Developement and evidencing achievement of graduate learning outcomes in Deakin University's enhanced mooc

There is now a plethora of Massive Open On-line courses (MOOCs) offered worldwide. Whilst many MOOCs focus on discipline-specific content, little attention has been paid to how MOOCs can explicitly help participants develop generic employability skills such as communication, digital literacy, global citizenship and the like. Similarly little attention been paid to explicitly assuring the quality of MOOCs with respect to alignment with regulatory body standards. Deakin University's first MOOC, DeakinPrimer, is an introduction to humanitarian responses to 21st century disasters. It has been designed to assist participants to explicitly evidence generic or employability skills, some of Deakin's eight Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) including communication, digital literacy, critical thinking and global citizenship. Other key features of DeakinPrimer include opportunities for networking with fellow participants and experts within the humanitarian field, and the opportunity to apply for credit towards the Graduate Certificate in International Community Development (level 8 in the Australian Qualifications Framework [AQF]) and for those with a prior Bachelor degree, the Masters in Humanitarian Assistance or the Masters of International Community Development (level 9 in the AQF). DeakinPrimer is designed as a test bed for a learning innovation, particularly micro-credentialing GLOs using digital badges to enable self and peer endorsement of evidence of learning. Badging is integrated in two ways. Firstly, DeakinPrimer participants build portfolios of learning artefacts associated with learning activities, then assess their work against a set of holistic, generic learning outcomes standards rubrics. If they judge their evidence as meeting the required standard, they can claim a badge (self endorsement) associated with particular GLOs. Secondly, participants can request and provide peer feedback and endorsement (using peer badges). The integration of self and peer review in the assessment tasks helps participants develop important employability skills, the ability to critically self-reflect on their own work and critically analyse the work of others and provide evidence-based feedback. DeakinPrimer is scheduled to commence in July 2013. This paper explains the way in which the course curricula has been designed to use technologies to enable participants to curate evidence of learning, and self and peer endorse such learning against defined standards.

The pedagogy of using video to develop reflective practice in learning to teach science

Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to identify the pedagogical approaches that foster critical reflection using video among the preservice teachers during tutorials. Methodology/approach The research is situated in a school-based teaching programme in which pairs of pre-service teachers taught small groups of primary aged children over a period of seven weeks. Volunteer pre-service teachers videotaped their lessons and selected video excerpts to share with their peers in the tutorial. The educator guided the preservice teachers’ reflection using the video. A case study drawing on interviews with pre-service teachers and audio recordings of tutorials, charted the development of pedagogical decisions made by the educators to promote reflection.Findings The pre-service teachers had difficulties undertaking deep reflection of their own and peers’ teaching practice. The response by educators was to promote collaboration among pre-service teachers by discussing specific aspects of the teaching in small groups and to use a jigsaw approach. This enabled a deeper analysis of particular elements of the lesson that were then integrated to produce a more holistic understanding of the teaching. The video data is most suitable for reflection and provides valuable evidence for pre-service teachers to develop their practice. Practical implications For pre-service teachers to develop effective skills to analyse their own practice they need to experience teaching in a safe but challenging environment, over a sustained period; have opportunities to develop a shared understanding of what constitutes quality teaching; have opportunities to critically analyse their teaching in discussion with peers and educators and be able to be guided by a framework of reflective strategies.

Organisational challenges to delivering child investigative interviewer training via e-learning

This article examined organisational challenges arising from the implementation of a new training course for investigative interviewers of vulnerable witnesses. The course was delivered via e-learning (computer exercises) and also involved mock interviews conducted over the telephone. Thematic analysis was conducted of: (a) trainees’ anonymous written feedback submitted to an online discussion forum on the training programme’s website, (b) trainees’ responses to face-to-face questions during semi-structured qualitative interviews, and (c) correspondence between trainees and trainers regarding the training programme. Despite unanimous support for the new training programme, three challenges were identified: limited allocated work time to complete the training, conflicting work practices arising from staggered course enrolment, and difficulties associated with computer and technical skills. These organisational challenges must be addressed to ensure that any future evaluation of the programme on skill performance provides a true indication of the programme’s impact on skill development. From a managerial perspective, organisational challenges need to be addressed in order to maximise the accessibility, completion and long-term success of an e-learning training model for interviewers.

Clinical placement before or after simulated learning environments? A naturalistic study of clinical skills acquisition among early-stage paramedicine students

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence surrounding the merit of clinical placements (CPs) for early-stage health-profession students. Some contend that early-stage CPs facilitate contextualization of a subsequently learned theory. Others argue that training in simulated-learning experiences (SLEs) should occur before CP to ensure that students possess at least basic competency. We sought to investigate both claims. METHODS: First-year paramedicine students (n = 85) undertook 3 days of CP and SLEs as part of course requirements. Students undertook CP either before or after participation in SLEs creating 2 groups (Clin → Sim/Sim → Clin). Clinical skills acquisition was measured via direct scenario-based clinical assessments with expert observers conducted at 4 intervals during the semester. Perceptions of difficulty of CP and SLE were measured via the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index. RESULTS: Students' clinical assessment scores in both groups improved significantly from beginning to end of semester (P < 0.001). However, at semester's end, clinical assessment scores for the Sim → Clin group were statistically significantly greater than those of the Clin → Sim group (P = 0.021). Both groups found SLEs more demanding than CP (P < 0.001). However, compared with the Sim → Clin group, the Clin → Sim group rated SLE as substantially more time-demanding than CP (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in temporal demand suggest that the Clin → Sim students had fewer opportunities to practice clinical skills during CP than the Sim → Clin students due to a more limited scope of practice. The Sim → Clin students contextualized SLE within subsequent CP resulting in greater improvement in clinical competency by semester's end in comparison with the Clin → Sim students who were forced to contextualize skills retrospectively.

Learning the hang power clean: kinetic, kinematic, and technical changes in four weightlifting naive athletes

The investment in learning required to reach benefit with weightlifting training is currently not well understood in elite athletes. The purpose of this investigation was to quantify changes in vertical jump power production and kinematic variables in hang power clean (HPC) performance during the learning process from a naive state in a multiple single-subject research design. Four elite athletes undertook HPC learning for approximately 20-30 minutes twice per week over a 169-day period. Changes in parameters of vertical power production during squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) were monitored from baseline (day 0) and at 3 additional occasions. Hang power clean movement kinematics and bar path traces were monitored from day 35 and at 3 additional occasions particular to the individual's periodized training plan. Descriptive statistics were reported within athletes as mean ± SD. We observed a 14.1-35.7% (SJ) and a -14.4 to 20.5% (CMJ) gain in peak power across the 4 jump testing occasions with improvements over the first 4 weeks (SJ: 9.2-32.6%; CMJ: -2.91 to 20.79%). Changes in HPC movement kinematics and barbell path traces occurred for each athlete indicating a more rearward-directed center of pressure over the concentric phase, greater double knee bend during the transition phase, decreased maximal plantar flexion, and minimal vertical displacement of body mass with HPC learning. Considering the minimal investment of 4 weeks to achieve increases in vertical power production, the benefits of training with HPC justified the associated time costs for these 4 elite athletes.

Real time cyber attack analysis on Hadoop ecosystem using machine learning algorithms

Big Data technologies are exciting cutting-edge technologies that generate, collect, store and analyse tremendous amount of data. Like any other IT revolution, Big Data technologies also have big challenges that are obstructing it to be adopted by wider community or perhaps impeding to extract value from Big Data with pace and accuracy it is promising. In this paper we first offer an alternative view of «Big Data Cloud» with the main aim to make this complex technology easy to understand for new researchers and identify gaps efficiently. In our lab experiment, we have successfully implemented cyber-attacks on Apache Hadoop's management interface «Ambari». On our thought about «attackers only need one way in», we have attacked the Apache Hadoop's management interface, successfully turned down all communication between Ambari and Hadoop's ecosystem and collected performance data from Ambari Virtual Machine (VM) and Big Data Cloud hypervisor. We have also detected these cyber-attacks with 94.0187% accurateness using modern machine learning algorithms. From the existing researchs, no one has ever attempted similar experimentation in detection of cyber-attacks on Hadoop using performance data.

Beyond construction…..A cross-disciplinary approach to improved learning and teaching in built environment degrees

More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related causes. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills those most vulnerable in the third world. Leadership in managing cross-disciplinary teams is required to present economical, viable community-based solutions. This project utilised the skills of undergraduates across different disciplines of construction, project management, engineering, design, and communication, to work alongside industry mentors in a team to design, build and present an innovative, sustainable water sanitation solution for a Bangladesh community. The semester-long project enabled undergraduate students to develop skills in client relationships, teamwork, and communication as well as discipline skills of project management and construction. The real-world problem necessitated a paradigm shift away from discipline-based knowledge transference towards skills for the future. The project utilised approaches such as negotiated curriculum and assessment; self-directed, flexible participation in learning; use of social media as a learning tool and cross-disciplinary teamwork. Results from student surveys and interviews indicate that this project directly enhanced students’ work-readiness skills and recognition of the importance of problem solving using cross-disciplinary understandings. Students reported greater self-confidence for tackling future workplace challenges. The results also illustrate strong levels of student satisfaction with the cross-disciplinary approach and the importance of skills in client relationships. The project and its outcomes have implications for how learning and teaching occurs in built environment disciplines and has the potential to create significant impact on the calibre of future built environment graduates.

Representing and learning in science

In this book we argue for an approach to representational work in school science learning and teaching that engages participants, is epistemologically sound, aligns with knowledge-building practices in the discipline, and draws on extensive classroom study. We review in this chapter current research agendas around student representational work in science learning, including the assumptions, rationale and research practices of these agendas. We do this (a) to clarify precisely what we see as the diversity of current mainstream thinking and practices around representational activity, and (b) to articulate what is distinctive about our own contribution, noting the traditions, influences and prior research we draw on. We begin by noting the current dominant role of image generation and analysis in much contemporary science, and its implications for science in schools.