ASCILITE NEWS

March edition of the ASCILITE Wavelength Podcast is now available

In the March 2022 edition of ASCILITE’s Wavelength Podcast, Michael Cowling chats with Michael Milford about science communication and its value in learning and teaching. Amanda White completes her series on staff addressing academic integrity at the coal face. “The Student Voice” examines student motivation for pursuing tertiary education.

Episode 4

You’ll find all podcast episodes with additional information including episode transcripts and how to get involved on the ASCILITE website here. Wavelength is a community-contributed podcast, and we invite members of the ASCILITE community and affiliates to produce and contribute segments for the podcast.

Contextualising Horizon Technology Trends Survey

All participants who participated in the Contextualising Horizon sessions at the 2021 Conference and in February 2022 are now invited to complete the 2021-2022 Technology Trends survey. You response on this survey will assist in determining the final six trends likely to be of consequence for the Australasian tertiary sector in the next 12-18 months.

Surveys were sent via email on Wednesday 16 March 2022. You may need to check your institution’s spam filters if you did not receive your invitation. All responses are due by 11:59pm AEDT 1 April 2022. We welcome your input.

HigherEd EdTech Showcase on empowering learners & educators through active learning, 29 March 2022

Date and time: 29 March 2022 3:30pm – 5pm AEDT

Join an EdTech Showcase event featuring an in-conversation session discussing the use of technologies to support active learning pedagogy. In addition, two Australian EdTech companies will present case studies from the perspectives of their end users, and how they impact teaching and learning outcomes. Active learning, put simply, is students participating in or interacting with the learning process. When implemented effectively, active learning strategies have proven to contribute to increased learner engagement both in- and outside the classroom.

New technologies are supporting active learning principles; offering educators and learners more engagement and agency. Join us for a session focussed on empowering learners and educators with technology designed for active learning.

This program will feature Dr. Philip Uys (Adjunct Associate Professor of Education, University of Adelaide) and Dr. Lisa Jacka (ITE Program Director and Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of Southern Queensland).

You may register for this event here and if you would like to invite a colleague, use this link.

Edugrowth is an ASCILITE Strategic Partner.

TELedvisors webinar on a third space moment and defining integrated practice, 31 March 2022

Date and time: 31 March 2022 @ 7pm AEDT

What is integrated academic practice and how does it apply to me in the work I do? The webinar, with Emily McIntosh and Diane Nutt and the support of Sally Kift, will focus on exploring what integrated practice means, and how it applies to understanding our identity and activities in the ‘third space’. We will consider the ever-changing nature of this important work, especially in the context of the events of the last two years, and discuss how we might lead into the future to effectively situate post-pandemic TELedvisor practice within university strategies, structures and systems. We will consider: how TELedvisors can continue to effect positive change from where we are and what our career journeys might look like into the future.

The session will cover:

An introduction on what integrated practice is, third space as a concept and third space working – and its impact on our practice
Applying this thinking to enable change in institutions
Exploring career journeys in integrated practice for edvisors in (and out of) the third space

The session will be followed by a half hour informal launch of Emily’s and Diane’s new book, published 31 March – Mcintosh, E and Nutt, D. (Eds.) The Impact of the Integrated Practitioner in Higher Education: studies in third space professionalism (Routledge, 2022) We hope some of you will be able to stay and raise a glass with us.

You’ll find further information on the session and the presenters here and you can login to the session here.

Transforming Assessment SIG webinar on remote proctoring; the European experience, 6 April 2022

Date and time: 6 April @ 5pm – 6pm AEST

You are welcome to join a joint panel session with the Assessment in Higher Education Network (UK) and the Transforming Assessment SIG to be chaired by Fabio Arico (University of East Anglia, UK). The first presentation is “Proctoring, a golden buzzer for organising remote assessment?” by Karen Van Eylen, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. The second presentation is “Remote Proctoring During the Pandemic and Beyond: Insights and Trends from European Institutions” by Steffen Skovfoged, Founder & Executive Director of UNIwise, Denmark. There will be time for Q&A.

Further information and registration is available here.

BE-SIG webinar on connected learning at scale and transforming the student experience

Date and time: 7 April @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm AEST

Connected Learning at Scale is a 5-year large-scale, collaborative strategically funded project between educational developers, learning designers, students, alumni and academic teaching partners. The aim is to transform the student learning experience. Commencing in 2019, this project has redesigned and successfully delivered over 80 Business School units. Transforming the ways in which students engage with information and knowledge (principle 1), actively participate and learn through connected learning experiences in large and smaller groups (principle 2) and redesigning assessment towards more authentic modes (principle 3), underpinned by engagement with critical global, local and personal challenges.

Presenters
Associate Professor Peter Bryant (The University of Sydney)
Associate Professor Elaine Huber (The University of Sydney)
Dr Stephanie Wilson (The University of Sydney)
Dr Dewa Wardak (The University of Sydney)
Dr Jessica Tyrell (The University of Sydney)

Our presenters will share the thinking behind the design of the project, project and evaluation processes, outputs which include design patterns and a range of examples of the changes they have implemented.

You may register for this event here and login to the session here.

ASCILITE Live! webinar on embedding industry practices in authentic assessment design, 12 April 2022

Date and time: 12 April at 12pm AEST.

Embedding industry practices in authentic assessment design has multiple benefits for students in higher education, including improved attitudes to learning, self-reflection and application to their own lived experience. Such student engagement activity extends to multiple stakeholders, enabling multiple means of translating theory into practice. It also assists universities to design assessments that encourage academic integrity.

Under this model, academic staff are also better able to balance their industry research partnerships with their teaching, creating greater alignment with performance goals. Industry and government are also beneficiaries where student projects form part of broader research initiatives designed to produce policy and practice guidelines as outcomes.

In this webinar, Dr Kevin Argus and Dr Jessica Helmi from the Graduate School of Business and Law at RMIT University share their experiences of embedding industry practices in authentic assessment design to optimise outcomes for students, industry, academics, and the university overall.

Key takeaways from this session include:

How industry-embedded authentic assessment design contributes to academic integrity.
The importance of value propositions for industry that align learning outcomes and practice outcomes.
Examples of award winning and newly created multi-industry partnerships created to sustain engagement at the course/program level.
Alumni feedback indicating industry-embedded authentic assessments are among their program highlights.
Student feedback that credits authentic assessment with yielding workplace opportunities.

Dr Kevin Argus (Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University) teaches Marketing and Design Thinking within the Executive MBA and MBA programs. Kevin’s approach is guided by his adoption of the teaching, research, practice nexus (TPRN). Kevin’s aim in GSBL is to create impactful industry projects with learning, research and practice outcomes that align with our school and college core values of social impact, innovation and technology and industry engagement aligned with sustainability goals. Implementing sustainability projects requires a balance of research, teaching and practice (Schneider, et. al 2018). The TRPN has enabled achievement of KPI’s, via projects shared between teaching-engagement focused academics and research-engagement focused academics, creating a collaborative scholarly culture where value-creation has become a mutual pursuit, rather than siloed.

Dr Jessica Helmi (Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University) will share her example of embedding industry practice into assessment design via her lead in the co-creation of a new undergraduate Bachelor of Business Core course, BUSM2577 Integrated Perspective on Business Problems. Jess discusses how a collaboration of business partners has co-created mutual value across all stakeholders in this pursuit.

Jess and her team work with four Industry Partners (a mixture of for-profit and not-for-profit organisations) who provide an innovative shared business challenge for students to work on. The shared challenge revolves around the theme of loneliness as a lived experience, which informs the three authentic assessments in the course.

You will need to register for this event here.

Recent ASCILITE SIG webinar recordings now available

The Learning Design SIG recently held a webinar on the contemporary role of the Learning Designer: ideas and challenges in education and training: Learning designers are one of the most sought after roles in tertiary, vocational and corporate education. There are dozens of opportunities available for newly graduated LDs. Find-out more about the Learning Designer role from this recording.

Final Reminder: AJET Special Issue Call for Papers

The AJET Call for Papers, with the extended deadline of 31 March 2022, invites evidence-based papers, qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies, critical reviews and theoretical contributions related to the topic of “Achieving Lasting Education in the New Digital Learning World”.

You’ll find full details on the AJET website here.

The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) is ASCILITE’s peer reviewed journal.

ASCILITE signs new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)

ASCILITE recently signed two new MoUs; one with HERDSA and another with the University of Cumbria in the UK. This brings to eight, the number of MoUs between ASCILITE and other organisations. The Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) is a scholarly society for people committed to the advancement of higher and tertiary education and through this MoU ASCILITE and HERDSA can now establish a formal relationship of mutual benefit to both organisations and investigate areas of common interest with a view to conducting joint activities that involve the participation of members from both societies.

The second MoU, established with the University of Cumbria (UK) and its Assessment in Higher Education Network (AHE) formalises the existing relationship that the ASCILITE Transforming Assessment Special Interest Group (TA-SIG) has had with AHE for several years. The AHE network focuses on developing research-informed practice in assessment and feedback in higher education.

You can view the new MoUs and the other partnerships on the ASCILITE website here.

OTHER NEWS

Job Opportunity: Director, Learning Transformations, Swinburne University of Technology

Key senior leadership role within Learning Transformations Unit
Full time, 5 year fixed term position (Hawthorn)
Academic Level D/E plus 17% super

Passionate about pedagogical innovation in Higher Education and enhancing staff capability? We’re looking for an inspiring Director of Learning Transformations to join the dynamic team at Swinburne University of Technology who will help deliver our Digital & Blended Learning Transformation Program and Academic Capability Framework, and support the creation of next gen_now learning experiences!

The Learning Transformations Unit plays an integral role in delivering the Digital and Blended Transformation Program and the Academic Capability Framework through the application of pedagogical innovations and appropriate learning and teaching technologies. You will be responsible for the delivery of academic professional learning programs and their associated resources, leading the scholarship of learning and teaching at Swinburne, and supporting academic career development as well as the reward and recognition of learning and teaching excellence.

For details and further information visit the Swinburne website here. Applications close 1 April 2022.

Job opportunity: Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Digital Education, Massey University

CHSS_IE_340_03/22
Institute of Education
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Term length: ongoing
Hours of work: full-time

For more than 80 years, Massey University has helped shape the lives and communities of people in New Zealand and around the world. Its forward-thinking spirit, research-led teaching, and cutting-edge discoveries make Massey New Zealand’s defining University. Our Institute of Education/Te Kura o Te Mātauranga programs cover the spectrum of graduate and postgraduate programs including five professional education programs.

We are now seeking to appoint a Senior Lecturer or Associate Professor to support the design, development and delivery of our Digital Education Programs. Ideally the appointee will also be able to contribute to the development and oversight of the applied Professional Educational Doctorate.

This position can be based from either our Auckland or Manawatū campus.

For appointment at Senior Lecturer level, you will possess, or have nearly completed a relevant doctoral qualification. For appointment at Associate Professor Level, you will have a doctoral qualification and have a proven research publication record.

Massey University is committed to being a Tiriti-led organisation. It is therefore expected that you will have, an appreciation of the Aotearoa New Zealand context and a demonstrable understanding of the needs and aspirations of Māori. Te Kura o Te Mātauranga is actively committed to develop a diverse staffing profile that matches New Zealand society as a whole.

If you would like a new challenge and to be part of a fun and dynamic teaching team within our Institute, we would welcome your application.

Enquiries of an academic nature can be directed to Associate Professor Mandia Mentis, Associate Director of Te Kura o Te Mātauranga, Institute of Education or call +64 6 356-9099. For further information on the role visit the Massey website here.

Applications close Sunday 3 April 2022, 11.30pm.

CRADLE Seminar Series on developing feedback literacy: case studies from multiple disciplines

Date and time: Tuesday 5 April 2022 @ 1m – 2.30pm AEDT.

Join CRADLE (Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning) to hear about ‘Developing feedback literacy: case studies from multiple disciplines’ from CRADLE and the Faculty Development Partners.

In this presentation CRADLE’s Prof Philip Dawson and Dr Joanna Tai along with Development Partners Dr Kelli Nicola-Richmond and Dr Christine Contessotto will discuss outcomes of the project investigating ways of improving student feedback literacy.

Feedback can be one of the most challenging parts of not just education, but of life in general. Seeking, providing, receiving, understanding and coping with comments about work is not always easy for students. Feedback can also be a significant challenge for staff, who often report that students do not even read assignment feedback comments, let alone action them. To try to address the problems of feedback, the literature has recently shifted to focusing on feedback literacy – the set of capabilities students need to make the most of feedback.

This seminar reports on the CRADLE Development Partners scheme, which was launched in 2019 to support implementation and innovation around key CRADLE concepts at Deakin University. The 2019 round of CRADLE Development Partners focused on improving student feedback literacy in units from all four Deakin faculties. Prior to the Development Partners scheme, CRADLE had published and supported pioneering conceptual and observational work into feedback literacy, but this project represented our first large-scale intervention work to improve student feedback literacy. The success of this initial pilot has led to sustained feedback literacy innovations, published research, and subsequent offerings of the CRADLE Development Partners scheme as part of CRADLE’s annual collaboration funding.

This seminar will be of interest to:

Educators interested in ways to support their students to develop feedback literacy
Researchers and academic developers interested in new models of scholarly teaching practice and collaboration
Deakin academic staff considering participating in the CRADLE Development Partners scheme

This event is free, but please register here.