Teaching and Learning News
- Learning-Centred Evaluation of Computer-Facilitated Learning Projects in Higher Education
- Quality Teaching Awards 2003
- New UNE Referencing Guide
- WebCT workshops
- WebCT upgrade
Learning-Centred Evaluation of Computer-Facilitated
Learning Projects in Higher Education
This report arose from a 1999 CUTSD staff development project, managed
by the Teaching and Learning Centre at Murdoch University, on behalf of
the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education
(ASCILITE) and a consortium of 10 other universities.
The project sought to address widely acknowledged shortcomings in the
evaluation of Computer-Facilitated Learning projects (CFL), identified
in a CUTSD report by Alexander and McKenzie, in 1998. It involved staff
development in evaluation of CFL projects, proceeding from the premise
that academics in most discipline areas generally have neither the skills
nor expertise to carry out scholarly evaluations of student learning.
Forty-one university staff were supported by 11 mentors in evaluating
18 CFL projects, and 17 of these are reported in this publication. Background
material about the conduct of the project is also available.
Copies of the report may be downloaded from:
http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/projects/cutsd99/
Quality Teaching Awards 2003
As this year's round of selection of recipients for the 2002 Quality
Teaching Awards draws to a close, outstanding educators at UNE are encouraged
to consider applying for an award in 2003.
The QTAs are open to permanent, part time and casual teachers in NSW,
from all sectors of education, 'pre school to post grad', private and
public. The Awards are conducted by the Australian College of Educators,
a national professional association, and presented by the NSW Minister
for Education and Training.
The QTAs recognise and applaud accomplished teaching practice through
a process involving referees' reports, professional learning portfolios
and workplace visits.
Information, documentation and application forms can be found on the
NSW page of the Australian College of Educators web site. Go to
http://www.austcolled.com.au/sitemappage.html
and download the document 'NSW Quality Teaching Awards 2002'. At this
stage only this year's application forms are available but it is anticipated
that, in 2003, the process will remain unchanged, with the exception of
appropriate adjustments to key dates.
Please consider applying for an award in 2003. Visit the web site but, remember, while the guidelines for building a professional learning portfolio will remain the same, do not use this year's forms to apply but instead wait until the new forms go up on the College web site at a later date.
New UNE Referencing Guide
A review of the UNE Style Guide this year has resulted in a new look
UNE Referencing Guide which is designed to be a more succinct and user-friendly
guide for both students and academic staff. The review panel consisted
of Teaching and Learning Centre representatives: Robyn Muldoon, Corinne
Buckland, Su Woodward and Di Davies; and faculty representatives: Dr Sue
Gelade (EHPS), Associate Professor Vic Wright (EBL), Dr Bruce Stevenson
(Arts) and Dr Nigel Warwick (Sciences).
The new Referencing
Guide is in the form of a folded brochure which clearly sets out the
basic principles of author-date (Harvard) referencing with examples of
the most commonly used types of references. Particular attention has been
paid to electronic referencing in the new guide, the only section to be
significantly updated from the old Style Guide. The intention was to devise
a system that streamlines the cumbersome process of electronic referencing;
that integrates logically with our print referencing style; is easy to
teach; and that has room to develop/grow as Internet styles change. This
is consistent with APA standards and trends in other universities.
Other changes are minor and have been made in the interest of clarity.
The new guide does not contain as many examples as the old one, but it
more clearly sets out the basic logic for students to apply to less common
references. For those students who wish to look up more arcane examples
of referencing, the old Style Guide, with amendments, will remain on the
Web. These examples
will also be the subject of new ASO fact sheets.
The Referencing Guide refers to the web site of the old Style Guide as
well as the web site of the new UNE Plagiarism Policy and related information
for students. It also refers to the ASO fact sheets about further examples
and style issues, such as use of non-discriminatory language, previously
covered in the old Style Guide. The fact sheets are available free in
the ASO and the TLC or by post on request. They are also on the Web
(click Handy Resources on the left).
Traditional referencing (footnoting) guidelines have been revised by
the School of Classics, History and Religion and will also be covered
by ASO fact sheets.
The new Referencing Guide will go to all commencing external students
in their materials packages and to all commencing internal students during
Orientation Week. All continuing students will continue with the old Style
Guide but will be informed of the new electronic referencing information
via all the usual student publications and forums. However, many may not
adjust to the new electronic guidelines and academic staff are asked to
be lenient in these cases.
Any queries regarding the Referencing Guide should be directed to Robyn Muldoon or to your faculty representative.
WebCT workshops
Online tutorials (Serving It Up)
A series of five semi self-paced tutorials are available on the Web.
They are designed to be done over a two-week period at times convenient
to participants. Discussion or Bulletin board support is included for
questions and feedback. Each series begins at 9.30 am on the first day
with a brief face-to-face session for orientation and access details in
the TLC Seminar Room. The tutorials allow you to develop your own unit
as you progress. They cover the following elements:
- Home page design
- Communication Tools 1
- Communication Tools 2
- Preparing files for Web delivery
- Managing Files: Make a Single Page.
Series one: Monday, 2 December to Friday, 13 December
Series two: Monday, 3 February to Friday, 14 February
Series three: Thursday, 3 April to Thursday, 17 April (semester two and
MBA coordinators)
Contact Catherine Clarke on ext. 3395 or email for details of these sessions and to register to participate. Participants must have an existing unit to participate.
WebCT upgrade
The upgrade to the new version of WebCT is progressing according to schedule. To allow for the complete transfer to the new system and to allow ITD to upgrade operating system software the development server will be unavailable for the week beginning 25 November through to 29 November. This will not affect any active units but will mean that units under development will be unavailable for access by academic staff during that week. We apologise for the inconvenience. The delivery server will be shutdown during February but for a minimum period of time. Coordinators will be notified via email. The current version of WebCT will cease to be available January 31.
