Using virtual and augmented reality to study architectural lighting
Concise paper
James Birt
Bond University
Patricia Manyuru
Bond University
Jonathan Nelson
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.10pm - 2.30pm
Stream 1
Room H102 Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre
Abstract
This paper presents industry stakeholder insights from the implementation of a dual modality intervention using virtual and augmented reality simulation to study complex lighting theory in architecture design. Using a design based research method the aim is to evaluate these insights and inform a pilot study to educate first year architectural design students on the complexities of lighting the built environment and methods to improve architectural workflow. The aim is to enable learners to experience natural and artificial lighting methods comparatively in real-time through multiple comparative visualisation methods. This is important to make informed evaluations regarding architectural designs in terms of spatial quality, character, performance, and user-comfort levels. This in turn allows architects to rapidly modify their designs to accommodate or mitigate the environmental effects. Outcomes from the initial usability test highlight the ability to switch back and forth between the virtual and augmented reality simulation technology, and between lighting visualisation modes as a huge step forward by the industry stakeholders. Additionally, the idea of representing the physical building where the simulation took place virtually using a detailed mapping gave a real-world anchor that made the simulations easy to navigate, leading to improved satisfaction and engagement. However, the study also highlighted improvements in the delivery of the simulation is required to improve simulation learnability and efficiency.
About the authors
James Birt
James is an Assistant Professor at Bond University, where he runs the Mixed Reality Research Lab (www.mixedrealityresearch.com). His research spans computer science and visual arts, with an emphasis on applied design and development of interactive mixed reality (virtual reality, augmented reality, 3d printing, mobile) experiences assisting learning, skills acquisition and knowledge discovery. The distinctive contribution James brings to education scholarship is in digital media teaching and learning, where he received a 2014 Australian Office of Learning and Teaching citation for outstanding contributions to student learning. James utilises novel pedagogical approaches, curriculum and resources to balance the science and art predilections of his students, whilst supporting them with learning how to learn. His service to the university and wider community has formed around his experience in emerging technology, teaching and learning. Where he takes an active role in supporting learners and peers through mentorship, presentations and expert judging.
Patricia Manyuru
Patricia Manyuru is a Masters Student Bond University.
Enhancing the role of pedagogical beliefs in TPACK-based professional development
Concise paper
Lis Conde
The University of Melbourne
@liscondeh
Linda Corrin
The University of Melbourne
@lindacorrin
Kristine Elliott
The University of Melbourne
Gregor Kennedy
The University of Melbourne
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 11.20am - 11.40am
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
Professional development programs that aim to enhance the use of educational technology in higher education have become a priority in many countries. However, educators’ pedagogical beliefs may present a barrier to the successful outcomes of these programs and are often overlooked. This paper presents a professional development approach designed to make explicit educators’ pedagogical beliefs in regards to educational technology. The outcomes of the study will provide insights into strategies to address educators’ beliefs about teaching, learning and students in general, as a launching pad for improvements in practice to occur.
About the authors
Lis Conde
Lis Conde is a Guatemalan national and a PhD candidate at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education. Her research is focused on professional development to enhance the use of educational technology in higher education. An experienced Learning Designer, Lis specializes in the creation of educational solutions based on active learning. She has also been teaching English to adults since she was 16, and has years of immersion in the call center industry playing the role of a trainer.
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.
Kristine Elliott
Kristine Elliott is an Associate Professor in Higher Education within the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne. Her role supports the University’s digital learning strategy through the development and evaluation of professional development for University staff in the use of educational technology for learning, teaching and assessment. The central theme of Kristine’s research is how contemporary and emerging technologies can be used to support and enhance the learning and teaching experiences of students in higher education. Increasingly, her research has focused on the use of learning analytics: to better understand learners’ behaviours in digital environments; and to inform learning design.
Gregor Kennedy
Gregor Kennedy is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Melbourne and Director of the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education. Gregor is an international leader in educational technology research and development, particularly in the context of higher education. He has longstanding research interests in contemporary learning design and emerging technologies, educational technology research and evaluation, interactivity and engagement in digital learning, 3D immersive virtual environments, and the use of learning analytics in digital learning environments. He has published widely in these areas and is a regular keynote and invited presenter at local and international conferences. As Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Gregor leads the University's strategy in teaching, learning and assessment, curriculum innovation, and the use of learning technologies and learning analytics.
Conference Dinner
Conference dinner
We are pleased to announce that this year’s conference dinner will be held at beautiful Picnic Point, with magnificent views over the Lockyer Valley.
In keeping with ASCILITE traditions, the dinner will be held on Tuesday evening with pre-dinner drinks and entertainment starting at 6.15pm, just in time for stunning sunset views.
The theme for this year’s dinner is Open.
For many years, ASCILITE has been a supporter of open access, open education, and open publishing, so it makes sense for the organisation to support an open dinner.
We invite you to draw on the Open principles Remix, Reuse, Repurpose, to assemble your evening attire by purchasing clothing from an op shop, or similar. You may like to scour your wardrobes and dust off (repurpose) that (retained) Year 12 outfit, best man’s suit, or remix clothes. Or perhaps remix your father’s favourite tie with a favourite shirt to create a new ensemble that will draw looks of open admiration. For those of you who are a perhaps less courageous, consider adding an accessory to your favourite outfit to fit with the repurpose and remix theme.
The theme is drawn from three of the ‘Five R’s’ of openness. When educators use free and openly licenced content, they are able to:
- Retain – keep a copy of the resource
- Redistribute – to share it with an audience
- Remix – to combine it with other openly licenced resources to create new material
- Revise – to alter or update the resource (often to suit local contexts)
- Repurpose – to change the format or context of the resource.
You will be welcomed on the red carpet as you join fellow delegates in a night of wining, dining, dancing and merriment.
Vocalist and USQ student Jessica Berwick will provide the soundtrack for drinks and canapes. Later in the evening, seven piece Brisbane band RUSH will entertain us and provide the sound track to inspire your dance floor grooves.
Buses will be provided to transport delegates to the venue.
You will have the opportunity to bring your outfit to the conference the day after the dinner so it can be redistributed to a local op shop.
All the info
Location: Picnic Point
When: Tuesday 5 December, 6.15pm til 11pm
Getting there: Buses will depart the three conference hotels at 6pm
Theme: Open – Remix, Reuse or Repurpose your outfit!
Framing the digitally capable university: Digital literacies as shared scholarly and professional practice
Concise paper
Fiona Salisbury
La Trobe University
@fiSalisbury
John Hannon
La Trobe University
@John_H99
Jennifer Peasley
La Trobe University
@PeasleyJennifer
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 11am - 11.20am
Stream 6
Room T125
Abstract
The proliferation of “literacies” in educational discourse reflect a diverse array of interests, encompassing computer, information, technical, media literacies, and also forms like academic, financial, and health literacies. As digital literacies have become a concern for higher education curriculum, there has been a tendency to define it as a practical type of operational know-how. This paper sets out a university-wide, holistic and critical approach that breaks from the legacy of institutional framings that narrow digital literacies to a set of skills or competencies.
In developing a Digital Literacies Framework, La Trobe University articulated a shared understanding of digital literacies as the capabilities and attitudes that are needed by staff ‘in a digitally connected world’. This marks a shift from strategies that primarily deploy institutional curriculum mapping and measurement approaches; rather it argues for an institutional approach that requires collaboration and strategic engagement of students and academic and professional staff, in order to meet goals related to building digital capability. The La Trobe Digital Literacies Framework takes a whole university perspective that integrates policy and practice, providing a rationale for the critical importance of digital literacies in domains of life, work and learning, addressing an implicit ‘Why?’ question from staff and students. The University Library coordinated the Framework development. It was a scholarly undertaking that gathered evidence and reviewed international best practice. In this endeavour, the La Trobe University Library is a leader in the implementation of a university-wide strategy for digital literacies in Australia.
About the Authors
Fiona Salisbury
Fiona Salisbury is the Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement in the Library at La Trobe University. Fiona has worked at La Trobe since 2006. She has published papers on information literacy, collaborative practice and library management. Her current research projects cover a broad range of interests including critical university studies, digital literacies, and open educational resources. Fiona is also currently a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney.
John Hannon
Dr John Hannon has an Honorary Senior Lecturer positon in the School of Education at La Trobe University. His researches digital literacies, open education resources, and the digitisation of academic work and teaching; he also supervises research students and has taught postgraduate courses in university teaching and digital media. He has published internationally on educational technologies, academic development, professional practice, and intercultural communication. His current research focuses on transitions in academic work and university teaching that are emerging with the digitisation of higher education contexts.
Jennifer Peasley
Jennifer Peasley is University Librarian at La Trobe University Library, responsible for leading and managing library services and partnerships across the University’s six campuses. Prior to joining La Trobe University in January 2013, Jennifer was Deputy University Librarian at Macquarie University Library where her role encompassed quality and planning, corporate services and IT. Jennifer is Chair of the Council of Australian University Librarians’ Quality and Assessment Advisory Committee and has a strong interest in quality assurance, evaluation, and organisational design and development.
Me, Us and IT: Insiders' views of the complex technical, organisational and personal elements in using virtual worlds in education
Full paper
Sue Gregory
University of New England
Brent Gregory
University of New England
Denise Wood
Central Queensland University
Scott Grant
Monash University
Sasha Nikolic
University of Wollongong
Mathew Hillier
Monash University
Merle Hearns
Manukau Institute of Technology
Lisa Jacka
Southern Cross University
Marcus McDonald
RMIT University
Torsten Reiners
Curtin University
Sharon Lierse
Charles Darwin University
Blooma John
University of Canberra
Suku Sukunesan
Swinburne University of Technology
Emily Rutherford
University of Canberra
Jay Jay Jegathesan
University of Western Australia
Des Butler
Queensland University of Technology
Helen Farley
University of Southern Queensland
Pauletta Irwin
University of Newcastle
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11am - 11.30am
Stream 1
Room H102 Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre
Abstract
The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals ‘me’, their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice ‘us’, as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment ‘IT’. Drawing on Linstone’s (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in higher education. The potential of employing the TOP framework to inform future research into the use of technologies such as virtual worlds in teaching and learning is explored.
About the authors
Sue Gregory
Associate Professor Sue Gregory is the Chair of Research, Education Scholar and member of the ICT team in the School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, Australia. She holds a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Sue teaches pre-service and postgraduate education students how to incorporate technology into their teaching. She has been applying her virtual world knowledge to expose her students, both online and off-campus, since 2007. She has been involved with many national and university projects on creating and using learning spaces in virtual worlds, with over Au$1.2m in grants, including five Australian Category 1, two as lead. She received an OLT citation in 2012. Since 2009, Sue has been Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group and has over 100 publications on teaching and learning in virtual worlds and also in the area of exploring various tools for online teaching and learning.
Brent Gregory
Brent Gregory is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in Business Management and Growth. Prior to entering Academia his key area of research related to the attributes of successful business and in particular the key success factors for owner operated businesses. As a result he has devoted much of his professional career to guiding business on how to operate their businesses to better achieve their goals. He has also served on numerous regional development and community organisations.
Denise Wood
Denise Wood is a Professor, Engaged Research Chair and Director of the Centre for Regional Advancement of Learning, Equity, and Participation (LEAP) at Central Queensland University, Australia. She had led over AU$6 million in national funded research projects focusing on learning and teaching, and the innovative use of information and communication technologies, including virtual worlds, to enhance learning outcomes and the social and educational participation of people from underrepresented groups in Australia and South Africa. One of these projects, which is of particular interest to this publication, was an Australian Leaning and Teaching funded national project, “Facilitating flexible, enquiry-based experiential learning through an accessible, three-dimensional virtual learning environment (3DVLE)”, the outputs of which included guidelines for academics teaching in virtual worlds about the affordances and features virtual worlds for learning and teaching in higher education, case studies across a range of disciplinary fields and the development of an accessible virtual world viewer.
Scott Grant
Scott Grant has taught Chinese language and culture at tertiary level for more than 20 years. He coordinates and teaches Chinese Introductory 1 & 2 and Chinese Online Media 1 & 2. He is the creator of the Monash Chinese Island virtual language learning simulation in Second Life that has been part of the formal beginner level curriculum at Monash since 2008. Scott has also conducted collaborative research and jointly published a number of papers on educational uses of 3D multi-user virtual environments covering topics including self-efficacy, cognitive skills, second language acquisition and foreign language anxiety. In 2013/14, Scott was the Project Team Leader of the OLT funded Virtually Enhanced Languages (VEL) project which aims to share the experience and resources accumulated from implementing task-based language and culture learning on Chinese Island over a period of 10 years with other tertiary language educators.
Sasha Nikolic
Dr Sasha Nikolic is a lecturer at the University of Wollongong. From the University of Wollongong he received a B.E. degree in Telecommunications in 2001 and a PhD in Engineering Education in 2017. Sasha specialises in laboratory learning and video-augmented virtual environments. He won a university Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award in 2011. In 2012, he was awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning as part of the OLT Australian Awards for University Teaching. In 2016 he was team leader for a project that won the ASCILITE Innovation Award. He is a senior member of IEEE and member of both AAEE and ASCILITE.
Mathew Hillier
Dr Mathew Hillier is a Senior Lecturer in the Office of Learning and Teaching at Monash University. Mathew specialises in e-assessment and e-exams and teaches into the academic staff development program at Monash University leading the 'technology and space' theme. He is one of two co-leaders of the ASCILITE SIG for 'e-Assessment' and in this capacity is a co-host of the Transforming Assessment webinar series along with Prof Geoffrey Crisp. He has previously taught into Business, Information systems, Engineering and Arts programs at several universities in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Mathew is currently the leader of the 'Transforming Exams' project developing a toolset for authentic, computerised, high-stakes assessment (e-Exams). The project covers 10 university partners and is funded by a half-million dollar Australian government grant. He is also leading the development of a multi-language computerised exam platform for use in national professional translator accreditation. More about Mathew at http://ta.vu/mathewhillier
Merle Hearns
Merle Hearns is a Senior Lecturer in the Tertiary Teaching Unit at Manukau Institute of Technology. She previously worked in foundation (enabling education). Merle (then Lemon) was a Lead Educator for the 2009 Second Life Education in New Zealand (SLENZ Project), funded by the NZ Tertiary Education Commission Encouraging and Supporting Innovation Fund. Merle developed a literacy game, called The Mythical World of Hīnātore, which is available on a Kitely sim 24/7, as an Ako Aotearoa/MIT jointly funded research project. Merle is currently completing a PhD in education, focussing on the transference of skills learned in virtual worlds to the real world. Merle is involved in the Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) which assists in facilitating collaborative research and informing best practices in the use of virtual worlds for teaching and learning. For more information, see https://www.linkedin.com/in/merle-hearns-b81a583/; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merle_Hearns; https://zc.academia.edu/MerleHearns; https://eportfolio.manukau.ac.nz/view/view.php?t=2Z8cCTmou1NRx5nwgPaG
Lisa Jacka
Dr Lisa Jacka is a lecturer in the School of Education at Southern Cross University, NSW. She has been an adult educator for many years who works with pre-service and post-graduate education students to expand their knowledge and confidence to integrate innovative ICTs into their teaching practice. Lisa has expertise in virtual worlds in education having completed PhD research in this field as she introduced educators to the possibilities of virtual worlds. She has over 27 publications including book chapters, journal articles and conference papers and in 2015 was awarded a Vice Chancellor's citation for innovative design and delivery online learning experiences that facilitate education students' readiness to teach in learning environments of the future.
Marcus McDonald
Dr Marcus McDonald is a Lecturer at RMIT University. He is focused on the affordances and application of educational technologies. Concerned mainly with how student experience may effect engagement and learner buy-in. Most recently he has been taking these evaluation methods in the evaluation of health care. This focus takes evaluations of learning engagement and examines the use and experience of Health Care practitioners with a range of third party payers and schemes. The intention is that it would influence the delivery and co-operation of these stake holders.
Torsten Reiners
Dr Torsten Reiners is Senior Lecturer in Logistics at the Curtin University, Australia. His research and teaching experiences are in the areas of operations research, but include instructional design, development of adaptive learning environments, distant collaboration, and mobile learning. His PhD thesis is about adaptive learning material in the field of operations research. He has participated in multiple projects to use 3D spaces for learning support; i.e., to improve the authenticity of learning in classes about production and simulation. He is project leader on a competitive grant from the Australian Office of Learning and Teaching (www.ndive-project.com).
Sharon Lierse
Dr Sharon Lierse is Lecturer in Education at Charles Darwin University (Melbourne). Prior to her appointment, she was Associate Professor in the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts in Malaysia where she was founder and Managing Editor of the Malaysian Music Journal. Dr Lierse has also lectured at the University of Tasmania, and was Manager of Professional Learning at ACER. She has published widely and has given conference presentations around the world including keynote presentations in Europe and Asia. Her research interests include instrumental music, lecturing face-to-face and online, and the characteristics of excellence in teaching in a university setting.
Blooma John
Blooma John is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Business Government and Law, University of Canberra. She has a PhD in Information Systems from Nanyang Technological University. Her research interests are in text mining, social question answering, learning analytics and health informatics. She has published various academic articles including journal papers, book chapters and conference proceedings in these areas. She has won the award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching 2015 at RMIT Vietnam. She had also won the best paper of the conference award at the AIS Special Interest Group in Education 2013.
Suku Sukunesan
Dr Sukunesan is a Senior Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology within the Information Systems Department, and is an Innovation Fellow within the Swinburne Innovation Precinct. He is an experienced researcher and academic with a keen interest in edutech applications, social media, social network analysis and disruptive technologies. He has previously used Twitter, Second Life and Shoutcast servers as part of his teaching innovation.
Emily Rutherford
Emily Rutherford is an Educational Designer at the University of Canberra. She works in partnership with the academic staff from the Faculty of Business, Governance and Law on staff development projects, teaching strategies and innovation, as well as University-wide learning and teaching projects. She enjoys connecting with new ways to use pedagogically-driven technology to support teaching strategies and enhance digital literacy skills. Emily has a strong background in teaching and supporting teaching practice, as well as being a passionate enthusiast of Second Life, VR/AR and mixed reality, and how they are explored creatively in a higher education context.
Jay Jay Jegathesan
Jay Jay Jegathesan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree from the University of Western Australia (UWA), majoring in management and marketing. An employee of UWA since 2004, Jay Jay is attached to the Graduate Research School coordinating an area looking after the interests of prospective PhD students in the medical field.
Des Butler
Des Butler is a Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, where he served as Assistant Dean, Research (1997-2002). He was awarded his doctorate in 1996 for his thesis on liability for psychiatric injury, and is the author or co-author of 21 books and numerous articles on topics including legal education, media and entertainment law, psychiatric injury caused by negligence, and contract law. He is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow and a Senior Fellow of the United Kingdom Higher Education Academy. He has developed technology-based programs for enhancing the learning of law since 1990 and has received numerous awards for his work, many of which involve machinima created using the Second Life virtual world, including an Australian Award for Teaching Excellence, the LexisNexis/Australasian Law Teachers Association Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Law (twice) and a Janders Dean/LexisNexis Legal Innovation Index Award.
Helen Farley
Dr Helen Farley is an Associate Professor (Digital Futures) at the Digital Life Lab, University of Southern Queensland. She researches the educational affordances of emerging digital technologies for learning. She is leading the Australian government-funded Making the Connection project which is introducing digital technologies into correctional centres to enhance access to higher education for Indigenous and non-Indigenous prisoners. The project has been successfully deployed in five states and territories with some 1000 students. Helen also led USQ’s Collaborative Research Network project to develop a Mobile Learning Evaluation Framework. Helen is also at the forefront of virtual world research, having led the award-winning Religion Bazaar project in Second Life. She has published extensively on the affordances of digital technologies to enhance learning and has secured around $6 million in funding. Twitter: @Helssi
Pauletta Irwin
Pauletta Irwin is a Nursing Lecturer and Simulated Learning Environment Coordinator at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Newcastle. Pauletta has a strong history in various simulation platforms in her years of employment in the tertiary sector. Pauletta’s doctoral research considers the nature of learning in a virtual world for undergraduate nursing students. She has led several innovative projects where virtual simulation has been piloted to teach nursing students skills such as holistic assessments, post graduate mental health students home environment assessments, and an international study examining a shared learning space with international students. Leadership on these projects has led to sustained partnerships with tertiary (national and international) and healthcare sectors. A committee member of the Faculty of Health and Medicine’s Centre of Excellence in Simulation, Pauletta is developing several interdisciplinary simulations that seek to improve student learning and capacity in the workforce.
Improving transnational and industry-supported student engagement through immersive videoconferencing in a 3D virtual environment
Innovation Award (2016)
Sasha Nikolic
University of Wollongong
Mark Lee
Charles Sturt University
Christian Ritz
University of Wollongong
Farzad Safaei
University of Wollongong
Tom Goldfinch
University of Wollongong
Wanqing Li
University of Wollongong
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 12pm - 12.30pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
The aim of this project has been to use a novel immersive video collaboration technology to enhance the learning experience of transnational students, and to facilitate student interaction and engagement with their peers and with industry representatives. The goals are twofold: firstly, to afford offshore-enrolled students (those studying at overseas satellite campuses and partner institutions) equivalent learning experiences to locally enrolled students by emulating the essence of a single university campus environment, irrespective of their physical location; and secondly, to provide relevant and authentic learning opportunities for all students through real-time involvement of professionals and other subject-matter experts.
About the authors
Sasha Nikolic
Sasha Nikolic received the B.E. (telecommunications) in 2001 and PhD in Engineering Education in 2017 from the University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia. He spent several years in industry and then in 2006 commenced as Laboratory Manager, involved in improving and developing the teaching laboratories and sessional teaching staff with the University of Wollongong. In 2014, he became an Associate Lecturer in engineering education and in 2016 a Lecturer. Dr Nikolic became Chair of the NSW Chapter of the IEEE Education Society in 2014. He won a university Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award in 2011. In 2012, he was awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning as part of the Australian Awards for University Teaching. In 2016, he also received awards for his contribution to engineering education through the IEEE, AAEE and ASCILITE.
Mark Lee
Mark J. W. Lee is an adjunct senior lecturer in education with Charles Sturt University and honorary senior research fellow in IT and engineering with Federation University Australia. His 70+ publications in educational technology, e-learning and innovation in tertiary teaching have been cited over 4,000 times, according to Google Scholar.
Christian Ritz
Christian Ritz is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Wollongong. He is a member of the University’s Visual and Audio Signal Processing Lab and directs its anechoic recording and playback facility. His current research interests include speech and audio signal processing, acoustics as well as engineering education, particularly the integration of generic professional competencies into the curriculum and transnational learning experiences
Farzad Safaei
Farzad Safaei graduated from the University of Western Australia with the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics) and obtained his PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from Monash University, Australia. Currently, he is the Professor of Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Wollongong. Research interests include multimedia signal processing and communications technology
Tom Goldfinch
Tom Goldfinch is currently a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Education at the University of Sydney. His key research focus areas are engineering mechanics education, and the social and cultural aspects of engineering education and practice. He is President of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education.
Wanqing Li
Wanqing Li is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering and Deputy Director of the ICT Research Institute at the University of Wollongong. With over 30 years’ industrial and academic research experience, he has filed six patents and published over 100 refereed papers. His current interests are in human motion analysis, multimodal biometric cryptosystems, and automatic annotation and intelligent retrieval/adaptation of multimedia content.
Developing an Australian Open Educational Practice SIG
ASCILITE session
Carina Bossu
University of Tasmania
@carinabossu
Adrian Stagg
University of Southern Queensland
@openKuroko
Catch this session
Wednesday 6 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 6
Room T125
Abstract
There have been some important Open Educational Practices (OEP) developments in Australia, but unfortunately the potential of OEP to meet some of the national and institutional targets has not been fully realised and acknowledged yet. This session will attempt to engage the ASCILITE community in discussions around the issues related to OEP at individual, institutional, and national levels.
This will also be an important opportunity to establish the foundations of a national Special Interest Group (SIG) in OEP in Australia. This group would provide practitioners, researchers, and advocates a platform for collaboration, support and development, not only at individual level, but also institutionally and nationally. Outcomes of this presentation would be:
- to further engage the ASCILITE community in this topic;
- to establish the basis for a SIG in OEP;
- to start a conversation about the role that the SIG could play in Australia;
- to provide OEP with a national representation at higher education level, which could in turn further progress OEP in Australia.
About the authors
Carina Bossu
Dr Carina Bossu is a Lecturer, Learning & Teaching (OEP) with the Tasmanian Institute of Learning and Teaching at the University of Tasmania. Her current work and research are primarily focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) in higher education, more specifically issues related to learning, teaching and professional development. Previously, she was a Research Fellow with the Distance Education HUB (DEHub) at the University of New England.
Adrian Stagg
Adrian Stagg is currently the Manager (Open Educational Practice) for the University of Southern Queensland. His career has included over 14 years in both public and academic libraries, as well as positions as a Learning Technologist and eLearning Designer. Adrian holds a Master of Applied Science (Library and Information Management). His interest in Open Educational Practice has prompted the commencement of a PhD at the University of Tasmania focusing on the practitioner experience in the reuse of Open Educational Resources. His research areas include the ecology of open educational practice and higher education policy as it relates to and supports, open educational initiatives.
Assuring quality online learning: The ASCILITE Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Scheme (TELAS)
ASCILITE session
Dominique Parrish
University of Wollongong
Allan Christie
Blackboard
@ns_allanc
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 3.45pm - 4.45pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
There has been a significant increase in the number of students choosing to engage in online learning (Hodge et al. 2014). Estimates suggest that in the last twelve years there has been a 263% increase of students enrolling in online courses (OLC, 2016). Additionally, institutional leaders are progressively recognizing that online learning is crucial to long-term institutional success and profitability (Bowen, 2013). However, while online learning has the potential to transform the business and viability of higher education institutions, there is also a critical need to identify how the quality of online learning can be assured (Kidney, Cummings, & Boehm, 2007; Salmon 2013).
Professional associations, such as ASCILITE have a major role to play in regard to assuring the quality of online learning in higher education (Frydenberg, 2002). This presentation will provide an overview of an ASCILITE initiative – The Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Scheme (TELAS), which is being conceptualized to develop an internationally benchmarked scheme that will assess and assure the quality of online learning.
The TELAS will be implemented across three operational phases. The first phase will result in the production of a TEL accreditation framework, which will be the basis of the instrument used to conduct the quality assessment of online learning and a TELAS web portal. This presentation will showcase the TELAS framework and outcomes from Phase 1, explain the details of the next two phases and describe the intended approach and perceived benefits of the entire accreditation scheme.
References
Bowen, W.G. (2013). Higher Education in the Digital Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Frydenberg, J. (2002). Quality Standards in e-Learning: A matrix of analysis. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 3(2)
Hodge, A., Love, B., Grandgenett, N. F., & Swift, A. (2014). "A Flipped Classroom Approach: Benefits and Challenges of Flipping the Learning of Procedural Knowledge." In P. R. Lowenthal, C. S. York, and J. C. Richardson (Eds.), Online Learning: Common Misconceptions, Benefits and Challenges . Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishing.
Kidney, G., Cummings, L., & Boehm, A. (2007). Toward a Quality Assurance Approach to E-Learning Courses. International Journal on ELearning, 6(1), 17-30.
Online Learning Consortium (OLC), (2016). Online learning catches up to traditional college. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/news_item/online-learning-catches-traditional-college/
Salmon, G. (2013). E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
About the authors
Dominique Parrish
Dominique is currently the Associate Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health at the University of Wollongong. She has over 30 years experience in education and held numerous leadership roles including project manager of three national learning and teaching grants, external evaluator for two national learning and teaching grants, Treasurer, Vice-President and now President of ASCILITE. Dominique is also a Lead Editor of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice (JUTLP) and a member of the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) Management Committee. Dominique is currently co leading the Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Scheme (TELAS) initiative, which is seeking to develop a formal process for assessing and accrediting the quality of online learning. Dominique’s other research interests include leadership in higher education and emotional intelligence.
Allan Christie
Allan is currently the Vice-President, eLearning for Blackboard APAC and this reflects his 30+ years of experience as both an academic and industry leader in the area of eLearning. During his academic career, Allan published extensively and presented at many national and international conferences and was recognised for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of South Australia. Through his long industry association with ASCILITE he was awarded a Life Member of the Society in 2003 and currently has the role of Treasurer. Allan has taken on a "thought-leadership" role in the region which includes conference presentations, panel membership, industry association involvement and social media (blog, twitter) engagement.
@ns_allanc
The combined effects of physical and virtual models in learning cellular biology
Concise paper
Jinlu Wu Hong
National University of Singapore
Van Nguyen
National Unviersity of Singapore
Rulin Chen
National Unviersity of Singapore
Pui Yee Fiona Fan
National Unviersity of Singapore
Kar Jun Loh
National Unviersity of Singapore
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 11.20am - 11.40am
Stream 2
Room R113
Abstract
Physical models have long been used in science education for visualization of complex cellular structure and dynamics during face-to-face lecture (F2F). Recent advancement of technology has enabled us to create virtual models and to share knowledge remotely. This study aims to find out whether physical models can be integrated into digital media to enhance student engagements and learning for an undergraduate Life Sciences module. Three independent experiments were conducted to assess learning effectiveness on three different biology concepts through four learning approaches: video with virtual model only, video with integration of virtual and physical model demonstration, F2F lecture using virtual model only, F2F lecture using virtual and physical models. Participants were randomly assigned to different groups each with the different learning approach. Data collected through pre- and post-tests revealed that significant improvement in learning scientific concepts occurred in one of three controlled experiments when the video contains both virtual and physical models, while no obvious difference found in the other two experiments. This data might suggest that well-prepared digital media alone can convey scientific information well and additional physical models do not aid in information acquisition. However, survey data on student learning experience showed that all participants preferred to learn from physical models. In all three experiments, students consistently voted that the physical models attracted their attention and enhanced their interests. They made better mind maps and raised more questions. This may hint that a combination of digital media with physical models improves engagements and promotes higher order thinking.
About the authors
Jinlu Wu Hong
Jinlu is a senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore. He is interested in pedagogical research related to assessment, motivation, and tech-enhanced learning. He published papers in pedagogical journals and gave talks at international conferences on higher education.
Van Nguyen
Hong Van Nguyen is a undergraduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore.
Rulin Chen
Rulin Chen is a undergraduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore.
Pui Yee Fiona Fan
Pui Yee Fiona Fan is a undergraduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore.
Kar Jun Loh
Kar Jun Loh is a undergraduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore.