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2012: ASCILITE 2012 Conference Proceedings: FUTURE CHALLENGES | SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

 

 

 

 

The proceedings of the 2012 ASCILITE Conference

Brown, M., Hartnett, M. and Stewart, T. (Eds.), FUTURE CHALLENGES | SUSTAINABLE FUTURES Proceedings ASCILITE 2012: Wellington, New Zealand

Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

November 25-28, 2012

ASCILITE2012 Conference Website - https://www.ascilite.org/conferences/Wellington12/2012/home.html

Published: 22 November 2012

ASCILITE Conference - Full Papers

  • MUVE-ing pre-service teachers into the future

    Frances Quinn, Helen Doyle, Terry Lyons

    This paper discusses our experiences of integrating a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) called Quest Atlantis into a pre-service secondary science education unit. The use of educational MUVEs as teaching tools is accelerating, so it is crucial that pre-service teachers develop some expertise with these and related technologies. We outline the processes we followed in embedding Quest Atlantis into the content and assessment of the unit, the results of this initiative and its implications for integrating MUVEs and other ICTs into teacher education programs. Challenges such as limited time and expertise, demands of a busy teaching program, and the need for continuous specialist support need to be overcome for sustainable integration of MUVEs and related technologies into pre- service teacher education. This is particularly important given the potential of pre-service teachers as change agents in schools, and the imperatives of the ICT-related National Professional Standards for Teachers and the Australian Curriculum.

    Read article: MUVE-ing pre-service teachers into the future

  • NPC: An online model to improve prescribing skills of health care professional students in Australia

    Jorge Reyna, Santosh Khanal

    The National Prescribing Curriculum (NPC) is a series of case-based modules that mirror the decision-making process outlined in the World Health Organisation's Guide to Good Prescribing. The emphasis is on learners building their own formulary of preferred drugs for specific conditions thereby enabling them to prescribe confidently and rationally. The modules were developed to overcome shortfalls in basic pharmacological knowledge and prescribing skills as identified by junior hospital doctors. Problem Base Learning (PBL) has been used as pedagogical approach for the modules and includes real life case scenarios, authentic tasks and expert peer feedbacks. Learners can access the modules at their own pace and also can revisit them upon completion. We report for the first time students? perceptions of the NPC as learning resource and usability issues, and how academics are embedding the NPC modules into their units. We also discuss limitations and possible areas of improvement.

    Read article: NPC: An online model to improve prescribing skills of health care professional students in Australia

  • Conducting and Reporting on Educational Technology Research for Institutional Impact

    Harriet Ridolfo, Susan Tull, Lynette Nagel, Janette Kruger, Sue Gregory, Tim Klapdor, Philip Uys

    The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisation, and new entrants into the Higher Education sector, has created an environment of constant change for those working within it. This paper discusses how seven people, in five institutions across three countries joined forces to develop their knowledge, skill and ability in conducting and reporting on educational technology research for institutional impact. Reviewed in this paper are a range of approaches adopted across the different institutions, considerations of which of these have been effective and examination of whether targeted communication strategies have helped overcome inherent barriers.

    Read article: Conducting and Reporting on Educational Technology Research for Institutional Impact

  • Moodle and the Living Curriculum

    Tabitha Roder, Nicoletta Rata-Skudder

    This paper discusses how Moodle can act as a catalyst in transforming teaching practice. During Unitec?s implementation of a new eLearning Development Strategy, framed within a broader teaching and learning initiative referred to as the Living Curriculum, the institute migrated from Blackboard to Moodle. Reflecting on this transition period, the authors identify how the social constructivist approach underpinning Moodle complements and can be employed to facilitate and incorporate the characteristics of Living Curricula. An overview of Unitec?s characteristics of Living Curricula is given, with four themes providing a framework for their application. An investigation of the Moodle tools through the lens of these themes enables us to relook, rethink, and redesign our learning spaces. Examples illustrate some of the affordances of Moodle in enabling a Living Curriculum, and lead to a reflection on the support required to encourage teachers as learners to recognise these affordances for their pedagogical potential. Discussion around the design and intent of Moodle leads to a consideration of how teachers dispositions ultimately impact on the tool?s employment.

    Read article: Moodle and the Living Curriculum

  • Sustainability of a university designed and developed media annotation tool to prepare learners with skills needed for future employment

    Michele Ruyters, Meg Colasante, Kathy Douglas, Giovanni Mandarano

    RMIT University‘s media annotation tool (MAT) is a computer software program dedicated to incorporating video footage to the student learning experience in a novel manner. In addition to the usual functions associated with videos, MAT allows users to enter written comments at strategic and key positions to emphasise the required learning points. Innovatively introduced to creatively support learning for work-ready skills, in 2011 MAT was integrated into courses across nine student cohorts, over six disciplines, in the Vocational and Higher Education (undergraduate and post graduate) sectors of the university. This paper will focus on analysis of insights of teacher experiences using MAT, highlighting sustainable ways forward with university designed innovations. It will introduce the context of implementing MAT and discuss the process of evaluating the requirements for promoting MAT to the wider university community and, more specifically, to embed and sustain MAT into the long-term.

    Read article: Sustainability of a university designed and developed media annotation tool to prepare learners with skills needed for future employment

  • Mediated learning in the workplace: Students’ perspective on present and future value of knowledge tools

    Madeleine Shanahan

    Work-integrated learning is an essential component of many university degrees. This study examined a range of knowledge tools that are used by students to support their learning during clinical placement. This study showed that expert others in the workplace, print and electronic information sources and to a lesser extent electronic communication tools were utilized by students during their clinical placement to support their learning. The findings support an integration of practice-base learning with learning mediated by information sources to provide further understanding of work-integrated learning.

    Read article: Mediated learning in the workplace: Students’ perspective on present and future value of knowledge tools

  • Emerging strategies for a sustainable approach to professional development

    Kuki Singh, Judy Schrape, Jacqui Kelly

    Recent elearning trends in higher education are unleashing non-traditional professional development strategies. Employing a pragmatic approach to research, an evolving evidence-based practice within an Australian university is examined to establish a set of guidelines for sustainable professional development practices. A combination of traditional and non-traditional professional development strategies are described and staff participation and strategic impacts are analysed. Whilst current initiatives demonstrate good practice in terms of approach, strategies, contexts, content, and quality indicators, incumbent challenges include a demonstrated preference among staff for traditional workshops, voluntary participation which contributes to uneven elearning development, and the absence of formal follow up on transferability of skills and impacts. The study concluded that a purpose driven, multi-dimensional professional development approach that is embedded across all layers of the organisation advances sustainability. Six design principles are proposed for the achievement of sustainability within a centralised professional development service at an Australian university.

    Read article: Emerging strategies for a sustainable approach to professional development

  • The changing role of learned bodies and membership organisations: Some UK experiences

    Maren Deepwell, John Slater

    With the extensive changes to funding and employment security now underway worldwide, membership bodies and learned and professional associations are finding that their role is changing so as better to represent their members’ views and respond to their needs. In the United Kingdom (UK), members show increasing interest in acquiring and retaining professional standing. As government selective funding decreases, activities are being displaced from the centre to within the community with the membership body taking an increased organisational and broker role. A new governmental focus on accountability and impact is changing members’ priorities leading to revised activities by learned bodies. This paper discusses the changes necessary for professional bodies to continue to lead in the changing climate.

    Read article: The changing role of learned bodies and membership organisations: Some UK experiences

  • Fitting learning into life: Language students’ perspectives on benefits of using mobile apps

    Caroline Steel

    For university students, the availability, convenience and low cost of mobile applications (apps) present new opportunities to fit learning into their busy lives outside class. Studies of teacher-led mobile learning in universities abound while few studies explore students’ own use of mobile apps and their perspectives on how these apps can benefit their learning. As we consider learning for the future, it is crucial to partner with students to build a picture of emergent technology practices beyond our classrooms and institutions. However, discipline-specific studies are required to gain an understanding of the ways apps are used to acquire specific disciplinary knowledge and skills. This paper reports on how 134 language learners used mobile apps to profit from their available learning time outside of class. It provides insights into student perspectives on the benefits of using mobile apps for foreign language learning.

    Read article: Fitting learning into life: Language students’ perspectives on benefits of using mobile apps

  • New approaches: Embedding on-line interactive scenarios as core course components for international biosecurity practitioner training

    Terry Mark Stewart, Joanna S. McKenzie, Willem D. Vink

    Interactive scenarios were used in an on-line international Masters degree programme for veterinary and public health professionals launched in 2010. For two courses in the programme, students were required to play the role of a senior advisor, analyzing data, determine the cause of an unfolding disease outbreak and critiquing recommendations. The scenario was presented in six episodes. Each episode was designed to be completed in one sitting and these also contained the history of previous episodes. On-line forums were used for group activities which included a vote on the diagnosis. Students were also required to give a critique of the diagnosis and solution proposed in the scenario. A student survey rated the use of the scenario-based approach highly with motivation and engagement being the most obvious benefits. This paper illustrates how an interactive scenario can deliver student outcomes when be embedded at the very core of a course.

    Read article: New approaches: Embedding on-line interactive scenarios as core course components for international biosecurity practitioner training

  • Video-linked teaching: Designing and evaluating technology-rich classrooms for real-time collaboration

    Scott Symonds, Maggie Hartnett, Philippa Butler, Mark Brown

    A major "state-of-the-art" video-linked teaching (VLT) project at Massey University encompasses the development of two purpose-designed rooms to support real-time teaching across two campuses. The intention is for these rooms to be used to establish a strong presence and sense of connection between teachers and students located at each site, offering the ability to teach two (or more) physically distanced classes synchronously with a focus on rich interaction and collaboration. This paper reports on the initial findings of a research project investigating how the VLT rooms have been used during the Semester 1, 2012 experimental pilot phase. It shares some of the experiences of the students and teachers involved and identifies a number of benefits and challenges of using such VLT rooms from pedagogical, physical space and technological perspectives. Finally, the paper reports how the preliminary findings from this research are informing the ongoing use of the facilities as well as the design and implementation of a wider range of teaching and learning spaces.

    Read article: Video-linked teaching: Designing and evaluating technology-rich classrooms for real-time collaboration

  • Improving learners’ self-efficacy in a learner-controlled online learning environment: A correlational study

    Widchaporn Taipjutorus, Sally Hansen, Mark Brown

    Online learning is gradually being adopted by higher institutes and becoming much more common in higher education worldwide, but some learners still find it challenging. Though they are familiar with computer and technology usage, they are still uncertain of their ability to perform well in online classes. A review of studies focused on how these learners gain more confidence and success shows a link between self-efficacy and learners’ outcomes. Efficacious learners tend to adapt and cope well when faced with obstacles. Moreover, learners who were given control over their learning environment performed better, were more satisfied, and had higher self- efficacy than control groups. It is theorised that embedding learner control into online learning programmes might help inefficacious learners gain more self-efficacy but few studies have investigated this relationship in the real online class setting. Therefore, this study in progress is an attempt to fill in this research gap.

    Read article: Improving learners’ self-efficacy in a learner-controlled online learning environment: A correlational study

  • A 2010 Snapshot of Educational Technology use by CSU students

    Jacquie Tinkler, Philip Uys, Barney Dalgarno, Lauren Carlson, Andrea Crampton

    Ensuring an excellent learning experience is critical for the modern Australasian university. This is particularly important for an institution like CSU, which has the majority of its students studying at a distance. This paper presents a snapshot of student usage and attitudes towards technologies for learning and teaching, drawing on an institution wide online questionnaire in 2010 completed by 3952 students. One of the most interesting findings from this study is that students? use of educational technologies may be driven primarily by the need for their studies to be flexible and manageable around work and family demands. Students appear to be „digital followers? rather than early adopters but are nevertheless very regular users of technologies in their own lives, and appear very receptive to the frequent use of technologies in their studies.

    Read article: A 2010 Snapshot of Educational Technology use by CSU students

Showing 40–52 of 132 articles