ASCILITE NEWS

New TEL-edvisors SIG Launched

The new ASCILITE TEL-edvisors SIG is now open for members to join.

This SIG is ASCILITE's fifth; following on from the establishment of a Learning Analytics SIG, Learning Design SIG, Mobile SIG and an eAssessment SIG. Information on each of these SIGs is available on the ASCILITE website under the "Connect" menu and membership in ASCILITE SIGs is open to members and non-members. All SIGs are free to join.

The new TEL-edvisors SIG is aimed at educational designers, developers and consultants, learning technologists, academic developers and others; collectively referred to as TEL edvisors.

In tertiary education, there is a wide range of highly skilled and knowledgeable people that provide advice, support and leadership about all facets of technology enhanced learning (TEL).

TEL includes all aspects of teaching and learning practice because in the 21st century, there is little that isn’t in some way inextricably intertwined with technology (cf. Selwyn 2017).

The TEL edvisors network exists to:

Raise the profile and understanding of the work and value of TEL edvisors in tertiary education
Foster communication and collaboration between TEL edvisors across Australia and New Zealand
Create and share ideas, practices and resources for use in our day to day work
Identify and implement opportunities to improve TEL practices in tertiary education
Establish and foster partnerships/relationships with other academic and professional teams that intersect with TEL edvisors.

We will do this by:

Advocating for TEL edvisors in the broader tertiary education sector and promote understanding of the nature and value of these roles
Holding monthly online webinars addressing key issues and ideas and also showcasing our work
Providing online spaces for communication and the sharing of digital resources
Facilitating and promoting local face-to-face meetups of TEL edvisors
Showcasing the work and achievements of TEL edvisors and creating media to promote understanding of TEL edvisors
Developing resources, policy proposals and papers that can be used by and at tertiary education institutions to support more effective collaboration with teachers and TEL edvisors
Supporting research projects and publications by and about TEL edvisors

Ref: Selwyn, N. (2017). Education and technology. London: Bloomsbury.

TEL-edvisor SIG discussions and sharing of resources will take place in the TEL edvisors MoodleCloud site which you can access once you join the SIG. One of the SIG's first regular activities will be to hold fortnightly webchats (alternating between SIG updates and themed webinars) on alternate Thursdays at 3pm AEDST on Zoom.

Joining the SIG

If you would like to join this SIG, simply complete this sign-up form. You will then be able to join and access the SIG's Moodlecloud discussion site.

TEL edvisor SIG Webinar

Title: MOPping up: Aligning Policy and Practice

Date & Time:The first TEL edviosr webinar is scheduled for Thursday 9 March, 3pm – 4pm.

Abstract: A number of tertiary institutions have employed a minimum online presence (MOP) or Blended Learning strategy, however the variety and depth of these can vary. While most will consider blended and online learning in terms of policy (privacy, key information available to students), some have expanded to incorporate quality indicators that consider good practice in blended and online learning and teaching. We will take a tour of some of the recent work happening across institutions and lead an in-depth discussion of the elements involved in these documents and how they compare to what might be exemplary blended and online learning. This discussion is relevant to those who may be interested in developing or supporting good practice guidelines within their institution.

How far should institutions go in providing clear guidelines and recommendations to their faculty/broader staff? Should these form the basis of other quality assurance or subject evaluation measures? How do we ensure institutional policy aligns with good practice? How do we ensure the range of institutional voices (including academics, students and our own) are considered as part of the approach?

For further details on this webinar, sign-up above to join the SIG and then join the SIG's MoodleCloud discussion site.

Transforming Assessment (e-Assessment SIG) News

The TA-SIG's next session is titled Getting Started with Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education and is scheduled for 1 March 2017.

This session will be presented by Sally Brown, Independent consultant and Emerita Professor, Leeds Beckett University, UK.

Starting out with assessment can be terrifying! This webinar is here to help those new to assessing in higher education. The session will concentrate on matters including: Matching marks to criteria; Assuring standards; Ensuring inter-assessor and intra-assessor reliability; Effective Assessment design; and Giving effective feedback.

The session won't provide cast-iron solutions to all these matters but will provide support and practical advice to those new in role as HE assessors.

You will find further information, times and registration details here.

2017 Community Mentoring Program

CMP Information Session Video Recording

An ASCILITE Community Mentoring Program information session webinar was conducted on 13 February to help potential mentors and mentees better understand the program. A video recording of the session is now available to those who missed the session and others who may still have an interest in joining the program this year.

CMP Applications Deadline

As a reminder, applications for the 2017 Community Mentoring Program close on 6 March, so if you wish to become a Mentor or Mentee in this year's program, you will need to download and complete the application forms at the bottom of this page here.

AJET Special Issue on Learning Design Research

AJET will be publishing a Special Issue on Learning Design Research: Mapping the Terrain and invites papers from a wide range of disciplines, including, but not limited to higher education, neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, computer science, and business, exploring Learning Design research and practice from a range of theoretical and technological perspectives.

Interdisciplinary and discipline-based empirical studies utilising quantitative or qualitative approaches are welcome. Conceptual papers will be considered.

Focus of the Special Issue

Learning Design is an emerging field of education research and educational practice. Its purpose is to provide support and guidance to educators teaching in online learning environments. More precisely, the new field of Learning Design aims to help educators understand how to develop, use and reuse contemporary pedagogical designs, many of which are built on social constructivist learning theory.

Dobozy (2013) has defined Learning Design as “a way of making explicit epistemological and technological integration attempts by the designer of a particular learning sequence or series of learning sequences”. In addition, the ‘Larnaca group’ authors make a clear distinction between Learning Design theory and practice.

In a recent publication, they provided a visual representation of their current understanding of Learning Design as a pedagogical meta-model with three distinct but interconnected components (Dalziel, 2016). These are: a Learning Design Conceptual Map (LD-CM), a Learning Design Framework (LD-F), followed by Learning Design Practice (LD-P). Learning Design is now acknowledged as a complex and integrated process, which includes stages of planning, designing, orchestrating and running of sequenced teaching and learning activities.

For further details, visit the AJET website. Submissions close on 15 April 2017.

OTHER NEWS

Job Vacancy: Manager Digital Product Innovation, CSU

CSU is advertising for a Manager Digital Product Innovation with responsibility for creating new workflows and diversified resourcing models; managing outsourced contract work; leading in the specification and development of innovative, cost-effective, scalable digital learning solutions; and leading the mainstreaming and implementation of scalable solutions deriving from pilot initiatives.

This is an innovative leadership position with responsibility for managing the staff and resources of the Learning Resources Unit, which develops stand alone, online, mobile and digital learning resources, and subject and course based learning resources for delivery to students. The position is responsible for all aspects of team management, including ensuring creativity and innovation, operational efficiency and the development and performance review of staff.

Ref No 95833: Manager Digital Product Innovation
Vacancy Position#: 658509
Description: Full Time, Fixed Term (until May 2020)
Level 8 – $92,205 to $104,497 AUD p.a. (Plus Super)
Location: Wagga Wagga campus
Employment Status: Fixed Term, Specific Task
Applications Close: 01-MAR-2017 11:59:59 pm
Report To: Director, Learning Resources
Contact Phone: 02 6338 4658
Contact Name: Mark Wade
Contact Email: mwade@csu.edu.au

For the full position description and official advert, visit the CSU website here.

Job Vacancy: Senior Manager, Educational Design & Development, UNSW

A competitive remuneration package
Fixed term for 3 years with the possibility of extension

At UNSW, we pride ourselves on being a workplace where the best people come to do their best work. The Senior Manager, Educational Design and Development provides high level executive support and advice to the Director, Educational Delivery Services and to the Pro Vice Chancellor (Education) on the strategy, design, development, delivery and quality assurance of educational development programs. The position is responsible for leading, managing and co-ordinating the operations, support and services associated with educational design and development to ensure that they enable and enhance teaching and students’ experiences across UNSW.

Further information is available on the UNSW jobs website here. Applications close 10th March 2017.

2017 ICICTE Conference

The seventeenth edition of the International Conference on Information, Communication Technologies in Education, ICICTE 2017, will be held on Rhodes, Greece, between 6 and 8 July, 2017.

ICICTE 2017 will seek to address the many challenges and new directions presented by technological innovations in educational settings and will bring together an international community of scholars and practitioners in a forum setting.

ICICTE invites papers, workshops and posters in a number of general themes, but also suggests a number of specialised themes that can be explored by its participants.

The deadline for the submission of paper proposals for ICICTE 2017 has been extended to 6 March 2017.

The conference’s social programs have always brought Greek hospitality to the fore of our meetings and discussions. This year’s social program includes the opening night reception, the closing ‘Greek Night’ dinner, and two lunches.

Further information is available on the conference website.

ALT News Digest 395 & 396

The Association for Learning Technology News Digest is now published weekly online. News Digest 395 was issued on 17 February 2017 and News Digest 396 was issued on 24 February 2017. ALT's journal – Research in Learning Technology is open access.