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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

  • Employing the new educational technologists: A call for evidenced change

    Simon Shurville, Tom Browne, Marian Whitaker

    Flexible technology-enhanced learning environments, both educationally and institutionally are key enablers for delivering efficient mass higher education. Educational technologists make significant contributions to the development and organisational embedding of such environments. Their emerging role is complex as it requires current knowledge and skills in learning and teaching, management and information technology. Given the strategic importance of the contributions that educational technologists now make to their institutions, we propose an international program of empirical research to analyse current issues and future trajectories relating to their aspirations, careers, management and organisational locations.

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  • Poultry production online: Where broilers and layers encounter virtual pedagogy

    Roderick Sims, Lene Mikkelsen, Paul Iji

    Programs traditionally offered through distance and/or residential models of delivery are being challenged by the value and accessibility of online learning. For the Australian Poultry CRC, the opportunity to both upgrade its foundational units and shift the delivery mode to enhance unit accessibility resulted in funding being allocated for conversion of those units to online delivery. This paper provides the background to the project, the rationale for the development paradigm, the delivery model that emerged through interactions between content and educational specialists and the outcomes of an evaluation conducted over Semester 2, 2008. The project reinforced the value of applying established online learning frameworks to the transformation of educational resources, the importance of subject matter experts collaborating with educational design specialists and the potential for specialist models such as Three-Phase Design (3PD) to facilitate emergent learning opportunities. The project also addressed three key challenges –conversion of face-to-face practical exercises to the online context, changing from a content-rich to an activity- intensive environment and building a functional online course within a short time-frame.

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  • Planned behaviour: Student attitudes towards the use of ICT interactions in higher education

    Lou Siragusa, Kathryn C. Dixon

    A pilot study was undertaken to collect data from a small group of undergraduate students in a higher education setting to determine their attitudes towards their use and engagement of ICT interactions. The study employed a mixed methods approach with the intention of combining the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. The students were asked to complete a questionnaire, individually work though a brief ICT interaction activity and then participate in an informal interview. The questionnaire gathered data on each on the components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which is commonly used psychological research, in order to determine the students planned use of ICT. While the collected quantitative data revealed that students believed that interacting with ICT was pleasant, helpful and easy, the qualitative findings showed that some experienced feelings of anxiety and intimidation when working through the ICT interaction. Planned follow up studies will continue to investigate the causalities and relationships between variables to determine likely influences on ICT interaction behaviour.

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  • Educational blogging: A Malaysian university students' perception and experience

    Helena S. Y. Song, Yuen May Chan

    The explosion of technological growth with Web 2.0 applications and more recently, Web 3.0, has open up new and exciting learning possibilities. There is a growing body of literature on weblogs or blogs as an effective learning tool in higher education. While evidence has shown that educational blogging is not a new phenomenon, the use of blogs in teaching and learning in higher education particularly in Malaysia is still at its infancy. Hence, this study is a preliminary attempt to gather data and information on educational blogging that is significant to the Asian culture, particularly multicultural Malaysia and its potential to be a transformational technology for teaching and learning. The findings shows that while the acceptance of the use of blogs as learning tool among Malaysian students were encouraging, there are some challenges to be considered when using the blog as a learning tool.

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  • Shared spaces in a ‘safe’ urban jungle: Juggling pedagogical goals and student needs and expectations

    Graham Steventon, Paul Grove, Mark Childs

    This paper reflects on the tensions inherent in higher education between institutions taking advantage of the pedagogic opportunities afforded by new Web 2.0 technologies and yet remaining aware of the diverse e-needs of all students. The aim of this paper is to discuss how these tensions have informed the development of a virtual community in Second Life (R) for use by second year Criminology students on a community safety module. The module is currently run on a workshop basis in which students map on paper a physical neighbourhood environment on which they overlay social characteristics and problems intended to simulate a typical dysfunctional community. The virtual community in Second Life is currently being designed to provide a more immersive environment, in which students can explore issues in a simulated real-life context without the ethical dilemmas associated with field experience. However, since not all students are interested in, or competent with, the technologies involved in this type of e-learning, the virtual community is intended to complement these existing arrangements rather than replace them. Furthermore, the freedom of constraints afforded by the inherent lack of structure in Second Life may be disorientating for students, especially those used to more didactic methods of teaching and learning. Thus, scenarios are designed in stages of relatively simple and prescribed to increasingly free, complex and cognitively demanding as the module progresses and students become more confident and technologically able. In this way it is hoped to harness the opportunities of Web 2.0 technology whilst optimising the learning experience of the whole group.

    Read article: Shared spaces in a ‘safe’ urban jungle: Juggling pedagogical goals and student needs and expectations

  • Developing interactive scenarios: The value of good planning, whiteboards and table-based schemas

    Terry M. Stewart, Mark E. Brown

    Fictional or fact-based interactive scenarios (or cases), where students are able to explore a problem, event or issue, can assists with student problem-solving, decision making and interpretation of data or observations in a real-world context. Software exists to assist with authoring and delivery of these types of learning objects, but one of the hardest tasks is the planning and storyboarding of the scenario itself. Interactive scenarios are context-based, often include elements of drama, and may be required to follow a script of sorts. They must also link back to the learning objectives of the lesson. In goal-based scenarios in particular, where students are required to form hypotheses and test them in order to get to the root of a problem, the scope (and limits) of what they can do within the scenario must be carefully thought about. This paper reports on the initial questions which need to be answered before commencing work, and outlines simple techniques such a whiteboard brainstorming and table-based schemas for developing scenario structure and content. Along with their function as planning aids, these techniques can also be useful in communicating the structure and content to other team members during development. Thirdly, they allow archiving of scenarios in an easy-to-access format, so content can be used in different authoring tools than the one they were originally designed for, and for other modes of delivery, such as face-to-face tutorials and scenario walkthroughs.

    Read article: Developing interactive scenarios: The value of good planning, whiteboards and table-based schemas

  • We’ve thrown away the pens, but are they learning? : Using blogs in higher education

    Katrina Strampel, Ron Oliver

    In today’s university classrooms, “the time of restricting students products and learning opportunities to ink on paper are past” (Siegle, 2007). Blogs are only one of many computer-mediated technologies starting to dominate blended and wholly online courses. Most people assume that using these technologies, because it is what the students want, will translate into increased learning opportunities. As the literature continuously asserts, however, learning, and especially reflection, does not just happen (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985). It seems imperative, therefore, that extra measures are taken when any technology is being implemented in a university classroom to ensure high levels of reflection and cognitive processing are being fostered. Studies must be conducted to understand how blogs can be used to help students engage in reflection, at all levels: Stimulated Reflection, Descriptive Reflection, Dialogic Reflection and, the highest, Critical Reflection. This study explored the use of blogs in a tertiary setting to learn how the tool was used, and could be better used, to foster reflection and higher-order thinking. This paper focuses on how blogs were used as one element of a learning activity in an Accounting unit in an Australian university to promote reflection. We provide an analysis of the learning environment set by the instructor, including the learning task, learning resources, and learning supports, student perceptions of the value of the task, and an examination of students’ blogs. Finally, we discuss the outcomes of the blogs in terms of levels of reflection being accomplished.

    Read article: We’ve thrown away the pens, but are they learning? : Using blogs in higher education

  • A survey on online teaching preference among pre-service teachers in Malaysia : Andragogy vs pedagogy

    Zaidatun Tasir, Norah Md Noor, Jamalludin Harun, Nurul Syazwani Ismail

    This paper reports on a research project that investigated the pedagogical and/or andragogical orientation preferred by pre-service teachers in Malaysia for online learning.. To gather the data, questionnaires were distributed among 433 pre-service teachers in three educational institutions in Malaysia and descriptive analyses have been conducted. The findings showed that majority of the pre-service teachers in this study stay under Stage 2 in the four stages of learning development. This means that the respondents had high preference for pedagogical as well as andragogical learning orientations. The findings have implications for educators involved in designing online learning applications. They have to consider such student preference when planning teaching and learning activities.

    Read article: A survey on online teaching preference among pre-service teachers in Malaysia : Andragogy vs pedagogy

  • The impact of a spring cycle blended curriculum model on learning: A case study

    Santhakumari Thanasingam, Swee Kit Alan Soong, Chun Hu

    This study evaluates the impact of the Spring Cycle Blended Curriculum (SCBC) model on students learning in an English Proficiency course for undergraduates. The model took a blended learning approach, intending to combine the best of face-to-face interactions and the affordance provided by the Internet. The model was used over one and a half academic years to teach English Proficiency at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Pre- and post-course surveys, student focus group discussions, discourse analysis and samples of student writing were used to evaluate the impact on student’s learning which in this study was their ability to write better paragraphs. The survey and focus group data on student’s perceptions showed that the model helped them to gain knowledge and regulate their learning to achieve the target writing outcomes. The workshop mode of instruction enabled students to learn from systematic input and discussion with peers and tutors. The consultation mode of instruction helped students understand their mistakes. The online mode of instruction enabled them to revisit activities so they could review what they needed to learn. In addition, the online discussion forum activity provided additional student-centred feedback which enabled students to ask questions, and to clarify and negotiate their understanding of paragraph building features. Such finding was supported by the analysis of the students’ written texts. There was a high percentage of students who were able to use paragraph building features taught in the curriculum to structure their paragraphs.

    Read article: The impact of a spring cycle blended curriculum model on learning: A case study

  • Rationale, restrictions and responses: Online academic development to promote a community of practice

    Terry Timberlake

    Casual academics play a major role in higher education in Australia today. In their roles as tutors, demonstrators and markers, casual academics need access to opportunities to develop as teachers. As such, Deakin University has developed an online academic development program designed to better equip new and inexperienced casual academics for their roles. This paper reports on the approach that has been taken to designing one module of an online academic development program for casual academics, considering the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on this design, and discusses an analysis of the feedback on the module by the participants who completed it. A conclusion is drawn that aligning self paced online learning with induction into a community of practice via ICT presents particular challenges.

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  • Participatory action research for professional development: Changing our approach to distance learning

    Belinda Tynan, Cherry Stewart, Rachael Adlington, Mike Littledyke, Steve Swinsburg

    This paper details a mini-case of (a) the implementation of a professional development program which underpins the design, development and implementation of renewing curriculum for improved distance education learning experiences; and (b) using an alternative open-source learning management system, Sakai. The methodology of Participatory Action Research (PAR) has proved important for gaining deep engagement and conceptual change of teaching and learning practices. The min-case reflects the voices of various members of the project throughout the first PAR cycle. The focus of this mini- case is on ‘who leads’ in relation to professional development of/with academic staff. There is some focus on how the project came about, how professional development has been pursued and how one academic has experienced the process so far. The lessons drawn from the project at this first stage will be of interest to a wide audience especially in relation to the methodology. The lessons do not intend to be generalisable beyond this context but for many they will “ring true” and add to the substantive emerging field of professional development when using technologies for enhancing student learning.

    Read article: Participatory action research for professional development: Changing our approach to distance learning

  • The role of metacognitive reading strategies instructions and various types of links in comprehending hypertexts

    Elena Verezub, Hua Wang

    The advent of computer and Internet technology enables hypertext, hypermedia and e- learning to be involved in the vocational education and training area. Hyperlinks play a significant role in hypertexts and e-learning systems, since they are connections among different nodes of information. Besides textual links, hypermedia systems provide access to various links that include multimedia applications, such as pictures, and audio clips. Therefore, comprehending information presented in hypertext/hypermedia systems and e- learning systems utilising appropriate reading strategies becomes crucial. This paper adds a new dimension to the existing body of research by investigating the influence of metacognitive strategies training and different types of hyperlinks on reading comprehension of hypertexts. A comparison of comprehension outcomes for hypertexts with text, picture and audio links is presented in order to illustrate the relationship among hypertext comprehension, types of links and learning styles. Also theoretical and practical implications of this research are presented.

    Read article: The role of metacognitive reading strategies instructions and various types of links in comprehending hypertexts

  • Second Life and the role of educators as regulators

    Ian Warren, Darren Palmer, Tanya King, Stephen Segrave

    Regulation, governance and harms stemming from the use of virtual worlds and other Massive Multi Media Online Role Playing Games (MMMORPGs) in higher education, are poorly understood and under-researched issues. Second Life, developed by Linden Labs, provides users with a series of generic ‘terms of service’ and codes of conduct, yet place the bulk of responsibility on individual users or groups to report misbehaviour or develop their own behavioural codes, enforcement procedures and punishments suited to their particular needs. There is no guidebook to assist users in the processes of risk identification and management. As such, the various benefits of MMMORPG technologies could be offset by the risks to users and user-groups from a range of possible harms, including the impact of actual or perceived violence within teaching and learning settings. While cautioning against the direct translation of real-world regulatory principles into the governance of virtual worlds, this paper suggests theoretical and practical guidance on these issues can be taken from recent criminological developments. Using Lawrence Lessig’s (1999) landmark work on cyber-regulation as a starting point, this paper examines the literature on video-game violence to illustrate the need for educators show awareness of both real and perceived risks in virtual worlds as a core element of an emerging educational pedagogy. We identify how the multiple roles of the virtual-world educator become useful in framing this pedagogy to improve student learning, to dispel myths about the risks of immersive technologies and advocate for their adoption and acceptance in the educational community.

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Showing 66–78 of 135 articles