2010: ASCILITE 2010 Conference Proceedings: Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future

ASCILITE Conference - Symposia / Panels

• Critiquing constructivist theory: (Mis)aligned (mis)application of constructivism in online learning environments

  Barney Dalgarno, Gregor E. Kennedy, Mark J.W. Lee

  The focus of the symposium will be a critical exploration and examination of the nature of constructivist theories of learning and their consequences for the design of online learning resources and environments. Further detail about the theoretical frameworks and research studies that will be covered in this symposium are outlined below.

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• Teaching and learning in Virtual Worlds: Is it worth the effort?

  Helen Farley, Sue Gregory, Allan Ellis, Geoffrey Crisp, Jenny Grenfell, Angela Thomas, Matthew Campbell

  Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort?

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• Teachers, technology and design

  Peter Goodyear, Lina Markauskaite, Shirley Agostinho, Lori Lockyer, James Dalziel, Leanne Cameron

  Deciding how best to combine good learning tasks and appropriately supportive technology is becoming increasingly complicated. Teachers in higher education are struggling with rising expectations about graduate capabilities, a diversifying intake, increasing pressure on time and a dizzying proliferation of technology options. One response we are seeing is a strengthening interest in taking a more design-based approach to tackling what many would see as ‘wicked problems’ (Luckin, 2010; Hoadley, 2010; Goodyear & Retalis, 2010). This symposium provides an opportunity to discuss some of the latest insights from research on teachers’ experiences with the tools and methods of educational design (aka ‘design for learning’). Keywords: learning tasks, educational design, LAMS

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• Scenario-based multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) in education

  Michael J. Jacobson, Denise Wood, Deborah Richards, Shannon Kennedy-Clark

  The rapid growth in the use of virtual worlds in educational contexts has raised many questions about the pedagogical benefits of these technologies for teaching and learning. This symposium will focus on the use of scenario-based multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) in education and will specifically focus on: 1) the role of virtual worlds in education; 2) the value of scenario-based MUVEs in inquiry learning; 3) the role of 'collaboration' in a multi-user environment; 4) the design issues; and 5) the challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that students can benefit from the virtual experience.

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