From how to why: Student experiences of a university’s technology-enhanced learning over five years
Full paper
Carol Russell
Western Sydney University
Catch this session
Wednesday 6 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
This is a longitudinal case study of student perspectives on Western Sydney University’s strategic initiatives to promote technology-enhanced learning (TEL) from 2012 to 2017. The study analyses data from students throughout this period, and includes consideration of how the student experience is being shaped by academic and institutional support for TEL. Initially the university focus was on use of mobile technologies and ‘blended’ learning environments; as a platform for transforming pedagogy. In 2013, teaching staff and new undergraduate students were issued with tablet devices. As well as investing in the devices and supporting campus infrastructure, the institution also provided additional support for curriculum and staff development. For two years, students’ feedback about the tablets was overwhelmingly positive about their value for learning. In 2015, most undergraduates had tablet devices and TEL was becoming business as usual. However, the evaluation feedback that year showed that use of tablets had begun to decrease and there was a corresponding increase in use of smartphones. For some activities, laptops were preferred. In 2016, multiple types of device were issued to students, with some disciplines choosing laptops and in 2017 the University provided free digital textbooks instead of devices. Students’ use of different devices for learning activity has been shifting and evidence gathered internally from students and staff has played a role in adapting to this. While TEL strategies differ between universities, the analysis provides an example of how systematic evaluation evidence can support systemic adaptation as the learning technology environment changes.
About the authors
Carol Russell
Carol Russell is currently a Senior Lecturer in the central Learning Transformations team at Western Sydney University. In this role she has been coordinating the educational evaluation of institutional technology-enhanced learning initiatives.
Understanding students’ views on feedback to inform the development of technology-supported feedback systems
Concise paper
Linda Corrin
University of Melbourne
@lindacorrin
Paula de Barba
University of Melbourne
@paula_barba
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.10pm - 2.30pm
Stream 3
Room L206
Abstract
In an increasingly expanding higher education system, students have routinely said that they don’t get enough access to feedback to support their learning. While this feedback loop is recognised as a critical issue, the growing use of technology as part of teaching and learning could provide some solutions to this problem. The emergence of the field of learning analytics has the potential to provide mechanisms for reducing some of the concerns students have about receiving feedback. However, a greater understanding of how learning analytics can be used to provide meaningful assessment feedback to students is needed.
This paper presents the initial findings from a study that investigated students’ preferences for the delivery of assessment feedback to improve their learning. The findings show that there is a diversity of student perspectives on what feedback is most useful for their learning which is influenced by the type of assessment, the discipline in which the assessment takes place, the year level of the student and the ability to compare performance to others. The outcomes of this study provide evidence of what students want when it comes to analytics-based feedback which can be used to inform the development of guidelines for how such feedback can be designed and delivered in higher education.
About the authors
Linda Corrin
Dr Linda Corrin is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education in the Williams Centre for Learning Advancement, Faculty of Business and Economics, at the University of Melbourne. In her current role, she provides support for curriculum development, delivery and assessment to staff in the faculty. Her research interests include students' engagement with technology, learning analytics, feedback, and learning design. Currently, she is working on several large research projects exploring how learning analytics can be used to provide meaningful and timely feedback to academics and students. Linda is member of the University of Melbourne’s Learning Analytics Research Group and co-founder of the Victorian and Tasmanian Learning Analytics Network. She is also a co-coordinator of the ASCILITE Learning Analytics Special Interest Group.
Paula de Barba
Paula de Barba is a Research Fellow in Higher Education with the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Melbourne. Her current research is in the areas of educational psychology and educational technology. Paula is interested on how students' cognition and emotions influence their learning, and how technology can support and promote learning. Constructs investigated include self-regulated learning, achievement motivation, interest, and feedback.
Addressing inconsistency in use of the LMS: A collaborative approach
Full paper
Elizabeth Masterman
University of Oxford, UK
@acitoxford
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 10.30am - 11am
Stream 1
Room H102
Abstract
Inconsistency in the use of the learning management system (LMS) by academic staff is a source of dissatisfaction among university students in the UK. One solution is to establish a set of minimum standards (or baseline) for LMS use within an individual institution. Another is to supply templates – frameworks for LMS course sites – with a view to providing students with a seamless experience in their interactions with the LMS.
This paper describes how the issue of inconsistency was addressed at a leading research university in the UK through an exploratory project, WebLearn Improved Student Experience (WISE). The widespread devolution of responsibility for site management to administrative staff, together with the ‘maverick’ creation of course sites by those academics who chose to engage with the WebLearn LMS, had resulted in unevenness in students’ access to learning materials. The project team engaged in close collaboration with 19 departments in order to achieve the immediate purpose of improving uptake of, and consistency in, their LMS presence. The ultimate aim was to develop a support package comprising LMS templates and ‘best practice’ guidelines that would enable departments in the future to achieve the same objective, either unsupported or with minimal assistance from the central team of learning technologists. The project was evaluated using a modification of the Innovation Histories method. The evaluation findings additionally threw into relief the complex social and cultural factors at play that can inhibit a consistent student experience in an institutional LMS.
About the authors
Elizabeth Masterman
Liz Masterman holds a PhD in Educational Technology from the University of Birmingham, UK, and is a senior researcher in the Academic IT Services group at the University of Oxford. Her research focused initially on Learning Design; projects included an evaluation of LAMS, and the Phoebe Pedagogy Planner and Learning Designer tools. Liz has also conducted research into the student digital experience, OER and open educational practice. She is currently involved in three institutional projects: a review of the centrally supported LMS, a trial of electronic essay exams, and the design and implementation of a Learning Design model for Oxford. Other activities include editing the Academic IT Services blog and co-ordinating the annual OxTALENT competition, which rewards the creative use of technology in teaching, learning, research and outreach at the University. In 2015 Liz co-chaired the annual conference of the UK’s Association for Learning Technology.
Analysing the learning pathways of students in a large flipped engineering course
Full paper
Carl Reidsema
The University of Queensland
@ReidsemaC
Hassan Khosravi
The University of Queensland
Melanie Fleming
The University of Queensland
@melaniejfleming
Lydia Kavanagh
The University of Queensland
@Lydia64
Nick Achilles
The University of Queensland
Esther Fink
The University of Queensland
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
Recent advancements in educational technologies (learning management systems, online discussion forums, peer-learning tools) coupled with new methods of course delivery (e.g. blended, flipped, MOOCs) provide significant opportunities for universities to deliver challenging, high quality, yet engaging curriculum for students.
In this paper, we examine the variations and similarities of student’s approaches to learning (learning pathways) by examining how well they performed in a large (N ~ 1000 student) first year engineering flipped classroom. The analysis focused on student’s performance in their assessment (formative and summative) as well as their online interaction with a range of online tools purposely built to support students through peer learning and acquisition of resources and expertise. Analysis using k-means clustering reveals that students do in fact adopt a variety of successful pathways through the course. The unique aspects of this work lie in the use of analytics algorithms that whilst perhaps routinely utilised in data mining, are not as well utilised in better understanding patterns (successful or otherwise) of student interactions within a technology enhanced active learning environment that integrates theory with engineering practice.
About the authors
Carl Reidsema
Dr Reidsema’s work is centred around the notion of Transformational Change in Higher Education which is reflected by his success in securing grants and industry funding for research and development in this area exceeding $3M including a 2008 Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Project ”Design based curriculum reform” and the 2013 Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) Project ”Radical transformation: re-imagining engineering education through flipping the classroom in a global learning partnership” partnering with Stanford, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Sydney and RMIT universities. He has received numerous nominations and awards for teaching including the UNSW Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2006 and has over 60 peer-reviewed publications in engineering education and design. He is regularly invited to speak on the topic of transformational change and innovative curriculum at Universities and Industry events.
Hassan Khosravi
Dr Hassan Khosravi is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation and an Affiliate Academic in the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology both at the University of Queensland. As a computer scientist by training, Hassan is passionate about the role of machine learning in the future of education. His research contributes to personalising education and translating traditional on-campus learning to authentic flexible learning in vibrant digital environments that better suit the needs and expectations of a digitally minded generation. In particular, his aim is to employ exemplary techniques from the fields of machine learning, data mining, learning analytics, and education to design, implement, validate and deliver solutions that use the digital footprints of learners towards improving students’ learning and enhancing their learning experience.
Melanie Fleming
Melanie’s research interests particularly focus on areas that enhance the student learning experience. These include first year pedagogy, and transitions to professional practice. She has developed novel methods to investigate student skills in programming, engineering and other disciplines drawing on social cognitive career theory, (particularly self-efficacy theory). Her current research interests involve linguistic analysis of student work drawing on sentiment analysis using computational linguistics and systemic functional linguistics techniques. She has worked on a number of projects to develop new learning technologies with student centred design principles. She has held consultant research and statistics positions in a variety of roles disciplines. Her previous work involved development of the first year experience, internationalisation of curriculum, work integrated learning and a range of other strategic priority areas. She is an educational researcher in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.
Lydia Kavanagh
Lydia combines professional engineering experience with a deep commitment to teaching, learning and leading in higher education. Her experience in industry allows her to embed authenticity in her teaching, and her commitment to HE has been recognised through Principal Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy.
In 2009, Lydia was appointed Director, First Year Engineering at The University of Queensland (UQ), where she transformed that program - today UQ enrols more than 900 BE students per year who engage in embedded authentic experiences from Day 1.
In 2011, she successfully led a national competitive grant project focused on ensuring successful student teamwork. In 2012, she was awarded a national Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 2014 she co-led an international project championing ‘flipped classrooms’. At UQ, her leadership has included establishing a T&L Development Program for early-career academics and co-founding a dual-Faculty centre (eLIPSE: eLearning Innovations and Partnerships in Science and Engineering), which is leading eLearning innovation through enabling collaborative partnerships.
Nick Achilles
Nicholas Achilles graduated at The University Of Queensland (UQ) with a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. Since then, Nicholas has been working as a professional software developer within the “Centre for eLearning Innovations and Partnerships in Science and Engineering” (eLIPSE) at UQ. The variety of projects in this centre is diverse; ranging from data visualisation and processing, to machine learning applied to student personalisation, to web scalable student learning tools. Nicholas has been fortunate enough to work in all of these areas, primarily as a full stack developer. His professional goals are targeted at indulging in industry leading software development techniques, with a goal of transitioning into a backend specialist role. In his personal time, Nicholas works with wood, or bakes sweets which he then takes to picnics.
Esther Fink
Esther Fink is an eLearning Educational Designer who supports both faculty/school teaching and learning leaders and academic staff with the design, development, implementation and evaluation of online and blended learning. Her experience in higher education and vocational education spans 3 continents and 20 years.
Dramaturgy: A sociological perspective for conceptualising Me. Us. IT in the context of online learning
Experimental session
Dawn Gilmore
Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design
@dawngilmore9
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Stream 1
Room H102
Abstract
A dramaturgical analysis seeks to understand people’s everyday lives through the aspects of a theatre. I propose that this is a useful analogy for illustrating how students experience learning in an online subject. Based on this analogy, an online student is an actor who crafts performances within the front stage and backstage of a particular university subject.
At the start of this session attendees are introduced to three theatre stages. These stages are defined as the front stage (the LMS), the backstage online (internet websites and social media), and the backstage offline (conversations with family, friends, and colleagues). Following this, attendees will meet student-avatars who play the theatre roles of performer, cameo, extra, and stagehand. The creation of the student-avatars was informed by a fourteen-month study of online university students. During this time data was collected from 224 student observations, 120 questionnaires, 26 interviews, and the content analysis of 1,857 discussion board posts.
Each student-avatar will communicate their learning journey by briefly sharing how they experience learning in the front stage, backstage online, and backstage offline. Through their stories, their preferences and patterns for individual experiences, group experiences, and the tools they most commonly use for university related tasks come to light. With the student-avatars in mind, attendees will design a short learning experience that acknowledges how students enact multiple identities across the three performance stages. The learning experiences will be collated into an online book that will be shared with conference attendees. This book symbolises how we can harness our collective intelligence to support online students.
About the authors
Dawn Gilmore
Dawn Gilmore has over 15 years of practice and research in teaching and learning in higher education. She has worked in institutions in the United States, Australia, Japan, England, China, and most recently South Africa. She has a M.S.Ed. in Intercultural Communication from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S.Ed. in Social Sciences from Temple University. Her Ph.D. research explored where and with whom university students experience learning. During her doctoral candidature she was a Visiting Scholar at in the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Development at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), where she researched the role of communities of practices in a Post Graduate Diploma of Higher Education. Overall, her research seeks to understand how students’ learning is situated across time and spaces. She also has broader interests in learning, community, and technology. Dawn is currently writing a book that is largely based on the content from this presentation.
CMALT cMOOC: Developing a scalable lecturer professional development framework
Full paper
Thomas Cochrane
Auckland University of Technology
@thomcochrane
Vickel Narayan
Auckland University of Technology
@vnarayan
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11am - 11.30am
Stream 2
Room R113
Abstract
This paper outlines the design stage of a project that reimagines lecturer professional development around a network of communities of practice scaffolded by a cMOOC (connectivist Massive Open Online Course), where sustained collaborative engagement with innovative teaching practice is recognised via established international peer-based professional accreditation pathways such as CMALT (Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology). Informed by a design based research methodology, the CMALT cMOOC leverages a network of national and international collaboration and innovative teaching expertise, providing an agile and scalable framework to support the development of participants’ CMALT portfolios as evidence of critical engagement with new modes of practice and enhanced student outcomes. The cMOOC is designed based upon up-scaling the researchers’ community of practice (COP) model of lecturer professional development (Cochrane & Narayan, 2016c). Key to this model is the embedding of the scholarship of technology enhanced learning or SOTEL (Haynes, 2016), within lecturer praxis supported by a collaborative curriculum design process. The cMOOC provides a framework to support the development of lecturer COPs across a series of several weeks of participation throughout the academic year. The cMOOC is not conceptualised as a professional development course in the traditional sense, rather a mutual and collaborative initiative of willing participants to work together in order to enhance their understanding and knowledge of technology enhanced learning and teaching. Participation in the cMOOC is open, free and largely participant driven.
About the authors
Thomas Cochrane
Dr Thomas Cochrane is an academic advisor and senior lecturer in educational technology, the Centre for Learning And Teaching, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. Thomas is the coordinator of the Ascilite mobile learning special interest group, and a mobile learning researcher/practitioner. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-6118
Vickel Narayan
Vickel Narayan is a Learning and Teaching Consultant at the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT) at the Auckland University of Technology.
PhD (Murdoch), MComp, PGDComp, GDHE, BSc (Comp Sc & Info Sys)
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6833-706X
Future happens: Hack your way to influencing and changing pedagogical and technological strategy and practice
Experimental session
Peter Bryant
London School of Economics and Political Science
@peterbryantHE
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
Using the changehack approach successfully run in the UK for the last two years by Future Happens (http://www.futurehappens.org - a collaboration between two leading UK institutions, the London School of Economics and the University of the Arts, London), this experimental session is designed to collectively engage participants in changing the discourses around the role of technology in shaping institutional/faculty wide pedagogical change. This lightning changehack will generate approaches to scaling and sustaining the lessons and innovations that arise from grassroots practice into approaches that can be included in strategic thinking across disciplines, levels, cohorts and potentially across the whole institution.
This workshop will challenge you to think about the ways you are able to influence your institutions strategic direction and commitments to technology and learning and be a part of the conversation that shapes how they do it. Attendees will participate in a collective hack that draws on the power of the crowd to solve problems. Previous Future Happens hacks in the UK have collectively generated insightful, useful and pragmatic ways to bridge the discourses between the practices of learning technology and how they can be scaled up to be part of the institutional, faculty or School wide strategic approach to innovative pedagogy. Attendees will collectively own the outputs which will be shared globally as part of the Future Happens movement.
About the authors
Peter Bryant
Peter Bryant is the Head of Learning Technology and Innovation at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. He leads programmes and initiatives to transform the educational experience at the LSE through the innovative use of technology and digital pedagogies. His team recently was the Overall Gold Award for Innovative Pedagogy at the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education awards. He was previously a Principal Lecturer in Educational Technology and Development at the University of Greenwich. Peter has over twenty years’ experience as a lecturer, Head of Department and curriculum designer, working into two countries (in HE and VET). He is an active researcher in both educational technology and pedagogy. Peter is the co-founder of the Future Happens initiative which uses innovative approaches to problem-solving and change management to engage the wider sector in debates around technology, pedagogy and the future of the University.
Challenges and tensions in the role of the LMS for medical education: Time for the "next generation LMS"?
Full paper
Jill Lyall
Australian National University
@JillACTS
Katharina Freund
Australian National University
@katiedigc
Alexandra Webb
Australian National University
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 1
Room H102 Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre
Abstract
In the context of discussions of a “next generation LMS” and other contemporary challenges in higher education, this case study looks at the iterative process a team of educational designers and Medical School academics used in a review of the Medical School LMS sites. Adopting the framework of the actor network theory, this reflective process discovered the tensions, dynamics and issues involved, and worked to gain and maintain key Medical School staff engagement and support for the review and for any changes that might be recommended. This paper reflects on emerging possible models for technology-enhanced learning beyond our current institutional LMS while acknowledging the institutional constraints on learning innovation within the global higher education context. Next generation LMS models may provide a more flexible future solution that could be applicable not just to medical education, but to higher education generally.
About the authors
Jill Lyall
Jill has a background in social sciences, community services, and adult education. Jill has worked for many years in Vocational Education and Training in a TAFE environment in Western Australia. During that time she developed an interest in technology for learning, and developed her skills for online learning. Since early 2015, Jill has been working on a range of projects with ANU Online, helping to create online materials for post-graduate courses and creating support and training resources in technology enhanced learning for academics at ANU.
Katharina Freund
Katie advises academics on eLearning design and initiatives, researches innovative solutions in education technology, creates digital media resources, and trains staff on Wattle (Moodle) learning management system and other digital tools for teaching and learning. She is also a researcher in education technology and digital communication.
Alexandra Webb
Dr Webb has more than 20 years experience teaching anatomy into undergraduate & postgraduate medicine, allied health & science programs in Australia & the United Kingdom. She has extensive proficiencies in leading the development & implementation of new curricula & resources. She is an innovative educator & educational researcher who takes measured risks in trialling the effectiveness of novel teaching & learning approaches such as serious games, touchscreen technology, adaptive learning, virtual patients & eBooks. In her current role, she is leading the development & implementation of technology enhanced learning & teaching for the School’s MChD as well as creating a flexible collaborative Professional Development program to build capacity in teaching & learning. Dr Webb’s educational practice has been recognised with multiple awards, including Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy & a national Australian Award for University Teaching.
Playing the education system: Competing, exploring, socialising, distrupting, but always engaging
Experimental session
Dan Laurence
La Trobe University
@D4n_
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Stream 6
Room T120
Abstract
Through discovering your ‘gamer type’ as part of this experimental session participants will actively explore, compete, socialise and disrupt their way into the enquiry: what aspects of the education system are ‘gameful’, and how do different students play?
There is contention around the usefulness of the idea that learners fall into different types. Some research shows that curating teaching based on ‘learning styles’ (sensory processing) is of questionable value. However, evidence from learning analytics shows that there are radically differently behaviours exhibited by students and there are impassioned calls for increased personalisation in education.
After a very brief introduction to some leading theories on student engagement we quickly segue into a ‘Gamer Type’ quiz that will determine participants teams. The teams will then compete live using a series of leading game/learning apps as we delve deeper into the enquiry of what aspects of education are gameful, are there different ways students play and if so, does it matter?
BYO device or phone.
About the authors
Dan Laurence
Dan Laurence is a senior educational designer and has taught Graduate Certificate students on the subject of games in education. In 2015 Dan won the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence award for his work designing and employing game principles at Swinburne University (and accounting for their impact). The following journal article [ http://rdcu.be/uOJG ] has been published detailing the implementation. Dan has a long prior history working in interactive media and has produced games that are used in in around 40 universities across the world.
By design: Facing the academic challenges of implementing technology enhanced learning in higher education and the example of a third year biology unit
Full paper
Brett Fyfield
Queensland University of Technology
@rainbowhill
Iwona Czaplinski
Queensland University of Technology
@IwonaCzaplinski
Catch this session
Wednesday 6 December, 11am - 11.30am
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
This paper takes a design research approach to the challenge of transforming learning and teaching in higher education (HE) as it is experienced at the level of an interdisciplinary team composed of content matter experts and specialists in education. It is based on the reflections of members of the team working collaboratively to transform an undergraduate biology unit to improve both student engagement and teaching staff satisfaction.
Using semi-structured interviews and reflective inquiry the authors attempt to uncover the salient features of the process of implementing technology enhanced learning, and generate constructive design solutions. The work is situated in the scholarship of learning and teaching as it encourages "reflection-in-action" and a commitment to sharing what works in STEM teaching and learning in contemporary environments. The teaching team focus on the complex problems of preparation, attendance, and engagement in a series of intensive labs, whilst the professional staff focus on the complex problems of innovation and student engagement in HE.
A number of known and hypothetical learning design principles are integrated with the affordances of the chosen learning environment (OneNote) and used to propose plausible solutions. These solutions are used to iteratively refine the learning environment and reveal new design principles. The paper emphasises the benefits of providing for and supporting the emergence of microcultures, and suggest strategies for those that wish to emulate the approach taken.
About the authors
Brett Fyfield
Brett Fyfield works with people and teams in education to improve learning and teaching through the appropriate use of technology. From his earliest beginnings as a multimedia developer he has designed and developed compelling user experiences in the classroom, online and in the real world that make the most of new media. Currently in his role as Instructional Multimedia Developer at QUT he works with academics, staff and students to develop and support technology enhanced learning. He is dedicated to transforming education through fostering personal and professional growth and promotes the use of design thinking in teams to produce new digital pedagogies. He is interested in understanding how casual conversations become the catalyst for change, and how their transformative power may be harnessed for broader organisational and social change.
Iwona Czaplinski
Iwona holds a Master in Applied Linguistics, an MPhil in Educational research and is currently enrolled in PhD programme in a School of Mathematical Sciences, at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In her research, Iwona is looking at the ways of assisting modern Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students in becoming expert learners, that is strategic, resourceful and self-regulated. To this end, Iwona investigates students’ learning networks, their networked learning habits and the potential of using better the social, educational and technological affordances offered by new technologies, in the context of ever-changing learning environment.