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

 

 

 

The proceedings of the 2014 ASCILITE Conference

Rhetoric and Reality: Critical perspectives on educational technology

B. Hegarty, J. McDonald, & S.-K. Loke (Eds.), Rhetoric and Reality: Critical perspectives on educational technology. Proceedings ASCILITE 2014 Dunedin, New Zealand

St. David Lecture Complex, Dunedin, New Zealand

November 23 - 26, 2014

ASCILITE2014 Conference Website https://ascilite.org/conferences/dunedin2014/

Published: 20 November 2014

ASCILITE Conference - Concise Papers

  • Snapchat ‘selfies’: The case of disappearing data

    Jennifer Charteris, Sue Gregory, Yvonne Masters

    Little has been written about the impact of ephemeral messaging technologies such as Snapchat, Wickr and iDelete on learner identities. The authors explore how disappearing social media may enable young people to take up a range of discourses and demonstrate discursive agency in ways that support social mobility through shifting relationships with their peers. Much of this unfolds through the transmission of digital images that promote social flexibility. The visibility, of seeing and being seen, demonstrates a Foucauldian ‘gaze’ where power plays out through the capacity to be visible and recognisable to others and specific practices (e.g. selfies) become normalised. Social media technologies furnish emergent spaces for underlife activity that foster this gaze. Taking up the Foucault’s concept of subjectivities as discursively constituted identity categories, the authors explore the relationship between disappearing media and youth identities. Keywords: , identities, social media, Foucault, ‘selfies’

    Read article: Snapchat ‘selfies’: The case of disappearing data

  • Development of an application with process feedback to enhance student-centred learning

    Sudhakaran Edathil, Christopher Chin, Stephanie Zank, Dev Ranmuthugala, Susan Salter

    The project aims to achieve student-centred learning through an adaptive learning and assessment application (tool) incorporating real-time ‘process feedback’ capability, using branching models within learning activities and assessment tasks. A prototype previously developed for assessments was tested as a proof-of-concept in 2012. This prototype focused on providing feedback on ‘product errors’. Student evaluations on the process identified the need to integrate real-time feedback on ‘process errors’ to assist students’ understanding of their mistakes. Further development introduced the capability to adapt learning and assessment modules to meet the needs of lecturers and students. The application was integrated into the University’s Learning Management System (LMS), resulting in: flexible learning approaches, increasing participation of students from different backgrounds, motivating learning, and improving learning effectiveness through self-directed approaches.

    Read article: Development of an application with process feedback to enhance student-centred learning

  • “The score doesn’t mean much”: Students’ and staff understandings of text matching software

    Lee Adam, Carol Bond, Ari Samaranayaka

    We report on a 2012 study exploring students’ and staff understandings of SafeAssign text matching software. A total of 326 students and 216 staff at a New Zealand university responded to a questionnaire asking about their knowledge of SafeAssign. Although SafeAssign does not identify plagiarism, 90% of students and 70% of staff thought that it did, indicating confusion about the difference between text matching and plagiarism. Moreover, both students and staff assumed that SafeAssign can do more than it does and responses indicated a lack of understanding of the sources with which SafeAssign is able to match text. Furthermore, many students were not aware that SafeAssign was being used in their papers, and some thought its function was simply an assignment submission platform. These results indicate that staff and students need more information about what SafeAssign does in order to make more effective use of the software. ,

    Read article: “The score doesn’t mean much”: Students’ and staff understandings of text matching software

  • Blended professional learning : Modelling the paradigm shift

    Kuki Singh

    Many academics are grappling with transforming their teaching practices to embed 21st century pedagogy creating new challenges for academic developers. To address this, a professional learning program was redesigned integrating emerging technologies and practices to provide an immersive experience in the flipped classroom strategy and to foster technology enhanced pedagogy using an experiential learning framework. Participants (n = 195) in the first iteration of the program reported a very positive learning experience regarding engagement, motivation to integrate learning technologies in teaching and confidence to embrace new pedagogies. Overall, conceptions of and engagement with the flipped strategy were also highly positive but the blended nature of the course poses challenges in terms of participants’ personal learning journeys, raising critical implications for those involved in planning and facilitating professional learning courses.

    Read article: Blended professional learning : Modelling the paradigm shift

  • Software literacies in the tertiary environment

    Craig Hight, Elaine Khoo, Bronwen Cowie, Rob Torrens

    This paper reports on findings from a two-year funded research project exploring software literacy - how it is understood, developed and applied in tertiary teaching-learning contexts and how this understanding serves new learning. The project has looked at MS PowerPoint (a widely used application) and software specific to two disciplines (Media Studies and Engineering). Data was collected through online student surveys and focus groups. Findings revealed that students tend to rely upon informal learning strategies when learning to use all software, and to demonstrate variations in their understanding of software affordances and their ability in applying software to their learning. However, in all cases they were generally not able to critique applications beyond a superficial level, suggesting a need for formal recognition of software literacy as a means to empower students to more critically engage with a variety of / forms of software.

    Read article: Software literacies in the tertiary environment

  • An Open2Study MOOC experience from a staff perspective

    Amy Wilson, Maggie Hartnett, Mark Brown, Andrew Jamieson, Scott Symonds

    This paper reports on the experiences of staff involved in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) initiative by Massey University using a system known as Open2Study developed by Open Universities Australia (OUA). In 2013, three courses (known as subjects) were designed and developed in conjunction with Open2Study as a pilot project. The initial results reported here form part of a larger evaluation of the initial trial with a particular focus on the experiences of the staff involved. Preliminary findings highlight a number of benefits and challenges. Higher visibility, enhanced working relationships and transferability of skills were amongst the benefits identified by staff for both individuals and the wider University. The challenges faced included tight timeframes and differing expectations in terms of format, pedagogy and support from Open2Study experts. The resulting Open2Study courses and the experience gained now provide models for other staff to follow.

    Read article: An Open2Study MOOC experience from a staff perspective

  • Creepy Analytics and Learner Data Rights

    Scott Beattie, Carolyn Woodley, Kay Souter

    Enthusiasm for the potential of learning analytics and big data technologies must be tempered with caution for fundamental learner rights to that data and concern for the ways in which these re-shape the learning environment and the learner-teacher-university relationship. This paper argues that there is a legitimate distrust of 'creepy' analytics that misuse surveillance technologies and that a Charter of Learner Data Rights would be a strong foundation on which to build analytic technologies that are open, personalised, portable, adaptive and engaging for learners.

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  • Towards a global educational technology environment: Technology integration at RMIT University

    Garry Allan

    RMIT is at the point of commencement of integrating its core Learning Management System (Blackboard) to a singular global presence. This step will transition the University from its historical base of operating two independent LMS systems, to a unified global systems presence. Additional to this, the university has integrated a suite of technologies for global deployment that enrich and personalise the online learning environment for local delivery, but within a global framework. In parallel, emphasis has been placed on transitioning assessment practice to fully online grading and the availability of professional development delivered in a fully online format. Presented here are the core aspects of the design and implementation of the integrated RMIT educational technology suite and its immediate future directions.

    Read article: Towards a global educational technology environment: Technology integration at RMIT University

  • E-teaching craft and practice

    Sue Watling

    Staff at the University of Lincoln, UK, are repositioned as students on the virtual learning environment (VLE) for the teacher education programme ‘Teaching and Learning in a Digital Age’ (TELEDA). Modules explore the social relations of virtual learning through a community approach to sharing practice, and using tools like wikis, journals and forums to demonstrate the challenges of digital scholarship enables ‘insider’ knowledge of the craft of e-teaching to be gained through experiential learning. As sector-wide shifts to flexible design and delivery increase, greater attention to the digital confidence and capabilities of staff who teach and support learning is required. Investigating the uncertain spaces between the rhetoric and the reality of teaching online has shaped the author’s doctoral research into digital education. This paper offers emerging research findings which include how experiential approaches like TELEDA are worthy investments of time and resources and reinforce the value of embedding the craft elements of e-teaching into CPD and teacher education programmes.

    Read article: E-teaching craft and practice

  • Completing the loop: Returning learning analytics to teachers

    Gregor Kennedy, Linda Corrin, Lori Lockyer, Shane Dawson, David Williams, Raoul Mulder, Susie Khamis, Scott Copeland

    This paper provides an outline of an Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching project that aims to investigate and then develop ways in which learning analytics data can be more usefully harnessed by academic teachers in higher education. Fundamental to this project is linking the learning design of online tasks provided to students with the learning analytic affordances of the technology-based tools that support them. The paper provides an outline of the background to the project, including its conceptual underpinnings, and sets out the program of research and development. The expected outcomes of the project are discussed.

    Read article: Completing the loop: Returning learning analytics to teachers

  • Authentic assessment of reflection in an ePortfolio: How to make reflection more ‘real’ for students

    Pauline Roberts, Helen Farley, Sue Gregory

    In a doctoral study that focused on the enhancement of reflection through an ePortfolio-based learning environment, students’ indicated that they felt reflection was not real when it was used for assessment. This led to an examination of assessment practices linked to reflection and ways to make it authentic. The literature revealed that reflection is often a component of authentic assessment rather than being a focus of it. The practices associated with the assessment of reflection are examined in order to formulate 4 guiding principles. These principles aim to make the process of reflection more ‘real’ to students in higher education settings, particularly when using an ePortfolio platform.

    Read article: Authentic assessment of reflection in an ePortfolio: How to make reflection more ‘real’ for students

  • Flexibility and technology-enhanced learning and teaching: The rhetoric and reality

    Josie Fisher, Sue Whale

    According to the rhetoric, flexibility is one of the key benefits of online learning and teaching in higher education. In this paper we identify a set of dimensions of flexibility and demonstrate that the reality of much current technology-enhanced learning and teaching is, in fact, no more flexible than the early distance education model and in some respects is less flexible. We suggest that we are on the cusp of a radical transformation of online education. However, there are constraints in terms of students’ lack of strategies to manage their learning environments and a lack of research into pedagogically sound models for the delivery of truly flexible, personalised learning and teaching.

    Read article: Flexibility and technology-enhanced learning and teaching: The rhetoric and reality

  • Improving existing resources for interactive learning activities using tablets and touch screens

    Daphne Robson, Dave Kennedy

    As creating resources for interactive technology-based learning activities can be a huge task, we investigated how existing resources can be used and modified. Data were collected from students, an observer, and a teacher for several problems in a mathematics course on a computing degree that were part of interactive learning activities using touch screen technologies. It was found that existing problems could become effective resources in these activities simply by modifying them with suitable formatting, and that locating related elements together helped students start a problem. However, it is also important that pedagogical principles are followed.

    Read article: Improving existing resources for interactive learning activities using tablets and touch screens

Showing 40–52 of 114 articles