent is to facilitate interaction and peer support between participants. They present details of how these principles were enacted in the design of the Carpe Diem MOOC and the Autism MOOC, particularly in the design of groups, and suggest that these principles can be viewed as a ‘participant first’ approach to design. Key elements of this approach include accessibility, navigation, clarity and consistency, purposeful use of tools and resources and effective support to enable participants to engage easily in collaborative work in MOOC environments.

Building graduate attributes using student-generated screencasts

2024-06-05T16:32:33+10:00

There has been an increasing emphasis in recent years on developing the “soft” skills, or graduate attributes, that students need once they finish their university studies in addition to the specific domain knowledge of their discipline. This paper describes an innovative approach to developing graduate attributes through the introduction of an optional assignment in which first-year accounting students designed and developed screencasts explaining key concepts to their peers. Screencasts have been used in recent years for teaching but the approach of students, rather than teachers, making screencasts is far less common. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of student surveys showed that, in addition to improving their accounting knowledge and providing a fun and different way of learning accounting, the assignment contributed to the development and expression of a number of graduate attributes. These included the students’ ability to communicate ideas to others and skills in multimedia, creativity, teamwork and self-directed learning.

Self-organising maps and student retention

2024-06-05T09:28:29+10:00

Student retention is an increasingly important yet complex issue facing universities. Improving retention performance is part of a multidimensional and deeply nested system of relationships with multiple hypothesised drivers of attrition at various sample sizes, population clusters and timescales. This paper reports on the use of a self organising data technique, Kohonen’s Self Organising Map, to explore the potential retention drivers in a large undergraduate student population in Western Australia over a six-year period. The study applied the self-organizing method to two point-in-time data sets separated by 18 months and was able to identify a number of distinct attrition behaviour profiles appropriate for creating new tailored intervention.

New applications, new global audiences

2024-06-05T08:57:48+10:00

There continues to be strong interest among established, experienced academic users of 3D virtual environments for their sustained educational use. Consistent with global trends, they plan to further develop and optimise existing applications, reuse skills and experiences gained to develop new applications, and to share and reuse existing virtual resources. This is against a background of varied support from institutions, colleagues, students, funding bodies and also changing understanding and awareness of virtual environments and virtual reality by the general community as a result of consumer developments such as the popularity of multi-user online role playing amongst both children and adults, and the acquisition of technologies by companies with deeply entrenched technologies. At the same time, the ongoing development and availability of new multiuser virtual environment platforms, associated peripherals and virtual reality technologies promise new and exciting opportunities for educators to collaborate with researchers on a global scale, while also exploring the affordances of these technologies for enhancing the learning outcomes for an increasingly diverse and distributed student population.

Conditions for successful technology enabled learning

2024-06-05T08:39:12+10:00

This paper reports on the findings of a 16 month project funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The project utilized an iterative mixed method design to investigate (a) what digital technologies are used and valued by students and educators for learning, and (b) the different factors within the ‘ecology’ of the university that contribute to these successful uses of digital technology. In total 2838 students and staff across two Australian universities and a further 114 leaders from all 39 Australian universities participated in the project. Through large scale surveys and in depth case studies thirteen ‘conditions for success’ were identified that appeared to stimulate, support, and/or sustain specific success stories. These conditions relate to different aspects of the ‘ecology’ of higher education – from individual skills and attitudes through to institutional policymaking. This paper describes the conditions for success, and concludes with challenges to the higher education sector.

To type or handwrite

2024-06-05T07:51:57+10:00

This paper reports on students' experience of e-Exams as collected via surveys undertaken in conjunction with a series of optional live trials of an open source, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) based e-Exam system in six mid-semester undergraduate examinations during 2014 at The University of Queensland, Australia. A set of surveys were conducted prior and following each exam that covered ease of use, technical issues, comfort, confidence, time, typing versus handwriting prowess. Responses to Likert items were compared between those students who elected to type and those that handwrote their exam. Insights as to which issues proved significant for students will prove useful to institutions looking to implement computerised exams.

Predictors of students’ perceived course outcomes in e-learning using a Learning Management System

2024-06-05T07:43:04+10:00

This study examined the factors that influence students’ perceived course outcomes in elearning using the Learning Management System (LMS), and the extent to which the factors significantly predict course outcomes. A total of 255 polytechnic students completed an online questionnaire measuring their responses to 5 constructs (lecturer support, interaction with peers, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and course outcomes). Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Results showed that perceived usefulness and interaction with peers were significant predictors of course outcomes, whereas perceived ease of use and lecturer support did not. However, perceived ease of use had an indirect relationship with course outcomes through perceived usefulness. Lecturer support also had an indirect relationship with course outcome through interactions with peers. Overall, the four antecedent variables contributed to 77.0% of the total variance in course outcomes. Based on the study findings, implications for educators and researchers are discussed.

Digital leap of teachers

2024-06-05T07:07:51+10:00

Digitisation and modernisation of education are central objectives in educational policy. This challenges to rethink teaching methods and update teacher pedagogic expertise. This article examines how two Finnish vocational education institutions are supporting transition of teacher professional development to the digital age. The comparison identified similar elements of success and areas for development. Strategic planning and leading of development for a digital leap is the starting point for success. Wireless connections must be universally available to enable use of one's own devices (BYOD). However, the key change factor is teacher transformation. Digital technology has led to professional development models being in a state of transition. Traditional face-to-face methods are not enough to modernise teacher competences. Peer learning, teacher initiated collaborative development, online training, and use of learning badges will be key methods in teachers taking a digital leap. A promising practice is student-teacher partnerships to change practices for the digital age.

An enhanced learning analytics plugin for Moodle

2024-06-05T06:48:31+10:00

Moodle, an open source Learning Management System (LMS), collects a large amount of data on student interactions within it, including content, assessments, and communication. Some of these data can be used as proxy indicators of student engagement, as well as predictors for performance. However, these data are difficult to interrogate and even more difficult to action from within Moodle. We therefore describe a design-based research narrative to develop an enhanced version of an open source Moodle Engagement Analytics Plugin (MEAP). Working with the needs of unit convenors and student support staff, we sought to improve the available information, the way it is represented, and create affordances for action based on this. The enhanced MEAP (MEAP+) allows analyses of gradebook data, assessment submissions, login metrics, and forum interactions, as well as direct action through personalised emails to students based on these analyses.

Prior knowledge, confidence and understanding in interactive tutorials and simulations

2024-06-04T13:47:37+10:00

The balance between confidence and understanding can be difficult for students to manage, particularly in digital learning environments where they start with different levels of prior knowledge. The level of prior knowledge and perception of how well understood this prior knowledge is will drive the level of engagement and integration of new knowledge as students are exposed to it. Exploring the relationship between these factors is therefore important for the design of digital learning environments. In this paper we describe two studies examining the levels of confidence and understanding reported by students completing interactive and non-interactive exercises in a digital learning environment. The reported levels of confidence and understanding are then contrasted against pre- and post-test performance and self-reports of the experience completed at the conclusion of the session. The results suggest that students’ prior knowledge influences their confidence and perceived difficulty of the material but does not necessarily influence performance.

Higher education students' use of technologies for assessment within Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)

2024-06-04T12:59:52+10:00

Higher education students' use of technologies has been documented over the years but their specific use of technologies for assessment-related tasks has yet to be fully investigated. Researchers at two higher education institutions recently conducted a study which sought to discover the technologies most commonly used by students within their Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). A specific aim of the study was to determine which of these technologies the students used when they complete and submit assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations. Results from questionnaires, focus groups and mapping exercises are reported and the implications of the findings for developing institutional infrastructure to engage students and support their learning are highlighted.

Strong and increasing student demand for lecture capture in the changing Australian university classroom

2024-06-04T12:53:53+10:00

As the use of classroom lecture capture gains wide acceptance and application around the world, this technology is quickly moving into the mainstream for university teaching. The paper reports preliminary findings of a student survey conducted by Echo360 across seven Australian universities to gain student feedback and perspective on the use of lecture capture technology, focusing on the use of the technology and student results at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Specific focus is applied to the use of lecture capture to enhance the flipped and blended styles of teaching and learning that are currently being implemented.

Analysis of MOOC Forum Participation

2024-06-04T12:41:58+10:00

The integration of social learning practices into massive open online courses (MOOCs) raises numerous learning and teaching challenges. While research into formal online education has provided some insight into the strategies for facilitating online learner-to-learner and learner-to-teacher interactions, the differences between MOOCs and more mainstream online courses impede any direct adoption and application. This paper reports a study linking the analysis of MOOC learner and teacher interactions to those in formal online education. The study compares MOOC forum activity of the individuals occasionally posting on the forum, and the ones contributing to the forum regularly. Through the social network analysis of forum posting and voting, we highlight the similarities and differences in how the networks of regular and occasional participants develop and interact. The findings provide some insight into how social learning practices can be promoted regardless of the course population size.

Designing for relatedness

2024-06-04T12:18:25+10:00

This paper draws on the initial analysis of data from an education design research study that investigated the experience of Indigenous higher education students in online learning. The interrelated themes of racial identity and relatedness were found to be significant to the experiences of these students. The paper examines a number of widely used learning design models and online facilitation approaches to determine the extent to which identity and relatedness are considered in the design of online environments and in the facilitation of learning. It concludes with a series of recommendations as to how an institution may mediate a level of relatedness for its students in online learning environments.

Open and Interactive Publishing as a Catalyst for Educational Innovations

2024-06-04T08:50:58+10:00

This paper reviews the educational value and innovative uses of open and interactive publishing (OIP) in learning design. OIP is defined in its broadest sense including all the emerging practices brought about by using open approaches and networked technologies to publish and engage with content. It explores two aspects of educational values and uses: (1) Open publications and scholarship provide new forms of open educational resources that stimulate innovations in learning designs and pedagogies beyond textbooks. (2) OIP is by nature a digital learning space whereby creative learners are able to learn from peers and communities through self- and social publishing activities. It also discusses the impact and challenges of OIP inspired innovations, from which practical recommendations are derived.

Learning Design for digital environments

2024-06-04T08:22:00+10:00

Digital learning environments are a catalyst for change and development in Higher Education. One way to respond to this is by going to the foundation of the environment – the learning design process. Using an Australian university’s major project in learning design as an example, this paper will look at how students need to be active members of Curriculum Design Teams to ensure that responsive, relevant and engaging digital learning ecosystems are created. Strategies based in design thinking, socio technical systems, learners as designers, and agile methodologies for project management, will be shown to be central to the effectiveness of the project. Challenges emerging from the projects’ implementation are identified as key directions to be addressed in the evolution of the process.

Interdisciplinary opportunities and challenges in creating m-learning apps

2024-06-04T08:06:57+10:00

Mobile digital devices such as smart phones and tablets support mobile learning (mlearning) and this is reinventing pedagogical and curriculum approaches in education. The unprecedented growth in digital technologies, and the educational apps they support, provides a unique opportunity to increase engagement in learning anywhere and at any time. However, the development of m-learning apps requires collaboration between learning and content experts and technology specialists. Such interdisciplinary collaboration presents both opportunities and challenges. This paper describes two case studies related to m-learning app development with the aim of highlighting the range of educational and technical issues that arose in the collaborative process, and the solutions devised by the interdisciplinary team.

Paving the way for institution wide integration of Tablet PC Technologies

2024-06-04T07:46:23+10:00

The implementation of a new technology into an institution can be challenging when faced with limited support and restricted procurement procedures. Academics in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University have been using tablet PC technology for several years to transform passive presentations into media rich, collaborative and engaging learning experiences. Recent advancements in tablet PC technology have stimulated new interest in tablet technology but also raises the question of how a university responds to the support and procurement of such new technology. In addition, what professional development is required to ensure that staff are comfortable and competent when teaching effectively with these devices. This paper presents the experiences and findings from a Community of Practice at Curtin University that embarked on evaluating and implementing three models of tablet PC at the university. The Community also engaged in a number of different professional workshops that demonstrated various strategies and fostered communication around current practice. The outcomes presented in this paper indicate the need to support academics using tablet PC’s in a responsive way rather, rather than being prescriptive on tools available through service agreements. The collaborative approach to investigating an educational technology situation used in this project could be seen as a model applicable to other contexts that involve many stakeholders across an institution.

MyCourseMap

2024-06-04T06:50:00+10:00

MyCourseMap is an interactive curriculum map created to increase curriculum transparency for both students and staff. It provides access to the entire curriculum at a glance, displays alignment of unit learning outcomes, assessments, course learning outcomes, and graduate attributes and links video from employers, graduates and students to help students reflect on the curriculum and its relevance. A prototype developed for the Bachelor of Pharmacy course at Curtin University as a proof-of-concept was tested and evaluated in 2014 and 2015. This evaluation utilised a mixed methods approach using a blend of quantitative and qualitative data through online survey and structured focus group discussions. From the evaluation, the perceived benefits of the MyCourseMap include students’ increased understanding of their degree structure and its relevance to their chosen profession. From a staff perspective, the MyCourseMap helps with review and development of curriculum and professional accreditation. Barriers and challenges have led to prototype refinements.

Standing on the shoulders of others

2024-06-04T06:33:47+10:00

As online and blended learning becomes the norm in higher education practice, academic developers and learning designers are increasingly required to work as part of curriculum development teams to facilitate the design of engaging and interactive online courses and activities. A range of highly-effective models of workshops and programs focused on curriculum design have been developed and widely reported, each with the primary aim of developing a ‘learning design’. But what form does this learning design take? How is it prepared, shared and edited amongst the curriculum team members? And how is it then translated into a functioning online site or activity for students to access? This paper focuses on the output of curriculum design workshops, and presents a highly simplified and accessible solution for time-poor curriculum teams.

Higher Education Teachers’ Experiences with Learning Analytics in Relation to Student Retention

2024-06-04T06:19:04+10:00

This paper presents findings from a study of Australian and New Zealand academics (n = 276) that teach tertiary education students. The study aimed to explore participants’ early experiences of learning analytics in a higher education milieu in which data analytics is gaining increasing prominence. Broadly speaking participants were asked about: (1) Their teaching context, (2) Their current student retention activities, (3) Their involvement in, and aspirations for, learning analytics use, (4) Their relationship with their institution around learning analytics. The sampled teaching staff broadly indicated a high level of interest but limited level of substantive involvement in learning analytics projects and capacity building activities. Overall, the intention is to present a critical set of voices that assist in identifying and understanding key issues and draw connections to the broader work being done in the field.

Exploratory and Collaborative Learning Scenarios in Virtual World using Unity-based Technology

2024-06-03T15:29:59+10:00

This paper focuses on learning tools developed for the integration in virtual learning worlds that enable instructors to create in-world scenarios more easily. The tools were implemented in consideration of several learning concepts on exploratory, collaborative and challenge-based approaches. It elaborates on the design and development of a virtual world project on two platforms, namely Unity and Open Wonderland which is based on an Egyptian learning world. Users explore the world to find, explore and discard information. Through the process of identification and elimination a story is formed. Users can share information and collaborate with other users in- world and the tasks are supported by tools embedded in the virtual world, such as Textchat, Itemboard and Chatbot. The virtual world in Unity has addressed some of the issues raised in Open Wonderland such as the graphics enhancements, level of interactivities and lessons learned from the first prototype.

Remote Access Laboratories for Preparing STEM Teachers

2024-06-03T15:02:24+10:00

Bandura’s self-efficacy theory provided the conceptual framework for this mixed methods investigation of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) self-efficacy to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) was modified to create the Technology Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (T-TEBI). Pre-test and post-test T-TEBI scores were measured to investigate changes in PSTs’ self-efficacy to teach technology. Interviews and reflections were used to explore the reasons for changes in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. This paper reports results from a pilot study using an innovative Remote Access Laboratory system with PSTs.

A Mobile App in the 1st Year Uni-Life

2024-06-03T14:47:59+10:00

The transition process that students undergo from high school to university, especially during the first year has a significant impact on their academic success. Higher education institutions try to cater for the needs of these students with a variety of initiatives. Although there are numerous resources made available in university websites, in most cases, they are underutilized. With the high adoption rate of smart phones among university students, mobile apps can be used to provide personalised support during the transition from high school to university. But, questions such as what is the truly relevant information that should be given to students, how should the information be delivered, and how should such a mobile application be designed remain unanswered. To explore these issues, we have developed a prototype mobile application called “myUniMate”. We conducted a pilot study in which 13 first year engineering students used the app for 6 weeks during a normal semester. Both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered to analyse the usability and feasibility of the app and to identify the features that were more useful. The obtained results have provided clear guidelines for the evolution of the application.

Decisions and designs for building enterprise learning systems within an enabled learning paradigm

2024-06-14T08:09:14+10:00

Student learning data is now a currency of value for both our educational institutions and the increasing number of third party providers that complement and extend the university learning management system. Detailed awareness of the data management practices of these providers is of increasing relevance to the governance of enterprise learning system design, and in parallel educators need to be cognisant of the core data practices of third party technologies that they deploy within their teaching environments.

Designing for “Flexibility”

2024-06-14T08:01:48+10:00

The demand to offer students more flexibility in their university study options has seen a growth in multiple course offerings in different modes of learning such as on-campus, online or a mix of both (blended). In line with this demand for flexibility there has been a need for universities to streamline practices to meet shrinking budgets. This environment has facilitated the growth of dual-mode teaching where faculties attempt to teach online and on-campus cohorts together with variable results. The curriculum, staffing and student expectation demands of these different modes of delivery are often at odds and it is becoming more difficult to meet these demands while maintaining a high quality teaching and learning environment. We would like to share experiences and discuss with like-minded colleagues how to approach this particular design challenge in the hopes of developing some guidelines and practical examples that can inform us all.

Connecting or constructing academic literacies on Facebook

2024-06-14T07:53:13+10:00

This paper outlines proposed doctoral research into how postgraduate students develop academic literacies within the bounds of learning theories and Web 2.0 tools that their lecturers select. Lea and Street’s (1998) academic literacies approach, which views literacies as contested social practices, forms the overarching view of literacy in this research. Over one semester, multiple case studies of postgraduate students will be conducted as they complete a paper within their subject of study. Students will use a private Facebook community to complete learning tasks and engage in student initiated discussions. The learning tasks will provide opportunities to examine the student experience of both the constructivist and connectivist paradigms. The aim is to further understanding of the student experience that can inform the creation of sound, theory driven Web 2.0-based learning tasks that effectively assist students in the development of their academic literacies. Feedback on the proposed research is sought from the Ascilite community.

Technology issues in blended synchronous learning

2024-06-13T12:10:24+10:00

Universities have responded to demand from students for increased time flexibility by providing online alternatives to face-to-face education, typically centered around the provision of online learning resources along with asynchronous online learning activities. More recently, synchronous options afforded by the capabilities of web conferencing tools, video conferencing tools and virtual worlds have emerged, providing the potential to bring together face-to-face and remote students using blended synchronous learning strategies. In the OLT-funded project Blended Synchronicity: Uniting on-campus and distributed learners through rich-media real-time collaboration tools, seven case studies of the use of blended synchronous learning strategies were explored. This discussion paper highlights the technology considerations and technology setup issues emerging from the case studies, as background material for a round table discussion session at the conference.

On the Evaluation of OLEs Using the HEART Framework

2024-06-13T12:02:50+10:00

In 2010 Google's researchers introduced the HEART framework for the evaluation of online products. HEART, which stands for Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention and Tasks, tries to provide guidance on a set of key metrics that need to be measured in order to evaluate an online product in an objective and holistic manner. While each metric quantifies an angle of key factors, we need all of them in order to achieve safe conclusions. Our position is that the same framework could be used in the assessment of the deployment of an OLE. We present the framework and an example of its application.

A practitioner’s guide to learning analytics

2024-06-13T11:51:26+10:00

A growing body of literature identifies learning analytics as an emergent field of research that can deepen our understanding of learning and inform learning design practice. However, realizing the potential is not straightforward, as even defining learning analytics is vexed. For teachers and learning designers, the practical issue of how to engage with learning analytics data is problematic. This discussion paper begins by outlining the background to learning analytics at a practice level. Next, we introduce learning analytics frameworks, and one in particular that serves our aim to develop a guide for practitioners wishing to engage with learning analytics for different purposes. We will develop and refine the guide by mapping it to case-studies at NZ tertiary institutions, and through discussion with practitioners internationally. Our goal is to make analytics data more accessible and useful to teachers, learning designers and institutions.

STEMming the flow

2024-06-13T10:33:19+10:00

It may be that the greatest gain in aggregate student learning in STEM is achieved not through the adoption of optimal teaching practices in each classroom but through the elimination of the worst practices (Fairweather, 2008, p. 8).

The “I”s have it

2024-06-13T10:19:20+10:00

Learning Analytics are increasingly becoming commonplace in tertiary institutions and there are many frameworks and implementation strategies that have been developed to assist institutions in effective take up. Most of these are aimed at an institutional level and at strategic development, often with a key aim of improving student retention. This paper briefly discusses and compares these frameworks and introduces an alternative, complementary framework that is aimed at a practical level of implementation for groups or teams, be this a discipline group or a project team. The framework is built on 6 “I”s – impetus, input, interrogation, intervention and impact, all within an institutional context.

Learning analytics

2024-06-13T10:10:00+10:00

The rise of learning analytics in the last few years has seen fervent development from institutions, researchers, and vendors. However, it seems to have had a laggard reception in higher education. Peering behind some barriers to adoption, we question whether common approaches that address the economics of low hanging fruit distract us from asking and answering deeper questions about student learning. This may lead to destructive feedback loops where learning analytics, swept by the currents of institutional agendas and cultures, does not deliver upon its promises to those who need it most - students and educators.

The impact of digital technology on postgraduate supervision

2024-06-12T13:14:14+10:00

There is a need to improve supervision of higher degree students to increase completion rates, reduce attrition and improve quality. This discussion paper explores the contribution that technology can make to higher degree research supervision. It focuses on research studies that support supervision through the application of digital technology. In reviewing current research, I discuss whether web-based tools can influence the training of Higher Degree Research (HDR) students, are effective in supporting students, and can reduce breakdowns in supervisory relationships. A major trend in higher education is the re-purposing of Web 2.0 systems, not only to access knowledge collaboratively, but also to create and sustain communities of learners. In critically reviewing current research-based papers, I was able to assess the impact of web-based tools on the training and support of doctoral students. The longer-term aim of this research project is to create a digital platform that can assist postgraduate students and their supervisors.

Is Student Transition to Blended Learning as easy as we think (and what do they think)?

2024-06-12T11:23:41+10:00

This is about the students. In the move to ‘flipped’ or blended modes of delivery, universities are spending all of their energies focusing on course design and upskilling academics, and assuming that students will easily embrace the new methodologies that are integral to blended learning approaches. We make this assumption based on the belief that they are au fait with all things technology when that may not be true. What we are doing is radically changing what they are experiencing as learning delivery methods, compared to what they had expected. Through implementation of these new blended learning delivery models, we have fundamentally changed what they are expected to do as students. We do this without sufficient warning and support mechanisms for this radical new way of learning. We must engage the students in this discussion and really LISTEN to what they want and need. We must conduct robust research that will inform our course design and teaching practices, our student advising and support, and we must begin now.

Learning through doing

2024-06-12T11:10:07+10:00

Makerspaces are becoming increasingly common in higher education institutions, and academic libraries can be regarded as an ideal location for such collaborative learning environments, as they provide a neutral space which encourages cross-disciplinary engagement and collaboration. This paper discusses the potential role of the library in facilitating the development of important lifelong learning skills through hands-on, problem-solving, and participatory making activities. It describes Curtin Library’s initial steps to establish a makerspace, which it is doing by providing a physical and virtual space, organizing events, workshops and activities and engaging in collaborative projects.

Engaged and connected

2024-06-12T07:29:49+10:00

The notion that there are no ‘e-pedagogies’ per se but rather ‘e-flavours’ of existing pedagogical approaches emphasises that ‘good teaching is good teaching’, irrespective of technologies – educational or otherwise. Charles Sturt University (CSU) recently released a Distance Education Strategy (2015) that promotes engagement and connectedness as key ideas in technology-enhanced teaching. Rather than prescribing particular activities to particular spaces or technologies, CSU’s Online Learning and Teaching Model foregrounds seven elements known to support learning: small group support; personalised support; teacher presence; interaction between students; interaction with workplaces; interactive resources; and e-assessment. This paper argues the merits of an approach to learning and teaching which uses these seven elements to inform online teaching practices. The literature that supports each element is considered alongside examples of elements. The discussion considers curriculum that embeds, models and explicitly teaches these seven elements of the Learning and Teaching model to the University’s academic staff.