The blended professional : Jack of all trades, and master of some?

Within the last decade we have experienced an unprecedented growth in the use of technology in education. The adoption of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) for many universities has been widespread. Granted the speed of which this has been integrated is influenced by local policy, the academics themselves and the support available to learn how to use the VLE and its suite of tools. However, there has been a shift from just having a small central eLearning team who reached out to encourage staff to use the VLE, to a growing need for a wider pool of people to support colleagues who want to learn why and how technology can be used to enhance their teaching practice. Today the VLE is just one aspect; mobile learning and educational Apps, social media, and webinars are just some of the many examples being used to develop communication, collaboration and social learning. Some institutions (or indeed faculties within them) have looked to create roles for Learning Technologists to support such development, and yet others have relied on the early adopters and enthusiasts to assume this role. This chapter will look at some short case studies and reflections of the ‘blended professionals’ who are advocates of #EdTech and how the need to wear different hats to meet very different objectives can present surprising results when supported within a community of practice

Developing a professional online presence and effective network

This chapter considers the significance and value of using social media to develop an online presence to showcase professional and academic achievements as a student or educator, and how this can demonstrate student learning gain and teaching excellence. There are a variety of different ways to present academic work; contributing to the success of this, is understanding how social media can be used in a professional context to maximise reach and engagement. It explores how an online presence can be utilised to network with others and how this can open ‘virtual doors’ to CPD and informal learning, potential scholarly collaborations, plus new job opportunities or work experience. Furthermore a framework is introduced to illustrate the important areas to focus on to develop an online presence

The Alternative Vote : In Theory and Practice

The idea of choosing political representatives through elections has its origins in ancient times. More recently, democratic values have been united with the concept of elected representative government. This then places a great deal of importance on the system used to elect these representatives, since this system must satisfy an impressive range of democratic values, as well as being effective and simple enough for the voter to understand. The electoral system chosen will reflect those values and outcomes which those who introduce the system wish to bring about. Sometimes this may be proportional representation, which means seats allocated in direct proportion to votes obtained, which often comes at the risk of unstable coalition governments but that represents minority groups quite adequately. On the other hand, majority rule by one major party (or coalition) may be sought through a plurality voting system (or first-past-the-post). The alternative vote (AV), often called preferential voting, is an electoral system which combines considerations of stable majority rule as well as the preferences of those who support minority party views in society. This is done through the listing of preferences on the ballot paper, which enables those whose first preferences arc eliminated from the count to still affect the final result. The AV has been refined and implemented largely in Australia, both at a federal level to elect members to the House of Representatives, and in most state lower houses. Outside of Australia the AV has been used very little. This study looks at the AV in Australia, both in theory and in practice. The origins of election and representative government are traced to provide a conceptual background to the study. Both the history and outcomes of the AV are covered at a federal level, as well as considering Western Australia as an example of its use at a state level. Also considered is the optional variant of the AV, as is used in the state lower houses of New South Wales and Queensland. This study uses focus groups as the methodological tool with which to determine: firstly, how well the AV is understood by West Australian voters; and secondly, what these voters think of this system as a method of electing their representatives to the Legislative Assembly in Western Australia. The outcomes of the AV, in both Western Australia and the Commonwealth, have sometimes been different than those who introduced the system anticipated. Most predictable, and indeed one of the main reasons behind it\u27s introduction, has the been the prevention of vote-splitting between non-Labor groupings. This, however, has proved more effective on a federal level than in Western Australia. Other outcomes include the formation of a stable two-party system of politics, and the election of candidates and governments which have the support of an absolute majority of voters. The AV has also sustained the presence of some minor parties, particularly the National (formerly Country) Party. Interesting, and less predictable in earlier years, is the way in which the A V has facilitated a \u27politics of the centre\u27 in the Australian context. In recent times, preferences have become more important in determining election outcomes, as the number of minor panics and independents contesting lower house seats in Australia increases, and also as the number of votes for major parties decreases. Finally, the focus group research uncovered a marked lack of understanding of the AV amongst voters in Western Australia. 1hus a primary recommendation arising from this study is that better civic education, is required to ensure that the AV is used to its full potential by voters, which will then achieve fully one of the original intentions behind it\u27s introduction to negate the effect of the \u27wasted vote\u27

Bureaucracy, case geography and the governance of the inebriate in Scotland (1898–1918)

This article considers the late-Victorian and Edwardian legislative treatment of problem drunkenness in Scotland under the 1898 Inebriates Act. It examines the uneven enactment of the law, by geography and gender, and exposes how mundane questions of bureaucracy, of finance and jurisdiction, intersected with the institutional management of people convicted under it. I present an analytical framework of case geography to examine the ways in which bureaucratic and not simply medical interventions came together to shape people's unfolding futures. Their removal to – and oftentimes between – institutions produced and did not simply resolve bureaucratic challenges. In conclusion I call for a greater awareness of the ways in which such mobile lives shaped policy: they tested the geographical imagination of government and with it the viability of this inebriate system

A SMASHing approach for developing staff and student digital capabilities within a community of practice

SMASH is a student-led partnership which considers how social media could be used to enhance learning and teaching. Mentored by their tutor, members of the team identified three key areas where social media may be utilised: within learning activities, as a means of organising learning and as a way of showcasing learning. The three strands of this framework have provided a focus to develop a range of resources and the foundation for a digital toolkit. This case study reflects upon not just the outputs developed thus far, but also on the experience, the learning gained and the sense of belonging and identify as a result of being part of this community of practice

BYOD4L – Our Open Magical Box to Enhance Individuals’ Learning Ecologies

This chapter describes our search for a design and an appropriate conceptual vocabulary to describe an approach to encouraging, supporting and recognising individuals’ lifewide learning gained through their engagement with an open online opportunity for learning and sharing learning about the use of mobile devices and a suite of social media applications. We called this opportunity 'Bring Your Own Device for Learning' abbreviated to BYOD4L. The chapter describes the thinking underlying the learning design, the design itself and a flavour of the dynamics of the community process of learning. It draws on theories of learning that appear to offer the most useful explanations for this type of lifewide learning. We draw attention to the potential role of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Open Educational Resources (OER) in lifewide learning and highlight a number of theories of learning that are particularly relevant to our ecological process