ASCILITE Publications

Mapping the connection between Learning Analytics and Learning Design

Linda Corrin, Nancy Law, Minghui Chen — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Over the past decade many have attempted to articulate the connection between Learning Design (LD) and Learning Analytics (LA) in the form of a framework or model. However, there are now so many of these that it is difficult for practitioners to determine which ones are best for which circumstances. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a new LD/LA map which brings together the key elements from across the multitude of frameworks in order to assist in the operationalisation of learning analytics in higher education. The aim of the workshop is to apply the framework to learning scenarios to evaluate and critique its effectiveness in informing the development of LA systems and interventions. The outcome of the workshop will be a better understanding of the utility of the map and a shared vocabulary relating to how we can talk about the connection of LD and LA in educational environments.

Behavioural insights for better teaching and learning

Filia Garivaldis — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

A persisting assumption in education is that students have the same passion and motivation to learn that educators have to teach.

This assumption can lead to the use of a familiar but narrow set of solutions for addressing teaching and learning challenges. However, there are many barriers students face when attempting to engage fully with their courses or units of study, that are seldom addressed by educators. Behavioural science can offer valuable insights into addressing such barriers. From understanding students and the context of their learning better, to designing pedagogical methods better aligned with these needs, behavioural science can help create targeted solutions to the ongoing challenges experienced in the field of education. In this workshop, we offer a range of practical and theoretical examples from the area of behavioural science, that challenge the assumption that providing access to learning material is enough. We also draw on the expertise of educators and scholars in higher education, to brainstorm solutions, beyond just the use of pedagogy, that can address some of these challenges.

Modifying assessment tasks to ensure learning occurs in the era of artificial intelligence

Edward Palmer — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The launch of ChatGPT 3.5 in November 2022 has had a profound influence on teaching and learning from both students’ and staff members’ engagement. It is unclear how students are engaging with AI in creating submissions for assessments tasks, potentially impacting their learning. It is also unclear how educators are modifying their assessment design and how this may be impacting the learning outcomes of their cohorts. University systems run at a slow pace meaning that policies, course and program changes are not able to engage at the rate staff need in order to respond to this new technology. Staff have been left to deal with the use of AI in assessment tasks, often with little guidance or sufficient digital skills to make relevant changes or modifications.

This workshop will focus on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and assessment. Participants will be given structured activities to understand and develop activities that provide learning for students without being compromised by artificial intelligence. They will apply their learning in the workshop to an assessment they are using or plan to use.

Positioning large language model artificial intelligence tools within discourse analysis

Pranit Anand, Dongmei Li, Joel Keen, Leah Henrickson — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools based on Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT has generated significant interested within the higher education sector. The threats, challenges and opportunities for its use in teaching and learning continue to be discussed widely, however it’s use within research and especially research involving marginalised perspectives is far less discussed. This panel will share how ChatGPT was used to add value to the conversations between researchers applying critical discourse analysis exploring Indigenous Australian perspectives with international students. As part of their study the researchers compared the efficacy of ChaptGPT and NVIVIO and the impacts on iterative discourse discussions between the researchers. While the data in this research revealed some very encouraging results, it also highlighted significant areas that need to be explored even further especially around ethical use of AI and untangling in-built biases within the tools’ algorithms.

The End of Learning Design?

Peter Bryant, Lawrie Phipps, Donna Lanclos — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This highly interactive and provocative hypothetical-style panel discussion will take the audience on a collective journey through the complexity and challenges of strategically designing and delivering online learning in a post-digital, post-crisis new normal. The aim of the panel is to collectively shift the dial on how we understand, articulate, and develop the benefit of learning design to the institution, how others have been extremely successful in doing that (and what can we learn from them) and how we are collectively struggling with precarious contracts, budgets, de-professionalisation and constantly shifting priorities as we return to a campus-based teaching and learning experience. Drawing on the principles of hyperreality, participants will become part of the community of a hypothetical university. Through highly interactive and immersive scenarios the panel session will collectively traverse the transitional, uncertain spaces of a post-crisis university and design for an educational future that learns from the relationships between people and technology to make teaching and learning better.

The LMS in the age of Generative AI

Iain Doherty, Julie Willems, Henk Huijser, Francesca Bussey — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Whilst Covid-19 raised a range of questions about the utility of the Learning Management System (LMS) and other technologies for teaching and learning, the advent of Generative AI (GenAI) poses new and fundamental questions about the teaching and learning technology ecosystem of our universities. We argue that these questions extend beyond the impact of GenAI on student learning, the assessment of students and academic integrity. Rather, the impact of GenAI on higher education represents a threshold concept that, once grasped, will entail a paradigm shift in the sector’s self-understanding.

What can we learn from University students’ experiences of online learning during COVID?

Dianne Forbes, Dilani Gedera, Maggie Hartnett, Cheryl Brown, Ashwini Datt — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This panel brings together a research team from five different universities in Aotearoa New Zealand who have collaborated since 2020 on a project exploring university students’ experiences of online learning during COVID-19. The multiple method project has yielded several co-authored publications. The symposium, led by each member of the project team, draws on our research to engage the audience with key provocations. Sharing brief insights from the research project, paying particular attention to people, partnerships and pedagogies, we aim to generate discussion of key learning stemming from diverse student experiences, with consideration to how these may inform responsive and sustainable strategies for teaching and online learning for the future. It is anticipated that audience participants will reflect and contribute diverse perspectives giving rise to new understandings in relation to the experiences of diverse people, research partnerships, and the theory and practice of online learning.

Transforming the University – One Standard at a Time

Elaine Huber, Chris Campbell, Sarah Thorneycroft, Steven Warburton — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

With the rapid growth of online learning in higher education, there is an increasing need to establish standards that ensure the quality of these educational experiences for our students. This panel presentation explores the evolving landscape of online learning, discusses the need for robust standards for quality online education, highlights the development of the TELAS framework and programs, and explores the integration of standards into organisational contexts.

Adapting assessment for/despite generative artificial intelligence

Jason Lodge, Michael Henderson, Christine Slade, Chris Deneen — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has put significant pressure on established assessment practices in tertiary education. These new technologies can produce key artifacts such as essays and laboratory reports that are routinely used to infer where students are in their learning. This panel reports on the outcomes of an Australian national forum to develop a set of guiding principles in response to the ways generative AI is changing the landscape of assessment. This includes rethinking what we assess; how we assure students’ work is their own; how we promote learning through the use of gen AI; how we build appropriate digital literacies through assessment; and how we build human capabilities for working in an AI-mediated world. Building on the output of the workshop, the panel will delve into some of the key challenges and how the guidance can be applied across contexts in tertiary education.

Collaborative Panel Insights

Leanne Ngo, Kashmira Daves, Keith Heggart — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The advent and proliferation of digital and online microcredentials present a paradigm shift in the traditional educational landscape. Panelists, including educators, learning designers, and educational technologists, will provide diverse perspectives on digital pedagogical approaches, technology integration, and learner-centered design for microcredentials. Through thought-provoking discussions and debates, we aim to explore effective strategies and principles for designing quality digital learning experiences of microcredentials. By encouraging participant contributions, we will foster a vibrant microcredentials community of practice within Australasia. Join us to gain new insights, exchange knowledge, and shape the future of microcredentials in enhancing learner engagement and overall learning experiences.

Can micro-credentials serve the needs of diverse people through deeper partnerships and digital pedagogy?

Caroline Steel, Dominique Parrish, Chris Campbell, Claire Walters — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

In recent years, we have seen the ‘rise of the micro-credential movement’ (Brown, McGreal & Peters, 2023) From a people perspective, they promise more flexible and wider access to learning that can be more easily interwoven through people’s life and work demands. They can offer more choices around the duration, pace, focus and purpose of learning. Further, micro-credentials can be used as a pathway into or through a macro-credential and showcase employability skills gained in and beyond formal learning environments. Growing global narratives around micro-credentials suggest they can potentially solve a multitude of challenges that have long been constrained by traditional education models. This interactive symposium offers an opportunity to explore the emerging potential of micro-credentials with consideration to diverse people, deeper partnerships and digital pedagogies. Using these foci, this symposium will facilitate engaging discussion and examination of this new and evolving topic.

Online learning and language

Rachael Adlington, Catherine Volpe — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Online learning is a well-established mode for tertiary education and training. However, technology-mediated learning at a distance continues to face challenges to participant engagement, despite the proliferation of models of effective online learning and the implementation of increasingly sophisticated technologies to enhance learning (Bragg, Walsh & Heyeres, 2021). The critical need to build and maintain relationships for effective learning continues to be confounded by the geographic and temporal distribution of online participants as well as the nuances of the technology in use. Online learning occurs in collaborative text-spaces within learning management systems, social media spaces and their attendant learning objects such as forums, many of which foreground language as the primary resource for making meaning with others. As such, ongoing challenges to engagement in online learning may be viewed with fresh eyes by considering the language-based interpersonal affordances of these text-spaces. This pecha kucha presentation examines how the language choices made by learning facilitators impact on student engagement in online learning. It draws on a case study of the strategic use of evaluative language – the language used to express feelings and build relationships - by one teacher educator to engage initial teacher education students in online learning. Underpinned by the Systemic Functional Linguistic model of language (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014) and following Martin & White (2005), appraisal analysis of weekly forum posts across three iterations of a unit of study shows how changes to language choices made by the teacher educator positively impacted on student engagement. This illuminates the relationship between online learning and language, and how judicious use of language-based meaning making resources can be used to improve online participant engagement.

Technology-enhanced self and peer assessment to support student agency during group projects

Marion Blumenstein, Asma Shakil, Peter Swedlund — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Teamwork and collaborative problem solving competencies are important 21st century skills and considered key graduate attributes for employability and lifelong learning (e.g., Csapó & Funke, 2017). For students to develop collaborative skills and competencies, group work and peer learning are widely-used approaches in higher education. Effective teamwork skills are often implicitly taught and notoriously disliked by students for many reasons including freeriding (social loafing), member dominance or disengagement. Well-functioning teams are underpinned by social-affective dimensions of group work such as respect for reviewers (Carless & Boud, 2018) and social cohesion (Bakhtiar et al., 2018). To positively influence group cohesion and develop team skills, formative peer evaluation of team members’ contributions have been shown to effectively support student agency in this process (Stenalt 2021, Sridharan et al., 2018).

This case study explores the affordances of the digital peer review tools Feedback Fruits and Peer Assess Pro to facilitate feedback processes for the successful completion of high-stakes capstone group projects. Bachelor of Science students engage with anonymous team member evaluations of task completion as well as self-evaluation of team skills. To aid a major curriculum transformation at our university towards relational pedagogies, we embarked on an iterative and deliberate approach to scaling peer feedback. The approach aligns with educational design research integrating research and design processes for theoretical and practical outcomes (McKenney & Reeves, 2012, p. 76). Specifically, we aimed to understand 1) the student perception of technology facilitated peer feedback as learning for improved outcomes and raised self-awareness of teamwork skills, and 2) provide a non-threatening environment that enabled personal and collective agency for students as providers and receivers of feedback underpinned by Bandura’s (2001) social cognitive theory and human agency. Applying Bandura’s notion to group work, student agency can be enacted through a learner’s capacity to self-reflect on own capabilities (personal agency) as well as socially coordinated and interdependent efforts towards desired outcomes (collective agency).

Questionnaire data on self-regulation (N=42) confirmed the usefulness of peer evaluation of team members’ contributions. However, only half of the students thought that peer feedback positively impacted group coherence and effectiveness such as time management, quality of submissions, or their own performance. Feedback and self-reflections on students’ own strengths and weaknesses were found to be empowering and generally supported team effectiveness. This was also evident from students’ comments (N=110) within the Feedback Fruits tool where students rated their self- and peer efficacy on six criteria: initiative, engagement, contribution, ideas and communication, focus, and harmony. We identified issues with timeliness and active engagement of the feedback received requiring further iterations of purposefully designed rubrics for intended learning outcomes. The impact of peer feedback on perceived self- and collective efficacy is highly complex and influenced by personal as well as sociocultural values (Bandura, 2001, p. 14). Our emphasis on feedback as a learning-centred process under controlled conditions (technology enhanced with clear rubrics) has shown that students can make the information work for themselves and their teams to improve high-stakes group project outcomes. Importantly, in agreement with Molloy et al. (2019), the development of feedback literacy helps to build academic skills, supports self-regulation and acknowledges feedback as a reciprocal process for future employability.

Digital facelift

Boyd Britton, Carmen Vallis — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The rapid development and proliferation of synthetic media and AI-generated avatars present both challenges and opportunities for higher education. Increasingly, educational institutions must navigate complex ethical and pedagogical considerations, as well as adapt to the latest AI technologies (Siemens et al., 2022). Ethical and pedagogical principles to guide AI use are urgently needed in education (Bozkurt et al., 2021).

In this presentation, we share a practical perspective, framed by a specific case-study: the development and implementation of a large-scale, interactive business module featuring AI-generated ‘Guest Lecturers’ The AI-generated video content, along with other online activities, were designed to stimulate critical reflection and discussion about the ethical implications of AI in business. Now in its second iteration, the project represents a significant trial and evaluation of synthetic media to present educational concepts in a cohort of over 700 students.

Fundamental ethical and pedagogical questions surfaced during the development and implementation of this learning media. How transparent should educators be about the processes and tools they adopt in producing content, for example (Pataranutaporn et al., 2021)? When does human presence add value in recorded video, be it in a pedagogical or parasocial sense (Beege et al., 2019)? And what forms of learning might benefit (or not) from automating video content (Li et al., 2016)? Based on evaluation data from focus groups and video analytics, we explore these questions and the potential affordances and limitations of synthetic media. We also reflect on the tools and techniques that were used to create the project, and implications for educational institutions as they seek to build capacity for AI content creation within traditional production ecosystems.

An emergent typology for AI in educational media is explored, to help educators design for teaching and learning based on learning purposes and modes of delivery. Finally, we discuss how student feedback might inform the design, production and delivery of learning media, and future directions for student co-creation and agency.

Harnessing H5P for Asynchronous Active Learning

Nguyen Bui, Claire Brooks — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Active learning, as defined by Bonwell and Eison (1991), involves students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing. Extensive research has highlighted the numerous benefits of active learning, including increased attendance rates (Kozanitis & Nenciovici, 2022), improved learning outcomes (Ruiz-Primo et al., 2011), reduced achievement gaps for underrepresented students (Haak et al., 2011; Theobald et Al., 2020), higher-order thinking skills, and enhanced student performance (Freeman et al., 2014). In comparison to traditional lectures, any form of active learning has proven to be beneficial to student learning (Schneider & Preckel, 2017). However, most research on active learning has focused predominantly on face-to-face synchronous classrooms, with little attention to active learning in online asynchronous environments. This presents an opportunity to explore design solutions that promote active learning in these asynchronous settings where students lack real-time interactions with educators and peers.

The advent of HTML5 (HyperText Markup Language version 5) or H5P has the potential to revolutionise active learning in online learning settings. As a free and open-source content creation tool, H5P offers various interactive and engaging content types that enable students to interact directly with course material in meaningful ways. This interactivity encourages students to participate actively in their learning process rather than passively obtaining information from lectures.

Drawing from two case studies conducted at an Australian university, this presentation highlights how H5P can be used to enhance active learning in online asynchronous courses. The first case study investigates the design of H5P training modules for a platform that supports researchers in humanities and social sciences in their sensitive data access management. This platform is part of a nation-wide project involving 12 partnering institutions and government agencies in Australia. The second case study explores the implementation of H5P learning activities in a Vietnamese language course over three years. In both cases, H5P is used as a plug-in within the Moodle learning platform.

Data collection for these case studies included interviews with educators and learning designers, Moodle reports, and participant feedback surveys. The findings from the thematic analysis and the learning analytics revealed substantial benefits of using H5P for active learning, along with the technical and pedagogical challenges encountered during the design process. The presentation features exemplary cases and insights from the case studies to suggest H5P design solutions that foster active participation, reflective thinking, and knowledge construction for students in online asynchronous settings.

Collaborative pathways

Donna Cleveland, Sasha Stubbs — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This extended abstract delineates a collaborative endeavor between the School of Communication & Design and the Learning Design team at RMIT Vietnam. The project’s core objective was to uplift and reimagine blended learning approaches across selected courses.

In line with the growing body of research endorsing the role of academic-designer partnerships in fostering technology-enhanced learning (Ellis et al., 2016; Nihuka & Voogt, 2012; Huber & Jacka, 2022; McDonald & Mayes, 2005), this initiative thrived on the close collaboration between academics and learning designers.

What sets our approach apart is the non-homogenized implementation of blended learning changes. Instead of uniformly transitioning courses from face-to-face to a blended format, changes were specifically tailored based on the needs and learning outcomes of each course. This bespoke approach, combined with our multifaceted support framework and adaptive project management strategies, ensured that the course design was both effective and reflective of individual course characteristics.

The multifaceted support framework leveraged initial design workshops to establish core principles and a shared vision, codesign of initial proof of concept course modules, design templates, a central site providing blended learning exemplars and pedagogical resources and ongoing consultations. Embedded throughout these were foundational frameworks for online and blended learning including Backward Design and Community of Inquiry (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, Garrison et al., 2001). New tools to support active, social, asynchronous learning were also integrated into the LMS. Adaptive project management strategies addressed challenges as they arose.

The transformed courses showcase innovative blended learning approaches personalized to disciplinary contexts, leading to positive measurable impacts. Academics reported feeling empowered by new skills gained through the collaboration and this positive reception extended the reach of the program, providing a catalyst for academics not directly involved to implement the approaches and tools used in the program in their own course design.

Despite its success, the initiative was not devoid of challenges. Different priorities necessitated compromise, and academics required additional support to adapt to new the new technologies and pedagogical strategies. The project’s collaborative nature proved instrumental in surmounting these hurdles, enabling learning designers to progressively build academic involvement whilst addressing issues central to blended learning implementation in a Vietnamese context such as lack of familiarity and experience with blended learning (Le et al., 2021).

The outcomes of this collaboration underscore the value of leveraging complementary expertise of academics and designers. Beyond elevating technology-enhanced learning, the project fostered mutual understanding, leading to wider impacts than initially anticipated. Insights gained can inform effective collaboration strategies and highlight organizational enablers to nurture such relationships and promote the move to blended learning and uplifting of courses on a larger scale.

This tailored approach not only represents a best practice example in the TEL context but also signifies a progressive step in the broader landscape of higher education, which is rapidly evolving towards online and blended modalities. While our experience is grounded in the Vietnamese context, the inherent flexibility and adaptability of our methods make it a model that can be replicated and customised for diverse tertiary educational settings globally.

As higher education continues its evolutionary trajectory, academic-designer collaborations such as this one, rooted in blended learning enhancement, will grow in significance. The insights and methods presented here offer valuable pointers for those aiming to advance pedagogical innovation.

Breaking Boundaries

Mariana E. Elizondo-García, Gabriela Espínola-Carballo — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Although the pandemic increased the adoption of non-education platforms for teaching, it brought challenges to online higher education. These challenges encompass fatigue from excessive use of video conferencing applications, frustration experienced by instructors when students keep their cameras off during online classes, low student engagement, and notable silence in response to questions or concerns. As digital education and online interaction continue to evolve, the concept of the metaverse has emerged as a potential solution to enhance engagement and collaboration within virtual spaces (Mistretta, 2022).

The metaverse, as defined by the Acceleration Studies Foundation, represents the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physical-persisted virtual space (Kye et al., 2021). It constitutes an interactive, three-dimensional virtual environment where individuals can interact with one another and digital entities, mirroring real-life interactions. The metaverse encompasses virtual worlds, online games, social networks, augmented and virtual reality experiences, and more. It blurs the line between the physical and digital realms, allowing for seamless and integrated experiences. Built upon the maturity of technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), big data, and blockchain, represents the future of education (Wu & Gao, 2022, cited in George, E. 2023). Hybrid and flexible environments facilitate the integration of these technologies, overcoming physical limitations and enabling students to immerse themselves in a completely virtual environment. Within this environment, students can engage in creative activities that foster learning, critical thinking, collaborative work, socialization, and positively impact student motivation (Almaguer et al., 2021; Burnett et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2022).

Virbela is a virtual reality platform that recreates real-world settings, dynamics, and human interactions in virtual environments. Unlike video conferencing, digital collaboration tools, and online forums, Virbela provides the ability to replicate physical offices, events, or learning spaces while maintaining a sense of community and culture (Virbela, 2023).

Tec Virtual Campus is a Tecnologico de Monterrey virtual world created using Virbela. Accessible through a desktop application, this platform offers students a digital space where they can access using customizable avatars and enjoy freedom of movement as if they were on the physical campus (Villanueva, A. 2022). This environment enables the presentation of projects, complete class sessions, participation in forums, organization of educational events, and various other activities, all within an interactive 100% virtual space that utilizes three-dimensional animations and voice-enabled avatars.

In this context, we will provide examples of two educational activities implemented within the Virtual Campus for high-enrollment online courses encompassing over 100 students from diverse regions in Mexico. These courses span distinct disciplines: Engineering and Sciences, and Social Sciences and Government. These examples aim to demonstrate that regardless of the subject being studied or course characteristics, this immersive resource can be utilized to add value and innovation to virtual classrooms.

Developing authentic assessment through open educational practices

Mais Fatayer, Dimity Wehr — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

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

Background to the ARTT Collection

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

What is ARTT?

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

How is ARTT collaborative?

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

How is ARTT used?

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

How is ARTT Future Focused?

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

Implementing and scaling authentic assessment through a pedagogical technology partnership

Catherine Fraser, Tiffany Gunning, Anureet Kaur Bali — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Authentic assessment has been identified as an effective strategy to transform assessment, with a focus on measuring students’ success in skill-relevant and real-life situations (Wiggins, 1998). However, effectively implementing activities that can help foster authentic assessment, such as peer feedback, group work, or team-based learning, especially in online and hybrid courses and large cohorts, is a consistent challenge. (Shank, 2009) To combat this challenge, the higher education institution Deakin University partnered with the pedagogical technology company FeedbackFruits, with the initial focus on developing a solution aimed at optimising group work. Due to the positive impact of the partnership, the two organisations continued their collaboration and worked together on implementing faculty-wide authentic assessment strategies with pedagogical technology, across a wide range of course sizes and modalities.

The first collaborative project was meant to build on FeedbackFruits’s two solutions, Peer Review, for streamlining peer feedback, and Group Member Evaluation, enabling group member evaluation. Deakin University signalled the need for a pedagogical feature that would ensure fairness in group work. The two organisations developed the Group Contribution Grading feature that based the students’ grades on the contribution of each individual to the group deliverable and allowed the instructor to later manually adjust the grade. With increased visibility for teachers and between students on their performance and contribution to group work, students had more opportunities for autonomy and self-regulation.

The results of the initial collaboration encouraged Deakin University to continue collaborating with FeedbackFruits on a wider scope. Since FeedbackFruits’s pedagogical technology included multiple tools that supported a wide range of learning approaches, the new project introduced the possibility to link different elements of different assignment types to customise the setup flow of assignments. As a result, educators could create complete, diversified activities more quickly and easily, as well as access the combined analytics in one place.

Following the success of the past projects, the two organisations, together with several other higher education institutions, developed an AI-powered tool, Automated Feedback, that provided instant formative feedback to students on “lower-level” academic writing concerns, such as citation, academic style, grammar, and structure, freeing up time for the instructors to provide personalised feedback on “higher-order” concerns such as comprehension and critical argumentation of concepts.

The most recent collaborative project involved leveraging the team-based learning (TBL) framework to provide additional learning experiences in established authentic assessment, with plans to scale up across STEM faculty. Following the principles for defining and measuring authentic assessment (Schultz et al., 2021), the institution used the team-based learning Tool 4 to conduct intra-group evaluation after authentic group projects.

The collaboration between Deakin University and FeedbackFruits resulted in a robust ecosystem of co-developed authentic assessment technology that has prioritised the lived experience of educators and continuous improvement. Combining the expertise of higher education practitioners and pedagogical technology developers enabled a highly engaging, innovative learning experience for all students.

Awarding digital badges instead of grades?

James Goulding, Peter Twining, Heather Sharp — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Micro-credentials are seeing increasingly rapid adoption in higher education (McGreal & Olcott, 2022), however their efficacy is still being explored (Stefaniak & Carey, 2019); as Oliver (2019) notes, “rapid innovation can be exhilarating, but it can also confuse the very people who might benefit most” (p. i). This Pecha Kucha is derived from a project that examined the impact of awarding digital badges instead of assessment grades within a large undergraduate Initial Teacher Education course in Australia. The aim of the project was to examine the impact of micro-credentials on the student experience, including motivation and engagement with feedback, as well as the impact on the quality of university provision, including the alignment between university assessment and broader workplace standards frameworks.

Traditional methods of assessment, such as numeric grades, may not reflect the full range of competencies that students hold and that will benefit them in their future careers (Bassett, 2015; Robinson & Aronica, 2015). Moving away from awarding marks/grades to using competency based micro-credentials may help to address this issue, as micro-credentials can be used to assess both skills and dispositions, as well as knowledge in practice. Micro-credentials (to be referred to as digital badges) may also contribute to a more holistic and detailed record of students’ achievements (Elliot et al., 2014).

This work was broadly underpinned by theories of human motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Specifically, and following from the aims outlined earlier, the project was guided by research on gamification and (student) motivation (Hamari & Koivisto, 2015; Hamari, 2017), and research on the impact of grades on student motivation (Butler, 2011). With respect to university provision, the project was guided by Stefaniak and Cary’s (2019) framework for implementing digital badges in higher education.

What impacts did implementing digital badges have on student motivation and engagement with feedback?
What impact did implementing digital badges have on university provision?

Study design and implementation was informed by Stefaniak and Cary’s (2019) Framework for Successful Badge Program Implementation, which includes ‘Badge Instructional Design’, ‘Badge System Platform’, and ‘Badge Program Implementation’. A three-phase, mixed method approach was adopted, consisting of online surveys and semi-structured focus groups.

Findings showed positive motivational and social impacts of digital badges, and positive effects on engagement with feedback, however removing grades from a course designed around traditional modes of assessment also caused significant student anxiety. It was also found that digital badges improved university provision through promoting constructive alignment between assessment and professional standards. There were also unexpected findings warranting future research, including how digital badges reduced student anxiety around the awarding of numeric grades.

A number of key recommendations were made: 1) if using badges, remove marks 2) adopt a whole-of-school approach 3) badges are not a substitute for quality written feedback, 4) invest in appropriate software infrastructure, 5) developing a badge framework is important for both students and staff, 6) students need to know exactly what to expect, 7) develop a ‘badge tree’.

Overall, it was found that digital badges have considerable potential to improve the student experience, however these benefits can be overshadowed by student anxiety if the badging system is not optimally conceptualised and executed.

Building a Digital Education Library

Stephen Grono, Melissa Mitchell, Max Palad — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

As a formal institutional structure, university libraries represent at their core the collective knowledge and opportunity for deep personalised learning and professional development across the traditionalist subject matters. As professionals working within rapidly-evolving fields of online learning, in particular those around Learning Design, we do not have this same level of access or historical record as more traditional subjects (Elmborg, 2011). The Digital Education Library is an exploration of bridging this gap in a collaborative, co-curated, less formal approach to professional development.

In adapting the library structure to meet the needs and breadth of our team, we also have the opportunity to modernise for access and inclusion. This design accounts for the needs of modern hybrid work models and encourages recognition of the breadth of skills, knowledge, and interests existing within our own team structures. The [institution]’s Digital Education division comprises of four smaller areas; a Learning Design, Learning Media, Learning Environments, and Exams & e-Assessments teams, under its broader banner. These interconnected roles each add value and contexts to library content and design (Ilahi et al., 2019). With a diverse team from dispersed locations, curation and access to digital resources and physical books are embedded in the design to normalise and facilitate hybrid teams.

With these factors considered, building a Digital Education library gathers a broad range of themes related to third space design needs. The platform chosen utilises a hybrid approach (UNESCO, 2003), alongside a physical library of works, focused on not just instructional design, but a broad range of adjacent themes related to the areas of the Digital Education division – assessment design, media and graphic design, user experience, learning design, academic development, as well as works focused on the scholarship of teaching & learning, leadership, team culture, and data literacy. The range of themes explored is intentionally designed to foster partnerships between areas of the team, and hold intentional and visible space for professional development. Agency within the team is also fostered through opportunity for co-creation, through the option for team members to easily share resources they’ve found interesting, with relevant tags, descriptors, and templates.

This presentation will explore the Digital Education Library and its design process, from its dual perspective roles as both a library of digital education, and a digital library of education.

Understanding the temptation to cheat in online exams

Michael Henderson, Jennifer Chung, Rebecca Awdry, Shihua Yu — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Online proctored exams have become a common experience for a significant number of higher education students. The rationale behind employing online surveillance revolves around the belief that these measures are essential for upholding academic integrity. However, discussions on assessment integrity often focus on comparing the motivations, conditions, and values of cheaters and non-cheaters. This binary approach potentially oversimplifies the complex nature of human motivation and behavior (Henderson et al., 2023). Cheating is influenced by a multitude of factors and motivations that can either encourage or discourage such behaviors (Brimble, 2016; Jenkins et al., 2022; Noorbehbahani et al., 2022). Merely comparing the two groups may overlook the intricacies that push students from one category to another. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on an underexplored group: students who were tempted to cheat but chose not to. These students can be viewed in two ways. Firstly, they represent a group at risk of cheating, necessitating research to develop targeted strategies supporting their integrity decisions. Secondly, they exhibit integrity despite the temptation, potentially offering insights into the nuanced 'tipping points' that go beyond existing binary comparisons.

This Pecha Kucha reports on a large-scale study conducted within a single institution that explores the implications of online exams and the integrity behaviours and motivations of three groups of students: those who did not cheat and were not tempted to do so, those who did not cheat but who were tempted to cheat, and those who cheated. The data draws on an anonymous and voluntary student survey conducted in both semester 1 and semester 2 of 2022. Institutional research ethics approval was granted. The data comprises 11,333 fully completed surveys and offers interesting, and sometimes counter-intuitive findings which can help guide institutional responses.

Broad insights will be offered in the Pecha Kucha presentation. This abstract offers preliminary findings based on ongoing analysis regarding the 28 motivating factors identified by the students that encouraged or discouraged cheating behaviours.

Factors that encouraged cheating: Both the tempted and cheated groups identified similar motivating factors, such as the fear of failure and the financial burden of repeating a course. Surprisingly, the students who cheated chose fewer encouraging factors than those who were tempted but did not cheat. The importance of these motivations was similar for both groups.

Factors that discouraged cheating: Regarding factors that discouraged cheating, all three groups (not tempted, tempted, and cheated) were asked their opinions. The non-cheating group listed more reasons and considered them more significant compared to the other two groups. The tempted group selected fewer reasons than the non-tempted group but more than the cheated group. However, the tempted and cheated groups rated the importance of these factors similarly.

The Pecha Kucha will expand on the above and comment on some of these somewhat counterintuitive results.

Up-skilling learners through story-telling: Introducing the Learning Wave

Andrew Komoder, Lynnae Venaruzzo, Carmen Young — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The nature of work is changing as technology, economic, education, health, environmental, and geopolitical trends impact the skills required of the workforce. Generative AI, for example, is significantly impacting the labour-market as new jobs are created and existing jobs are re-shaped or no longer available (Li, 2022). In response to these trends, businesses are re-imagining their workforce strategies and investing in learning and developing their talent (Future of Jobs Report, 2023). Responding to the needs of industry and the skills gap, Western Sydney University (WSU) is pioneering a digital pedagogical model called The Learning Wave. Inspired by Karl Maton’s Semantic Wave, The Learning Wave is a practical tool for designing digital educational experiences where learners are guided through real-world problems to construct knowledge, build industry relevant skills and reflect on their learning (Maton, 2019). Through the explicitly designed educational experience, learners use their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems facing industry.

The Learning Wave is used to create educational experiences through activities focused on mastery (competence), meaning (competence and relatedness), community (relatedness) and autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000). To develop these experiences, The Learning Wave contains four smaller waves of engagement and motivation, knowledge, activity, and narrative:

The Engagement and Motivation wave uses reward and feedback loops aligned with key educational moments. Inspired by the Octalysis Framework for Gamification and Behavioural Design (Chou, 2021), real-world relevant learning activities are designed to be intrinsically motivating and create positive learning experiences. The Engagement and Motivation wave aligns rewards and game mechanics to the self-regulated-learning phases of forethought, performance and self-reflection (Zimmerman, 2002).
The Knowledge Wave focusses on the design, construction, and delivery of the knowledge-based content using Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction (Gagné et al., 1992)) and uses missions for learners to solve as they apply their knowledge and skills in the Activity
The Activity wave extends from the Engagement and Motivation wave, and the Knowledge Wave and focuses on experiential learning experiences that people learn from (Floor, 2023). A goal of the Activity Wave is to create a positive impact on the learning experience and provide learners with memorable experiences they enjoy.
The Narrative wave uses storytelling and narrative driven approaches to present an engaging story comprising elements of tension, interesting characters situated in real-world settings to provide relevance and relatability to the course, and topics that evoke emotional responses. Narrative approaches to learning tell more than just the story – stories use different parts of the brain (Renken, 2020) and can be effective in solidifying abstract concepts and assist learners in shaping their ideas and views about what they are learning. (Yang et al., 2022).

These sub-waves are designed in alignment with the learning outcomes of the course to provide learners with agency to manage their motivation, cognition, emotion and behaviour – fundamental to self-regulated learning (Zimmerman, 2002) as they develop their skills in their industry-relevant field. As a novel pedagogical model, The Learning Wave is designed for learners to amplify impact and stay relevant in their field.

Pedagogically driven digital education for diverse people and deeper partnerships

Peter Linford, Kwong Nui Sim — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The digital era has ushered in a new set of skills/competencies that both teachers and students need to acquire in order to thrive in their academic/professional pursuits. Digital literacy has become a crucial aspect of education, particularly in higher education where teachers and students are expected to engage with digital resources/tools on a regular basis. This shift has irrevocably changed the face of education and digital literacy has evolved to be more than just the ability to use digital tools — it now encompasses the critical skills/competencies that require teachers and students to navigate, analyse, and create information within the digital space. Adopting the hexagonal socio-technical systems theory (University of Leeds, 2023), a pilot digitalised sailing theory course was launched for adult learners at both beginner and intermediate levels from 2022. Within a broadly interpretive approach (Erickson, 1998), the analysis of the feedback involved the refinement of the major and common ideas (Mayring, 2000) held by the learners in their voluntary evaluation at the end of their course(s). The preliminary analysis highlighted two themes: pedagogically driven digital education accommodates diverse learners’ needs and deeper partnerships are established for teacher and learners as well as among learners through a digitalised course. Majority of the learners expressed the benefits of coming into the practical sessions by “feeling you know something already” as they were able to complete the digitalised sailing theory course at their own pace (i.e., less overwhelming), with repetitions (i.e., consolidating individual learning) and evaluate their understanding via the quizzes that provide instant feedback (i.e., self-check). It is worth noting that the average score of the quizzes was 94% and 98% at both levels respectively. Hence, the learners’ confidence/comfort levels were increased during the practical sessions and with that, it enhanced the positive learning experiences during the practical sessions. Most importantly, both teacher and learners found that the digitalised sailing theory course has helped to develop a deeper partnership between teacher-learners and among learners. This is particularly when the learners had already ‘met’ the teacher in the short videos and thus could ask targeted questions during the practical sessions. Very often, the questions turned into meaningful conversations between teacher-learners and among learners, addressing individual learning progress. As concluded by Deshmukh, et. al., (2022), such conversational discussions give the teacher opportunities to “provide challenge or support as needed” for the learners in a responsive manner. In short, the positive learners’ feedback ensures that similar initiatives could be adopted in today’s higher education when the curricula are developed digitally to support diverse students for deeper partnerships between teachers-students and among students, while serving as a mechanism to develop students as digitally literate citizens. After all, digital education is a spinoff opportunity arising from the global pandemic that could improve learning for all, including advances in people-orientated pedagogies and partnerships. But as the digital threads continue to weave their way through education, a critical question arises: Are we ready for digital education, especially when the level of digital literacy varies among teachers and students?

A shared reflection process

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

In the COVID era, our University co-design team (established in 2019), faced the challenge of transitioning to digital education. For us learning designers in the team, the rapid move to online teaching and embracing an online work model wasn't just about new tech tools or platforms. It was about identity, consistency, and navigating the turbulent waters of the co-design ecosystem.

In 2020, our co-design team had fewer than 20 members, six of whom were learning designers. Here's the twist: five out of those six were new and we all had diverse skills and varied experience levels. Together, we attempted to navigate collaborating as part of a co-design team (Zamenopoulos & Alexiou, 2018, p. 10). This included academic experts, educational developers, media specialists and the wider teaching team (Vallis et al., 2022). While there were plenty of external narratives about what our learning design role should be, we needed to define it on our own terms, to help foster a sustainable learning design approach (Shalavin & Huber, 2021) within our co-design projects. We found ourselves in this unique 'third space' - not entirely academic but not just administrative (Ergün & Avc, 2018).

So, what did we do? Our LD team meetings morphed to more purposeful reflection sessions (Lopez-Real, 1970 and Chang et al., 2020). These bi-weekly discussions enabled transparency of the shared co-design challenges we were experiencing and our nebulous identity. By late 2020, we translated our reflections into action: a mission statement and 12 LD principles. And most importantly a clear outline of roles and responsibilities which offered clarity on tasks, boundaries, and needs not just for us but our wider co-design team. Whilst the roles and responsibilities of an LD directly affected our wider co-design team, they chose not to be directly involved in their formulation, despite their overall support of our endeavour.

A key takeaway? Teams as diverse as ours need a shared space. It's essential for understanding each other's perspectives, sharing insights, and working cohesively. Our reflection sessions matured into this essential space.

Three years on, our approach has been applied to over 100 subjects. Our reflection sessions? They've evolved into a 'Community of Practice', a testament to our commitment to innovation and collaboration.

The co-design team has since doubled in size and the identity and roles we carved out for our learning designers have guided us through this growth phase. We have maintained a cohesive approach and the documents we worked on our now organic to our practice.

At the upcoming Pecha Kucha session, we'll:

Discuss challenges we encountered and how shared reflection helped.
Outline our reflection journey, from organic discussions to defining our mission and principles.
Share experiences from navigating team growth while maintaining our identity.
Showcase the tools and frameworks we've built along the way.

Our journey has been about much more than just adapting to change. It's been about understanding our role, finding our voice, and carving out our unique space in the co-design landscape

Excel – a new way to join the dots

Louise Luff, Janine Coupe, Ben Lay, Kaiying Ji — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Professional judgment is an essential and expected graduate skill. The ability to make considered judgments based on sound critical thinking must be developed progressively by students throughout their lifelong learning journey. To support Business School students critical thinking development, an innovative series of interactive and scaffolded tutorial tools were created in Excel. Based on real world business scenarios, students develop the necessary skills to justify and make robust professional judgments. Used as supportive tutorial activities with formative feedback opportunities, students learnt how to perform the necessary steps and argue related justifications. To go deeper, students further question the unresolved and unreasonable, determine the impacts of what if scenarios and make confident decisions that influence professional judgments. This innovative interactive approach provides students with several autonomy and self-efficacy experiences and brings students confidently into the realm of doing (Schwartz et al., 2012). It is adaptive to professional judgment based units of study across all disciplines.

For adaptation in more technical and practice based domains, the Excel tutorial worksheet contained background information for the business world scenario. At each sub decision point, data validation and conditional formatting tools have been adopted to allow students to explore drop down possible choices. These are subsequently linked to possible justifications, further information required questions, what if diagrams, and descriptors of how these influence critical justifications. To highlight connection to logical thinking, a “Green to go” colour change code is used which allows students to confirm their understanding or seek further support. Working with students in tutorial time and using the MS Excel text colour function, teaching staff model critical thinking and professional business world expectations. The file’s interactive decision making process, supportive explanatory notes and tips are unveiled so the professional judgment is made in partnership between students and staff.

This tool can also be used to develop critical thinking for extended written response decisions. This adaption is designed as a step by step supportive essay planner and response template. Within the Excel worksheet, the essay question is broken down into separate sectional row tasks (introduction, discussion of theories, related application, conclusion). Each sectional row contains an in tutorial discussion box (completed in the expansive social tutorial time), your own response box and, using the Excel data validation tool, a drop down marking rubric. Students are encouraged to complete a full essay response and, via the share function, forward their Excel response to the teaching team who provide formative feedback.

The approach’s visual and supported critical thinking path assists students to form their own opinions from many perspectives, make judgments and, most importantly, by enhancing student engagement, experience, and self-efficacy, aids deeper student learning (Cahill & Bloch-Schulman, 2012, Turner & Baskerville, 2013). The presentation will showcase the initiative’s interactive and highly effective model of critical thinking and decision making.

Adopting self-directed learning principles in clinical education with Pebblepad

Aslihan Mccarthy, Clare Mcnally , Denise Bailey , Matt White — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Self-directed learning (SDL), alternatively known as self-regulated learning (SRL), is an umbrella term that can be broadly defined as the learner’s ability to make plans according to their individual needs and use learning resources and methods to master a knowledge or necessary skills (Van der Walt, 2016; Russell et al. 2022). It is a systematic control of motivation and tightly linked to self-awareness, agency, and the sense of being in control of the learning process (Russell et al. 2022). Despite ever increasing reference to SDL in health professions education, it is not well-studied in clinical settings (Lui & Sullivan 2021, Murad et al. 2010, Yeo and Jang 2023). In 2021-2022 we adopted some of the main principles of the SDL approach, namely goal setting, self-monitoring, self-reflection, self-evaluation, to clinical education in Bachelor of Oral Health and Doctor of Dentistry programs at the University of Melbourne by utilising a digital e-portfolio platform, Pebblepad. In this presentation, we will walk you through the iterative design process of digital clinical assessment forms. This process allowed us to refine our materials and strategies in consultation with our students, teaching and learning staff and clinical supervisors as we go. We supported our students to a) identify gaps in application of their clinical knowledge via learning analytics dashboards, b) generate goals for improvement through structured reflection and c) assess their practice through self-evaluation rubrics. We are still improving our concept to foster SDL in our programs. We take this opportunity to reflect on what went well as opposed to areas for improvement, and demonstrate the power of using different digital tools in clinical education settings. We believe “thinking outside the box” can help students become self-directed learners through collaboration, continuous improvement, and flexibility.

Findings from a survey looking at attitudes towards AI and its use in teaching, learning and research

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having an advancing dramatic impact on Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in Higher Education. (Popenici & Kerr, 2017) observed an emergence of the use of AI in HE (Higher Education) and pinpointed challenges for institutions and students including issues of academic integrity, privacy and “the possibility of a dystopian future” (p. 11). Potential benefits of AI in HE includes creating learning communities through chatbots (Studente & Ellis, 2020), automated grading, individualized learning strategies and improved plagiarism detection (Owoc et al., 2019). It is unclear how often, and in what manner, students are engaging with AI during their learning and in creating submissions for assessments tasks and if this engagement is creating unrealistic outcomes. It is also unclear how educators are engaging with AI during their teaching and curriculum/assessment design and how this may be impacting the learning outcomes of their cohorts. This research study was conducted to investigate the perceived immediate and long-term implications of engaging with AI of both staff and students on learning and teaching within the University of Adelaide.

The design of the research study is underpinned by a blended approach combining Situational Ethics and Planned Behavior Theory to understand the ethical considerations and behavioral activities and future intentions of staff and students regarding the use of AI. Situational Ethics provides a framework for examining the contextual nature of ethical decision-making regarding AI (Boddington, 2017; Memarian & Doleck, 2023). Planned Behavior Theory provides understanding of individuals' motivation and rationalization to engage with AI (Wang et al., 2022). By employing a mixed qualitative and quantitative design, collecting data via online surveys, the study's findings shed light on the ethical challenges and attitudes associated with AI implementation in higher education and provided insights into the factors that influence staff and students’ individual intentions to engage with AI technologies in Learning and Teaching.

Participants from all faculties across a wide diversity of student cohorts and staff responded to the surveys. Initial findings reveal educators are suspecting a greater student use of AI than the data demonstrates. The most frequent use of AI by students is for checking grammar and this is more prominent in the international student cohort. Students trust their human educators more than AI for course content and feedback on assessments. Educators are comfortable using AI but feel also they need greater support and training. The majority of students (70%, n=126) are not concerned about the implications of using Generative AI in higher education, regarding issues related to privacy, bias, ethics, or discrimination. However, demonstrating an active concern in this field, the most common use of AI by university staff is to test its capabilities to complete assignments. These and other findings from the study can provide guidance to staff and students by describing current practices and making recommendations regarding assessment, curriculum design, and Learning and Teaching (L&T) activities.

Nurses’ and midwives’ perceptions and preferences for lifelong learning

Dominique Parrish, Joanne Joyce-McCoach — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Lifelong learning is essential for personal and professional growth and enables individuals to gain new knowledge and skills that keep them in touch with the advancements in their work and open new career prospects (McGreal & Olcott, 2022). In the healthcare sector, lifelong learning is integral to workforce development. Workforce development is critical to ensure that nurses and midwives maintain knowledge of best practice for improved care outcomes and sustain appropriate levels of skill competence. Recently, the Australia government has implemented a range of initiatives to support the development of short courses and micro-credentials designed to deliver lifelong learning that will upskill the labour market and meet the needs of the healthcare workforce (Varadarajan et al., 2023).

An Australian survey of 3,756 workers was undertaken by Deloitte (2020) to explore workforce attitudes toward lifelong learning. This study found that the majority of Health care and social assistance workers were relatively interested in further study (63%). The study also established that the majority of study-interested workers want flexible, bite-sized intensive learning that is linked to their jobs and industry (Deloitte, 2020). However, while lifelong learning is a requirement of nurses’ and midwives’ registration, little is reported on the motivational drivers, enablers and barriers associated with lifelong learning (Oliver, 2019). This Pecha Kucha reports on a study undertaken to better understand the motivational drivers of nurses’ and midwives’ engaging in lifelong learning and the enablers and barriers they face undertaking lifelong learning.

An online survey of nurses and midwives was implemented, to glean their perspectives on motivational drivers, enablers and barriers for lifelong learning. Convenience sampling was used to identify participants who were registered nurses and midwives in Australia, Mauritius or Singapore. Participants were recruited by email invitation distributed through professional networks as well as education and industry providers in Australia, Mauritius and Singapore.

The findings of this study confirmed that the motivational drivers for lifelong learning across the respondents were personal interest/development (62%), continuing professional development (62%) and career progression (51%). Participants noted their preference for undertaking lifelong learning was via a combination of face to face and online learning (56%). Their pedagogical preferences included interactive resources (56%), written materials (56%) and discussions with other participants (54%). Key enablers to success in lifelong learning was deemed to be flexibility in assessment submission (56%) and easy to use systems (52%). The barriers identified by respondents included work/life balance (52%) workload (49%) and cost (49%).

Digital technology in relation to lifelong learning can significantly promote enablers and nullify perceived barriers. Lifelong learning should be designed to maximise engagement at minimal cost to the participant. This can be achieved by providing interactive resources and digital materials that are easy to use, intuitive and can be utilised when convenient to the participant. Online discussions are ideal but these need to be asynchronous to ensure flexibility and support for learner scheduling around work/other life commitments.

These findings could be used by educators and learning designers to guide and inform the development of lifelong learning.

Embracing the intersection of pedagogy and technology

Kavya Raj — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) is characterised by excessive and poorly controlled internet use, and encompasses a multitude of online behaviours including gambling, gaming, social networking, and pornography (Fineberg et al., 2018). PUI is disproportionately prevalent among tertiary students compared to other adults (Fineberg et al., 2018; Ioannidis et al., 2018), and is associated with poorer academic performance and severe symptoms of mental illness (Kitazawa et al., 2018; Tokunaga, 2017). This profile of high prevalence and significant life impairment highlights a pressing need to develop scalable support strategies for PUI in tertiary populations. Particularly, as higher education increasingly integrates technology into pedagogical practices, understanding and mitigating the issues stemming from technology misuse are of paramount importance.

The current study responded to this multifaceted issue by investigating the efficacy of a 30-day digitally delivered mindfulness intervention for reducing PUI severity and mental illness symptoms among Australian tertiary students. Mindfulness meditation cultivates present-focused awareness, attention, and non-judgmental acceptance (Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Schumer et al., 2018), and has demonstrated efficacy in treating comparable mental health conditions (Garland & Howard, 2018). Digital mindfulness interventions are a promising approach due to their scalability, accessibility, and potential for reaching large student populations (Kuss & Lopez-Fernandez, 2016). By utilising online platforms and mobile applications, these interventions can effectively engage students and provide them with the necessary tools to develop healthier internet-use habits (Laurillard et al., 2013; Sarker et al., 2019).

Twenty-six students with PUI (80.70% female; 25.62 M_age, ± 5.94) participated in weekly online group education sessions and daily app-based meditation. The weekly group sessions were designed to explicitly address common barriers to regular mindfulness practice through the use of a contemporary behaviour change framework, the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al., 2011, 2014). Commonly reported barriers among students include lack of knowledge and skills, low motivation, time constraints, and financial costs (Lyzwinski et al., 2018; Schwind et al., 2017). As the therapeutic potential of digital mindfulness programs is highly dependent upon regular and consistent practice, interventions that address these barriers through application of appropriate and theory-informed behaviour change frameworks are especially valuable and maximise the likelihood of high student engagement and retention (Michie et al., 2011).

Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant reductions in PUI severity (F(2, 50) = 14.57, p < 0.001, ?² = 0.37), depression (F(2, 50) = 21.92, p < .001, partial ?² = .47), anxiety (F(2, 50) = 16.68, p < .001, partial ?² = .40), and stress (F(2, 50) = 41.23, p < .001, partial ?² = .62) post-intervention and at one-month follow-up, indicating that improvements to internet use behaviours and wellbeing were sustained post-intervention. These findings underscore the potential of digitally delivered mindfulness interventions in promoting mental health and addressing PUI in higher education. By harnessing technology, universities can effectively engage students and provide scalable support. Whether in urban or rural settings, traditional or online learning platforms, these results have far-reaching implications for the integration of digital interventions within higher education settings to foster healthier internet-use habits and enhance student well-being.

Embracing partnerships – human and AI – in digital course on career readiness

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Research on PhD graduates from universities in New Zealand and the United States has revealed a lack of career preparedness during doctoral study (Spronken-Smith, et al. 2023). The research found that PhD graduates had very limited knowledge of their skills sets and attributes, as well as a lack of awareness of career pathways beyond academia. This is a major concern as only 40-50% of PhD graduates typically can enter academia following graduation, with the remainder entering a range of careers, especially in the western world. Consequently, the first author set about generating a digital course on career readiness and career preparedness for doctoral candidates as well as postdoctoral fellows (those in either teaching or research roles). The development of the course is a team effort involving academic developers, careers advisers, a digital developer, graduate research candidates and artificial intelligence (AI). We hope to launch the course in 2024.

The course comprises elements of social constructivism and reflective practice and weaves in cultural aspects throughout. Two main platforms are used to deliver the self-paced online course: Microsoft Teams Classroom and an EdX platform. Central to the course is a koru diagram which maps out a pathway for career readiness, starting with self-discovery, followed by discovery of career options, then considering practical strategies for career readiness, and finally developing an action plan. The learners enter the course through the Microsoft Teams environment, where we encourage introductions and connections with classmates. Learners can then progress at their own pace through 12 main modules, with touchpoints occurring on a few occasions where they are asked to share ideas with the class. Reflective practice is embedded throughout, with learners keeping a journal and creating items for their digital portfolio – the assessment item for the course. In two places we have built in AI, using ChatGPT as a tutor to give feedback on learner’s articulation of their skills sets, and again towards the end of the course, where learners can input their skills, values and job preferences and ChatGPT suggests some possible career options.

Developing the course is a great example of the benefit of taking a partnership approach in course design and implementation. It was the research of Rachel Spronken-Smith, an academic developer, who inspired the course, but to make it happen she needed support. Most importantly, she needed the expert input from Yvonne Gaut, a careers adviser, and Russell Butson, an educational technology academic. Between them they were able to design the course and draw on appropriate technology. However, they also needed a digital developer (Matt Fernandes) who could infuse appropriate design elements throughout the course, as well as videographers to capture media clips (Alba Suarez Garcia and Jodie Evans). They also enlisted two graduate research candidates (Patrick Mazzocco and Jodie Evans, the former of whom was also a past careers adviser), to test the course design and provide feedback on each module – an essential aspect to ensure relevance and engagement. By the time of this Pecha Kucha presentation we hope the course is ready to launch!

Co-Creating the Future

Sasha Stubbs, Binh Nguyen — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Establishing a new learning design team at an offshore Australian institution in Vietnam midst the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges. Lingering dissatisfaction with emergency remote teaching which primarily involved moving face to face teaching to online webinars (Turnbull, Chugh, & Luck, 2021) and limited exposure to intentional blended approaches (Maheshwari 2021; Le, Allen, & Johnson, 2022; Pham, Lai, & Nguyen, 2021) within the traditional, teacher-centered educational landscape of Vietnam (Pham & Ho, 2020; Yao & Collins, 2019) made this an extremely challenging task. This pecha-kucha documents our experiences establishing a learning design team and implementing a blended learning approach within this challenging context.

Facing the challenge of generating interest and changing practice, we began in 2021, with one newly recruited learning designer and three early adopter faculty by using an iterative co-design model to support a participatory, collaborative approach to enhancing the overall learning experience (Huber & Jacka 2022; Wilson, Huber, & Bryant, 2021). This approach allowed us to support faculty professional development, establish design patterns, implement new asynchronous, interactive, social tools, and build knowledge about blended and online approaches, moving faculty away from the existing teacher dependent model (Pham, Lai, & Nguyen, 2021) with LMS as repository (Pham & Ho, 2020; Washington, 2019) to designing active, purposeful learning sequences connecting asynchronous and synchronous learning.

These three initial courses were used to showcase our approach to senior stakeholders and secure buy in. Within one year, as positive word of mouth spread, demand for our services grew exponentially, to over 70 blended courses. As a direct result of this popularity, meeting each school's needs required tailoring support to scale up as well as expanding our team from 1 to 8 members. However, limited local expertise created hurdles amidst exponential demand, needing extensive on-the-job training and creative resourcing (Heggart & Dickson-Deane, 2022).

While early generic workshops designed to address scale generated interest, they lacked practical relevance. Developing tailored support offerings addressed the specific needs of schools and programs and facilitated meeting the increased demand. Our ongoing codesign relationships with academics were crucial for moving academics to a more student-centered blended model with students taking more ownership of learning (Davis & Fill, 2007).

As a complement and key focal point, we created a multipurpose Canvas site showcasing our design principles, tools, and sample modules from exemplar courses. This self-paced resource engaged stakeholders on their own terms, sparking interest while concurrently educating new learning designers and academics. We leveraged the site for showcase sessions, consultations, and events, updating it regularly to highlight approaches and design principles identified by the team as requiring extra support and attention.

Through codesign relationships, exemplars showcasing value and tailored support, the learning design team successfully created awareness and enthusiasm to drive institutional change (McInnes, Aitchison, & Sloot, 2020, Taylor & Newton, 2013) toward an active, learner-centered blended approach. In this presentation, we will share specific strategies, tools, and lessons learned that equipped our team to foster stakeholder buy-in and scale up effectively. By documenting critical experiences and insights from our journey establishing awareness amidst obstacles, we aim to inspire innovative solutions so that others may successfully implement learner-centered pedagogies at their institutions under challenging conditions.

Supporting students and educators in using generative artificial intelligence

Kim Taylor — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The use of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in university settings is a current topic of debate, with a range of viewpoints regarding the extent to which these tools should be used by students (Ahmad et al., 2023) and the potential applications of genAI tools in higher education (Yu & Guo, 2023). Concerns have also been raised regarding the potential student misuse of genAI tools, and the ability of these tools to score a passing grade in some university subjects (Nikolic et al., 2023).

RMIT University’s position is that we must build the capability in our students to engage with AI as part of the current and future requirements of work. The RMIT units responsible for academic quality and for education innovation have created a set of statements that educators can choose from when designing assessment tasks. These statements include there being no restrictions on the use of genAI tools in the assessment task, that genAI tools can be used with limitations, or that genAI tools cannot be used. If students are permitted to use genAI tools in assessment tasks, they must appropriately acknowledge and reference the use of these tools and their outputs.

In the library, we were tasked with creating citing and referencing guidelines for AI-generated content for each of the styles used at our institution, including APA 7^th, IEEE, Chicago 17^th and AGLC4. A challenge of this project was that there was either no specific genAI referencing advice provided by the style manual editors, or the advice was limited to a specific tool, e.g. ChatGPT in the case of APA 7^th (McAdoo, 2023) and Chicago 17^th (The Chicago Manual of Style Online, n.d.). We adapted the existing style advice for referencing software for the APA 7^th, Harvard, Chicago 17^th, and IEEE styles, the advice for referencing internet sources for Vancouver, and the advice for referencing personal correspondence for AGLC 4. We created referencing guidelines for both AI-generated text and images, as well as when genAI was used for background research. We also incorporated current Australian copyright advice into these guidelines, in which authorship can only be granted to human creators, and so the creator of the tool was used as the author rather than the tool itself. These guidelines are housed in a subject guide (RMIT, 2023) which has received more than 17,000 views between February and July 2023.

We also updated our Academic Integrity Awareness (AIA) microcredential to include educative information about genAI tools. We included guidance relating to the inaccurate information and ethical concerns in some of the current tools, as well as placing these tools within the overall context of academic integrity. This microcredential is used as a component of assessment tasks in many disciplines across our institution.

These resources assist students in maintaining academic integrity when using genAI tools in their learning, and when using genAI in their future careers, as they reinforce the central requirement that the work of others (including work that is AI-generated) is appropriately acknowledged. These resources will continue to be updated as genAI tools evolve and become more widely used within learning.

Reconceptualizing the curation of prescribed learning resources in an immersive block teaching model

Clare Thorpe, Tanya St. Clair Honey, Erica Wilson — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The presentation will describe how the curation of prescribed learning resources has been reconceived as an enabler of an immersive block teaching model. Contemporary higher education curriculum relies on high quality learning resources to engage students, to encourage them to adopt deeper learning approaches (Gledhil et al., 2017) and to support students’ academic adjustment to university (Owusu-Ageyman & Mugume, 2023). Little has been written about learning resources and reading lists within the digital transformation of higher education in the post-pandemic environment. The presentation will showcase a new way to position prescribed learning resources accessed as an integral feature of constructively aligned pedagogy within an immersive teaching model. Through the lens of an institutional case study at Southern Cross University, the presentation will show how prescribed learning resources delivered via integrated reading list technology are an enabling element of an innovative, student-centred, university-wide curriculum renewal project. At a time of increasing student expectations of teaching quality, academic, educational design and library staff need to review whether reading lists of learning resources are fit for purpose (Brewerton, 2014) and consider the cognitive load placed on students by reading (Barile et al., 2022). The presentation will outline the evidence-based, policy-led approach adopted by Southern Cross University and will demonstrate how learning resources and reading lists can contribute to student success. Prescribed learning resources and reading lists are now seen as pedagogical tools within the immersive teaching model, providing a variety of media-rich learning resources aligned to unit learning outcomes. Reading list parameters ensure that a manageable volume of learning is implemented, reducing cognitive load and barriers to participation. The approach to reading lists taken by Southern Cross University to empower immersive teaching practices provides a refreshed model for the use of prescribed learning resources in unit and curriculum design, development, and delivery.

There has to be a better way

Susan Tull — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

With your laptop open in front of you, you’re ready to take notes on the new teaching intervention being introduced at today’s session. You’re feeling distracted by the research ideas you wanted to work on this morning, and the assessment grading you need to finish this afternoon. Today wasn’t a good time to focus on course development, but it was the only time this professional development session was being offered. At the end of the session you leave with a collection of notes, some great ideas, and the enthusiasm to implement changes that really make a difference. You go back to your grading, your research, and your teaching. Weeks later you look at your notes and wonder how you’re going to actually make those changes. There has to be a better way.

As a TELedvisor, you find these one-off professional development sessions just as frustrating. Fresh teaching ideas are presented, champions share their exemplary practice, and opportunities for collaboration are provided, but often the same fully engaged academics attend each session. Overall improvement in course development across the institution doesn’t take place. You could run a day or three of focused course design sessions, if lecturers could commit to attending. You could have instructional designers develop the online or blended elements of a course, but if the teacher isn’t invested, or doesn’t understand the reasoning behind the design or the activities that have been implemented, then time-poor lecturers often teach in the way that they’ve been used to. Formal qualifications in tertiary teaching can support the development of a greater understanding, but only a few lecturers have the time or the enthusiasm to undertake these. There has to be a better way.

The Academic Development team are trying something different at the University of Canterbury. We are implementing a learner centric process for professional development for teaching and course development. We have designed a flexible, blended, learner driven professional development process, in which lecturers are invited to take part. This process utilises many of the recommended practices for effective professional development (Cordingley et al.,2015; Darling-Hammond et al.,2017; Hertz et al., 2022; Richardson & Díaz Maggioli, 2018) as well as strategies we recommend for tertiary teaching, and is undertaken at a time and pace that works for the lecturer(s) of a course. Through both format and content, the process provides examples of good practice, involves lecturers in flipped learning, offers expert support, incorporates collaborative course development, and promotes reflective practice.

How has this process been designed? How does it work? How is it being implemented? Is it having an impact? Commit seven minutes of your time to finding out (and bring your laptop to take notes).

It’s the vibe – Course environment and the intersection of environmental psychology and learner experience design

Carmen Weaver — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Overstimulated, anxious, and overwhelmed or relaxed, focused, and confident. Our environment affects the way we feel and recently the impacts of our environment on health and wellbeing have been widely publicised. We often associate mood-impacting environmental factors with our physical environments, both natural surroundings or built environments such as homes, workspaces, or classrooms. When considering learning environments through a post-digital lens, it is important to consider the impact of the design of the physical and digital learning spaces.

Creating a learning environment that supports the wellbeing of learners, in addition to supporting academic success, can be difficult due to the individual needs of diverse learners and the nuances of the content being presented. However, by combining insights from environmental psychology and learner experience design (LXD), a sweet spot can be found. In this session, we will examine how these fields intersect with learning theory and how this intersection was leveraged to enhance course design through the inclusion of an LMS course template for credit bearing courses in a university.

Canter and Craik (1981, p.2) defined environmental psychology as the relationship between “human experiences and actions with pertinent aspects of the socio-physical surroundings”. Aspects of the online environment as well as the physical environment that learners are in when engaging in online learning will be examined. We will look at how learners engage with components of the environment including course media, content organization, and connections with others and the alignment with learning theories such as cognitive load theory, situated cognition, and cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Brown, et al., 1989; Mayer, 2020; Schumacher, et al., 2013; Sweller, et al., 1998).

According to Schmidt and Huang (2021), “LXD is a human-centric, theoretically-grounded, and socio-culturally sensitive approach to learning design, intended to propel learners towards identified learning goals, and informed by UXD methods.” It extends on principles from usability and User Experience (UX) design. This focus on the technical aspects of the learning environment considers how the learners’ interactions with the environment impacts the learning process (Schmidt & Tawfik, 2021). LXD may consist of both the learner's interaction with the learning environment and the perception of value of the elements in the learning space (Tawfik, et al., 2021).

In January of 2023, the University of Canterbury implemented a course template for all credit bearing course instances in the LMS. The design of the template was informed by principles from learning theory, environmental psychology, and learner experience design. Efforts were made to decrease cognitive load, provide consistent organization of administrative information across courses, and to allow for flexibility in the presentation of subject specific content.

Essential to this case is the human experience with the interactions with technology and content, as well as the role social elements play. When guided by the overlap of research-based theories and methods focused on learning, well-being, and technical interactions, courses can be designed to best support acquisition of knowledge and skills as well as to promote the wellbeing of the learners.

This session aligns with the conference themes of Diverse People, Digital Partnerships, and Digital Pedagogy by supporting the work of learning designers, educators, and digital technologists. Deeper partnerships are encouraged between pedagogy and the community as well as people in distinct roles. The wellbeing of learners is supported through the advocacy of purposefully designed learning environments. The session also explores the relationship between people and technology.

“New stage, new reality, new role”

Ksenia Zavyalova, Conor Galvin — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Learning is being shaped/reshaped in this digital era and the pace of these changes is accelerated by the use of social media. Many teachers are spending an increased amount of time creating and distributing content via social media platforms. It is suggested that this practice can support their cognitive, affective, social and identity growth (Trust et al., 2022). At the same time, there is a growing body of literature debating the pros and cons of adopting social media in higher education (Willems et al., 2018; Hamadi et al., 2022).

Although there is a significant number of studies examining the teachers’ use of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for professional and educational reasons (Park, 2022; Davis & Yi, 2022; Randahl et al, 2022; Greenhalgh, 2021), a scarce attention has been paid to teachers, who create visual media content for YouTube. We aimed to explore the motivations and values related to teachers’ engagement in YouTube content creation practice.

As we analysed the several theoretical lines of literature, we are settled on a comprehensive framework for interrogating the data. From the outset, we viewed the YouTube platform both as a landscape for teachers to interact and create artefacts, and an affective space appropriated by its users (Reckwitz, 2012). To this we added the concept of imagined communities (Gr?dinaru, 2016) that connects teacher through virtual sociability and sustain them as they create digital goods. Goffman’s theory of performance (1959) offered an additional layer of understanding the sense of belonging to these communities. Finally, we suggested the value creation framework by Wenger-Trayner et al (2019), which includes five dimensions of value for professional development.

In the second part of our research, we applied our framework analytically to 105 YouTube video channels identified as teacher produced content. To date, in-depth, purposive, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with 15 participants (school teachers) through Skype, Zoom and/or Facebook Messenger. Our intention is to reach about 50 over the course of the study adding higher education teachers as well.

Our initial analysis showed the three key messages:

• Teachers take a proactive role believing that nowadays is the time of creating and sharing new knowledge;

• Teachers signing up for this proactive vision become a part of the imagined community of like-minded colleagues;

• The process of video-making involves constant research for new teaching ideas and personal transformative changes.

We believe that our study may provide some implications for tertiary education. Importantly, it explores and analyses a different image of teaching and learning, crafted in visual media, which might spark enthusiasm to embrace the video sharing platforms in higher education and enhance agency in the digital world.

An analysis of parental involvement during Zoom-mediated heritage language instruction

Somayeh Ba Akhlagh, Joshua Matthews — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Linguistic diversity has been increasing rapidly in Australian and New Zealand societies, and according to the most recent census (ABS, 2022) more than one in five Australian households speak a language other than English. Fostering bilingualism is important at all levels of education because it plays a crucial role in identity development (Caldas, 2006) and enhances academic performance (Han, 2012; Lindholm-Leary, 2016; Yurtsever et al., 2023). The home environment is obviously crucial for bilingual development (Mak et al., 2023) but broader community engagement is also needed. With heritage language communities often distributed broadly across contexts such as Australia and New Zealand, technology mediated language learning approaches (e.g., Zoom) hold strong potential in systematic efforts to promote bilingualism. A key element of effective online education is the quality of involvement of stakeholders, and in the case of online heritage language education involving young learners, parental involvement is crucial (El Nokali et al., 2010; Yang et al., 2023). To date, however, the involvement of parents in online heritage language education has not been adequately researched.

The current research analyzes the parental involvement of six parent-child dyads during six Zoom-mediated lessons of Farsi as a heritage language. The aim of the research is to systematically describe the way parents interact with their children during these Zoom-mediated lessons and to establish a preliminary taxonomy of these behaviors. Such taxonomies can then be applied as a reference point for longer-term efforts to enhance parent involvement in online heritage language learning programs.

The primary data source was the recorded screen videos of six parent-child dyads for six 45-minute online Farsi lessons. Learners’ work samples and parent interviews were also collected as additional data sources. The qualitative study employed various techniques to ensure rigor and reliability such as constant comparison, coding schemes and thematic analysis. These techniques helped researchers to identify recurring categories of parental involvement evident during the entirety of the online lessons.

Analysis entailed enumeration and description of the type, frequency and duration of the various parental involvement behaviors that were evident in the videos. Behaviors included binary types, such as physical presence or absence and on-screen facial presence or absence. A range of more complex verbal and nonverbal behaviors were also salient in the data: nodding, gesturing, gaze orientation, screen pointing, reorienting learning materials and devices and so on. Different parents demonstrated varied levels of interaction with three main stakeholders: the facilitator, other parents and the learners. Differences in behaviors evident among the parents enabled a categorization of those who exhibited low, moderate or high levels of involvement with the online lessons.

Through analysis of the results and the literature we suggest a preliminary taxonomy of parent involvement behaviors that occurred during online language learning. This model provides a useful reference point for future research, at all levels of education, that seeks to understand the dynamics of stakeholder involvement in complex online learning environments.

An open educational resource to teach language and culture

Heejin Chang, Scott Windeatt, Esther Stockwell — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Many studies on teaching language have shown that language and culture are closely related and are best acquired together (Brook, 1968; Brown, 2000; Kramsch, 2020; Kourdis & Zafiri, 2022). In an English language program (ELP), we use a variety of textbooks. These textbooks feature culture as part of the content (e.g., customs and traditions). However, the resources are typically information-focused which directs students to simply compare and contrast the similarities and differences between their own and the target cultures in a traditional way that is insufficient for the complexity of language and culture learning. Educators found that this type of traditional approach runs the risk of oversimplifying the richness and variety of a culture by reducing it to a few salient principles (Stockwell, 2018). Although language teachers have incorporated more culture in their lessons, the major concern is finding effective ways to integrate culture and language to prepare learners to engage and collaborate effectively in a global society by discovering appropriate ways to interact with people from other cultures. In addition, it may be very demanding for them to teach culture or be individually knowledgeable about other cultures to the extent required for a truly holistic English program.

The project introduces a reusable technology-enhanced learning resource in the form of an open textbook for use in an English for Academic Purpose programme. This resource aims to facilitate a general reduction in issues such as ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and similar issues that have a negative effect on intercultural communication?in multicultural language classrooms, and to students’ understanding of their own culture and other cultures through activities which require critical reflections and self-assessment. It consists of three modules and self-assessment tools for using critical reflections and assessing students’ intercultural competence. Each module has main content, practice and performance tasks. Using multimodal resources and materials are provided that make student think, reflect and discuss the main concept of the module. Through these tasks, students are able to learn the main concept of each module regarding cultural knowledge and understand what they learned through the real situation and finally demonstrate awareness of the cultural knowledge in the module. The content will be shaped with technology-integrated materials to utilise the affordance and efficacy of the innovative technology.

The challenges posed by the disconnect between traditional teaching materials and a fulsome understanding of culture are met by the affordances of open pedagogy and the inclusion of open educational resources. The student-centred open pedagogy approach positions learners as co-creators of knowledge in the classroom, leveraging a constructivist learning design by providing students with opportunities to share and deeply reflect on lived experience of culture. The open textbook developed for the course provides opportunities for student revision, international peer-review of learning materials, and iterative development across multiple institutions. Furthermore, students enhance the text through web annotation, supporting peer learning.

This presentation outlines the transformation of an English language program aimed toward mature understanding of language and culture, enabled by open education, and will be of interest to educators in similar fields, and those planning to implement OER more generally.

The project also represents a partnership between the College and the Library, bringing together expertise in open educational practices, and student-centred learning and teaching approaches that result in more opportunities for learner engagement, and accessible, shareable content for the sector.

Leveraging agile and waterfall project management approaches in educational design

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This poster showcases both agile and waterfall project management principles in educational design, specifically within the Canvas@AUT project. With the ambitious goal of developing 1753 courses in Canvas within a limited timeframe, the project presented significant challenges that demanded a flexible approach.

The poster explores the integration of these two distinct project management methodologies and their role in establishing an effective and adaptable educational design practice and timeline. By synergistically combining the strengths of both waterfall and agile project management, this seemingly insurmountable Canvas@AUT project was successfully completed.

A waterfall project management approach was employed to provide structure and ensure a systematic progression through the various stages of course development. Each ten-week course development cycle was structured in distinct stages. By adhering to defined milestones and deliverables, the team could effectively monitor progress, manage dependencies, and maintain accountability. The sequential nature of the waterfall approach with its distinct stages facilitated a comprehensive and well-coordinated design process (Gardner et al., 2017; Gawlik-Kobylinska, 2018). These stages provided structure and guidance for learning designers (LDs) in course development, particularly during the initial phase of the project when the LDs were new to their roles.

By incorporating agile project management principles, the team embraced iterative approaches, enabling ongoing feedback and adjustment. This facilitated continuous improvement and ensured that evolving requirements and stakeholder feedback were effectively integrated. Agile practices, such as daily stand-up meetings, retrospectives, kanban boards, project Planner board, and weekly working meetings, enhanced adaptive decision-making and collaboration among team members were adopted (Judd & Blair, 2019; López-Alcarria et al., 2019). Technologies, including Microsoft Teams, further supported efficient communication, task tracking, and engagement within the project team. This approach proved invaluable when the entire team was forced to work remotely due to an extended lockdown, allowing for a seamless move to online working. The team was able to meet all the deliverables and complete the project on time in spite of the challenging circumstances.

The poster presents the valuable implications for educators, educational designers, and leaders who are embarking on similar initiatives. The integration of agile and waterfall approaches enabled a hybrid approach that brought together the flexibility and responsiveness alongside the structured and milestone-driven framework (Ní Shé et al., 2021; van Rooij, 2022). This combination proved instrumental in overcoming the challenges inherent in a project of this scale, ensuring timely course development and a successful migration to Canvas. This hybrid approach also enabled the project team to achieve a harmonious balance between adaptability and structured progress, ultimately leading to the project's success: the development of 1753 courses within the designated timeframe and under the allocated budget.

The principles and strategies that we have employed hold broad relevance for the wider educational community. Educational institutions around the world face similar challenges in transitioning to new learning management systems and enhancing their course offerings. The emphasis on iterative development, stakeholder engagement, and systematic planning can be applied to various educational design contexts that seek to improve course quality and efficiency.

Building a new online platform

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This poster will give insights into the Instructional Designer team's journey in evolving its methods for developing online courses. It will cover the transition from academic support to designing MOOCs on external platforms and developing courses for an in-house Learning Management System. A key aspect is the focus on targeting a different kind of learner moving beyond the traditional university student. The poster will look at the challenges, successes, and lessons learned throughout this transformation, underlining the processes, pedagogical approaches, partnerships involved as well as the challenges yet to come.

Conceptualising the enhancement of professional skills and competencies in information technology students in higher education

Dimanthinie De Silva, Henk Huijser, Nona Press , Sam Cunningham — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

In a constantly evolving industry like IT, one cannot expect things to remain the same in a few years, and the biggest concern in the context of Industry 5.0 is whether technology will replace employment (ISCAN, 2021). Even as IT professionals, every graduate will ask the same question when they enter the industry.

The competency development of IT graduates has been discussed and understood as a necessity in many studies (Alavi et al., 2021; Anicic & Buselic, 2021) and a review of job advertisements online shows the changing nature of required competencies. The emphasis is not only on technical knowledge but also on various skills and competencies of the individual (Mariani et al., 2021). However, industry professionals often state they feel that IT graduates lack professional preparation in terms of skills and competencies (Guneri Sahin & Celikkan, 2020; World Economic Forum, 2023).

IT teaches students how to utilize, protect, manage, and trade technology to meet needs and enhance people's lives (ACM, 2018); as a result, IT practitioners' skills and competencies are more important than ever today. What is required now may differ significantly from what is required in the future (Gartner, 2022; World Economic Forum, 2019). Therefore, future graduates must be adaptable, and the skills and competencies they acquire must be dynamic and responsive to change.

There is a relationship between skill development and pedagogical methods (Virtanen & Tynjälä, 2018). It is increasingly important to link students with industry and allow them to interact in real-life circumstances. Signature Pedagogies (Shulman, 1998), WIL (Lesley et al., 2010), and authentic learning (Herrington & Herrington, 2006) are just a few of the ways that link students to their profession. Group projects, presentations, internships, portfolios, discussions, flipped classrooms, peer review, research, case studies, authentic assessments, and gamification are some of the methods used in classrooms to teach skills such as interpersonal skills, teamwork, ethics, professional responsibility, equity, personal growth, and critical thinking. It is important to investigate whether these methods are the most suitable for developing these dynamic competencies.

This research aims to explore the experiences of IT graduates and lecturers with the pedagogical methods utilized, and to investigate how effective they are in developing dynamic professional skills and competencies. The poster presents the proposal for this study. A case study method has been selected as it allows for an investigation of contemporary phenomena in depth within their real-world context (Yin, 2014). A single case (holistic) design was chosen to investigate how teaching, learning, and assessment methods can be used in IT higher education to develop IT professional skills and competencies which are required by industry. Even though the study will take place in a single setting, diverse participants with diverse experiences will be involved in data collection.

This will inform the higher education sector about industry expectations and methods for developing these dynamic skills and competencies. Furthermore, it will help students understand the value of professional skills for employability, and the function of teaching, learning, and assessment methods in their educational pathways.

Learning design principles that cultivate future-oriented students

Antoinette Gwasira, Anna Stack, Simone Poulsen — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The use of technology-enhanced learning in higher education has increased significantly. While this has led to greater flexibility in delivery and enhanced engagement with students (), it has also placed additional demands on already time-poor educators. Despite the potential benefits, many educators struggle to engage with learning design in a meaningful way, leading to suboptimal student experiences. Despite the prevalence of technology, students are being made to engage with outdated learning strategies and content. This poster shares learning design strategies for time-poor educators to enact in online learning environments to support future-oriented thinking skills of students.

Stack and Bound (2021) see future-orientedness as the ability for students to “face future unknowns and new challenges beyond the immediate course/training. The emphasis is on the ability to resolve unfamiliar or non-standard problems. To be able to do this, future-orientedness involves many of what are variously called 21st century skills, or the new ‘top 10 skills’, such as critical thinking, creativity, learning to learn”. Dondi et al. (2021) identified 56 essential skills they think all citizens will need in the future world of work. We will focus on the skills outlined in the cognitive category: critical thinking and mental flexibility.

Abrami et al. (2014) in their study outlined two instructional interventions that foster critical thinking skills; the opportunity for dialogue and exposing students to authentic or situated problems particularly when applying problem solving and role-playing methods. Li et al. (2022) in their paper concluded the following: connecting students with resources and facilitating interaction, technology significantly impacts the fluency and flexibility dimensions of creativity. Flexible learning time, cumulative learning processes, and problem-based activities promote the ongoing development of creative behaviours, enhancing fluency, originality, and elaboration in different dimensions of creativity.

We will use the 4 domains of the Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Standards (TELAS) (2023) framework to outline future-oriented learning design strategies taken from our experience in supporting learning and teaching:

Online learning environment

Using interactive elements, such as H5P (an open-source JavaScript content collaboration framework), provides multiple perspectives on single issues in an engaging way. Multiple viewpoints for a complex situation or case study can help students evaluate and compare perspectives and provides exposure to multiple points of view.

Learner support

Providing content in multiple modes and with compelling ‘teacher talk’ to explain what content is there, how they should engage with the content they’re provided and why.
Explicitly calling out transferrable skills and capabilities covered in a subject or assessment.

Learning and assessment tasks

Authentic assessments, especially project briefs provided by industry, give students a chance to respond to authentic, complex, and integrated assessments relevant to their future profession. Providing wicked problems help students to be familiar with and confident in ambiguous settings and encourages lateral thinking.

Learning resources

Use of techniques such as Socratic and open-ended questioning to have students research some of their own learning. You don’t have to provide all of the answers! It is not about providing all of the knowledge to students, but in supporting their ability to think critically and ask the right questions to find the right information. This future-orients students to be able to problem solve and critically interrogate new and changing information.

Re-imagining women’s leadership in the third-space

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

The role of the third space woman leader is a blurry one (Denney, 2021). While making a difference for students is at the heart of our work, creating and leading teams in a direction often not of our choosing and from a position that crosses many boundaries is a challenge and is often invisible or unrecognized (Tay, Huijser, Dart, & Cathcart, 2023).

No two third space women leaders arrived in this role by the same path, but all have a diverse range of skills and personal attributes to draw upon – formal qualifications, teaching experience, technical skills and experience, growth mindsets, resilience, flexibility, creativity and not afraid of change. Yet there is no model of leadership that encapsulates this eclectic range of personal expertise which enables us to work with a diverse range of people and varying digital fluencies in the tertiary teaching and learning space.

We therefore propose a new model of leadership for women working in professional staff third or liminal space roles (Loftus, 2018). A model which moves away from Servant Leadership (Smith, 2005), one of invisibility, nudging, persuading, to a more visible form of leadership - leading change from the front as well as alongside others in partnerships. A coaching and leadership style which empowers others and ourselves by flipping perceived weaknesses (no PhD, casual contracts, imposter syndrome, inability to articulate our own worth) highlights our strengths (our passion, our empathy, our problem solving ability, our practical and technical skills), diminishes the threats (seen as a support or an admin role in the rapidly changing digital landscape) and raises the importance and credibility (Kouzes & Posner, 2007) of the role and the work that we do promoting and enhancing digital pedagogy in higher education. It is precisely the work undertaken as third space professionals: implementing strategy as agents of change, working effectively with diverse people and disciplines, that develops the skills required to be leaders in higher education today (Denney, 2022, pp11; Pontefract, 2104 as cited in Loftus, 2018).

The proposed model highlights the value we bring to our institutions and pinpoints where we can and should take the lead in designing and supporting digital pedagogy. The model also benefits those women in and aspiring to be in leadership by illustrating that the strengths and opportunities as well as perceived threats and weaknesses of the third space female professional, place us well for contemporary leadership in higher education.

This digital poster will be interactive, inviting other women leaders to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and to contribute to our model.

Evaluating programme-wide course redevelopment within a learning management system

Cameron Hooson-Smith, Kieran James Williamson — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Introduction: Effective course design within the architecture of a learning management system (LMS) is crucial for achieving high-quality learning outcomes in blended and online courses (Bollinger & Martin, 2021; Spiceland et al., 2015; Vaughan, 2010). Implementing a consistent visual design template across multiple courses can promote student engagement and achievement of learning objectives (Ralston-Berg & Braatz, 2021). Other elements of effective course design include clear instructions, structured learning activities, and effective mechanisms for interaction and feedback (Baldwin et al., 2018; Martin et al., 2021).

Method: A comprehensive redesign was conducted of the LMS component of 34 undergraduate course instances (20 blended on-campus courses; 14 online distance courses) across three programmes in the science and health faculties at a New Zealand university. The redesigned template aimed to improve the clarity and ease of navigation to important course information, structure student learning tasks, and provide a foundation for effective course delivery. The initial phase involved creating and testing the template. This was subsequently presented to faculty as a means to cultivate commitment and collaboration among academics, academic support teams, and administrative staff. The template was designed to minimise cognitive load to promote comprehension and retention (Schnotz & Kürschner, 2007). It incorporated evidence-based course components based on principles of effective course design, including detailed and comprehensive information on the course and assessments; weekly modules with clearly stated learning outcomes, task lists, lecture slides and recording links, required readings, tutorial and lab materials; assessment requirements; supplementary materials; and links to available course support (Bollinger & Martin, 2021). While maintaining a standardised visual design, the template was flexible to accommodate the specific needs of individual courses.

Results and Discussion: An evaluation of the impact of the redesign project will be conducted. Data sources will include student surveys administered midway through and at the end of each course, as well as coded feedback from academic and support staff. The effect of the redesign on key student and instructor outcomes will be analysed. Based on research on effective blended and online course design, we expect our evaluation will uncover systematic benefits to student experience as measured by perceptions of course organisation and engagement of course material. For instructors, we anticipate that the standardised template will reduce time on administrative activities such as answering student emails, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.

Conclusion: This study aims to provide valuable insights into effective practises for course design that promote student engagement and the achievement of intended learning outcomes. The project aligns with Ascilite 2023 subthemes. The focus on effective course design relates to subtheme 3 on digital pedagogy. Designing an effective online component of blended courses represents a key challenge for educators in a digital world. Additionally, the collaborations between academics, administrators, and support staff reflect subtheme 2 on building deeper partnerships within an institution. By evaluating a programme focused on enhancing blended learning through partnership and pedagogical research, this study will offer critical perspectives on key issues in teaching and learning in a digital world.

Learning analytics with iLearn Insights

Shamim Joarder — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

iLearn Insights is an innovative online application to address the challenge of engaging, motivating and supporting students with automated personalised email for those at risk of failure. It allows academics to identify students who are engaging or otherwise with the Learning Management System (LMS) content, thus allowing early intervention, and ultimately improved retention in units by providing targeted support to a student cohort. In contrast to systems that provide only static data reports, this vendor-independent innovation was built in-house to analyse and visualise student learning data in relation to access patterns, forum activity, learning activity submission and grades to identify a student cohort that needs support, as well as enabling teaching staff to send personalised emails to students on the basis of their level of engagement and/or performance.

Feedback has a powerful impact on learning, but students frequently highlight it as an area that can be improved in tertiary education (Dawson and Henderson, 2019). iLearn Insights provides graphical representation of LMS data that enables visual personalised feedback to students. Within three mouse clicks, academic staff can trigger a range of automated communications to commend high-achieving students, offer additional assistance to lower performing students or to recapture disengaged students. These emails can be a targeted to a group of students and configured by the unit convenor to contain motivating information including the top five resources accessed by classmates; a student’s mark in comparison to the class average; number or percentage of students that have already submitted an assignment; clickable links; and support resources for students falling behind.

ILearn Insights was developed based on four principals of learning analytics design knowledge: integration, agency, reference frame and dialogue (Wise, 2014). It has been observed that targeted visual feedback with clickable links is the most effective way to engage students quickly.?The positive impact of iLearn Insights is demonstrated by its rapid uptake by teaching staff across Macquarie University. When it launched in Session 1, 2020, after 18 months of piloting, there were 478 users across 763 units (subjects) who sent 125334 targeted personalised emails. In Session 1, 2023 iLearn Insights was used by approximately 808 users across 40 departments and learning support areas and 1237 units, sending over 316576 targeted emails to encourage students to engage with learning activities or offer support. That represents an increase of 169% of users, 162% of units and 253% of emails in three years. These personalised email exchanges have led to enhanced student engagement, which is critical for student success (Kahu and Nelson, 2018; De Villiers and Werner, 2018; McClenney et al, 2012; Klem and Connell, 2004).

Investigating learning designers’ perceptions of student cognitive engagement in online learning

Polly Lai, Fiona Stroud, Angela Paladino, Nikola Kalamir — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Online learning has rapidly grown internationally in Higher Education due to advanced digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it offers flexibility and convenience for students. According to Meyer (2014), student engagement has a positive relationship with student satisfaction, persistence and academic performance, particularly in online learning environments. This pilot study aims to investigate how learning designers perceive students' cognitive engagement in online learning to inform the design and creation of online tasks and activities that foster these behaviours. Eight learning designers from two Australian universities participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked three sets of questions in relation to students’ cognitive engagement during three types of interactions (Moore, 1989) – learner-to-teacher, learner-to-learner and learner-to-content interactions in online learning. Research indicates that these interactions foster student engagement in online learning environments (Bolliger & Martin, 2018; Kennedy, 2020; Martin & Bolliger, 2018). Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2012) was used to analyse the semi-structured interview transcripts. The data revealed three principal themes: (1) learning design considerations at the unit design and activity levels, (2) student learning footprints in an LMS and their artefacts, and (3) teachers’ and students’ preparedness prior to and during the units and virtual classes. First, eight design considerations were suggested by learning designers to create effective and engaging online learning environments. These design considerations were broad-ranging and encompassed the type of pedagogical strategies, the learning environment, content structure and concept checks to improve cognitive engagement. Furthermore, most of them tended to believe that interactive and collaborative activities could foster cognitive engagement in online learning. Second, the students’ learning footprint and their artefacts relate to their qualitative or quantitative contribution during the learning process. In this study, the student learning footprint includes the relevance of responses and individual student’s analytics in LMS (e.g., the number of clicks in LMS, the time spent watching videos, etc). It was not decisive which, if any of these, would provide better engagement, but both were suggested by learning designers as indicative of cognitive engagement. Finally, an unexpected descriptor for cognitive engagement, but a reasonably common suggestion from learning designers was that the preparedness of students and teachers was a factor that could impact the cognitive engagement of students. This included whether students had sufficient underpinning knowledge, prior experience of the subject or so much prior knowledge that they disengaged from “too simple” content and concepts. The preparedness of teachers extended to the clarity of instruction, whether they knew the intention of what they were teaching, and whether students were aware of where this was taking them. In future studies, we intend to explore how university teachers and students perceive cognitive engagement while preparing and during online teaching and learning and the correlations between the perceptions of learning designers, teachers and students. We hope the final findings can shape the teaching and learning process in Australian universities to provide an effective and engaging learning experience for students.

Multimodal teaching via gamified practical activities – The Virtual Scientist software: Bridging the gap in science education

Stephan Levonis, Stephanie Schweiker — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

In the realm of science education, the utilization of technology has emerged as a powerful tool to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This abstract introduces "The Virtual Scientist," an interactive website developed by our team, which enables students to conduct virtual experiments in a 360-degree virtual laboratory. The software employs gamified practical activities and interactive videos to provide students with a realistic laboratory experience, even in remote learning situations. The primary aim of The Virtual Scientist is to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, catering to high school and university students. Additionally, the software is being expanded to accommodate preschool and primary school students, offering age-appropriate virtual experiments. Notably, this innovative platform has gained recognition on a global scale, being adopted by educators worldwide. (Tauber et al, 2022)

Recognizing the limitations faced by schools in remote and regional areas lacking laboratory facilities, the team behind The Virtual Scientist embarked on a project to develop laboratory experiments aligned with the Queensland syllabus for senior science. The objective is to provide regional and disadvantaged students with access to these resources, allowing them to complete their mandatory experiments through the website (Levonis et al, 2020). By eliminating geographical constraints, this project aims to provide equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their location. Looking ahead, the team envisions expanding The Virtual Scientist to cater to a broader range of scientific disciplines.

The Virtual Scientist represents an Innovative and transformative approach to science education. By leveraging gamified practical activities and interactive videos (Deterding et al, 2011), this virtual laboratory overcomes the limitations of traditional classrooms, particularly for students in remote or disadvantaged areas. The success and recognition of this platform attest to its potential to revolutionize science education globally, empowering students to engage in practical experimentation and fostering a passion for scientific inquiry.

The innovative work behind "The Virtual Scientist" has received notable recognition. The authors have been honored with the prestigious AAUT National Teaching Citation Award Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and the RSC Horizon Education international award. These awards underscore the exceptional contributions of "The Virtual Scientist" to science education and its impact on student learning.

Unleashing the power of gen-AI for digital education development

Richard McInnes, Mark Carandang, Ajay Kulkarni — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Teaching and learning is being transformed by Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI in the form of tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT provide opportunities for novel partnerships between human and non-human actors in the field of education. Unlike previous technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, which encountered barriers due to their high costs, complexity, and demanding implementation processes, gen-AI has the potential to more broadly reshape digital pedagogy with its low cost, accessibility, and ease of adoption. In Higher Education, the initial attention on gen-AI was driven by a focus on students utilising AI-text generators in assessments (Rudolph et al., 2023). Yet, for course design and development gen-AI-human partnerships have the potential to yield results that surpass the creativity, originality, and efficiency of individual efforts (Halaweh, 2023). We already have a research base about how human actors collaborate when designing and developing courses to create exceptional student experiences (Chen & Carliner, 2020), but what is possible with the addition of non-human actors? In what way will human-AI partnerships enhance the existing ways that we design and develop courses and programs? Emerging case studies around the use of gen-AI for course design and development shed light on the possibilities as well as the risks involved in these partnerships (Airey et al., 2023). But when this is implemented in practice, what are the possible outcomes?

Focusing on the theme of Digital Pedagogy this poster presentation will share examples of how the power of gen-AI has been unleashed for digital education development. Within our context as third-space professionals, we work with academic staff to rapidly develop micro-credentials for a global audience. In this work, we have integrated gen-AI as a non-human partner to help us generate efficiencies in our work and enhance the quality of the courses we output. This poster presentation will share innovative practical examples of how digital educational developers have utilised the affordances of text-based, image-based, and coding-based gen-AI to create artefacts such as interactive learning content and enhanced visuals to support learning. These examples demonstrate how human-non-human partnerships can be leveraged to maximise the human ‘value add’ while gaining time and resource efficiencies in the implementation of digital pedagogies. The examples are unpacked as part of the digital poster to show the ‘behind the scenes’ of how they were created in partnership with gen-AI. Finally, this poster will share the development of sustainable prompts that can be reused in different contexts, thereby further capitalising on the affordances of gen-AI.

Due to the recent emergence of gen-AI in teaching and learning, case studies such as this one, are crucial in revealing how we incorporate gen-AI, providing transparency in pedagogical decisions, making them replicable, and open to critical scholarly discussion. As such, the aim of this poster presentation is to explore how gen-AI has been implemented in a way that provides conference delegates with practical examples to engage with and discuss.

Generating personalised profiles of student engagement to predict student performance and support student learning using LMS data

Ari Pinar, Julia Choate — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

With the rising popularity of delivering educational content in the online space, this study set out to better understand how students are increasingly engaging with Learning Management Systems (LMSs) for their learning (Gupta, Muralidharan, & Raghavan, 2021; Henrie, Halverson, & Graham, 2018; Conijn, Snijders, Kleingeld, & Matzat, 2017).

A data mining approach was used to investigate whether student activity data from LMSs could be used, first in generating profiles of student engagement and, second, in predicting student academic performance (Romero & Ventura, 2013; Tempelaar, Rienties, & Giesbers, 2015; Conijn et al., 2017).

LMS activity data was collected throughout a semester for a cohort of undergraduate students (N=534) enrolled in a biomedical science subject. This activity data comprised of total views and downloads of lecture recordings and average time spent viewing lecture recordings, total number of page clicks, total number of LMS course and content page clicks (e.g., lecture lessons), total number of discussion forum posts and views, and total number of formative quiz attempts and reviews (Wang, Chen, & Anderson, 2019; Conijn et al., 2017). K-means cluster analysis was performed to generate profiles of student engagement using this digital LMS data. Measures of student activity derived from this digital LMS data were used to predict academic performance (students' final unit totals), using linear regression and ANOVA.

We demonstrate the utility of LMS log data in constructing 'profiles' of student engagement, and in establishing predictors of academic performance. In line with existing literature, average time spent viewing lecture recordings was determined to be a significant predictor of academic performance. Clustering analyses revealed three distinct clusters, or ‘profiles’ of student engagement, each representing key differences in student engagement activity, with greater homogeneity in student engagement behaviour within clusters, and greater heterogeneity across clusters.

The current findings provide valuable insights on how our students are increasingly engaging with LMSs for their learning. As delivery of education towards the online space continues to gain momentum, evidence-based approaches such as those utilized in this study will help inform and enhance teaching practices (Jovanovi?, Gaševi?, Pardo, & Dawson, 2020; Ullmann, Wild, & Scott, 2018; Conijn et al., 2017). A better understanding of how students are differentially engaging with LMSs will also help support the development of teaching resources that more closely mirror and complement online student learning behaviors (Dyckhoff, Zielke, Bültmann, Chatti, & Schroeder, 2013; Conijn et al., 2017).

Enhancing chemistry education through technology-enhanced learning: Impact on student outcomes

Stephanie Schweiker, Stephan Levonis — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

This scientific poster presentation highlights the student-led feedback and modifications made to improve chemistry subjects, along with the subsequent impact on student outcomes. Our team has embraced technology-enhanced learning as an effective approach to enhance the learning experiences of a diverse student cohort. The literature emphasizes that blending face-to-face, online, and self-paced learning tools lead to increased student engagement and improved learning outcomes (Serrano et al., 2019).

Our chemistry subjects have undergone significant evolution to incorporate technology-enhanced elements, such as custom-made resources like short lightboard videos and virtual laboratories, which are integrated with our active classroom environment. This integration of theory and practice fosters meaningful, dynamic, and student-centered learning, drawing upon Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to provide differentiated instruction through scaffolding.

Our diverse student cohort consists of individuals with varying chemistry backgrounds and enrolled in different degree programs, yet they all undertake the same chemistry subjects. To cater to the varying entry-level knowledge, scaffolding resources have been provided to guide students with lower proficiency through complex concepts, while additional resources engage and challenge more experienced students. This approach places active classes within the optimal zone, where the average student is challenged beyond their comfort zone but not to the extent of disengagement.

This instructional approach is complemented by a sociocultural structure that encourages critical engagement among students working in peer groups as well as with the educator. In the absence of our team, virtual educators, via our lightboard videos, support this sociocultural, student-centered approach between classes.

The presentation will showcase innovative initiatives that embody the evolution of technology-enhanced learning, with a particular focus on the impact of lightboard videos and virtual laboratory experiments on students' overall learning experiences and outcomes. The influence of these resources is evident locally, nationally, and internationally, as demonstrated by usage statistics and invitations to showcase our work. These resources have garnered strong support from peer reviewers, academics, high school teachers, and key stakeholders.

Through this abstract, we aim to provide a concise overview of our innovative approach to chemistry education, emphasizing the positive impact of technology-enhanced learning on student outcomes. Our findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge on effective instructional strategies in science education, and we believe they have the potential to inform and inspire educators in their pursuit of enhancing student learning experiences.

Developing a good practice guide for group work that transcends disciplines

Angela Stoddard — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1100

Collaborative and group-based learning provides a rich opportunity to enhance student outcomes (Prince, 2004). The Australian National University (ANU) Learning and Teaching Strategy (2022) outlines a goal to promote collaborative pedagogies and ensure students experience group and team-based learning activities. Group assessment is a means to achieve this by structurally valuing and prioritising students working with their peers on complex problems and long-term projects. A small-scale exploratory study (unpublished) conducted by the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) found only 11% of undergraduate courses at the ANU in 2022 had any element of group assessment, emphasising the need to support educators to incorporate more high quality group work and assessment across programs.

To address this need, we developed and delivered a digital good practice guide and training workshop that aims to support educators to create and facilitate group assessments that work best for their context. At the heart of the project was a partnership with staff from the School of Engineering who expressed a keen interest in sharing their experience, knowledge, and existing resources relating to the design and support of group work with the broader University. We saw this as an opportunity to enable and enhance sharing between educators and education support staff across discipline areas and colleges, overcoming silos that exist within the University. To maximise our reach and impact, we chose to co-design a digital resource with the School of Engineering promoted through online communication channels because it offers an accessible format that is available all educators at or outside of the ANU.

Our good practice guide for group work and assessment responds to the diverse needs and contexts of educators, translating theory from the literature into practical recommendations. The guide is underpinned by the theoretical framework of social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1980), and was created using a human-centred approach to design. The partnership with the School of Engineering made this design approach possible as it established a pathway for us to engage directly with end users. Importantly, we also engaged with staff from across other areas of the University to ensure the content and design of the guide addresses the learning and teaching contexts relevant to their discipline (e.g. predominantly male or International student cohorts) and the emerging context of transdisciplinary courses. This poster will present the process and outcomes of the project from the initial research and discovery phase through to the design, delivery, and evaluation of the good practice guide and accompanying workshop. Alongside this, we will present a critical reflection on how the partnership and engagement with educators across disciplines affected the design and ultimate impact of the resources.