ASCILITE NEWS
What some of our keynotes are looking forward to about ASCILITE 2018 (25 – 28 November)
In the lead up to ASCILITE 2018, we asked our keynotes to share what they are looking forward to about the conference.
“The major theme of this year’s conference, ‘educating without borders’, feels particularly timely and a counterweight to the obsession with walls (particularly in the US), borders, and questions of who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ afflicting our political discourse around the globe.
At Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), now the largest single institution in the United States, with 135,000 learners, we are obsessed with how we can reach more students, particularly those left out. To that end, we are educating homeless youth in Los Angeles county, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and have launched the world’s most ambitious program to educate refugees. We do this work with humility and knowing we need great partners on the ground. Part of the appeal of the conference is the opportunity to be with great partners, to forge new relationships, and to learn from others.
We are also eager to share our work. I’ll focus on our use of competency-based programs to serve highly marginalized populations, share what we have learned, and how we are thinking about the future.”
– Dr Paul Le Blanc, President Southern New Hampshire University, USA.
“I’m excited about participating in three days of educational technology research and innovation at ASCILITE 2018, and looking forward to sharing my thoughts about how we re-shape our educational practices in a digital world..”
– Assoc. Prof. Margaret Bearman, CRADLE, Deakin University, Australia.
Have you completed the ASCILITE Member Survey?
If you haven’t already done so, please complete the 2018 ASCILITE Member Survey. We really do need your feedback and there are only a few days remaining to provide it.
The survey can take as little as 10 minutes of your time to complete.*
Members who complete the survey are eligible to win one of 10 x $50 gift vouchers.
You can complete the survey here: 2018 Member Survey.
We greatly value your feedback and contribution to the future of ASCILITE as the data collected is used to help plan ASCILITE’s future.
In 2015 this feedback and the suggestions made by members was critical in helping to shape the future. For example,
- Conference registration fees steady since 2015.
- No member fee increases since 2014 – despite significant increases in operating costs.
- New member services 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.
Please complete the survey now. You’ll be done in no time!
The survey link will remain open until 12 October 2018 (extended from 28 Sept).
*The survey will take a bit longer than 10 minutes if you add the optional comments – which we hope you will do.
2018 ASCILITE Award Nominations – Extended Closing Date
The closing date for ASCILITE award nominations has been extended to 12 October 2018. ASCILITE members are invited to apply or nominate for any of five ASCILITE awards based on the criteria set-out for each award on the ASCILITE website. The five awards are:
- Life Member Award
- Innovation Award
- Emerging Scholar Award (new)
- Community Fellow Award (new)
- Student Bursaries
Life Member Award
An ASCILITE Life Member Award is a prestigious award that recognises the significant service and/or sustained contribution of a 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. Life members do not pay membership fees.
Innovation 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.
Emerging Scholar Award
Nominations for the ASCILITE Emerging Scholar Award uses the following criteria to guide the assessment of this award:
- Nominee has made a noteworthy contribution in the exemplary use of technologies for learning and teaching in tertiary education in one of the categories referred to in the award criteria document; and/or
- Nominee has made a noteworthy contribution to exemplary research into technologies for learning and teaching in tertiary education in one of the referred to in the award criteria document; and
- Through their contributions, the nominee has promoted the strategic vision, mission and goals of ASCILITE.
Community Fellow Award
The ASCILITE Community Fellow Award aims to recognise the outstanding contributions of individual ASCILITE members in the exemplary building of connections in the wider community and into the ASCILITE community. The nature of these contributions should cover one or more of the following categories:
- Works within the community to develop professional leadership in the development, application or implementation of exemplary technology-related projects for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
- Encourages and supports the exemplary use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education within the community.
- Encourages innovations in practice in the exemplary use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education.
- Participates and initiates discussion in the use of technologies for teaching and learning in tertiary education in the wider community.
Student Bursaries
Up to three Student Bursaries in the amount of $1,000 each are available to full-time PhD/EdD or equivalent students. Winners receive a $1,000 bursary to attend the ASCILITE conference and a one year student membership in ASCILITE along with the remaining funds to be put towards accommodation or travel assistance to attend the ASCILITE conference. Winners are included in the ASCILITE conference awards ceremony and their submissions are displayed on the ASCILITE website.
Further Information
For further information on each award, refer to the specific award criteria and nomination form on the ASCILITE website
The application closing date for awards has now been extended from 8 October 2018 to 12 October 2018.
Call for workshop presentation submissions: Integrating learning analytics and learning design
Submissions are now invited for the workshop “Integrating learning analytics and learning design” hosted by the ASCILITE Learning Analytics Special Interest Group as part of the annual ASCILITE conference in Geelong.
When interpreting the outputs of the analysis of data about students’ activities in learning environments it is important to make reference to how such learning activities and environments have been designed. Learning design provides a descriptive framework for educators to make visible this complex process, thus providing them with the opportunity to scrutinise and refine future design. Integrating learning analytics with design provides a structure for understanding the data as situated in the design. Despite the potential theoretical and practical benefits of this integration, the reality of doing so is fraught with challenges.
This half-day workshop will explore a range of issues in relation to the link between the fields of learning analytics and learning design. We invite presenters who are currently working on projects that integrate these two areas to submit an extended abstract (max. 1 page) for a brief (10 min) presentation discussing your experience. These contributions need not be accounts of mature or ‘successful’ implementations. Rather we are interested in gleaning insight into what institutions are seeking to achieve when aligning learning design and learning analytics. In particular we’d like presenters to consider:
- How you conceptualise design in your context
- The theoretical framings of your approach
- Institutional/contextual drivers for your project
- What elements of learning design are interesting to you in your project
- What lessons have been learnt (so far)
Submissions are due on 26 October 2018 and should be sent to la-sig@ascilite.org. If you have any further questions about this call for presentation submissions, please email the LA – SIG facilitators at the same email address.
Many thanks!
Hazel, Linda, Sakinah and Cass
Learning Analytics SIG Facilitators
New TELall Blog: Exams as we know them are out-dated but what should be their replacement?
Some argue that we should do away with examinations as a means to assessing student capability. This argument has some merit. When was the last time you faced a page of multiple choice questions as your job for the day or had to present complex information in the form of a long hand written response whilst locked in a room separated from the outside world? Read more >>
Reminder: Call for Nominations to the Executive Committee
Current ASCILITE financial members are invited to stand for election to the ASCILITE Executive Committee. ASCILITE members who value the services and professional community engagement offered through our not-for-profit Society, and who believe they have the time, commitment and dedication to work in a voluntary capacity to contribute toward a variety of ASCILITE activities, are invited to nominate for election to the Executive Committee.
Full details on the role of Executive Committee members, the election schedule and how to nominate are available on the ASCILITE website here. The Call for Nominations closes 10 October 2018.
Digital Equity SIG News
Please feel free to join our vibrant community! Our next SIG meeting will be held on Tuesday 9 October at 11.00am AEST via Zoom.at https://monash.zoom.us/j/367722887. Please feel welcome to join us.
You will also find us at ASCILITE 2018 where we have a number of planned activities, including a celebration around the theme of “access” in line with World access to higher education day.
For further SIG details, email Julie Willems.
Open Education SIG News
Everyone is welcome to attend the two remaining online meetings of our open education community SIG on 8 November from 2pm to 3pm (AEST) and 6 December from 2pm to 3pm (AEST). The link for all meetings is https://usq.zoom.us/j/9842006166. Please join us.
OTHER NEWS
Call for Demo Proposals: VR/AR for Learning Showcase
Special Track on XR & Immersive Environments @ IEEE TALE 2018, Wollongong, NSW Australia, 4–7 December 2018
Proposals are being solicited for project demos to be presented as part of a VR/AR for Learning Showcase that will take place at IEEE TALE 2018 in Wollongong, Australia, in conjunction with the Special Track on XR and Immersive Learning Environments, which you will find here.
TALE is the IEEE Education Society’s flagship Asia-Pacific conference, catering to researchers and practitioners with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education as well as those interested in the innovative use of digital technologies for learning, teaching and assessment in any discipline. The target audience of the conference is diverse and includes those working in the higher education, vocational education and training (VET), K-12, corporate, government, and healthcare sectors.
The XR and Immersive Learning Environments Special Track at TALE 2018 is being organised in cooperation with the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) which you will find here.
The VR/AR for Learning Showcase will take place on either 5 or 6 December 2018. A station will be allocated to each project for the duration of the Showcase, and conference attendees will be encouraged to visit the stations to view/experience the projects. Showcase presenters must register for and attend the conference, and must be prepared to bring along to the conference venue their own hardware and any other equipment that is required for their demo. They will be responsible for setting up and tearing down their stations, and are expected not only to be present at their stations to run their demos and interact with visitors during the Showcase, but also to participate in other presentations/sessions that are part of the Special Track.
Proposals may be submitted at https://goo.gl/forms/UPoS5DMPlSgTciZU2 any time before 22 October 2018. Notification of acceptance or otherwise will be on or before 29 October 2018.
Submissions Welcome to ODLAA “Open Thinking” Conference 2019
We are pleased to announce the next ODLAA Conference on the theme of ‘Open Thinking’ to be held 3 – 5 February 2019 in Brisbane Australia.
Put the date in your diary now and start planning your paper. Submissions of abstracts are due by the end of September and accepted authors will have the opportunity to submit full papers for consideration for publication in a special edition of Distance Education, vol. 1, 2020.
Visit the website at ODLAA Conference 2019 for further information.
Job Vacancy: Senior Learning Designer, University of Melbourne
Job no: 0044732
Work type: Fixed Term
Location: Parkville
Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education (MSPACE)
Faculty of Business and Economics
Salary: $99,199 – $107,370 p.a. plus 17% superannuation
The Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education (MSPACE), a specialised team developing wholly-online graduate level courses at the University of Melbourne, is seeking an ambitious and talented Senior Learning Designer.
This role will focus on leading the design, development and adoption of innovative solutions for the University’s new suite of online graduate courses, using a range of contemporary technologies in online learning environments. You will use sound instructional principles and methodologies oriented to best practice learning and teaching pedagogies, and will be guided by the University’s Digital Learning Strategy.
Reporting to the Learning Design Manager, you will have an understanding of pedagogy and experience in the application of this knowledge to eLearning resources.
The closing date for applications s 16 October 2018.
For a Position Description and Selection Criteria, please download 0044732.pdf and for information to assist you with compiling short statements to answer the selection criteria, please go to https://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/selection-criteria.<
Reminder: e-Exam Symposium: Saturday 24 Nov 2018, Melbourne
Meet and discuss e-Exams and network with colleagues from across Australasia at the full day e-Exam Symposium (Monash University Caulfield campus) to examine research findings across a range of e-Exams issues including a case for authentic e-exams, the pedagogy of authentic e-exams, student’s perspectives and experiences of doing e-exams, policy and equity dimensions, the logistics and the technology of enabling authentic e-exams.
Prof Geoff Crisp (PVC Education, UNSW) will chair the proceedings. Geoff is well known for his work on authentic e-assessment in higher education.
We have secured two international guest keynote speakers:
- Head of e-Learning Service at Alpen-Adria University, Klagenfurt, Austria, a university with 40% uptake of e-exams.
- Senior specialist in e-exams at the national Matriculation Examinations Board of Finland speaking about the roll out of their national e-exams project.
There is a small at-cost registration of AUD $195 for the symposium.
