ASCILITE NEWS
Call for Papers: ascilite2016 Conference
ascilite warmly invites everyone with an interest in educational technologies in tertiary education to join us at the 33rd annual ascilite conference hosted by the University of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia from 27 – 30 November.
The Call for Papers is now open and we are inviting contributions describing critical perspectives on the use of educational technology under the themes described below.
ascilite 2016 is the forum to learn about state-of-the-art and visionary educational technologies for “globally connected” teaching and learning, and to connect with other academics and practitioners.
Themes
The theme for ascilite 2016, Show me the learning, focuses attention on the demonstration of learning aided by the adoption of technology in the education space. This scrutiny is timely. While in recent years we have witnessed a rapid uptake of technology in education, the evaluation and measurement of the impact of technology on teaching and learning outcomes is less well developed. It is critical that the sector addresses this deficit to ensure that current and future technology enhanced learning initiatives are, and continue to be, conceptually, theoretically and empirically driven by solid pedagogical foundations. In an age where the rhetoric of "techno-positivism" abounds and permeates all facets of higher education, we must be optimistically cautious and rigorous in our claims concerning the degree of impact digital advances actually bring to the student experience.
Global Challenges in Education
- Digital equity & social justice
- Learning ecosystems
- Digitally enabled learning for a global society
Analytics and Visualisation
- Data science in higher education
- Learning analytics research and development
- Big data ethics & the future of learning
Innovations and Design
- Learning design
- Learner voices
- MOOCs and Game & challenge based learning
- 21st Century literacy, e.g. creativity, critical thinking, network agility
Submission Options
Full Papers
Feature significant theoretical reviews, research studies in areas of emergent or innovative educational practice, case studies, evaluations, or projects.
Concise Papers
Provide a forum for discussion of key directions in research, informed practice, works in progress, reports on specialised topics, pilot studies, or brief reports on innovative practice in technology supported teaching and learning.
Posters
Offer visual representations of projects and development initiatives that provide opportunities for conference delegates to discuss the topic with presenters.
Panels / Symposia
Provide an interactive platform to challenge or defend a position, theory, model or concept; identify areas of dispute; offer alternative interpretations of well-known studies and findings. It brings experts together to explore a topic while involving the audience.
Workshops
Provide meeting points to discuss ongoing work and the latest ideas related to educational technology. The extended time allows for interactive and in-depth discussions. Workshops are on the day prior to the conference. This year, workshops will be co-located with the Australian Learning Analytics Summer Institute (ALASI). Workshops will also be advertised on the ALASI website.
Submission Procedure
Templates for each type of submission, including submission lengths are available on the conference website here
All submissions must be made online via easychair and the deadline for all submissions is midnight the 25 July 2016 (AEST). You will find other key submission related dates on the website.
Full and concise papers are blind peer reviewed following rigorous academic standards. For more information about submissions or using the submission system, please email the conference committee submissions team: Professor Shane Dawson or Cassandra Colvin.
Important Dates: ascilite2016
| Submissions open | 21 March |
| Online Early Bird Registration opens | 30 May |
| Deadline for all submissions | 25 July |
| Reviewing Process ends | Sept |
| Completed Reviews returned to authors (acceptance advice) | Sept |
| Camera-ready versions for all accepted papers/Revised papers due | 7 Oct |
| Early Bird Registration Fee deadline | 7 Oct |
| Standard Registration Fee applies | 8 Oct |
| Cancellation Policy (refund of 50%) | 21 Oct |
| No refunds | 28 Oct |
| Registrations close | 21 Nov |
| Workshops (co-located at ALASI) | 27 Nov |
| ascilite2016 Conference | 28 – 30 Nov |
ascilite Live! Webinar: Introducing the Learning Design SIG
Date & Time
Tuesday, 29 March at 12pm AEDT. You can view your local time zone here. Register below and you will receive login details for the session by email.
Abstract
This webinar will introduce the new ascilite Learning Design SIG, using the current working definition of Learning Design from the Larnaca group. The session is an opportunity to share and exchange ideas and recent research in Learning Design. Further, possible synergies and networking opportunities among SIG participants will be explored.
Click here for more details about the SIG.
Presenters
Eva Dobozy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Curtin University. She has a PhD in Education from Murdoch University. Her research spans the intersection between learning theory, learning design, technology-enhanced learning and teacher professional development. More specifically, Eva’s Learning Design research focuses on pedagogical modelling and the development and testing of technology supported, interactive teaching and learning. Currently, she is working on the implementation of transdisciplinary pedagogical templates.
Leanne Cameron is currently Lecturer in Educational Studies (ICT) in the Faculty of Education & Arts (NSW/ACT) at the Australian Catholic University, Sydney. In this position she explores the possibilities of technology use in education with pre-service teachers. Leanne has previously worked on a number of federally funded learning design projects with MELCOE (Macquarie E-Learning Centre of Excellence) and continues to publish regularly on Learning Design topics. Her current research revolves around the investigation of ways to improve learning by the effective integration of technology in education.
How to Register
You can register here for this webinar. After registering, you will receive an email with login details for the session.
LD-SIG membership
If you have already joined the LD-SIG online, you would have received an email invitation on 16 March to attend this webinar and if you have registered to attend, there is no need to do so again. You can learn about the SIG and join online at any time. You do not need to be a SIG member to attend the webinar.
Draft ascilite Strategic Plan 2016 – 2019 – Comments Welcome!
The ascilite Executive Committee in consultation with our Life Members have refreshed our ascilite Strategic Plan for 2016 – 2019. As you will appreciate, the 2016 – 2019 Strategic Plan is a very important document that will inform the Society as well as the ascilite Executive’s strategic and operational focus for the next 3 years.
ascilite is your association and we want to give you the opportunity to decide its future direction. We also need to ensure the value and effectiveness of the strategic plan. Consequently, we invite you to provide feedback or comments on the draft Strategic Plan 2016- 2019.
You can read comments already posted by members and you can post your own comments directly below the Strategic Plan itself (anonymity is an option). Alternatively, you may email your feedback to the ascilite Secretariat by Friday 15 April.
This invitation was emailed to all members on 16 March and several members have already provided comments so please join the discussion.
CMALT Australasia 2016 Community of Practice
This is a reminder that the deadline for EOIs in the 2016 CMALT Community of Practice is fast approaching. In 2016 ascilite is again offering mentoring opportunities and incentives to those preparing their CMALT Australasia portfolio to gain professional accreditation. Members of the CoP will be a part of an active CMALT Australasia Google+ community.
There are two parts to the support offered:
- Online check-in and support sessions on preparing and submitting a portfolio.
- A one-off $250 subsidy to successful CMALT Australasia applicants who have been participants in the CMALT Australasia CoP 2016. The subsidy is in the form of financial assistance to register for the ascilite2016 conference in Adelaide.
Full details and conditions for subsidies are outlined in the CoP Guidelines (PDF). The deadline for EOIs is 30 March 2016.
You may join join the CoP even if you are not planning to submit a portfolio in 2016. Further information on CMALT Australasia and the 2016 CoP are available here.
ascilite Live! Webinar: Digital Learning without Connectivity…
How one project is taking higher education to incarcerated students.
Date & Time
Monday, 21 March at 1pm AEDT. You can view your local time zone here. Register below and you will receive login details for the session by email.
Abstract
As universities move increasingly online, they risk further marginalising those students without access to reliable internet. Very often these students are already marginalised and may include those in remote Indigenous communities, those in rural, regional and remote Australia, FIFO DIDO workers employed in the mining sector and of course, incarcerated students.
This webinar will report on a project, which won an ascilite Innovation Award in 2015, that is enabling incarcerated students to access digital higher education. It will describe some of the challenges encountered when students try to engage with formal learning without internet access and provide some strategies to educators for engaging this cohort.
Presenter
Helen Farley is an Associate Professor (Digital Futures) at the Australian Digital Futures Institute at the University of Southern Queensland. She is currently leading the USQ-led Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project with ANU and UniSA to develop a Mobile Learning Evaluation Framework. She was also the project lead of the OLT-funded ‘From Access to Success’ project which developed an internet-independent version of Moodle that will enable electronic access to course materials and activities for those students without internet access. This project has been so successful that Helen and ADFI were awarded $4.4 million through the Australian Government’s Higher Education Participation and Pathways Program to take the Moodle and notebook computers to Indigenous and non-Indigenous incarcerated students across Australia. Helen has many years’ experience as an educator in Higher Education and as a researcher of educational technology. Her research interests are focused around the use of mobile technologies, virtual worlds and using technology to promote participation in Higher Education.
How to Register
You can register here for this webinar. Registration will close at 12pm AEDT 21 March. After registering, you will receive an email with login details for the session.
OTHER NEWS
Job Vacancy: Manager – Academic & Learning Systems Support, University of Melbourne
- Join Australia's leading University
- Career opportunities, professional development, work-life balance
- Use your expertise and innovative thinking to truly have an impact
About University Services
University Services comprises of 1,500 professional staff focused on providing client centric and innovative services to the University. The group is providing transformational change, defining and influencing future service enhancements within the University of Melbourne.
About the role
The Manager, Academic and Learning Systems Support (ALSS) has a prominent role at the University of Melbourne, and will work with a highly dynamic and expert leadership group in Learning Environments to deliver University wide support services. The position will lead a team responsible for the effective and efficient use of enterprise level learning technologies and related academic support and professional development programs, to extend the capability of teaching staff in providing a high quality student learning experience.
The application deadline for this position is 23 March 2016. For full details, visit the University of Melbourne jobs website.
Job Vacancy: Learning Systems and Digital Media Support Officer, James Cook University
- Fixed term contract to 31 December 2018
- Contribute to the learning experience at JCU
- Be part of building a brighter future for life in the tropics world-wide
About University Services
Reporting to the Head, Blended Learning and innovation this newly created position contributes to the day to day functional maintenance of LearnJCU, and provides comprehensive training on using LearnJCU and associated systems for both staff and students on the Cairns Campus.
LearnJCU is JCU's online teaching and learning environment built on the Blackboard 9.1 Learning Management System.
Your proven expertise and experience in the innovative integration of educational technologies in higher education teaching and learning environments will be invaluable as you contribute to technology-enhanced learning and teaching projects and initiatives to advance the blended learning agenda at JCU.
Key to your success will be your ability to analyse requirements and interpret complex concepts as you work collaboratively with Educational Designers and academic staff to select appropriate technologies and formats that utilise diverse and specialist technologies to produce resources in a range of formats such as video, animation, illustrations and apps to support a student-centred approach to blended learning.
Applications close 27 March 2016. For further details visit the JCU website.
