Retaining mature-age students at university: A student services perspective

This paper presents a study of mature-age student perceptions of the university services that enhance academic outcomes and encourage retention. The study explored whether mature-age undergraduates needed, or were interested in, student services, and whether these services enhanced students’ educational experience. A survey was sent to mature-age undergraduates at a U.S. public university. Respondents in this study used some student services, but found few that were helpful to them and did not perceive that many of the services were accessible to them. They further indicated that they would be interested in adult-centred services, and considered these critical to their ongoing academic success. Respondents perceived that the university did not consider them in planning programs and that their experience at the university could be enhanced by this consideration. This study documented that mature-age undergraduates have different student service needs and support a stronger emphasis on adult-focused services. Adult-centred student services can indicate to mature-age undergraduates’ that their presence and participation is valued by the university, encourage community building, and increase retention. Student services are well placed within universities to facilitate and encourage this community-building in mature-age undergraduates.E

Participant observation of griefing in a journey through the World of Warcraft

Through the ethnographic method of participant observation in World of Warcraft, this paper aims to document various actions that may be considered griefing among the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game community. Griefing as a term can be very subjective, so witnessing the anti-social and intentional actions first-hand can be used as a means to understand this subjectivity among players as well as produce a thorough recount of some of the toxic behavior in this genre. The participant observation was conducted across several years and expansions of World of Warcraft and the author became familiar with many griefing related actions; although some of these were perceived as acceptable game-play elements

The Skills Framework for the Information Age: Engaging Stakeholders in Curriculum Design

This paper reports on a research project, examining the role of the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum design and management. A goal was to investigate how SFIA informs a top-down approach to curriculum design, beginning with a set of skills that define a particular career role. A further goal was to evaluate the extent to which SFIA facilitates stakeholder interaction, such that academic programs can better identify industry needs while preparing graduates for the intended career role. The paper also evaluates the extent to which SFIA informs the identification of authentic forms of assessment and the skills and levels of autonomy and responsibility required by entry-level and Masters graduate ICT positions. Processes and practices for ICT curriculum design and management are recommended based on findings arising from this research. Although this research was conducted in an Australian context, findings suggest that there is value in using SFIA for ICT curriculum design and management, even in those jurisdictions where it is not required for accreditation or professional certification purposes

Student perceptions of podcasting to enhance learning and teaching in an information systems course

Universities are challenged to seek methods to improve student learning. Leading edge technologies, such as podcasts, that put the focus on learner-chosen activities may be one way to accomplish this. This study explored student perceptions of podcasting as a learning and teaching tool in a first semester information systems course within an Australian university. Students were provided with a short podcast to supplement face-to-face lectures. Students were then surveyed to determine their perceptions of the impact of this podcast on their learning. A high number of respondents agreed that they used the podcast, that it increased their understanding of the lecture material and that it assisted their learning in the unit overall. The findings in this preliminary study lend support to the concept that podcasting can enhance learning when used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods

Understanding victims of identity theft: Preliminary insights

Identity theft is not a new crime, however changes in society and the way that business is conducted have made it an easier, attractive and more lucrative crime. When a victim discovers the misuse of their identity they must then begin the process of recovery, including fixing any issues that may have been created by the misuse. For some victims this may only take a small amount of time and effort, however for others they may continue to experience issues for many years after the initial moment of discovery. To date, little research has been conducted within Australia or internationally regarding what a victim experiences as they work through the recovery process. This paper presents a summary of the identity theft domain with an emphasis on research conducted within Australia, and identifies a number of issues regarding research in this area. The paper also provides an overview of the research project currently being undertaken by the authors in obtaining an understanding of what victims of identity theft experience during the recovery process; particularly their experiences when dealing with organizations. Finally, it reports on some of the preliminary work that has already been conducted for the research project. © 2010 IEEE

Facilitating the development of lifelong learners through e-communication tools

Computer mediated communication (CMC) skills are essential in today’s rapidly changing, technologically focused environment. This study reports student perceptions towards using CMC to improve learning. Twenty-two Tertiary and Further Education students participated in a pilot study that measured student preferences and perceptions of e-communication tools via a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Three units of varying levels and complexities of e-communication tools were used in the study, which provided perceptions influenced through varying levels of exposure and usage. The research indicated that students perceived most tools as being useful, but not all preferred to use them. A most important finding was students indicated a shared perception and preference for combinations of e-communication tools, and that by promoting the use of these tools, teachers help encourage students to develop as lifelong learners.E

Podcasting syndication services and university students : Why don't they subscribe?

Partly owing to the status of podcasting as a buzzword and subject of much recent media attention, educational technology researchers and practitioners have been using the term very loosely. Few studies have examined student perceptions and uptake of "podcasting" in the true sense of the word, whereby a syndication protocol such as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is used to allow students to subscribe to podcast feeds or channels, facilitating the automatic download of new content as it becomes available. The small number of studies that have covered this aspect of podcasting suggest that students generally do not tend to make use of this functionality, but instead prefer to simply download the media files manually. By drawing on research into the usage of RSS and podcasting both inside and outside the field of education, as well as extant literature on university students' usage patterns and behaviors with respect to information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet, the authors postulate a number of possible reasons why podcasting syndication services have not experienced substantial levels of uptake among students to date. They argue that it is premature to dismiss RSS as a distribution mechanism for digital audio content in teaching and learning, and describe a number of examples of educational applications that could potentially make the use of such services worthwhile and valuable to both teachers and students. The authors conclude with suggestions for research to test the theories set forth in the article. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

RSS and content syndication in higher education : Subscribing to a new model of teaching and learning

While blogs, wikis and social networking sites are enjoying high levels of attention as tools to support learning, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) remains the 'poor cousin' of these technologies in the higher education classroom, with relatively low uptake amongst educators and students. In this article, the authors argue that the affordances of RSS and content syndication can be used to deliver rich, active, social learning experiences that promote a high degree of learner personalisation, choice and autonomy. They describe a number of ways in which the potential of RSS can be exploited to transform pedagogy in ways that are congruent with emerging theories and models of learning, and that are consistent with the philosophy and ethos of Web 2.0 and networked society at large. The article concludes with a consideration of some of the issues and limitations facing the uptake and use of RSS for teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.

Embedding professional skills in the ICT curriculum

This paper reports on a preliminary investigation into the technology and techniques for designing and managing higher education programs in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The approach outlined is based on the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and is informed by data arising from the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Computer Professional education Program (CPeP). It is intended that this work will inform subsequent research to improve dialogue between Industry Advisory Boards, Professional Societies, and their academic partners as they design, implement, and accredit higher education programs in ICT. It is further intended that this will contribute to the development of ICT curriculum that is aligned with industry expectations and prepares ICT graduates for professional practice. Future directions for improving SFIA based curriculum design and facilitating better stakeholder communication and collaboration are discusse

Griefers versus the Griefed - what motivates them to play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games?

'Griefing' is a term used to describe when a player within a multiplayer online environment intentionally disrupts another player’s game experience for his or her own personal enjoyment or gain. Every day a certain percentage of users of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) are experiencing some form of griefing. There have been studies conducted in the past that attempted to ascertain the factors that motivate users to play MMORPGs. A limited number of studies specifically examined the motivations of users who perform griefing (who are also known as 'griefers'). However, those studies did not examine the motivations of users subjected to griefing. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the factors that motivate the subjects of griefing to play MMORPGs, as well as the factors motivating the griefers. The authors conducted an online survey with the intention to discover the motivations for playing MMORPGs among those whom identified themselves as (i) those that perform griefing, and (ii) those who have been subjected to griefing. A previously devised motivational model by Nick Yee that incorporated ten factors was used to determine the respondents’ motivational trends. In general, players who identified themselves as griefers were more likely to be motivated by all three 'achievement' sub-factors (advancement, game mechanics and competition) at the detriment of all other factors. The subjects of griefing were highly motivated by 'advancement' and 'mechanics', but they ranked 'competition' significantly lower (compared to the griefers). In addition, 'immersion' factors were rated highly by the respondents who were subjected to griefing, with a significantly higher rating of the 'escapism' factor (compared with rankings by griefers). In comparison to the griefers, the respondents subjected to griefing with many years’ experience in the genre of MMORPGs, also placed a greater emphasis on the 'socializing' and 'relationship' factors. Overall, the griefers in this survey considered 'achievement' to be a prime motivating factor, whereas the griefed players tended to be motivated by all ten factors to a similar degree