Michael is a Professor at Griffith University in Australia and Deputy Director Learning Transformation. He specialises in elearning pedagogies, technology enhanced learning, multimodal design, digital, visual and multiliteracies. He has worked in Higher Education for 28+ years and is particularly interested in how constructively aligned and aesthetically enhanced learning environments can better transmit concepts to students, particularly those from diverse backgrounds. Phone: +61 448800675 Address: 21 Smythe Street Kearneys Spring Queensland 4350 Australia
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
The virtual university is not a figment of one's imagination; it actually exists in many forms al... more The virtual university is not a figment of one's imagination; it actually exists in many forms already. What this chapter does, however, is pull together all the thoughts and ideas of multiple scholars from around the world, to provide a cohesive suite of options one should consider if looking to establish a virtual university from scratch. This is doable because of the breath of experience that resides within the body of authors contributing to this volume. This chapter clearly demonstrates the imperative nature of the virtual univer- sity in a world that has been through substantial change over recent years, and where many ideas that where seen as fundamental to the successful application of higher education have been challenged. That is not to say that higher education itself have been left wanting, rather that the option to conduct higher education has been shown to not just survive, but to flourish in the virtual space. Throughout this chapter, the lessons that have been learned by some 54 scholars will be summarized and placed into a solid agenda for consideration. It will not hold all the answers, but it will provide the reader with a fantastic place from which to start their journey when looking to establish a virtual university that takes the affordance of technology-enhanced learning and makes this vision not just doable, but desirable.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
Standards and benchmarking frameworks are key enablers of the future virtual university. This cha... more Standards and benchmarking frameworks are key enablers of the future virtual university. This chapter reviews key concepts of organizational quality improvement using technology to stimulate and enable change. It presents a model of four key elements, TEL policy and procedures, the institutional TEL framework, baseline standards, and standards for fully online education. This model is used to analyze the major current TEL quality frameworks providing a guide to institutional leaders working to enact quality standards and benchmarking for the improvement of TEL as they lead their institutions toward the future virtual university.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
The single system model of an LMS, reflecting a relatively passive use of digital technologies, i... more The single system model of an LMS, reflecting a relatively passive use of digital technologies, is increasingly out of step in the rapidly evolving global higher education environment. This proposes a model that moves from a single systems conception of the LMS to one informed by concepts of learning ecosystems and platforms. We define the LMS and the scope of its functions in order to frame how it might evolve in the future. A conception of the LMS as a learning platform is presented drawing on the successful models used by large Internet companies to provide an infrastructure designed to support change through innovation at the boundary while also ensuring it remains manageable at its core and operates in a way that is aligned to the strategic objectives of the university.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
As the online component of university business continues to increase, particularly in the area of... more As the online component of university business continues to increase, particularly in the area of learning and teaching, the "virtual learning environment" has
Higher Education - Reflections From the Field [Working Title]
It has been said for years that, in the near future the Learning Management System (LMS) will bec... more It has been said for years that, in the near future the Learning Management System (LMS) will become a thing of the past. Some suggest this should already be the case, but it has not been possible to break our institutional dependence on this technology. In the meantime, institutions have developed sophisticated networks of tools, largely built off the back of LTIs and xAPIs to seamlessly make the LMS a pervasive convenor of learning. These tools include media streaming, virtual classrooms, collaboration tools, plagiarism checking, ePortfolio, voice interaction, peer-review/learning, brainstorming, H5Ps and the list goes on. All that is left for the traditional LMS to do is to mediate these tools, house and collate assessment and scaffold the different learning scenarios. Admittedly it also helps the institution link to other organizational tools such as student management and curriculum management systems. This chapter looks at the future implications and examines a range of views ...
09:00 – 09:35 Welcome and Housekeeping Mike Keppell, Charles Sturt University Welcome to Country ... more 09:00 – 09:35 Welcome and Housekeeping Mike Keppell, Charles Sturt University Welcome to Country Joan Tranter, University of Technology Sydney Invited Speaker Opening Address Shirley Alexander, University of Technology Sydney 9:35 – 10:30 Keynote Address Authentic learning and emerging technologies Jan Herrington, Murdoch University 10:30 – 11:00 Morning Break Endeavour Room ... 11:00 – 11:20 Blackboard - the nexus of your enterprise virtual learning environment (VLE) Endeavour Room Learners, Learning and Educational Practice
The ACODE benchmarks have been developed to assist institutions in their practice of delivering a... more The ACODE benchmarks have been developed to assist institutions in their practice of delivering a quality technology enhanced learning experience for their students and staff (recognising that some institutions refer to their practice with terms such as e-learning, online or flexible learning, blended, etc.). There are eight benchmarks, each of which can be used as a standalone indicator, or used collectively to provide a whole of institution perspective. However, where these benchmarks become even more powerful is when they are used in association with other institutions, as part of a collaborative benchmarking exercise. This is where one or more institutions are willing to share their practice and journey in technology enhanced learning with others, based on the outcomes of their own internal benchmarking activity. The benchmarks were originally developed as part of an ACODE funded project, initiated by Christine Goodacre and Angela Bridgland in 2007. They were developed collabora...
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice
Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been ... more Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been developing very strongly for 20+ years. What is new is that we are now realising that what was conceived as being good online learning pedagogy is being challenged by many of the newer student-centred approaches that have evolved in learning and teaching. Not the least because the technologies now allow us to do way more in a more synchronous way, allowing students to work more collaboratively with others. Or maybe it’s more that we have rediscovered some activities that were harder to achieve in the past. Either way, what has also changed in higher education is the emphasis on the student and how providing them with a greater level of agency in their learning presents more traditional educators with new challenges. This paper presents some options for those looking to understand and meet those challenges head on.
Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity, 2018
Benchmarking by higher education institutions (HEIs) has been evolving for some time in Australia... more Benchmarking by higher education institutions (HEIs) has been evolving for some time in Australia and New Zealand. Earlier efforts were focused on improving reputation, but now benchmarking has become a required component of higher education quality assurance, or regulatory compliance schemes. ACODE's benchmarking framework and the ACODE Benchmarks provide Australasian HEIs with the ability to review their technology enhanced learning (TEL) practices and decision-making against what is considered “good” practice. The ACODE benchmarking framework and its benchmarks also allow HEIs to inform quality audit, or regulatory compliance reporting by HEIs to maintain institutional recognition and demonstrate performance against threshold or other specific performance standards. ACODE's benchmarking framework and benchmarks are recognized as influencers in benchmarking practice. However, there is a need to generate empirical data to demonstrate its leadership role and review the bench...
In recently changing universities the author has had to transition from being a regular Mahara us... more In recently changing universities the author has had to transition from being a regular Mahara user to now being a regular PebblePad user. In making this transition there have been a number of insights gained as to the affordances, or otherwise, of each of these systems. This presentation will attempt to offer an unbiased view of each system, from the users' perspective, with a view to providing advice and guidance as to the different approaches required for each system. However, as an experienced user of an ePortfolio, the author, in making this transition, has developed a suite of design heuristics that can be adopted for use by other users' (of either system), as a way to generate, promote and maintain a significant public profile.
There is a large proportion of the population in India that has very limited access to higher edu... more There is a large proportion of the population in India that has very limited access to higher education (HE). Of this, the northern states seem to worse off than their southern counterparts. The access to HE is further problematized by a lack of access to personal computers; however, there is a large proportion of the population that has access to mobile phone technology. Linked with this is the possibilities that the flipped classroom methodology could offer HE in North India; leveraging the affordances of mobile technologies. This paper reports on a preliminary, scoping study undertaken to understand the level of consciousness of a flipped classroom methodology in North India and if there is any appetite to see this trialed in HE classrooms. A qualitative research study was undertaken using a sample of 26 lecturers from different universities in Punjab, New Delhi and Maghalay. The results showed that participants, although not fully understanding it, generally had a positive view ...
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2022
Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been ... more Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been developing very strongly for 20+ years. What is new is that we are now realising that what was conceived as being good online learning pedagogy is being challenged by many of the newer student-centred approaches that have evolved in learning and teaching. Not the least because the technologies now allow us to do way more in a more synchronous way, allowing students to work more collaboratively with others. Or maybe it’s more that we have rediscovered some activities that were harder to achieve in the past. Either way, what has also changed in higher education is the emphasis on the student and how providing them with a greater level of agency in their learning presents more traditional educators with new challenges. This paper presents some options for those looking to understand and meet those challenges head on.
With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the ensuing social distancing measures adopted in relatio... more With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the ensuing social distancing measures adopted in relation to large gatherings, universities in the Australasian higher education sector found themselves unable to run traditional face to face lectures, or large tutorials. This necessarily meant that all institutions had to adopt alternate approaches to providing the key information to students that would normally be done in a lecture format. In many cases institutions pivoted quickly and implemented a range of online strategies, while others changed the forms of delivery altogether, replacing their traditional lectures with other forms of information sharing. But now, as we move into 2021, and the social distancing restrictions that most jurisdictions put in place have been relaxed somewhat, it is important to understand what institutions are intending to do in relation to returning to face-to-face lectures.
ASCILITE’s First Virtual Conference. Proceedings ASCILITE 2020 in Armidale
With the advent of COVID-19, the majority of universities in Australasia have had to adjust quick... more With the advent of COVID-19, the majority of universities in Australasia have had to adjust quickly to provide the bulk of their learning and teaching activities online. To a great extent this involved learning/educational designers (and titles similar to this) needing to provide a range of tasks (some new) associated with supporting many teaching staff unfamiliar with teaching online. In some cases, this has meant a change in role, while for others it was transitioning to new and higher levels of responsibility. Regardless, the emotional impact of this should not be understated, or at least should understood. This paper explores these concepts based on the feedback from 90 educational designers, mainly from the Australasian higher education sector. It presents details of the results of a semi-structured qualitative study of those working in the field of educational design at universities. These designers were asked to consider how COVID-19 has impacted the ways in which they undert...
Since 2014 the Australasian Council for Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) have been holding bie... more Since 2014 the Australasian Council for Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) have been holding biennial inter-institutional benchmarking summits for those higher education institutions wishing to benchmark their capacity in technology enhanced learning. Over this time the evidence has been mounting as to the longer-term benefits for many of the institutions undertaking this activity. For those who have regularly applied this tool, it can be demonstrated that there have been improvements in particular areas of their practice. In the light of this, and now that the Commonwealth of Learning have developed their own Benchmarks for technology-enabled learning, it is worth understanding how this tool can be applied by institutions, so that similar or, if one might be bold enough to suggest, better results may be afforded. This paper will compare the two tools and the methodologies adopted and provide suggestions based on the lessons learned from over 40 institutions in Australasia. It will...
There are lessons to be learned from undertaking ‘successful’ research, but we do not hear much a... more There are lessons to be learned from undertaking ‘successful’ research, but we do not hear much about the lessons learned when your research doesn’t come-off. But in many cases there are some very important lessons that can be learned that others may benefit from, particularly for those who are new to research around the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), as opposed to discipline based research that is ‘reputedly’ conducted from a more empirical perspective. This paper reports on some of the lessons learned by two researchers from two universities on research that could have been done better in relation to technology enhanced learning (TEL). Why do we need to hear about these lessons? For the sake of our students; we want to improve our teaching and don’t want to make the same mistakes that others may have done.
This paper draws on the initial analysis of data from an education design research study that inv... more This paper draws on the initial analysis of data from an education design research study that investigated the experience of Indigenous higher education students in online learning. The interrelated themes of racial identity and relatedness were found to be significant to the experiences of these students. The paper examines a number of widely used learning design models and online facilitation approaches to determine the extent to which identity and relatedness are considered in the design of online environments and in the facilitation of learning. It concludes with a series of recommendations as to how an institution may mediate a level of relatedness for its students in online learning environments.
This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engag... more This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engagement, with a view to improve the learning outcomes, as seen through the lens of three teaching academic. Firstly, this paper will briefly discuss some industry concerns about the benefits that gamification has in educational settings, followed by the solutions that the Me- dia Design and Development team at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) offer for developing mobile friendly resources. Lastly, three case studies of gamification will be re- viewed with reference to a series of semi-structured interviews involving the lecturers who drove the development of these gamified resources. Although further detailed feedback is re- quired from students, the conclusion will be proffered that, from the teacher‘s perspective, gam- ification improves the likelihood of success by enhancing student interest and engagement, which intrinsically improves outcomes.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
The virtual university is not a figment of one's imagination; it actually exists in many forms al... more The virtual university is not a figment of one's imagination; it actually exists in many forms already. What this chapter does, however, is pull together all the thoughts and ideas of multiple scholars from around the world, to provide a cohesive suite of options one should consider if looking to establish a virtual university from scratch. This is doable because of the breath of experience that resides within the body of authors contributing to this volume. This chapter clearly demonstrates the imperative nature of the virtual univer- sity in a world that has been through substantial change over recent years, and where many ideas that where seen as fundamental to the successful application of higher education have been challenged. That is not to say that higher education itself have been left wanting, rather that the option to conduct higher education has been shown to not just survive, but to flourish in the virtual space. Throughout this chapter, the lessons that have been learned by some 54 scholars will be summarized and placed into a solid agenda for consideration. It will not hold all the answers, but it will provide the reader with a fantastic place from which to start their journey when looking to establish a virtual university that takes the affordance of technology-enhanced learning and makes this vision not just doable, but desirable.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
Standards and benchmarking frameworks are key enablers of the future virtual university. This cha... more Standards and benchmarking frameworks are key enablers of the future virtual university. This chapter reviews key concepts of organizational quality improvement using technology to stimulate and enable change. It presents a model of four key elements, TEL policy and procedures, the institutional TEL framework, baseline standards, and standards for fully online education. This model is used to analyze the major current TEL quality frameworks providing a guide to institutional leaders working to enact quality standards and benchmarking for the improvement of TEL as they lead their institutions toward the future virtual university.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
The single system model of an LMS, reflecting a relatively passive use of digital technologies, i... more The single system model of an LMS, reflecting a relatively passive use of digital technologies, is increasingly out of step in the rapidly evolving global higher education environment. This proposes a model that moves from a single systems conception of the LMS to one informed by concepts of learning ecosystems and platforms. We define the LMS and the scope of its functions in order to frame how it might evolve in the future. A conception of the LMS as a learning platform is presented drawing on the successful models used by large Internet companies to provide an infrastructure designed to support change through innovation at the boundary while also ensuring it remains manageable at its core and operates in a way that is aligned to the strategic objectives of the university.
Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, 2023
As the online component of university business continues to increase, particularly in the area of... more As the online component of university business continues to increase, particularly in the area of learning and teaching, the "virtual learning environment" has
Higher Education - Reflections From the Field [Working Title]
It has been said for years that, in the near future the Learning Management System (LMS) will bec... more It has been said for years that, in the near future the Learning Management System (LMS) will become a thing of the past. Some suggest this should already be the case, but it has not been possible to break our institutional dependence on this technology. In the meantime, institutions have developed sophisticated networks of tools, largely built off the back of LTIs and xAPIs to seamlessly make the LMS a pervasive convenor of learning. These tools include media streaming, virtual classrooms, collaboration tools, plagiarism checking, ePortfolio, voice interaction, peer-review/learning, brainstorming, H5Ps and the list goes on. All that is left for the traditional LMS to do is to mediate these tools, house and collate assessment and scaffold the different learning scenarios. Admittedly it also helps the institution link to other organizational tools such as student management and curriculum management systems. This chapter looks at the future implications and examines a range of views ...
09:00 – 09:35 Welcome and Housekeeping Mike Keppell, Charles Sturt University Welcome to Country ... more 09:00 – 09:35 Welcome and Housekeeping Mike Keppell, Charles Sturt University Welcome to Country Joan Tranter, University of Technology Sydney Invited Speaker Opening Address Shirley Alexander, University of Technology Sydney 9:35 – 10:30 Keynote Address Authentic learning and emerging technologies Jan Herrington, Murdoch University 10:30 – 11:00 Morning Break Endeavour Room ... 11:00 – 11:20 Blackboard - the nexus of your enterprise virtual learning environment (VLE) Endeavour Room Learners, Learning and Educational Practice
The ACODE benchmarks have been developed to assist institutions in their practice of delivering a... more The ACODE benchmarks have been developed to assist institutions in their practice of delivering a quality technology enhanced learning experience for their students and staff (recognising that some institutions refer to their practice with terms such as e-learning, online or flexible learning, blended, etc.). There are eight benchmarks, each of which can be used as a standalone indicator, or used collectively to provide a whole of institution perspective. However, where these benchmarks become even more powerful is when they are used in association with other institutions, as part of a collaborative benchmarking exercise. This is where one or more institutions are willing to share their practice and journey in technology enhanced learning with others, based on the outcomes of their own internal benchmarking activity. The benchmarks were originally developed as part of an ACODE funded project, initiated by Christine Goodacre and Angela Bridgland in 2007. They were developed collabora...
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice
Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been ... more Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been developing very strongly for 20+ years. What is new is that we are now realising that what was conceived as being good online learning pedagogy is being challenged by many of the newer student-centred approaches that have evolved in learning and teaching. Not the least because the technologies now allow us to do way more in a more synchronous way, allowing students to work more collaboratively with others. Or maybe it’s more that we have rediscovered some activities that were harder to achieve in the past. Either way, what has also changed in higher education is the emphasis on the student and how providing them with a greater level of agency in their learning presents more traditional educators with new challenges. This paper presents some options for those looking to understand and meet those challenges head on.
Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity, 2018
Benchmarking by higher education institutions (HEIs) has been evolving for some time in Australia... more Benchmarking by higher education institutions (HEIs) has been evolving for some time in Australia and New Zealand. Earlier efforts were focused on improving reputation, but now benchmarking has become a required component of higher education quality assurance, or regulatory compliance schemes. ACODE's benchmarking framework and the ACODE Benchmarks provide Australasian HEIs with the ability to review their technology enhanced learning (TEL) practices and decision-making against what is considered “good” practice. The ACODE benchmarking framework and its benchmarks also allow HEIs to inform quality audit, or regulatory compliance reporting by HEIs to maintain institutional recognition and demonstrate performance against threshold or other specific performance standards. ACODE's benchmarking framework and benchmarks are recognized as influencers in benchmarking practice. However, there is a need to generate empirical data to demonstrate its leadership role and review the bench...
In recently changing universities the author has had to transition from being a regular Mahara us... more In recently changing universities the author has had to transition from being a regular Mahara user to now being a regular PebblePad user. In making this transition there have been a number of insights gained as to the affordances, or otherwise, of each of these systems. This presentation will attempt to offer an unbiased view of each system, from the users' perspective, with a view to providing advice and guidance as to the different approaches required for each system. However, as an experienced user of an ePortfolio, the author, in making this transition, has developed a suite of design heuristics that can be adopted for use by other users' (of either system), as a way to generate, promote and maintain a significant public profile.
There is a large proportion of the population in India that has very limited access to higher edu... more There is a large proportion of the population in India that has very limited access to higher education (HE). Of this, the northern states seem to worse off than their southern counterparts. The access to HE is further problematized by a lack of access to personal computers; however, there is a large proportion of the population that has access to mobile phone technology. Linked with this is the possibilities that the flipped classroom methodology could offer HE in North India; leveraging the affordances of mobile technologies. This paper reports on a preliminary, scoping study undertaken to understand the level of consciousness of a flipped classroom methodology in North India and if there is any appetite to see this trialed in HE classrooms. A qualitative research study was undertaken using a sample of 26 lecturers from different universities in Punjab, New Delhi and Maghalay. The results showed that participants, although not fully understanding it, generally had a positive view ...
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2022
Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been ... more Online learning is not a new phenomenon that had just been discovered in March 2020, it has been developing very strongly for 20+ years. What is new is that we are now realising that what was conceived as being good online learning pedagogy is being challenged by many of the newer student-centred approaches that have evolved in learning and teaching. Not the least because the technologies now allow us to do way more in a more synchronous way, allowing students to work more collaboratively with others. Or maybe it’s more that we have rediscovered some activities that were harder to achieve in the past. Either way, what has also changed in higher education is the emphasis on the student and how providing them with a greater level of agency in their learning presents more traditional educators with new challenges. This paper presents some options for those looking to understand and meet those challenges head on.
With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the ensuing social distancing measures adopted in relatio... more With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the ensuing social distancing measures adopted in relation to large gatherings, universities in the Australasian higher education sector found themselves unable to run traditional face to face lectures, or large tutorials. This necessarily meant that all institutions had to adopt alternate approaches to providing the key information to students that would normally be done in a lecture format. In many cases institutions pivoted quickly and implemented a range of online strategies, while others changed the forms of delivery altogether, replacing their traditional lectures with other forms of information sharing. But now, as we move into 2021, and the social distancing restrictions that most jurisdictions put in place have been relaxed somewhat, it is important to understand what institutions are intending to do in relation to returning to face-to-face lectures.
ASCILITE’s First Virtual Conference. Proceedings ASCILITE 2020 in Armidale
With the advent of COVID-19, the majority of universities in Australasia have had to adjust quick... more With the advent of COVID-19, the majority of universities in Australasia have had to adjust quickly to provide the bulk of their learning and teaching activities online. To a great extent this involved learning/educational designers (and titles similar to this) needing to provide a range of tasks (some new) associated with supporting many teaching staff unfamiliar with teaching online. In some cases, this has meant a change in role, while for others it was transitioning to new and higher levels of responsibility. Regardless, the emotional impact of this should not be understated, or at least should understood. This paper explores these concepts based on the feedback from 90 educational designers, mainly from the Australasian higher education sector. It presents details of the results of a semi-structured qualitative study of those working in the field of educational design at universities. These designers were asked to consider how COVID-19 has impacted the ways in which they undert...
Since 2014 the Australasian Council for Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) have been holding bie... more Since 2014 the Australasian Council for Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) have been holding biennial inter-institutional benchmarking summits for those higher education institutions wishing to benchmark their capacity in technology enhanced learning. Over this time the evidence has been mounting as to the longer-term benefits for many of the institutions undertaking this activity. For those who have regularly applied this tool, it can be demonstrated that there have been improvements in particular areas of their practice. In the light of this, and now that the Commonwealth of Learning have developed their own Benchmarks for technology-enabled learning, it is worth understanding how this tool can be applied by institutions, so that similar or, if one might be bold enough to suggest, better results may be afforded. This paper will compare the two tools and the methodologies adopted and provide suggestions based on the lessons learned from over 40 institutions in Australasia. It will...
There are lessons to be learned from undertaking ‘successful’ research, but we do not hear much a... more There are lessons to be learned from undertaking ‘successful’ research, but we do not hear much about the lessons learned when your research doesn’t come-off. But in many cases there are some very important lessons that can be learned that others may benefit from, particularly for those who are new to research around the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), as opposed to discipline based research that is ‘reputedly’ conducted from a more empirical perspective. This paper reports on some of the lessons learned by two researchers from two universities on research that could have been done better in relation to technology enhanced learning (TEL). Why do we need to hear about these lessons? For the sake of our students; we want to improve our teaching and don’t want to make the same mistakes that others may have done.
This paper draws on the initial analysis of data from an education design research study that inv... more This paper draws on the initial analysis of data from an education design research study that investigated the experience of Indigenous higher education students in online learning. The interrelated themes of racial identity and relatedness were found to be significant to the experiences of these students. The paper examines a number of widely used learning design models and online facilitation approaches to determine the extent to which identity and relatedness are considered in the design of online environments and in the facilitation of learning. It concludes with a series of recommendations as to how an institution may mediate a level of relatedness for its students in online learning environments.
This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engag... more This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engagement, with a view to improve the learning outcomes, as seen through the lens of three teaching academic. Firstly, this paper will briefly discuss some industry concerns about the benefits that gamification has in educational settings, followed by the solutions that the Me- dia Design and Development team at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) offer for developing mobile friendly resources. Lastly, three case studies of gamification will be re- viewed with reference to a series of semi-structured interviews involving the lecturers who drove the development of these gamified resources. Although further detailed feedback is re- quired from students, the conclusion will be proffered that, from the teacher‘s perspective, gam- ification improves the likelihood of success by enhancing student interest and engagement, which intrinsically improves outcomes.
This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engag... more This paper investigates the efficacy of gamifying educational resources to increase student engagement, with a view to improve the learning outcomes, as seen through the lens of three teaching academic. Firstly, this paper will briefly discuss some industry concerns about the benefits that gamification has in educational settings, followed by the solutions that the Me- dia Design and Development team at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) offer for developing mobile friendly resources. Lastly, three case studies of gamification will be re- viewed with reference to a series of semi-structured interviews involving the lecturers who drove the development of these gamified resources. Although further detailed feedback is re- quired from students, the conclusion will be proffered that, from the teacher‘s perspective, gam- ification improves the likelihood of success by enhancing student interest and engagement, which intrinsically improves outcomes.
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Papers by Michael D Sankey
This chapter clearly demonstrates the imperative nature of the virtual univer- sity in a world that has been through substantial change over recent years, and where many ideas that where seen as fundamental to the successful application of higher education have been challenged. That is not to say that higher education itself have been left wanting, rather that the option to conduct higher education has been shown to not just survive, but to flourish in the virtual space.
Throughout this chapter, the lessons that have been learned by some 54 scholars will be summarized and placed into a solid agenda for consideration. It will not hold all the answers, but it will provide the reader with a fantastic place from which to start their journey when looking to establish a virtual university that takes the affordance of technology-enhanced learning and makes this vision not just doable, but desirable.
This chapter clearly demonstrates the imperative nature of the virtual univer- sity in a world that has been through substantial change over recent years, and where many ideas that where seen as fundamental to the successful application of higher education have been challenged. That is not to say that higher education itself have been left wanting, rather that the option to conduct higher education has been shown to not just survive, but to flourish in the virtual space.
Throughout this chapter, the lessons that have been learned by some 54 scholars will be summarized and placed into a solid agenda for consideration. It will not hold all the answers, but it will provide the reader with a fantastic place from which to start their journey when looking to establish a virtual university that takes the affordance of technology-enhanced learning and makes this vision not just doable, but desirable.