Opening Keynote Presentation on day two of the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Conference in Seoul, South Korea. 16 October 2019 #TLCAsia19 Abstract: As institutions are increasingly testing the boundaries of technology enhanced learning with emergent and exciting new online learning tools, the responsibility on HE institutions to mediate a level of rigor in this area also increases. One of the really interesting evolving trends is the prospect that institutions are not all doing this alone. And that as a higher education community there are opportunities to strategically partner with both other institutions and with vendors so that we do not all have to reinvent the same wheel over and over again. At the same time, we need to be very conscious of not prematurely throwing out the baby with the bath water and that too sudden a shift can create problems for our students that could be easily avoided. This presentation will look at a range of current practices being seen within the sector that stand as great examples of partnering around new: learning and teaching initiatives; quality practices; models of credentialing; technology mashups, and more. All of these are leading us to develop new models of practice in how we mediate our virtual learning environments (VLEs) of the future.

1. Strategically partnering in
co-creating the VLEs of the
future
Professor Michael Sankey
Learning Futures
Vice-President and President (elect)
Australasian Council on Open, Distance and
eLearning (ACODE)
michael_sankey

2. Disruption is not limited to the taxi and food delivery industry, or to the
provision of movies.
New models of educational delivery have also been emerging, thanks
largely to the affordance of new generational technologies and a willingness
to break with traditional forms of supply, to a more demand driven model.
These new business models, coupled with a slowness of the national
regulators, has caught some tertiary institutions on the back foot, but
some are now awakening from their slumber.
With the bolder ones not being afraid to mix their metaphors

3. We can no-longer do this alone
 An interesting evolving trend is that institutions are not doing innovation alone
 Forming higher education communities and strategic partnerships
 For example at Griffith we partner with:
 Other institutions in the IRU (Innovative Research Universities)
 Government research centres
 Our Students (students as partners initiatives)
 Industry (to ensure work ready graduates)
 Vendors, like Blackboard, Cisco and Microsoft
 Consortiums (OUA, Navitas, Future Learn, Pearsons)
 We benchmark our practices, both formally and semi-formally across the sector

4. At the same time
 With the new shiny lights we can’t prematurely
throw out the baby with the bath water, as too
sudden a shift can create problems for our
students that could can avoided.
 Pedagogy first - not technology first
 Not just by transmitting information but
engaging students
 So we also partner with students
 I will return to this
Circa 1512, woodcut illustration by Thomas Murner,
Narrenbeschworung

5. Because of this we are now seeing new:
 Learning and teaching initiatives based on emerging technologies
 Shared business models
 Far greater emphasis on quality practices (assured)
 New models of credentialing
 Technology mashups (the VLE of the future)
 New models of practice, based on how we mediate AI and data
 But first lets look at the Griffith University context of the VLE

6. Griffith VLE – Learning@Griffith

7. BlackBoard
& associated tools
O365
& associated tools
Pre Uni Undergraduate Post-graduate Work
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3-4
Common patterns of student usage
VLE
Workplace technologies
O365
& associated tools
BlackBoard
& associated tools

8. Vendors, like Blackboard, Cisco and Microsoft
 Currently working with Blackboard on:
 Greater integrations with O365 and Teams
 The advanced functionality of Ultra
 Blackboard Analytics Course Reports.
 New forms of Assessment Rubrics
 Many more smaller elements – peer review, etc

9. The VLE of the future
 Will need to preference pedagogy
before technology
 We have developed out of necessity
a far more eclectic approaches to
pedagogy
 The temptation to put the technology
before pedagogic is quite
understandable, as technology can
offer some great opportunities to
engage and collaborate
 It’s about reframing the discussion

10. Active Learning
 Is where you engage students on an analytical level. It seeks to facilitate students to
assimilate material and information rather than passively absorbing it through traditional
lectures. This might look like:
 Create, share, and comment on images, PowerPoint presentations, videos, audio
files, documents, PDFs, etc.
 Co-facilitate meaningful discussions, thereby co-constructing knowledge.
 Providing opportunities for student self-reflection and reflection on others work
 Empowered to conduct group discussion, or together, through engaging with each
other (not with the teacher) come to a common understanding of some of the key
elements of knowledge required to meet their course outcomes.

11. Authentic Learning
 Is learning best done through gaining experience - learning by doing rather than
learning by listening or observing. For example:
 Relevance to real life; that have many possible solutions and outcomes
 A problem that is ill-defined and not easily solvable
 Tasks that allow for a sustained investigation
 Allow for multiple sources and perspectives
 Reflection
 Perspectives from various disciplines
 Assessment that is integrated
 Creation of products

12. Collaborative Learning
 Generally relies on engaging group structures to support students working together
while maximising Individual learning. It involves two or more people learning something
together, capitalising on one another's resources and skills. Such as:
 Peer modelling and getting students to roleplay
 A physical or online Scavenger Hunt for information related to the topic of the
week
 Formal or informal debates on a given topic
 Pass the Problem, where students partly answer and pass the problem onto to the
next student to add more details.
 Forming Groups Creatively, where students brainstorm solutions to particular
problems

13. Innovative Research Universities (IRU)
 A coalition of seven
comprehensive universities
committed to inclusive
excellence in teaching, learning
and research
 As an outward-looking network
the IRU seeks to strengthen
Australia’s integration with the
countries of Asia.

15. Industry
&
Government
Partnerships

16. Quality in TEL
 We know students are seeking consistency
within their courses/units in the online learning
environment
 Institutions also want a level of consistency
for the learning outcomes between f2f and
online courses
 This means institutions need to have
frameworks and quality processes in place to
ensure both course quality and process
quality
 Over the last few year as more institutions
have turned to online, a focus on the quality
of these offerings at the course/unit level has
become far more focused

17. Meta
Meso
Micro

18. Levels within TEL
There are levels of TEL seen within
the sector, dependent largely on the
capacity of the:
 Educational jurisdiction
 National technology infrastructure
 Geographical constraints
 Level of staff training
Technology-Enabled Learning
Technology Enhanced Learning
Technology Intensive Learning

19. Technology
Intensive
Learning
TBA

20. A few ways to do this at the institution level
 ACODE Benchmarks
 COL Benchmarks
 E-Learning Maturity Model
 OLC Quality Score Card and
Toolkit
 The European eExcellence

21. Macquarie University 2014
After you self-assess internally then
you then can share with others
24 Institutions from 5 countries

22. University of Canberra
29-30 June 2016
27 Institutions from 5 countries

23. ACODE-UK
TEL Benchmarking Summit
June 2017

24. Griffith University 2018
24 Australasian Institutions

25. At the course level we are replete with tools
 OLC quality score card and toolkit
 Quality Matters (QM)
 ACODE Threshold Standards for Online Learning Environments
 eLearning Guidelines (New Zealand)
 JISC - eLearning Quality Standards
 European set associated with eExcellence
 E-learning Quality Model (ELQ) out of Sweden
 ASCILITE TELAS
 Commonwealth of Learning (CoL)

26. JCU Baseline Standards
SDE elements Focus on Student digital experience @ JCU QA
Subject orientation
Students will access the subject outline and introductory recording to orientate
themselves to the subject and to view subject details during the week prior to the
study period commencing.
⎕ Subject Outline
⎕ Welcome video
Learning design
Students will engage with learning materials that are accessible and inclusive,
with legislative requirements and purposefully designed to meet learning
⎕ Ally report
⎕ Subject Outline
⎕ Readings (copyright)
Media content
Students will engage with media content to support their learning – recordings
interactive media.
⎕ BB Subject report
⎕ BB System report
Assessment
Students will access GradeCentre to view assessment results, and where
use online submission and receive feedback electronically.
⎕ BB Subject report
Communications
Students will engage respectfully in essential subject communication through the
subject site including announcements, subject surveys, assessment information,
where appropriate to subject modes, staff-student and peer-peer interactions.
⎕ BB Subject report
⎕ BB System report
Support
Students can access through the subject site support for academic learning,
technologies and wellbeing via links to appropriate services and materials, and
appropriate subject-specific resources.
⎕ SiteImporve

27. Semi-formal Benchmarking

28. Immersive Learning: look out for #ANewReality 2020
 25 institutions
across
Australasia

29. Who has used O365 Teams in the last week?
80 attendees
from 16
universities

30. HE in 20 years time
May 2017
In Mid 2017 a foundational report
was released by the CSHE
The study involved 117 in-depth
interviews and surveys with HE
leaders

31.  All agreed that major
changes are coming.
As one leader remarked:
“I’m not at all confident that
the university or anything
like its current form will be
here for even 20 years.”
 Leaders commented on
the dynamic impact that
technology will have on
HE
 A Go8 VC framed it concisely:
“The digital realm penetrates
everything: how people access
information; how people see the
many different ways they can
interact with one another; how
they receive services; how they
can themselves interact with
services.”
 Another VC observed:
“Technology is going to change
the nature of both our interaction
with students and the nature of
the higher education system.”

32. So what can
technology offer us?
 Interactivity: personal and programmed
 Collaboration: 1 to 1; 1 to many
 Up-to-date & real-time information
 Social learning opportunities
 Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality
 Simulation: trial and error
 Mobility: Flexibility
 Artificial Intelligence
 Machine Learning
 Peer-learning/assessment opportunities
 Synchronous and Asynchronous

33. Significant Challenges for
Technology Adoption in HE
Solvable
 Improving Digital Fluency
 Increasing Demand for Digital Learning Experience
and Instructional Design Expertise
Difficult
 The Evolving Roles of Faculty with EdTech
Strategies
 Bridging the Achievement Gap
Wicked
 Advancing Digital Equity
 Rethinking the Practice of Teaching

43. The VU Block Model

44. AN INNOVATION THAT SUSTAINS
 STDUDENT EXPERIENCE: high stakes, confusing, many demands and tasks
 LOCK STEPPED: passive, industrial model of education that is hard to change
 STUDENT WORKLOAD: content, lectures, seminars, tutorials, high stakes assignments
 TRANSITION TO UNIVERSITY: difficult, slow, impersonal
Traditional First Year Model
The Status Quo: An innovation that sustains
LOCK STEPPED: standardised, passive, industrial, resistant to change
WORKLOAD: content, lectures, seminars, tutorials, exams
EXPERIENCE: high stakes, confusing, many demands and tasks
UNIT1
UNIT2
UNIT3
UNIT4
16WEEKS
START FINISH
SWOT
VAC
EXAMSCONCURRENTUNITTEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

45. AN INNOVATION THAT DISRUPTS
 FOCUS on one unit at a time with IMMERSIVE and DEEP learning
 CONSOLIDATED timetable enabling students and staff to MANAGE other dependencies
 ASSESSMENT contained within the block; SUCCESS and MOTIVATION early on
 COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES to enhance KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS

47. Micro-Credentials
 Learning doesn't have to be packaged into
multi-year chunks
 It can be broken up into less than 30-hour
chunks and priced/awarded accordingly
 Short, low-cost online courses that result in
a digital badge or credential when learners
complete one of them and certified when a
series is completed
 "For higher ed, that's an opportunity to really
provide those services to students so they
can continue to build their professional
portfolios"
 Offers Universities an opportunity to bridge
skill gaps
http://www.centerdigitaled.com/higher-ed/Why-Micro-Credentials-Universities.html

49.  The Metro Map demonstrates the increasingly complex digital landscape we inhabit
 Built on existing digital skills frameworks, contributed by a range of organisations.
 This metaphor depicts a journey alongside the separate categories for each metro line,
corresponding to broad areas relevant to learning and teaching.
All Aboard: Digital Skills in Higher Education (2017) CC-BY-NC 4.0 http://www.allaboardhe.ie/

50. 4 main forms currently
seen in the sector
1. Post-grad courses and programs based
on credentialing/selling RPL
2. Post-grad courses built-up by
undertaking many shorter courses
(usually grad-cert)
3. Under-grad: series of short accredited
courses to augment a fuller program
(typically x4 = 1)
4. Under-grad: non-accredited, or
co-curricular courses to demonstrate
experience and enhance portfolio

51. The Nanodegree

52. Some
examples
Exter, M., Ashby, I,. & Caskurlu, S. 2017. Using Digital Badges in
Competency-Based Degree Programs. Digital Badges and Credentials.
Monash College, 2-3 March. Melbourne. Available from:
https://www.acode.edu.au/course/view.php?id=3

55. Digital Literacy
COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION
CRITICAL THINKING
WORK READINESS
NumeracyVerbal CommsWritten Comms
Sussex Downs College Employability Passport
Positive Attitude Teamwork Meet Deadlines Emotional IQ
Initiative Creative Decision Making Problem Solving
Reliable Adaptable Professional Ambition
Communication
Collaboration
Critical Thinking
Work Readiness
+ + + =
+ + + =
+ + + =
+ + + =

57. RMIT model
 In the order of 100 such contracts
over the last 2 years

58. Education in the Age of Disruption
Professor Margaret Gardner AO (2016)
https://www.monash.edu/about/structure/senior-staff/president-and-vice-chancellor/profile/vice-chancellors-speeches/education-in-the-age-of-disruption
 … the digital disruption and harnessing
its possibilities is vital to providing much
better teaching and learning in
universities in this time of globalization
and massification, for here is the
promise of better education for our
students… So I expect that higher
education and indeed universities will
be the source of their own disruption.