Using educational technology as an institutional teaching and learning improvement strategy?
Increasingly, educational technology is identified as crucial to addressing many scale issues around higher education learning and teaching. However, such projects are often run with the technical project goals achieved but the educational goals unrealised. Further, in an age of austerity, all investments must be closely scrutinised as to their efficacy in meeting their intended goals. To what extent can educational technology be used as a management tool to enable and promote institution-level change in learning and teaching as a strategic goal? This paper reports on use of the Resources, Activity, Support and Evaluation (RASE) model at an Australian university in its move from an incumbent to a new ‘learning management system’ coupled with judicious use of inflection points introduced to drive educational change across a whole institution and to model and report on that change.
Barriers and levers driving change in a STEM science subject in the Australian higher education sector: a focused study
Background : This study explored the challenges around enacting change in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject at an Australian higher education institution and examined key elements required to ensure change. Purpose : The purpose of the study was to examine the barriers and levers driving change during the collaboration of discipline experts, in both science and education disciplines and professional staff across education and science faculties to change the delivery of an existing subject within a science faculty, from traditional lectures to an active learning approach. Sample : Participants from the education faculty and science faculty formed the participant interview pool of five academics for this study. Design and Methods : Research design of semi-structured interviews of participants was conducted to answer the research questions. Instruments were used to test the research questions, such as factors to facilitate and support change to teaching a science subject and the elements required for successful interdisciplinary collaboration for bringing about change to the teaching of a science subject. Thematic analyses were conducted on the data responses to answer the research questions. Results : The findings revealed that participants found that factors such as time, resources, understanding of and commitment to the proposed change represented potential barriers to change in the subject. The existence of multiple, time-sensitive champions, additional human resources and a collaborative network of participants, however, were identified as some of the key elements that supported enacting changes to a science subject. Conclusions : The findings of the study provide insights into interdisciplinary collaborations enacting changes to the teaching of a science subject. For instance, the need for establishment of a dynamic network of participants engendered with multiple interdisciplinary expertise, as well as the need for a change champion and implementation champion, throughout the curriculum redesign, planning and implementation phases of the change.
Massive open online courses: higher education's digital moment?
2 Massive open online courses CONTENTS Foreword 1 Executive summary 2 Introduction 4 1: Characteristics of current developments 6 Massive growth 7 Open online pedagogy 14 Course credit and credentials 19 2: Responding to the digital challenge 22 Supporting educational missions 23 Driving internationalisation 23 Diversifying learning pathways 24 Restructuring costs 25 Sharing education services 26 Driving learning research and development 27 Reforming the core 28 3: Making the most of MOOCs 29 1 FOREWORD The rapid development of 'massive open online courses' is currently generating considerable excitement in the world of higher education. With the potential for a great democratic shift, MOOCs offer a chance for millions of people, whoever they are, wherever they are, to follow courses led by distinguished scholars, and at the same time connect with a community of like-minded fellow learners around the globe. And for the moment at least, access to these courses is entirely free. In turn, academics and institutions are able to communicate with people on a scale that was barely imaginable just a few years ago. To many, this looks like a revolutionary moment, heralding a new era for higher education. As with most revolutions, at this early stage it is very hard to predict what the outcomes might be, either for the way people access higher education, or for the way it is provided. Any discussion of MOOCs immediately throws up a series of challenging questions. Can the free provision of content continue to be rolled out, to the massive extent that is now possible, in a way that is financially sustainable, or will it need to depend on philanthropic or other kinds of public investment? Can an entirely open online course, with hundreds of thousands of students enrolled, provide students with the learning and qualifications that they need to develop personally and professionally? Can these types of courses be accredited in a way that gives employers the confidence that they are recruiting individuals with the authenticated skills and qualities needed for the success of their organisations? Who will want to pay to go to a traditional university, and what sort of experience will they expect, if they can access the lectures of world-leading scholars for free? These developments are indicative of a wider set of developments that are happening beyond the world of education. They are part of a sea change in attitude towards online spaces across our lives, …