DEHUB 2013 Report Series Now Published

dehub 2013 Report Series Now Published

dehub operates under the sponsorship of the University of New England (UNE, located in Armidale, NSW, Australia) as a research initiative specializing in promotion of scholarship for innovation in online and distance learning (ODL). In the project (which finished in March 2013), UNE partnered with CQUniversity (CQU), the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Massey University in selected research activities, forming a consortium of Australia and New Zealand’s largest and leading distance education providers.

The following reports detail individual research projects led by the University of New England (UNE) partnered with CQUniversity (CQU), the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Massey University funded by dehub.

1. Learning interactions: A cross-institutional multi-disciplinary analysis of learner-learner and learner-teacher and learner-content interactions in online learning contexts
D. Rossi, H. van Rensburg, C. Beer, D. Clark, P. Danaher and B. Harreveld

2. Managing Institutional change through distributive leadership approaches: Engaging academics and teaching support staff in blended and flexible learning
M. Childs, M. Brown, M. Keppell, Z. Nicholas, C. Hunter and N. Hard

For a summary of the report 'Managing institutional change through distributive leadership approaches', please see the presentation below.

Managing institutional change in Higher Education from Merilyn Childs

3. Distance learning at times and places chosen by the learner: Adapting resources and learning behaviours for working with mobile digital devices
R. Jamieson-Proctor, P. Albion and K. Larkin

4. In their own words: Learning from the experiences of first time distance students
M. Brown, M. Keppell, H. Hughes, N. Hard, S. Shillington and L. Smith

5. Contextualising virtual interaction opportunities in the health sciences: Pharmacist and social work client counseling
I. Stupans and L. Orwin

NATA Evaluation Conversation - Friday 9th August, 2013

Discussion Participants: Mike Keppell (Project Leader), Gordon Suddaby (Project Leader), Tom Prebble (Project Evaluator) & Natasha Hard (Project Manager)

Threads from the evaluation discussion:

• A view that the project is moving from a process to product stage
• It is important to recognise that the context in which the NATA project proposal was initially developed has and continues to change – Changes to partner association roles/foci, changes in partner association representatives and leaders, as well as the expectations of those involved.  It took a long time to get the project partners on the same page due to the complexity of context and lack of unified vision etc. Thus, this has influenced the way that the project has developed.
• When the funded project comes to a close, it is important to reflect upon what would be the key motivations for partners to continue to engage with each other as the project requirements will no longer direct the reasons for collaboration. Subsequently, a revised purpose for engagement would call for a review of whether those involved are still relevant and interested in being engaged in some form into the future. Moreover, are there other possible partners out there who would be interested in being involved in future collaborations?
• It is important to think about the audience rather than getting too focused on the medium or the message. Is the sector interested in actually hearing what is being disseminated? For example, are educators actually interested in engaging in other OLT project reports or Good Practice Reports? Are these reports developed in a way that engages the sector when they are actually designed for reporting purposes rather than supporting the practical application of their findings (reporting for OLT/reporting for sector)? If dissemination or application of findings from other OLT projects is a key objective, then perhaps it would be beneficial to develop a range of different dissemination resources that target different audiences eg. The AKO Aotearoa Taking the Lead Project http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/takingthelead which developed a 2-pager, full report, bibliography and executive summary. Does the difficulty in disseminating the GPRs reflect a need to question the format in which they were developed?
• The project leaders should take advantage of their vantage point to reflect upon not only the project but the possible synergies and differences between project partners.
• There will need to be a consideration of project legacy issues. What will be maintained, where and by whom? What will happen to the eResources and/or the project website/Twitter?
• The project is really about a test of concept? Does this structure work and is it sustainable in some form?

If you have any thoughts to add to the evaluation discussion we would be interested to read your comments.

Over 1,000 pageviews on NATAonthenet this month for the first time!

ALTC/OLT Good Practice Reports - Do you know what topics were covered?

• Assessment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students (2011)
• Assuring graduate outcomes (2011)
• Blended learning (2011) 
• Clinical practice (2011)
• Curriculum renewal (2011)
• Innovative indigenous teaching and learning (2013)
• Learning and teaching across cultures (2011)
• Revitalising the academic workforce (2012)
• Supporting students’ transition into higher education (2011)
• Technology enhanced learning and teaching (2011)
• Work integrated learning (2011)

The NATA Update August!

News

The NATA project continues to progress well across its key activities which are explored in greater detail below. The project team is starting to prepare the next progress report due on October 1 and a meeting with Tom Prebble the project evaluator this week will contribute to this process. We are expecting a response from the OLT regarding our previous progress report shortly; this will then enable us to apply for the second instalment of project funds.

The project team has also been working on drafting an article based on the Technology-enhanced learning and teaching report and OLT Good Practice Reports more generally which has a focus on dissemination - both the problematic nature of disseminating findings as well as the need for effective dissemination of the GPRs to help improve practice in the sector through the sharing of experiences. We hope to have this completed and submitted in the near future.

The difficulties with dissemination within the sector appear widespread with it being raised as a concern by many, especially during conversations with GPR authors. This appears to be centred on the closure of the ALTC and subsequent limitations of the OLT website and their capacity to take on this role. There seems to be a general consensus about the need for spaces where one can disseminate to the sector but also the need for spaces that enable dispersed people to come together to discuss topics of interest and importance to the sector as a whole.

Achievement/s

In early July Gordon presented 'A space for discussion, collaboration and advocacy in tertiary education' at HERDSA on behalf of the NATA team. It was interesting to note the general lack of awareness of the GPR reports amongst the audience, however, one attendee did explain how they had used the outcomes from the Technology-enhanced Learning and Teaching Report as the basis for designing their new media/technology strategy at their university. They explained that the evidence-based nature of the outcomes made it hard for others to dispute the approach being taken which was interesting. The HERDSA presentation slides can be viewed on slideshare here.

Good Practice Report eResources

Gordon and I have been working hard with a range of the GPR authors to collate the necessary information to develop the eResources. Developing the eResources requires PowerPoint presentation highlighting the key points of the GPR and report author details to be developed. Audio is then overlaid and the resource captured as a short movie using vimeo with the help of Jason at USQ Media services. Individual approaches have been adopted with the different report authors to try and make the task as least onerous as possible. The state of progress with the different reports can be seen here:

1. Student Transitions in Higher Education - Final version of the eResource completed
2. Technology-enhanced Learning and Teaching - Draft presentation underway
3. Innovative Indigenous Teaching and Learning - Final version of presentation with authors for final review
4. Curriculum Renewal - In consultation with report authors with some material already received - audio to be captured later
5. Learning and Teaching Across Cultures - Meeting had with authors and draft presentation/audio expected to be supplied by authors in the next few weeks
6. Work-Integrated Learning - Author developing draft presentation
7. Clinical Practice -Contact made with author
8. Revitalising the Academic Workforce
9. Blended Learning
10. Assessment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Students
11.  Assuring Graduate Outcomes

The ALTC Good Practice Reports can be accessed here

Research

The NATA is conducting a small-scale research project 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?

The final focus group will be conducted this Friday, the 9th of August, concluding the data collection phase of the NATA research. We will soon begin analysing the data collected from the Focus Groups and Interviews. More information about the NATA research can be found here. 

NATA Partner Projects

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. Thanks to some good advice from Karen at ACODE, we are currently drafting a new page on the NATA blog where you can access more detailed information about each of the Partner Projects. This information will hopefully be up later in the week and available here.

We are currently providing feedback to ODLAA on their project proposal 'Ubiquity Online' which seeks to:

1. Develop a user friendly and inviting web presence and digital communication initiatives (ODLAA)
2. In so doing, help provide a framework and strategic resources that could be adapted to other professional organisations in the field.

In addition, we are working through developing the necessary agreements with ACODE and ascilite in order to provide project funding.

NATA Project Event

Organisation of the Project Event has progressed with a discussion being held with myself and Karen this week. This discussion focused on travel and accommodation for the project team, evaluator and Partner Representatives as well as booking rooms and finalising event schedules. More information about the partner event can be found here.

Upcoming key dates:

• Tuesday 20th August, 2013 - Next NATA Partner Project Meeting
• 1 October, 2013 - Progress Reporting Due
• 6 November, 2013 - NATA Project Event

Digital Assessment - no place for paper?

ODLAA will be holding its first webinar for 2013 on Tuesday 13^th August 2013 (see details below).  This will be offered free of charge and is open to members and non-members, so please distribute this invitation to any colleagues who may be interested.  If you wish to participate in the webinar, please register by Replying to jo.osborne@utas.edu.au by 4pm Friday, 9^th August  (Australian EST) at the latest (include ODLAA Webinar in the subject line).  An email acknowledgement will be sent on receipt of your registration with details of how to access and join in the webinar.

Digital Assessment – no place for paper?

Date and time: Tuesday, 13^th August 2013, 4-5pm (Australian EST)

Presenters:

• Dr Andrew Fluck (Senior Lecturer in Information Technology, School of Education, University of Tasmania) – eExams
• Kerry Earl (Senior Lecturer, Professional Studies in Education, University of Waikato, NZ) – Short text assignments
• Dr Barrie Todhunter (Associate Director, Faculty of Business & Law, University of Southern Queensland) – Digital group assessment
• Sally Jordan (Deputy Associate Dean (Assessment), Faculty of Science, Open University UK) - Computer-marked assessment with feedback

With a focus on practitioner experience, the expectation is that the webinar will run as short presentations on individual aspects of the theme followed by discussion/questions.

Seed funding available

The scheme, Researching New Directions in Learning and Teaching, arising out of the HERDSA OLT Advancing Teaching and Learning Project will provide one-off seed funding to enable groups to meet, bring in expertise (such as educational researchers, OLT grant holders or fellows), draw on mentors and /or obtain assistance to undertake their project’s development.

The goals in funding these projects are to:

• Stimulate further exploration of under-researched areas
• Encourage collaboration between experienced and early career learning and teaching scholars and, if applicable,
• Provide opportunities for mentorship and support from experienced scholars, OLT Fellows or OLT grant recipients.

Successful recipients will receive a grant of up to $2500 to support their collaboration. They will also be required to provide a feature article for the April 2014 issue of HERDSA News, and it is hoped that the funding might also stimulate future presentations or papers on the areas under investigation.

Applications are invited from interested groups. You will find the application form and information on the HERDSA website www.herdsa.org.au . Applications are due by Monday August 5, 2013.