Workshop: 6th November 2014

Convenors:  Gregor Kennedy/Deborah Jones

Business and Networking meeting : 7th November 2014

ACODE 66 coincides with the annual Melbourne Cup; a horse race described as “the race that stops the nation”. Picking up on the racing theme, delegates at ACODE 66 will be asked to explore how staff, students, and Universities themselves back the right learning technology horse. Comparing and contrasting these three viewpoints – those of staff, students and institutions – will be a feature of ACODE 66. Delegates will be asked to consider not only the decisions and expectations of each of these groups, but also what constitutes eLearning and online learning success for each of them?

Key questions to be considered in the workshop are:

1.     How do institutions decide to invest in learning technologies to balance tools that provide better access and enhanced administration with those that genuinely support generative teaching, learning and assessment?

2.     How do institutions make decisions about fostering campus-based eLearning, open learning and MOOCs, and wholly online learning and cross pollinate between them?

3.     With the ever-increasing demands on teaching staff, how are technologies being used to support staff in teaching, assessment and administration?

4.     What are students’ expectations about the use of technology in their learning and more generally in their university experiences; and how can and should staff and institutions respond to these?

5.     What role do learning analytics play in determining markers of student learning success and are these different from markers of student attrition (or failure)?

Barney Dalgarno will provide the keynote address, and we are planning a series of short perspective papers from members, staff and students. A key aspect of the workshop will be roundtable discussions where delegates working in small groups consider factors that impact on decision-making, expectations and markers of success from one of three perspectives: staff, student, or institution. It is hoped that by asking delegates to view learning technology decisions and success from these three perspectives, important areas of overlap and difference will emerge.