ASCILITE NEWS

ASCILITE Signs New International Cooperation Agreement with EDEN

On 17 June 2016 ASCILITE and EDEN (European Distance & e-Learning Network) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of engaging in international activities and initiatives of mutual benefit such as promoting each other’s undertakings and supporting each other in facilitating the enhancement of evidence-based research and practice in the use of educational technologies.

EDEN has more than 200 institutional members and over 1200 members in its Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP) across the EU. The organization assists a wide range of institutions, networks and individuals to become involved in professional information and networking activities through the organisation of acknowledged European conferences, publications and information services. It also takes an active role in a wide range of important EU projects.

The agreement between ASCILITE and EDEN allows both organizations to:

Post information of interest to each other’s websites
Disseminate information about each other’s activities
Collaborate on advisory boards and judging panels
Recruit researchers to contribute to EDEN’s annual Research Workshop
Support the development of each other’s network of members; and
Exchange best practices.

ASCILITE looks forward to developing a long and mutually beneficial relationship with EDEN in line with ASCILITE’s 2016 – 2019 Strategic Plan which includes strategic objectives to forge new international partnerships.

ASCILITE Awards Open for Nominations

Each year, ASCILITE accepts applications for three awards that members are welcome to apply or nominate for and we invite members to consider nominations that they believe qualify. The three award categories are:

Innovation Award
Life Member Award
Fellow Award

The ASCILITE Innovation Award, first introduced in 2011, celebrates work undertaken by an individual or team of people in support of the exemplary and research informed use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education. Innovation is defined as a new idea, device or process. It is something original that “breaks into” teaching and learning in the tertiary sector. Applications for this award are likely to include:

Innovative solutions which promote the exemplary and research informed use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Product development projects which promote the exemplary and research informed use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Large-scale implementation initiatives which promote the innovative, exemplary and research informed use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Major professional development initiatives which promotes the exemplary and research informed use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.

The ASCILITE Fellow Award recognises the outstanding contributions of individual ASCILITE members in the exemplary use of, and/or research into, technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education. The nature of these contributions will be in at least two of the following categories:

Professional mentoring that encourages and supports the exemplary use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Professional leadership in the development, application or implementation of exemplary technology-related projects for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Sustained innovations in practice in the exemplary use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Quality research in the use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education leading to significant new knowledge and/or understandings.

The Fellow Award can be awarded to the same person more than once; however, the award cannot recognise the same achievement more than once.

An ASCILITE Life Member Award is a prestigious award that recognizes the significant service and/or sustained contribution of an ASCILITE member to the Society. Life Member Awards are the highest recognition of achievement made by ASCILITE. This award is made only when an appropriate candidate meets the criteria. This means that the award may not be presented every year.

You can view detailed awards criteria and download nomination forms from the ASCILITE website awards page. Applications are open until 17 October 2016.

Applications Open for 2016 Awards for Excellence in Learning Analytics

The ASCILITE Learning Analytics SIG is pleased to announce that the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Learning Analytics are now open and details of the awards can be found here and in the 2016 Program Information Guide. Submissions close on Friday 16 September.

Finalists will receive a $300 contribution toward their travel costs to the 2016 ASCILITE conference.

The Awards were launched in 2015 to recognize outstanding practice in Learning Analytics to enhance learning and teaching. A key driver is for the Award submissions to form a resource library on the different approaches to Learning Analytics being employed in tertiary institutions across Australia and New Zealand.

To this end, we encourage you to use and share the short submission videos from 2015.

The SIG team is looking forward to another fantastic crop of entries in 2016 and wish you all the best with your submissions.

Transforming Assessment (e-Assessment) SIG News: Next Session

Title: Video feedback – targeted and personal

Date & Time: 4 August, 7am UTC. You will find your local time zone here.

Abstract: This session will explore how video can be used to provide personalised feedback for students that targets key areas for future improvement while doing so in a manner that is workload efficient. For further information and to register visit the TA-SIG website.

Recording Available

The video recording of Keys to transforming assessment at institutional level: selected debates from AHE2016 held on 13 July is now available for viewing.

This webinar was a follow up panel review featuring three speakers from the Assessment in Higher Education conference secretariat seminar day held on 30 June 2016.

The panel was chaired by Sally Jordan (Open University UK) with speakers including Sally Brown (Leeds Beckett University) & Kay Sambell (Northumbria University): 'Changing practice on feedback at an institutional level'. Amanda Sykes (University of Glasgow) & David Morrison (Plymouth University): 'Half as Much but Twice as Good: Constructing Effective Written Feedback in Any Subject' and Juliet Williams (University of Winchester): 'Changing colours: what happens when you make enhancement an imperative?'.

You will find the recording here.

Reminder: Extended Call for Papers: ASCILITE 2016 Conference

On 21 July, ASCILITE members were informed by email that the Call for Papers for ASCILITE 2016 has now been extended to 8 August 2016.

All submissions must be made online via easychair and the deadline for all submissions is now midnight the 8 August 2016 (AEST). You will find other submission related dates such as review completion and notifications on the website and these dates remain unchanged.

For more information about submissions or using the submission system, please email the conference committee submissions team Professor Shane Dawson or Cassandra Colvin.

Templates for each type of submission, including submission lengths are available on the conference website here

OTHER NEWS

ALASI 1st Call for Participation

The Australian Learning Analytics Summer Institute 2016 will be held in conjunction with ASCILITE 2016 on the Sunday 27 November 2016 at the University of South Australia. ASCILITE 2016 commences on Monday 28 November.

The Learning Analytics Summer Institutes (LASIs) are international community and discipline building events created by the Society for Learning Analytics Research.

ALASI is the main forum in Australia for the exchange of knowledge, innovation, and experiences in the area of Learning Analytics. The event offers a great opportunity to learn about analytics in education, showcase your activities, and benchmark results through exposure to the thinking, experiences and feedback of other practitioners and researchers in the field.

Why come to ALASI?

It is the most established Australian forum to connect with the nation's leading practitioners and researchers in learning analytics. ALASI is a highly interactive event. The program is comprised mostly of workshops/tutorials and panels. There are no long presentations except two keynote speakers to engage and provoke thought and discussion. Previous ALASIs have provided an ideal forum to make new collegial connections in the area. ALASI focuses on bridging the gap between pedagogy, educational design, technology, and business intelligence. ALASI 2016 will be hosted by the Teaching Innovation Unit at the University of South Australia.

How to contribute

ALASI is now accepting proposals for the following sessions (check the website for submission details)

Panels (1 hour)

Panels aim at informing attendees about an important or controversial issue through a one hour debate among experts. These experts must come from different institutions to widen the debate and provide breadth of perspective. Submit a one page explaining the issue selected for the panel, why it is relevant for the discipline, why the attendees will find this relevant, and the name, affiliation and brief expertise of the panelists.

Workshops/Tutorials (2 hours)

Sessions of 2 hours for in-depth exploration of a topic. We strongly recommend hands-on, highly participatory sessions that maintain the engagement of the participants. Submit no more than 2 pages explaining the topic of the workshop, your credentials or experience to run it, how it relates to the learning analytics, how you plan to make it participatory, and the outcomes you expect participants to achieve. If relevant, describe the software required for the session. Note: software should be freely accessible for attendees to download on their own computers for the duration of the tutorial.

Posters

Show your ideas or how a software product works during the lunch break while having extended conversations with fellow delegates. Submit a one page abstract of the idea you want to convey, the reasons you think it is interesting to the audience, and a copy of the poster if you already have it.

Key Dates

NOW: get the date in your diary and make your travel plans to Adelaide for ALASI or ASCILITE+ALASI
Call for proposals opens: 7 July 2016
Deadline for all submissions: 25 August 2016
Author notification for all submissions: 25 September 2016
Registration opens: 1 August 2016
ALASI: 27 November 2016

For further information, email Tim Rogers.