2014: ASCILITE 2014 Conference Proceedings. Rhetoric and Reality: Critical perspectives on educational technology

The reality of using digital technologies to enhance learning and teaching has a history of falling short of the rhetoric. Past attempts at bridging this chasm have tried: increasing the perceived value of teaching; improving the

The reality of using digital technologies to enhance learning and teaching has a history of falling short of the rhetoric. Past attempts at bridging this chasm have tried: increasing the perceived value of teaching; improving the pedagogical and technological knowledge of academics; redesigning organisational policies, processes and support structures; and, designing and deploying better pedagogical techniques and technologies. Few appear to have had any significant, widespread impact, perhaps because of the limitations of the (often implicit) theoretical foundations of the institutional implementation of e-learning. Using a design-based research approach, this paper develops an alternate theoretical framework (the BAD framework) for institutional e-learning and uses that framework to analyse the development, evolution, and very different applications of the Moodle Activity Viewer (MAV) at two separate universities. Based on this experience it is argued that the reality/rhetoric chasm is more likely to be bridged by interweaving the BAD framework into existing practice.

Technological advances have permitted wide-scale adoption of audio lectures in higher education as auxiliary learning resources for promoting connection, particularly in distance education. Although, pedagogically, audio lectures have been

Technological advances have permitted wide-scale adoption of audio lectures in higher education as auxiliary learning resources for promoting connection, particularly in distance education. Although, pedagogically, audio lectures have been associated with increased time-on-task and positive learning outcomes, they remain commonly rebuked as suitable alternatives to face-to-face lectures. Little research, however, has examined students’ perceptions about the relevance of who creates, or provides, audio lectures. Findings from 120 random telephone interviews with distance students in four university courses found 93% felt audio and internal lectures differed. Students exhibited a utilitarian approach towards audio lectures, as 75% noted that all that mattered was the audio lectures’ capacity to provide relevant content that facilitated their independent revision, rather than perceive them as opportunities for ‘getting-to-know’ their subject coordinator/‘real’ lecturer. Hence, we question the institutional cost of locally-produced audio lectures and suggest that the creation of interactive learning experiences might be a more constructive use of time and effort.

The emergence of any new educational technology is often accompanied by inflated expectations about its potential for transforming pedagogical practice and improving student learning outcomes. A critique of the rhetoric accompanying the

The emergence of any new educational technology is often accompanied by inflated expectations about its potential for transforming pedagogical practice and improving student learning outcomes. A critique of the rhetoric accompanying the evolution of 3D virtual world education reveals a similar pattern, with the initial hype based more on rhetoric than research demonstrating the extent to which rhetoric matches reality. Addressed are the perceived gaps in the literature through a critique of the rhetoric evident throughout the evolution of the application of virtual worlds in education and the reality based on the reported experiences of experts in the field of educational technology, who are all members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. The experiences reported highlight a range of effective virtual world collaborative and communicative teaching experiences conducted in members’ institutions. Perspectives vary from those whose reality is the actuation of the initial rhetoric in the early years of virtual world education, to those whose reality is fraught with challenges that belie the rhetoric. Although there are concerns over institutional resistance, restrictions, and outdated processes on the one-hand, and excitement over the rapid emergence of innovation on the other, the prevailing reality seems to be that virtual world education is both persistent and sustainable. Explored are critical perspectives on the rhetoric and reality on the educational uptake and use of virtual worlds in higher education, providing an overview of the current and future directions for learning in virtual worlds.

This paper reports on a large longitudinal survey of students and their use of technologies in two Australian universities. The SEET survey is unique in Australia because it includes not just current use, but students’ expectations about

This paper reports on a large longitudinal survey of students and their use of technologies in two Australian universities. The SEET survey is unique in Australia because it includes not just current use, but students’ expectations about their future use of technology. The survey was originally run in 2010 and then repeated, with slight modifications to reflect changes in technologies, in 2013. This paper compares the results from 2013 with the 2010 results. Whilst some changes reflect the wider access to freely available open resources and new technologies such as Smartphones and iPads, other results are remarkably consistent with the 2010 results. Overall students are increasingly satisfied with their use of technologies and despite the increase in uptake of freely available technologies, it is evident that the LMS and its inbuilt tools and functions remain a key platform for learning and teaching at universities.

Portfolios have been a popular tool to enable teachers to provide evidence of their teaching practice (Elbow & Belanoff, 1986) and with technology there has been a move to online digital portfolios. This research provides empirical

Portfolios have been a popular tool to enable teachers to provide evidence of their teaching practice (Elbow & Belanoff, 1986) and with technology there has been a move to online digital portfolios. This research provides empirical evidence of Queensland teachers who have completed a digital portfolio as part of the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework. These digital portfolios provide rich descriptions of evidence that demonstrate a teacher’s values, relationships, knowledge and practice in using technology. This paper describes one teacher’s digital portfolio as part of the wider research project investigating the development of Technological Pedagogical Reasoning. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this type of digital portfolio can inform teacher education. A key message is to use an evidenced based portfolio, which captures snapshots of a pre-service teachers practice with links to professional standards mingled throughout the discussion of their practice.

A new set of ‘common first year’ teacher education units has been developed at an Australian university. This paper discusses the further development of these units for large enrolment online degree programs. A needs analysis was performed

A new set of ‘common first year’ teacher education units has been developed at an Australian university. This paper discusses the further development of these units for large enrolment online degree programs. A needs analysis was performed and contemporary best practice consulted to develop a set of design principles that guided the redevelopment. The implementation of the design principles is discussed, and a formative evaluation of the conduct of the revised units is reported. Student and tutor feedback supported the new unit designs, but also identified some areas for improvement.

Literature that hopes to explain or instruct in the use of educational technologies in universities tends to occur as deficit theories of technology use, implicit in several bodies of literature. This paper addresses the hidden and not so

Literature that hopes to explain or instruct in the use of educational technologies in universities tends to occur as deficit theories of technology use, implicit in several bodies of literature. This paper addresses the hidden and not so hidden discourses about how to improve use of educational technologies. Five ‘instrumental’ bodies of work are analysed; the lists and instructions that make up ‘cookbooks’ of information on how to use educational technology, information literacy literature that stems from librarianship, the novice/ expert theories which underpin some forms of classroom instruction, Prensky’s ‘digital natives/immigrants’ theory, and that group of theories arising from Roger’s ‘diffusion of innovations model’, including the ‘technological adoption model’ (TAM). I argue that each of them differs in conceptualising user agency, the form that knowledge takes, the nature of social change and the culpability of the user while maintaining an instrumental approach that is ultimately based on techno-utopianism.

‘The learning challenge’ is an authentic and formative assessment task that requires students to evaluate the power of their learning strategies, personal technologies and digital practices for learning. The design was created in response

‘The learning challenge’ is an authentic and formative assessment task that requires students to evaluate the power of their learning strategies, personal technologies and digital practices for learning. The design was created in response to the need for universities to provide more pedagogical guidance to students preparing for an unknown digital future. The challenge provokes students to question their digital practices and underlying beliefs as learners through gaining pedagogical intelligence and a trialing a transferable action-learning process. The learning design was adapted for an undergraduate languages and technologies course from a teacher development model for technology integration (Steel & Andrews, 2012). The tasks deepen students’ understanding of themselves as learners and technology users through self-exploration, experimentation, evidence-gathering and reflection. Mapped to Fullan and Langworthys’ (2014) continuum of pedagogical effectiveness and supported by student-generated data, the learning challenge offers a powerful way to discover the impact of students’ digital learning practices.

In 2013, Student Learning and Academic Development (SLAD) at The University of Tasmania (UTAS) surveyed distance students as part of the development of online learning support. One goal was to hear direct from UTAS distance students

In 2013, Student Learning and Academic Development (SLAD) at The University of Tasmania (UTAS) surveyed distance students as part of the development of online learning support. One goal was to hear direct from UTAS distance students themselves, to discover what it is like to be a distance student: to uncover any commonalities, both negative and positive, in the experiences of distance and online students in general. Results suggest that a large portion of UTAS distance students feel isolated and see the primary benefits of this mode as serving a practical or necessary function, rather than being attractive in its own right. A comparably high number struggle with resources and feel unconsidered or overlooked. A reasonably high number struggle with balancing other life commitments and with the autonomy or self-reliance required to manage distance study. Thus this research provides evidence identifying key gaps between rhetoric and reality regarding distance education.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a relatively recent online learning phenomenon that has developed in the last five years. The opportunity that MOOCs offer to developing countries has generated significant interest from higher

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a relatively recent online learning phenomenon that has developed in the last five years. The opportunity that MOOCs offer to developing countries has generated significant interest from higher education as it has opened doors to step into territories that were never available before this era. This paper reports on the research findings of the impact of MOOCs in developing countries. The key challenges and opportunities identified by the researchers in using the MOOC concept within the Sri Lankan higher education context is discussed. It also highlights how developing countries can transform education, and provide lifelong learning opportunities which will give access to learning resources, innovative learning technologies, higher engagement and collaborative learning opportunities with international experts.

This paper describes the development and piloting of a project that uses augmented reality to support the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal Nyungar peoples of Western Australia’s South Western corner. Place narratives are a central

This paper describes the development and piloting of a project that uses augmented reality to support the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal Nyungar peoples of Western Australia’s South Western corner. Place narratives are a central part of Australian Indigenous culture and knowledge, and the significance of place is critical to Aboriginal people’s health and well-being. This pilot project examines the efficacy for the augmented reality app to present Indigenous narratives in a way that engages students in reflexive practice.

Despite the importance of learning how to make accurate dental impressions, dental students do not currently get adequate opportunities to apply their dental anatomy knowledge to the procedure of impression-making. A computer simulation

Despite the importance of learning how to make accurate dental impressions, dental students do not currently get adequate opportunities to apply their dental anatomy knowledge to the procedure of impression-making. A computer simulation ImpressDent was built to allow students to test out various scenarios in order to understand the impact of different variables on dental impressions. A case study was conducted with ten dentistry students to find out what and how students learned from their interactions with ImpressDent. Congruent with our aim, students reported that they learned the impact of different variables on the dental impression and they identified iterative trial and error as their main learning process. The instructional design of ImpressDent can serve to guide educators interested in developing their students’ procedural knowledge in constructivist ways. Further investigations will be undertaken to examine the impact of this learning activity on students’ ability to evaluate their dental impression independently.

Brief outlines of exploratory analysis methods (analysis designed to develop hypotheses) from three research projects illustrate the size, scope, variety and increased resolution that are becoming increasingly available at the unit of

Brief outlines of exploratory analysis methods (analysis designed to develop hypotheses) from three research projects illustrate the size, scope, variety and increased resolution that are becoming increasingly available at the unit of analysis for research in the learning sciences. The tools and methods applied in these studies are briefly outlined, which enable researchers to deal with complexity in time and event structures involving complex data in learning analytics projects. In particular, the transformation of data involving both reduction methods and pattern aggregation into motifs were found to be crucial for data interpretation. The article describes data mining with a self-organizing map, involving unsupervised machine learning and symbolic regression and combining exploratory analysis methods to achieve causal explanations.