ASCILITE NEWS

New program launch: Institutional TELAS

ASCILITE is pleased to announce the launch of Institutional TELAS – an institutional accreditation program based on the TELAS Framework. The institutional accreditation program is a longitudinal engagement with three components that can be undertaken independently, or integrated with institutional initiatives such as LMS transition or digital uplift.

The Institutional TELAS program will be piloted initially in partnership with UNE, to further develop and refine the program before rolling out more broadly.

Institutional TELAS represents the first credential of its kind in the sector, allowing institutions to gain sector-recognised assurance as a provider of quality online learning.

For more information please see the TELAS website.

ASCILITE LA SIG Webinar: How do students understand new ideas?

The third webinar in our series on “How learning science can inform learning analytics” will be presented by Dr Caitlin Mills, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and Co-Director of the Learning Informatics Lab at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include the antecedents and consequences of mind wandering, the influence of affective states on information processing, and engagement/disengagement during complex learning.

In this webinar, Caitlin will discuss some of the dominant theories of how students “comprehend” information, as well as recent work that uses analytics to uncover when (and how) students may benefit from individualised support along these lines. She will also discuss the importance of student engagement and belonging for learning, followed by a discussion of how recent learning analytics methods have been used to assess and encourage engagement during learning.

Date: Wed 28 June 2023
Time: at 4pm (AEST)/6pm (NZT)
Registration: Register to attend the webinar here.

ASCILITE LA SIG In-Person Event – Save The Date!

The ASCILITE Learning Analytics SIG are very excited to be running a face-to-face workshop to cover the next question in our “How learning science can inform learning analytics” series – How do students solve problems?

Workshops will be held in four cities around Australia and New Zealand in the week of the 10^th July at the following locations:

• Adelaide – University of South Australia – Date TBC
• Auckland – University of Auckland – Tuesday 11^th July (9:30am – 12:30pm)
• Brisbane – Central Queensland University – Thursday 13^th July (10:30am – 1pm)
• Melbourne – Deakin University – Friday 14^th July (9:30am – 12:30pm)

We look forward to seeing LA SIG members for our first in-person event since 2019! Look out for more detailed information about these workshops in the next ASCILITE newsletter.

A new issue of AJET is now available

The latest issue of AJET was released in May. This issue is packed with interesting articles covering a range to topics including: new perspectives on TPACK, open educational resources for informal learning, ways to measure learners’ problem-based learning in technology-enabled contexts, and the home-campus nexus. The editorial tackles the hot topic of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by mapping out a research agenda for GenAI in tertiary education as well as setting out the new AJET guidelines for authors who may use GenAI in research to be published in AJET.

You can access this new issue at: https://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/issue/view/159

Call for Contributors: Contextualising Horizon 2022-2023

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 2023. 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.

A virtual informational session will be held for all prospective co-authors on 27 June 2023 12:00-12:50pm Australian Eastern Time.

Register for the author webinar. If you cannot attend live, please email the david_bruceporter@hotmail.com to request the recording.

Educational Technology and Practice Exemplars

Contextualising Horizon seeks nomination for exemplars of the 2022-2023 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 were this year’s trends:

• Hybrid and Flexible Learning
• Artificial Intelligence Literacy
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Evolution of Mobile Learning
• Integration of Indigenous Knowledge

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 16 June 2023.

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.

ASCILITE LD SIG Webinar: Moving out of the shadows: Using data-driven approaches to reform learning design practice

When: 16^th June
Time: 12pm AEST
Register to participate here

Data provides us with insights into the effectiveness of learning and teaching practices and enables us to monitor trends, make comparisons and plan intentional, evidence-informed improvements to learning. But what happens when the changes don’t produce the desired results? In this session I will showcase how it took a multi-layered approach to transform a unit, which transpired over several semesters before success was achieved..

Come along and let’s have a conversation about data-driven reform in learning design practice and evidencing the impact of our work. I’ll share some highly practical ways in which I use data to evaluate and enhance my practice and together we can gain insights about how to bring learning design out of the shadows and into the light.

TELall Blog:  Second Life: A glimpse into virtual worlds, but not quite the Metaverse

In this part 2 glimpse into the Metaverse Professor Sue Gregory (University of New England) looks back at Second Life and explores why it doesn’t quite qualify as a metaverse but how it contributed to the evolution of virtual experiences… read more

Save the date for the 2023 ASCILITE Research School

Date: 23rd-25th October, Hosted by Charles Sturt University, Canberra

More information can be gained from the website.

Put this date in your diary and keep an eye out for the EOI.

TELAS Reviewer Certification workshop (online) coming up

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.

The next TELAS Reviewer Certification Workshop is now open for registration.

Location: The workshop will be conducted fully online via Zoom.
Date: Thursday 27th July & Friday 28^th July,
Time:  10-1:30pm AEST
Cost (ex GST): $250(members);  $400 (non-members – includes 12 month ASCILITE membership fee).

For further details and to register, visit the TELAS website here.

Please direct any queries and/or expressions of interest to admin@telas.edu.au.

ASCILITE Live! Webinar: Recording Published – May 2023

A recording of the 2023 ASCILITE Live! Webinar for May 2023, discussing Recorded audio feedback: bridging the chasm between educator and student in online assessment, facilitated by Professor Michael Cowling, with a presentation from the ASCILITE 2022 Conference Best Concise Paper Award winner James A. Tastsaronis (who won with co-authors Katrina J. Binger & Fiona M. Durand).

Watch the recording here.

Call for Papers and Reviewers – ASCILITE 2023

ASCILITE 2023 is taking place on 3 – 6 December 2023 hosted by the University of Canterbury at the iconic Te Pae Convention Centre, Christchurch, NZ.  This year’s event will be designed to be fully hybrid to maximise face-to-face and online engagement and interaction.  The conference theme of “People, Partnerships and Pedagogies”  focuses on the diversity of people, creating deeper partnerships and the complexity of digital.

Full details on submission types, sub-themes and presentation formats are available on the conference website call for papers. The call for papers opened on 1 April and closes on 2 July 2023.

Call for Reviewers
The 2023 Conference Organising Committee are inviting a large number of volunteers for the important work of reviewing conference submissions. The intellectual strength of ASCILITE conferences derives in part from the rigour of our peer review process and each submission will be blind reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers. If you are interested in participating, you will need to sign up within our OJS system, further details on the conference website here. The call for reviewers will close on 2 July 2023.

OTHER NEWS

Calling for Focus Group participants: Validating a framework for quality online assessment

Do you design and/or implement assessments in or with a business faculty?

A group of researchers from The University of Sydney Business School and UTS Business School are calling for participants to take part in a 60-minute focus group to discuss a recently developed framework for designing and evaluating online assessments.
The focus groups will be conducted on Zoom and there are two dates to choose from, 9 June and 17 July 2023. Please see the link below to select a date and to read more about the project in the participant information statement.
Select a date and read more here.

For further information you can also contact Elaine Huber: elaine.huber@sydney.edu.au

Lecturer in Educational Development (Education-focused) at The University of Sydney Business School

The Business Co-Design unit is seeking to make a Level B (Education Focused) fixed-term appointment to our educational design and development team, who are responsible for delivering programs of work to transform the educational and student experience at the Business School. You will be joining a team of experienced and innovative educational developers, learning designers and media specialists to lead curriculum and pedagogical work on key undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Please review position description and send applications (including a cover letter, CV, and any additional supporting documentation) through here.

Applications close on Monday 05 June 2023 at 11:59 PM.