revitalising distance learning professor belinda tynan university of new england, armidale, nsw,...

innovation in distance education

Revitalising distance learning Professor Belinda Tynan University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

‘… Oft the colours are pitched so highThe deepest note is the cobalt sky; …’

Dorothea Mackellar (1885 – 1968) from ‘The colour of light’


Where UNE is located


University of New England

Armidale, NSW, Australia


UNE-Fast facts (2010)• Currently UNE has 18.731 students

• 80% (15.000) study at a distance

• 1.200 international students

• A small campus cohort 3.556

• 11.845 females and 6.886 males

• 800:500 Academic Staff: general staff


•

All things are in a state of flux

Heraclites 540BC-480BC, Greek Philosopher


Social organizations are flagrantly open systems in that the input of energies and the conversion of output into further energetic input consists of transactions between the organization and its environment

– Daniel Katz and Robert L. Kahn in The Social Psychology of Organizations (1966)


You up with the hype….. tired yet……‘anywhere, anytime, anyhow’Web 2.0 is the answer! Is it?Open Education ResourcesAggregation and creation of knowledgeSocial networksConnectivity and MobilityLearning analytics: Business IntelligenceLearning models

BUT….disruption by providing immediacy, transparency and expectation…


social media audiences have been estimated at 9.9 million59% of Australian Internet users have a Facebook profile January 2010 there were 1.2 million Australian users of Twitter -by June 2010 2.2 million. internet enabled mobile ownership is 43% 29% searching, using Facebook, using email, Twitter and My Space. Searching the internet is the most popular activity -30% in 2009 to 73% in July 2010.

DigitalMarketingLab (2010)

78% of Australian households now have access to a computer.72% of these households have a home Internet connection.

86% of households with home access had broadband Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010).


A connected and enhanced learning experience• an integrated learning

framework increasing access and participation rates

• multiple pathways

• innovative technological solutions to mediate distance, support social and cultural wellbeing

• innovative teaching practices on and off campus

• connecting and building communities


Students

InstitutionStaff

Community


Who are our commencing distance students?

• 97% have access to a computer at home

• 90% of study done at home• 95% have broadband• 83% have between 1-15 GB

download (0-500, 501-1GB 9% each)

• 82% contact staff by email/internet for advice

• 95% agreement with preference to study externally ‘flexibility’ most important

• 55% financially impossible to study on campus

• 72% have family commitments• 78% fit study around work• 71% study so as to change

careers• 84% for specific skills for the

future• 98% said that UNE offered the

course of choice• 91% chose UNE for availability of

online access• Average age 38, 26% male and

74% female, 95% domestic, 5% international

No surprises


Change is good - you go firstKenneth F Murphy 1955-, former SVP HR of

Altria Group and writer


Element1: Revitalising Learning


“History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the

way we are.” David McCullough

Its in our DNA……


getting started• Bring together data points• Review external influences• Review internal constraints• Review learning literature

• So what is new?


Tynan & Barnes (2007) teaching modes in higher education are shaped by convention. University teachers have “traditionally progressed from the

experience of learning in the classroom to teaching in the classroom” (Jamieson 2004, p.22). Few of the

current generation of teaching staff have been online learners. With some exceptions, teaching staff and the

latest cohort of undergraduates live in different technological worlds.


We have all the bits so how do we bring it together so it becomes a ‘seamless’ learning

experience? For us…

……conceptualised from first point of contact to alumnus…

a student journey

CUT THROUGH THE NOISE


Interaction Resources

Support Collaboration

Student Experience

KEEP IT SIMPLE


Resources

• Materials• Course and unit guides

• Learning activities• Library resources such as eBooks

• Podcasts• Vodcasts

• Other software required within courses/units


Collaboration

• Within units through curriculum design with a focus on ‘learning activities’ with peers,

teachers and disciplinary experts• Tools to enable collaboration such as Web 2.0

social networking


Interaction

• Interaction is a complex dimension but is stated simply as:

• Peer to peer connections• Student to teacher actions, teaching and feedback• Student to learning activities, resources the WWW

• Student to experts within their professional disciplinary areas

• Access to tools for interaction such as skype etc.


SupportAcademic

– Academic writing and research support– Administrative support– Monitoring engagement

– Support by students for each otherTechnical

– Access and connectivity– Technical support

Social– Student support services such as counselling; financial;

engagement etc.


Course communities

• consistency in interface design, structure and organisation;• learning activities designed to ensure students could achieve

outcomes and graduate attributes relevant to the discipline;• interactivity between learners, teacher and content;• informal interactivity between students;• information accuracy and integrity;• accessibility and standards compliance;• student support (integrated);• assessment relevant to career learning and meeting

disciplinary norms


Do the researchKNOW YOUR

DRIVERS

Consult Listen

review the external hype

Build on the DNA

Know your students

its ok to follow


Never ending story…

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and

some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and

making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity —

Gilda Radner

revitalising distance learning professor belinda tynan university of new england, armidale, nsw,...

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