E. Marcia Johnson, Bronwen Cowie, Willem de Lange, Craig Hight
This paper reports on an on-going case study project to explore ICT/ eLearning across several disciplines and with students from diverse backgrounds at tertiary level in New Zealand. The project has been designed to address issues of
This paper reports on an on-going case study project to explore ICT/ eLearning across several disciplines and with students from diverse backgrounds at tertiary level in New Zealand. The project has been designed to address issues of tertiary-level pedagogy, e- pedagogy, and research with the goal of building eLearning capacity, leveraging pedagogical change, and closing participatory gaps for students and lecturers. Initial design decisions, the pedagogy that has informed the case studies, and the challenges and benefits of working across subjects and levels in a multi-disciplinary team are described. We also discuss research knowledge mobilization within our own instructional context and more broadly elsewhere.
‘The Trialling of Collaborative Online Tools for BCE’ JISC-funded project is investigating the use of collaborative online tools to support Business and Community Engagement (BCE) in a variety of contexts via a number of trials situated in
‘The Trialling of Collaborative Online Tools for BCE’ JISC-funded project is investigating the use of collaborative online tools to support Business and Community Engagement (BCE) in a variety of contexts via a number of trials situated in colleges and universities within the UK. BCE is the strategic management of interactions, partnerships and transactions with partners and clients external to the institution. This includes the commercial and public sectors (including charities and trusts), the cultural landscape and the social and civic arena. Three of the eight trial projects are working with partners in the design and/or delivery of curricula. Two have an international dimension and one is a large regional partnership with The Regional Health Authority. These three are trialling very different approaches and tools to support their BCE activities and through their activities and experiences, future BCE collaborative ventures will benefit. This poster shows progress to date.
Oriel Kelly, Dawn Coburn, Bronwyn Hegarty, Lynn Jeffrey, Merrolee Penman
Digital information literacy (DIL) is a vital capability in the changing spaces of tertiary education. In this paper the approach taken in a collaborative research initiative investigating how teaching staff and students acquire digital
Digital information literacy (DIL) is a vital capability in the changing spaces of tertiary education. In this paper the approach taken in a collaborative research initiative investigating how teaching staff and students acquire digital information literacy skills through action learning and the development of personal learning environments is described. The methodology is outlined, and as this is still a work in progress, some preliminary results are shared, which demonstrate that participants made important shifts in their capability as a result of the project.
Shannon Kennedy-Clark, Michael Jacobson, Peter Reimann
This research focuses on analysing the impact of structure in inquiry learning activities in a Multi-User Virtual Environment. Productive failure is a learning strategy that has shown that using a low structure initial activity in inquiry
This research focuses on analysing the impact of structure in inquiry learning activities in a Multi-User Virtual Environment. Productive failure is a learning strategy that has shown that using a low structure initial activity in inquiry learning can result in better learning outcomes than using an initial high structure activity. Virtual Singapura is a multi-user virtual environment that presents learners with the opportunity to engage with a visually rich, authentic and dynamic environment that enhances a student’s engagement with inquiry learning. This research aims to inform research on productive failure and the structuring of inquiry based activities in virtual environments.
This paper reports on a study aimed to better understand teaching and learning in an online learning environment through the development of a learning community to facilitate successful learning experiences. To achieve this aim, a
This paper reports on a study aimed to better understand teaching and learning in an online learning environment through the development of a learning community to facilitate successful learning experiences. To achieve this aim, a qualitative interpretive methodology was adopted to case study an online lecturer and his 14 students’ experiences in a semester long fully online asynchronous graduate course in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Based on the findings, a model for understanding and developing an online learning community for adult tertiary learners is proposed. In accord with sociocultural views of learning and practices, the model depicts successful online learning as a mediated, situated, distributed, goal-directed and participatory activity within a socially and culturally determined learning community. The model informs our understanding of appropriate conditions for the development of online learning communities and has implications for the design and facilitation of learning in such contexts.
“Positive Partnerships” is a flexibly delivered, government supported training initiative, which incorporates an interactive learning platform customized for Australian teachers, parents, and carers of school aged students with autism
“Positive Partnerships” is a flexibly delivered, government supported training initiative, which incorporates an interactive learning platform customized for Australian teachers, parents, and carers of school aged students with autism. This cohort forms a diverse working group, possibly requiring more accommodations than the norm, so it is essential to determine whether the site meets their varying needs. In the current study a “Think aloud” protocol was used to determine the usability of the site for participants with varying computer access and competence. It was found that most of these users quickly accomplished a range of online activities and enjoyed the site’s interactive nature and its time-saving features. It was concluded that the site should be promoted, and its potential would be maximized with deeper menus, an internal search capability, and explicit information about generic computer functions.
This paper examines the integration of a Simulated Professional Learning Environment (SIMPLE) with a Learning Management System (Moodle), an E-portfolio System (Mahara) and other learning technologies to create an Integrated Learning
This paper examines the integration of a Simulated Professional Learning Environment (SIMPLE) with a Learning Management System (Moodle), an E-portfolio System (Mahara) and other learning technologies to create an Integrated Learning Environment (ILE) in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) at ANU. The focus is on the work undertaken by Educational Developers and IT Consultants to develop and integrate the technical aspects of the new environment so that students and lecturers experience a comprehensive integrated teaching and learning environment.
Tim Lever, Elizabeth Devonshire, Melinda Lewis, Fran Everingham
The paper describes the initial design and testing of an alternative approach to learning design classification in the form of a small-group activity for use at teaching and learning conferences and showcase events. The learner role
The paper describes the initial design and testing of an alternative approach to learning design classification in the form of a small-group activity for use at teaching and learning conferences and showcase events. The learner role classification approach uses small scale comparative surveys as a basis for exploratory discussion of relationships among different learning design options. ‘Role-play glasses’ are employed in both real and figurative senses in the observation and analysis of learning design examples. The approach aims to develop a relatively simple way of situating particular learning designs in relation to the overall field by using one specific learning aspect, the learner role, as common point of reference. The outcomes of this exploratory exercise point to the importance of including learner role descriptions in design classifications.
Given the prevalence of mobile devices in everyday life and recent interest in using mobiles in education, it is critical to understand teachers’ perspectives regarding mobile technology and its possible integration in their teaching
Given the prevalence of mobile devices in everyday life and recent interest in using mobiles in education, it is critical to understand teachers’ perspectives regarding mobile technology and its possible integration in their teaching. Therefore a small scale study (n=42) was conducted on a group of tertiary educators from around NZ in order to provide an initial idea of the attitudes, characteristics and variables that best discriminate educators attitudes towards the inclusion of mobile technology into learning. The study was also aimed at highlighting some of the key advantages and barriers that mobile technology offers to education from an educator’s perspective. The concepts highlighted in this study aim to identify key areas that play a part in educator’s adoption of mobile technology and will provide the basis for a wider survey.
Mary Jane Mahony, Ann Applebee, Stephen Sheely, Beatrice Johnson, Alison Blair, Paula Williams
While quality assurance is often spoken of in terms of a single institution-wide approach, the diversity of spaces, places and players signals that reality is more complex. This paper reports on an on-going case study conducted within an
While quality assurance is often spoken of in terms of a single institution-wide approach, the diversity of spaces, places and players signals that reality is more complex. This paper reports on an on-going case study conducted within an action research framework of a middle-sized Australian university concerned with quality assurance in regard to supporting the learning of campus-based students using online environments. The tensions that arise between the need to foster the spread of enthusiasm and skill and the need to monitor and record, and between top-down and bottom-up approaches are considered. Five broad dimensions of quality assurance are identified. Recognition and support of diversity in strategy to both meet local needs and to achieve university-wide standards are considered.
Recent educational research attests to an increasing awareness of the need to encourage learner control over the entire learning process. Web 2.0 and social software tools are capable of supporting informal conversation, dialogue and
Recent educational research attests to an increasing awareness of the need to encourage learner control over the entire learning process. Web 2.0 and social software tools are capable of supporting informal conversation, dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide raft of ideas and representations. Used appropriately, they can shift control to the learner by promoting agency, autonomy and engagement in social networks that straddle multiple real and virtual learning spaces independent of physical, geographic, institutional and organisational boundaries. However, in order for self- regulated learning to come to fruition, students need not only to be able to choose and personalise what tools and content are available, but also to have access to appropriate scaffolding to support their learning. Emerging practices with social software, examples of which are showcased in this paper, signal the need for pedagogies that are more social, personal and participatory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice, including current challenges faced by tertiary educators.
The E-valu8 project at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), aimed to utilise technology to support students in effective methods of evaluating the quality of their learning experience, enabling open interaction, collaborative and
The E-valu8 project at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), aimed to utilise technology to support students in effective methods of evaluating the quality of their learning experience, enabling open interaction, collaborative and personal action planning. The objectives explored ways of engaging and motivating students by providing timely feedback, through the development of an online evaluation tool. Initial investigation focused on the mechanism, value and worth of both the process and value of effective feedback. The emphasis within this paper is the consequential effect, if any, on the motivational effect of student feedback by closing the feedback loop and endeavouring to consider if such activity promotes student engagement within a course of study. Creating an environment in which feedback is acknowledged and acted upon and fed back to students has been shown to enhance learning outcomes in many different ways, including improvement in the quantity and quality of the learning experience (Grabinger et al, 1995). This could be defined as an environment which is both dynamic and responsive, with the students being encouraged and rewarded for participating within the feedback and assessment process. Our work illustrates that by embedding more intrinsic rewards via appropriate feedback mechanisms this allows students to feel involved in taking responsibility for their own learning, (Davies and Smith, 2006; Canaan, 2003). This promotes a deeper understanding of concepts and their application. The technology use needs to be constructively aligned with the curriculum objectives and learning outcomes so the students can become actively engaged in their learning and the learning and teaching process, rather than passive recipients of knowledge and information. To conclude, this paper attempts to show how the effective use of an institutionally based feedback and evaluation tool can encourage and support student motivation to learn and engage within a course of study.
The design of mLearning applications based on mobile data technologies and the development of mLearning services implementing them is driven both by mobile technology innovation, and by the trend towards more student-centered and
The design of mLearning applications based on mobile data technologies and the development of mLearning services implementing them is driven both by mobile technology innovation, and by the trend towards more student-centered and personalized learning. mLearning activities are normally delivered through an mLearning service, which may use a specialized hardware/software mobile learning artefact. The study aims to develop a framework for the evaluation of innovative mLearning artefacts with respect to their potential to succeed as mLearning services. The perceptions of the mLearning users are investigated in order to identify the dimensions of the framework. The outcomes of the completed study may highlight the role of artefact design in the adoption of the mLearning service and provide directions to artefact designers.
