Recipes for institutional adoption of a teacher-driven learning analytics tool: Case studies from three Australian universities
Full paper
Lorenzo Vigentini
The University of New South Wales
@l_vigentini
Elsuida Kondo
The University of Melbourne
@ElsuidaKondo
Kevin Samnick
The University of Sydney
@Kevin_Samnick
Danny Liu
The University of Sydney
@dannydotliu
Deb King
The University of Melbourne
@fyimaths
Adam Bridgeman
The University of Sydney
@adambridgeman
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11am - 11.30am
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
The changing landscape of higher education is putting increasing strain on educators, leading to a diminishing ability to provide pedagogical and pastoral support to ballooning and diversifying cohorts. Learning analytics promises solutions to these challenges for educators, including by personalising learning support and experiences, streamlining data capture and analyses, and providing teachers with new, efficient teaching approaches. However, reports of these impacts, or widespread adoption of learning analytics, or even examples of cross-institutional collaboration are sparse. We argue that this may be because of a lack of educator-driven learning analytics tools that meet their felt needs, and present case studies from three Australian universities that have collaborated to implement such a tool. This tool, the Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES), empowers educators to collect, collate, analyse, and use student engagement and success data that they consider meaningful for their particular contexts. Developed by unfunded educators and widely adopted through collegiate recommendations, the SRES enables personalisation and targeting of student learning and support using relevant data, fostering positive student-teacher relationships and enhancing student engagement. Using the three case studies as a backdrop, we present a revised learning analytics adoption framework focussing on strategy, structure, support, and impact, and use this framework to systematically evaluate the adoption and implementation of the SRES at the three institutions to derive ‘recipes’ for adopting an educator-focused learning analytics platform. We also discuss three core themes emerging from the case studies, around the needs of academics, the role of academic and educational developers, and flexible and agile information technology practices.
About the authors
Lorenzo Vigentini
Lorenzo is the Academic Lead Educational Analytics in the portfolio of the Pro-Vice Chancellor Education at UNSW Sydney. Lorenzo’s background is in Psychology, Learning and Teaching in the Higher Education sector and have a lot of experience in IT/e-learning development. His expertise is into quantitative and qualitative investigations of learning processes at the crossing between cognitive psychology, differential psychology, education and human-computer interaction. His main interest is about technology, its use, its evolution, its interaction with learning and the interface between human and machines (also physical using computer vision, brain activity monitoring, the ‘quantitative self’ and IoT).
Elsuida Kondo
Elsuida is the Developer of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne. Elsuida’s background is in analytical chemistry, mathematical modelling, and Learning and Teaching development. In her current role her main interest is in learning analytics evaluation, student engagement and interactive learning development.
Kevin Samnick
Kevin is a dedicated and lifelong proponent of the value of learning. He has a background in pharmaceutical research, STEM education, and educational technology. His approach to education is fuelled by practical and tangible connections to holistic outcomes for learners and educators in their lives both in the classroom and beyond. Kevin has worked in pharmaceutical research in industry and in a University context supporting research in cancer, tuberculosis, and pulmonary drug delivery. Later he taught science, chemistry, and biology in secondary schools before moving into elearning support in the tertiary environment. Currently he is part of a team managing the migration to a new learning management system at the University of Sydney.
Danny Liu
Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and academic developer by day, and educator at heart. A multiple national teaching award winner, he works at the confluence of learning analytics, student engagement, educational technology, and professional development and leadership to enhance the student experience.
Deb King
Deb has a PhD in mathematics and has worked at The University of Melbourne since 2002. She is the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) in the Faculty of Science and Director of Teaching in the School of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne.
She leads the FYiMaths network, a national initiative to support professional development of tertiary mathematics educators and encourage innovation in education. She has been awarded institutional and national teaching awards, and has led two national mathematics education projects; Mathsassess, investigating assessment practices in tertiary mathematics and FYiMaths.
Adam Bridgeman
Adam is Director of Educational Innovation at the University of Sydney and holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Cambridge. He was awarded the RSC Higher Education Teaching Award in the UK in 2004. In 2006, Adam moved to the University of Sydney as Director of First Year Studies in the School of Chemistry. He became Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching in 2012 for the Faculty of Science. As well as receiving institutional and national awards for teaching in Australia, he became an Australian National Teaching Fellow in 2015. In November of 2015, he finally escaped Chemistry to take up this new role in the DVC Education Portfolio at Sydney. In this role, he is tasked with invigorating and changing the learning and teaching culture through a focus on blended, collaborative and interactive learning styles.
Me in a minute: A simple strategy for developing and showcasing personal employability
Concise paper
Trina Jorre de St Jorre
Deakin University
@trinajorre
Liz Johnson
Deakin University
Gypsy O'Dea
Deakin University
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.30pm - 1.50pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
Graduates require evidence of employability beyond marks and grades to differentiate themselves in the highly competitive labour market. Universities cannot guarantee employment, but they can engage students in learning and recognise achievement that is relevant to employment. Here, we share preliminary insights from interviews investigating student perceptions of an extra-curricular video strategy designed to develop and showcase graduate employability. The Me in a Minute video strategy provides students with support to film a one minute video pitch aimed at potential employers. Student perceptions of the strategy suggest that in addition to providing an individualised artefact that can be used to showcase achievement, the strategy engages students in reflection that helps them to better understand and articulate evidence of their achievements relevant to employment. Furthermore, students value the learning associated with pitching, more than the video itself.
About the authors
Trina Jorre de St Jorre
Dr Trina Jorre de St Jorre is a Lecturer in Graduate Employability at Deakin University. She is interested in pedagogies that engage and empower students and her research focus is on assuring graduate capabilities, improving employment outcomes and incorporating the student voice into curriculum development.
Liz Johnson
Liz Johnson is Pro Vice Chancellor, Teaching and Learning at Deakin University where she leads the Deakin Learning Futures, the central divisional team that supports learning and teaching. Liz is a National Teaching Fellow with research interests in work-integrated learning, curriculum renewal and building capability for learning and teaching. Liz is also Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre of the Australian Council of Deans of Science, leading a number of national projects to enhance university teaching in science.
Gypsy O'Dea
Gypsy O’Dea is a Psychology student, Writing Mentor, and Research Assistant at Deakin University. As a Writing Mentor, her focus is on strategies that empower students to become self-directed and independent learners, with a view to improving graduate outcomes. Her current research is with the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 study, investigating intergenerational predictors of child development.
Variations in coherence and engagement in students’ experience of blended learning
Full paper
Feifei Han
The University of Sydney
Robert Ellis
The University of Sydney
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
We report a study which examines variations in coherence and engagement of 344 first year engineering students’ blended learning experience. Using self-report and observational data sources, we demonstrate that student perceptions of the blended learning environment, academic learning outcomes, and actual engagement with the online learning activities are logically related at the variable level as shown by correlation analysis; and at the level of student groupings of similar learning experience and behaviors, as revealed by cluster, ANOVA, and 2 x 2 contingency analyses. Using self-report data, we found that when students perceived the learning activities in the f2f and online environments were coherent and integrated, they tended to be more engaged with the online learning and to perform relatively higher on the assessment tasks than students with negative perceptions. Using the observational data, students who were more engaged with the online learning tended to perceive that the online learning was well integrated with the f2f learning, that the online contributions were valuable for the whole learning experience, and achieved relatively higher than less engaged students. A 2 x 2 contingency table further revealed a logical relationship between the groupings of students based on the self-report and observational data: moderate and positive association was found between students with coherent perceptions and more engagement; and between students with fragmented perceptions and less engagement with the learning experience. The use of multiple data sources and methods enabled triangulation, strengthened analysis power, and offered a more comprehensive picture of students’ blended learning experience.
About the authors
Feifei Han
Feifei Han currently is an educational researcher at the University of Sydney. Her current research interests comprise of three broad themes: (1) language and literacy education; (2) teaching, learning, and educational technology in higher education, and (3) educational psychology.
Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Sydney. He has been a funded chief investigative researcher for the Australian Research Council since 2005. His current project is funded up until 2019 (with Goodyear and others). Robert’s research interests focus on the student and teaching experience of e-learning, quality and innovation in higher education and learning spaces. He is author of two books and more than eighty internationally refereed publications, mostly in journal articles. He is also a coordinating editor of the Springer Journal ‘Higher Education’, and co-editor of the new book series for Springer ‘Understanding Teaching and Learning practice’. The goal of his research and scholarship is to achieve meaningful social contributions through translational research outcomes.
Women and rural people’s participation in tertiary education through internet resources in India: A narrative inquiry
Full paper
Sandeep Kaur Sandhu
Monash University, Australia
Catch this session
Wednesday 6 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
India has a large formal higher education system, however, the enrolment of women and rural people in universities is not substantial. Women enrolment in tertiary education was reported only 41.5% of the total enrolment in the academic year 2010-2011 and only 7% population in rural areas have a higher education. Many socio-cultural barriers prevent people from accessing higher education in India. The integration of the Internet into the higher education sector has the potential to improve access to tertiary education in India regardless gender and area. Using personal narrative and interview data, this article explores how Internet resources can be used to enhance women and rural people’s participation in tertiary education in India.
About the authors
Sandeep Kaur Sandhu
Dr Sandeep Kuar Sandhu is a Sessional Lecturer at Monash University, Australia and a casual research assistant at RMIT University, Australia. Sandeep was awarded her PhD on the use of educational technology in higher education settings from Monash University in 2016. Dr Sandeep Sandhu has special expertise in use of ICT in higher education, mixed-method approaches in educational researches, teacher education, narrative inquiries and the Social Construction of Technology theory. Sandeep has almost eight years of multicultural experience of teaching and research in tertiary education in Australia, UK and India.
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
Christian Ritz
Farzad Safaei
Tom Goldfinch
Wanqing Li
The Student Relationship Engagement System: Empowering teachers to collect, analyse, and act on meaningful data to engage students at scale
Innovation Award (2016)
Danny Liu
The University of Sydney
@dannydotliu
Kevin Samnick
The University of Sydney
@kevin_samnick
Ruth Weeks
The University of Sydney
@ruthwsydney
Adam Bridgeman
The University of Sydney
@adambridgeman
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 12pm - 12.30pm
Stream 1
Room H102
Abstract
The Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES) was developed at the University of Sydney to help academics personalise engagement with large student cohorts. Academics consistently report that positive feedback from students "shows how helpful the SRES is in allowing us to give the kind of personalised attention to students that time wouldn't otherwise allow". From marking attendance, analysing grades, collecting live feedback, and providing easy ways to personalise bulk feedback to students via emails and web portals, the SRES gives academics access to data that are meaningful in their contexts and helps them to create personalised learning environments with targeted feedback and support. This unique and inherently practical application of learning analytics is currently used across 20 departments in over 120 units and reaches over 20,000 students at the University of Sydney. It has been credited with increasing student engagement, improving retention rates, and enhancing students’ learning outcomes. The SRES is also being piloted at a number of other Australian universities, and we are keen for more collaborators. In this presentation, you will use the SRES live, hear about its implementation, wider adoption, and impact, and explore how it could impact students in your contexts.
About the authors
Danny Liu
Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and academic developer by day, and educator at heart. A national teaching award winner, he focuses on wrangling technology to improve learning and teaching by working at the confluence of educational technology, student engagement, learning analytics, and professional development and leadership.
Kevin Samnick
Kevin is an Educational Designer with a background in secondary STEM teaching, pharmaceutical research, and biology. He is an advocate for education, learning, technology, and ensuring students and teachers are our first priority in higher education.
Ruth Weeks
Ruth is an Educational Design Manager with a background in teaching English as a foreign language and academic writing. She is passionate about teaching with technology and the future of digital education.
Adam Bridgeman
Adam is Director of Educational Innovation at the University of Sydney and has received institutional and national awards for teaching and is an Australian National Teaching Fellow. He aims to invigorate and change learning and teaching culture through a focus on blended, collaborative, and interactive learning designs.
Learning analytics: What's in it for me (the teacher) and us (myself and my students)?
Lightning round
Cathy Gunn
University of Auckland
@dr_cathy_gunn
Claire Donald
University of Auckland
Jenny McDonald
University of Auckland
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.30pm - 3pm
Stream 2
Room R113
Abstract
Like many emergent trends in learning technology the potential for learning analytics to benefit teaching and learning is being explored with promising results. However adoption is a slow process and the level of impact on practice is so far disappointing (O’Brien, 2016). Our research found that institutions, researchers and teachers have different perceptions and use different language to talk about learning analytics. We will briefly discuss why this lack of common discourse is a barrier to progress, and runs the risk of ending in more failed expectations such as those described in the annual Gartner Hype Cycle Reports .
In three short presentations, we will describe examples of learning analytics tools and strategies developed to promote their adoption in practice by teachers and learning designers. A guiding principle is to produce easy to use tools that teachers can use or adapt to their own practice (Datnow & Hubbard, 2016; Ferguson et al., 2016). The tools must also serve a useful purpose, e.g. by supporting common tasks or addressing common challenges, and aligning with familiar teaching and assessment cycles.
Links will be provided to the open source tools and creative commons licensed resources produced by a nationally funded learning analytics research project in New Zealand.
About the authors
Cathy Gunn
Cathy Gunn is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education (CLeaR) at the University of Auckland. She has been the Head of eLearning, Deputy Director, Acting Director and Principal Researcher, and produced more than 130 scholarly publications. She is an experienced learning technology researcher and an active contributor to international networks. She is a former President and life member of Ascilite.
Claire Donald
Claire Donald is a lecturer and learning designer at the Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education (CLeaR) at the University of Auckland. She has 25 years’ experience as a learning designer and researcher in higher education, specifically in the fields of science and engineering education, MOOCs, teacher beliefs, learning analytics and learning design.
Jenny McDonald
Jenny McDonald is an independent researcher and a Research Associate at the Centre for Learning and Research (CLeaR), University of Auckland. Jenny has particular research interests in natural language processing techniques for formative feedback and learning analytics but she is broadly interested in the applications
Computer says no? Life literacies and digital literacies for LSES non-op students in a pre-tertiary program
Lightning talks 1
Susan Hopkins
University of Southern Queensland
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.30pm - 3pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
This short talk by project leader Dr Susan Hopkins will introduce the HEPPP funded Life Literacies initiative and series of optional support workshops (within the USQ tertiary preparation program for non-OP and non-traditional students) launched at Toowoomba and Ipswich campuses of the University of Southern Queensland in teaching semester 2, 2017. The HEPPP funded 2017 Life Literacies project targets students from low socioeconomic areas who may be suffering from financial hardship. The program aims to make their journey through higher education less stressful, more empowering and more relevant to everyday life through innovative educational approaches and materials centred on essential ‘life literacies.’ These innovative approaches include the use of social media (and the Life Literacies closed group Facebook page) in teaching pre-tertiary students. In particular, this short talk will focus on the Digital Literacies workshop within the Life Literacies suite of enabling education workshops to consider the particular benefits and challenges of teaching digital literacy to low socio-economic, non-traditional, non-op students as part of a tertiary preparation program.
About the authors
Susan Hopkins
Susan Hopkins is a Lecturer in the Open Access College at the University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich campus. Her research interests include sociological approaches to the education of marginalised groups including incarcerated students and LSES students as well as critical cultural studies and media representations of gender and empowerment
Technology in prisons for learning: Making the Connection
Lightning talks 1
Helen Farley
University of Southern Queensland
@Helssi
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.30pm - 3pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
The Australian Government Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program-funded project, Making the Connection, is taking digital technologies, that do not require internet access, into correctional centres to enable prisoners, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, to enroll in a suite of pre-tertiary and undergraduate programs. A version of the University of Southern Queensland’s learning management system has been installed onto the education server of participating correctional centres. The second stage of the project has seen notebook computers pre-loaded with course materials, allocated to participating prisoners. At the time of writing, the project has been deployed at thirty correctional centres in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory with negotiations underway for further rollout to Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia late in 2017. It is expected that the technologies and processes developed for this project will enable the delivery of higher education to other cohorts without access to reliable internet access. This presentation presents an update of the project.
About the authors
Helen Farley
Associate Professor Helen Farley researches within the Digital Life Lab at the University of Southern Queensland. Her research interests include investigating the affordances of emerging digital technologies, including virtual worlds, augmented reality and mobile technologies, in formal and informal learning. She is passionate about digital inclusion and leads the $4.4 million Making the Connection project which introduces digital technologies into prisons to allow prisoners access to digital higher education. The project has attracted some 1500 course enrolments over five states and recently received an Australian Award for University Teaching for Programs that Enhance Learning. Associate Professor Farley has published extensively and is a featured speaker at both educational technology and corrections conferences.
Debating the use of social media in higher education
Lightning talks 2
Julie Willems
RMIT University
@Julie_Willems
Chie Adachi
Deakin University
@ChieAdachi
Francesca Bussey
Deakin University
@fbussey1
Iain Doherty
Deakin University
Henk Huijser
Queensland University of Technology
@hhuijser
Catch this session
Tuesday 5 December, 12pm - 12.30pm
Stream 3
Room L206
Abstract
To an international audience on 28 November 2016, and as part of the presentations at ASCILITE 2016, a ‘great debate’ on the use of social media in higher education was conducted by a team of researchers. As part of the debate, there was an opportunity to tap into the collective wisdom of our attending experienced colleagues. Approximately 150 conference delegates attended the hour-long session in order to engage with both sides of the argument. The research team carefully crafted the arguments to ensure that the debate covered key areas of interest and concern found in the literature of teaching and learning, as well as concerns within the higher education sector as a whole. The aim was to prompt the audience to participate and contribute to a discussion reflective of multiple perspectives, albeit within a specialist group cohort. Using a roving microphone to draw contributions from the floor, as captured via the live video streaming tool Periscope, and in addition to comments captured in the live debate Twitter feed from both the audience participants and beyond, rich data was captured. As both sources of data are available in the public domain, research ethics exemption was granted. While the findings of this research will be compiled for a journal publication for further exploration, this presentation summarises the findings and expands on some key ideas that emerged from the debate and broader collegial input. These findings will form the basis for further exploration.
About the authors
Julie Willems
Dr Julie Willems holds qualifications in education, the humanities, and nursing. Her research interests include media and technology in formal and informal learning, along with educational and digital equity as social justice issue. She is a Senior Lecturer in RMIT’s central unit, the Learning & Teaching Academy. Julie was a of the auDA Foundation's national 2011 research grant for the i-Survive Project investigating the use of ‘back channel’ communications via mobile technologies and social media during Australian emergencies and disasters. Julie has a community focus and has served on a number of committees and boards relating to educational technology and social justice in education over the course of her career. She served on the national Executive of ODLAA from 2011 to 2014, and is currently in her second term on the ASCILITE national Executive. Julie is an active member of the ASCILITE 2018 conference to be hosted by Deakin University.
Chie Adachi
Dr Chie Adachi is a Lecturer within the central learning and teaching unit at Deakin University, Melbourne. She holds a PhD in Sociolinguistics and Masters and Bachelor degrees in Education (TESOL). Combined with her teaching and research experiences in the Higher Education sector for over 10 years across Japan, UK and Australia, she enjoys daily thinking about and researching within the area of digital learning, peer learning and intercultural communication.
Francesca Bussey
Dr Francesca Bussey is an academic at Deakin University working with Learning Futures, and the Faculty of Arts and Education, to lead and support innovation and capacity building in all areas of teaching and learning in higher education. Working with a small dedicated team, she specialises in curriculum development, online learning, MOOC delivery, quality assessment strategies, and the use of targeted digital technology to support learning and teaching. Francesca also teaches out of the School of Education, chairing a unit in the History and Philosophy of Education. With over 20 years’ experience working in higher education, Francesca has developed knowledge and skills in policy and planning, project implementation, outreach and student equity, academic skills delivery, building digital identities, teaching and learning, and online delivery. Francesca’s principal research interests are in the History and Philosophy of Technology and Education. Her research is informed by her academic background as an historian and her professional experience as a social equity practitioner. Special interests include social justice, feminist theory and philosophy for children.
Iain Doherty
Dr Iain Doherty heads up a team of academic, resource development and production specialists (the Pod) who work with the Faculty of Arts and Education to ensure effective course enhancement using Deakin’s Curriculum Framework. As a teaching and learning professional, Iain has a career history that has seen him develop knowledge and skills in inclusive leadership practices; strategic and operational planning; project management; and change management. Iain's collaborative approach to facilitating change in teaching and learning is grounded in a sound knowledge of: teaching and learning theories; curriculum and course design principles; purposeful use of technologies to enhance teaching and learning; and creating effective professional development opportunities for teachers. Iain has been research active throughout his career with a publication list that reflects his areas of career expertise along with his appreciation of collaborative research.
Henk Huijser
Dr Henk Huijser has been a Curriculum Designer in the Learning and Teaching Unit at Queensland University of Technology since September this year. Henk has a background and a PhD in screen and media studies, but has worked as an educational developer in Australia, the Arabian Gulf, and China since 2005. He has published widely in both the areas of learning and teaching in higher education, and media and cultural studies. For more information please visit: http://henkhuijser.webs.com/