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2008: ASCILITE 2008 Conference Proceedings

 

 

 

The proceedings of the 2008 ASCILITE Conference.

R. J. Atkinson, & C. McBeath (Eds.) (2008),

Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? 

Proceedings ASCILITE 2008. Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Published: 25 November 2008

ASCILITE Conference - Full Papers

  • Academic integrity compliance and education

    Margaret Hamilton, Joan Richardson

    In 2002, RMIT University trialled Turnitin (Barrie 1996) a text matching software package to assist in the identification of plagiarism. Turnitin enables access to databases of text stored digitally and provides a means of comparing student submissions. Subsequent to the initial use of Turnitin by staff, a pilot was conducted during which student groups had access to the software to check their submission drafts. Now student assessments whether online or on-campus can be run through the detection software. In this paper, we discuss the process and practices of using plagiarism detection software at RMIT and briefly examine some information gathered from students, both online and on-campus, informal comments regarding their participation in the student upload pilot. From these comments some suggested improvements to the implementation process are discussed. Some directions for future research into student use of Turnitin are also suggested. In recent years, the Schools of Computer Science and Information Technology (CS&IT) and Business and Information Technology (BIT) have spear-headed trials of the use of plagiarism detection software, as well as implementing processes, procedures and workshops for explaining and dealing with academic integrity. This has possibly occurred because most of their student submissions are electronic and therefore amenable to use of copy detection software, or because the staff are well aware of and interested in the technologies involved. Dealing with the numerous cases of plagiarism found by the software has posed difficult questions for both Schools and the University, and is the main issue addressed in this paper.

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  • Breaking down online teaching: Innovation and resistance

    John Hannon

    The term “innovation” is mainly associated with change in practice using educational technology. This paper explores the question of why innovations in online teaching and learning in higher education break down or deliver less than they promise: why they are so resource intensive, so prone to breakdown, and why they often fail to live up to their promises? Two cases of innovation were selected from a broad doctoral research project across three Australian universities, involving 24 interviewees. One case was a bottom-up, wiki-based learning space inspired by a constructivist commitment, the other a top-down response to organisational change in a degree program. Despite literature on case studies which offer useful evidence-based approaches and models for online pedagogy, there is a lack of analytical perspectives with which to engage with breakdowns and “thwarted innovation” in online learning. The focus in this paper is online teaching, and breakdowns are scoped beyond the technologies involved and encompass any social, material or discursive entity. An actor network perspective (Callon 1986; Latour 1987; Law 2000) is used to explore the relationality between social and technological entities, or the sociotechnical assemblage which constitutes online teaching. It argues that (i) crucial factors are hidden by the normative perspective inherent in the implementation of technology systems, and (ii) recognising the connections between the social, material and discursive entities in online learning offers a strong analytic basis for innovative teaching and learning practice.

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  • New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile technologies and new ways of teaching and learning

    Jan Herrington, Jessica Mantei, Anthony Herrington, Ian Olney, Brian Ferry

    This paper describes a major development and research study that investigated the use of mobile technologies in higher education. The project investigated the educational potential of two ubiquitous mobile devices: Palm smart phones and iPod digital audio players (mp3 players). An action learning framework for professional development was designed and implemented with a group of teachers from a Faculty of Education. Each teacher or team created pedagogies to implement appropriate use of a mobile device in different subject areas in higher education. This paper describes the project aims, design and implementation in four phases, together with a description of the project management and communication factors that helped to ensure its success.

    Read article: New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile technologies and new ways of teaching and learning

  • Conflicting landscapes: Musing on the implementation of an open source collaboration environment

    David Hirst, Claire Brooks

    This discussion of the implementation of an open source collaborative environment (MUSE) in a traditional institution during a period of upheaval not only explores the details of the evaluation of the first year of operation, but also the tensions around ownership, control and power. The paper reports on the implementation and seeks to address some of these questions: Can open source initiatives make a difference to the fundamental pedagogy of educational institutions? Can a modest change in IT solutions enable users to create their own learning and research spaces effectively? What factors would we do differently? In what ways does supplementing an existing large integrated system with another involve innovation in educational technology?

    Read article: Conflicting landscapes: Musing on the implementation of an open source collaboration environment

  • The Ps Framework: Mapping the landscape for the PLEs@CQUni project

    David Jones, Jocene Vallack, Nathaniel Fitzgerald-Hood

    The complex task of effectively using educational technology within universities is becoming more difficult as the shifting educational technology landscape brings into question many current institutional structures, practices and policies. This paper introduces the Ps Framework, a descriptive theory intended to reduce the complexity associated with making decisions within this changing landscape. The Ps Framework helps map out the changing landscape within a particular organisation, identify the diverse perspectives that may exist, and consequently aid decision makers to better understand the large amounts of complex and uncertain information involved in such decisions. The value of the Ps Framework is illustrated by using it to make sense of the landscape faced by the PLEs@CQUni project. This project aims to investigate, encourage and enable the use of social media, in the form of personal learning environments (PLEs), to supplement and enhance existing applications of educational technology at CQUniversity.

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  • Pestering staff into online learning: An integrated plan for implementation

    Hazel Jones

    Universities are striving to provide quality learning experiences for their diverse student population and online learning is one aspect of this changing environment. This paper notes barriers that have been recognised that impede faculty uptake of online learning and examines some of the strategies that can be implemented to overcome these barriers. A plan for integrated implementation of online learning is proposed which consists of Planning & Promotion, Education, Support, Training, Encouragement and Recognition & Reward (PESTER). The elements of the plan are described in detail and an example of an implementation plan is provided.

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  • Challenging online learner identity through online learning tools

    Gordon Joyes

    This paper explores ways learner identity needs to and can be developed in our rapidly changing digital globalised world. It argues for a redefinition of personalisation to one where learners are able to identify with and work within a learning community. Two tools for learning are discussed in relation to this notion of development of learner identity and personalised learning. The first is the V-ResORT (Virtual Resources for Online Research Training) website www.v-resort.ac.uk. This free and highly navigable resource provides complete research narratives by Masters and Doctoral students in education studies as well as researching academics. This represents a community of research practice revealing their understandings in authentic and compelling ways unlike the reified versions found in academic texts and research papers. Research students can flexibly explore the online researcher narratives and research lecturers/supervisors can use these as triggers with which to raise issues and ground aspects of methodology and theory. Research into the use of materials reveals the ways this helps connect the learners with research communities and develops their identities as researchers. The second tool for learning is the ViP (Virtual Interactive Platform). This is pedagogically driven Web2.0 tool that makes use of and extends server based media materials combined with online discussion functionality. The pedagogic innovation is the ways it allows distributed learners to upload, share and analyse visual media through commentary and discussion linked to supporting resources. The ViP supports learners to co-construct meaning and develop an identity as a learner working within a learning community.

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  • Immigrants and natives: Investigating differences between staff and students’ use of technology

    Gregor Kennedy, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Bennett, Terry Judd, Kathleen Gray, Rosemary Chang

    The corollary of the ‘Digital Native’ – young, technologically avid and literate – is the ‘Digital Immigrant’ – older, less familiar and comfortable with technology. The accompanying rhetoric posits that in the higher education sector, staff and students are ensconced firmly on either side of a ‘digital divide’, with critical implications and consequences for teaching and learning. This proposition was tested by surveying 108 staff and 2588 first-year undergraduate students across three Australian Universities about their use of a large selection of common and emerging technologies. These technologies were grouped into eight coherent categories using factor analysis. A MANOVA was then used to analyse different uses of these technologies according to participants’ role (staff or student), gender and age. Significant main effects were reported for each of these independent variables and differences were seen particularly for technologies related to mobile phone use and gaming. However, the absolute magnitudes of most differences between groups were small and, critically, there were no role, gender or age effects for technology-based activities associated with Web 2.0 technologies, and the overall use of these technologies was low. These findings support a growing evidence base that, while some differences exist, the ‘digital divide’ between students and staff is not nearly as large as some commentators would have us believe.

    Read article: Immigrants and natives: Investigating differences between staff and students’ use of technology

  • Usability and usefulness of eBooks on PPCs: How students’ opinions vary over time

    Paul Lam, Shun Leung Lam, John Lam, Carmel McNaught

    The number of academic eBooks in university libraries is increasing. Reading digital materials such as newspapers is valued in Hong Kong; however, students’ perceptions of the value of reading academic eMaterials are not well known. In this study we investigated 12 students’ use of academic eBooks on mobile readers in two ways. Six students had brief introduction to eBooks and they reported their first impressions of the technology. The other six students had a 12-week eBook reading period that was closely monitored by the research team. The experiences from the two groups of students generally affirmed that the technology has potential to enhance teaching and learning in a university setting. However, the experiences (especially of the long-term users) highlight a number of challenges that need to be addressed.

    Read article: Usability and usefulness of eBooks on PPCs: How students’ opinions vary over time

  • Enabling teaching, enabling learning: How does staff development fit the educational technology landscape?

    Geraldine Lefoe, Ian Olney, Anthony Herrington

    The New Technologies: New Pedagogies Project is a nationally funded project to support the use of mobile learning in higher education to support student learning. We explore the staff development process of this larger project, where academics in a Faculty of Education investigate new pedagogies that are required to meet the needs of millennial learners. The staff development process addressed the need for staff to own and use mobile technology in their professional and personal contexts in order to think differently about engaging their students in pedagogically sound ways. We identified four key actions for participants which contributed significantly to the development of the authentic tasks for their pre-service student teachers to undertake as part of their assessment: an understanding of the theoretical frameworks, (authentic learning, action learning, and mobile learning); an understanding of the affordances of the technologies; active participation in authentic tasks which modeled the practice; and active participation in cycles of reflection based on the implications for the development of new pedagogies presented by the three initial understandings.

    Read article: Enabling teaching, enabling learning: How does staff development fit the educational technology landscape?

  • Acceptance of e-learning among distance learners: A Malaysian perspective

    Bibiana Lim Chiu Yiong, Hong Kian Sam, Tan Kock Wah

    Distance learning and e-learning are rapidly becoming popular modes of studies among students and working adults worldwide. This trend is also visible in Malaysia, with the emergence of several higher education distance learning institutions using e-learning to support its learning activities such as the Open University of Malaysia and the Wawasan University. However, an important point of concern to both educators and researchers are the distance learners’ acceptance of e-learning. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the acceptance of e-learning among distance learners at the Open University of Malaysia in Malaysia. This cross-sectional survey used questionnaires to obtain the necessary data. The questionnaires used to measure distance learners’ acceptance of e-learning were adapted from the research instruments used by Poon, Low and Yong (2004). A total of 112 students from the Open University branch campus in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia responded to the questionnaires. Most of the students surveyed reported moderate levels of e-learning acceptance. The findings of this study indicated that institutions offering distance learning via e-learning should provide some non-credit courses to improve students’ acceptance of e-learning.

    Read article: Acceptance of e-learning among distance learners: A Malaysian perspective

  • Work-ready wiki: Supporting the learning and teaching of professional graduate attributes

    Andrew Litchfield, Skye Nettleton

    The paper presents the background, design and formative evaluation of a wiki of work- ready learning activities and teaching support resources to improve the learning of professional graduate attributes. The ‘Improving graduate work-readiness’ project is a University of Technology Sydney curriculum renewal project involving five Faculties. The project aims to improve graduates’ professional attributes and employability skills by designing new subjects, new subject modules and integrating short well-designed contextualised work-ready learning activities into existing subjects. The authors inquired of relevant professional societies their understandings of the key professional attributes required of a graduate in the contemporary workplace. These findings informed the design of a matrix of 11 professional attributes and associated sub-attributes and aligned understandings and skills that can be learnt. The work-ready wiki gives access to a matrix of generic work-ready learning activities and 16 matrixes of learning activities contextualised for each professional area of study involved in the project to-date. Work- ready activities contextualised for each profession maximises student relevance and motivation to learn. Maximising the ease of integration of work-ready activities into existing subjects has guided the design of the wiki-based learning activities. From the wiki practical teaching support resources can be downloaded to enable easier integration of the work-ready learning activities. The beginning of collections of work-ready learning activities can be found at <wiki.it.uts.edu.au/workready>.

    Read article: Work-ready wiki: Supporting the learning and teaching of professional graduate attributes

  • The practice of web conferencing: Where are we now?

    Birgit Loch, Shirley Reushle

    The use of web conferencing tools to support learning and teaching and facilitate interaction and collaboration is common in many higher education environments as is the replacement of face-to-face meetings with virtual collaboration tools. This paper reports on Phase 3 of a trial of web conferencing conducted at a regional Australian university and further explores the use of web conferencing to support and enhance learning and teaching. Preliminary findings from Phases 1 and 2 of the trial have been reported on in a previous paper. The action research method which framed the initial trial has again been applied to Phase 3. In Phase 1, collaborative mathematical problem-solving in an undergraduate course was carried out using web conferencing and tablet PCs. In addition, students in postgraduate Education courses were linked across the globe to participate in interactive and collaborative web conference activity. In Phase 2, a university-wide trial across disciplines was conducted. Phase 3 represents an analysis of feedback received from teachers who were involved in Phases 1 and 2 and who have had some time to reflect on the impact web conferencing has had on their teaching practice. From this, and their own experience, the authors make further observations regarding the use of web conferencing to support learning and teaching and raise a number of questions and issues to guide future research.

    Read article: The practice of web conferencing: Where are we now?

Showing 27–39 of 135 articles