ASCILITE Publications now hosted by OAPA
17 November 2025
ASCILITE Publications is now hosted by the Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA), providing better server speeds, development support and guidance for future SCOPUS indexing.
ASCILITE Publications
ASCILITE Publications (ISSN 2653-665X) is a peer-reviewed, fully open access platform dedicated to advancing research and practice in Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) in Australasia and internationally. The publication aims to broaden the evidence base for TEL by supporting both traditional and non-traditional scholarly outputs that document innovation, analyse emerging practices, and strengthen the theoretical, pedagogical, and organisational foundations of technology-supported education.
Aims and Scope
1. Advance knowledge in Technology-Enhanced Learning
Research may address digital learning design, learning analytics, online and blended learning, AI-enabled learning environments, assessment and feedback technologies, student experience, or organisational and sector-level approaches to digital transformation.
2. Present rigorous analysis of practice
The platform supports high-quality practice-based scholarship, case studies, design-based research, reflective analyses, and evaluative work that provide transferable insights for educators and learning practitioners.
3. Support methodological and epistemic diversity
Submissions may employ quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, theoretical, design-based, experimental, or computational approaches, provided they offer a clear contribution to the TEL knowledge base.
4. Increase accessibility and reach of sector knowledge
By publishing beyond conventional journal formats, ASCILITE Publications aims to elevate impactful work that may otherwise remain within institutional or conference contexts, expanding the global dissemination of TEL innovation and evidence.
5. Foster an inclusive scholarly community
The publication encourages participation from early-career researchers, doctoral and masters candidates, teaching-focused academics, learning designers, and professional staff, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of Tel practice and research.
Announcements
Secure online assessments: Strategies to mitigate generative AI risks in higher education
The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools has intensified universities’ long-standing challenge of ensuring that student work is authentic, an issue that is particularly acute in fully online programs. In 2024, new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) guidelines prompted our university to revise its Assessment for Learning Policy and Procedures, requiring every unit to have a secure assessment that is explicitly mapped to learning outcomes and validates core knowledge and skills. This study reports on the first pilot of that policy in three wholly online, postgraduate units. Using the 4-A Framework for secure assessment design, we implemented remotely-invigilated final exams in two units and a live, oral presentation in the third. Semi-structured interviews are planned with academics and students, and completion data and incident reports will be analysed. Preliminary pilot findings indicate that secure tasks can credibly validate student ownership of learning outcomes in an online environment. While both formats reduced academic-integrity breaches, oral presentations garnered higher perceptions of authenticity and lower than expected administrative overheads. We argue that secure, outcome-mapped assessments are feasible, scalable, and pedagogically valuable in online postgraduate education, and we outline policy and practice implications for institutions facing similar regulatory pressures.Empowering women to code: Playful learning with Karel
Programming skills are essential across STEM and data-intensive fields, yet many students, particularly women, experience anxiety and lack confidence in their coding abilities. To address these issues, we developed an extracurricular coding challenge using Karel the Robot for undergraduate and postgraduate business students enrolled in introductory data science units. We conducted a mixed-methods study to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants who engaged with the challenge reported an increase in positive sentiment towards programming and confidence. Notably, women exhibited larger gains in confidence than men, despite facing the stereotype about gendered ability. These findings indicate that playful and low-stakes environments can empower underrepresented learners.Undergraduate 2030: Reimagining our higher education landscape for the epistemological and technological youthquakes of Generation Alpha
Generation Alpha, born entirely in the 21st century, is set to transform higher education through their distinct behavioural, epistemological, and technological traits. This paper critically examines how their expectation that are shaped by personalisation, digital immersion, and non-linear knowledge acquisition, challenge traditional undergraduate education models. Drawing on an informed critique literature review, the study explores the implications of Generation Alpha’s learning preferences and proposes a future-focused response through higher education learning design. The Adaptive Learning Ecosystem (ALE), developed at the University of Sydney Business School, is introduced as a model for reimagining curriculum, assessment, and student engagement. The model supports personalised, transdisciplinary, and socially connected learning, enabling students to navigate complex educational journeys with agency and purpose. The paper outlines three strategic horizons (program design, lifelong learning, and space spaces for innovation) through which higher education institutions can respond to the educational ambitions of Generation Alpha. We argue for a co-designed, human-centred approach to learning that prepares students not for today’s technologies and crises, but for the unknown and yet to be experienced challenges of tomorrow. In doing so, universities can remain relevant, resilient, and impactful in an era of continuous change."Artificial Unconsciousness": What toilet graffiti reveals about the limits of university mental health support in the age of AI
This paper interrogates the tension between institutional deployments of AI chatbots for student wellbeing and the informal, peer-to-peer support networks that emerge in university bathroom spaces. Anchored in the student-inscribed phrase “ARTIFICIAL UNCONSCIOUSNESS CHATBOT,” the study undertakes a cross-disciplinary synthesis of two bodies of literature: systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness and limitations of AI chatbots in mental health support, and empirical studies of bathroom graffiti as a mode of collective care. Drawing on Cohen’s (1997) theory of the safe house, Jung’s (1966) wounded healer archetype, and Heidegger’s (1962) phenomenology of authentic being-with, we analyse why graffiti walls succeed in fostering protected vulnerability, temporal spaciousness, and existential co-presence, while institutional AI systems often collapse these conditions into surveillance, efficiency, and artificial intimacy. The analysis culminates in the Human-AI Synergy Model, which reconceptualises AI not as a therapeutic substitute but as a relational relay: a tool that can preserve anonymity, scaffold temporal spaciousness, and reduce cognitive burden while pointing students toward authentic human connection. By contrasting what is systematically erased in institutional AI systems with what flourishes in informal peer safe houses, the paper offers critical guidance for designing AI in higher education that enhances rather than erodes the phenomenological conditions of genuine care.2025 Governance of artificial intelligence and data in Australasian tertiary education: A snapshot of policy and practice
This whitepaper is a follow-up of the Australasian Council of Open and Digital Education (ACODE) survey in 2024 on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in Australasian higher education (Selvaratnam, Ames & Leichtweis, 2024). Last year’s results showed that the sector was in the earlier stages of maturity, while the latest survey, conducted in the second half of 2025, shows growth in operationalising AI. The survey assesses the extent to which institutions have advanced their AI strategies, promoting social and emotional well-being, psychological safety, and strengthening ethical and data governance. To this end, the JISC AI Maturity Model for Education is used to gauge the sector’s growth in the governance of AI and data, both in policy and practice. The outcomes show that the sector has made progress in the last 12 months. The challenges were mainly resourcing constraints and a lack of systemic governance.
Fostering connections for professional identity formation: two case studies of Discord discipline-focused communities
This research focusses on the links between online communication environments in university teaching contexts and supporting students in their professional identity formation. The online communication environments studied have been formed with Discord (https://discord.com) to complement the learning management system by providing informal chat-based environments. These environments can be easily maintained beyond semester limitations and membership is independent of enrolment status with the teaching institution. The first of two case studies is situated in the disciplines of computer science, information technology, mathematics, and statistics. A Discord community of current and past students and academics has been active for over three years. This community has developed organically and provides students with a variety of support – for specific courses and for their disciplines more generally, for making connections with others, and for gaining insights into their future professions. The second case study examines the introduction of Discord in support of a second-year veterinary sciences course. The learning design of the course aims at connecting knowledge to practice, and at helping students to understand the links between course content and professional work. Discord was introduced as a first step towards establishing an online community of students, academics and veterinary professionals. In interviews with students (first case study) and academics (second case study) the links between the Discord communities and professional identity formation are examined.Developing feedback literacy capabilities through an AI automated feedback tool
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching has mainly focused on providing students with immediate, and more, feedback while reducing teachers’ workload. In this paper, we propose a shift in thinking about the role AI can play in developing students’ feedback literacy. Through the reflection of a University wide T&L pilot project ran with an AI tool for automated feedback, we frame a discourse on the use of AI for teaching and learning to promote and further develop students’ feedback literacy capabilities, including the dispositions required for a meaningful partnership with their teachers in relation to feedback. This paper reports the interactions of higher education students with an AI automated feedback tool and discusses its affordances in relation to the development of students’ feedback literacy capabilities. Implications for further refinement of this tool are also presented.Understanding the impact of ChatGPT in education: Exploratory study on students’ attitudes, perception and ethics
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational settings, particularly the integration of tools like ChatGPT, research on the impact of ChatGPT in education becomes a critical and timely endeavor, especially when it includes insights from students rather than just teachers. This exploratory study aims to examine students’ attitudes, perceptions, and ethical concerns towards AI integration in learning environments by directly engaging 60 students from diverse geographical regions and educational background. The sample includes students from urban higher education and suburban high school. The study is founded on a quantitative research design and cross-sectional survey methodology. The findings reveal a clear digital divide in AI usage, with urban students demonstrating more engagement with ChatGPT for educational purposes than their suburban counterparts, thereby unveiling an underlying disparity in technological access. Ambiguity prevails among students about distinct functionalities and benefits of AI language models like ChatGPT, hinting at the need for clearer elucidation of AI’s unique capabilities. Ethical concerns also emerge, especially regarding AI accuracy and the potential for misuse leading to a decline in critical thinking skills. However, despite these challenges, students generally express optimism about the future refinement and widespread application of ChatGPT. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of promoting digital inclusivity, establishing clear ethical guidelines, and striving for continuous improvements in AI accuracy, all while maintaining student-centric approach. Future direction suggests a focus on enhancing digital inclusivity, ethical considerations, AI accuracy and educational strategies around unique functionalities of AI tools.Infographics, assessment and digital literacy: innovating learning and teaching through developing ethically responsible digital competencies in public health
Infographics are eye-catching one-page documents that provide a concise overview of a topic through visually representing information or data using graphics, icons and/or images, with minimal words. They are an emerging key form of communication in society, government, research, education and industry, and can be found widely in social media, advertising, teaching, policy documents and scientific journal publications, for example. Due to their user- friendly, quick-read format, infographics are highly influential in shaping the opinions of their audience. An emerging issue with infographics, however, is the capacity to mislead or misrepresent information or data. In the contemporary higher education environment, providing students with digital literacy skills, including the capacity to critically evaluate digital media forms such as infographics, is vital. This paper will provide a review of the use of infographics in learning and teaching in the literature, including as assessment, examining the benefits as well as the potential issues, and how some of these challenges might be met.Governance of artificial intelligence and data in Australasian higher education: A snapshot of policy and practice
Governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly urgent in higher education institutions for its impact on the quality and equity of education. Earlier in 2023, AI usage conversations across the sector appeared to predominantly focus on the other AI, Academic Integrity. Just like the technology has advanced in the past eight months since the first ACODE (Australasian Council of Open Digital Education) whitepaper on this topic this year, so too has the practice of using AI. In October 2023, ACODE conducted a survey to get an understanding of AI policy and practice in member institutions. The results show there is a mixed view whether guidelines and policies are in place with respect to the governance of AI and data which suggests the sector needs to continue these conversations for some time to come. Furthermore, ethical application of AI is emerging through experimental activities and pilots of proof of concepts, suggesting that case studies and recommendations for practice could be developed in 2024 to further assure quality and equity in education.