TELedvisor Webinar: Enhancing digital equity – a shift in learning and teaching perspectives

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The learning and teaching team at Edith Cowan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has partnered with postgraduate students to enhance their success. Together they have implemented various initiatives within the postgraduate curriculum, including online and multimodal learning activities, resources, and programs. These efforts were driven by anecdotal evidence suggesting that some students in this diverse cohort lacked essential digital literacy skills and this was impacting their progress. The shift to online learning during the pandemic further accentuated the issue, especially for postgraduate students returning to study after a break and from equity groups. Hence, the team’s objective was to support students to self-evaluate and enhance their academic and digital literacies via online platforms and through fostering constructive peer-to-peer and student-staff relationships. The team created a self-assessment tool for students to gain a clear understanding of their academic and digital literacy expectations and assess their current levels. This tool also provided valuable data for staff to understand students’ preparedness for their postgraduate studies. The team will share the initial findings of their research project, exploring strategies to empower staff and promote a sense of agency that can improve learning opportunities for all students. They will also discuss scalable approaches to ensure that staff are prepared to teach and support students effectively.

ECU is Western Australia’s (WA) youngest university and for the past 15-years, ECU has been rated 5-stars for ‘teaching quality’ by graduates in the annual Good Universities Guide (2008–2022), which fall amongst the top 20% of results in the country. ECU has around 31,000 students and offers 189 courses across 23 fields of study to cater for one of the most multicultural student populations in Australia, typically welcoming around 7,000 international students from more than 100 countries.

Dr Justine Maldon is a Senior Learning Adviser at the Centre for Learning and Teaching (ECU) and was a lecturer, discipline coordinator and equity pathways coordinator prior to this role. She is passionate about teaching excellence and learner engagement and success in higher education. She has expertise in developing interactive and student-centred courses and is the recipient of a Vice Chancellor’s Award for Initiatives that Enhance Student Learning. Justine holds a PhD in English, Communication and Cultural Studies from the University of Western Australia.

Michelle Pedlow, SFHEA, is a Senior Learning Designer in the Centre for Learning and Teaching at ECU and has over 12 years’ experience in the field of curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment. Michelle provides leadership and expertise in curriculum enhancement and quality improvement to impact the student experience and has worked with several teams on school and institution wide curriculum development projects. Emerging trends in education, particularly technology-enhanced learning, are central to her role.

Daniel Gilogley is ECU’s Senior Learning Environments Advisor and Lead of ECU’s eLearning Assist Team. Daniel’s unique background with over 12 years’ experience in both the university and corporate sector allows him to provide innovations, advice and support to ECU for the university’s complex and evolving use of learning technologies.