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

 

The proceedings of the 2010 ASCILITE Conference

C.H. Steel, M.J. Keppell, P. Gerbic & S. Housego (Eds.), Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings Ascilite Sydney 2010

Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

December 5-8, 2010

ASCILITE2010 Conference Website - https://www.ascilite.org/conferences/sydney10/

Published: 1 December 2010

ASCILITE Conference - Full Papers

  • 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education: An Australian and New Zealand scoping study

    Barney Dalgarno, Mark J.W. Lee, Lauren Carlson, Sue Gregory, Belinda Tynan

    This paper reports initial findings of a major scoping study that is being undertaken to examine current and planned applications of 3D immersive virtual worlds at higher education institutions across Australia and New Zealand. This scoping study is the first of its kind in the region. It is parallel and complementary to several studies conducted in other countries, and results obtained thus far appear consistent with international trends. The overall research design of the scoping study is discussed, along with preliminary results from the Australian/New Zealand sector-wide questionnaire. There seem to be preferred platforms being used in the Australian and New Zealand context, and usage has increased dramatically in recent years. Academics are using 3D immersive virtual worlds with their students in a variety of ways, for both assessable and non-assessable tasks. The project is supported by the Distance Education Hub research consortium, with team members from Charles Sturt University and the University of New England.

    Read article: 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education: An Australian and New Zealand scoping study

  • Making it real - from the street to the online classroom in police education: What is the impact on student learning?

    Amanda Davies, John Nixon

    The design and delivery of effective learning experiences in foundational police practice studies for distance education students is complex and challenging. The many and varied capabilities of computer technologies, in particular the online environment is providing a conduit to connect distance education students with authentic, situated learning experiences and providing a nexus between face to face and distance education police subject delivery. This paper describes the design and implementation of an online module in police investigation studies by Charles Sturt University School of Policing for NSW Police recruit students and the student evaluation of the learning experience. Key findings from the evaluation suggests that online learning delivery which utilises real-time policing scenarios connected the student to the reality of their chosen profession and was preferable to traditional print based curriculum delivery. Further findings from the evaluation informs on future design considerations and the connection between learning opportunities and technologies, a focus of ASCILITE 2010. Importantly, students also suggested that the interactive design of the online modules was compelling, engaging, provided for diverse learner styles whilst allowing for individual rate of progress without fear or favour.

    Read article: Making it real - from the street to the online classroom in police education: What is the impact on student learning?

  • From neural to social: Medical student admissions criteria and engagement in a social learning environment

    Shane Dawson, Leah Macfadyen, Lori Lockyer, David Mazzochi-Jones

    Notions of what it is to be knowledgeable and skilled in one‘s profession have evolved in recent decades. For instance, medical practitioners are expected to think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, and to be a professional and community leader. While these attributes have always been well regarded, it is only relatively recently that higher education institutions are actively incorporating these skills and attributes into student admissions criteria. In parallel, methods of instruction and course delivery have also changed over time with respect to these driving social paradigms. Today‘s medical schools are expected to both select and develop students in terms of these qualities through socially based pedagogical practices. This paper investigates the admissions criteria that best predict student engagement in a social learning environment and thus the related attributes such as communication, creativity, and leadership. The paper frames this investigation in the scholarship related to 21st century skills and achievement orientations.

    Read article: From neural to social: Medical student admissions criteria and engagement in a social learning environment

  • Transforming the teaching of report writing in science and engineering through an integrated online learning environment: WRiSE (Write Reports in Science and Engineering)

    Helen Drury, Janet Jones

    This paper describes an ALTC (Australian Learning and Teaching Council) funded project, which addresses the development of students' report writing skills in science and engineering across the undergraduate years. The WRiSE project grew out of concerns about student performance in written assessments, as well as the need to improve graduate writing emphasised by employers and government. The project approach involved a collaborative team across two institutions. The team comprised language and learning specialists and discipline staff who developed learning materials and technical and eLearning specialists who converted these into online materials. Development followed a feedback spiral, which also involved student users. WRiSE is an integrated, freely available, student centred, online learning environment for report writing in nine discipline areas within science and engineering. In each discipline area, interactive learning materials have been developed to address both the product and process of report writing, as well as the concepts and content behind the reports students have to write. WRiSE is designed to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds who have had varying writing experiences as it can be accessed according to student needs. Evaluation of WRiSE has been positive in the areas of user friendliness and improved understanding and confidence in report writing. Those students who used WRiSE have attained significantly higher grades in their reports than students who did not use WRiSE.

    Read article: Transforming the teaching of report writing in science and engineering through an integrated online learning environment: WRiSE (Write Reports in Science and Engineering)

  • Photo-imaging and tagging the act of studying

    Judith Guevarra Enriquez

    This paper aims to explore the study practices and places of learning as tagged and pictured in flickr.com. Digital imaging technologies and the Internet have recently expanded options for sharing text, photos, music and videos. Personal photography through the popular image-sharing site, flickr.com, allows this study to engage with the visible materials and visual orientation and representation of the act of studying. How is studying done becomes the focus to visualize the socio-technical relations that order university settings and literacy practices with photos tagged as studying in Flickr. Photo- imaging and tagging come together in ways that reveal how individuals represent themselves in self-portraits captured or pictured in the act of studying – which includes reading, writing, sitting; and in particular study places or spaces – in bedrooms, libraries, cafes and outdoors. It is informed by photographs taken and uploaded in Flickr. Photos assigned with the tag 'studying' and 'self' were analysed. Only 94 of the total 181 resulting items were considered for this paper. Additional tags that were associated to photos tagged as studying were searched further. The paper concludes with a discussion on how study practices pictured through Flickr remains to be centered around reading textbooks, writing notes and highlighting text, and seated at desks or tables where things could be spread out and not necessarily with a computer or a laptop or any other portable device in the 'photo-framed' self-portrait of studying in Flickr.

    Read article: Photo-imaging and tagging the act of studying

  • Providing timely assignment feedback to large online student cohorts

    Lorraine Fleckhammer, Lisa Wise

    The strong market demand for psychology to be taught online has seen a rapid growth in enrolments in psychology units delivered by Open Universities Australia. Students studying in the online environment have expectations of a fast turnaround of their assignments along with an individual critique of their work. Such expectations can prove difficult to fulfill and the challenge will only be exacerbated as student numbers increase. This paper outlines four different models of assignment marking, adopted in an online Introductory Psychology unit with a high student enrolment and a correspondingly large teaching team. The first model of assignment marking focused on transitioning experienced on-campus teaching staff to the online environment. Subsequent models aimed to reduce inefficiencies in the assignment marking process, without a reduction in pedagogical effectiveness. The current model (Model 4) no longer includes the time- consuming process of annotating student?s assignments with embedded comments. This change, while originally motivated purely by efficiency and budgetary constraints, has proved to be pedagogically effective. The faster return of grades accompanied by a brief individual comment on the overall quality of the work (rather than more extensive comments embedded as annotations within the assignment document) meets student expectations with respect to feedback, and when used in conjunction with more focused 'feedforward' through use of tutor teams and stronger tutor-student relationships, appears to provide a more effective teaching and learning outcome.

    Read article: Providing timely assignment feedback to large online student cohorts

  • Nurturing preservice teachers’ understanding of technology-enhanced pedagogy through reflection

    Ping Gao, Seng Chee Tan, Angela F.L. Wong, Doris Choy, Longlong Wang

    This paper reports the preliminary qualitative findings of the first-year phase from a two- year study, in which we aimed to investigate: 1) the preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and use of Information Technology (ICT) for classroom teaching and learning, and 2) their learning from reflection upon their use of ICT throughout their two-year initial preparation program. The major first-year findings showed that all the 14 participants demonstrated a gain in ICT knowledge and skills and register positive changes in their beliefs in and attitudes toward using ICT for classroom teaching and learning. Their use of ICT, however, varied greatly from using ICT as a presentation tool to support their instruction to engaging their students in using ICT to work on the authentic tasks. The participants’ reflection reinforced their perceptions of using ICT for classroom teaching and learning. The recommendations for engaging preservice teachers in reflection are discussed.

    Read article: Nurturing preservice teachers’ understanding of technology-enhanced pedagogy through reflection

  • How does pre-service teacher preparedness to use ICTs for learning and teaching develop during the first two years of teacher training?

    Lincoln Gill, Barney Dalgarno

    Pre-service teacher development in the use of ICT in the classroom was one of three aspects investigated over a period of two years in a qualitative study. Data collection was performed using three semi-structured interviews (3 phases), this was analysed and the developmental positioning of the pre-service teachers determined using a model developed by Taylor (2004). The results illustrate the diversity in students' initial capabilities, and indicate that the students' development over time was impacted in the main by attitudes and beliefs formed in class and on teaching placements, hands–on experience, and modelling of ICT use. Due to the acknowledged need for graduate teachers to effectively integrate technology into their teaching, the results are likely to be of interest to teacher educators involved in early childhood, primary and secondary pre- service teacher education courses. The paper is also likely to be of interest to higher educators in other professional disciplines, particularly those in which changes to course structures and content have been proposed on the basis of assumptions about the capabilities of "Digital Native" students.

    Read article: How does pre-service teacher preparedness to use ICTs for learning and teaching develop during the first two years of teacher training?

  • Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds

    Sue Gregory, Mark J.W. Lee, Allan Ellis, Brent Gregory, Denise Wood, Mathew Hillier, Matthew Campbell, Jenny Grenfell, Steven Pace, Helen Farley, Angela Thomas, Andrew Cram, Suku Sinnappan, Kerrie Smith, Lyn Hay, Shannon Kennedy-Clark, Ian Warren, Scott Grant, David Craven, Heinz Dreher, Carol Mathews, Deborah Murdoch, Lindy McKeown

    What are educators' motivations for using virtual worlds with their students? Are they using them to support the teaching of professions and if this is the case, do they introduce virtual worlds into the curriculum to develop and/or expand students' professional learning networks? Are they using virtual worlds to transform their teaching and learning? In recognition of the exciting opportunities that virtual worlds present for higher education, the DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group was formed. It is made up of Australian university academics who are investigating the role that virtual worlds will play in the future of education and actively implementing the technology within their own teaching practice and curricula. This paper presents a typology for teaching and learning in 3D virtual worlds and applies the typology to a series of case studies based on the ways in which academics and their institutions are exploiting the power of virtual worlds for diverse purposes ranging from business scenarios and virtual excursions to role-play, experimentation and language development. The case studies offer insight into the ways in which institutions are transforming their teaching for an unknown future through innovative teaching and learning in virtual worlds. The paper demonstrates how virtual worlds enable low cost alternatives to existing pedagogies as well as creating opportunities for rich, immersive and authentic activities that would otherwise not be feasible or maybe not even be possible. Through the use of virtual worlds, teaching and learning can be transformed to cater for an unknown future.

    Read article: Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds

  • Articulating constructionism: Learning science though designing and making “slowmations” (student-generated animations)

    Garry Hoban, Wendy Nielsen, Charles Carceller

    This conceptual paper analyses several theoretical frameworks for “learning through making” using technology. First, the theoretical framework of Constructionism, which was proposed by Seymour Papert (1987), is discussed which is based on an integration of constructivist views of learning and social views of learning. Second, several instructional design frameworks are analysed and finally a theoretical framework based on Peirce?s (1931) Semiotic Triad is explained. An example of learning through making is provided in the form of a “Slowmation” (abbreviated from “Slow Animation”), which is a new way for preservice teachers to learn science by making a narrated animation. It is a simplified form of stop- motion animation that integrates features of clay animation, object animation and digital storytelling. A theoretical framework then evolves that guides students in learning by creating a sequence of five multimodal representations (the 5 Rs): Representation 1 — research being written notes from summarising a topic; Representation 2 — a storyboard to plan the design of the animation; Representation 3 — making 2D or 3D models; Representation 4 — taking digital still photographs of the models as they are moved manually; and Representation 5 — creating the animation which can include text and a narration. Each of the theoretical frameworks help to explain the learning involved when students design and make an artefact using technology but the most relevant one is Peirce?s (1931) Semiotic Triad. Theoretical frameworks help to explain student learning that occurs through “designing and making” but some have limitations and their use depends on the purpose and context.

    Read article: Articulating constructionism: Learning science though designing and making “slowmations” (student-generated animations)

  • Children, engagement and enjoyment in digital narrative

    Arafeh Karimi, Yan Peng Lim

    There have been many experiments being carried out in recent years by educators and designers in the digital narrative areas which engaged children progressively in the story environment in order to ensure that the experience is fun and enjoyable while maintaining the educational values (Robertson & Good, 2005). However, with the research and experiments in place, the demand is more focused on more engagement and enjoyment in children learning and digital playing environment. The intention of this study is to look into children’s engagement and enjoyment in a 3D digital narrative environment and to find out their likes and dislikes based on their experience. This study focuses specifically on how children interact with the Quest Atlantis and seeks to identify participants' enjoyment level by applying the combination of Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) instrument (Ryan, 2006) and smileyometer (Read, MacFarlane, & Casey, 2002). Engagement was measured by time related factors as well as observation of each participant’s facial expression. Data sources used in this study include questionnaire, interview content, observational notes, and time records while a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed for analyzing the data. Findings of this study showed that in general, there was a high level of enjoyment which demonstrates a fun environment in terms of interest, enjoyment, perceived competency and perceived choice. Perceived choice was reported positive with low degree of pressure and tension. The related time duration data also showed that there was a high- level of engagement among the participants of this study. Facial expression observed from the children supported the results from the time related analysis while interview responses provided some interesting points about their enjoyment features. In this paper, the implication for digital narrative design, engagement features, and IMI scale findings will be discussed.

    Read article: Children, engagement and enjoyment in digital narrative

  • Academic involvement with the LMS: An exploratory study

    Ken Clark, Colin Beer, David Jones

    There is growing interest in the use of academic analytics however most of the reported work is being done at the level of institutions, and groupings of courses within those institutions. This study is an exploratory case study aimed at analyzing an academics' involvement with the Learning Management System, the student?s involvement with the LMS, and the links between the LMS, the academic, and the students.

    Read article: Academic involvement with the LMS: An exploratory study

  • Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on using scenario-based MUVEs in science education

    Shannon Kennedy-Clark

    This paper presents the findings of a study on the understanding and attitudes of pre-service teachers in the use of scenario-based multi-user virtual environments in science education. The participants in the study used Virtual Singapura, a virtual world, and completed an open-ended questionnaire. Data from the questionnaire indicated that gender and current computer game use were likely to affect the perceived benefits of using virtual worlds in a classroom setting. Behavior management was seen as being a constraining factor on a pre-service teacher's willingness to use a virtual world in the future. Overall, the results of the study indicate that teachers are both aware of virtual worlds and have an understanding of both their potential advantages and disadvantages within a classroom setting.

    Read article: Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on using scenario-based MUVEs in science education

Showing 14–26 of 160 articles