2022: ASCILITE 2022 Conference Proceedings: Reconnecting relationships through technology

This concise paper explores as work in progress a collaborative discussion-based webinar series that develops and amplifies understandings of the teaching-research nexus. Aimed at early and mid-career university academics, the series

This concise paper explores as work in progress a collaborative discussion-based webinar series that develops and amplifies understandings of the teaching-research nexus. Aimed at early and mid-career university academics, the series implements a design-based research framework using alternative publishing via Figshare and dissemination through social media networks of the recordings of live online webinars. The webinars feature a panel of invited Deans Teaching and Learning from across the university in collaboration with three higher education research specialists. Results of ongoing analysis of development, engagement, outcomes, and impact are presented, and a preliminary framework is advanced for developing and amplifying understanding of the teaching-research nexus.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across the globe pivoted to using educational technologies such as lecture capture, video conferencing and discussion boards to reconnect with learners. For incarcerated learners, this was not an

With the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across the globe pivoted to using educational technologies such as lecture capture, video conferencing and discussion boards to reconnect with learners. For incarcerated learners, this was not an option due to the dearth of technologies and internet access in most correctional jurisdictions. As many tertiary education institutions leverage the affordances of digital technologies to increase access to learning and reconnect with learners, they are inadvertently excluding a large cohort, incarcerated learners. Prisons are typically technology poor and prohibit access, at least to some degree, to the internet. This paper examines some of the common challenges to the deployment of educational technology in prisons to reconnect with incarcerated learners. They are classified as physical challenges, operational challenges, attitudinal challenges, and human challenges.

This paper describes the rationale, process and results of a scoping review of journal articles researching aspects of language learning and the use of Virtual Reality (VR) from 2020 onwards. Twenty-four articles were chosen for data

This paper describes the rationale, process and results of a scoping review of journal articles researching aspects of language learning and the use of Virtual Reality (VR) from 2020 onwards. Twenty-four articles were chosen for data extraction, including five previous systematic reviews. The analysis confirmed that VR has a positive effect on the motivation of language learners to study but there is less clear-cut support for specific language gains. The most frequently mentioned language target is vocabulary acquisition, and although VR certainly facilitates initial vocabulary learning there is less evidence of long-term retention of new lexis. This scoping review has helped to focus the next stage of this VR project on working with students in the long term on improving specific speaking skills and to clarify the most appropriate pedagogical strategies for the use of VR for language learning.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching has mainly focused on providing students with immediate, and more, feedback while reducing teachers’ workload. In this paper, we propose a shift in thinking about the role AI can play in

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching has mainly focused on providing students with immediate, and more, feedback while reducing teachers’ workload. In this paper, we propose a shift in thinking about the role AI can play in developing students’ feedback literacy. Through the reflection of a University wide T&L pilot project ran with an AI tool for automated feedback, we frame a discourse on the use of AI for teaching and learning to promote and further develop students’ feedback literacy capabilities, including the dispositions required for a meaningful partnership with their teachers in relation to feedback. This paper reports the interactions of higher education students with an AI automated feedback tool and discusses its affordances in relation to the development of students’ feedback literacy capabilities. Implications for further refinement of this tool are also presented.

The COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated Blended Learning in many institutions worldwide, catapulting it into a now permanent spot in the school curriculum in many higher learning institutions. However, given the infinite permutations in

The COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated Blended Learning in many institutions worldwide, catapulting it into a now permanent spot in the school curriculum in many higher learning institutions. However, given the infinite permutations in blended learning, it is not surprising that it has led to contradictory student outcomes and learning experiences. Research has suggested the combination of Problem-based learning and blended learning can lead to constructivist learning environments that promote 21st century skills such as innovative uses of technology, problem-solving and collaborative skills. However, there is little to guide educators in the design of blended PBL. One design consideration is the choice of delivery modes. In this presentation, the literature is explored for the essential instructional components in PBL, and the modes of delivery that best support them. This could be offered as a starting point to support lesson designers approaching blended PBL.

Feedback has great potential to benefit students’ learning and skill development. Feedback designed in an effective manner can help improve a student’s current performance by supporting their sense of curiosity and motivation and fostering

Feedback has great potential to benefit students’ learning and skill development. Feedback designed in an effective manner can help improve a student’s current performance by supporting their sense of curiosity and motivation and fostering a deeper engagement in the learning. Game-Based Learning (GBL) environments present an appropriate platform to implement feedback to facilitate progress monitoring and enhance curiosity and motivation. Through carefully designed feedback with the support of psychological theories in such environments, learners can become more immersed and interested in their learning. This allows for creating an environment where a learner feels more connected and empowered in their learning journey. This paper proposes a feedback framework with an understanding of the purpose and varieties of feedback mechanisms that can be presented to the learners at different levels within a digital learning environment through a statistics game to stimulate curiosity and motivation and help achieve the learning goals.

Aviation has been using flight simulators for pilot training for a long time. Desktop simulators are a more cost-effective, efficient and accessible alternative to an expensive high-cost, high-fidelity flight training devices. Despite the

Aviation has been using flight simulators for pilot training for a long time. Desktop simulators are a more cost-effective, efficient and accessible alternative to an expensive high-cost, high-fidelity flight training devices. Despite the benefits, desktop simulators are rarely seen in flight schools and flight instructors hardly recommended them for early stages of training. Therefore, this study investigated the perception of flight instructors about the usefulness of desktop simulators in flight training and the ways they can be used in the early stages the training. An ethnographic study was conducted in a flight school in Australia via observation and in-depth interviews. Despite the documented benefits of using desktop simulators, there seems to be a hesitancy by flight instructors to encourage students to use these devices because students: build bad habits if they misinterpret what they have been taught and practise without supervision, tend not to trim the aircraft, apply too much force on the controls, and look down at the instruments very often and do not look out. We conclude that this negative perception about the technology can be holding back further progress in improving the quality of flight training and preventing students from embracing the technology to enhance their learning.