Innovations In Technology Enhanced

Learning At Bond

INTRODUCTION 1

INTERVIEW: Narelle BedfordReinvigorating Lecture with the Experience of Legal Professionals

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CASE STUDY: Christian MoroRevision Gaming

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CASE STUDY: Jackson Walkden-BrownVideo Capsules for First Semester Law Students

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CASE STUDY: Michelle McLeanFlipping Histology

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CASE STUDY: Mandy HannaA Day in the Life of a Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapist

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INTERVIEW: Athanasios Raikos, Christian Moro & Allan StirlingApplying Virtual and Augmented Reality to the Teaching of Anatomy

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CASE STUDY: Rick BestUsing the Flipped Classroom to Teach Building Measurement

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INTERVIEW: Shilo BrosnanOnline Modules to Support Student Assessment

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CASE STUDY: Craig LangstonDigital Badges

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CASE STUDY: Michael ReganRisky Business: A new approach to developing skills in decision-making under conditions of uncertainty

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CASE STUDY: Neil RobertsIf I could say one thing

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INTERVIEW: Beata Webb, Masanori Mastsumoto & Alicia ValleroActivity Learning with Collaborate Ultra

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INTERVIEW: Stephen SugdenTeaching with Spreadsheets

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CONTENTS:

A culture of excellence and innovation

Bond University prides itself on its student-centred approach, endeavouring to create an environment which strives to inspire the next generation of global leaders and professionals. This unwavering commitment to the learner experience and teaching quality are the foundations upon which Bond University has built an international reputation for excellence, and innovation.

In the pursuit of excellence, Bond University has a proud history, not just of adopting and embracing change, but actively seeking opportunities in which to revolutionise learning and teaching practices in higher education.

The shifting landscape of higher education

In a rapidly changing market place, many higher education institutions, both locally and globally, are endeavouring to respond to a fundamental shift in ideology within the sector. Driven by distinct government and societal shifts, such as those provided by emerging technologies, education is embarking on a period of evolution. Imbued with the spirit of free enterprise and innovation, Bond University is well positioned to not only respond to such change but embrace and thrive within this rapidly changing educational environment.

The transformative power of technology

Technological developments have enhanced the availability and fl exibility of education programs worldwide, enabling learning to take place anywhere, anytime. This digital transformation challenges educational institutions to consider not only what students need to learn, but the means and modes through which they learn it.

As we look to the future, Bond University continues its strong commitment to harnessing the power of technology as a means of further enhancing the learning experience for its students. Such an approach resonates with the University’s strong commitment to a student-centred and personalised approach to learning and teaching.

Learn, Teach, Innovate, Educate

The pursuit of innovation and excellence, and the delivery of educational programs that are distinctive and of the highest quality are the cornerstones of the Bond philosophy and commitment to the student experience. Bond University’s reputation for adopting and embracing new technologies, and the integration of such technologies within the learning and teaching experience, has been a consistent feature of our development. We are a community fi lled with educators who dare to experiment and innovate in the pursuit of on-going improvement and excellence in learning and teaching. This booklet aims to showcase some of the innovative practices currently taking place across the Bond University campuses. It provides a forum through which colleagues can share their journeys and insights in the hope that it might inspire others to look for ways in which to embrace technology enhanced teaching and innovation to enhance the student learning experience.

“We are a community fi lled with educators who dare to experiment and innovate”

Innovations in Technology Enhanced Learning

INTRODUCTION

1

Narelle BedfordReinvigorating Lectures with the Experience of Legal Professionals

Engaging students in a lecture environment is always a challenge. During Semester 152 Narelle Bedford presented a video series during lectures, featuring the Honourable Michel Bastarache, to students studying Canadian Administrative Law.

Michel Bastarache is a former Canadian Supreme Court judge who presided over one of the most seminal cases in Canadian law.

Tell us what happened?

Narelle: I realised that Bastarache was closely involved in one of the cases my students would be studying this year.

Through a partner of a law fi rm I was able to contact him and he agreed to record an interview that explained the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding the case.

With some help from the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching I was able to present the video in an engaging manner to my students during lectures.

What technologies were involved?

The video was recorded as a High defi nition 60fps video fi le in Canada and arrived via a USB drive. The original 40 minute video was edited and chunked into 4 parts using Adobe Premiere and exported as fi les that could be played during lectures. In the future the videos will be hosted securely so that Bond students can access them online.

What did you hope to achieve by developing this video for your students?

The video brings the subject to life, because it provides a direct window into Bastarache’s thought process from his point of view.

It makes the case more real for the students, and provides direct input from the legal profession involved in the case I was teaching.

Why did you choose this particular approach?

The interview video style is practical and engaging for students. My main aim was to increase student engagement in the case and make it more tangible and relevant. I was hoping that providing a video which featured Bastarache would contextualise and engage students in the case, and motivate students to read the Supreme Court’s decision in full.

What were some of the benefi ts of this approach?

The videos revitalised the lecture format for me. Students loved the videos and looked forward to each episode.

What seemed to work well?

Breaking/chunking the video in a series of episodes worked really well.

What challenges did you face?

Due to the large and high quality of the video I had diffi culty playing it on my laptop computer. Editing the fi le was a challenge and I did have to ask for support with that task.

Playback of the fi nal video in a lecture theatre required the use of VLC media player and I had to check that speakers and audio were working. Hosting the videos online is a challenge I’m still looking into as there are several diff erent options each with their own drawbacks.

INTERVIEW

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What feedback have you received from students or your peers?

Students loved the video series. There is a buzz in the class and next year’s students are already excited as they have heard all about it. Some of the comments from students were very positive: “I appreciated the eff ort that went into obtaining these comments from the author of the judicial decision himself.

The videos provided an invaluable supplementary perspective” and “I found the videos showed a more humanised and personal look at the work of the court, illustrating that its decisions and the their eff ects are carefully considered beforehand”.

What obstacles did you encounter and how did you handle them?

Students still need to read about the cases in detail. Towards the end of semester it be Students still need to read about the cases in detail.

Towards the end of semester it became clear that a few students were relying on Bastarache’s video alone for their understanding of the case and some were even quoting the video interview in their responses to assessment, instead of the referring to the Supreme Court’s decision.

In the future I will need to establish a clearer set of guidelines regarding the use of the videos.

“The videos revitalised the lecture format for me. Students loved the videos and looked forward to each episode.”

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What did you learn from this experience?

The importance for asking for help! Without the co-operation of Michel Bastarache, the partner and the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching this video would not have been possible. And make sure you always backup your fi les.

“I found the videos showed a more humanised and personal look at the work of the court, illustrating that its decisions and

the their eff ects are carefully considered beforehand.”

Narelle teaches Administrative Law and Canadian Administrative Law at Bond University.

Prior to teaching she was employed by the Australian Attorney-General’s Department in the Administrative Law Branch and in the secretariat of the Administrative Law Review Council.

Narelle was also an Executive Offi cer for the Migration and Refugee Review Tribunals and an Australian Diplomat.

Narelle is currently enrolled in a PhD at the University of New South Wales and her thesis topic is centred on State level mixed jurisdiction tribunals.

A video interview with the honorable Michel Bastarache, played during a Candian Law lecture

Do you have any future plans for the use of videos?

I have already arranged a video interview for another guest speaker: Geoff Plant Q.C. who was an Attorney General of British Columbia and responsible for the introduction of a key piece of legislation.

What advice would you give someone wanting to try something similar?

Do it absolutely. Make sure you allow time to organise everything and get the support and help you need.

Any fi nal thoughts or comments?

I would highly recommend others contacting the experts in their fi eld and creating video interviews. It really does bring the professional real world experience into the classroom. The response from my students has been overwhelmingly positive.

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Christian MoroRevision GamingExploring novel methods to enhance participation in revision activities

For some students, the concept of “revision” tends to be associated with the last-minute rush to get through a course’s content before an examination or assessment.

However, optimal revision occurs continually throughout the semester, with great benefi ts to learning and comprehension when students revisit course content each week.

Dr Christian Moro decided to draw from an existing bank of questions and other resources (past exams, etc.) to provide a revision opportunity for students to use each week, in order to gauge their current understanding. By completing regular revision activites students can identify any misconceptions or diffi cult concepts immediately, rather than closer to the end of the semester.

CASE STUDY

“The revision computer game used by Bond Bio-medical students”

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However, encouraging students to work through revision questions weekly, rather than just storing them for later use, proved quite tricky. To enhance participation in these exercises, Christian created computer game using RPG maker software, where the students could engage in a fi ctional game world adventure.

As students progress through the storyline, characters have a range of questions to ask our “hero”. Students are encouraged to use their advanced knowledge of science to weaken enemies in the game.

For example, attacking bosses in weak spots is more eff ective.

One boss in particular has a weak “pseudostratifi ed columnar epithelium” and using this information students must determine where to strike the boss to infl ict the most damage.

Revision Gaming illustrates how technology can be used to enhance participation and interaction in revision activities within the semester.

Students really seem to enjoy the variety, and packaging questions and revision activities into games or other interactive modes is defi nitely one way that technology can augment how students learn throughout our courses. 

Christian is a lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and Medicine at Bond University. Born and bred on the Gold Coast, he worked as a Senior Science teacher both locally and in London. Christian has completed a Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry), and a Bachelor of Education (Chem, Bio) at the University of Queensland.

He also completed a Master of Business (Applied Finance) at the University of Southern Queensland. Christian completed his PhD in Biomedical Sciences at Bond University.

Christian’s research investigates the physiology associated with diseases of the urinary bladder, and also undertakes educational research, revolving around maximising the provision of hands-on activities coupled with online content to assist university students to make the most of their learning and course engagement. He has worked in scientifi c research at the University of Queensland and is a current member of the Bond Centre for Urology Research, with an aim to fi nally understand the mechanisms underlying bladder dysfunction.

Don’s Tavern

Biomedical Questions

To download and play an edited trial version of Christian’s Revision Game scan the QR barcode on the right.

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Jackson Walkden-BrownVideo Capsules for First SemesterLaw StudentsAn introductory law subject taught by Jackson Walkden-Brown, called the Australian Legal System (ALS), is undertaken by all law students in their fi rst semester of law school and features a suite of video capsules.

Although these videos were targeted specifi cally for fi rst semester law students, the principles underlying the videos are likely to be transferable to fi rst semester courses in other disciplines.

Jackson’s hope is that academics responsible for coordinating fi rst semester subjects in other disciplines can adapt this idea for their own courses.

The project involves three categories of videos. The fi rst is a series of short (2-5 minute) videos showcasing key faculty members providing general information relevant to fi rst semester students.

The second is a series of medium length (15-30 minute) videos showcasing a broad range of academic staff discussing key concepts relevant to the ALS curriculum that align with their expertise.

The third is a series of lengthy (60-90 minute) casual interview-style videos showcasing a small number of experienced senior academics discussing ‘big picture’ issues relevant to law and modern society.

CASE STUDY

“An engaging video presented by Senior teaching fellow Craig Smith” 7

The Subject

ALS is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program. The subject examines the nature and sources of law. The role and function of the primary institutions of Australian government (parliament, the executive and the judiciary) are addressed and considerable attention is given to analysis of the Australian Constitution.

The basic methods of the law are examined with respect to the common law tradition, the doctrine of precedent, and the principles and rules of statutory interpretation. Examples of other topics include indigenous legal traditions, legal theory, international law and legal ethics.

In simple terms, the role of an ALS teacher is to equip his or her students with all of the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to undertake all of the other courses in their law degree. The curriculum provides students with an introduction to many areas of law that are covered in more detail in subsequent compulsory subjects.

Whilst there are obviously signifi cant diff erences between an introduction to law course and introductory courses in other disciplines, there are presumably many common threads, enough to warrant consideration of this video capsule approach in other contexts.

“There are presumably many common threads, enough to warrant consideration of

this video capsule approach in other contexts.”

The Essentials

The Essentials video series serves to introduce a number of key faculty members. The most important video is a welcome from the Executive Dean. Other key executive staff videos include the Associate Deans of ‘Learning and Teaching’ and ‘Student Aff airs and Service Quality’.

The Coordinator of the Legal Skills Program provides a brief overview of Bond’s innovative and integrated approach to teaching legal skills. This will likely be expanded into a suite of videos introducing all of the diff erent legal skills modules.

Importance was also placed on creating videos that introduce important administrative staff that students will have contact with in their fi rst semester.

These videos are made available at the start of the semester and can easily be updated in future semesters because of the short and straightforward nature of the recordings.

The Experts

This video series serves two purposes. The fi rst objective is to have experts discussing key concepts relevant to the ALS curriculum that align with their expertise.

The fact that ALS covers such a broad range of topics, most of which are explored in greater depth in subsequent compulsory subjects, means that there is signifi cant scope to allow academics to provide a broad overview of their subjects in a contextual and introductory manner.

For example, our constitutional expert provides a detailed explanation of the fundamental power dynamics in our system of government, our legal ethics expert provides some practical insights into professionalism and common ethical dilemmas faced by practicing lawyers, and our international law expert provides an introduction to the internationalisation of legal education and the impact of globalization on modern legal practice.

Associate Professor Libby Taylor records a video for her students

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The second, more general, objective is to introduce our new students to a broad range of academic staff , giving them a taste of Bond’s academic culture and the signifi cant expertise that exists within the faculty.

Bond is, comparatively speaking, a relatively small law school with a unique culture. First year students are generally motivated to learn about the teaching and research expertise existing within the faculty.

These videos provide a great platform to showcase this expertise, as well as introduce the varied personalities and backgrounds of Bond University’s Faculty of Law staff . The distinctive ‘individualities’ of the academics shine through in these videos, as most academics have strong convictions about their areas of expertise.

The videos are made available at a time in the semester when the relevant/aligned aspect of the curriculum is introduced.

The Veterans

The veterans’ video series serves to inspire new Bond Law students by introducing some of the broader aspects of legal education and legal practice. The interviewees were carefully chosen academics who were best suited to an interview style, and comfortable with a free-fl owing intellectual discussion about law and society.

Jackson has entitled this series of videos ‘Life and Law’, to refl ect the broad-based rational underlying the category. The videos are intended to promote and encourage ethical and professional approaches to the study and practice of law. These videos are made available at the start of the semester, but are not compulsory viewing.

Jackson currently coordinates the Introduction to Law subject at Bond University. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2003. Jackson took up a position as a part-time teaching fellow at the Faculty of Law at Bond University in 2004, whilst practicing at the Brisbane offi ce of Minter Ellison Solicitors.

Now an Assistant Professor and PhD candidate, Jackson’s principal areas of research and teaching include Animal Law and Entertainment Law. He also teaches Australian Legal System and has a keen interest in jurisprudence and political philosophy.

Jackson has extensive practical experience in the pro-bono sector and an on-going relationship with a number of community legal centres and volunteer organisations in Queensland. He also practices as a solicitor with a fi rm specialising in entertainment law.

The Goal

This video capsule project is a work-in-progress that will be expanded and refi ned for future semesters. Jackson hopes that the videos will form an integral part of the ‘welcome to the Bond family’ message conveyed to fi rst semester Law students.

It is integral that Bond University does everything it can to provide new students with a comprehensive and inspiring introduction to legal education. The Faculty of Law at Bond University is a unique law school with a spirit of innovation and commitment that should be showcased to infl uence new students, in the most direct and creative manner possible.

Students should be made aware from day one that our primary goal is preparing them to succeed, lead and inspire in a rapidly changing global legal environment. It is Jackson’s hope this project assists, in a small way, that endeavour.

Associate Professor Danielle Ireland-Piper on camera 9

Michelle McLeanFlipping Histology

CASE STUDY

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Histology (Microanatomy) is traditionally diffi cult for medical students to master. It involves an understanding of how tissues are prepared, stained and sectioned. Each student needs to work out how best to identify the various tissues and often individual cells in glass slides.

This requires time in the laboratory as well as being able to visualise structures in 3D. During her fi rst year at Bond, Professor Michelle McLean delivered an “inherited” set of laboratory notes and some modifi ed PowerPoints in a traditional didactic way.

She was frustrated by student comments like “she uses big words”. As part of the implementation of a new curriculum in 2013, combined with an overarching philosophy of learner-centredness in which students are expected to be active participants in their learning, Michelle decided to “fl ip” the way students engaged with the Histology component in the integrated medical program.

Flipping Histology entailed using Camtasia to record a video version of what would have been a traditional didactic lecture delivered in a face-to-face class.

These voice-over PowerPoint (VOPP) videos are released at the start of the week with the appropriate problem-based learning case. Learners are expected to work through the VOPP in preparation for a quiz developed in TurningPoint (typically in groups), allowing students and Michelle to identify areas requiring further explanation.

This is followed a day or two later by a laboratory practical in which students consolidate their theoretical knowledge about tissue structure and function. Sometimes the week ends with groups of students working through clinical cases to apply their understanding of normal structure and function to when “things go wrong”. During these sessions, a clinician contributes so that students appreciate the relevance to clinical practice.

“The online podcasts are more educational then the in-class lectures for histology because the online podcasts go into more depth and can be stopped and started to ensure we can go at our own speed.”

Successes and Benefi ts

Michelle believes that the majority of the students have embraced the challenge of preparing in advance for sessions. According to their online feedback and eTEVALS, VOPPs (+/- 1h duration) allow students to stop and re-listen as well as take notes.

Face-to-face sessions then become opportunities to check their knowledge and understanding rather than learn new content. Students have commented:

“The online podcasts are more educational then the in-class lectures for Histology because the online podcasts go into more depth and can be stopped and started to ensure we can go at our own speed.”

”The use of podcasts before lectures was really helpful, especially because you can do them in your own time and pause and take notes. The in-lecture quizzes also assisted in realising which concepts were more emphasised and delving into more complex questions was helpful as well.”

An analysis of the multiple choice questions over the past two years, revealed that students have passed most of the Histology questions well.

These questions typically feature images and application of knowledge, requiring higher order thinking skills. The point biserial (PB) indices are generally above 0.2, which is considered acceptable in terms of being discriminating.

A fair few PBs are in the 0.3-0.45 range, which Michelle takes as a success.

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Challenges

Flipping one’s sessions takes time. In the particular case of Histology, any “lectures” (called large group resource sessions in Medicine) had to be recorded and this meant learning to use Camtasia software. Although Michelle doesn’t consider herself to be a digital native or even digitally adept, she was able to successfully produce basic Camtasia videos. Michelle noted, however, the need for a refresher when she had not used Camtasia for a while. Once the VOPPs have been recorded, they can be eff ectively used until the slide content needs to be replaced or updated. With the assistance of the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching it is, however, possible to edit the existing Camtasia videos, splicing and inserting updated content.

Feedback Received

Michelle’s approach has hit the mark for students who have embraced the responsibility of preparing in advance for class. Students have commented that:

“The quiz was probably the most benefi cial part for me as I was then able to really hone in on what I had understood and learnt, and what I hadn’t.”

Impact on Student Learning

From the eTEVALS, it was clear that students recognised the importance of taking responsibility for their learning. Students identifi ed where, when and how they had learnt:

Advice to Colleagues

Take the plunge and switch from teaching to learning. Over the past two years, students have progressed from seeing Histology as a mountain to climb to something challenging but manageable. Some have even said that they “love” Histology! The eff ect of the fl ipping on Michelle’s classroom in eTEVAL results was immediate, with both the qualitative and the quantitative components validating the approach.

Traditionalists might complain that if material is provided upfront (such as the VOPP), students won’t attend sessions. Michelle has not found this to be the case. Attendance at the face-to-face sessions (quiz and practicals) is about 95%.

“The way the laboratory sessions were set up meant that in order to get the most out of each session, we were encouraged to come prepared (and with prior reading/knowledge) otherwise we would not have gained as much from it.”

“Asking questions during class and providing quizzes to test our knowledge forced me to be up to date with the current learning.”

“The quiz was probably the most benefi cial part for me as I was then able to really hone in on what I had understood and learnt, and what I hadn’t.”

“I liked that she would give us video podcasts for self-directed learning and would test our understanding during the large group sessions. I felt that I gained the most from her sessions for this reason.”

“(Michelle) uses many visual cues and asks complex questions.”

“Her visual approach during the lectures and the fact that we would have to watch the lecture prior to the session and then do a quiz.”

Only one negative comment was received from a student about the voice being too slow in the VOPPs. This student was presumably unaware that the VOPP (and hence the voice) could be sped up, suggesting that some students may need upskilling in technology use.

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Final Thoughts

Flipping Histology has not only relieved the stress of teaching a new discourse to fi rst year students but has also alleviated their diffi culties with getting to grips with the new terminology. Michelle is now working with colleagues to integrate the basic and clinical sciences. By the time this goes to press, a clinically qualifi ed colleague and Michelle will have conducted a fl ipped session integrating the supporting connective tissue (cartilage and bone) (Histology) with osteology and arthrology (Anatomy).

Students will have been asked to view the relevant VOPPs ahead of time to familiarise themselves with the new terminology and the required Anatomy and Histology. In a large group, using full skeletons as prompts, students will have been quizzed about joints, bones, movement and tissues in the diff erent body regions. By using two clinical cases, one involving an X-ray and the other a CT scan, students could then apply their theoretical knowledge in a laboratory practical session.

Michelle served as the Associate Dean, External Engagement & Marketing | Academic Lead for Problem-based learning at Bond University from January 2013-December 2015.

She has a degree in Biological Sciences, a Masters and PhD in plant and seed toxicology and mycology and a Masters in Education.

Michelle’s interest in medical education began in the late 1990s when she became part of the Curriculum Development Task Force responsible for implementing a problem-based learning curriculum (University of Natal, which later became the University of KwaZulu-Natal). Michelle also worked for almost 6 years in Medical Education at the United Arab Emirates University.

Michelle’s research has largely focussed on student experiences in diff erent parts of their training.

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Mandy HannanA Day in the Life of a Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapist

CASE STUDY

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To a brand new physiotherapy student, cardiorespiratory physiotherapy can be eye opening and confronting. Students tend to focus on the not so pleasant aspects of a physiotherapist’s role, such as assisting a patient to remove thick green sputum from their chest, accompanied by frightful noises or having to manage attachments fi lled with bodily fl uids as they assist patients to walk.

Students can lose sight of the real reason this area of physiotherapy is so exciting and rewarding.

A cardiorespiratory physiotherapist is able to literally save someone’s life by removing the secretions that are preventing a patient from breathing. They can assist someone to return to their own home by helping them improve their balance and mobility rather than having to be placed in a nursing home.

Cardiorespiratory physiotherapists can ensure that patients are returned to their loved ones as quickly as possible and prevent potentially life threatening complications of surgery.

No one wants to be in hospital, and being able to provide a friendly smile and a chat can brighten a person’s day.

The Project Idea

Assistant Professor Mandy Hannan wanted to emphasise the positive aspects of cardiorespiratory physiotherapy to help engage and motivate her students. She wanted students to embrace their learning and look forward to clinical placement.

Mandy decided to capture this enthusiasm through the production of a video that show-cased the real world experiences of a cardiorespiratory physiotherapist. She contacted several physiotherapists working in the area and asked for their assistance to help produce videos that would capture “A Day in the Life of a Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapist.”

Physiotherapists from the Gold Coast University Hospital were very supportive and couldn’t wait to get started. The support team from the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching also off ered assistance with the fi lming and editing of the videos. So the idea was put in motion.

Senior Physiotherapist Penny Schofi eld guides students through the process of using a tilt table

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Project Planning

Initially Mandy wrote a script of the required video, sent it to the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching and then met with the physiotherapists for their approval.

It was important to personalise the video by allowing the physiotherapists to tell their stories. These physiotherapists were once students, who thought at the outset, that they would become sports physiotherapists and for varying reasons found themselves drawn to cardiorespiratory physiotherapy.

The aim of the video was for the physiotherapists to talk about what they loved most about their career choice and to give a brief summary of what a typical day for them was like.

The video was to be shown as part of the introduction to the subject and students were to go straight in to clinical placement afterwards. Therefore it was important to illustrate the step by step process that a real physiotherapist used when carrying out their day to day role. It was vital that this process could be easily replicated so students could use the same steps on their placement.

Production

The day of fi lming arrived and armed with thank you muffi ns, the team met at the Gold Coast University Hospital and had a fun morning fi lming. The enthusiasm for the area was portrayed well and didn’t require too many takes.

Filming featured a physiotherapist working through a ward list and explaining how they used their clinical reasoning to prioritise the patients they would see.

The physiotherapist was recorded looking at a patient’s electronic medical record and chest x-rays.

She discussed what questions would be asked of the multidisciplinary team before seeing the patient, and what could be gauged about the patient from looking at the bedside chart.

Other physiotherapists demonstrated the correct way to wash hands, how they documented assessment and treatment and discussed clinical reasoning around discharge planning.

Challenges

The original plan was to fi lm a physiotherapist performing an assessment and treatment with a real life patient who had undergone cardiac surgery, however due to circumstances outside the team’s control the fi lming was delayed.

Everything had been discussed and approved however, the day before the surgery was cancelled.

Plan B was to fi lm a patient in the intensive care unit, but at the last moment fi lming approval was retracted by the manager, and there were no other suitable patients.

Additionally, physiotherapists could not be spared for the allocated fi lming time as they were extra busy. This resulted in an additional fi lming day being required which was completed at Robina Hospital.

Further plans were complicated by the arrival of newborns within the team.

The videos produced were longer than originally anticipated so they were edited into shorter clips. Physiotherapists’ stories were played as part of the introductory lecture, and other clips were uploaded to iLearn so that students could access them whenever they wished.

Senior Physiotherapist Penny Schofi eld analyses a patients X-Ray16

Feedback Received

There was a visible increase in student engagement with this year’s cohort, and several students mentioned that they were now thinking of working in this area in the future. Mandy noted that students had never mentioned an interest in Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy to her in the past. At this early stage there is no specifi c feedback from students about the videos, however a structured survey will be conducted after student placement to ascertain whether students found these videos helpful.

Final thoughts

Although there were a few unavoidable challenges along the way, Mandy had a great time undergoing this project, despite accepting the realisation that a movie star in the making she is not. Mandy’s advice for academics who would enjoy a similar project is to remember that all good plans can go astray when sick patients, busy wards and pregnant spouses are thrown in the mix. Be prepared to be fl exible and adaptable, realise you may have to fi lm on several occasions but most importantly know that the end result, being able to inspire, engage and motivate your students by exposing them to the real world is invaluable.

Mandy is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University.

She has a Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Masters of Scientifi c Studies and Bachelor of Applied Science Human Movement from The University of Queensland.

Mandy worked for over 15 years within cardiac rehabilitation and was the Cardiac Rehabilitation Manager for the Gold Coast Health Service District for 5 years before joining Bond University.

She held positions as a Senior Physiotherapist both here and in Ireland working primarily in acute medical/surgical wards and oncology. Mandy also managed a private musculoskeletal and hydrotherapy practice in Ireland and was the Team Physiotherapist for the Suttonian Rugby fi rst team.

She has also developed educational DVDs for physiotherapy students which included interactive online workbooks in Ireland. Mandy is a PhD candidate within the Health Sciences and Medicine Faculty.

Illustrating the importance of the correct hand washing procedure

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Athanasios Raikos, Christian Moro, Allan StirlingApplying Virtual and Augmented Reality to the Teaching of Anatomy

At the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University, a trio of prominent academics have teamed to develop an exciting project that revolutionises how anatomy will be taught and experienced by students.

Assistant Professors Athanasios Raikos andChristian Moro, and Associate Professor Allan Stirling are using both virtual and augmented reality technologies to dramatically improve the students’ understanding of human anatomy. In the following interview Athanasios discusses the application of this technology to teaching anatomy.

Why Virtual Reality?

Athanasios: Virtual reality technologies have been available for some time now, however the processing power of past computers and the quality of the virtual reality devices has been the limiting factor in consumer uptake.

As a general rule, computing power doubles every two years, and the good news is that current computers and graphics cards are now able to handle virtual reality, and developer kits that enable the development of virtual reality applications are now available. Inevitably, the immersive possibilities of this technology have attracted the attention of educators and the gaming and entertainment industry alike.

INTERVIEW

Market predictions indicate that in the near future there will be a transformation in the way people play games, watch fi lms, learn, and socialise. The forecast is that augmented and virtual reality could hit US$150 billion revenue by 2020.

What is the advantage of using a virtual environment?

Accompanying this new technology is a plethora of new questions and concerns from the public, but we believe that if correctly structured, virtual reality environments can greatly supplement the teaching process in medical and science education. Virtual reality provides an incredibly immersive way for students to explore the human body that cannot be done using a textbook or a PowerPoint slide.

What are the goals of this project?

Our initial goal has been to design a multiplatform interactive learning module where students learn anatomy using virtual and augmented reality technologies.

Each teaching module is based on specifi c learning objectives/outcomes of the curriculum and off ers detailed photorealistic graphics of the human body. Modules are accompanied by voice narrations, prepared by our team of academics, which guides the learning experience and provides relevant context.

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The team don’t believe that this equipment can replace teaching or classroom learning, however it can assist with experiential learning, solidifying new knowledge and providing an added insight into delivered material.

In addition, this teaching technology can also assist with distant learning students in rural environments, universities or hospitals. By tracking a user’s head and fi nger movements, new horizons can be explored and encapsulated in educational material.

We feel that self-directed learning is an important element of today’s education and institutions need to support and embrace technologies that facilitate this.

What are some of the Challenges?

Some feel that immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality could lead to user isolation.

We have considered these types of potential issues and have decided to stream our research into fi nding the optimal benefi ts of these technologies in anatomical education.

There are also the development challenges of learning to use new software, accessing 3D anatomical models and building the virtual environment.

Virtual reality sickness is an added issue, which can be induced by poor frame rate, moving too fast in the virtual reality environment or taking control of the experience away from the participant.

The physiology behind virtual relatity sickness is not currently clearly understood, however there is potential for us to contribute to research in this area.

“We feel that self-directed learning is an important element of today’s education and institutions need to support and embrace technologies that facilitate this.”

The team illustrate the equipment used for development of the simulation.

Left to Right: Associate Professor Allan Stirling, Assistant Professors Christian Moro and Athanasios Raikos using the Occulus Rift development kit.

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What were some of the benefi ts of this approach?

Textbooks, images, and videos work quite well with basic concepts, but what about when you need to learn something really complex, such as the human body for example?

Our bodies contain an enormous amount of complexity when it comes into understanding the full depth of the human structure. Conceptualising the accurate spatial relationship of anatomical structures such as bones, muscles, neurovascular structures, and connective tissue can be intimidating.

Learning anatomy based on the clinical approach is very helpful as it helps link the concept of structure with clinical applications, however there can be oversight of the topographical and morphological element.

Medical education has many similarities to other careers, such as pilot training, as it requires a lot of simulation exposure before practising on real patients.

You would expect your doctor have spent a serious number of hours using mannequins, carrying out cadaveric dissections, or hands-on surgical workshops ensuring the proper training.

Our mission in medical and allied health sciences education is exactly this. In addition to the theoretical knowledge, we need to expose our students to a large degree of simulation training before their contact with real patients.

Most modern teaching facilities off er a variety of simulation modules ranging from simulating patients for clinical skills learning, virtual scenario-based computer software, to mannequins for practicing basic medical interventions and life-saving skills.

“In addition to the theoretical knowledge, we need to expose our students to a large degree of simulation training before their contact with real patients.”

The problem with many of these simulation modules is that students need to have access to facilities in order to receive the training. Moreover, as with many other things in life, when students don’t keep refreshing their skills and knowledge then they lose it.

Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are amazing exactly for this reason. They can be used practically anywhere once the devices and software have been acquired.

The team’s challenge then, is to design the interface and content for the virtual anatomical environments so that they are sophisticated enough to expose the required levels of complexity, and provide a realistic simulation for students.

How will this impact student learning?

The research team has already acquired virtual reality developer kits, and augmented-reality capable devices. These development platforms are not yet widely available, however commercial versions will be released in 2016. We will be ready when these devices arrive next year, and our eager student participants are already getting excited about the possibilities.

In the near future participants will have the opportunity to learn anatomy through a variety of innovative modes of learning including virtual reality, augmented reality, tablet-based devices, and podcasts. Our research team is confi dent that these devices, if used correctly, can transform students’ learning experience by helping them visualize other perspectives. A major potential innovation of this research would be the identifi cation of optimal application of this technology in learning and teaching.

“Having multiple users from distant locations learning together in the same virtual ‘room’ is expected to transform many industries, and it is our plan for Bond University to be at the forefront of this education.”

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What next?

The Team is currently working on virtual reality glasses/masks where the environment is fully interactive and the user is completely immersed. We still need to fi nalise the augmented reality modules so that students can utilise mobile devices to scan QR codes and load specifi c anatomical models.

In 2016 the research will be expanded to encompass holographic technologies where 3D holograms depicting human models are projected in front of many users at a time.

Having multiple users from distant locations learning together in the same virtual ‘room’ is expected to transform many industries, and it is our plan for Bond University to be at the forefront of this education.

It is exciting to think that technologies previously seen only in sci-fi movies will soon have real world applications.

What feedback have you received from students or your peers?

The software modules have been tested by students and academics and have been very positively received.

Initially, the most common response we receive is ‘wow!’ as the user discovers the ability to ‘walk’ into a skull, and explore and interact with its features.

The user is then able to completely explore other areas of the body at their own pace and volition, experiencing the depth of anatomical detail.

A working model was demonstrated at the 2015 Bond Open Day, and the full suite of modules will be available for viewing at the 2016 Bond Open Day.

Everyone is invited to come and experience the virtual reality modules for themselves.

Any fi nal thoughts?

Although the virtual reality devices require state of the art imaging processing capabilities, and surpass the needs of even the most demanding 3D video games and applications, virtual reality is an entirely unique technology application that creates an immersive user experience.

In the near future this technology will become widespread and the potential implications for experiential and self-discovery learning, and society in general are immense. We are excited to be at the forefront of this technology revolution.

Athanasios is currently an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at Bond University. He teaches anatomy, histology, and embryology to medical and biomedical students.

Athanasios was born in Greece and worked as a Resident doctor in general surgery. He completed a Medical Degree at Aristotle his Doctorate of Medicine at Ruhr University of Bochum (Germany) and completed a Master of Clinical Education at Bond University.

Athanasios is an investigator of the topographic and surgical anatomy domain. He is also a developer of interactive 3D media for learning anatomy. In addition to this, Athanasios undertakes educational research on virtual and augmented reality technologies and their usefulness in medical and allied health education.

Athanasios testing an anatomy simulation on the Occuls Rift.

“Virtual reality is an entirely unique technology application that creates an immersive user experience.”

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Rick BestUsing the Flipped Classroom to Teach Building Measurement

CASE STUDY

“Building Measurement is a key skill that many students struggle to grasp.”

Building measurement is a key skill for construction people. Students typically don’t like it and many struggle to grasp the concepts particularly when they fi rst encounter the subject.

Although teaching building measurement is important, it can be dry and students have to grapple with a lot of detail.

While learning the subject matter relies heavily on hands-on exercises and tutorials, students also need to possess the underpinning technical knowledge in order to benefi t from the practical work.

The subject is challenging for many of our postgraduate students, who are mostly from China.

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Postgraduate classes are run in three day intensive blocks and the compressed delivery added to problems associated with English profi ciency make the subject particularly diffi cult for some.

In view of these challenges it was decided that a fl ipped classroom approach may off er greater benefi t to students, with the basic knowledge being delivered online and more class time being devoted to tutorial work rather than to lectures.

Apart from allowing more class time for practising measurement with tutor assistance, making subject content available online can increase opportunities for students to revisit lecture material where and when they choose.

This is likely to be particularly valuable for students from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Microlearning

The fl ipped approach was also inspired by a paper entitled ‘Bite Size is the Right Size: How microlearning shrinks the skills gap in higher education’.

This paper, produced by the Grovo company in the US, suggests that the best learning occurs when content is delivered in ‘bite-sized chunks’ that combine visual and audio content.

The paper includes a pertinent quote from Confucius: “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I may remember. What I do, I understand.” This seems particularly apt in the context of teaching building measurement.

The basic idea was to produce short narrated and animated video clips that each explained just one or perhaps two (related) concepts which students could watch/listen to on a laptop, tablet or smart phone away from class.

These clips could be viewed as many times as necessary so that students would be able to fully understand the content before attempting related tutorial work in class.

The Process

Initially fi ve clips were produced, each dealing with a single topic. The average length of the clips is around eight minutes.

Rick produced a roughly animated PowerPoint presentation for each topic with roughly sketched diagrams and a voice over recording using Camtasia software.

These raw presentations were than transformed by Bond architecture student Richard Jedryas and Bond animation graduate Joseph Wood, using Videoscribe software to provide more engaging animation than was possible in PowerPoint.

Richard also produced polished illustrations to replace the rough diagrams. Piano blues tracks were recorded and added to the beginning and end of each clip to provide a little extra interest.

The initial set of clips was intended as a proof of concept, with a view to expand the project and produce a large suite of clips covering most of the basic concepts covered in Measurement 1.

Reception

The clips have been shown to a variety of people and have been well received. For example:

‘I have looked at the three videos, and I think they are very good. It is possible that even I could pass a test on these concepts’ – Prof Emeritus Ron Best, former Dean of Education at Roehampton University (UK)

‘I’ve just watched several of the videos on ilearn….. Honestly speaking, this kind of way is really useful and help a lot, I think especially for those students whose fi rst language is not English. I really like it! I will keep tracking the videos with the progress of the lectures. It surely can help me a lot to strength the understanding and knowledge of this course. Greatly appreciated!’ – international student in Measurement 1 (postgraduate).

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Judy Doherty, who teaches the subject, presented a couple of the animated clips at the 2015 Learning and Teaching Week: ‘Spotlight on the Faculty of Society and Design’ session and they were well received by the audience.

Future Plans

The original intention was to add an animated character, Bill Le Mesurier, to the clip collection. An early version of Bill was created, but unfortunately did not made it into a fi nished clip.

Currently Judy Doherty is providing illustrations and Rick Best is responsible for PowerPoint/Camtasia work. The resulting PowerPoint narrated clips are useful but do lack the visual impact of the Videoscribe clips and Richard’s creative input.

OLT has been supportive of this project, but more resources will be required to expand this project beyond PowerPoint clips with narration.

Judy and Rick strongly believe that this approach, particularly with more engaging visual interest, will produce better learning outcomes for students in the traditionally problematic subject area of building measurement.

Even students who do get the general idea reasonably quickly and painlessly often miss many of the fi ner details.

By creating and making more of these clips available to students, even the relatively static PowerPoint versions, there should be an overall improvement in student learning. These improvements will hopefully be refl ected in student results and this will also increase teacher satisfaction.

Advice to Colleagues

Even creating PowerPoint Camtasia video clips takes time but the investment is worthwhile. In the case of Measurement 1 the subject matter is quite static so once a clip is completed it can be re-used semester after semester.

Use of this approach is not advised in the case of a more fl uid subject, where content needs to be revised regularly. Having said that, most subjects could address fundamental concepts in a similar way. Rick encourages other lecturers to consider moving at least a small part of their content delivery to the so-called ‘microlearning’ space.

References

Grovo (2014) Bite Size Is the Right Size [online] Available at: http://a1.grovo.com/asset/whitepapers/Grovo-BiteSize-Microlearning-whitepaper.pdf

Rick is Associate Professor of Construction Management and Economics for the Faculty of Society & Design. Following a number of years in architectural and quantity surveying practices Rick moved to lecturing in quantity surveying and construction.

Rick’s research interests include construction education, international construction costs and environmentally sensitive building design.

He has edited and contributed to a number of internationally published books and chairs two national committees dealing with construction education and accreditation.

Rick also chairs the management committee of the Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building and is on the editorial board of several international refereed journals.

Calculations involving unit rate analysis24

Shilo BrosnanOnline Modules to Support Student Assessment

INTERVIEW

“An online module on employability skills created for Beyond Bond.”

Beyond Bond Professional Development and Community Engagment is a practical, activity-based program, exclusive to Bond University, that aims to enhance student employment outcomes.

Administered by the Career Development Centre (CDC) as a mandatory degree requirement, it extends across the duration of all undergraduate degrees.

The Beyond Bond program ensures that all Bond students engage in various extra-curricular activities that complement their academic studies in addition to certain mandatory Core activities. For semester 152 Beyond Bond integrated several online modules that provided online opportunities for students to complete mandatory Core assessment. Shilo Brosnan explains the impact of these modules on student assessment.

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Tell us what Happened?

Shilo: A key component of the Beyond Bond program is deliveried via workshops within the other core subjects. There are 2 hours of workshops within each of cores 1, 2 and 3 each semester.

One of the diffi culties of this approach is when students miss class, so we wanted an opportunity to help those students review the content presented.

Online modules were created based on existing PowerPoints that were presented during the Core workshops. These were delivered to students through the iLearn Student Learning Management system.

What Technologies were involved?

The original slides were developed in PowerPoint with quizzes added using iSpring, an interactive authoring tool that works as an add-on to PowerPoint.

Royalty free music was provided using an Audioblocks subscription and the resulting module was added to the Beyond Bond iLearn subject as a SCORM object.

Several short animated videos were also created and embedded within the modules using animation tools such as VideoScribe, Wiideo and Powtoon.

What did you hope to achieve by using online modules?

The modules provided an alternative option to hosting catch up sessions and workshops which are very time intensive.

Due to the large number of students enrolled in the Beyond Bond program there were challenges in chasing down students for one-on-one catch up sessions.

The modules were also well suited to students who have advanced standing for the Core curriculum and had more diffi culty attending the Beyond Bond workshops timetabled within the Core program.

What were some of the benefi ts of this approach?

The online modules signifi cantly reduced the use of time and resources. Of the students who completed the online modules in Core 1 there was a correlated 100% completion rate of the required assessment tasks for Beyond Bond.

The online modules provided a highly eff ective way to ensure students were able to complete the required assessment, and potentially indicated that the modules were also an eff ective means of engaging students with the content.

The module results were automatically tabulated in iLearn grade centre so that it was possible to monitor which students had completed the modules successfully.

What challenges did you face?

Getting student uptake to initially attempt the modules was a major challenge. The most successful online module completion rate was only 40%.

A potential reason for the low completion rate may have been student diffi culty navigating to the resources within the iLearn environment. One of the biggest challenges was due to the nature of the Beyond Bond subject being ongoing, rather than completed within a single semester.

Revisions need to made to the Beyond Bond modules every semester but it was not possible to update the existing SCORM module in iLearn so a new object had to be created. This was frustrating as it had made it diffi cult to manage grade centre with the diff erent versions of the modules.

“The modules provided an alternative option to hosting catch up sessions and workshops which are very time intensive.”

Animated visuals provide added impact to employment statistics.

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How did you address these challenges?

We have recently started using system generated individualised emails and this has already had a positive eff ect as the students feel the email is directed at them, rather than the cohort.

Increasing one-on-one tutor support (core) has also had a positive fl ow on eff ect as students are reminded about the online modules and the tasks that they need to complete.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try something similar?

Give it a try. Start out with a small group fi rst so you can make sure everything is working well. Allow time to address the issues, and it’s always going to take longer than you originally plan.

Also use a variety of approaches, resources and styles. If the modules are too repetitive students will lose interest.

What conclusions did you come to?

Providing online modules is not a panacea, these must developed as part of a whole program strategy. Accessing and refl ecting on the student data is critical.

You need to be able to assess and refl ect on what is working and where students are struggling. Our on-going plan is to address student uptake by developing a more directed strategy.

However despite the challenges, the use of online modules has greatly decreased time spent chasing students and has been a worthwhile addition to the Beyond Bond Program.

Students explore fi ctional career stories helping them to see the value in Beyond Bond activities.

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Shilo is the current Transformer Program manager. She worked for 10 years as an environmental engineer and project manager both in Australia and the UK before commencing at Bond.

Shilo has a Bachelor of Engineering (UQ), a Masters of Project Management (Bond) and a Masters of Learning & Development (USQ).

Shilo has a keen interest in life skills and is passionate about creating useful and interesting learning experiences for students, supporting the fi rst year experience and assisting students to manage the transition into and out of university.

Craig LangstonDigital Badges

CASE STUDY

In 2014, as part of two key accreditation bids, a method for demonstrating the alignment of our degrees with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) was needed.

There are ten knowledge areas in Edition 5 of the Guide, although Bond is proposing one more related to the emerging environmental management fi eld.

Digital badges were seen as the answer. They are a contemporary approach to credentialing and well suited to competency assessment strategies and benchmarking. Digital badges are similar in design to past merit badges that are sewn onto clothing, but instead are transferred digitally to various social media outlets such as Linkedin®, storage repositories such as Mozilla Backpack® and electronic documents such as résumés.

Digital badges are more than just a .png image. They are 'backed' to include verfi ciation data idnetifying the award, its criteria, links to online evidence of performance, details of the certifying institution, and the recipient's ID. Once issued, they become part of the public record.

Successes and Benefi ts

Digital badging is new to Bond University, and is an emerging area of educational development more generally. A pilot program was approved by the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Learning & Teaching in 2014 and rolled out in 2015 to explore potential benefi ts of this technology and its integration into existing systems.

Digital badges are similar in design to past merit badges that are sewn onto clothing.

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The fi rst badges were issued to graduates of the Master of Project Management and Master of Project Management (Professional) degrees timed with Bond’s June graduation ceremony.

A third-party provider, Credly.com, was used to manage the distribution process. Each badge relates to a specifi c PMBOK® Guide knowledge area or level.

The next stage of the pilot is for Bond to off er extracurricular activities to our students that go beyond formal degree structures to embrace deeper learning, engagement and further work-ready skills.

In 2015/16 we are hosting several industry-led programs focused on time, cost and environmental management.

In hindsight this project has proven infl uential in securing accreditation for our degrees, and it is hoped that over time our badges will be formally recognised by employers as credible proof of graduate competency.

Badge Design

There are eleven unique badge designs across three performance levels (bronze, silver and gold). For example, the Project Integration Management badges have the following criteria:

> Bronze Level:A pass (P) in Principles of Project Management, plus at least 8 out of 10 in the related online test off ered as part of that subject

> Silver Level:A credit (C) in Principles of Project Management, plus evidence of project integration competence in practice

> Gold Level:A high distinction (HD) in Principles of Project Management, plus evidence of project integration competence in practice

Other badges apply directly to extra-curricular activities.

“In hindsight this project has proven infl uential in securing accreditation for our degrees, and it is hoped that over time our badges will be formally recognised by employers as credible proof of graduate competency.”

For example, the Project Environmental Management badges are built around the Green Project Management GPM-b Certifi cation, and comprise four days of training on-campus, assessment tasks and a fi nal online exam. This activity explores corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line thinking on projects.

Feedback Received

Digital badge credentialing was considered a key feature of our successful accreditation bids with both the Australian Institute of Project Management (in 2014) and the Project Management Institute (in 2015). Both these professional bodies require evidence of competency across all PMBOK® Guide knowledge areas.

This initiative convinced them of Bond’s commitment to the global standard. Graduates have also embraced the introduction of badges by personalising their Credly.com webpage.

“While it is not without signifi cant eff ort and perseverance, this activity has no direct cost to the university and has become a distinguishing feature of innovative learning practice for us.”

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Impact on Student Learning

The Project & Program Management discipline at Bond is privileged to be leading this new initiative and making digital badges available to graduating students.

While it is not without signifi cant eff ort and perseverance, this activity has no direct cost to the university and has become a distinguishing feature of innovative learning practice for us.

Badges carry points that are used to calculate eligibility for our new PMI (Queensland Chapter) award for best graduate each semester. Bronze badges are worth 5 points, silver badges are worth 10 points, and gold badges are worth 20 points.

To be eligible for the PMI award, at least 100 points need to be earned. This approach is an example of ‘gamifi cation’, where students are motivated to strive for excellence during their studies.

Damon Barbaresco won the PMI (Queensland Chapter) award for highest badge score in June 2015.

Advice to colleagues

Digital badges can be used in iLearn subjects as a means of student feedback and reward. But the challenge in our case was to award badges across subjects based on a more holistic assessment that included a range of

Craig joined Bond University in 2008 as Professor of Construction and Facilities Management. Before that he held the inaugural Chair in Construction Management at Deakin University in Geelong, and pioneered the fi rst fully online courses at the University of Technology, Sydney.

He has made signifi cant contributions to scholarship in the construction industry. His PhD developed a new approach to the calculation of time equivalence in discounting via the inclusion of aff ordability considerations linked to predicted changes in living standards.

In 2010 Craig was awarded the Bond University Vice-Chancellor’s Quality Award for Research Excellence.

activities, some being part of the approved curriculum and others additional to it. This required a diff erent and more sophisticated approach.

Final Thoughts

A number of universities worldwide are leading this area of learning development. In Australia, Deakin University is well advanced and internationally recognised for the work it has done under the brand Deakin Digital (see https://www.deakindigital.com/). There is an opportunity for Bond in this space too.

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Michael ReganRisky BusinessA new approach to developing skills in decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.

CASE STUDY

Project management is a profession with many diff erent applications such as constructing a high-rise building project, managing a sporting team on tour, undertaking house renovations or conducting a research project. The project manager’s task is to deliver a project outcome that aligns with expectations.

Project managers are drawn from many disciplines and are often required to make spontaneous decisions in circumstances where information is incomplete, the resources necessary for dealing with the problem are unavailable, or timeliness is a pressing requirement.

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Sound decision-making is a skill acquired with experience and that requires lots of on-the-job practice.

The task is greater when project managers are operating in a high-risk or uncertain environment in which events may unfold quickly, such as managing responses to natural disasters, particularly cyclones and earthquakes.

An incorrect decision may worsen the problem, endanger people, incur cost and time overruns and if the problem could have been better managed, may adversely aff ect fi rm reputation.

The challenge for a Project Management educator is to realistically simulate the chain of events and decision points that require project managers to make often diffi cult decisions in a classroom environment.

The Project Idea

In order to address this challenge a virtual scenario “Risky Business” was collaboratively developed by the Faculty of Society and Design and the Offi ce of Learning and Teaching.

This digital learning tool was designed to assess the decision making skills of students enrolled in Bond University’s Master of Project Management program.

Risky Business was prototyped in Microsoft PowerPoint, developed in Articulate Storyline and delivered to students through Bond’s iLearn learning management system.

High quality multimedia assets including licensed stock images, sound eff ects and music bring the virtual scenario to life.

The Scenario

Risky Business is set in scenic Mt Ontake in Japan, a country located in one of the most active seismic regions on earth.

Students are given the role of a newly appointed manager of emergency services with the Department of Environment for the Japanese island of Honshu.

The manager is responsibile for planning, resourcing, and managing rescue operations in the event of natural disaster at Mt Ontake, a shrine and popular tourist attraction in summer.

With no earthquakes ever recorded at Mt Ontake the project management task does not appear too hard. However, 12 months after appointment to the role, an earthquake actually occurred in 2014 with loss of life.

This event provides an ideal setting for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty in which neither the likelihood nor the severity of an earthquake can be predicted.

Risky Business provides an opportunity for students to practice complex disaster management in a real world environment with a number of options and outcomes.

An information kit helps students with the preparation of a disaster management plan, details of the Mt Ontake scenario and history, and the resources necessary to manage evacuation and rescue operations.

The Asian setting requires the manager to work within the cultural values of Japan’s institutions and respect the hierarchial and consensual approach that is often used for decision-making in government.

“Risky Business provides an opportunity for students to practice complex disaster management in a real world environment with a number of options and outcomes.”

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Assessing Student Decisions

There are nine decisions points in Risky Business each of which carries consequences for the rescue and recovery work depending on the number of casualties recorded.

Decisions carry points designed to measure the manager’s planning skills, the allocation of resources, the selection of staff and advisers best for the task, and the eff ectiveness of strategies to minimise casualties.

The scoring system rewards critical analysis, consistency and good judgement. With repeated attempts, students learn to properly scope the planning, resourcing and rescue tasks, identify practical solutions to problems and benefi t from the experience.

Cumulative points provide a guide to comparative performance against “best practice” benchmarks established in semester 152. For semester 162, Risky Business will account for up to 10% of assessment marks with the Risk Management subject.

In the classroom, Risky Business forms part of a 90 minute workshop on decision-making under uncertainty in which a number of earthquake case studies are examined to demonstrate the diffi culty of making decisions when we can’t rely on the past to assist us anticipate the future. Students generally engage with the topic because it is both challenging and contemporary.

Student Feedback

In semester 152, student Scott Schultz took an interest in the predictability of seismic activity after completing a workshop which featured the Risky Business scenario.

He earned a high distinction for his eff orts to identify correlations in historical data for earth tremors and earthquakes in three towns in Borneo over a 20 year period.

While the research failed to draw a direct association, it did establish a positive but weak association between the likelihood and severity of follow-up events in two of the cities, suggesting further research using a larger sample and study period with a number of cities on seismic fault lines in the Asia Pacifi c may attract future research interest. Thank you Risky Business for inspiring Scott.

Michael teaches Risk Management in the Faculty of Society and Design at Bond University.

He has extensive commercial experience in corporate advisory and fi nance in Australia and overseas.

Formerly Director of the Australian Centre for Public Infrastructure at the University of Melbourne, Michael’s responsibilities include supervision of the postgraduate research and coursework programs in infrastructure and large project procurement including relationship contracting and public private partnerships.Students justify the reasoning behind their

decisions

A positive outcome for students or who excel at decision making.

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Neil Roberts

CASE STUDY

In a conversation about giving advice to students a lecturer remarked to me; “If I could say one thing to students, it would be to buy the bloody coursebook!!”.

At the time it struck me that most staff and students would also have a golden nugget of advice that new students could learn from. This idea formed the basis of this video project.

Project Overview

The aim of this project was for Bond students and academic staff to present one piece of advice to new students in a short 1 minute video clip.

The idea of a short video clip originated from the TV consumer advice program “The Checkout”.

This has a segment called “If I could say one thing”, where experts give their advice starting with the words “If I could say one thing, it would be…”

Working in conjunction with Learning and Teaching, we selected 10 members of staff and students from a range of faculties and backgrounds, who we felt would have good ideas and would present well on camera.

Title screen graphics from the “If I could say one thing” video series.

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Over the course of two days, we timetabled them in to OLT for a videoing session of a talking head. After videoing, an animation and music was added for the beginning to give it a similar feel to The Checkout video.

Benefi ts and Successes

All the participants performed extremely well on camera, and some only needed one take. Because each clip was only one minute long, it meant that it was very easy to do with a minimum of stress and mistakes, and for most people, the videoing process only took 5 minutes. It was also extremely easy to timetable people in over the two days.

The advice that was given was varied, and included “don’t be afraid to ask for help”, “study in diff erent locations”, “go to tutor consultations” and “seize every opportunity at Bond.” The advice also fi tted with the Bond philosophy of personal attention, as many of the clips emphasised the access to support at Bond.

The videos have been put on the Student Learning Support website and iLearn site for easy access for students. We have also embedded the relevant clips into Student Learning Support workshops both face to face and online, as well as student welcome sessions.

Challenges

The whole process was actually very smooth, and apart from a couple of timetabling issues, there were very few challenges. I think one of the keys to this was the fact that the project involved 10 very short videos, which made could be managed as 10 short tasks.

Feedback

We received excellent feedback from staff , who found the videos very useful. Participants also commented that they enjoyed the experience of making the video. It is more diffi cult to judge the students’ reaction since it is not something that they would comment on or write to us about. However, we have found that students tend to pay more attention and take advice from peers or from lecturers, so this medium has proved very successful, especially as it is very short and to the point. In our workshops, it also provides variety and a diff erent perspective.

Advice to colleagues

This was a very useful and manageable task to do.

The video series can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/oltbond

Neil currently works in Student Learning Support, where he provides academic support for students.

Neil has taught English as a foreign language since 1987 in UK, Argentina, Spain, Turkey, Singapore and Australia.

He has worked as a teacher trainer on various courses including MA TESOL, Grad Cert TESOL, DELTA and RSA Cert TEFL.

Neil has been a Director of Studies and Assistant Director of Studies in various institutes, and has worked as an examiner for the IELTS and Cambridge exams.

He has co-written scripts for an English language teaching programme shown on television in Japan and starred as the teacher in the programmes.

Neil has taught pronunciation courses for Singapore Airlines cabin crew and he has written an EFL reader of Chinese short stories; “The Jade Goddess and Other Stories”, Federal Publishing.Associate Professor and Associate Dean

Libby Taylor encourages students to discuss problems with their teachers 35

Beata Webb, Masanori Matsumoto, & Alicia ValleroActive Learning with Collaborate Ultra

INTERVIEW

The MA in TESOL program at Bond University features a fl exible delivery mode that supports both online and face-to-face learners. Masanori Matsumoto, Alicia Vallero and Beata Webb explain how this program has embraced the use of Blackboard Collaborate, a tool that creates a synchronous online classroom environment.

Collaborate allows students and teachers to interact using video, audio, a chatroom and a screen which can include PowerPoint presentations, screen capture or a shared whiteboard space.

Describe what you did?

The MA in TESOL program is delivered in two modes, on campus and online. To address the challenges of delivering the program to students online we adopted Blackboard Collaborate Classic in order to create a virtual classroom environment in Semester 131.

Within the program, Blackboard Collaborate is used for virtual classroom sessions, tutorials, one-on-one consultations and as a student virtual meeting space. After two years using Collaborate Classic tool we decided to upgrade to Collaborate Ultra in Semester 153.

Students participate in a Blackboard Collaborate virtual classroom

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Why did you adopt Collaborate Ultra?

The release of Collaborate Ultra off ered solutions to some of the problems we were experiencing with setting up the software, and bandwidth, audio and video issues. Our program delivers to students all over Australia, including cities, regional areas and remote communities. Worldwide, we have taught students in many countries including China, the US, Vietnam and Indonesia. Collaborate Ultra solved many problems associated with lower quality internet connections.

What do you hope to achieve?

We hope to provide students with an opportunity for synchronous online learning, and wanted to include interactivity, audio and video. Collaborate Ultra is the most powerful tool we have found for this purpose.

What were the benefi ts of this approach?

Collaborate is a powerful tool for teaching that promotes active learning. The level of interactivity and participation in Collaborate was greater than what was possible in a face-to-face class. Students are able to share the whiteboard at the same time, they can share links and resources immediately with others, and ask questions whilst in the middle of a lesson. This would be impossible in a face-to-face classroom environment.

During Collaborate sessions, students are able to ask or answer questions, share information and present their ideas and opinions. Students are also able to plan, work together and negotiate decisions.

There were social benefi ts too, with students expressing companionship, emotional support and giving advice to other students. One of the most surprising benefi ts is the intimacy of the online sessions. In spite of the online barriers, students were more comfortable as they connected to Collaborate from their own homes, rather than in a physical classroom environment. This promoted a greater sense of community and collegiality, which was appreciated by the students themselves who were pleasantly surprised.

What seemed to work well?

Collaborate Ultra is simple, easy to use and has fewer connectivity issues than Collaborate classic. Students can now meet online as a group and take advantage of the online space anytime.

I have personally collaborated with other academics in Collaborate Ultra, held staff meetings and even uploaded, shared and developed presentations and papers with others, regardless of wherever people were located at the time.

Another feature of Collaborate that worked in well in a surprising way is the chatroom. This is possibly the richest platform for student exchange and collaboration. The students simply love it!

The chatroom always seems to be alive with back-channelling; students comment about the contents of the seminar, ask and answer each others’ questions.

During the course, the atmosphere becomes more personal and it often becomes the space where people exchange funny comments and stories.

I love that Collaborate promotes internationalisation and nationalisation as students from around the country and around the world can participate in learning and building relationships.

Students interact with a slide

“This is possibly the richest platform for student exchange and collaboration. The students simply love it!”

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What were the challenges?

Running a Collaborate session requires an immense amount of concentration to monitor all the multimodal aspects.

Moderators have to nominate students and manage input. Sessions can be quite exhausting and initially we required two moderators to eff ectively manage the class.

The lecturer delivers the content while the “producer” helps with answering questions and dealing with technical support.

One of the important challenges was developing the confi dence to deal with technical issues and this only comes with experience.

One of the bigger challenges with Collaborate Classic was the initial setting up required by students, such as the installation of Java and troubleshooting audio connection issues, often only moments before the session is due to start.

Ultra has eff ectively addressed these issues and now provides a 24/7 access to the Collaborate room so students can more readily access this space and become familiar with using the software.

What feedback have you received?

The response from students has been absolutely fantastic with amazing feedback. Students have expressed surprise that they have built a community and feel part of it.

Students who attend the Collaborate sessions loved coming each week, and the opportunity to review the session afterwards through recordings.

Perhaps one of the limitations of Collaborate Ultra is that the chatroom is not recorded, which can aff ect the ability of students to understand some of what happens in the virtual classroom session.

We have also organised a seminar session with other colleagues around the university and it has been wonderful to share our ideas about this tool.

What advice would you give someone thinking of trying Collaborate?

Just do it! Initially make sure you have a person there to assist you until you build the confi dence to run the session on your own.

Don’t just use Collaborate for teaching a class, try using it for collaboration, online offi ce hours, tutorials sessions or one-to-one support.

Ask for help, use peer support and ensure you receive adequate training before you start. We had considerable support from OLT and ITS which did make all the diff erence.

What’s next?

We are awaiting new features to be added to Collaborate Ultra, such as the breakout rooms which were present in Collaborate Classic.

Hopefully the recording features will also be improved. In the near future we will publish a paper about our experiences with the MA TESOL program and the use of Blackboard Collaborate.

Any fi nal thoughts or comments?

It has been incredibly rewarding to implement Collaborate into the MA TESOL program.

The team has developed new approaches, skills and expertise allowing us to develop a diff erent style of teaching.

The overall experience has led to an incredible level of engagement and interactivity, creating social connectivity and access.

“The level of interactivity and participation in Collaborate was greater than what was possible in a face-to-face class”

“The overall experience has led to an incredible level of engagement and interactivity”

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Alicia is a native Spanish speaker born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her interest in language teaching and learning was inspired by her own experience learning English when she migrated to Australia in 1987.

Alicia’s research interests are in pronunciation and culture in the classroom. She received her fi rst teaching degree in Mathematics and IT in Argentina where she worked at secondary and university level teaching and developing a program to teach computer skills on TV.

Beata has lectured in linguistics and language teacher education in Australia for over 25 years. Her research aims to improve understanding the nature of linguistically and culturally diverse student cohorts.

Beata’s other professional interests include the use of technology in education and e-learning. She has delivered professional workshops and lectures in many countries including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, China, Poland, and the UK.

Masanori spent 7 years in the banking business before teaching Japanese as a second language at language institutes in Tokyo. His interest in teaching Japanese expanded and brought him to Australia where he studied the Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics at Bond University.

After the completion of the degree, he started his doctoral research studies and joined the Faculty as an academic staff member. He completed his PhD at the University of South Australia, and continues to study students’ motivation and successful second language acquisition.

Students share and rate responses to lesson planning

A student presents an online to the class

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Stephen SugdenTeaching with Spreadsheets

INTERVIEW

Spreadsheets are a powerful way to visualise, process and calculate solutions to complex problems. Stephen Sugden, in his time at Bond, embraced the use of spreadsheets to create new mathematical learning experiences for students at Bond University. Please describe what you did?

Stephen: I use technology, especially Microsoft Excel to help students, particularly those having conceptual issues with maths and computer programming.

What technologies were involved?

In the early years at Bond I used various debuggers. I also used a logic simulator for elementary computer logic and hardware concepts. I have also recently used a special calculator (QAMA) to help students with basic arithmetic and estimation. However, the main focus of my teaching with technology nowadays is the use of Excel. Apart from routine computation, I use it to show students the patterns and concepts of mathematics.

“Jumbuck” excel computer game developed by Stephen Sudgen

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Right: A conditionally-formatted modular times table for teaching internet commerce and digital security

Why did you choose this approach?

I thought it would help the students, many of whom were very poorly prepared mathematically for the rigours of tertiary study with signifi cant components of math.

What were some of the benefi ts of this approach?

The main benefi t was increased understanding for the students, plus other spin-off s such as knowledge of a useful software tool in industry, e.g., Excel and its use for modelling or even just very simple day-to-day operation. Most universities do not teach these skills; they just assume that students will “pick them up”. Software skills are thought to be “trivial” or not worthy of study. I beg to diff er.

Excel in particular is a powerful mathematical modelling too. It is excellent for rapid prototyping and simulations, plus visual illustration of math principles to students whose algebra is limited or non-existent. I also use colours (conditional formatting) and recurrences (a mathmatical well-founded way of simply expressing otherwise complex relationships). I do not see others doing this in Excel, and it has helped enormously with my teahcing, for example teaching the fundamentals of fi nance. Many articles in Spreadsheets in Education attest to this.

Please describe some of the challenges

Some colleagues, especially in Business, were resistant to the use of Excel in the classroom. I only ever found one student in 24 years who complained about having to use Excel – she preferred her Graphical Calculator (GC). My opinion of GCs and calculators in general is that they are a waste of space. We have much better modelling tools now than GCs. They are not used much in industry or “the real world” but schools seemed to have adopted them and will not change for the better.

What feedback have you received from students or your peers?

I have received uniformly positive feedback from students, including formally written feedback. Some of my peers seem to sense that I am on to something, while some others must be wondering if I am crazy. Why would anyone use Excel for teaching math? I am a mathematician but mathematicians, as a rule, do not use Excel to any great extent. Why not, and why am I an exception? This is a whole story in itself.

How has this impacted student learning?

Although I have not conducted formal research the anecdotal evidence is very positive. I often run workshops for high-school teachers on how to use Excel in the classroom and they always are very appreciative. I have many unsolicited letters of appreciation from such people. Student feedback for my Excel modelling unit at Bond was very positive:

“I was delighted with that I took business and spreadsheet modelling in last semester. It enhances my excel skills so much and help me a lot in my current degree.”

“At least every second day I have something that comes along which requires something learnt from the spreadsheet modelling course. Thankful every day that I did it.”

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Stephen completed his PhD at Bond. His scientifi c career has been varied and includes areas such as solar energy, engineering software for Queensland electricity authorities, cryptographic software engineering, and mathematical models for Keno.

Steve’s current research interest is in the use of the Microsoft Excel in mathematics education.

In 2002 he established the open access electronic journal Spreadsheets in Education, which publishes fully peer-reviewed research articles plus classroom resources. Steve was awarded a federal ALTC Citation for Teaching Excellence in 2009.

What’s next?

Improving students’ numeracy and math education is both a passion and primary goal for me. Over time there have been many changes with respect to the diff erent numeracy programs at universities across Australia. Bond was at the vanguard in this fi eld when I joined in 1988 with a keen focus on maths and computing. It’s exciting to see recent developments such as the new Actuarial Science centre in the Business school and I hope that this momentum will continue.

I am keen to develop programs to boost the math skills of our students through a variety of ways. One is technology, which off ers us many new tools and ways to engage students. Another I have found useful is games and puzzles, such as those in newspapers or magazines. These can help to build reasoning and problem solving skills in the students.

For students who are weak in the basics such as arithmetic and elementary algebra it can be an intensive catch-up process over a short 12 week semester.

Clearly, we need to support this steep learning curve to help students. To address this and help in building basic skills, I have found that students often benefi t from a variety of approaches.

Learning can be more engaging and satisfying when presented in games and puzzles such as Sudoku, or in an interactive computer spreadsheet which can allow students to visualise the concepts.

Theory can be practised and applied in a fun problem solving format. I have published widely on related topics, most recently in the International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology (IJMEST) and on my own journal, Spreadsheets in Education -

(http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/classroom.html).

It is very gratifying to see the students succeed in solving a challenging puzzle or problem and demonstrate their learning.

I believe we must always encourage the students and give them useful feedback and support.

Sometimes this may involve more work, but in the end overcoming an especially hard problem or puzzle is a testament to their learning and such successes area motivating factor in their continued eff orts and further improvement of their problem-solving skills.

The Spreadsheets in Education online journal (http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/classroom.html)

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