Making the processes of designing explicit within an information technology environment

In this paper, technology is described as involving processes whereby resources are utilised to satisfy human needs or to take advantage of opportunities, to develop practical solutions to problems. This study, set within one type of technology context, information technology, investigated how, through a one semester undergraduate university course, elements of technological processes were made explicit to students. While it was acknowledged in the development and implementation of this course that students needed to learn technical skills, technological skills and knowledge, including design, were seen as vital also, to enable students to think about information technology from a perspective that was not confined and limited to `technology as hardware and software'. This paper describes how the course, set within a three year program of study, was aimed at helping students to develop their thinking and their knowledge about design processes in an explicit way. An interpretive research approach was used and data sources included a repertory grid `survey'; student interviews; video recordings of classroom interactions, audio recordings of lectures, observations of classroom interactions made by researchers; and artefacts which included students' journals and portfolios. The development of students' knowledge about design practices is discussed and reflections upon student knowledge development in conjunction with their learning experiences are made. Implications for ensuring explicitness of design practice within information technology contexts are presented, and the need to identify what constitutes design knowledge is argued.

Psychosocial predictors of the use of enhanced podcasting in student learning

The current study examined the influence of psychosocial constructs, from a theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective, to predict university students’ (N = 159) use of a newly offered on-line learning tool, enhanced podcasts. Pre-semester, students completed questionnaires assessing the TPB predictors (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) related to intended enhanced podcast use until the middle of semester. Mid-semester, students completed similar items relating to podcast use until the end of semester. Self-report measures of podcast use were obtained at the middle and end of semester. At both time points, students’ attitudes predicted their intentions and, at the initial time point, subjective norm also predicted intended podcast use. An examination of the beliefs underlying attitudes, the only construct to predict intentions at both time points, revealed differences between those students higher, rather than lower on intentions to use the podcasts, especially for the perceived educational benefits of podcast use later in the semester. Intentions to use enhanced podcasting only predicted self-reported use in the second half of the semester. Overall, this study identified some of the determinants which should be considered by those aiming to encourage student use of novel on-line educational tools.

Doing business : knowledges in the internationalised business lecture

This paper investigates the oracy (listening/speaking) genres enacted in an undergraduate entry point unit in the internationalised university of the 21st century, and the kind of knowledges these genres elicit and perform. This paper focuses on a series of lectures in the business studies unit and how anecdotal knowledge from both the lecturer’s and the students’ lived experiences was elicited as grist for the curriculum. The analysis of lecture talk suggests that the lecture today is no longer a monologic display of expert disciplinary knowledge bestowed upon the learner. Rather, it is increasingly a multimedia performance with an underlying ethic of engagement and interactivity. Of particular interest is the way international students’ knowledges were elicited to resource the internationalised curriculum with authenticity and insight. The knowledges thus assembled are analysed through Bernstein’s conceptual distinction between vertical and horizontal knowledge structures. The paper offers suggestions on how to maximise the potential and minimize the risks of this more interactive genre of lecture, with particular regard to enabling the participation of the international student.

Student perceptions of the impact of online discussion forum participation on learning outcomes

Choosing the “right” type of technology, either synchronous or asynchronous, to facilitate learning outcomes is a new challenge as the pace of emerging technologies increases and diversifies. Teachers are encouraged to design courses that require collaboration in online learning communities to facilitate the development of higher order thinking skills for life long learning. It is therefore important to gather evidence of the kinds of opportunities afforded to students and whether the students themselves endorse collaborative online tools as a legitimate method of assisting in their learning. This paper outlines the way in which one secondary school has used an online discussion forum to support students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program in enhancing research skills and skills for lifelong learning. The paper considers whether online collaborative tools are perceived by students as a positive way to improve learning outcomes.

An economic case for systematic student monitoring and intervention in the first year in higher education

Previous work has established the effectiveness of systematically monitoring first year higher education students and intervening with those identified as at-risk of attrition. This nuts-and-bolts paper establishes an economic case for a systematic monitoring and intervention program, identifying the visible costs and benefits of such a program at a major Australian university. The benefit of such a program is measured in savings to the institution which would otherwise be lost revenue, in the form of retained equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL). The session will present an economic model based on a number of assumptions. These assumptions are explored along with the applicability of the model to other institutions.

The potentials of student initiated netspeak in a middle primary science-inspired mutliliteracies project

There is no denying that the information technology revolution of the late twentieth century has arrived. Whilst not equitably accessible for many, others hold high expectations for the contributions online activity will make to student learning outcomes. Concurrently, and not necessarily consequentially, the number of science and technology secondary school and university graduates throughout the world has declined substantially, as has their motivation and engagement with school science (OECD, 2006). The aim of this research paper is to explore one aspect of online activity, that of forum-based netspeak (Crystal, 2006), in relation to the possibilities and challenges it provides for forms of scientific learning. This paper reports findings from a study investigating student initiated netspeak in a science inspired multiliteracies (New London Group, 2000) project in one middle primary (aged 7-10 years) multi-age Australian classroom. Drawing on the theoretical description of the Five phases of enquiry proposed by Bybee (1997), an analytic framework is proffered that allows identification of student engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration and evaluation of scientific enquiry. The findings provide insight into online forums for advancing learning in and motivation for science in the middle primary years.