2009: ASCILITE 2009 Conference Companion Materials

This poster details the development of a tool that integrates with common commercial and open source Learning Management Systems (LMS) to deliver real-time social network visualisations of discussion forum activity. The tool has aptly been

This poster details the development of a tool that integrates with common commercial and open source Learning Management Systems (LMS) to deliver real-time social network visualisations of discussion forum activity. The tool has aptly been named Social Networks Adapting Pedagogical Practice (SNAPP), because it allows academic staff to identify patterns of student behaviour and facilitate appropriate interventions as required. SNAPP has been designed with the aim of mainstreaming the use of social network analysis as a real-time diagnostic instrument. A unique and non-conventional Web 2.0 approach to LMS extension development has been employed to enable cross system (Blackboard, WebCT and Moodle), web browser (Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer) and platform (PC and Mac) support. Current features and future enhancements are outlined.

This paper discusses the ways Tablet PCs were used for in and out of class activities in undergraduate courses. Examples from different subject areas and different types of activities are quoted. Two case studies are discussed to

This paper discusses the ways Tablet PCs were used for in and out of class activities in undergraduate courses. Examples from different subject areas and different types of activities are quoted. Two case studies are discussed to demonstrate different ways of recording students’ learning journey. This paper includes excerpts from students’ reflections and students’ blog entries as authentic evidences of the effectiveness of Tablet PCs for learning.

This paper reports on research undertaken based on socio-cultural perspectives and developed within an activity theory (Engestrom, 2001) framework. The ongoing projects involve the collection of evidence of workplace based evidence of

This paper reports on research undertaken based on socio-cultural perspectives and developed within an activity theory (Engestrom, 2001) framework. The ongoing projects involve the collection of evidence of workplace based evidence of skill and knowledge acquisition by bakery apprentices. Mobile phones are used to collect photographic, video, audio and text evidence. This multi-media evidence was initially archived on photo and video storing and sharing websites. The advance of social networking websites afforded opportunities to migrate evidence to social networking sites structured as eportfolios.

This paper describes the development of a Design and Evaluation framework that aims to help stakeholders of a inter-disciplinary research project develop a shared understanding of project goals and methods by pooling their knowledge of

This paper describes the development of a Design and Evaluation framework that aims to help stakeholders of a inter-disciplinary research project develop a shared understanding of project goals and methods by pooling their knowledge of research approaches and methodologies. The xDelia project (Xcellence in Decision-making through Enhanced Learning in Immersive Applications) www.xdelia.org, is a three-year pan-European project that uses wearable sensors and serious games to investigate how people’s behavioural habits and emotional states affect their financial decision making. The project combines research skills and expertise of European partners from different methodological traditions (experimental, economic, field research) who will work together to achieve the project goals. The Design and Evaluation framework will provide a working collaborative model to capitalise on the different approaches, using ongoing participatory evaluation to ensure the development of an integrated set of research questions, optimum use of research instruments and effective collaboration between the different disciplines.

Online learning and teaching is rapidly increasing worldwide, including New Zealand’s schools, tertiary organisations and training companies. Extensive professional and organisational development is urgently needed to enable high quality

Online learning and teaching is rapidly increasing worldwide, including New Zealand’s schools, tertiary organisations and training companies. Extensive professional and organisational development is urgently needed to enable high quality education and training. We have evidence that our courses in best practices in online teaching and learning are impacting schools and tertiary education, including nurse education. This paper highlights aspects of our courses that appear to result in improvements in online and blended learning.

Multi-campus delivery creates important challenges around the issue of equivalence. This paper describes a number of lessons learnt from the design and delivery of a food technology programme across three campuses – Auckland, Palmerston

Multi-campus delivery creates important challenges around the issue of equivalence. This paper describes a number of lessons learnt from the design and delivery of a food technology programme across three campuses – Auckland, Palmerston North and Singapore – and the way digital technologies are being implemented to promote an exceptional and distinctive learning experience for all students. The increasing use of blended learning has posed many challenges for academic staff and the paper outlines some of the difficulties involved in multi-campus and multi-mode course delivery. With another distance delivery mode to Brazil planned in the near future, and potentially others, the paper concludes with 10 recommendations for those planning to utilise new digital technology to deliver equivalent learning experiences irrespective of campus or location.

The rapid evolution and ubiquitous use of mobile devices is an historical opportunity to improve experiential interactivity in education practices to support ‘deep’ learning. A major barrier to the widespread adoption of mobile learning in

The rapid evolution and ubiquitous use of mobile devices is an historical opportunity to improve experiential interactivity in education practices to support ‘deep’ learning. A major barrier to the widespread adoption of mobile learning in higher education is that of cost. Opportunities to overcome this barrier include the high rate of ownership of mobile phones by university students and technological solutions such as packet transmission technologies. mInteract™ is an online system which uses packet technology to build no-to-low cost interactivity into learning spaces. mInteract supports sustainable active experiential learning transactions for both student and teacher.

In 2008 the Ministry of Education in New Zealand funded a project titled Using e-learning to build workforce capability (Clayton, Elliott, Saravani, Greene & Huntington, 2008). During the project the team recognised the benefits of

In 2008 the Ministry of Education in New Zealand funded a project titled Using e-learning to build workforce capability (Clayton, Elliott, Saravani, Greene & Huntington, 2008). During the project the team recognised the benefits of identifying those critical success factors (CSFs) a small or medium enterprise (SMEs; those with less than 100 employees) needed to address to ensure e-learning initiatives were implemented effectively and efficiently. Five critical success factors are identified, described and illustrated.

We describe qualitative research conducted to provide a rich description of educators' perceptions about using multiuser virtual environments (MUVE) for teaching. We obtained the data by conducting semistructured interviews of educators

We describe qualitative research conducted to provide a rich description of educators' perceptions about using multiuser virtual environments (MUVE) for teaching. We obtained the data by conducting semistructured interviews of educators, with questions focused on the expected benefits of MUVE and on the known determinants of technology acceptance.

The impact of ‘out-of-class’ experiences on informal learning and student coursework satisfaction is attracting growing attention (Jamieson, 2009; Krause, McInnis, & Welle, 2003; Selwyn, 2007). Co-location and a sense of ‘being there with

The impact of ‘out-of-class’ experiences on informal learning and student coursework satisfaction is attracting growing attention (Jamieson, 2009; Krause, McInnis, & Welle, 2003; Selwyn, 2007). Co-location and a sense of ‘being there with others’ in physical space is one catalyst for serendipitous interactions that may lead to informal learning. Co-location may also be possible within electronic forms, such as instant messaging, video conferencing and social networking communities, although there is less research concerning the sense of togetherness possible in virtual space (Schroeder, 2006). This study will draw upon self-reported ‘out-of-class’ student experiences to explore how the conditions particular to physical and virtual spaces support interaction, and importantly, how they impact informal learning. The study will also explore ‘hybrid’ spaces, which span both physical and virtual domains. It will investigate whether co-location might work differently in this context, and have its own characteristics for facilitating informal learning.

Online social networking (OSN) is a range of activities enabled by social technologies and operationalised by a group of people. More recently, web 2.0 social technologies have been widely used to facilitate OSN. OSN is currently popular

Online social networking (OSN) is a range of activities enabled by social technologies and operationalised by a group of people. More recently, web 2.0 social technologies have been widely used to facilitate OSN. OSN is currently popular mostly for non-educational purposes among young generations categorised as Digital Natives. It can be appropriated and repurposed to support teaching and learning delivery. Despite the availability of implementation cases, studies on the effectiveness of the deployment are still lacking. Therefore, based on a critical literature review, this study investigates which OSN activities are relevant in the education context and what social technologies can support these activities. Specifically, four OSN activities that have been identified and relevant in the education context are content generating, sharing, interacting and collaboratively socialising. The study finding provides a general guide for academics who want to use OSN in improving their teaching and learning.

Physclips is a multi-level, multimedia introduction to mechanics, waves and sound, electricity and some other areas of introductory physics, covering the levels from late high school to first year university. It combines film clips of

Physclips is a multi-level, multimedia introduction to mechanics, waves and sound, electricity and some other areas of introductory physics, covering the levels from late high school to first year university. It combines film clips of experiments with animations, diagrams and explanations in both voice-over and text. Particularly powerful are film clips integrated with animated material such as dynamic displacement-time plots, moving vectors and histograms representing time-varying quantities in the clips. Each topic has a brief multimedia overview, which branches via links to extensive supporting material giving broader and deeper discussion. In the most recent addition, each chapter has a laboratory section to provide hands on activities utilising some common, inexpensive components. For teachers, there is a “downloads” page to select individual re-usable learning objects for use in lessons or to download zipped collections of entire sections.

Lightwork is a new application for the management and marking of assignments. In addition to making the process of working with assignments more efficient, Lightwork aims at encouraging good marking practices. Lightwork is designed to work

Lightwork is a new application for the management and marking of assignments. In addition to making the process of working with assignments more efficient, Lightwork aims at encouraging good marking practices. Lightwork is designed to work in conjunction with Moodle. It builds on the assignment functionality Moodle offers and adds features that help with the marking tasks. The Lightwork project is funded by the New Zealand Tertiary Education Commission. The project team contains members from Massey University, the University of Waikato, Te Whare W_nanga o Awanui_rangi, The Open Polytechnic, and the University of Canterbury. The team contains academics, e- learning specialists, educational developers and professional software developers. The outcomes of the project are targeted at the wider tertiary sector and include, besides the development of the application, the establishment of a user community.

The teaching project “Sociology of Education International” offers undergraduate students to collaborate online with students across the globe while studying on-campus. It demonstrates how blended learning enhances the quality of teaching

The teaching project “Sociology of Education International” offers undergraduate students to collaborate online with students across the globe while studying on-campus. It demonstrates how blended learning enhances the quality of teaching and learning and proves the need of meaningful inter-institutional agreements not only on research but on teaching. The poster shows the challenges and outcomes associated with establishing an international teaching cooperation by using eLearning tools. It may inspire academics and students to think about eLearning as a path to go global. Detailed information about challenges, outcomes and recommendations will be provided on a handout. Recommendations included Collaborate with departments within your university; use blended learning as didactic concept to teach your subject and related vocational skills without over-emphasising the technical side of eLearning; and use your blended learning concept and your experiences to develop teaching cooperations within your country.

This poster proposes an approach, which uses threshold concepts as a lens through which academic developers can examine their practice in order to explain why it has been so difficult to inspire academics to adopt technologies in their

This poster proposes an approach, which uses threshold concepts as a lens through which academic developers can examine their practice in order to explain why it has been so difficult to inspire academics to adopt technologies in their teaching. Networked learning is described as a “portal” that leads to a new ontological destination and, if fully understood and embraced, transforms the way learning is understood, teaching is practiced and, in fact, how a life is lived.

Is there an urgency to merge media pedagogy into traditional classroom practices, to support teachers and students with their interpretation and understanding of digital media literacies in light of the digital revolution? This paper

Is there an urgency to merge media pedagogy into traditional classroom practices, to support teachers and students with their interpretation and understanding of digital media literacies in light of the digital revolution? This paper reports on a design- based research investigation, which focuses on Buckingham’s (2003) Digital Media Literacies Framework and seeks to address the impact that digital media will have on students and teachers now and into the future. The study wishes to explore the interpretations of students as they become creators and producers of their own learning and how pedagogies may need to change across the curriculum. The proposed participants in this study are school students, teachers, academic lecturers and media students from different socio-economic groups in the Sydney and Greater Western Sydney areas. The researcher in this study will look at digital artifacts such as the Learning Federation learning objects and student’s use of Adobe CS4 and other multimedia software, where students and teachers construct their own learning to evaluate a new pedagogical practice in teaching. In addition, the social software’s such as Facebook and MySpace will also be addressed to determine changes in pedagogies in regards to collaboration in the classroom. Buckingham (2003 p.185) argues that ‘media education provides a more concrete and coherent framework for addressing teaching and learning. Comparing current pedagogies with the Digital Media Literacies Framework will be explored in this paper.

This poster will outline the pedagogical and design issues encountered in the development of a computer-based resource to support Indigenous health professionals undertaking a postgraduate course by Block mode. The resource aims to guide

This poster will outline the pedagogical and design issues encountered in the development of a computer-based resource to support Indigenous health professionals undertaking a postgraduate course by Block mode. The resource aims to guide students in their self- directed studies between blocks. It directs students through scaffolded activities that provide practice for Block mode class work and assessment tasks.

In traditional dental education the specialty of oral pathology has been predominately didactic and teacher-led in a large group environment. Because of the discipline’s nature, it is difficult to provide authentic clinical cases that will

In traditional dental education the specialty of oral pathology has been predominately didactic and teacher-led in a large group environment. Because of the discipline’s nature, it is difficult to provide authentic clinical cases that will enable critical thinking and decision making due to clinical or patient issues and limited access to physical spaces. To address this issue and to enhance the learning experience within a non-critical environment, a ‘transforming blended’ model (Graham 2006) has been employed within the University of Adelaide’s Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) program. Student evaluation of an oral pathology online clinical and laboratory scenario has been very positive. The approach will be enhanced as a result of this feedback and further enable movement between dependent and independent learning. This poster outlines the scenario methodology, use of authentic activities, assessment and student feedback of the pilot to support a ‘more engineered and deliberate use of technology’ blended learning approach (Oliver, Herrington & Reeves, 2006).

Dissatisfaction with an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) course for secondary pre-service teachers was the catalyst for this research study. Problems identified included the tension present while striving to meet the skills’

Dissatisfaction with an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) course for secondary pre-service teachers was the catalyst for this research study. Problems identified included the tension present while striving to meet the skills’ needs of pre-service teachers with varying ability and time spent (or lack of it) on developing pedagogical understanding of their curriculum. Reflection and discussion on the question led to a major change in our teaching methodology, which was to include technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) as a theoretical framework. The impact of the mandated changes on us and the course we developed was ultimately positive. We began to work together as a community as we grappled with the challenges thrust upon us. We instigated changes that resulted in positive outcomes not only for us but (more importantly) for our students.

This poster illustrates an Irish Higher Education sectoral initiative, the National Digital Learning Repository (NDLR). Many repositories for sharing educational resources or publications (JORUM, MERLOT) have been established in recent

This poster illustrates an Irish Higher Education sectoral initiative, the National Digital Learning Repository (NDLR). Many repositories for sharing educational resources or publications (JORUM, MERLOT) have been established in recent years to enable access to educational materials. Similarly the NDLR was established in 2004 in Ireland to enable the sharing of digital learning content across Universities and Institutes of Technology in Ireland. The NDLR mission is "to promote and support Higher Education sector staff in the collaboration, development and sharing of learning resources and associate teaching practices". (NDLR 2009) The project provides an online repository to support sharing of teaching and learning digital resources. A major enterprise of the project has been the instigation of twelve communities of practice (CoPs) to support the development of shareable and reusable resources.

The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Ireland, Teaching Fellowship awards have been established in support of strategic innovation and enhancement of learning. These awards are funded under Irish Higher Education Strategic Initiative

The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Ireland, Teaching Fellowship awards have been established in support of strategic innovation and enhancement of learning. These awards are funded under Irish Higher Education Strategic Initiative Funding (SIF), namely the Enhancement of Learning Strand. Teaching Fellowships were awarded by DIT Faculty Heads of Learning Development and presented to an individual or a team in support of their work developing and evaluating a specific project that will support the enhancement of learning and/or curriculum development at programme, school or faculty level. Twelve Fellowship projects, aimed at supporting the Enhancement of Learning strand of SIF in Higher Education, were officially launched on 25 Sept 2009.

This game draws on a number of benefits from educational game playing. Student engagement, motivation from a fun activity, short and sharp discussions amongst small groups, all combined with the use of technology tools. The game

This game draws on a number of benefits from educational game playing. Student engagement, motivation from a fun activity, short and sharp discussions amongst small groups, all combined with the use of technology tools. The game encompasses some of the standard principles of good practice in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) including the development of cooperation among students; the use of active learning techniques; providing prompt feedback; and emphasis on time management. Although the use of technology is an important feature of this game, it is also recognised that technology alone will not improve learning (Mcvay, Murphy, & Yoon, 2008) Making the learning process more enjoyable supports the motivation levels and increases the attention levels (Cermignano, Hargadon, & McMullen, 1998). The move away from a traditional lecture is not a new concept, nevertheless due to the cost-effectiveness and low threat to student involvement, the traditional lecture method is still widely used in business classrooms (Cook & Hazelwood, 2002).

Curtin’s iPortfolio is an online space for students and staff to create, share and publish evidence of their learning achievements and professional development. The iPortfolio facilitates social learning and encourages feedback and

Curtin’s iPortfolio is an online space for students and staff to create, share and publish evidence of their learning achievements and professional development. The iPortfolio facilitates social learning and encourages feedback and collaboration with peers and mentors. This poster paper visually demonstrates underlying system concepts, and includes screenshots highlighting key aspects of the iPortfolio experience.

In the past students commonly used ‘pen and paper’ to take notes of key points during lectures. With the increased sophistication of recording software applications, lecture capture applications have been developed. Lecture capture

In the past students commonly used ‘pen and paper’ to take notes of key points during lectures. With the increased sophistication of recording software applications, lecture capture applications have been developed. Lecture capture technologies allow educators to easily and seamlessly record all the activities that occur during a lecture. For example, audio, video, screen-capture, white board and power points. The use of lecture capture technologies is increasingly becoming commonplace in many tertiary institutions. In this poster, a pilot of the Panopto suite of lecture capture software used to capture lessons on Journalism Law, to use as content for a new distance-learning programme, will be described.

eBot is an initiative of the University of Sydney Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences and the University of Sydney Library. eBot supports the use of images for research, teaching and learning in the plant sciences, with a

eBot is an initiative of the University of Sydney Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences and the University of Sydney Library. eBot supports the use of images for research, teaching and learning in the plant sciences, with a specific focus on the Australian context. To date, images have been submitted by members of the university community. All content is freely available to the wider community as web-ready or powerpoint-ready objects. Images are metatagged according to botanical conventions with plant ‘family’ as a mandatory field for plant images. The collection is presented, indexed and navigated using the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF). XTF can be adapted to suit diverse metadata, and this flexibility offers a way of accommodating future phylogenetic changes. We believe that this way of organising and tagging biological images could serve as a model for sister repositories in the sciences.

The e-learning interface design should be a core, integrated component of the overall design of on-line units. The interface design should be determined by how people learn and the tasks they need to perform. This should be driven by a

The e-learning interface design should be a core, integrated component of the overall design of on-line units. The interface design should be determined by how people learn and the tasks they need to perform. This should be driven by a pedagogical, not technological, approach which identifies learning outcomes (Guralnick, 2008). In this regard, design layout has an important role in the look and feel of e-learning sites and can affect the way students learn and interact on a particular unit. Assessing fifteen e-learning sites in our school, we identified inconsistencies in the use of colours, icons, typography, navigation and file size. We are currently developing a strategy to overcome these limitations and standardise the units across the School of Education.

A pilot project generating slidecasts for use in four undergraduate and postgraduate education courses was conducted to gauge the level of acceptance by both staff and students with a view to possible expansion in the future.

A pilot project generating slidecasts for use in four undergraduate and postgraduate education courses was conducted to gauge the level of acceptance by both staff and students with a view to possible expansion in the future.

CurtinMobile is a purpose-built mobile website aimed predominantly at current Curtin students. Based on the evidence in mobile ownership surveys, student retention projects, and models of mobile technology use at other universities, Curtin

CurtinMobile is a purpose-built mobile website aimed predominantly at current Curtin students. Based on the evidence in mobile ownership surveys, student retention projects, and models of mobile technology use at other universities, Curtin has developed a mobile ‘help at your fingertips’ website called CurtinMobile. The aim of the mobile website is to help enable students to easily connect with the student experience ‘on the go’ by visiting m.curtin.edu.au.

We present the results of a systematic review of literature devoted to various aspects of e- learning success as a multidimensional measure of e-learning success (involving system use by learners, learner satisfaction, learning

We present the results of a systematic review of literature devoted to various aspects of e- learning success as a multidimensional measure of e-learning success (involving system use by learners, learner satisfaction, learning effectiveness and continuance intention dimensions),a structural model depicting the main determinants of e-learning success dimensions (which we find to be content quality, system quality, service quality and perceived task value) and the suggested cause-effect relationships. We also discuss an empirical procedure that we intend to use to validate the multidimensional measure we propose.

Tertiary institutions are motivated to offer greater flexibility in the delivery of their courses in order to increase student enrolments, retention and outcomes. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) provide a means

Tertiary institutions are motivated to offer greater flexibility in the delivery of their courses in order to increase student enrolments, retention and outcomes. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) provide a means of delivering course content to learners who cannot be present on campus at specific class times. This poster will graphically demonstrate how the design of blended task-based learning environments offer flexibility of time, place, student learning style, and teaching and learning approach, all of which is more suitable to the needs of today’s learners.

This study reports on the use of project based learning (PBL) in a blended environment as key method for teaching practical mobile application development within the context of undergraduate program module in mobile programming course in

This study reports on the use of project based learning (PBL) in a blended environment as key method for teaching practical mobile application development within the context of undergraduate program module in mobile programming course in Universiti Utara Malaysia. In support of the use of PBL, a prototype known as md-Matrix has been used throughout this study and will be proposed as the learning tool for mobile development course. The tool is designed and developed to assist students in choosing an appropriate development methodology based on their project requirements. Descriptions of how md- Matrix can be used in facilitating the learning process are described in this paper.

To assist students understand the difficult concepts of divided attention and interference, a new purpose built computer & mouse task is compared with an existing paper & pencil version, and yields complementary results. The pencil & paper

To assist students understand the difficult concepts of divided attention and interference, a new purpose built computer & mouse task is compared with an existing paper & pencil version, and yields complementary results. The pencil & paper task provides first-hand experience of divided attention and interference for the students. The computer & mouse task further extends the learning experience to the student’s workstation outside of the classroom, and has potential for larger scale implementation. The computer & mouse task is a good tool with some advantages over the paper & pencil task.

As part of the ascilite community mentoring program, an exploratory study was initiated on the use of discussion forums and online activities for first year student engagement in the life sciences. This was started in first semester and

As part of the ascilite community mentoring program, an exploratory study was initiated on the use of discussion forums and online activities for first year student engagement in the life sciences. This was started in first semester and based upon the discoveries made, modified for second semester. The results indicated that outcomes were poor for first semester, and positive for second semester when marks were assigned for the participation in the discussion forums.

A two-year collaborative project by Deakin, RMIT and Charles Sturt universities aims to build in each institution, the academic and professional staff capacities for developing and using a form of online, goal-based, role-play simulation

A two-year collaborative project by Deakin, RMIT and Charles Sturt universities aims to build in each institution, the academic and professional staff capacities for developing and using a form of online, goal-based, role-play simulation (eSimulation/eSim). While the project embraces ‘knowledge transfer’, ‘capacity building’ and ‘embedded dissemination’, a greater challenge is transforming perceptions of eSims in blended learning contexts to improve flexible learning designs across the higher education sector. The project addresses the need for coordinated research and development in the field of eSimulations in Australian higher education. It aligns the educational, technical, evaluation and research strengths of the three parties to build academic and professional staff capacities for the ‘local’ development and use of an already successful approach to simulating 'professional workplace experiences' for student learning. This poster presents the ALTC Competitive Grants Program project (2008-2010): ‘Building academic staff capacity for using eSimulations in professional education for experience transfer’. The project's website is http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/insims/altc-project/

There are certain tensions in moving from a traditional distance learning mode to an online mode as revealed in the online distance learning study this poster reports on. Students unfamiliar with the concept of discussion forums found that

There are certain tensions in moving from a traditional distance learning mode to an online mode as revealed in the online distance learning study this poster reports on. Students unfamiliar with the concept of discussion forums found that the onus seemed to remain on them as individuals to ‘get the job done,’ so that discussion of ideas was seen as an ‘add on’ at best. The value of the tutor above the value of their peers was another preoccupation of students who were very used to working from a one to one perspective. This antipathy to their peers was exemplified by a possessive approach to learning and their knowledge. Sharing and building up trust between students was not seen as a priority and students largely oriented towards acting strategically in their approach as individuals rather than as members of communities.

The change to a new Learning Management System (LMS) combined with the restructuring of teacher education programmes has led to the need for additional professional development within our College of Education. An online “Educational Design

The change to a new Learning Management System (LMS) combined with the restructuring of teacher education programmes has led to the need for additional professional development within our College of Education. An online “Educational Design Classroom” has been created with two major goals in mind: to help prepare faculty to design their online spaces for the new courses, which at times combine different subject areas within the same course; and to develop those spaces for teaching both flexible learning (distance) and on- campus students within ‘Learn’ (powered by Moodle) the new LMS. This poster highlights elements of the “Educational Design Classroom”, the theory behind it, and its use.

A professional development (Summer School) with over two hundred teachers of English participating in the activity for over six months, was supported by an online social software website. The employment of Web 2.0 technologies to

A professional development (Summer School) with over two hundred teachers of English participating in the activity for over six months, was supported by an online social software website. The employment of Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate the delivery of the summer school was reasonably successful, but other benefits were realised. This poster presentation will show how scaffolded learning along with new experiences and knowledge, can potentially have added long-term value when sustained in an authentic, supportive learning environment.

Tools of Web 2.0 such as blogs are now shaping the way in which neomillennials wish to engage in sharing and learning. Out of a resolve to not let infirmity, lack of finances, resources, or geographic remoteness get in the way of achieving

Tools of Web 2.0 such as blogs are now shaping the way in which neomillennials wish to engage in sharing and learning. Out of a resolve to not let infirmity, lack of finances, resources, or geographic remoteness get in the way of achieving a shared goal, the undertaking of a ‘high adventure’ in the form of a virtual walk grew written by a group of contributors. Through additional Web 2.0 social-sharing sites such as YouTube, and a growing community of global supporters met along the journey, a blog entitled Beauty of the journey (2008-2009) became a metaphor for hope. Viewed as a practical example of connectivist theory, the blog incorporated four facets for engagement in a virtual learning environment: project-based learning, collaboration, informal learning, and the addition of tangible artefacts to enhance the sensory experience to enhance the real within the virtual environment.

In the current chaotic economic environment employers are seeking flexible ways to improve the skills of their workers and the productivity of their organisations. They are increasingly exploring Information and Communication Technologies

In the current chaotic economic environment employers are seeking flexible ways to improve the skills of their workers and the productivity of their organisations. They are increasingly exploring Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to provide this flexibility in a cost effective way. There is a tension between keeping course design and development costs down, yet maximising learner impact. The case study presented in this poster demonstrates how a “wrap around blended learning” approach can be used to achieve both goals.

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?