ASCILITE NEWS

Learning Analytics SIG Launches Awards for Excellence

The inaugural Awards for Excellence in Learning Analytics were launched today by the ascilite Learning Analytics Special Interest Group (LA SIG).

The Awards focus on the practical application of Learning Analytics in enhancing learning and teaching. They provide an opportunity for those working with Learning Analytics to share their practice and be recognised for their achievements in this field.

Submissions open on Monday 20 July 15, and close on Friday 11 September 15. There are monetary prizes and finalists will present at the ascilite conference in December 2015. For more information visit the LA SIG awards page on the ascilite website or view the Awards Program Information Guide.

Award submissions will form a resource library on the use of Learning Analytics in tertiary education across Australasia.

The ascilite LA SIG aims to promote and develop awareness and resources surrounding Learning Analytics and its application to the learning and teaching space. For further information on the LA SIG, visit the website here.

SIG membership is open to all (including non-ascilite members) and anyone with an interest in joining is encouraged to complete the simple signup form on the website.

Reminder: ascilite2015 Call for Papers deadline extended

The following notification was emailed to all members on 16 July:

The Organising Committee would like to invite your participation at ascilite 2015, to be held in Perth Western Australia from 30 November – 2 December 2015, with pre-conference workshops to be held on 29 November 2015.

The Organising Committee is pleased to inform you that it’s not too late to submit your paper or workshop proposal. The deadline for paper and workshop proposals has now been extended to 5 August 2015.

For more information about how to submit your paper or proposal, see "Submissions" on the conference website. You can choose to participate by submitting your full or concise paper, sharing practice abstract, poster, or workshop proposal.

Conference Registration: You can now register to attend on the conference registrations website.

We look forward to your participation at the conference, and seeing you in Perth later this year!

Best Regards

The ascilite 2015 Organising Committee

CMALT Australasia Webinar Video Available

On 16 July, Oriel Kelly from the NZ Tertiary College, presented an ascilite Live! webinar titled Building a Professional Portfolio for CMALT Australasia and the recording of this webinar is available here.

If you are unfamiliar with the CMALT Australasia professional accreditation scheme, please visit the CMALT page on the ascilite website.

Next Transforming Assessment webinar

The eAssessment SIG is conducting a webinar on 3D virtual business simulation for experiential learning in first year accounting which will be conducted on 5 August at UTC 0700. For full details, time zone conversions and registration visit the website.

OTHER NEWS

DEANZ2016 Conference: Call for Submissions

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We invite you to submit a paper/presentation/workshop and participate in the biennial DEANZ conference, a premier conference in New Zealand for leaders, practitioners and professionals involved in open, distance, flexible and mobile learning across the compulsory schooling sectors, vocational, tertiary and professional development settings.

DEANZ2016 will be held at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 17 – 20 April 2016.

The conference theme, There and Back: Charting flexible pathways in open, mobile and distance education and its sub-themes, draw inspiration from Hamilton’s close proximity to the world famous Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata. Hobbiton Movie Set is a permanent legacy of the films Sir Peter Jackson directed, based on the trilogy Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, written by J. R. R. Tolkien. An exciting event is the conference dinner at Hobbiton Movie Set. This includes an exclusive private group tour of Hobbiton (lasting 1.5 hours), dinner at the Green Dragon Inn (replica of the inn featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit), and, a unique after dinner evening lantern tour. The dinner event includes bus transport to and from the venue, 45 minutes away.

The conference promises keynote speakers who are active in providing a range of perspectives on online and distance learning from Professor Curtis Bonk (University of Indiana), Dr Dianne Forbes (University of Waikato) and Carolyn Alexander-Bennett (FarNet). To that end, the main conference theme offers conference delegates the opportunity to reflect, rethink and reimagine open, mobile, flexible and distance learning contexts in relation to one of the sub-themes which are:

Ako: Reclaim the Kingdom: reclaim teaching and learning as ‘‘king’; this positions technology as its servant not its master; Context rather than content is also highly relevant in any purposeful and deliberate use of technologies
Rings Around Practice: examples and possibilities in collaborative learning, culturally responsive pedagogy supported by technologies, communities of practice, social justice and equity issues
Surprising Journeys: innovations, any surprises of/in practice and theory, such as challenges, dilemmas or outlier ideas
Emerging Stories: future-focused/blue-skies thinking and practice; developments or trends in the mobile, open, flexible and distance education ﬁeld; research in progress
Twin Pillars: organisational aspects; management/ leadership issues; infrastructure, logistics and policy issues and challenges; LMSs; systems; technology issues; intractable or enabling systems; isolation/access for distance learners.

Important Dates

Call for Submissions opens: 30 June 2015
Submissions due by 30 September 2015
Notification of Acceptance: 30 October 2015
Revised Papers due: 29 January 2016 for inclusion in the conference proceedings
Final versions of papers due for submission to the DEANZ Journal (JODFL): 30 May 2016
Early Bird Registration ends: 15 Feb 2016

In addition to the traditional DEANZ Award for best practice in the field, three other awards will be presented at the 2016 conference:

Best Refereed Paper Award Certificate. This award is for a paper that represents significant and innovative work in research, development, or applications related to any of the main conference sub themes.
Best Paper published in JODFL Award Certificate.
Best paper submitted to the Postgraduate Student Paper category, the PostGrad Prize which is available ONLY to enrolled postgraduate students (part-time or full-time). The winner receives a certificate and a prize of $200 sponsored by the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research (WMIER), The University of Waikato. The award indicates the potential of the submitted paper to make a significant contribution to the field of interest to the conference themes.

To submit an abstract for presentation or participate in the conference please visit the conference website or email us for more information.

To learn more about DEANZ (the New Zealand association dedicated to making ako1 accessible for all) visit the DEANZ website. 1Ako is a te reo (Māori language) term encompassing both teaching and learning.

Dr Mark Nichols
DEANZ President

Inclusive design of technology enhanced learning project – invitation to participate in a series of webinars

UniSA, the University of Adelaide, ANU, QUT and CQUniversity are undertaking a research project focusing on the inclusive design of technology enhanced learning, which is funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The project is developing an evidence-based approach to the design and redevelopment of inclusive courses using established evidence-based research methodologies. The deliverables will include a fully developed framework for curriculum renewal designed to support an inclusive and personalised approach to online teaching and learning across a range of disciplinary fields, an open source responsive learning system (RLS) that can personalise the learning experience for students with diverse accessibility needs and learning preferences, and pedagogical guidelines on the use of the framework and supporting RLS for curriculum renewal.

The project team is launching a series of webinars on Monday 20 July via Blackboard Collaborate. All educators are invited to participate in the webinars. Further information about the project and the details of forthcoming webinars are available here.

The first webinar will be conducted by Professor Denise Wood, CQUniversity and adjunct UniSA, and Dr Sheila Scutter, UniSA on the 20 July at 2:30 pm AEST (2pm Adelaide time).

In the first session Denise and Sheila will introduce the project, the methodology and interim findings based on case studies which will be elaborated on in subsequent webinars. The webinar will go for one hour.

To join the session please go here and prior to the start of the session you can visit this support page to ensure your computer settings are correct. Please ensure you can connect and that your headphones and mic are working.

Reminders will be sent out a week ahead of subsequent webinars in the series.

Best wishes

Denise
Professor of Learning, Equity, Access and Participation
Learning and Teaching Services
Central Queensland University
Tel: +61 8 8378 4541
Email: d.wood@cqu.edu.au

Call for Papers: Fourth IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE 2015)

The IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) is the IEEE Education Society’s flagship Asia-Pacific conference. The conference will be held 10 – 12 December 2015 in Zhuhai, China.

The aim of TALE 2015 is to provide a forum for academicians and professionals from various educational fields and with cross-disciplinary interests to network, share knowledge and engage in dialogue around the theme of fostering innovation and excellence in engineering education. To this end, both research and practice-oriented papers are invited that encompass all aspects of education in the engineering fields (including computing, computer science, information technology and cognate disciplines).

The conference will feature traditional paper presentations, workshops, as well as keynotes by renowned educational experts and authorities. There will also be a Special Session on Computing Education. Please see http://www.tale-conference.org/tale2015/cfp_SSCE.php.

e-Learning Korea 2015 Conference

The e-Learning Korea 2015 Conference is hosted by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy and Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education in Korea. It is held from September 16 – 17 at Coex in Seoul, Korea.

Since its inception in 2006, e-Learning Korea has been a single largest event in Korea showcasing the most up-to-date technology application in learning. Multi-stakeholders such as education policymakers, e-Learning experts, teachers and education industries from all over the world have experienced the brand new perspectives and witnessed the future of e-learning with its annual number of overseas participants amounting to over 1,000. In addition, a concurrent event, the e-Learning Korea 2015: Expo is also globally recognized as a leading and international event attracting more than 20,000 exhibitors.

if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us.

Thank you for your cooperation.
All the Best,
Ms Haetsal Yoon
Organizing Committee of e-Learning Korea 2015: Conference

New Articles of Interest (ALT UK)

Flipping the Institution: Higher Education in the Post Digital Age

The 13th annual Academic Practice and Technology conference at the University of Greenwich featured over 40 presentations. Among the many sessions, I was introduced to two new presenting modes Pecha Kucha and Student Performance. Read more >>

Understanding How People Learn

Recently, ALT member, Daniel Scott asked what he thought was an obvious question, but one that generated interesting responses. To paraphrase his invitation email "what methods are there to find out as much as we can about individuals to help them learn more effectively? What can the learner/teacher be asked? A typical teacher identifies the content, but how can we find about how those learners learn?" Read more >>