Thursday 21 November 2013

Webinar: Understanding good practice – key lessons from the ALTC / OLT Good Practice Reports



On the 10th of December 2013 at 12:00pm AEDT, NATA will launch the Good Practice Report eResources developed as part of its strategy to promote the ALTC / OLT Good Practice Reports. The one hour webinar to be hosted by Netspot aims to raise awareness of the Good Practice Reports (GPRs) and how they potentially offer value to the Australasian tertiary education sector. Moreover, the Launch will provide the occasion for the first presentation of several of the GPR eResources developed by the NATA in collaboration with the report authors.

By adopting the form of voice over slides, these eResources aim to convey key material in a more concise and engaging way than the traditional report format. Thus, in adopting this design it is hoped that some of the normal barriers to educators engaging with these reports may be removed or at least reduced.



The process of collaboration with report authors was considered critical in maintaining a strong authorly voice and ensuring that the key messages were captured and communicated. In maintaining this connection with the authors throughout this process, select authors involved in the development of two of the eResources will speak during the launch, expanding the discussion beyond the material covered in the eResource to look at the context, value of their report and work to the sector and how both the report and the eResource may best be used to improve practice.
What: NATA GPR Webinar titled “Understanding good practice – key lessons from the ALTC / OLT Good Practice Reports”
Where: Webinar (online) Link to be sent to registered participants
When: 10th December 2013, 12:00pm AEDT, 11:30am ACDT, 11:00am AEST, 9:00am AWST, 2:00pm NZDT
Key Speakers: Professor Mike Keppell & Professor Janice Orrell

Register your attendance today
To Register: Please send an email to Natasha Hard (Natasha.Hard@usq.edu.au) with the subject ‘NATA GPR Webinar’.
Links to the completed eResources will be placed on the NATA blog following the Webinar Launch. For more information about the Launch and NATA’s role in disseminating the ALTC / OLT Good Practice Reports, please visit the NATA Blog: http://nataonthenet.blogspot.mx/p/altc-good-practice-reports.html
The completed Good Practice Reports can be accessed on the OLT webpage: http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-library/good-practice-reports


Natasha Louise Hard
Project Manager & Research Assistant
Australian Digital Futures Institute - ADFI | University of Southern Queensland
Toowoomba | Queensland | 4350 | Australia
Ph: +61 2 8006 6928 | Skype: natasha.hard | Webpage: www.nataonthenet.blogspot.com.au

Tuesday 19 November 2013

NATA Update November 2013!

NATA Event and Network Sustainability

NATA continues to progress along with discussions turning towards the future and sustainability of the network into the new year. The NATA Event held on the 5th and 6th of November furthered this discussion with progress made around possible models, foci and value propositions a continuing NATA could offer key stakeholders.

For example, the benefits or value for network leaders in a continuing NATA included:


  • Possibilities to learn about good practices from others
  • Opportunities to discuss challenges
  • Resource sharing and mutual support
  • Mentorship for  new leaders

Whilst the potential benefits to partner associations listed included:
  • Having a stronger voice and greater influence
  • Help to avoid potential risks (financial, liability etc.)
  • Learning about executive functioning and leadership
  • Benchmarking between organisations
  • Coordination and collaboration regarding event scheduling and possible sharing of presenters etc.
NATA Value Proposition (initial draft ideas)

Presentations 

ascilite 2013
The NATA symposium for ascilite titled "Understanding network leadership in Australasian Tertiary Associations: communication a key element of success" has been scheduled for December 4, 11:45 - 12:25pm (W4.6) and will be presented by Mike Keppell, Gordon Suddaby, Helen Carter and Caroline Steel. The ascilite conference, 'electric dreams' will be held between the 1-4 of December 2013 at Macquarie University, Sydney. Click here to view the complete program.

Lilly Conference 2014
The presentation submitted to the Lilly Conference in February 2014 titled "Sharing learning and teaching experiences: An Australian perspective on evidence-based practice" was also recently accepted.

Other OLT supported Networks (National, Discipline, Promoting Excellence)

On Wednesday the 20th of November, the SANTPEN, ACEN SA?NT and HERDSA SA will host 'Network your Networks: working together to maximise knowledge and opportunities in teaching and learning'. a collaborative, full day event to be held at Flinders University. Focused on advancing the teaching and learning agenda through collaboration across institutions, disciplines and networks, a range of guest speakers will present on the day. To register and for more information click here - please note that if you are unable to attend in-person, the opening panel and keynote sessions will be streamed live.

GPR eResources

Work has once again focused on the organisation of a launch for the Good Practice Report eResources which are being developed. The tentative date for the launch is December 10 at 12pm AEDT with Netspot hosting a 1 hour webinar for the occasion. Final details are being confirmed with an official announcement due early next week so watch this space. The webinar will showcase several of the completed eResources as well as provide a forum for the authors to provide greater context and highlight the key value of their work.

Research

12 principles for good practice in network leadership were presented at the NATA Event earlier this month which were informed by the NATA research. For example:

Principle #1
Network leaders need  to have strong personal networks to help inform / contextualise network practices and assist network dissemination.

NATA Partner Projects

The partner projects were presented at the NATA Event and drew considerable interest from all involved. All are underway however, are at different levels of completion. The Partner Project page here on the NATA blog has been updated and now provides greater detail of all the 5 projects.

Upcoming Key Dates:

  • 20 November 2013 'Network your Networks: working together to maximise knowledge and opportunities in teaching and learning'.
  • 4 December 2013 - NATA Symposium at ascilite

Wednesday 13 November 2013

The NATA Event Update - Session 1: NATA activities and achievements

The NATA Event was held on Wednesday the 6th of November at the University of Queensland. The Event invited interested parties to come along, learn a bit more about NATA and contribute to discussions about sectoral issues and the future direction of the NATA. There was approximately 30 face-to-face attendees from a range of NATA stakeholder groups including ACODE, ascilite, CADAD, HERDSA, ODLAA, AARNet, Netspot and the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). Session 1 began with a recount of the development and journey of the NATA before highlighting some of the key activities it is undertaking. These different activities are touched upon below.

1. Firstly, the NATA's work in disseminating the OLT/ALTC Good Practice Reports (GPR) was discussed. The process of collaborating with the report authors to develop the eResorces which aim to encapsulate the essence of the GPRs in a shorter and more engaging video format was highlighted in particular. These eResources are to be launched in December and will be made available here on the NATA blog.

The full collection of ALTC/OLT Good Practice Reports can be found here on the OLT website.


2. The NATA research into Network Leadership was also profiled with the 12 Principles for good practice in Network Leadership showcased for the first time.


3. It was also the first time many people were able to witness the full scope of the NATA Partner Projects. Representatives from each of the 5 relevant partner associations provided a short presentation on their project which highlighted the intended value for the NATA and NATA partners. A selection of slides can be found below, however, more details about each of the projects can be found here on the NATA blog.


Presented by Ric Canale (ACODE) "Engaging Network Members: A NATA case study of a Contemporary Tertiary Sector Issue".

Presented by Liz Greener (ascilite) "Guide to support and advance network engagement for members of professional associations and networks in the digital age".

Presented by Trish McCluskey and Kylie Readman (CADAD) "Social media as a communication enhancement strategy".

Presented by Shelda Debowski (HERDSA) "Leading Academic Networks".

Presented by Som Naidu (ODLAA) "Ubiquity online".

This one hour session was streamed live online so that those unable to attend in-person could still be engaged with the event. The recording of the session is now available to view online at the following link: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/4931571/events/2522241

More details about the other sessions of the event as well as event outcomes will be published on the NATA blog in the coming days. If you have any specific questions please be in touch (nataonthenet@gmail.com).


Friday 1 November 2013

Watch the NATA Event online!

If you are a member of ACODE, asciltie, CADAD, HERDSA or ODLAA and want to understand how the NATA relates to your association and you as an individual, we invite you to join the Event Online from 11:00am AEST on Wednesday the 6th of November!

Please email me Natasha.Hard@usq.edu.au to register your interest and receive details about joining. More information about the Event can be found here.