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

ASCILITE Conference - Concise Papers

• In the right space: Exploring the dynamics between design, environment and pedagogy

  Richard Evans, Roger Cook

  The environments that we inhabit shape our everyday lives, influencing our behaviors and responses (Manu, 2013). As we enter an immersive phase of education in which physical and digital environments become inseparable, should we reconsider the role and importance of design on pedagogical practice? This paper explores the reciprocal cause and effect of space, technology and pedagogy in shaping the design of educational experiences within Queensland University of Technology's collaborative learning spaces.

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• The who, why and what of MOOCs

  Adrian Norman

  In the area of online learning massive open online courses have attracted much attention in recent years. In 2014, quantitative research into MOOCs is starting to appear but relatively little is known about the learner experience in these environments. This paper reports on an ongoing study involving a mixed methods approach with a multiple embedded case study design which investigates what people bring with them into MOOCs and how they self regulate their learning in these unique environments. A preliminary analysis of data collected in a survey administered to the registrants of a health sciences MOOC confirms what the recent research tells us about who signs up for MOOCs: that they are likely to be young, male, and educated. In particular, individuals enroll with learning intentions other than the traditional trajectory of ‘completion’. The unique characteristics of individuals in MOOCs need be foremost in our mind if we are to better understand effective learning in massive courses.

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• BLT Bytes: Timely takeaways for teachers

  Annabel Orchard, Cherry Stewart, Alberto Gonzalez, Barbara Macfarlan, Kirsten Schliephake, Tammy Smith

  Learning design is part of the multifaceted role of the university teacher. However, very few university teachers have expertise in this field. The Educational Design Team at Monash University is addressing this need by developing a suite of digitally enabled capacity-building resources to support teachers at their point of need as they work towards enhancing teaching and learning practice. These resources, known as the BLT (Better Learning and Teaching) Bytes, provide just-in-time answers whilst also enabling and enhancing further understanding of the learning design process. These self-access digital resources are designed to support individuals and foster the development of communities of practice. This paper addresses the rationale for a just-in-time approach to professional learning in the higher education context. It describes the range of strategies that the educational design team has implemented in order to meet the complex professional development needs of university teaching staff.

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• TPACKing for the Student Learning Centre Digital Strategy

  Mark Bassett, Pedro Silva

  Providing academic support for a diverse tertiary population requires the inclusion of a digital approach. However, in order to develop a digital strategy, there is a need to provide an all encompassing reflection on how to integrate technology. This paper aims to report on Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Student Learning Centre (SLC) current progress in the digital space, while providing direction to its future development. This paper combines technological knowledge with content and pedagogical knowledge to design SLC’s future developments. It also provides an analysis of current SLC digital presence developments and addresses possible future directions. Recommendations reinforce the need for an overall learning strategy, and address the affordances of Web 2.0 for this project. These recommendations and reflections are important for setting the foundations for a pedagogically solid digital development.

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• Using the self-determined learning principles of heutagogy to support academic staff who are learning to teach online

  Maria Northcote, Chris Boddey

  Tailored professional development (PD) programmes assist university teaching staff to capitalise on the educational use of technology. To supplement on-campus PD support, staff at Avondale College of Higher Education developed a self-help online resource, Moodle's Little Helper (MLH), that has since become an integral and accepted component of the institution's PD landscape. Since Avondale's overall PD program is built upon the theoretical underpinnings of heutagogy (Hase, 2009; Hase & Kenyon, 2003), a self-determined learning theory, the purpose and nature of the resource also reflects the key principles of this educational philosophy. Adopting a utilisation-focused research methodology (Patton, 2011) ensured staff needs were identified and met within MLH's customised content, homegrown style and iterative development. The outcomes from the first stages of the study provide commentary on how the theoretical principles of heutagogy can be employed to gain greater reach and efficiency when PD support is in high demand.

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• Using wiki technology in a blended learning environment: The reality

  Michael Verhaart

  The rapid pace of change in the area of Information Technology means that innovative ways are needed to provide effective teaching and to engage and support learners. This paper focuses on the use of wiki technology in the context of a blended learning environment in a tertiary institution, and considers the research question, what are the issues when using wiki technology in a blended learning environment? A longitudinal case study methodology has been used to report on the use of wiki technology as a course delivery mechanism. This case study revealed that while course content has significant views, students are reluctant to update or contribute to course content and that a wiki navigation structure is complex and an inhibitor to learning. The six year case study also reveals a wiki is not necessarily a quick solution for content creation.

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• The place of theory in educational technology research

  John Hannon, Reem Al-Mahmood

  Research into educational technologies tends to focus on applied phenomena, with the consequence that theoretical concerns can be implicit or invisible. We identify an impatience with theory that is reflected in calls for “pragmatic” approaches, and ask how critical theory is in educational technology research. We contend that notions of theory drawn from naturalistic sciences that inform learning design give rise to a theory/practice distinction in which theoretical concerns are subsumed under practical goals, constraining the potential for rich conceptualisations and explanations. We make the case that theory matters in two senses: it has institutional and pedagogical implications for educational outcomes, and it is integral to the practices associated with educational technologies. Further, we claim that the material arrangements in educational technologies are often overlooked, and propose alternatives to this dualistic separation towards a relational theory-practice-researcher nexus.

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• Giving students an informed choice when selecting teams for group work

  Yuwanuch Gulatee, Martin Masek

  Most large scale software projects require team work. However, it is a common problem that, when forming teams in a university setting, students know little about each other, resulting in dysfunctional teams. To help alleviate this, we ran three small preliminary assignments before students formed a team for the last major project. The idea was to encourage students to work with a variety of group members before they could choose their final team. The results showed that half of the final groups had a makeup that changed from their first initial group.

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• Having your cake and eating it too: The rhetoric and reality of redesigning staff professional development

  Sarah Thorneycroft, Brian Landrigan

  Despite significant change in higher education, the structure of professional development for academic staff has remained largely unchanged, consisting primarily of workshops and other forms of face-to-face development. While this is the accepted and often demanded mode of delivery, workshop-based programs are resource-heavy and often unsustainable. Until 2012, the central support unit at the University of New England had been offering a traditional program based on workshops. While the program attracted positive reviews, it was becoming increasingly apparent that there were significant issues in the structure that could no longer be ignored. An alternative, innovative solution was sought, which would allow far more flexibility and scalability while improving the experience and outcomes of professional development. This paper outlines the design of a new program according to the above rhetoric, and then examines the reality of analytics and participant experience data to draw conclusions about the success and viability of such a redesign.

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• Flipping a Japanese language classroom: Seeing its impact from a student survey and YouTube analytics

  Yasuhisa Watanabe

  The ‘flipped classroom’ is gaining popularity in university teaching. However sceptics question if students actually come to classes prepared by viewing the given video. In this study, 163 university students enrolled in an intermediate level Japanese subject that was taught in a flipped mode were surveyed on their experiences of viewing the pre-learning video. The access records to the video were also analysed to determine how students behaved online. The survey showed only 50% of students had viewed the video regularly, but had done so thoroughly. On the other hand, 17% answered that they did not even attempt to access the video. This paper will present reasons the students gave for watching or not watching the video as a part of their learning and argue for an improved methodology.

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