TELedvisors webinar Mar 26 2026 Third Space identity: Learning Designers and beyond

The ASCILITE TELedvisors Network SIG roars into our tenth year of webinars with an exploration of who we all are as third space practitioners in tertiary learning and teaching. The liminal nature of third space roles in tertiary education means that while we often have a big picture understanding of what is needed to facilitate better learning and teaching, our roles often poorly understood and our place in institutions is uncertain. Two TELedvisors Network members have undertaken research intended to offer some clarity.

Ingrid D’Souza – Who am I? Who are we?

As an Educational Designer for over eighteen years, Dr Ingrid D’Souza has extensive experience in the higher education context. Her phenomenological study “Who am I? Who are we?” explored the evolving professional identity of Educational Designers (EDs) in Victorian Universities. With a focus on the daily practices, her study analysed and interpreted the reflective stories of ten EDs, as well as her own journey. Given the under-representation of EDs in Australian literature at the time, this emic research provides a voice, empowerment, recognition and visibility for this professional group. 

Colin Simpson – Clarifying third space roles for more effective collaboration

Colin has worked across a range of third space roles in tertiary education since the early 2000s. In his PhD research at the University of Sydney (completed in 2025), he explored and compared the nature of these roles, their contributions to learning and teaching and the factors which shape their efficacy. He proposes a new model for defining and differentiating these roles to provide clarity and credibility to the people who occupy them.