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2016: ASCILITE 2016 Conference Proceedings: Show Me The Learning

The proceedings of the 2016 ASCILITE Conference: Show Me The Learning

S. Barker, S. Dawson, A. Pardo, & C. Colvin (Eds.), Show Me The Learning. Proceedings ASCILITE 2016 Adelaide

 

The University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

November 28-30, 2016

ASCILITE2016 Conference Website https://2016conference.ascilite.org/

Published: 25 November 2016

ASCILITE Conference - Concise Papers

  • On the role of 'digital learning designer' for non-indigenous designers collaborating within culturally grounded digital design settings

    Lynn Petersen, John Egan, Elana Curtis, Mark Barrow

    This is a conceptual inquiry into the nature of the role of learning designer from mainstream cultural groups working within culturally-grounded digital design settings. This paper stems from the co-design of an online transition-to-study resource developed specificall for Maori and Pacific students about to begin postgraduate study at the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. The resource is the culmination of an extensively planned design project amongst primarily non-indigenous designers in partnership with both indigenous and non-indigenous academics. These reflections from both nonindigenous and indigenous members of the project team are offered for other tertiary-sector designers as reflections and potential sparks - 'theoretical seed sowing' (Bihanic, 2015, p. vi-vii) - about the inherently positional and necessarily culturally-grounded nature of the role of digital learning designer.

    Read article: On the role of 'digital learning designer' for non-indigenous designers collaborating within culturally grounded digital design settings

  • Tracking discipline mastery: The development of an online program assessment and evaluation tool

    Diana Quinn, Paul Sutton, Paul Corcoran, Delene Weber

    An online formative program assessment and evaluation tool was created by discipline leaders covering five discipline-specific domains as well as transferrable skills and personal dispositions. Students in first year complete this program assessment, often failing, but the experience is used to motivate them to start their learning journey - that's why they've come to University. Second year students participating in the same program assessment can see their annual progress. Third year students participating in program assessment can confirm how far they have progressed towards discipline mastery, as defined by their discipline leaders. The tool can also evaluate the overall effectiveness of the multiple course-based teaching and learning environments that make up the students' program and provide evidence to support external accreditation requirements. An initial trial of the tool in environmental science and geospatial science has been conducted.

    Read article: Tracking discipline mastery: The development of an online program assessment and evaluation tool

  • Correcting tool or learning tool? : Student perceptions of an online essay writing support tool at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

    Charlie Reis, Henk Huijser

    This paper reports on the initial data from an extension project that intends to further develop Marking Mate, a self-directed assignment writing support programme developed at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) by Eoin Jordan and Andy Snyder. The study explores how students currently use the programme and how they would like to see it being improved. In this paper, we explore the apparent tension between students wanting to use Marking Mate as a correction tool and its potential as a learning tool, with reference to the specific Chinese context of the university. An additional tension between a highly contextualised and locally developed programme (such as Marking Mate), and widely available online tools that allow for potentially similar outcomes (such as Grammarly), is also discussed. It is argued that the programme may be more effective if it is explicitly presented as a learning tool, rather than a correction tool.

    Read article: Correcting tool or learning tool? : Student perceptions of an online essay writing support tool at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

  • Contextualizing institutional strategies for technology enhanced learning

    Carol Russell

    An analysis of strategic planning documents for public universities in Australia identifies some patterns in institutional strategies for technology-enhanced learning (TEL). Institutional size, location and social mission are among some of the characteristics that shape TEL support. This study was part of a project to develop guidance on how institutions could contextualize use of the ACODE TEL benchmarking process. Text from publicly available documents was analysed to identify contextual characteristics that appear to be influencing institutional strategies and priorities for TEL. International studies identify a need for rethinking how institutions work. This study provides a snapshot of these rethinking processes in 2016, and some preliminary suggestions on how benchmarking might support these.

    Read article: Contextualizing institutional strategies for technology enhanced learning

  • Failing forward in research around technology enhanced learning

    Michael Sankey, Rachel Whitsed

    There are lessons to be learned from undertaking 'successful' research but we do not hear much about the lessons learned when your research doe not come-off. But in many cases there are some very important lessons that can be learned that others may benefit from, particularly for those who are new to research around the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), as opposed to discipline based research that is reputedly conducted more from an empirical persepctive. This paper reports on some of the lessons learned by two researchers from two universities on research that could have been done better in relation to technology enhanced learning (TEL). Why do we need to hear about these lessons? For the sake of our students; we want to improve our teaching and do not want to make the sane mistakes that others may have done.

    Read article: Failing forward in research around technology enhanced learning

  • Building academics' SoTL capacity through a course on blended learning

    Swee Soong, Lyn Choy, Adrian Lee

    This paper provides an putline of a course on blended learning which aims to build academics' scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) capacity as well as equipping them with knowledge and skills in designing and developing a prototype of a unit within a course. The paper also describes the underlying principles and frameworks in the conceptual model for designing the blended learning course, and how the various elements of the model relate to one another. Details on how the design of the course is being influenced by the model is also provided. The current progress of the project and possible studies in the future is also discussed at the end of the paper.

    Read article: Building academics' SoTL capacity through a course on blended learning

  • Mining video data: Tracking learners for orchestration and design

    Kate Thompson, Sarah Howard, Jie Yang, Jun Ma

    Learning spaces influence how we act, however there is a lack of systemic research addressing the impact of environments on teaching and learning. In this paper, we introduce a hybrid tracking technique in which a colour model is combined with algorithms to identify human positions, and applied to video data. The aim of identifying patterns of movement that could be used to indicate successful collaboration in open plan learning spaces. We apply the method to a previously analyzed dataset, to demonstrate how multiple analytic techniques can be used to build a complex understanding of learner movement in relation to collaboration and learning. We conclude with suggestions of the ways in which the results could be used by instructors to inform orchestration of complex learning environments, as well as directions for future research.

    Read article: Mining video data: Tracking learners for orchestration and design

  • Designing and Analysing STEM Studios for preservice teacher education

    Kate Thompson, Harry Kanasa

    There is a need for approaches to understand the teaching and learning of STEM and STEAM in schools in order to prepare preservice teachers for innovative classroom practice. In this paper we use a combined design approach to examine the activity of school students, preservice teachers and graduate STEAM students in two STEM Studios at a University in Queensland. We present our revised conceptual model based on earlier iterations as part of an OLT funded project. Multimodal learning analytics approaches will be applied in order to understand the integration of knowledge processes, epistemic cognition, collaboration and tool use.

    Read article: Designing and Analysing STEM Studios for preservice teacher education

  • Using mobile technology for workplace learning: Fostering students' agency

    Franziska Trede, Susie Macfarlane, Lina Markauskaite, Peter Goodyear, Celina McEwen, Freny Tayebjee

    Students' agency is an importnat enabler of productive learning in complex, unpredictable workplace environments. In the study presented here, we explored how mobile technology can help students enhance their workplace learning experiences and develop their capacity to act as learners and future practitioners. We collected survey and interview data from 312 participants, which informed the development of Mobile Technology Capacity Building Framework that comprises thematic resources for students, academics and workplace educators. Its development draws on two sets of theoretical ideas: the importance of agentic learning that enables students to develop their practice capabilities; and the use of activity-centred learning design to distinguish between what can be designed ahead of time and what should be left to students' agency. This study and Framework contribute to understanding how the productive use of technologies can foster students' agency and development of deliberate professionals with a high sense of adaptive expertise.

    Read article: Using mobile technology for workplace learning: Fostering students' agency

  • From Flipped to Flopped to Flexible classrooms in Higher Education? : Critical Reflections from Australia

    Thomas Wanner, Edward Palmer

    There is currently much hype about the blended learning model of the 'flipped classroom' in higher education in Australia. Many courses at Universities are being transformed into fully or partially flipped classrooms where students prepare for face-to-face classes beforehand so that inclass time is used for active and collaborative learning. We provide six risks related to the flipped classroom based on our critical reflections from designing and teaching a fully flipped classroom. We argue that students' satisfaction and engagement with the flipped classroom model is increasingly eroded by the number of flipped courses and the rising time demands for students and teachers. Other factors that risk the flipped classrooms becoming 'flopped classrooms' are the lack of prior training of students for self-motivated learning; and the dependence on skilled teachers to create inspiring and course content relevant pre-class activities and to run effective collaborative exercises in the class room.

    Read article: From Flipped to Flopped to Flexible classrooms in Higher Education? : Critical Reflections from Australia

  • Learning design@CSU

    Linda Ward

    Educational Designers at Charles Sturt University have recently completed a professional development program in course design. An outcome of this professional development activity has been the development of online modules which cover various learning and teaching strategies and as a by-product; learning design templates. The online modules are designed to provide an overview of how to use evidence based learning and teaching strategies, with the aim of changing teaching practice to positively influence student learning. After developing these modules, it was recognised that they could be adapted into templates that teaching staff could use directly in their subjects. This paper will discuss the progress of this multi-faceted project that focuses on professional development of Educational Designers and academic staff, development of online modules and learning design templates.

    Read article: Learning design@CSU

  • The Sociological Imagination Machine (S.I.M.): Using game elements to help learners apply the sociological imagination

    Hilary Wheaton, David Hall

    A leading online education provider used gamification and a custom built technology to assist the understanding and application of the sociological imagination in first-year Sociology students. In a sixteen-week period, a collaborative team including learning designers, teaching staff, education technologists and a graphic designer, devised and developed a gamified weekly activity for students featuring randomising and roleplay mechanics. Results indicated that the use of gamification improved students' engagement with their class group and assisted them in learning key concepts. The considered and purpose driven use of gamification has proven to be a valuable tool in online learning.

    Read article: The Sociological Imagination Machine (S.I.M.): Using game elements to help learners apply the sociological imagination

  • No more lonely learning: Applying Salmon's Carpe Diem process of subject re-design to three fully online postgraduate nursing subjects in a regional Australian university

    Kristin Wicking, Cecily Knight, Scott Bradey, David Lindsay, Stephen Anderson

    This study contributes to the literature on curriculum design for nursing education. Three fully online, postgraduate nursing subjects in a regional Australian university were re-designed using Salmon's Carpe Diem team-based, two-day intensive workshop process. An exploratory descriptive mixed methods design was used to evaluate both the process undertaken and the deliverables produced in this project. Workshop participants unanimously reported strongly positive experiences during the workshop itself, and both the teaching staff and the students enjoyed a positive, enthusiastic and engaged teaching and learning experience when the redesigned subjects were deployed. Student statistics regarding access to the subject website, and student performance in the subject, were both markedly improved when compared to prior offerings of the subjects. The Carpe Diem process was demonstrated to be fit for our purpose and context.

    Read article: No more lonely learning: Applying Salmon's Carpe Diem process of subject re-design to three fully online postgraduate nursing subjects in a regional Australian university

Showing 66–78 of 107 articles