We are delighted to have Richard Robinson, the Associate Director, Learning Environment of ANU Online, opening TELFest 2018.

Presented by Alexandra Webb, ANU Medical School

Integrating TEL into your educational practice can be daunting and challenging. However, the judicious use of educational technologies can augment your skills as an educator and enhance the student experience of learning. This session will encourage consideration of the BIG question: ‘to use, or not to use technology’ in your educational environment. We will examine how the science of learning can provide insights into the effective application of TEL. Finally, we’ll reflect on how listening to the voice of your students can guide you away from potential pitfalls.

Chaired by Eleanor Kay, President of ANUSA

What do students think about the use of technology for learning at ANU?

To improve and inform teaching practices and the use of technology at the University, it is necessary to include student voices. This student panel will focus on sharing inspiring stories that highlight how technology in the context of learning and teaching at the University has impacted student experience. It will also seek to clarify assumptions about TEL (e.g. Exactly how much do lecture recordings affect attendance?) and discuss the challenges students face in using apps, external tools and ANU specific platforms such as Wattle or Echo360. The aim of this panel is to share diverse experiences and initiate a dialogue between students and the teaching community about where the University is at and where it needs to go to improve students’ learning experience - touching on topics ranging from learning spaces, innovative teaching practices to small group teaching.

Panelists:

Tess Masters - Vice President, ANUSA

Evie Sharman - College of Asia Pacific Representative, ANUSA

Makayla-May Brinckley - 2017 Indigenous Officer, ANUSA

Zoë Tulip - Education Officer, PARSA

Presented by Catherine Day, College of Health and Medicine

The "Lesson" activity in Wattle allows a lecturer to tailor the learning path for individual students according to a range of criteria, provides students with a fully interactive experience. It's a very flexible tool for the lecturer. On the other hand, it's more complex to develop than the "Book" resource. This presentation will demonstrate how "Lessons" were developed to teach Fundamentals of Epidemiology, including controlling the flow based on the individual student's understanding of the material. For example, students are asked non-assessable Check Questions during the Lesson. If they answer incorrectly, they are sent to the page which contains the required information to re-learn it. They can then either attempt the question again, or move on. Feedback from the students indicated that they found this process extremely useful. This presentation will include a live demonstration of some Lessons, including the use of external websites, where appropriate, and a brief demonstration of animations which we created to explain basic epidemiological concepts.

Presented by Claudia Slimmings and Rafat Hussain, College of Health and Medicine

E-assessment includes online submission of work, online coursework, and quizzes. Online quizzes have a number of advantages for assessment including inter-rater reliability, increased marking automation, flexible feedback, and reports. Most learning management systems have templates for multiple choice (MCQ), true-false, matching and short answer questions (SAQ), but not for approaches assumed to test higher-order thinking, such as essay question. Nevertheless, MCQs are the only question type able to assess learning at all six levels of Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. E-assessment using well-designed MCQs, in combination with other question types (to reduce “guessing”), provide a valid option for assessment, particularly in an environment of increasing student numbers and increasing expectations for rapid marking turnaround. Until 2017, first and second year students at ANU Medical School submitted a 3000-word Population Health essay in semester two, worth 5% of the total year mark. In 2018, the essays were replaced with online quizzes which were delivered using KuraCloud, consisting of a mix of MCQs and SAQs that assessed knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis of Population Health concepts from set readings. Students were given 2-3 weeks to complete the assessment. Question-level plus overall feedback was provided when marks were released. Two quizzes, one in each semester, were set for both first and second year, and were worth 2 and 3% of the final mark in each year, respectively. This presentation will describe the design and implementation of the e-assessment approach we used, and discuss the strengths and limitations of e-assessment for Population Health in the postgraduate medical school curriculum.

 

Presented by Krisztina Valter, Alex Webb, Lillian Smyth & Joseph O'Rourke, College of Health and Medicine

Teaching internal structures obscured from direct view is one of the major challenges of anatomy education. Traditional anatomy resources, such as plastic models and atlases, are limited in their ability to communicate three-dimensional (3D) structures. New computer modelling technology presents a possible, but as yet underexplored solution. Thus, the utility of a high-fidelity interactive 3D micro-computed tomography (CT) model with virtual dissection capabilities to teach complex internal structures of the human body to medical students is unclear. The present study trialled one such model that depicts the human skull to teach the anatomy of the paranasal sinuses in the preclinical phase of a graduate-entry medical program. Results indicated that, under ideal conditions, the 3D model is equal to traditional laboratory resources when used as a learning tool. However, these findings have also identified both human (student) and technical (curriculum) factors that may limit the value of the 3D model for students if not properly implemented. This paper discusses the importance of preparatory training for students in order to successfully integrate such models into medical anatomical curricula.

Presented by Abhinav Mehta, College of Business and Economics

Ever since I began teaching in 2010, I have tried to incorporate technology into my teaching. I have used it for assessments using specialised applications and Moodle resources and for creating video content to teach. The use of technology has now become an integral part of any course that I teach. I consider myself a tech-friendly person and like to try out new things. If I find a particular application or hardware interesting and feel that it can enhance the learning experience of my students, then I incorporate it into my teaching.

Part of the motivation to incorporate technology into my teaching is to equip our graduates with the knowledge and skills which are a crucial part of their graduate attributes. To this end, I have created video lectures, using Camtasia, which can be used by the students as they see fit. Either to learn a new software or apply theoretical concepts learned in a practical real-world example. I encourage the use of the technology by having it included in some of my assessment tasks, like using R or Excel.

The other aspect of using technology is to make myself a more effective teacher. There are applications I use which make my work more streamlined. I use apps like PDF Expert for grading my assignments or Notability and Poll-Everywhere to make my lectures more interactive. In this presentation, I aim to talk about my various different experiments in using technology and what has worked for me. I hope that it will encourage you to embrace the use of technology in enhancing your teaching and learning experience.

Presented by Salman Durrani, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Teaching with a classroom response system is well recognized as an effective method for active in class learning, by engaging the students minds, when coupled with appropriate pedagogies. This talk will discuss the pedagogy (adapted from the cognitive apprenticeship model) that has been employed in the first and second year electronics courses in the ANU Bachelor of Engineering program when using Poll Everywhere to enhance student learning and engagement over the past 3 semesters. It will (i) discuss the technical implementation aspects, such as standalone and embedded PowerPoint operation, (ii) share the lessons learned including student feedback and (iii) provide advice on best practices when using in class live interactive audience participation tools to boost in class participation, demystify student misconceptions and enable tough engineering concepts to sink in.

The purpose of this talk is not to focus on comparing Poll Everywhere (currently not available to ANU staff) and echo360 alp (currently available to ANU staff). For interested staff, such a comparison is available at: https://services.anu.edu.au/files/publication-collection/EFS%20News%20Dec%202017.pdf (page 5). Instead, this talk will focus on the adopted pedagogy and lessons learned which are applicable to any interactive tool.

Presented by Janelle Hamilton, Michelle Barrett, Alex Webb, Kat Esteves, Lillian Smyth & Vojislav Zelkovic, College of Health and Medicine The Problem Physical examination is an essential clinical skill that is a central component of a doctor’s daily activities and thus an integral component of medical training. One of the challenges in medical education is to standardise the process of teaching physical examination techniques to ensure that tutors deliver a consistent approach aligned with the competencies expected of students in assessments. In 2015, an evaluation of Year 2 Doctor of Medicine and Surgery students, 48% agreed that physical examination skills were taught at an appropriate level, 59% reported that the examination process was explicitly covered and 56% understood how content translated to the hands-on tutorial sessions where students had an opportunity to practice the examination skills with a tutor. Thus, the aim of this project was to design an educational intervention to improve the standardisation of the physical examination process, for both students and tutors, to enhance delivery, ensure explicit alignment and support student skill development. The Educational Intervention Videos of the physical examination process were created and evaluated in 2017. The video content was explicitly aligned with the written physical examination guide provided to tutors and students as well as the relevant teaching sessions and assessments. The videos were delivered to students, embedded in an online lesson platform (kuraCloud) and integrated with activities that tested knowledge and application of the physical examination process with immediate feedback. The Result In the 2017 evaluation, after implementation of the videos, 100% of students agreed that the physical examination skills were taught at an appropriate level, 90% reported that the examination process was explicitly covered and 98% understood how the content translated to the tutorial sessions. All students (100%) that completed the evaluation agreed that the videos were a valuable learning tool and 98% agreed the videos aided their skill development.

Presented by Peter Kanowski and Jacqueline Hoepner, HDR Supervision Development Team ANU will implement a new HDR Supervision Development Framework in 2019. A suite of activities and resources will support the Framework, both face-to-face and online, to inform and enable good supervisory practice. A key online resource will be the Epigeum module Supervising Doctoral Studies (accessible here). We’ll also develop a community of practice forum and provide practical resources through that site. We will use this TELFEST session to outline the key components of the Framework and our plans for the online elements, as well as welcoming any advice you can offer. We’re very keen to learn from your experience, to best engage colleagues through online learning technologies.

Presented by Chris Browne, Kim Blackmore and Jeremy Smith, College of Engineering and Computer Science

In project-based learning, students focus on constructing a solution to a problem. They engage with a customer or key stakeholder and produce an artifact such as a report, a computer program or a model. Project-based learning is a natural pedagogy for engineering, as it is closely aligned to professional engineering work. Capstone projects feature in the final year of many engineering programs, and have been included in the ANU Bachelor of Engineering since it was first established, and students participate in co-curricular projects such as the World Solar Challenge. We are now preparing to embed project-based learning comprehensively through the core of the engineering degree, with students joining long-term project groups and applying key engineering concepts from their courses to their projects as they progress through the degree. Implementing project-based learning requires a mindset shift from "teaching" to "facilitating learning", coordination and collaboration across courses, effective integration of industry partnerships, and detailed organisational systems. In this presentation we will describe the planned approach and explore some of the key ingredients for success and potential pitfalls and report on early steps in the implementation.

Presented by Anneka Ferguson, College of Law

Through empirical studies of ANU GDLP students, and in accordance with other literature on law student wellbeing and professionalism, it is clearly suggested that providing a curriculum/learning environment that supports the basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence (Self-Determination Theory) as well as respecting students values progress is fundamental to a positive student experience at law school*. This presentation will examine what aspects of a curriculum and learning environment (i.e. the role of assessment, mentoring, contextual learning and teamwork) can improve these psychological outcomes for students.

*NB: Although the research by the presenter is based on a law school situation, the findings are not restricted to law students only.

Presented by Timothea Turnbull, College of Asia and the Pacific For courses that are taught in the field, tech can be the answer to many challenges, such as building virtual teaching environments and crafting on-the-go assessment tasks. Careful preparation and design are crucial so that students and teaching staff are enabled rather than overwhelmed by the constraints of learning-in-the-field. My presentation will cover six design principles which I prototyped this year as course convenor for the 2018 ANU IARU 3-week intensive course on Australian foreign policy, which followed the guiding principle of 'zero classrooms' and included over 60 experts in 24 venues around Canberra.

Presented by Tom Worthington, College of Engineering and Computer Science

The graduate course "ICT Sustainability" was first run online in 2009 and has been offered each year since by ANU, and three other institutions in Australia and North America. Course designer Tom Worthington discusses how the needs of global industry and academia were incorporated and the changes made in the ten years this award winning course has been running. Tom discusses how to keep students working online, deterring plagiarism and keeping study relevant to the workplace. Adapting the course for industry, open universities and as a free open on-line module are detailed.

Presented by Alexandra Webb, Katherine Esteves & Brian Billups, College of Health and Medicine

Critical thinking skills are essential for the 21^st Century graduate to navigate through the “wicked problems” they will encounter during their careers. Technology enhanced learning (TEL) creates interactive learning opportunities for students to identify and solve complex problems, think critically about information, work effectively in teams and communicate clearly about their thinking in supported classroom environments. At the ANU Medical School and JCSMR we have been transforming our practical sessions to create more interactive learning opportunities supported by educational technology. This will be a hands-on workshop focussed on educational design and TEL enablers to create interactive learning opportunities to enhance student problem solving and critical thinking.

 

This workshop is relevant to all staff who deliver large and small group teaching sessions and would like to incorporate more interactive learning opportunities that engage students in problem solving and critical thinking. Please bring a device.

Chaired by Professor Grady Venville, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education)

This is an exciting time for teaching and learning at ANU, with new teaching spaces offering an opportunity to re-think how we approach education. This interactive panel discussion will debate the key issues facing teaching staff at ANU and across higher education based on questions submitted by the audience.

Chaired by Professor Grady Venville, the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education), this session will include innovative academics from across the university and invite them to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and futures for technology-enhanced learning and teaching -- and beyond.

Panelists include:

Paul Francis - College of Science

Gemma King - College of Arts & Social Science

Anna von Reibnitz - College of Business and Economics

Bernardo Cielo - PARSA

Tess Masters - ANUSA

Presented by Stephen Dann (CBE), Emmaline Lear (COS) & Priscilla Kan John (CECS) 

In this 90 minute workshop, participants will explore the methodology of Lego Serious Play for the classroom, design and build models using Lego, and learn how play can facilitate discussion and engagement.

Lego Serious Play (LSP) is a classroom based teaching methodology designed to surface knowledge through the creation and discussion of three dimensional models of ideas, concepts and frameworks through Lego constructions. What makes LSP suited to the classroom engagement is the flattening of existing hierarchies through equal voice in the room, control and ownership of your own object’s meaning and message, and the establishment of conditions of safety, respect and mutual sharing within participants. This workshop will be an opportunity to experience this in action, where participants can engage in the process of visual metaphor construction, meaning making, and work their way through the process of surfacing knowledge, sharing ideas, and engaging in metacognitive reflections on their own teaching practice within the session.

Participants will experience the metacognitive processes involved in using the LSP techniques for hand-mind connection through the creation of Lego models of ideas, concepts and experiences. By focusing on teaching praxis, the workshop has the dual benefits of exploring the participant’s own teaching experience, and having them experience the LSP facilitation method as a recipient of the process. The session will also discuss the benefits and challenges of applying LSP to teaching engagements, and the restrictions on where it can create value in education experiences.

Chaired by Katie Freund, ANU Online

In this closing event, we invite TELFest participants to join us in a fishbowl discussion to consider how we can cultivate inclusive practices in how we use technology in our teaching at ANU, to best serve our diverse staff and student populations. A fishbowl is a type of panel where the members of the audience form the panel, with an empty seat always available for a new participant to join. This is a chance for you to contribute and share your experiences where technology has supported you– or been a barrier for you. We will discuss how to take advantage of the affordances of technology-enhanced learning while ensuring that it remains inclusive and accessible to all.

Participants in this session will include:

• Student representatives from ANUSA and PARSA
• Dzung Vo, Assistive Technology Officer, Access and Inclusion
• Dr Vivien Silvey, Learning Adviser, Academic Skills and Learning Centre
• Sam Provost, Mentoring and Outreach Officer, Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre
• Professor Peter Kanowski, Deputy Dean of HDR Students, Master of University House, and Professor of Forestry
• Dr Devin Bowles, Lecturer, Population Health, ANU Medical School

Presented by John Debs, College of Science

"Learning by doing" has been the mantra of John’s teaching in his first year physics class for 7 years. Based on the success of project-based learning in Foundations of Physics, John successfully lobbied for and started The ANU MakerSpace (makerspace.anu.edu.au), an interdisciplinary community of people working on projects using a variety of unique tools. Open to anyone on campus —staff or student alike— we now cater to around 700 users from all 7 ANU Colleges, as well as central areas. Artists have been purposely activated in the space, making up an equal-majority user-group with scientists and engineers. A third of our users are non-undergraduate, and include PhD students, professional, technical, and academic staff. In addition to supporting discipline-specific project-based learning, this novel community-environment has lead to multi-disciplinary collaborations, including helping the Glass Workshop at the School of Art and Design fabricate the 2018 Australian of the Year Award Trophies, Empowering the Questacon Science Circus students with new skills, and enabling a music student to design, fabricate and model the physics of his own saxophone mouthpieces. John will summarise activity, and invite you to get involved.

Presented by Anneka Ferguson, College of Law

As an online (as well as face-to-face) Convenor for 10 years, and as an action based and empirical researcher into how to provide tertiary education in a way that promotes the best student wellbeing and professionalism outcomes, this presentation builds on these experiences and considers the possibilities of blockchain technologies to extend both the online and face-to-face educational experience in exciting new ways. Used appropriate aspects of the blockchain technology could be an effective way of addressing issues of meaningful and creative student engagement, effective communication between markers and students, the development of a professional reputation and even a way to improve the 'proof of value' of an education beyond that of a certification. As such, this presentation is an exploration of the possibilities of blockchain and an invitation to start the dialogue on the impact that this new technology could have on higher education.

Presented by Emmaline Lear (COS), Stephen Dann (CBE) & Priscilla Kan John (CECS)

Professional Practice 2 (PP2) course from the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) teaches Master of Computer Science and Master of Engineering students studying at the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) professional and communication skills, values, and attributes in a way that directly complement their technical expertise. In this course, students complete a group project to solve a real-world problem using a Design Thinking approach. In semester 1 2018, we explored the additional application of using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) as an in-class intervention. This session gave the teams the opportunity to discuss individual interpretations of their design and share their views about how their product met the clients’ need; as a team, they then culminated a joint key message for a final pitch presentation. Students use the LSP approach to reflect on their project progress using this hands-on, minds-on learning, to produce a deeper and more meaningful understanding of their engineering/computer science product (Nerantzi et al. 2015). After building the 3D models the PP2 students shared their stories. This building metaphor served as the basis for not only for constructing a narrative to talk about Science, but also to engage in group discussion, knowledge sharing, problem solving and decision making (Kurkovsky 2015; Middleton 2015). The team was encouraged to listen and ask specially formulated questions to probe deeper, without taking away authorship from the model builder. This provided each team member with a voice, and the opportunity to empathise and participate equally to the conversations, the decisions and the outcome. Students learned new skills and became more confident in their application of professional practice competencies. Throughout the process and from facilitating a more dynamic atmosphere using LSP, individual members felt more comfortable to justify, interpret and communicate professional propositions and decisions through this creative process.

Facilitated by Stephen Dann - College of Business and Economics Come play! Following the previous workshop Building on the Bricks of the Lego Serious Play for the Classrooms Experience, Lego will be made available for participants to use and enjoy.