ASCILITE NEWS

TA SIG webinar: Gen AI in Assessment: 2024: Deepfakes and Synthetic Media

Date: Wednesday 5 June
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (AEST)
Information and registration here

Presenters: Mike Perkins (British University Vietnam, Vietnam) and Jasper Roe (James Cook University Singapore, Singapore)

In this session we describe the current literature on deepfakes and synthetic media, explaining how advances in these areas of Gen AI are set to pose important risks to educational assessment practices in the near future, as well as possible mitigation strategies.

LD SIG webinar: Pioneering Partnerships: Integrating Indigenous Insights and Digital Critical Learning in Australian Higher Education

Date: Friday 17 May 2024
Time: 12:00 pm -1:00 pm (AEST)  
Register here

Join us for a transformative exploration of cutting-edge student partnership models in Australian education. This webinar will commence with an in-depth look at the Digital Critical Student Partnership Learning Design (LD) model drawing upon (Dianati 2023; 2024), a framework that fosters meaningful collaboration between students and educators through digital platforms. In doing so, it provides an audit and benchmark of student partnerships and LD across 39 universities to offer insight into best practices and current uptake Following this, we will delve into an Australian-first initiative: an Indigenous student partnership program tailored specifically to learning design. This pioneering program not only integrates traditional Indigenous knowledge systems into contemporary curricula but also enhances digital and e-learning pedagogies through culturally inclusive practices. Discover how these innovative models are reshaping educational experiences and outcomes across the country.

OEP SIG Community event: Peer Review? How does it work in open textbook publishing?

Date: Tuesday May 14 2024
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (AEST)
Agenda & notes hereThe peer review process is an expected part of academic publishing, and the decision to apply it to open textbooks can be challenging. Identifying peer reviewers, managing the review timelines, addressing issues, and even marking texts as ‘peer-reviewed’ can significantly add to workload, and documentation.

In a recent Community Meeting, a number of members expressed interest in a facilitated discussion to share peer review practices. We’ll host this discussion as part of the usual May meeting (details below). Read more here

Read the latest National and International news from the OEP SIG here.

LA SIG webinar: What is the relationship between motivation and behaviour change?

Date:   Thursday May 30th 2024
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm (AEST)
Register here

In this webinar Dr Hazel Jones will be joined by special guests Dr Filia Garivaldis and Dr Kavya Raj, both from BehaviourWorks Australia and Monash Sustainable Development Institute. They will discuss the COM-B model of behaviour which is the core of the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al, 2011) and ways in which it can be used to address a range of teaching and learning challenges. Participants will be invited to consider the relationship of this model to motivation and how they might utilise this approach in their own context. The webinar will conclude with an open discussion around how to diagnose behaviour, according to the COM-B method, using learning analytics.

TELedivsors SIG announce 2 part Third Space Symposium – Navigating the Third Space: working well in tertiary education

The term Third Space describes people working across and between the boundaries of traditional academic and professional roles in higher education.

People who work in the Third Space might identify as ‘ed-advisors’: learning designers, educational technologists, academic developers and many other people in roles with similar titles. Other people in the Third Space include workers in tertiary education who are developing the academic and language skills of students, research assistants and technicians, library staff and a wide array of other workers straddling these worlds.

Navigating the Third Space aims to shine a light on the valuable contributions that Third Space practitioners make, examine the ways that we work together and consolidate practical actions to raise our impact and working conditions in tertiary education.

Part 1: Global Third Space Slowposium, Friday 15th to Sat 30th November 2024 – Online
Part 2: Third Space Symposium, Sunday 1st December 2024 – University of Melbourne, Australia

More details are available here.

Join the Third Space mailing list here.

Upcoming TELAS Reviewer Certification workshops (online)

The Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Standards (TELAS) are a set of internationally benchmarked standards designed to assess the quality of online learning, particularly in relation to the tertiary sector. They provide institutions with the means to assess and evaluate the affordances of their online learning environments and thereby guide quality enhancements. For more information about TELAS visit our website.

Our workshop supports your knowledge of the standards and is the first step to being an accredited TELAS reviewer. No matter what your role is at your institution you will find these workshops informative and interactive.

Two separate workshops.
Workshop 1 – Online (in Zoom) June 6 and 7 (10am – 1.30pm)
Workshop 2 – Online (in Zoom) August 1 and 2 (10am – 1.30pm)

For fees and registration, go here.

Any questions feel free to email TELAS Admin.

New Zealand TELAS update

At the conference in December we began discussions with our New Zealand colleagues about how the TELAS framework aligns with higher education providers in New Zealand. We are now continuing discussions and look forward to going to Wellington and Auckland at the end of the month. We would like to thank Graeme Severinsen for hosting an internal session at the Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand office and Steve Leichtweis for hosting a session at The University of Auckland for both AU and AUT staff.

We currently have availability to meet and chat with anyone who is in Wellington on Monday 27^th May.

If you wish to attend the AU and AUT session and have not received internal communication, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

We will also be visiting institutions on the south island later in the year. Watch this space.

Please email Chris Campbell or Elaine Huber for more information or to attend a session.

Interested in how NOT to get published in AJET (or any other educational technology journal)?

The Lead Editors of AJET have recently published an editorial entitled “A step-by-step guide on how NOT to get published in a high-impact educational technology journal” with lots of good advice for authors considering submitting their work to an educational technology journal. If you’re considering submitting something to AJET (or any other EdTech journal, but preferably AJET ????) it’s worth checking out this editorial, which includes an outline of the main mistakes authors make when submitting their work. This is a handy guide to help you avoid these same mistakes in your submission. With submissions to many EdTech journals at an all-time high, it’s worth making sure your article is in the best condition possible to get it through the first editorial review stage and into peer review.

Call for Contributors: Contextualising Horizon 2024

ASCILITE’s Contextualising Horizon Initiative invites expressions of interest for co-authors. Section co-authors are responsible for writing a two-page analysis of one of the STEEP (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political) trends or a two-page analysis of one of the educational technology and practice trends. All writing is to take place between June and August 2024. Authors will be attributed with both a byline on their section and in the list of contributors in the authorship section of the report.

Prospective co-authors should complete the report author EOI. The form provides a detail listing of this year’s STEEP and technology and practice trends and asks for a brief statement of qualifications in the areas elected.

Contextualising Horizon Seeks Educational Technology and Practice Exemplars

Contextualising Horizon seeks nomination for exemplars of the 2024 educational technology and practice trends. Exemplars illustrate the application of these technologies and practices across the sector. To nominate yourself or a colleague, complete the Exemplars Nomination Form. We also encourage you to distribute the call for exemplars throughout your networks.
The following are this year’s trends:

• Academic Integrity/Assurance of Learning: Academic Integrity/Assurance of Learning: Strategies for ensuring ethical use of technology in educational settings for both staff and students.
• Diversification of Topics in AI: The spectrum of topics emerging in relation to AI, including acknowledging AI’s persistence; generative AI literacy; ethics, privacy, and policy lags; and AI’s revitalization of educational technologies
• Enhanced Oral Assessments and Vivas: Practices and models to efficiently scale, harvest data, and assess oral assessments.
• Technology-Enhanced Work-Integrated Learning: Applying both educational and industry-specific technologies to facilitate WIL.
• Changing Nature of Flexible/Hybrid Delivery: Building capacity and literacy of staff around the evolving learning continuum.

To nominate a colleague or to lodge a self-nomination, complete the online nomination form. You will be expected to provide contact details as well as a brief overview (approximately 350 words) of the nominated case study and to provide contact information. The URL(s) for a project website, publication, or other artifact are also welcome. The deadline to nominate is 21 June 2024.

About the Project: Contextualising Horizon aims to identify the educational technologies and practices likely to impact the Australasian tertiary sector. The Contextualising Horizon Report brings together analysis of the trends impacting tertiary education and insights and exemplars of the significant educational technologies and practices. More information and report including exemplars from previous years are available on the ASCILITE’s Contextualising Horizon page.

OTHER NEWS

eLearn conference 2024: Call for submissions

The eLearn Call for Proposals is open and due by 7^th June 2024. Learn more about the themes and submit your proposal: eLearn 2024. The conference will be held in Singapore and runs from 17-20 October 2024.

EDEN DLE 2024 Annual Conference at University of Graz, Austria, 16-18 June

EDEN 2024 Annual Conference will be held at University of Graz, Austria, 16-18 June. The conference theme is “Learning in the Age of AI: Towards Imaginative Futures”.

We invite you to join us in a thoughtful exploration of the rapidly evolving landscape of education, as we adapt to the ever-increasing presence of AI and digital systems.

Our experiences in the journey with AI are still young and can be described as stories of trial and error, so sharing our experiences, expectations and hopes is vital. The digital revolution has ushered in exciting, promising, and imaginative changes, but it is also testing our beliefs about learning and education.

Register here.

FLANZ 2024 Conference –  Early Bird Registrations are open

The Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) invites you to attend the FLANZ 2024 Conference which will be held between 26 – 28 August 2024 at the Grafton Campus of Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland.

Our theme this year will be Evolving Practice in Flexible Learning which will be covered under the following streams:
1.    Evolutionary practice, flexible methods and pathways
2.    Technologies and models
3.    Professional development and training
4.    Sustainable practices
5.    Diversity, equity and inclusion

Registration is now open, with early bird registration rates running through to Sunday, 30 June 2024. From 1 July full rates apply.

Missed the deadline and still want to submit?

A second call is now open for Full papers, Practice papers, and Poster submissions until Monday 3 June 2024. The acceptance date for second call submissions will be June 21, allowing access to the last week of early bird registration rates. Come and join us in Auckland.

#ALTC24 Call for Proposals extended to Monday 20 May

The Call for Proposals for ALT’s 2024 Annual Conference, 3-5 September in Manchester UK, has been extended and will now close on Monday 20 May at 12:00 BST.

This year’s conference theme is ‘doing, reflecting, improving, collaborating’ and we are looking for proposals that address any of the following themes:

• Cultivating collaboration,
• Reviewing, reflecting, re-imagining,
• Inviting improvement,
• emerging research,
• and wildcard.

Submit your proposal here

The ALT Awards are open for nominations until Tuesday 11 June. The Award Ceremony will take place at #ALTC24’s Gala dinner. Read more about the categories and submit a nomination.

Comedy show about artificial intelligence and the future of work

Melbourne, Friday 17 May 8:15pm, Improv Conspiracy Theatre (near Parliament Station)
“You won’t lose your job to AI, you’ll lose your job to someone using AI.”

It’s a cool phrase but there’s actually a whole lot more going on for jobs and AI right now. To better navigate our shared future careers in a world where computers can diagnose cancer, drive cars, and definitely not perform improv comedy, come along to The Peer Revue – Australia’s best (only?) research-based improv comedy show.

This month our guest is Dr Franz Strich, Deputy Director of the Centre for AI and the Future of Business and a Senior Lecturer at Deakin University. Come watch Franz talk, ask him some questions, and watch a cast of talented improvisers turn it all into comedy gold. We often have a good contingent of ASCILITE people come along, and you’ll see one of them on stage.

Tickets: https://improvconspiracy.com/shows/the-peer-revue
Uni casuals and HDR students email the show’s producer Phill Dawson for free tickets – p.dawson@deakin.edu.au

CRADLE Seminar Series. Evaluative judgement, AI, and authentic assessment for university and beyond

Date: Wednesday 29 May 2024
Time: 2.00pm – 3.30pm (AEST)
Where: Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2, 727 Collins Street, Docklands and online.
Register here

In this seminar Professor Margaret Bearman and Dr Joanna Tai explore the impacts of current developments in AI and assessment practices, and its relationship to evaluative judgment and authentic assessment.

This seminar explores two approaches to assessment that emphasise its relevance in a digital world. We argue that evaluative judgement, the capability to judge the quality of work of self and others, becomes crucial in a time where AI outputs will be commonplace. Assessment practices must therefore support students to develop evaluative judgement in relationship to genAI. We then to turn to explore authentic assessment – regarded as a panacea to many dilemmas including those relating to AI.

Join us for this compelling and this topical presentation at Downtown or online.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Symposium 2024, Cultivating Creativity, Connections & Confidence in the Australian Tertiary Education Sector.

Date: Wednesday June 12 2024
Venue: RMIT in Melbourne and online

For more information and to register please visit the ADCET website.

This immersive event is a must-attend for educators, experts, and advocates dedicated to creating inclusive and engaging learning environments for all.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Symposium 2024, Cultivating Creativity, Connections & Confidence in the Australian Tertiary Education Sector featuring Dr Thomas J. Tobin as the keynote speaker is hosted by the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) in partnership with RMIT.  The UDL Symposium 2024 will be a dynamic day of learning, sharing, and exploring innovative UDL practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of UDL principles and strategies, engage in discussions on applying UDL to foster a more inclusive tertiary education experience, and investigate the intersection of artificial intelligence and UDL.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change in the Australian tertiary education sector.

Call for participants:  The role of selection panel biases in the academic and professional staff selection process

Dr. Kashmira Dave (Education Futures, UNE)  would like to invite you to participate in the research aims to explore the idea of inclusion and the impact of biases in academic and professional appointments. The result of this research will provide insight into whether the cultural, racial and gender identity of the candidate and biases of the members of selection panels towards them influence the selection process for academic and professional recruitment in Australian universities and thus demonstrate the aim of cultural diversity and inclusivity among academic and professional staff and students.

If you would like to participate in this research, please complete an online survey here which only take 4-5mins.

If you like further information about this research, please email Kashmira Dave .

NOTE: This survey was open to only academic staff before but now open to everyone in the universities. More information and preliminary findings, visit here