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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 - Concise Papers

  • The road ahead: eBooks, eTextbooks and publishers’ electronic resources

    Romana Martin

    eBooks have now become commonplace in the community and are used on a range of mobile devices such as eBook readers and tablet computers. In recent years, eTextbooks accessible on a range of mobile devices have provided an alternative to heavy and expensive print-based resources. Although some institutions have decided that eTextbooks and related resources are the preferred option for their students, research does not yet indicate that students actually favor eTextbooks. There is also little evidence to support whether the additional features offered in electronic resources increase engagement or improve learning outcomes. The author describes how a review of the literature revealed current issues related to eTextbooks and their accompanying resources. This preliminary exploration will guide research to investigate whether eTextbooks and complementary resources produced by publishing companies can lead to improved learning outcomes and student engagement in a business school context.

    Read article: The road ahead: eBooks, eTextbooks and publishers’ electronic resources

  • Designing and recording machinima to illustrate professional practice scenarios

    Yvonne Masters, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Gregory

    Immersive virtual worlds, such as Second Life, have attracted widespread interest in recent years as platforms for online role-plays of professional practice scenarios. An alternative application of virtual worlds is the video recording of in-world role-play activities, "machinima", for later use as stimuli for class discussions or individual reflective activities. The scripting and recording of machinima to illustrate particular practice scenarios is seen as an alternative to recording video in authentic practice contexts, potentially addressing some of the inherent ethical and logistic issues. This paper describes the process used to design, record and produce machinima illustrating a series of classic classroom teaching practice scenarios as part of the Office for Learning and Teaching VirtualPREX project.

    Read article: Designing and recording machinima to illustrate professional practice scenarios

  • Virtual worlds: Not the final frontier for games-based nursing education

    Grant Meredith, Leigh Achterbosch, Kylie Turville, Sita Venkatraman

    Virtual worlds present frontiers of promise for the ever evolving venture of pedagogical development, trial and embracement. Of late there have been large pushes into these worlds in terms of health-based education for students and early practitioners. Virtual worlds seem to be the next logical jump into nursing education and can offer a range of simulation benefits. But these worlds do not appeal to all students, can be complex and expensive to develop and interact within. Other game-like avenues exist though and have not been explored thoroughly enough to date. Such genres like puzzles games, management style games and surprisingly first person shooters already have titles and game mechanics which have been somewhat adapted to nursing education but could easily be more thought out and developed to suit. This paper outlines the two major gaming audience types to be considered and then explores a range of options for nursing education beyond virtual worlds.

    Read article: Virtual worlds: Not the final frontier for games-based nursing education

  • Early identification of students at risk of failing

    John Milne, Lynn M. Jeffrey, Gordon Suddaby, Andrew Higgins

    This paper outlines how teachers can use the learning management system (LMS) to identify at risk students in the first week of a course. Data is from nine second year campus based business courses that use a blend of face-to-face and online learning strategies. Students that used the LMS in the first week of the course were more likely to pass. For the rest of the course the pattern of usage is then largely similar for students who pass and those that do not pass. This paper identifies how a LMS can identify at risk students in the first week of the course and provides some strategies to motivate these students.

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  • Taming the devil: A game-based approach to teaching immunology

    Scott Nankervis, Grant Meredith, Peter Vamplew, Nina Fotinatos

    Immunology is a complex field requiring rapid memorisation of numerous components. An in- depth understanding of cellular and molecular biology is required before even moderately advanced concepts can be taught. We sought methods that actively engage students and help develop new knowledge and consolidate existing concepts to support lectures. We created an interactive and entertaining prototype immunology computer game as a tool for learning and revision, with the ability to interactively cover course content outside of class that modern learners expect. Our prototype appears to be a successful study aid when used additionally to attendance at lectures. We seek to continue the development of the game in a higher education context, but also produce a modified version for a secondary school context, in an effort to raise the profile of this key health area and promote learning for the future through the study of the sciences prior to students entering higher education.

    Read article: Taming the devil: A game-based approach to teaching immunology

  • Using Online Environments to Provoke Student-Enquiry

    Fiona Nicolson, Mitch Parsell

    This paper is intended for researchers and practitioners interested in using online environments to provoke student enquiry in any discipline in higher education. Using a Community of Enquiry model that tackles the pedagogical weaknesses in constructivism, we explain why online environments are so effective in engaging students actively in a learning process that meets the requirements of an academic context. From this perspective, we are able to offer concrete advice on how to design an online environment that will provoke student-enquiry. We explain why a social presence is important in the establishment of a Community of Enquiry and we also align particular web technologies to the various stages in the enquiry process and the students’ achievement of a unit’s learning outcomes. The reader will develop a better understanding of community of enquiry in higher education, and how to use web technologies to provoke enquiry in an online environment.

    Read article: Using Online Environments to Provoke Student-Enquiry

  • The digital tutor: Accepting to lose control and make mistakes

    Rachel Panckhurst

    Pilot studies using online social networks within a French University postgraduate course were conducted over a five-year period in order to explore and evaluate the relative advantages and challenges of such tools for tertiary education. Students were following a curriculum as part of a second-year predominantly off-campus Master's degree. In this paper, after having defined pedagogical eLearning exchange networks (eLENs), and how they can be implemented by using social learning objects, the latest case study analysis is focused on providing solutions for effective tutoring in the digital era.

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  • Responding to diversification: Preparing naïve learners for university study using Time Budgets

    Diana Quinn, Bruce Wedding

    Government reforms have resulted in an increasing number of pathways and options for a broader cohort of students to undertake university-level study. These diverse learners need support to develop successful study orchestrations, balancing available time for learning with competing interests, such as family, leisure and employment. The Time Budget is a useful tool for naïve students to perceive course workload, understand expectations and balance their commitments. The Time Budget, in a single page, captures what students need to do, and when, to be successful in their studies. Time Budgets have proved to be a sustainable good practice initiative for undergraduate students – a tool that has made the transition from supporting face-to-face learners, to blended and fully-online learners; and from being a feature of individual courses, to whole programs and multi-university collaborations.

    Read article: Responding to diversification: Preparing naïve learners for university study using Time Budgets

  • Designing to close the gap

    Alison Reedy

    This paper reports on the initial phase of the development of a large scale online design and implementation project, known as the ACIKE Online Unit Development Project, for the Australian Centre of Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE). The project is underpinned by a design-based research framework and encompasses the design, development and staged delivery of 81 units across seven higher education undergraduate and post-graduate courses. The rationale underpinning the project is to promote Indigenous learners’ participation and success in higher education, with a particular focus on the online environment, whilst providing opportunities for all students to develop the skills and knowledge to work cross-culturally in a learning environment focused on building Indigenous cultural competence.

    Read article: Designing to close the gap

  • Reflections on staff development in eLearning via a community of practice model

    Tabitha Roder, Nicoletta Rata-Skudder

    This narrative seeks to identify practices which have enabled staff in eLearning roles to support their peers to increase the use of eLearning within a New Zealand tertiary education context. Specifically, it examines those factors which have contributed to the development of institutional capability in eLearning over a two-year funded period. Unitec New Zealand has recently implemented a transformative eLearning Development Strategy with the aim of developing the capability and capacity of Unitec academic staff in integrating learning technologies. The funding of a number of temporary roles aided development of staff capability and capacity in eLearning through a Community of Practice model. We consider factors that contribute to the development of a sustainable learning culture, and identify how a community approach has enabled this. We further explore and reflect upon the enablers and barriers experienced in the eLearning roles, and the implications of using this model and its efficacy in meeting institutional goals. An extended version of this paper was presented at the Moodle Research Conference held in Heraklion, Crete on 14-15 September 2012.

    Read article: Reflections on staff development in eLearning via a community of practice model

  • Naming and measuring the elephants: Sustainable change for blended learning

    Carol Russell

    Educational development work to replace traditional campus university teaching with more innovative blended learning activities usually involves articulating and questioning assumptions about disciplinary learning. But the assumptions built into the discipline and institutional organizational systems for managing study times and staff workload planning can block innovation. Several previous projects have established that intensive team workshops over 2-3 days, involving support staff working with academics to produce real outputs, can build sustainable capacity for curriculum innovation within academic units. This paper describes current work in one university that makes use of disciplinary curriculum mapping and explicit planning of academic and student workload in the educational design activity. Two pilots in different disciplines are being used to develop a model that can be applied and contextualized as part of a broader sustainable blended learning strategy.

    Read article: Naming and measuring the elephants: Sustainable change for blended learning

  • Towards a sustainable support strategy for online students

    Elizabeth Smith, Anne Lonie

    Helping first year students develop the sociological competencies required of 21st century engineers, such as professional reflection, effective teamwork and cross-cultural sensitivity, remains a challenge, particularly for external students. This paper reports on the experience of conducting an online engineering practice course, which focusses on these competencies, for external students and on the strategies adopted to support and encourage student participation. Some of the strategies and practices which were implemented were successful in the short term, but many will not be sustainable. However, it is hoped that the lessons learnt from this development will improve future offerings of the course and generally enhance the way we support online students.

    Read article: Towards a sustainable support strategy for online students

  • Toward a framework for evaluating blended learning

    Michael Smythe

    Blended learning for some is the future of education itself (Brown & Diaz, 2010). However blended learning lacks a coherent body of research that unequivocally demonstrates learning benefits over traditional modes of instruction. Yet there is a growing volume of evidence to support the view that blended learning can result in improvements in student learning outcomes and enhance student satisfaction (Dziuban, Hartman, Cavanagh & Moskal, 2011; Garrison & Vaughan, 2008; Graham, 2006; Sharpe, Benfield, Roberts & Francis, 2006; Vaughan, 2007). The means to evaluate its effectiveness is frequently lacking since there are a relatively limited range of tools and methods that support staff in designing blended learning curricula. This paper describes one component of a possible framework for evaluating blended learning – the use of a course design rubric. A new rubric is outlined that attempts to represent a range of good practice in blended learning design derived from the literature and evidence-based research.

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Showing 105–117 of 132 articles