ASCILITE NEWS
Smart Learning Environments, AJET Special Issue published (Volume 37-2)
The lead editors of AJET (Australasian Journal of Educational Technology) are pleased to announce the release of a new issue of ASCILITE’s esteemed peer reviewed journal.
Editorial
With an emphasis on learning flexibility, effectiveness, efficiency, engagement, adaptivity and reflectiveness, smart learning embraces a variety of concepts, including but not limited to personalised learning, adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring, open online learning, blended learning, and collaborative learning. As new concepts continue to evolve, the pursuit of smart learning is ongoing, mainly in areas pertaining to the design and implementation frameworks, pedagogical theories and practices, learners’ behaviours and learning pattern, learning and assessment strategies and evaluation of learning performance and perception. This editorial gives an overview of smart learning and provides the context on the latest development of smart learning in which the articles in this special issue are located.
You can find all the articles for the issue (open access) on the AJET website.
You will also find a webinar recording here of a session held on 11 May 2021 in which the editors and authors of this special issue share some of their perspectives on smart learning environments.
BE-SIG webinar: Technology Enhanced Responsible Management Education
Date and time: 11 May @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am AEST | Singapore/Hong Kong 8am | Auckland 12pm | Other time zones
This webinar is jointly co-hosted by the ASCILITE Business Education SIG, PRME ANZ Chapter and the ABEN Ethics Education SIG.
This presentation will commence with Harsh and Vivek who will discuss how TPCK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) offers a useful theoretical lens for harnessing the power of digitalization for scaffolding meaningful integration of SDGs into mainstream business curricula. TPCK framework is commonly used in educational technology to adopt a holistic, nuanced and context-sensitive approach for integrating technology, pedagogy and content knowledge to achieve deep transformational learning. We will discuss how SDGs should become a pervasive context within which we transform Business Education using affordances of digitalization.
Next, Christian will discuss why he sees a place, and indeed a need for technology, to support education for sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His presentation will promote experiential education as a key pedagogy for a VUCA world and make the case that situating learning in its appropriate geographical, cultural and social context is an important ingredient. Utilising gaming software and digital immersion technology Christian and his team have developed two sustainability-focused learning tools, one ‘taking’ students to an island in Fiji and the other to Machu Picchu Pueblo in Peru. Although the latter was developed for Secondary schools it will be used as an example during the presentation.
This webinar will be presented by Assoc Prof Harsh Suri & Mr Vivek Venkiteswaran (Deakin University) along with Assoc Prof Christian Schott (Victoria University Wellington)
Download: Webinar participants are invited to experience the learning tool prior to the presentation by downloading the software here. Please note that this tool is home-made and low budget but it does work! You will be asked for a few details before downloading.
Session Login: You may login to the session here.
And if you would like to share this event with colleagues, use this link.
ASCILITE Live! webinar – Review and Showcase of Smart Learning Environments
Date and time: 11 May @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm AEST | Singapore/Hong Kong 9am | Auckland 1pm | Other time zones
Enabled by various pedagogical and technological innovations, brand new learning environments can be created to support teaching and learning. They are collectively referred as the commonly known “smart learning environments”. A smart learning environment is conceptualized as a learning environment that emphasizes learning flexibility, effectiveness, efficiency, engagement, adaptivity, and reflectiveness, where both formal learning and informal learning are integrated. Embracing a variety of concepts, including personalized learning, intelligent tutoring, adaptive learning, blended learning, collaborative learning, and open online learning, and many more, there are obviously no single form of smart learning environments. As new concepts, approaches, methods and technologies continue to evolve, there are always new opportunities for advancing the learning environments.
This webinar aims to review the latest development of smart learning practices and showcase a number of successful implementations for knowledge exchange and experience sharing with researchers and practitioners in the field.
Presentations
Overview of smart learning environments, and introduction of the presenters (10 min)
Simon K.S. Cheung (The Open University of Hong Kong)*
Presentation 1 : Patterns and trends of smart learning practices (10 min)
Kam Cheong Li (The Open University of Hong Kong)
Presentation 2 : Game-based learning of information literacy (10 min)
Ruofei Zhang (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Presentation 3 : Automatic speech recognition for EFL learners (10 min)
Michael Jiang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Presentation 4 : Smart learning in extra-curricular activities (10 min)
Lam For Kwok (City University of Hong Kong)*
Future development of smart learning environments, and thank the presenters (10 min)
Fu Lee Wang (The Open University of Hong Kong)*
* Guest editors of the AJET Special Issue on “Smart Learning Environments”
Session Login: You may login to the session here:
And if you would like to share this event with colleagues, use this link.
ASCILITE Live! webinar: E-cheating and assessment security: best practices for upholding academic integrity
Date and time: 2 June @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm AEST | Singapore/Hong Kong 1pm | Auckland 5pm | Other time zones.
“Is my institution doing enough to ensure that assessments are secure?”
This is a question that is on the minds of administrators and educators across higher education as the sector reflects on the pivot to remote learning delivery and looks ahead to hybrid learning modalities. Alongside digital equity, preserving a culture of academic integrity is more important than ever before, as ‘e-cheating’ surges in an online learning environment without traditional integrity mechanisms.
Addressing e-cheating and assessment security in this changed education landscape, means understanding the e-cheating lifecycle, establishing best practices, and harnessing the intersection of pedagogy and technology to provide solutions.
This webinar, which is co-sponsored by Turnitin, features experts in the field of e-cheating and assessment security in order to tackle this timely topic and inform education professionals on the current state of play in e-cheating (including contract cheating) as well as to bolster their institutions’ academic integrity strategy.
Presenters
Presenters for this session are Chukwudi Ogoh (Turnitin), Professor Phil Dawson (Deakin University) and Associate Professor Ann Rogerson (University of Wollongong)
Session Login: You may login to the session here.
And if you would like to share this event with colleagues, use this link.
ASCILITE Live! webinar: Designing a mobile-based scavenger hunt game for Chinese language learning through the lends of situated cognition
Date and time: 15 June @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am AEST | Singapore/Hong Kong 8am | Auckland 12pm | Other time zones
In one of New Zealand’s leading universities, more than 60% of the students enrolled in the Chinese programme are distance learners, who are mostly full-time employees across the country and from around the world. Due to individual availability and geographical disparity, their engagement with peers (on-campus and online) and teachers has become deficient. Taking the opportunity of Chinese Language Camp, which aims to provide an immersive learning environment and enhanced learner engagement, a series of innovative educational interventions was created and assembled into one educational game, namely Big Hunt@Library or Big Hunt@Home. The game hosted on the GooseChase platform and its embedded digital tools facilitates a new form of learner engagement that affords cognitive, affective, sociocultural constructive and situated learning, and enables the development of intercultural communicative competence in a game-supported real-life context. The game was well received by students and educators alike, and has shown to influence meaningful student engagement and learning.
This webinar aims to examine the design features of the scavenger hunt game and the theoretical foundation that informed its design. Through the processes of Design-based Research, we also aim to examine the criticality of multi-disciplinary partnerships and collaborations that enable the successful development and implementation of the game. In these processes, the need for reflection and reflexivity is highlighted, such that the professional growth of all concerned manifest in a way that personal and collective agency become a focal point for learning and development. There is much to learn from this educational innovation, from the perspectives of students, educators and designers. Indeed, it has received the ASCILITE 2020 Innovation Award, paving the way for continued educational and technological re-imagination of the student learning experience. The implication is discussed, pertaining to the intersections of game-based, traditional and digital learning opportunities.
Presenters
Dr Grace Y. Qi is Lecturer in Chinese Studies in the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research interests lie in the areas of languages education, language policy and planning, innovation and technology for learning, and intercultural communication in the process of language acquisition and cultural exchange. Her recent publications focus on language policy and planning in Australasia, intercultural learning/teaching, multilingualism, blended learning pedagogy and implementation strategies, communities of practice for student engagement and online teacher training and professional development.
Mr Kevan Loke is a Technology-Enhanced Learning specialist, National Centre for Teaching and Learning at Massey University, New Zealand. His areas of interests are virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, 3D scanning, photogrammetry and other digital technologies. He works with the lecturers to create engaging online learning activities that will enhance the students learning experience and boost their retention.
Session Login: You may login to the session here.
And if you would like to share this event with colleagues, use this link.
OTHER NEWS
Call for Papers, ALT Online Conference 2021
ALT (Association for Learning Technologies, UK) is holding its annual conference online from 7 – 9 September 2021. Chaired by Roger Emery, Head of Learning Technologies, Solent University, Farzana Latif, Digital Learning Manager, University of Sheffield and Matt Lingard, Digital Learning Director, London College of Communication this year’s annual conference will provide an opportunity to bring the learning technologies community together to reflect on shared experiences from many different perspectives.
This year, submissions are invited with the following topics:
- Leadership in learning technology
- Inclusive practice
- Digital well-being
- Digital and physical spaces
- Wildcard
You can read more about the conference Co-Chairs in their first conference blog post.
The conference Co-Chairs would particularly welcome collaborative submissions from different perspectives, including those from students. The closing date for submissions is 19 May 2021 and proposals may be submitted here.
