Research Question One

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Research Question One

What would you list among the established technologies that learning-focused institutions in Australia and New Zealand should all be using broadly today to support or enhance teaching, learning, research, or creative expression?

NOTE: Because this question is about "established" technologies, answers should be easy to support with actual examples and pointers to demonstration projects.

  • Mobiles. New interfaces, the ability to connect to wifi and GPS in addition to a variety of cellular networks, and the availability of third-party applications have created an almost entirely new device with nearly infinite possibilities for education, networking, and personal productivity. The implications for education are dramatic: the potential for mobile gaming and simulation, research aids, fieldwork, and tools for learning of all kinds is there, awaiting development. [...from the 2009 Horizon Report Short List] [The greatest potential for mobile devices is for them to be used by the learner in an active mode, rather than a passive mode around receiving or recording information. If teachers incorporated the use of mobile devices into both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, then the real power of the devices would be realised. A simple example is to use mobile phones as a replacement for clickers in live classroom sessions and for the teacher to change what they are teaching in response to the results. (http://www.votapedia.com) --Gcrisp01 05:45, 24 May 2009 (PDT)] --Larry 00:25, 13 May 2009 (PDT)--porophil 18:07, 27 May 2009 (PDT)----CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)--many emerging opportunities here- to exploit existing technologies in new ways - see for eg. the Griffith/QUT mobility project (http://www.tils.qut.edu.au/initiatives/msp/about.jsp) -while it's aimed at productivity improvement the ideas are just as valid for student engagement, particularly given their focus on convenience see some of Gregor's work on this)-LindaOB --Lindaob 18:49, 1 June 2009 (PDT)- mobile devices can be used by learners to upload evidence of capability into LMS, to tweet input into/feedback about teachers' sessions - so enhancing their participation in constructing knowledge, to geo-tag activity through uploads into flickr, googlemaps, as well as to access information. Funding of devices in institutions for ubiquitous use, network availability and affordable access plans, are lagging well behind innovators' research.Jomurray 18:29, 29 May 2009 (PDT) Many students have several mobile phones to take advantage of the different access plans. Using mobile technology the students collaborate and communicate with a suprizingly high degree of sophistication. The development of txt langauge and the widespread adoption (and understanding) of seemingly meaningless abbreviations like rofl, LOL, OMG wotmab and many more is amazing. Students quickly develop and adopt the new language. The features of current mobile phones mean that in one small tool you have combined a communication and network ready device, still and video camera, audio recorder, calendar and calculator etc --Achurches 02:02, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Blogger Zachary Seward at Nieman Journalism Lab does a nice series on NYTimes R&D Lab and how they are gearing up for a more mobile future - http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/05/at-the-new-york-times-preparing-for-a-future-across-all-platforms/--KeeneH 17:57, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Educause article by Alan Livingston on mobile use in higher ed. Comment from Australian educator about cost is worth noting. The article points out all the reasons mobiles should be in education. The Revolution No One Noticed--KeeneH 17:57, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Mobile phone is a primary communication tool for group work.See http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/videos/mobiles-0;http://mobilelearning.learnhub.com/lesson/1525-gen-y-mobile-and-ready-to-learn valuable for instant communication...can be used to send SMS message directly to the student. The mobile phone can become an effective means of student administration http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/edjournal/?q=node/379 [David Craven] Mind dump from the current mLearning seminar I am running in ANZ [Atherton/Athoman] - a number of institutions now making ownership of mobile devices (iPhone/iPod Touch) compulsory for not only LMS integration (BlackBoard iPhone client etc) but field work. Missouri UNi School of Journalism an example http://www.journalism.missouri.edu/undergraduate/handbook.pdf . A few researchers have compared mobile device functionality such as Thom Cochrane at UniTec in NZ http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/ . ACU's ConnectED programme still an interesting one to look at http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/index.html . A mobile technology which is just kicking off is audio Twitters. AudioBoo is particularly interesting and promising http://audioboo.fm/ . Some nice research tools too like "Papers" http://mekentosj.com/papers/ Still to see many ANZ institutes jump on the mobility bandwagon with either collaborative tools or admin tools. Otago Maps is a good tool using geolocation http://www.otago.ac.nz/about/campuses.html. Few have used mobile style sheets for mobile websites to the quality of MITs http://mobi.mit.edu/about/ although some starting (Melb U) --Athoman 21:10, 30 May 2009 (PDT). Abiline Christian University in the USA has an interesting project to provide iTouch or iPhone to all icoming freshman. THey are loaded up with LMS, maps, FAQs etc http://www.acu.edu/news/2008/080225_iphone.html.--ShirleyAlexander 19:03, 31 May 2009 (PDT). Crtical question for me about mobile leanring in the the australian context is cost. While there is widespread/pervasive use in the Australian context, the cost of data may make students use of the technology for educational reasons untenable. There is an important distinction to be made between what students choose to use for social or entertainment reasons and what they choose to use for educational/learning or what they perceive to be work reasons. Gregor. Agree with issue of cost and equity. Lots of small scale case studies done of activities using mobile devices but no work done to understand implications of implementation on a large scale - costs to student and teachers; boundaries for students and teachers; teachers defining teaching/research time --LL 07:05, 1 June 2009 (PDT) Agree with cost issues in mobile computing especially if students are to use devices that support a range of applications .--Ttreagus 17:15, 2 June 2009 (PDT)Cost issues should dissipate as the Governemnet's Digital education revolution [1] and its $43 bill invetsment in a National Broadband Network [2] take effect.--Lindaob 19:06, 1 June 2009 (PDT) The cost issue is something that's clearly an issue - but it should also be a call to arms among the communities in Australia to advocate for special consideration for educational uses, notwithstanding the potential. --Longpd 08:38, 3 June 2009 (PDT)- mobile projects conducted in schools http://www.delphian.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=9

Publishing project incorporating mobile uploads into e-portfolios http://blog.brightcookie.com/2009/06/eeezee-publish/--Jomurray 18:14, 3 June 2009 (PDT)

  • Cloud Computing. Aspects of computing that used to be considered expensive, like disk storage and computing cycles, are now becoming cheap and ubiquitous. Cloud computing refers to processing and storage that occurs in a shared and networked computing environment, such as Amazon EC2 and S3 or a campus data center. Specialized applications like Flickr live entirely in the cloud; there is no single computer, or even specific group of computers, that can be pointed to as housing Flickr, Google, or YouTube. Three types of services are associated with the cloud: cloud-based applications; the infrastructure on which to build such applications (http://code.google.com/appengine/); and sheer computing resources, like Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/) or the GoGrid (http://www.gogrid.com). [...from the 2009 Horizon Report Short List] In terms of ongoing QCRC research project development, conceivably, rather than the time-consuming production, rendering, duplication and distribution of hard-copy DVDs, one might simply email relevant participants a URL to data sets hosted 'in the cloud' like this. And/or set-up restricted access 'groups' and log-in points. " raises all sorts of possibilities-- LindaOB For teachers (or support staff or trusted students) to be able to setup and configure multiple secure accounts (for students in a cohort), assign tags etc. this technology is essential for open education, where student work is easily made available (by them) for open sharing/viewing/assessment, without the lock down required in most proprietary learning management systems and school networks--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT). Educause's Tower and the Cloud publication is a good source relevant specifically to higher education. Tower and the Cloud (contains link to PDF)--KeeneH 17:41, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Australian Consultant Mark Pesce writes an interesting article about the impact of being hyperconnected, which has direct connections to cloud computing Sharing Power (Aussie Rules)--KeeneH 17:41, 30 May 2009 (PDT) US National Science Foundation awards 14 universities grants for Cloud computing research NSF Grants for Cloud Computing --KeeneH 17:57, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Article about Arizona State and other universities joining the Google Cloud services First-Class Cloud: Google Opens its computing power to University Students--KeeneH 18:16, 30 May 2009 (PDT)From Professor Paul Draper - one of Griffith's academics pushing the boundaries "Here's a variant of web 2.0 & the 'cloud computing' concept (ie, distributed computing 'up in the cloud', not on the desktop; (I'll tell Paul he is a "boundary pusher" when I have lunch with him tommorrow - FYI, he has a visitor over at the moment worth seeing as they tour ANZ in the music turf - Bill Duckworth & Nora Farrell from Bucknell U--Athoman 21:16, 30 May 2009 (PDT)) a bigger Amazon is an obvious example) – using materials quickly shot and distributed using the Kodak Zi6 pocket camcorder at the recent 10 May Musical Futures launch on South Bank. In the first instance, may interest RHD students. ie, quickly generated, self-directed easy technology, here all demonstrated with the same small set of Musical Futures material, all new accounts and layouts configured in minutes:

The cloud is generally assumed to be 'out there' or provided somewhere other than the local campus infrastructure. But we run a 'shared and networked computing environment' on our campuses. But we have labs and other both concentrations of computing resources as well as large numbers of connected individual nodes that often sit idle for significant periods of time every day. These can be 'found resources' if managed and harvested for use. Good examples of this can be found at places like Purdue University in the US (e.g., the Boiler Grid Condor poolhttp://www.rcac.purdue.edu/userinfo/resources/condorpool/) CSIRO has implemented Condor Cycle harvesting http://www.hpsc.csiro.au/facilities/. A good summary of experiences with this practice by the originators at Wisconsin is at http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1064336.--Longpd 08:55, 3 June 2009 (PDT)- Cloud computing projects worth viewing: http://www.icloud.edu.au/ http://guido.icloud.edu.au/ http://blog.brightcookie.com/2009/05/guido/--Jomurray 17:59, 3 June 2009 (PDT)

  • Collaborative Environments. Online collaborative environments range from shared document editors like Google Docs (http://docs.google.com), to openly editable websites like wikis, to social networking sites that include profiles and communication tools to add a sense of connectedness and community along with tools for shared work. In the physical world, university and corporate campuses alike are adding carefully designed spaces intended to promote collaboration by providing comfortable, group-friendly areas equipped with the creature comforts and basic necessities of working in today’s world: clustered seating, coffee, electricity, and wireless Internet connectivity. [...from the 2009 Horizon Report Short List] [Absolutely imperative - --Lydiak 21:48, 23 May 2009 (PDT)] [also imperative --porophil 18:08, 27 May 2009 (PDT) --CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT) A necessary feature of today's learning landscape which focuses on development of graduate attributes of lifelong value --LindaOB.--Lindaob 19:30, 1 June 2009 (PDT) Such environments can be increasingly used to be consistent with a constructivist approach to the provision of learning experiences - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) The synchronous nature of Google documents make this cloud computing product a powerful collaborative tool. As a classroom teacher I make frequent use of google documents, forms and the google spreadsheet to have students work on various projects. The integration of gmail, gchat and gtalk adds a new level of depth with students often using gchat to formulate and discuss their ideas and then consolidate these in their shared document --Achurches 02:16, 30 May 2009 (PDT)- --AChurches Second Life provides an ideal platform to create a collaborative environment. A closed environment can be created for a class along with an open environment. This is an ideal platform to develop both a social and educational environment for students to interact with each other. The environment itself can be a collaborative environment as students can be involved in the evolution and creation of the environment...it could be possible for students to be interactive and create and modify their social environment [David Craven]--Craven 20:55, 30 May 2009 (PDT) essential - as per cloud computing above --Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT). You know, I am yet to be convinced that Virtual Worlds will take off with technology where it is. Maybe in 5 years. Research informs us that this is still explored by a small student cohort http://www.jisc.ac.uk/ http://www.caret.cam.ac.uk/blogs/llp/ --Athoman 21:24, 30 May 2009 (PDT) -- suspect Australia will be waiting for a more sophisticated bandwidth friendly development when locations one hour from Sydney cannot access -- other issue is Institutions with belief that buying and building infrastructure equals involvement. When the support/maintenance/PD needed is provided in real staff time we'll begin --Robynjay 14:31, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Programmers have traditionally been collaborative on projects and much of the coding software they use can be used in a collaboration environment. A good example is the elegant application SubEthaEdit title . Also the Zoho family of online tools is very collaborative in nature and similar to Google's offerings. --KeeneH 15:29, 31 May 2009 (PDT) The recently announced Google Wavemay be a new type of collaborative environment suitable for education --KeeneH 16:47, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Interestingly collaborative environments are now 'must haves' for researcher so we're seeing some cross over in the use of these tools between teaching and learning and research and vice versa--Lindaob 19:30, 1 June 2009 (PDT) Collaborative environments are also those that leverage place-based software tools like TeamSpot from Tidebreak (http://www.tidebreak.com). QUT has made a major commitment to implementing this technology (and its classroom based equivalent ClassSpot)in many locations on campus, with the goal of putting it in all classrooms and student group study spaces. See http://www.tidebreak.com/cust/casestudies, and http://www.tidebreak.com/download/QUT-casestudy.pdf --Longpd 09:15, 3 June 2009 (PDT)
  • Paperless Publishing. The availability of portable electronic reading devices like the Amazon Kindle and, more recently, book-reader applications designed for iPhone and other mobiles has made it easy to carry a wide selection of reading material in a small package, with that material updated wirelessly as new content becomes available. As these technologies converge, expect to see more alternatives to print media and textbooks. [...from the 2009 Horizon Report Short List] [This would be great wrt recommended texts and pre-lecture/workshop readings - --Lydiak 21:48, 23 May 2009 (PDT)] [this is one of the more exciting developments that can serve a multitude of purposes! Essential! --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT) Links to electronic books below --LindaOB. These technologies could be used where they make the education experience more accessible - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) Kindle is a platform that is comfortable to read from. There have been e-books for a while but what has been missing is the platform to easily read from. The recent announcement by Amazon that they are producing textbook in eformat brings this possibility closer - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124146996831184563.html The public domain initiatives like the gutenburg project make available a vast library of classic titles. --Achurches 02:16, 30 May 2009 (PDT) In the next 12 months or so a number of e-readers will hit the market. Aside from the Kindle, others include iRex Iliad,eSlick Reader, Plastic Logic'soffering, Sony Reader,Bookeen Cybook, and the flexible display Readius Pocket Reader. --KeeneH 15:29, 31 May 2009 (PDT) All course material should be made available to students. Increasingly books are being created in web format see Questia. Paperless publishing creates the opportunity to publish the work that students do in online formats....the use of an online journal that allows the student to explore the topic and subject in a more personal exploration of the topic. There is a large quantity of student produced material that is lost into the paper compactor. --Craven 21:10, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Services like Scribd are growing in popularity for a variety of paperless publishing needs.--KeeneH 14:58, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Also, software maker Lexcycle's Stanzasoftware is making inroads for allowing e-books to be read on an number of devices and platforms (Amazon just bought them).--KeeneH 14:58, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Also, see FeedJournal and Tabbloid which allow one to turn RSS feeds into digital magazines, good for distributing to students for up to date information. The results from both can be printed out but also used as PDFs--KeeneH 14:58, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Paperless publishing - of both scholarly output and primary mterial (research data) -is also getting a push along by researcher realising they can increase their citation impact (see for example http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.DL/0606079 )and get their material out more widely and rapidly through digital resositories (see the article in last week's Australian from a frustrated Australian scholar seeking to fnd a publisher for their research [3]- as scholarly works are born digital there wll be a natural transition--Lindaob 19:30, 1 June 2009 (PDT) The readers are here (or coming in myriad forms); they are convenient and increasingly comfortable to use; now we wait (because we must) for mainstream text publishers moving from what they know and profit well from to addressing this seriously. It will happen - but that is on a further horizon isn't it? --Patreg 04:44, 2 June 2009 (PDT)
  • One-to-One Laptop Initiatives. One-to-one computing refers to the ratio of computers to students and teachers in a learning environment. One-to-one computing offers students quick access to information and the most current research on a just-in-time basis as well as a shared network of utilities, many of them free, with which students may collaborate, create and contribute. [...from the 2009 Horizon Report K12 Edition Short List] [I believe that all students should be given a laptop when starting university --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT) A Lot happening here in Oz - "The Government is currently consulting with government and non-government education authorities on future funding arrangements for the Fund. The Government aims to achieve a one to one computer to student ratio for all Year 9 to 12 students by 2011." (see http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/DigitalEducationRevolution/ComputerFund/Pages/NationalSecondarySchoolComputerFundOverview.aspx). Clearly this will impact on students expectation at university - are we ready? --LindaOB--Lindaob 19:30, 1 June 2009 (PDT). This is beginning to become apparent as laptops become more ubiquitous on campus - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) One to one laptop programs are very well established in many independent schools, starting with Methodist Ladies College (MLC) in Melbourne Australia and Kristin School in Auckland New Zealand twelve and eleven years ago respectivitely. Students leaving one to one environments are technologically fluent and adept. This level of ability is becoming the norm for graduates from secondary schools. --AChurchesAchurches 01:47, 30 May 2009 (PDT). Interesting in that examples are more often in K-12 space. Having said that, some interesting HiEd or VocEd examples are turning up. The SAE Institute (international with HQ in Byron Bay) http://www.sae.edu/ now have all students in Australia and European campuses including a notebook in their fees. It is probably no secret that RMIT is looking at introducing a leasing programme (with RMIT taking the responsibility of the lease- brave Margaret) for design students in their funky new building. The real challenge here is infrastructure- enough power, Wi-Fi that can cope with the load, student storage.--Athoman 21:48, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Leasing and loan programs well established in Australian higher ed. The current big laptop roll out is school focused. --LL 07:05, 1 June 2009 (PDT) There are lots of 1:1 computing initiatives at the k-12 level in Oz http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/notebooks/
  • Personally-Owned Devices. Personally owned devices such as smart phones, gaming consoles, and netbooks or mini-laptops are fast becoming ubiquitous features of students’ lives. By connecting with information and each other via these devices, students automatically model many of the collaborative behaviors valued by teachers in the classroom. [...from the 2009 Horizon Report K12 Edition Short List] [Need to collapse a couple of the mobile/personal/communication tools into one cattegory? --Gcrisp01 06:06, 24 May 2009 (PDT)] [yes - can many of these functions be fulfilled with the mini-laptop eg one-to-one as above? --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT)These have enormous potential for the kind of connectivity that underpins the ways students live and learn seamlessly and with friends --CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)- these devices have a terrific potential educational value. But exactly how, why, when and where needs more thorough exploration - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT). As universities, we have been dealing with personally owned devices for a long time, one of the barriers to full use of these devices will be congestion on wireless networks. This can be dealth with through upgrading the wireless networks but will relatively expensive --NickTate 06:36, 31 May 2009 (PDT) - mobile projects conducted in schools http://www.delphian.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=9--Jomurray 18:14, 3 June 2009 (PDT)
  • Small Communication Tools Microblogging tools (Twitter, Facebook) are being put to creative use for education (see TweetMyPaper). Since they can be accessed through the web, through SMS, or with special apps for the iPhone and Android phones, they are available all the time. [rss] --Ninmah 14:16, 1 June 2009 (PDT) Powerful ubiquitous communication tools [TT] [worth exploring --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT)Huge potential - would also add communication tools that enable voice capabilities to microblogging such as audioboo --CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)This area has a huge potential to impact on education - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) essential--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT) I mentioned above in mobile tech section the tool Caroline mentions - AudioBoo. One of the early adopters (indeed I believe the first in Australia to post "boos") just retired from USQ. Worth looking at how she is using. User name is "DramaGirl"--Athoman 21:48, 30 May 2009 (PDT) The recent explosion in Twitter and Facebook apps are tools for better management of these social networking sites. These include TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop, Tweetie for Desktop and iPhone,Twitterific for iphone and desktop, EventBox, Nambu and Twittelator for the iPhone. --KeeneH 16:49, 31 May 2009 (PDT). Check out the Digital Divas project [4] which uses colloborative communication tools to inspire girls to engage with IT and consider careers in this industry.
  • Ubiquitous Video not in size or stature, but the complete process of video from capture (capability built into phones, pocket cameras, Flip devices) to easy to use editing tools (some web-based, but full featured ones come with modern operating systems), to ease of distribution via video sharing sites YouTube, vimeo, etc all point to video being a common form of communication (and in terms of response via video), so that "writing" is now multimodal. See also the interesting work done with EDUPOV "point of view video" http://www.aupov.com/ http://www.edupov.com --Alan 22:02, 12 May 2009 (PDT)[very very exciting--porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT)--CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)Again, I believe that the potential here is huge - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) essential but bandwidth still the restraining issue--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT. I am not sure that bandwidth is really that much of a constraint now. --NickTate 06:36, 31 May 2009 (PDT) It is still a very real constraint in some of the more regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory.
  • Electronic Books With the Kindle, Kindle on iPhone, and other emerging portable readers, the network capability to access content should change the print industry pronto; save trees! See WSJ article How the E-Book Will Change the Way We Read and Write --Alan 22:02, 12 May 2009 (PDT) [Same as paperless publishing? - --Lydiak 21:48, 23 May 2009 (PDT)] [agree with lydia --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT)
  • Converging Imaging Technology Still cameras now can shoot good (and in some cases excellent) HD video. Examples include the recent Canon and Nikon SLRs as well as point and shoots from Canon (PowerShot and Elph), Nikon (Coolpix), Sony (Cybershot), Casio (Exilim), Panasonic (Lumix) and Olympus. The point and shoot still cameras are commonplace now and can be used by students to capture video much like the pocket video cameras (Flip, Vado, Zi6) do. The gold standard is the upcoming RED Epic Scarlet camera system due out later this summer or early fall. (Red Epic Scarlet) While a device like this is not commonplace, its less expensive relatives are mainstream. Such devices give users more creative power within one device, saving time and money. --KeeneH 17:05, 18 May 2009 (PDT)Easy-to-use,point, shoot, edit and upload/view - this kind of technology is very accessible to learners, teachers and researchers who don't have time to get up to speed with more complex technologies - enormous application to education - imagination is the only limit --CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT) essential to vocational and school learning--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT) see

http://blog.brightcookie.com/2009/06/eeezee-publish/--Jomurray 18:14, 3 June 2009 (PDT)

  • High Definition Videoconferencing As videoconference technology improves and we now have many institutions using HD systems for administrative purposes (meetings etc) there appears to me to be an opportunity to use this technology for learning and teaching purposes. For instance many first year lectures are hampered because they are having to be delivered to large numbers of people in spaces that are uneconomical to build given that they are usually only useful for 1st year/1st semester lectures. By the time students move past first year they start to break down into smaller groups and these larger spaces sit empty or are used at a fraction of their capacity until the next cohort arrives. I believe there is a case to argue that these lectures should instead be delivered live into smaller spaces simultaneously using HD videoconferencing and purpose built smaller facilities which incorporate the means for student/audience feedback in a far more innovative way such as students being able to ask questions of the lecturer through some electronic means as well as being able to deliver feedback etc. This would also aid student retention where 1st year students especially can feel a sense of alienation due to large lecture sizes. Instead they would work more in tute sized classes. --Claire 09:05, 22 May 2009 (PDT) [very useful to explore especially in the context of connecting students from different campuses or even institutions--porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT) --CarolineS 23:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT) Agree with Caroline- it is distance ed (which will become more important should we actually act on Bradley Review targets) where HD conferencing will shine. And collaborative small group teaching. My dream is that the day of the huge lectures (a post war industrial model) goes away as technology frees up staff to have smaller face to face (f2f) experiences which we all know are more effective. Agree with Jo... small groups is old style (Socrates) pedagogy too, but as my old pal Lord Curzon, Chancellor of Oxford in 1909, said ... the tutorial is one of Oxbridges' greatest gifts. Pedagogy has nothing to do with class sizes ... it's all economics. --Athoman 21:48, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Would certainly free up staff for improved teaching/learning in universities - lecturing (one way transmission) is old pedagogy - makes sense to have it available but free of time or location--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Well established in Australian higher education - particularly for multi-campus institutions.
  • Professional Networking Spaces Many educators have a digital footprint in social networking sites such a Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and others. Whilst following people on Facebook, and then Twitter and then Delicious is possible, it would make sense for this information to be 'piped' into the one place. So these applications are like yahoo pipes but actually connects people with like colleagues and allows you to follow conversations, recommendations, and opinions across their digital footprint. Ultimately this will become the default e-portfolio for those people who are building their reputation through profiling within networks.....not unlike Linked-in for educators. We know employers are watching us now.... The http://me.edu.au service is a early version of such a service for educators, but a great way for educators to learn in an informal way. --Gputland 19:18, 23 May 2009 (PDT) Other sites supporting professional networking and collaboration ALTC Exchange [5], Cloudworks, [6] promoting discussion around learning design.--Ttreagus 19:46, 24 May 2009 (PDT)[provides a real-world experience --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT) essential and not just for educators, for learners as well--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT)
  • Immersive Computer Augmented Virtual Environment or C.A.V.E Design and visualisation tools, including 3D stereoscopic displays, multi-dimensional modelling and digital prototyping and manufacturing capability. Ref: http://www.designlondon.net/content.php [--Lydiak 21:48, 23 May 2009 (PDT)] [Still the area of specialists? Simplified versions of this would be useful for classroom activities and for students to use to produce assessment items. --Gcrisp01 06:06, 24 May 2009 (PDT)] essential for vocational students engaged and assessed in 'Practice Firms'--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT) Some great examples of 3D stereoscopic work is in astrophysics. Swinburne doing great work in this turf - Matthew Bailes et al http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/. Paul Bourke at UWA as well (came from Swinburne) --Athoman 21:48, 30 May 2009 (PDT)
  • ePortfolios There has been a significant national level effort to investigate and study the use of ePortfolios over the past several years in Australia. An ALTC effort over two years produced several reports that illustrate different ways they have been used and in their benefits to students, academic staff and individuals with vested interests in their activities, e.g., employers, accrediting bodies, institutions, etc. It is becoming clear that the next major drivers that are emerging will come from professional accreditation organizations as Australia seeks to establish national level accrediting bodies, particularly in health related professions. If there were ever a confluence of need, technology, and potential national-scale impact the late establishment of evidence-based accreditation systems affords huge opportunities for rapid adoption of ePortfolio systems. http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/eportfolio-community-practice, http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/free-tags/eportfolio, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24717496-5018490,00.html, http://www.eportfoliopractice.qut.edu.au/, --[PDL][e-Portfolios have the potential to fundamentally change assessment practices in universities. The issue we still grapple with is not the technology, but the human side of marking and grading of student work. e-Portfolios are likely to be used by all students soon. --Gcrisp01 05:51, 24 May 2009 (PDT)] ]these are essential to drive more diverse forms of assessment and student engagement in non-assessed but core activitites --porophil 18:17, 27 May 2009 (PDT)From a pedagogical perspective I think that this is the area that probably has the largest potential for short term impact, but it has a way to go! - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT); Integration of eportfolio tools into LMSs will streamline this process eg [Moodle and Mahara integration [MC] ]http://www.moodleman.net/archives/38 - Moodle Mahara integration is provided commercially through http://www.brightcookie.com --Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT)see example project - http://blog.brightcookie.com/2009/06/eeezee-publish/ and VET SA site at: www.vetsa.net.au with access to the Mahara add-on (on RHS of home page). login: jomurray pass: welcome--Jomurray 18:14, 3 June 2009 (PDT) ---e-portfolios are individual not institutional - personal selection, streaming, mash-ups of content I believe will be the way to go in Higher Ed at least 35 lifestreaming apps--Robynjay Agree here as problems with ownership, longevity etc are still to be addressed by institutuions --Ttreagus 15:35, 2 June 2009 (PDT)TT 15:55, 31 May 2009 (PDT) UOW developed in-house http://www.editlib.org/p/26895 has been particularly helpful in teacher education for student to link to professional accreditation standards --LL 07:05, 1 June 2009 (PDT)
  • Virtual Worlds and 3D Multimodal environments Significant investment continues in these kinds of environments for learning focused institutions. They currently afford multi-player role play, open-ended exploration and immersion, real and simulated business and corporate models, simulations and game-based environments that can contribute to real training and education in 3D spaces. As these are further developed and mashed up with other social and collaborative technologies, geo-spatial databases and mapping services, mobile technologies and others, their potential to enhance teaching, learning, research and creative expression and blend virtual and real spaces and experiences will only increase. [7] --CarolineS 23:45, 27 May 2009 (PDT)This is an area with fantastic potential, but I believe that the empasis is still on 'potential' - --Ashfordrowe 20:52, 28 May 2009 (PDT) essential-but hobbled by bandwidth restrictions--Jomurray 15:15, 30 May 2009 (PDT)There is the opportunity to develop applications in the Second Life platform that can enable greater interactivity in a group that can overcome the problems of time and space. It is possible to record the transactions so that they can be viewed at a later date.--Craven 21:10, 30 May 2009 (PDT) -- I suspect Australia will need to await further developments that can cope with our poor telecommunications state; while people cannot access virtual worlds within a couple of hours of Sydney education cannot claim it to be ‘mainstream’ --Robynjay 15:50, 31 May 2009 (PDT) Imaging pioneer Avi Bar-Zeev, who helped create the technology behind Google Earth (before Google bought it), has some insight on this type of technology The History of Virtual Worlds (unofficial) --KeeneH 16:28, 31 May 2009 (PDT). We have way to go; there are many dull virtual world educational experiences out there - and some very appropriate ones - including some from Oz (http://religionbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/greetings-from-rupert-and-helen.html; http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/education/epharm/pharmatopia.html) --Patreg 04:44, 2 June 2009 (PDT)Virtual environments are being used in engineering, in this case where the real environment is hazardous. See the work being done by Prof. Ian Cameron and colleagues as part of an ALTC funded project (http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/virtual-reality-and-immersive-systems-process-engineering-learning)where a VR environment has been build around an actual operating plant. --Ttreagus 17:09, 2 June 2009 (PDT)
  • Mind mapping - mind mapping technology provides the user with the opportunity to develop their own learning pathways by drawing the items from a common bank and reconstiotuting them in a form that suits their learning style. It is possible to develop a less linear style of learning and allow learners to have a higher level of control of what they learn and the sequence that they learn it in. This has the opportunity to unlock new synergies and connections. --Craven 21:10, 30 May 2009 (PDT). As a mind mapper for many years, I still find this technology quite clunky. --NickTate 06:36, 31 May 2009 (PDT) - I agree with Nick. Two tools for this are Xmind and PersonalBrain --KeeneH 16:28, 31 May 2009 (PDT)
  • Media sharing repository Video and multimedia content require the means for educators to assign licences (CC or otherwise), store, (re)use and share content with ease. Most educators embracing multimedia/video rely on cloud based services. These are fine in some circumstances but on the whole lack the features required for education settings. What is required is a space that allows CC licencing, where unskilled teachers and students can easily upload items - assign a title, tags, descriptor and licence to content - reuse via embed code, and share that with others. In Australia services such as LORN do NOT achieve this (as they are about centralised ‘experts’ selecting content via onerous procedures).--Robynjay 15:51, 31 May 2009 (PDT) at UOW medical school all content stored and tagged in a repository has been critical to support delivery of an integrated curriculum http://www.imsglobal.org/learningimpact2008/2008LIAwinners.html --LL 07:05, 1 June 2009 (PDT)


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