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2012: ASCILITE 2012 Conference Companion Materials

 

 

 

 

Reviewed abstracts for posters, workshops, and symposia for the proceedings of the 2012 ASCILITE Conference: Me, Us, IT!

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 - Posters

  • Fostering teamwork for health care professionals in the online learning environment

    Joanne Joyce-McCoach

    The inclusion of group assignments as part of teaching and learning in the education of health professionals is an expectation of registration bodies and health care stakeholders. Effective teamwork skills are seen as essential for productive working relationships in multidisciplinary teams and contributing to better health outcomes for staff and health care consumers. The translation of traditional approaches to teaching health care professionals to the online learning environment requires course coordinators to re-examine the relevance, design and assessment of group work. This presentation showcases the development of online group assessments that applies these education principles to the development of an assessment initiative in a multidiscipline health curriculum. It is anticipated that this translation of group work in higher education to the online learning experience will enhance the learning outcomes and experience for health care professionals and better meet the needs and expectations of students and key stakeholders.

    Read article: Fostering teamwork for health care professionals in the online learning environment

  • Evaluation of lecture captures in mathematics and statistics for internal, hybrid and distance modes

    Michael Kemp, Kerrie Cullis, Sharon Nielsen, Robert Wood

    For several mathematics and statistics subjects we included a variety of video-based resources including lecture captures. We surveyed students and found they appreciated and felt they learnt from the videos. Additionally, we recorded usage data and found a positive relationship between number of lecture captures downloaded and exam performance.

    Read article: Evaluation of lecture captures in mathematics and statistics for internal, hybrid and distance modes

  • Benchmarking Open Educational Practices in Higher Education

    Angela Murphy

    Open Educational Resources are widely discussed in higher education circles and open education practices are being upheld as the second generation of OERs that have the potential to make education freely available to all students. The OERu is a collaborative initiative between 12 institutions globally that is intending to offer courses free of charge to students using only OERs and open practices. This poster presents preliminary results from a research study conducted with 110 representatives of higher education institutions around the world, of which 12 were official; members of the OERu. The study was aimed at identifying the extent to which higher education institutions are currently implementing open policies and practices as well as explore the challenges faced by institutions when considering implementing open initiatives. Results from the study indicate that although higher education institutions are aware of and interested in open education resources and initiatives such as the OERu, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome before these initiatives are sustainable and more widely adopted.

    Read article: Benchmarking Open Educational Practices in Higher Education

  • Development of a framework for evaluating the impact and sustainability of mobile learning initiatives in higher education

    Angela Murphy, Helen Farley

    The field of mobile learning is becoming more capable of supporting high quality learning experiences and students are increasingly demanding greater mobility and flexibility. As a result, Higher Education Institutions are increasingly considering the implementation of institutional m- learning strategies. We present the aims and approach of a three year project to be conducted by the Australian Digital Futures Institute to develop an m-learning evaluation framework (MLEF) that will aid the selection and justification of m-learning initiatives. The framework will be encapsulated in an easy to use online evaluation toolkit which will consist of: a standardised evaluation framework, resources and guidelines; an m-learning maturity model; a database of m- learning exemplars; and an interactive mobile user model. The project is a collaborative initiative between USQ, ANU and UniSA and is supported through the Australian Government's Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) program. Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) methods will be used to develop outputs and deliverables.

    Read article: Development of a framework for evaluating the impact and sustainability of mobile learning initiatives in higher education

  • Using e-readers to increase access to course content for students without Internet access

    Angela Murphy, Neil Martin, Helen Farley

    There have been mixed reviews about the potential of e-readers to enhance higher education. At first glance, e-readers appear to have significant potential to provide students with access to course content and learning materials. There are a number of considerations and obstacles to be addressed, however, before these devices are ready for widespread adoption. This paper reports on a pilot study using e-readers to provide students without internet access, with access to electronic course content. Course readings were converted into ePub format and were made available to a cohort of 16 incarcerated students via e-readers. This paper provides an overview of the steps undertaken as well the challenges and obstacles encountered in converting the readings to ePub format.

    Read article: Using e-readers to increase access to course content for students without Internet access

  • Engaging students in writing: Online blogs versus conventional paper – insights and considerations

    Shanthi Suraj Nair, Lee Yong Tay

    This research paper explores the difference between conventional composition writing and writing of composition on online blogs by 224, 6 classes of Grade 5 students in an elementary-level future school in Singapore. Students in this study are savvy information communication technology (ICT) users who have been exposed to one-to-one computing since Grade 1. A total of 4 written assignments were given to the students – two conventional paper and pencil and two online blogs written assignments. No significant difference was found in students’ scores on the four written assignments and their penmanship. The submission rate for the conventional paper and pencil composition written assignments was 93.75% as compared to 75% for the online blogs entries. Although interviews with teachers seem to suggest that the ICT mode could facilitate the learning of higher-order type of learning, the significantly lower submission rate for the online blogs is of concern and interest.

    Read article: Engaging students in writing: Online blogs versus conventional paper – insights and considerations

  • From shed to head: A conceptual toolkit for social sciences

    Nigel Parsons, Scott Symonds

    The conceptual toolkit is a heuristic device for teaching and learning key concepts and is grounded in Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). It focuses attention by stripping away extraneous material, encouraging a focus on the germane. This project brings the toolkit into virtual existence as a digitally animated interactive resource in the form of an extended metaphor. Key disciplinary concepts are represented as a 'tools' that can gain traction on data like a spanner on a bolt. Tools are acquired by learners and organized in a 'tool shed' ready for use. The tool shed allows students to organize concepts into memorable clusters; tools are organized on shelves akin to cognitive schemata in long-term memory. Subsequently learners may select tools appropriate to a specific 'job' and, extending the metaphor, these are placed into a traditional steel cantilever toolbox ready for use. Exercises then scaffold application and analysis, facilitating higher level thinking; tools are 'picked up' by working memory for application to tasks such as case study or comparison. Reflection on the suitability of tools selected allows for deeper synthesis and understanding.

    Read article: From shed to head: A conceptual toolkit for social sciences

  • Building an Institutional Reporting Framework for Consensus Moderation Practices

    Nicola D. Shapland, Duncan D. Nulty

    This poster presents the initial findings from a two year Griffith University research project. The project entitled “Developing consensus moderation practices to support comprehensive Quality Assurance of Assessment Standards” is funded through a strategic Griffith Grant for Learning and Teaching, with ethical approval granted under reference number GIH/08/11/HREC. The poster describes the development of, and reports on the initial results from, applying a five level model of consensus moderation to assessment. Each level in the model describes a key stage in the assessment process, and a range of consensus moderation practices that would support quality assurance of assessment at that level. The reporting framework is imbedded in the University’s online Course Profile system and requires academics to report on their consensus moderation activities. Initial results confirmed this to be a meaningful reporting framework to gather and evaluate consensus moderation activities in use throughout the University.

    Read article: Building an Institutional Reporting Framework for Consensus Moderation Practices

  • 5 innovative ways to use virtual classrooms in Higher Education

    David Spann

    With constant pressure for higher education institutions to increase (or at least retain) student enrolments across the sector, many institutions are opting to keep up with demand by offering alternate methods of education provision and facilitation. By providing tools and resources such as Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Mobile Learn, staff are able to engage and communicate with their students; anywhere and anytime. Encouraging staff to move away from the traditional lecture-theatre and tutorial based model and to instead embrace the opportunities provided by a virtual classroom is not always easy; however some staff have been re-invigorated by this teaching method and are trialing new and innovative ways to teach their students virtually.

    Read article: 5 innovative ways to use virtual classrooms in Higher Education

  • Review It: A learner-led course evaluation

    Ralph Springett, Murray Kirk

    Review It is a learner-led course evaluation tool providing advice from students to students who are finalising paper/offering choices as they progress through their study. Review It encourages reflection of the student’s learning experience, and asks what advice that student would give other students. Survey results are moderated and made public online. By directing students to consider how they engaged with the learning material and delivery of an offering, Review It provides prospective students insightful advice from a student perspective. Students may also choose commend a lecturer or offering. The Review It question line also captures student perceptions of weekly workload, how close the offering matched their expectations, and whether there were unforeseen additional costs in study materials and resources. The benefits of the survey extend both to students and the institution; students have access to first-hand course testimonials, while the institution benefits from the first hand reports of students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their courses.

    Read article: Review It: A learner-led course evaluation

  • Flex and inflexibility: The impact of real-time collaborative technologies in highly customisable video-linked teaching spaces

    Scott Symonds, Maggie Hartnett , Mark Brown

    This paper introduces a major investment in 'state of the art' video-linked teaching (VLT) facilities aimed at supporting collaborative teaching and learning across and beyond the campuses of Massey University. It reports how the design and development of the VLT spaces have resulted in unexpected challenges that are occasionally counter to the flexible teaching philosophy that has informed the design of the rooms. Some initial feedback is shared from the early experiences of staff and students, indicating several lessons for other institutions wishing to exploit the potential of VLT and related new 'hybrid' learning spaces. Overall the poster offers a glimpse into an engaging, tactile learning environment which goes beyond traditional video conferencing and highlights some of the pedagogical implications that have arisen through the project pilot phase.

    Read article: Flex and inflexibility: The impact of real-time collaborative technologies in highly customisable video-linked teaching spaces

  • An exploration in the inclusive teaching practices within a New Zealand university: Part one: Inclusive assessments

    Ina Te Wiata, Feona Sayles

    This demonstration is intended to relate some of the initial findings of research into the issues surrounding students with a disability when undertaking assessments.

    Read article: An exploration in the inclusive teaching practices within a New Zealand university: Part one: Inclusive assessments

  • A matrix for sustainable online community development

    Susan Tull

    In supporting the development of an online community of practice, the uniqueness of a community and its situation need to be recognised in both its design and growth. The matrix outlined in this paper and poster draws from both guidelines and frameworks in the literature, and the study of one developing online community of practice. The perspective it provides will be of particular value to those seeking to grow and sustain an online community of practice, for a relatively small community of educators.

    Read article: A matrix for sustainable online community development

Showing 14–26 of 31 articles