Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education

ASCILITE NEWS

🎲 Five weeks to go – welcome to BrisVegas! 🎲

Somehow, we are now just five weeks out from our major event, ASCILITE 2026.

And that means it’s time to reveal this year’s Gala Dinner theme: BRISVEGAS!

We’re bringing a little Vegas glitz and glamour to Brisbane for our Tuesday night Gala Dinner and Awards, so start thinking about your BrisVegas-inspired outfit. Think sparkle, sequins, showtime, Elvis, casino chic, or simply something that makes you feel ready for a fabulous night out.

If “BrisVegas” is new to you, it’s Brisbane’s long-standing, slightly tongue-in-cheek nickname, playing on the bright lights and glamour of Las Vegas. You can read a little about the story behind the name in this ABC explainer on BrisVegas.

More Gala Dinner details will be coming soon – but for now, get those costumes ready!

We need more Conference Buddies!

We have been delighted (and slightly overwhelmed) by the number of newcomers joining us this year. Around 130 delegates have identified themselves as first-timers, compared with around 60 in previous years.

That is wonderful news for our community, but it also means we really need some more experienced ASCILITE conference-goers to put their hands up to be Conference Buddies.

Being a buddy is simply about providing a friendly connection for someone attending for the first time – saying hello, helping them find their feet and making it a little easier to become part of the ASCILITE community.

If you can help, please email conference@ascilite.org with the subject line Conference Buddy Volunteer. We would love to hear from you.

Volunteer as a Conference Session Chair

We are now seeking volunteers to chair sessions at the conference.

Chairing a session is a great way to support presenters, help sessions run smoothly, and contribute to the conference experience. Session chairs will introduce speakers, keep an eye on timing, and facilitate questions where applicable.

If you are interested, please complete the Expression of Interest form to indicate your availability to chair. We will use this information when allocating session chair roles across the program.

We appreciate your support and look forward to hearing from you.

Registered but not yet paid?

With the conference fast approaching, we are now finalising delegate numbers and arrangements with the venue.

We currently have around 80 registrations with payment still outstanding. If this includes you, please arrange payment of your invoice as soon as possible so that we can confirm your registration.

We will also need to close the “Invoice Me” registration option two weeks before the conference to allow sufficient time for invoices to be processed and payments received. After this date, registrations will still be possible, but payment will need to be made at the time of registration.

Final call: Art.Intelligence

This is your final call to express your interest in Art.Intelligence, our collaborative creative project exploring the conference theme through human and AI-enabled creativity.
Interested? Find out more and register your interest on the Art.Intelligence page.

Sponsor spotlight

A big thank you to three more of our Bronze Sponsors, whose support helps make ASCILITE 2026 possible.

FeedbackFruits supports educators to design engaging learning experiences incorporating collaboration, assessment and feedback, with tools designed specifically for contemporary higher education.

Pathify provides a Campus Experience Platform that brings together institutional systems, information and services to create a more connected and personalised digital experience for students and university communities.

Inspera provides digital assessment solutions supporting the assessment lifecycle, from authoring and delivery through to grading and feedback across a range of assessment contexts.
Thank you to FeedbackFruits, Pathify and Inspera for supporting the ASCILITE 2026 Conference – we look forward to welcoming you to Brisbane!

Executive Committee News

The ASCILITE 2026 election cycle, for a treasurer and four committee members, closed last week.

We warmly welcome new members Simone Poulsen (Griffith) and Leanne Ngo (La Trobe) to the ASCILITE executive committee for a two-year term. They formally join the executive on 29 November. We look forward to advancing our portfolios and engaging our community together.

We welcome back re-elected committee members Lisa Bugden, Karine Cosgrove, and Vickel Narayan.

Longstanding executive member Sandy Barker (Adelaide) will continue as a co-opted member.

Please join us in thanking outgoing committee member Pennie White (Deakin) and wishing her a warm farewell.

Thank you to all members who voted.

TELedvisor October webinar: Developing AI Capabilities for Teaching, Learning, and Educational Practice

Date: Thursday 29 October 2026
Time: from 9:00am AWST | 11:00am AEST | 12:00pm  AEDT | 2:00pm  NZDT

How can educators build the critical perspectives and AI capabilities needed to support students effectively, and navigate rapidly changing educational landscapes?

This webinar brings together colleagues from the University of Wollongong, the University of Auckland, and Queensland University of Technology to share insights and practical approaches to developing critical AI literacy and capability in higher education. Through examples from applied research initiatives, educator professional learning, and learning design practice, presenters will explore how educators can develop the knowledge, skills, and critical perspectives needed to use AI thoughtfully, ethically, and effectively.

Presentation 1 – Clare Roden (University of Wollongong)
Building AI Literacy and Educator Capabilities

Drawing on her experiences of navigating AI in higher education, Clare will explore the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI into teaching practice. She will share insights into supporting educator capability development while preparing students to become critical, ethical, and AI-capable future professionals.

Presentation 2 – Ashwini Datt, Marion Blumenstein and Bettina Schwenger (University of Auckland)
A Networked Approach to Higher Educator Capability Development in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

As AI reshapes educational practice, educators require adaptive capabilities to support learners preparing for lifelong learning and future careers. This presentation shares emerging findings on educator capability development and showcases a collaborative, networked initiative designed to build AI capability and critical digital literacy across educational contexts.

Presentation 3 – Andrew Kemp and Roger Cook (Queensland University of Technology)
AI Capabilities for Learning Designers: From a Framework to Practice

Andrew and Roger will connect the themes from the previous presentations to the practical realities of learning design. After an interactive Padlet activity, they will present AI capabilities aligned with the Jisc framework and invite participants to consider how these capabilities can be applied in their own professional practice.

Register here

ASCILITELive! October Webinar: AI Productivity Hacks in Higher Education

Date: Tuesday 27 October
Time: from 10:00am AWST | 12:00pm AEST | 1:00pm AEDT | 3:00pm NZDT

In this webinar, presenters (Antony Tibbs (UWA), Paul Oliveri (CQU) and Greg Walsh (CQU)) will demonstrate real-world uses of AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude.

Topics will include effective AI-powered search strategies, choosing the right tool for different tasks, creating case studies and assessment rubrics, and comparing the outputs generated by different AI platforms. Through demonstrations and discussion, attendees will gain practical tips, prompts and workflows that can be applied immediately in their own roles.

Whether you’re just getting started with AI or looking to expand your toolkit, you’ll leave with actionable ideas to enhance productivity and support your work.

Registration link here
Webinar link here

 

BE-SIG: Call for Steering Committee Members

The ASCILITE Business Education (BE) SIG is seeking passionate members to join its next steering committee and help shape technology-enhanced business education across Australasia and beyond. Steering committee members will collaborate on webinars, conference sessions, scholarship, member engagement and open knowledge sharing, allocating responsibilities according to their expertise and priorities.

We welcome educators, professional staff and researchers. Early-career colleagues and those working on AI, assessment innovation and the research-practice nexus are especially encouraged to nominate.
The role offers opportunities to:

  • expand your professional networks across institutions and countries
  • build leadership and project management skills
  • raise your profile and contribute to sector-wide impact

To nominate or ask questions, please contact at Audrea Warner.

Include the strengths you would bring and the priorities you hope to pursue.

Nominations close Friday 13 November.

ASCILITELive! 16 October Webinar Recording: From Slides to Standout: Delivering Engaging Presentations That Connect

In this webinar, Associate Professor Amanda White shares practical strategies for becoming a more engaging and confident presenter. Drawing on her extensive experience delivering keynotes and presentations, Amanda explains how to connect with an audience, present with impact, and sustain participant engagement from start to finish. The recording offers practical tips for anyone presenting at a conference, facilitating a workshop, or leading a meeting.

Watch the recording here.

Transforming Assessment SIG : Australasian Symposium on Assessment Literacies in the age of Gen AI: Navigating a Wicked Problem.

Date: 11 November
Time: 9:30am – 1:00pm AWST | 11:30am – 3:00pm AEST | 12:30pm – 4pm AEDT | 2:30pm – 6:00pm NZDT

Jointly run with the HERDSA Quality Assessment SIG, this half day online event will explore assessment literacies in light of the wicked problem space of assessment in the age of Gen AI.

Featuring a keynote by A/Prof Thomas Corbin (Deakin University) and plenary by Prof Simon Sneddon (University of Northampton) along with the speakers on related topics.

For full program details, local time zone conversion and free registration on the TA website.

Mathew Hillier
TA-SIG lead

Institutional Members