2009: ASCILITE 2009 Conference Companion Materials

Final-year Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) students at The University of Sydney are required to submit a series of group-generated Problem-based Learning (PBL) cases. When submitted as word-processed, or paper-based documents, the cases are

Final-year Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) students at The University of Sydney are required to submit a series of group-generated Problem-based Learning (PBL) cases. When submitted as word-processed, or paper-based documents, the cases are characterised by a fragmented approach, and academics often report that a patient-focus is lacking. Following a successful pilot in 2007, wiki format was introduced, with a view to encouraging a whole- patient approach to the task. In Semester 1 2008, students submitted their group cases on paper, and in Semester 2, via a wiki. At the end of each semester, students’ views regarding the two case presentation formats were sought via self-completed questionnaires. At the end of the year, and independent of the students’ course assessments and grading, an evaluation of the PBL assignments was carried out by an external evaluator. The overall performance using the wiki was much less than expected following the pilot. However overall scores indicated no significant difference between the two methods.

The Pharmacy Experiential Learning Database (PELD) is the first stage of a project involving The University of South Australia, The University of Sydney and The University of Queensland. By making an online repository of collaboratively

The Pharmacy Experiential Learning Database (PELD) is the first stage of a project involving The University of South Australia, The University of Sydney and The University of Queensland. By making an online repository of collaboratively developed learning and assessment tasks available to pharmacy teachers and preceptors, this stage aims to provide a platform for improvement in the planning and delivery of pharmacy experiential learning throughout Australasia.

Selecting a new Learning Management System (LMS) is a strategic decision. The LMS is a key part of your institutional culture and shapes not only the student experience but also the future direction of your institution. This symposium

Selecting a new Learning Management System (LMS) is a strategic decision. The LMS is a key part of your institutional culture and shapes not only the student experience but also the future direction of your institution. This symposium describes the experience from the initial selection phase to early implementation of Moodle in four case studies: University of Waikato, University of Canberra, University of Canterbury and Massey University. The central question explored is: how do you successfully implement a new LMS within a large institution?

This interactive session draws on the expertise of participants to assist development of materials for teaching ‘new media communication skills’ to university science students. By enabling students to become the source of multi-media

This interactive session draws on the expertise of participants to assist development of materials for teaching ‘new media communication skills’ to university science students. By enabling students to become the source of multi-media content, lecturers can teach them valuable professional skills through the ‘authentic’ learning task of catering to real online audiences.

Substantial research and development efforts have been invested in producing digital learning designs and learning objects, with seemingly limitless potential for sharing and portability. However, initiatives to disseminate and share

Substantial research and development efforts have been invested in producing digital learning designs and learning objects, with seemingly limitless potential for sharing and portability. However, initiatives to disseminate and share learning designs have had limited success. This may be partly due to learning design being viewed as a product to be used in a range of teaching contexts, as is, without due consideration of learning design as a contextualised process driven by teachers’ pedagogical beliefs about the affordances, possibilities and relevance of digital teaching and learning resources. The HEART (HEaring And Realising Teaching-voice) learning design support strategy aims to support teachers’ learning design practice by eliciting and depicting the pedagogical beliefs underpinning a learning design or resource. In this session participants may trial an early prototype of the HEART website, and provide critical feedback on each stage of the support strategy.

This symposium will focus on how academics are using blended learning practices in a range of contexts and discuss the process of becoming effective practitioners in this new field of ICT- facilitated education. The discussion will be

This symposium will focus on how academics are using blended learning practices in a range of contexts and discuss the process of becoming effective practitioners in this new field of ICT- facilitated education. The discussion will be based on the research of panel members which is now published in a new edited collection of international research, "Effective Blended Learning Practices: Evidence-Based Perspectives in ICT-Facilitated Education." A range of perspectives will be presented on effectiveness in pedagogical contexts and also new emergent settings such as communities and professional learning.

Is there an ‘ideal’ approach to strategic planning for a rapidly changing area such as technology in education? Are there principles or heuristics that define useful process and help to avoid pitfalls? Do lessons from the past inform

Is there an ‘ideal’ approach to strategic planning for a rapidly changing area such as technology in education? Are there principles or heuristics that define useful process and help to avoid pitfalls? Do lessons from the past inform actions in the future? Where does my institution aim to be with elearning five years from now, and is it making the right moves to get there? This symposium will review elearning goals and implementation strategies from different parts of the world. Panel members from Hong Kong, North America and New Zealand will present regional perspectives drawn from experience across different organisations. Participants are invited to share their experience and opinions of elearning strategies through small group discussions. The focus is on how strategies are developed and implemented, what outcomes are expected or have been achieved, and what principles of good practice can be derived.

Second Life is an example of a 3-D virtual reality environment that can be used to create simulated learning experiences. Users access this environment from the internet via an avatar that interacts with others and the environment

Second Life is an example of a 3-D virtual reality environment that can be used to create simulated learning experiences. Users access this environment from the internet via an avatar that interacts with others and the environment. Simulating patient care scenarios in a realistic environment is an increasingly popular method to prepare health professionals to care for patients. While most simulation training occurs in a live simulation environment such as a laboratory, there has also been an increase in the use of virtual reality. This interactive session demonstrates the use of the virtual world, Second Life for teaching. The demonstration mirrors the stages used for pilot use of Second Life for teaching postpartum haemorrhage that took place earlier this year with undergraduate nursing students and lecturers from New Zealand and the USA. The experiences and key lessons learnt from the evaluation of the pilot are shared.

This session will engage participants in a supported process of Peer Review (PR) in blended learning environments. An introduction to PR and short overview of a current PR project (McKenzie et al 2008) will contextualise the activities

This session will engage participants in a supported process of Peer Review (PR) in blended learning environments. An introduction to PR and short overview of a current PR project (McKenzie et al 2008) will contextualise the activities. Participants will form pairs and use a ‘briefing template’ to ask each other questions in relation to a subject/unit or staff activity run in blended learning mode. Each pair will to log on to their subject/unit/activity site to work through part of a peer review framework. A debrief and look at project resources and website will conclude the session. This session is intended for all academics who have been teaching, or running staff development workshops, in blended learning environments. Delegates who have recently taught a subject, unit or workshop should bring along their laptops to engage in this ‘hands on’ review of learning and teaching in blended learning environments.

This symposium explores the quality debate in the context of a major investment in blended learning at Massey University. It outlines competing and coexisting assumptions about the nature of quality and describes the principles

This symposium explores the quality debate in the context of a major investment in blended learning at Massey University. It outlines competing and coexisting assumptions about the nature of quality and describes the principles underpinning a Quality Enhancement Framework developed to support the implementation of a new Learning Management System (LMS). Drawing on the Massey experience the symposium identifies a number of important tensions in response to two fundamental questions: what does quality blended learning look like and how do you promote it?