NEW! The NATA Update!

News

The NATA team  has decided to publish a 6 weekly update here on the NATA blog which outlines the key developments of the project in the 6 weeks previous. This is aimed at better informing the public and more specifically, members of partner associations about the activities of NATA. Links to the regular blog posts will be shared with partner associations who will be encouraged to share with their membership.

The update will follow a consistent format and report progress against the project's main activities (listed below). If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, Natasha Hard, the NATA project manager, at natasha.hard@usq.edu.au 

You can also follow NATA on Twitter at @NATAonthenet

Key Achievement:

The Deed of Novation, the document which formalises the transfer of project Host Institution from Charles Sturt University (CSU) to the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) has finally been signed off by all parties, signalling the completion of the transfer process. A lot of people have been involved in this protracted process, however, I would like to send out a big thanks specifically to Liz Neary at USQ and Maree Potter at CSU for all their help in making this happen.

Good Practice Report eResources

Working with Jason Myatt at USQ and Stephen Parker and Trevor Gale at Deakin, we have now developed the first draft ALTC/OLT Good Practice Report on Student engagement. These eResources provide a snapshot of the Good Practice Report developed and aim to present the information in an engaging manner with a focus on the author's own voice. We are also in consultation with other authors to develop similar resources for as may of the Good Practice Reports as possible (All Good Practice Reports can be accessed here on the OLT website). The next eResource to be developed with be the one on Technology-enhanced learning and teaching authored by Mike Keppell, Gordon Suddaby and myself.

Research

The NATA is conducting a small-scale research project looking at network leadership in established Australasian Tertiary Associations. The data is being collected via interviews with network leaders and focus groups with association executives. Almost all the data has been now collected and preliminary analysis is underway. The research i exploring three questions:

1. What network leadership strategies support good practice in leading networks to foster engagement of members in established Australasian Tertiary Education Associations?
2.  What communication strategies, technologies, and approaches support good practice to foster engagement of members in established Australasian Tertiary Eduction Associations?
3. What common ground exists between organisations that could provide a basis for collaboration into the future?

NATA Partner Projects

As part of the NATA project activities, NATA is providing small-scale grants to member associations to pursue a project which is aligned both with their institutional or association objectives and the key objectives of NATA.

So far we have approved three partner projects which are all in very early stages of development. AARNet's project is being led by James Sankar and has morphed over time into a series of provocative blog posts which will build on a document developed collaboratively by NATA members in response to the Coalition's Online Higher Education Working Group's Terms of Reference.

ACODE has finalised the details of their project titled 'Engaging Network Members: A NATA case study of a Contemporary Tertiary Sector Issue'. More information about this project can be found here. 

ascilite has also finalised their project proposal for their project, a 'Guide to support and advance network engagement for members of professional associations and networks in the digital age'. This project aims to develop  Guide that promotes best practice in the engagement of members of professional associations and networks. The Guide will outline design principles and engagement strategies for the use of web based resources (including social media)to support and advance community engagement in professional associations and networks.

NATA Project Event

The NATA project will host a project event on Wednesday the 6th of November, 2013 in Brisbane to showcase the achievements of the network as well as foster discussions about sustainability and the future of the network.

Upcoming Key Dates:

• 3 July, 2013, 4pm (WG609) Gordon Suddaby will be presenting 'Network Of Australasian Tertiary Associations: A Space For Discussion, Collaboration And Advocacy In Tertiary Education', at HERDSA on behalf of the NATA team and we welcome people to come along.
• 9 July, 2013, Next NATA Partner Meeting
• 1 October, 2013, Progress Report due to OLT

Engaging Network Members: A NATA case study of a Contemporary Tertiary Sector issue.

New ACODE Project to Study Multiple Dimensions of Partner Engagement

NATA has commissioned a project to document an effective and efficient approach to engaging members involved in the investigation and scoping of a contemporary tertiary sector concern, and to establish a mechanism to publish the results, for example in similar fashion to the "7 Things you should know about …" series, from the Educause Learning Initiative[1]. The project is titled "Engaging Network Members: A NATA case study of a Contemporary Tertiary Sector issue", and will be led by ACODE members: Ric Canale (La Trobe University), Alan Arnold (University of Canberra) and David Green (Flinders University). A project review panel will comprise of James Sankar  (AARNet), Philip Uys (ASCILITE, Charles Sturt University) and Susan Stoney (CADAD, Edith Cowan University).

ACODE often identifies issues of sector-wide importance and collectively suggests approaches to solutions to contemporary issues on an ad hoc basis. There is clearly a need for this to be done more efficiently, taking advantage of its membership and member networks to document current challenges and provide timely informative briefs on sector-wide concerns. It was recently identified by ACODE that there is a need to investigate and scope a sector-wide approach to media management because of the growing use of digital video in Teaching and Learning, and for other purposes, within our institutions. 

This partner project will use Media Management as a case study for how to go about the process of engaging member institutions and network member associations to address a contemporary issue and subsequently develop a guide to the adopted process. Using this issue, the project will draw out the key elements for engaging network members, the factors required to jointly investigate an issue and finally for collectively writing a briefing document on an issue of current concern in a timely fashion.

Post by Ric Canale, ACODE Treasurer (Executive Member) and Associate Director CTLC, La Trobe University


[1] http://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/7-things-you-should-know-about/7-things-you-should-know-about-learning-technology-topics

 

ascilite Live! Webinar "Digital Resilience in Higher Education" Presented by Professor Martin Weller

Date & Time:

11 July 2013 at 5pm AEST. For additional time zones, visit the date/time website.

Abstract:

Higher education institutions face a number of opportunities and challenges as the result of the digital revolution. The institutions perform a number of scholarship functions which can be affected by new technologies, and the desire is to retain these functions where appropriate, whilst the form they take may change. Much of the reaction to technological change comes from those with a vested interest in either wholesale change or maintaining the status quo. Taking the resilience metaphor from ecology, this webinar will propose a framework for analysing an institution’s ability to adapt to digital challenges.

This framework is examined at two institutions (the UK Open University and Canada’s Athabasca University) using two current digital challenges, namely Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Access publishing.

Presenter:

Martin Weller is Professor of Educational Technology at the UK Open University. He chaired the OU's first major elearning course in 1999 with 15,000 students, and has been Director of the VLE and SocialLearn projects. His research interests are in open education, the impact of new technologies, and digital scholarship. His recent book, The Digital Scholar, was published by Bloomsbury Academic under a Creative Commons licence. You will find Martin's blogs at edtechie.net.

Registrations:

To register for the webinar, simply email the ascilite Secretariat with "webinar registration" in the subject line followed by your full name and institution and whether or not you are a current member.

Ascilite webinars continue to be open to members and non-members so you are welcome to share the invitation with colleagues.

Once registered, you will receive an email with login details on the morning of the webinar.

ASSURING GRADUATE CAPABILITIES INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

Assessing and accrediting graduate capabilities in 21C: People, practices, places and public accountability

A six-week event in Melbourne, Australia (19 August - 27 September 2013)

• For more information on the event please visit http://boliver.ning.com/ 
• To read the ALTC Good Practice Report on Assuring Graduate Outcomes by Professor Beverley Oliver please visit the OLT website here.

Introduction:

With the establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and a strengthened Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), higher education providers are required to demonstrate that their graduates have achieved capabilities at required standards. The National Teaching Fellowship, Assuring Graduate Capabilities, explores how educators, in partnership with industry, can:

1. Create and implement degree level descriptors of standards for generic capabilities (describing, for example, how and how well successful graduates can communicate, think critically, collaborate in diverse teams)
2. Embed new ways of assessing those achievements in degree programs
3. Encourage students to create, curate and present evidence of their achievements in a range of media using 21C technologies.

Key questions explored at this Symposium include:

1. Practices: How do we assess and accredit evidence of learning, particularly in generic skills and capabilities, for graduate success? What works well now, and how can we sustain and scale up such practices? What works less well, and how can we improve through sustainable new practices?
2. Places: How might we authenticate, warrant and accredit learning evidence in the digital economy? What are the challenges emerging from the wide-scale adoption of digital technologies in higher education, and how might these be addressed? What are the opportunities emerging from the wide-scale adoption of digital technologies in higher education, and how might innovations be trialled, evaluated and implemented in sustainable ways? In the wake of such innovations, what might be the best use of time for accreditation on campus and in the workplace?
3. People: What might be the role(s) of industry (including experts, professional bodies and alumni) in such processes? What is the potential for self and peer assessment and accreditation? What are the implications and possibilities for academic roles, industry partnerships and workloads?
4. Public accountability: How might we judge, measure, record and report authenticated and accredited learning—to students, the community, and regulatory authorities—drawing on emerging technologies, adaptive environments, massive open online courses, and open educational resources?

Who will be there?

The International Symposium is an opportunity to engage with experts such as:
Professor Mantz Yorke, University of Lancashire, UK
Dr Gary Brown, Portland State University, US
Professor Joy Higgs, Charles Sturt University
Dr Helen Chen, Stanford University, US
Rob Ward, Centre for Recording Achievement, UK
Professor David Nicol, University of Strathclyde, UK
Professor David Boud, University of Technology, Sydney
Mary Catherine Lennon, Leader AHELO, Canada
And more…

Where is it?

Deakin University’s City Centre, Level 3, 550 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Australia.

Who else is invited to attend the symposium?

Colleagues from any higher education institution are warmly invited to attend any event (all attendance must be booked at Assuring Graduate Capabilities and places will be limited—booking opens 1 July).

There is no charge to attend any event.

Professor Beverley Oliver, National Teaching Fellow
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Deakin University

Final Call For Papers - SECOND Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research (ACUR)

19-20 September 2013

SECOND Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research (ACUR)

- Final Call for Papers - (Click here to view flyer)

The second Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research is to be held at Macquarie  University in Sydney on 19-20 September 2013. This two-day conference will include poster presentations and spoken papers by undergraduate students from all disciplines and from across Australasia.

We invite all Undergraduate, Matser of Research (1st year only) and Honours students who completed in 2012 to submit their work by the 1st July 2013.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND STUDENTS IN THEIR 1ST YEAR OF MASTER OF RESEARCH

First you need to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by 9 am on Monday 1st of July 2013. Abstracts will be peer reviewed and the conference committee will decide the format of your presentation (a poster or a paper) depending on the quality of your abstract. You will be informed of the committee’s decision  by the end of July 2013. You may be asked to submit a revised abstract.

COMPLETED HONOURS 2012 STUDENTS: - Submit a full paper

If you completed your Honours degree in 2012, you must submit a full paper by 9 am on Monday 1st of July 2013. Please refer to www.undergraduateresearchaustralia.com for submission guidelines. Best Honours  student papers will be invited to give a spoken presentation in a special session at the conference. We will endeavour to inform you of the outcome of your paper by 9th August 2013.

PRIZES OFFERED AT ACUR 2013

• $1000 Prize for the Best Presentation and Paper at the Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research 2013 (open to UG and MRes (1st year) students only)
• $1000 Prize for the Best Presentation and Paper on Community-Engaged Research (open to ALL students)
•  $500 Prize for the Best Presentation in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering (open to UG and MRes (1st year) students only)
• $500 Prize for the Best Presentation in Business and Economics (open to UG and MRes (1st year) students only)
• $500 Prize for the Best Presentation in Mathematics or Statistics (open to ALL students)
• Four $500 Travel Scholarships for students who have engaged in online education: rural and remote; indigenous; female; and teacher/  educator (open to UG and MRes (1st year) students only)

Go to: www.undergraduateresearchaustralia.com for more details and to submit your abstract or paper.

KPCB Internet Trends 2013, by Mary Meeker & Liang Wu

KPCB Internet Trends 2013 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Some highlights:

• 2.4B global internet users in 2012 - Population penetration; USA 78%, China 42%, India 11%, Brazil 45% and Mexico 37%
• 80% of the top 10 Global Internet Properties (Google, Microsoft, Facebook...) 'Made in the USA'... 81% of their users were from outside USA... (Q2:2013)
• 1.1B global active Facebook users, 60% of whom log in daily (May 2013)
• Mobile internet access surpassed PC access in China during the second quarter in 2012
• Smartphone subscriber grown is rapid, 1.5B subscribers (2013)
• Mobile users typically reach for their phones approx. 150 times per day (2013)