Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education

27-08-2018 Bulletin

ASCILITE NEWS

Invitation to Provide Feedback to ASCILITE through the 2018 Member Survey

Members are invited to provide feedback on ASCILITE through the 2018 ASCILITE Member Survey. The purpose of our member survey is to obtain feedback from members on the value of ASCILITE services, initiatives and related activities.

The data collected from the survey is used to inform the next cycle of strategic planning (2018 – 2021) for the society and in 2015 this feedback and the suggestions made by members was critical in helping the Executive to determine the focus and direction of the society. For example,

  • Conference registration fees have remained steady since 2015.
  • There have been no member fee increases since 2014, despite significant increases in operating costs.
  • New member services have been implemented such as the Spring into Excellence Research School, a new Student Bursary award and a TELall blog. Several other services have been extended such as the number of Special interest groups going from two in 2015 to seven in 2018.
  • The AJET editorial team have worked tirelessly to improve AJET’s impact factor with AJET now listed in the top 10 educational technology journals globally.
  • Conference organizers have continued to increase the rigour of the peer review process with initiatives such as the introduction of reviewer mentoring.
  • The ASCILITE website, bulletin, blog and various social media platforms have increasingly been used to promote networking.

In 2018, survey results will again be reported to members through the fortnightly bulletin, website and other means. Members will also be informed about what ASCILITE is doing in response to the feedback it receives.

Members who complete the survey may choose to enter a draw to win one of 10 x $20 gift vouchers. The survey should take approximately 15 – 25 minutes of your time with only 25 key questions.

We greatly value your feedback and contribution to the future of ASCILITE and invite you to complete the survey via the anonymous link here.

The survey link will remain open until 28 September 2018.

ASCILITE 2018: There’s lots to love about Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road

Apart from the great keynotes and anticipated collaborations that will be part of your program for ASCILITE 2018, there are a lot of things to enjoy in and around Geelong, surrounding regions, and the Great Ocean Road. Here’s what the locals often say about the great attractions in and around Geelong:

  • The Waterfront is a great focal point. It sits alongside the conference location of Deakin University’s Waterfront Campus in Geelong. Here you will find the Cunningham Pier, bollards, swimming, and a ferris wheel.
  • Great shopping, coffee and food. The campus is a short stroll to the heart of Geelong’s central business district.
  • Within a short driving distance are ocean beaches, great golf courses, historic townships and wineries.
  • A strong sporting culture including surfing, golfing, and home to the Australian Football League’s (AFL) Geelong Cats.
  • A longer day-trip will take you down the Great Ocean Road, past seaside holiday destinations, the Otway Ranges and on to the Twelve Apostles.

If you would like more information on planning your time in and around ASCILITE 2018, see these links:

TELedvisors SIG Webinar – Openness in Education

Date and Time

Thursday 30 August 12noon AEST.

Abstract

This webinar will include three different presenters looking at different angles of openness in education. From H5P integration into the walled garden of the Learning Management System to the 3 R’s of Open Practise to hacking open datasets (in a good way). Join us and get some open goodies for your edtech journey.

Presenters

  • Tania McDonald and Dr Sonia Wilkie – Discussing how H5P has been applied in the Victorian University (VU) Block model re-design. Discussing outcomes that have been achieved by using this tool. Concluding with a warm invitation to the H5P conference being held at Victoria University 3 – 5 December 2018.
  • Tim Klapdor – 3R’s of Open Practice: Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose – Openness is a great concept but it also entails us setting up the right conditions to promote its uptake. In order to create an environment that’s conducive to openness I’d like to introduce the 3RS of Open Practice – Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose and some of the technologies that I hope will help promote open practices.
  • Jason Weigel – What is GovHack? GovHack is an open data hackathon, run annually by volunteers, focussed on unlocking the value in open data published by government. GovHack is for coders, designers, story tellers, activists, analysts, journalists and anyone that wants to tap into the vast amount of information made available by governments and other organisations. This year Jason is the GovHack Australia Chair and he will enlighten us on the event scheduled nationally for September 7 – 9, 2018.

You can join the session here.

CMALT cMOOC and SOTEL Research Cluster and Symposium

As part of ongoing work that CfLAT is doing for Professional Recognition, we are mentoring and supporting applications for CMALT accreditation.

CMALT is the Certified Member of the Association of Learning Technologies available to ALT or ASCILITE members.

CMALT recognizes experience and expertise in the use of technologies for learning and is available to academic and allied staff who are interested in or have successfully integrated the use of learning technologies in the course(s) they teach. We have developed the CMALT cMOOC as a 7 week online support programme/network, and the next iteration of this starts on 24 September 2018.

You can sign-up to the support network here.

Transforming Assessment (e-Assessment) SIG News

Next webinar: “Virtual work integrated learning” 5 September 2018

The next SIG webinar will be presented by A/Prof Sally Male (University of Western Australia, Australia).  This session will explore the Virtual Work Integrated Learning in Engineering project that developed, tested and established an approach for non-placement engagement with engineering practice for engineering students. Learning modules involve authentic tasks, virtual sites, simulations and/or electronic interaction with engineers. Learning modules, results of testing, and next steps will be presented.

Further information and registration are available here.

Australian e-Exams Symposium & Workshop Series

e-Exams Briefing: Online attendance spots are still available for the session on 31 Aug 2018 and all are welcome to attend. The Transforming Exams project focused on enabling authentic e-assessment in supervised contexts such as tests and exams with 10 Australian university partners. The full series of workshops can be found here.

An e-Exams Symposium will be held 24 November 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. This full day mini-conference will feature two international guest speakers from Austria and Finland speaking about their e-Exams implementation projects. Prof. Geoff Crisp will be the MC for day. Detailed findings from the Australian national project that saw development of an authentic, robust, e-exams platform and 20 trials across multiple university partners will be discussed. All are welcome to attend.

Expression of interest in attending is available here. You will be notified when registration payment opens and the anticipated fee will be AU$195.

Video Recording: Learning Analytics SIG webinar – A snapshot of Current Learning Analytics Research presented by PhD students

A video recording of the LA-SIG webinar conducted on 23 August, which featured short presentations by four PhD students, highlighted the diversity of research being undertaken in the Learning Analytics field. Topics included exploring students’ conceptual development in higher education by online discussion content; Australian higher education teachers’ interpretation of learning analytics and its impact on practice; and Learning Analytics implementations in Australian universities: towards a model of success. Each presenter provided an outline of their research discussing why they have chosen that area of study and how they address their particular research challenges.

Presenters were Jen Stokes (University of South Australia), Yuanyuan Hu (University of Auckland), Jo-Anne Clark (Griffith University) and David Fulcher (University of Wollogong). The session was moderated by Hazel Jones, LA-SIG coordinator (University of Southern Queeansland).

You will find the recording here.

OTHER NEWS

Special issue call for papers from Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

Learning analytics and (big) data in higher education are emerging topics, and empirical evidence is still scares, though this is beginning to be addressed by annual LAK (Learning Analytics and Knowledge) conferences and international workshops. Students may benefit from analytics systems through personalised and adaptive support during their learning journey. For example, students often enter higher education academically unprepared and with unrealistic perceptions and expectations of academic competencies for their studies. Both, the inability to cope with academic requirements as well as unrealistic perceptions and expectations of university life, in particular with regard to academic competencies, are important factors for leaving the institution prior to degree completion.

Specific topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Do analytics data change student behaviour (e.g. learning strategies) and dispositions (e.g. motivation, emotion)?
  • Understanding the learning journey of higher education students
  • Leveraging assessments analytics for personalised feedback
  • Linking analytics data and study success
  • Building evidence for graduate analytics
  • Change management for data analytics at higher education institutions (e.g. implementation strategies, requirements)

Please submit your one-page proposal including authors, title, 3-5 keywords, short abstract,3-5 key references to Guest Editor Dirk Ifenthaler via email no later than 15 September 2018. Proposals will be reviewed and decisions for invitations of full manuscripts will be made within one week.

Full manuscripts for this special issue should be prepared according to the Author Guidelines for the Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education (JARHE), which can be found here. Full manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s ScholarOne site.

Please ensure you select the correct special issue title from the drop down menu on page 4 of the submissions process. To discuss your research in more detail, please contact the Guest Editor, Dirk Ifenthaler (dirk@ifenthaler.info).

Job Vacancy: Educational Designer, USQ

  • Remuneration range $98,818 to $109,268 pa
  • Full-time continuing appointment
  • Toowoomba campus
  • Office for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching
  • Reference No:103236

About Us

USQ has forged a reputation as one of Australia’s leading providers of on campus and online education programs in Australia. With more than 75% of students studying online, our delivery of global education leads the way. Recently named as one of the top five Universities to work for in Australia, USQ provides staff with a positive and friendly environment where they are supported to fulfill their personal and career goals and contribute to the university’s success..

The Office for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching aims to provide support, services and resources to help USQ academics develop their learning and teaching skills, knowledge, scholarship and practice, and in doing so help USQ to provide quality learning experiences and student outcomes. The Office for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching consists of four teams: Educational Design and Development; Program Quality and Enhancement; Educational Excellence and Innovation and Media Design and Development..

A unique opportunity has become available within the Educational Design and Development team for an Educational Designer to work collaboratively with academics in the provision of hands on support to design and develop courses that provide stimulating, engaging and effective learning experiences for students..

What you’ll do

This position will work as part of a team of Educational Designers, where you will support the Civil Engineering and Surveying, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and Agricultural, Computational and Environmental Sciences disciplines. In carrying out this role, you will:

  • Provide in-depth advice, training and support to USQ academics within the designated discipline areas to enhance educational effectiveness of their teaching and learning designs and teaching approaches;
  • Work collegially and constructively with the Advancement of Learning and Teaching teams;
  • Maintain up-to-date working knowledge and expertise in relation to educational technologies and contemporary learning theories, models and practices and provide advice and contribution as required; and
  • Participate in an Educational Design and Development culture of research and evidence based practice, contributing scholarly work in the field of educational design and using this scholarship to inform and innovate Educational Design and Development practices.

What will help you succeed?

To succeed in this role you will hold a degree in education, educational design or a closely related field with subsequent relevant experience or an equivalent combination of experience and/or education and/or training. Additionally, you will have:

  • Up-to-date knowledge and understanding of learning and teaching theory and practice, with demonstrated evidence in supporting academic staff in the design, development and review of courses, particularly in the domain of online or blended learning;
  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with academic staff across a range of disciplines and with professional staff with a range of responsibilities in order to respond to identified learning and teaching needs;
  • Outstanding interpersonal skills including ability to negotiate, motivate, influence and build relationships with a range of diverse internal and external stakeholders to achieve successful outcomes; and
  • Experience in developing innovative solutions and a commitment to continuous improvement, openness to new ideas and creative approaches to problem solving within established timelines.

What we offer

As a staff member of USQ, you will experience of range of rewarding career, financial and lifestyle benefits, including generous superannuation, professional development programs, discounted personal travel and health services and many work/life balance initiatives. All while enjoying the relaxed lifestyle and family-friendly atmosphere afforded by living in Toowoomba. Situated on the edge of the picturesque Great Dividing Range, just one and a half hours west of Brisbane and only two hours from both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Toowoomba offers all the benefits of urban living without any of the big-city pressures. With a population of approximately 160,000 residents, Toowoomba has an enviable reputation for quality of lifestyle and world-class education. Escape the pressures of big city life while still pursuing your career goals and enjoy all that this thriving regional community has to offer.

You will find application forms here. The closing date for applications is Sunday 2 September 2018

Job Vacancies – 4 x Senior Instructional Designers, University of Newcastle

  • Job ID: 3699 & 3700
  • Salary: from $94,839 pa (plus 17% super)
  • Employment Type: Full-time and fixed term for 3 years
  • Location: Newcastle Callaghan Campus

About the Roles

A minimum of four Senior Instructional Designers are required to work in collaboration with academic staff and a team of blended and online learning professionals to incorporate innovative practices, learning pedagogies, and engagement techniques in the development of new courses and the re-invigoration of existing courses. This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in the transformation of learning and teaching at the University of Newcastle and our major Education Redesign. The Roles being offered are:

  • 2 x Senior Instructional Designers – Blended and Online Design (Centre for Teaching and Learning) – Job Ref# 3699
  • 2 x Senior Instructional Designers – Online Initiatives (Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic) – Job Ref# 3700

Skills and Experience

To be successful in these positions you will have:

  • Postgraduate qualifications or progress towards postgraduate qualifications and extensive relevant experience; or extensive experience and management expertise; or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training.
  • Demonstrated experience in the academic application of media technologies, including but not limited to one or more of the following areas:
    – Web and mobile application development,
    – Web and interactive media design and programming,
    – 3D animation and game design,
    – real-time and/or recorded video and audio production,
    – classroom presentation technology and control systems.
  • Understanding of the principles and practice of effective teaching and learning in tertiary education, including current pedagogies for blended and fully online delivery.
  • Demonstrated experience in designing for online and blended modes of delivery.
  • Experience with Blackboard Learn 9.1 and Panopto, and/or similar systems.
  • High level communication, digital media literacy and organisational skills.
  • A partnership focus, with skills in identifying and analysing educator needs.
  • Knowledge and understanding of Equity and Diversity issues for staff and students in higher education.

How to Apply

A full copy of the position description and online application is available via UON Jobs Vacancies. The closing date for applications is Sunday 2 September 2018.

Institutional Members