ASCILITE NEWS

The organising Committee for ASCILITE 2025 is pleased to announce the first of their keynote speakers for the conference.

Professor Michael Henderson is Professor of Digital Futures, and Director of Educational Design and Innovation in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. Michael spends most of this time being enjoyably frustrated by educational technologies. His research focuses on innovative teaching and learning designs and the implications of digital technologies across all sectors of education. Michael is an ASCILITE Life Member and is an internationally recognised educator and researcher with over 200 publications and the recipient of national and international awards for teaching and research. He was identified in 2024 as the Australian field leader in education research. His current research interests are focused on generative AI, assessment and feedback, as well as creativity in online teaching.

ASCILITE Spring into Excellence Research School 2025 – Final chance to register

We are very happy to announce that the 2025 ASCILITE Spring into Excellence Research School will be held at Torrens University, Brisbane campus, Fortitude Valley (90 Bowen Tce, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006)

Dates: 2 – 4 September 2025 (Tuesday lunch time through to Thursday Lunchtime)
Cost: $650 (members), $800 (non-members – includes 12 months membership)

More information about the Research School can be found here.

Sue Gregory
Research School lead

You’re invited to the next OEP SIG meeting

Date: Tuesday 5 August 2025
Time: 12 noon – 1 pm AEST

You can view the meeting agenda and add any items you would like to discuss. In this meeting, our special focus topic discussion will be Creative Commons Signals: what are they, and what do they mean for OEP?

Please register to join.

Ash Barber, Claire Ovaska, Jenny Wallace and Steven Chang
OEP SIG leads

Transforming Assessment SIG webinar 6 Aug 2025: Choose your own (assessment) adventure: Promoting student agency and career readiness

Date: Wednesday 6 August 2025
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm AEST

Presenter: Rosemarie Herbert (Monash University, Australia)

This session explores an approach to assessment that creates agency for students by allowing them to pick their own due dates, formats of assessment (e.g., oral, written, etc) and research topics. Experiences and lessons learnt are outlined as a result of implementing the approach in a first year science communication unit, a third year elective unit for science internships and a third year career readiness unit.

Further details, local time zone conversion and free registration go here.

Mathew Hillier
TA SIG lead

TELall Blog: Interactive Oral Assessments: Charting the Course While Holding the Line

In our latest TELall Blog post Danielle Logan-Fleming (Torrens University) reflects on her conversations with Dr Mathew Hillier (Transforming Assessment SIG) around resources to help staff embed Interactive Oral (IO) assessments in their subjects and programs.
When eAssessment expert Dr Mathew Hillier reached out while co-authoring a section of ASCILITE’s Contextualising Horizon Report 2025, he was looking for a high-quality resource to help staff embed Interactive Oral (IO) assessments in their subjects and programs. What followed was more than a quick exchange of links. It sparked a broader conversation about the origins, diffusion, and future of IOs, particularly in the context of rising interest and emerging risks in the age of artificial intelligence.

Read the full post here Sandy Barker
TELall Blog lead

Enhance Teaching Quality and Gain Recognition through TELAS: Apply for your course or program to have a TELAS Review

Are you looking to enhance the quality of your online or blended learning?

The Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Standards (TELAS) offers a rigorous, evidence-based framework to review and improve the design of digital learning, whether at the unit, course, program, school, or institutional level.

TELAS reviews provide valuable, structured feedback and benchmarking aligned with national standards. Reviewed learning packages receive a TELAS digital badge, which can support promotion, award applications, or internal quality assurance processes. Most importantly, the process helps ensure that students benefit from a more coherent and high-quality learning experience.

We currently have capacity in our review schedule and invite expressions of interest. If you’re curious about how TELAS could be applied in your context or would like to explore a School or institution-wide approach please contact us on admin@telas.com for a conversation with the TELAS team. You can also review the accreditation fees here.

Elaine Huber, Chris Campbell and Lisa Jacka
TELAS leads

OTHER NEWS

CRADLE webinar series: New Directions in AI Research and Practice: Student perspectives on AI in higher education

When: Friday 29 August 2025
Time: 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm (AEST)
Where: This webinar is an online-only event
Cost: This is a free event
Register here: https://student-perspectives-on-ai-in-higher-ed.eventbrite.com.au

While much of the debate about AI in higher education continues to focus on institutional policies and concerns for academic integrity, less attention has been paid to the stories of students themselves. What motivates students to use or avoid GenAI? How do they weigh risks and benefits? What tensions do they grapple with as they integrate these technologies into their studies?

Facilitated by CRADLE’s Dr Jack Walton, this panel will feature researchers from the “AI in Higher Education” project: a large multi-institutional collaboration established in 2024 with the aim of foregrounding the student voice on AI. Reflecting on the work of the project to date, the panel will discuss what has been learned so far about students’ perspectives and practices for studying in a world where AI has become commonplace. The panel will discuss key findings emerging from the project to consider implications for higher education learning and teaching, and directions that research and practice need to take next.

Join online for the first webinar in CRADLE’s New Directions in AI Research and Practice series.

Pathways to Impact – Leadership Journeys and the Power of SoTL

Date Friday 8 August 2025
Time 1:00–2:30pm AEST

Hosted by the TEFA Network, this online event explores how the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) drives academic leadership and impact across disciplines and career stages.

Featuring:

• Prof Susan Howitt (ANU) on building scholarly communities in science education

• Dr Sarah-Jane Gregory (CQU) & A/Prof Sarah Cresswell (Griffith) on their Scholarly Professional Pathways resource

• Facilitated discussion with A/Prof Lynn Gribble and Prof Karena Waller

Follow the conversation on LinkedIn

Call for Volunteers – Open Access Publishing Association

The Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA) is seeking enthusiastic and skilled volunteers to support our operations in the following areas:

Open Journal Systems (OJS) Support
Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) Administration/Support
Technical Ticketing Support

Commitment: 3 hours, twice a week

Why Volunteer?

Join Australia’s premier organisation for open access publication, host of the Journal of University Learning & Teaching Practice – ranked #1 in Education in Australia on Web of Science (WoS) for 2025. Make a meaningful impact on scholarly publishing while gaining valuable experience in a dynamic, mission-driven environment.

Interested? Please express your interest by 15th August 2025 via email to: secretary@open-publishing.org

Speaking of Open podcast is out!

In this podcast Ash Barber (OEP SIG lead) and Mais Fatayer chat with Dr Julian Pakay from La Trobe University about ‘What can Open Education do that AI can’t?’

The Speaking of Open podcast highlights educators in Australasian higher ed who are making an impact in the open education field. You can find the show on YouTube, Spotify, and Podcast Index (let’s you open the podcast in any app you like).