The Importance of Visual Design and Aesthetics in the Design of Online Learning Courseware.

Creating effective online learning courseware requires instructional and pedagogical approaches (Quinton, 2009), but also working knowledge in visual design and aesthetics (Hashimoto & Clayton, 2009). Research has demonstrated that aesthetics plays a significant role in shaping user responses to products and websites (Lavie & Tractinsky, 2004; Lindgaard, 2007). Users also draw on aesthetic factors to judge usability and credibility (Malamed, 2015). From the usability and accessibility perspective, visual design can be considered an essential component of the online learning experience. For example, students with colour impairment will not be able to distinguish between red and green colours (Reyna et al., 2016). In online learning, it is, therefore important for educational institutions and faculty to consider the educational function of visual content and the aesthetic judgments that are being made by students (Reyna, 2013). The rules that govern aesthetics are supported by different disciplines such as visual design (Kimball, 2013), neuroscience (LeDoux, 1989, 1992), psychology (Chang et al., 2002), and multimedia learning principles (Mayer, 2008). Including visual content and applying aesthetic standards during online course development can ultimately improve not only the visual appearance of course content but can also improve how students react to and interact with those courses (Reyna, 2013). The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of visual design enablers for online learning such as layout design, colour theory, typography, and use of images. The link between the enablers and multimedia learning principles is examined. The implications of visual design on usability, accessibility and online learning are discussed

Student’s Experience in Online Intensive Mode (IM) Units at The Faculty of Business and Economics.

The Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) at Macquarie University conducted a pilot to explore online Intensive Mode (IM) as a delivery option. A project team was assembled to carry out the pilot. The aims were to support academics to introduce pedagogical innovation, address internationalisation, and create new opportunities for students that cannot enrol in full session units due to competing schedules. Additionally, IM units would give students a chance to fast-track their degree and increase flexibility. This paper is a discussion of students’ experience undertaking online IM units that will inform on good learning designs

Using Qualtrics Offline Surveys App for Peer Marking in Remote Areas and Classrooms

This poster highlights the experience using Qualtrics Survey tool as a way to implement peer-review marking for an Advanced Environmental Earth Science Unit at Macquarie University

The Nightmare is Over: A Simple Guide to Design Effective Subject Outlines

Higher education institutions worldwide are continuously implementing evidence-based educational approaches and quality control of subjects, courses, and programs. In this regard, a subject outline is a learning design document and an agreement between academics and students. It needs to address the subject structure, what are the requirements, assessment tasks, expectations and so on. A useful subject outline requires sound pedagogical and instructional approaches and to be clearly written, succinct, and conversational when possible. If information is missing or is not easily accessible, it will cause student confusion, unnecessary email traffic and potentially, loss of interest in the subject. Anecdotal reports indicate that students do not engage in the reading subject outlines and their attitude towards the usefulness of this document is not well-known in the literature. This paper covers five sections commonly used in subject outlines in Australian universities. Each of them presents evidence-based practices to help the design process considering educational taxonomies, constructive alignment, principles of active learning, authentic assessments and levels of feedback for learners. The aim of this paper is to guide early career academics new to teaching in higher education but also traditional academics moving towards a blended learning approach

Using Mobile Applications for Paperless Assignments in Mathematics: A Pilot Study

Maths writing does not lend itself easily to a traditional computer keyboard (Livingstone et al., 1988), which is the reason why maths software was not successful in meeting the needs of tertiary students. Scanners were not portable enough to carry them everywhere and not many students will have their own. With the development of smart phones and tablet computers since 2010, a significant amount of applications that can scan, handwrite and annotate documents are being developing (Reyna 2010). Digital pens have been around for a long time, but only in the past years we have seen a few that work smoothly (Bradford, 2013). They are adding the ability to smoothly draw on high resolution screens to the repertoire of applications, imitating the paper experience. This creates a new opportunity for tertiary institutions to initiate the paperless submission of assignments in maths courses. At present, there is a research gap on how math courses are using mobile technology in assignment submission. This pilot study will address this gap, investigating academics’ and students’ perspectives/experiences using a mobile paperless workflow for assignment submission

The Flipped Teacher and the Flipped Learner Framework

We propose an 11 step framework to support educators and students to teach and learn with the Flipped Classroom (FC) model. Based on principles of blended and student-centred learning, organisational appearance, universal design and evaluation, the framework acts as a conduit between theory and good practice. Elements of the framework include: (1) planning stage, why and what to flip; (2) storyboard and lesson plan; (3) timing for activities; (4) online, (pre or post classroom) activities; (5) classroom work; (6) organisation of content; (7) visual design; (8) usability and accessibility; (9) building, testing and deployment; (10) communication of the benefits of the flipped model to students; and (11) evaluation and improvement. This paper will present the evidence behind each of these elements in a practical way to guide teachers and students through a flipped model of teaching and learning

First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. Array and Instrumentation

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) array that comprises millimeter- and submillimeter-wavelength telescopes separated by distances comparable to the diameter of the Earth. At a nominal operating wavelength of ~1.3 mm, EHT angular resolution (λ/D) is ~25 μas, which is sufficient to resolve nearby supermassive black hole candidates on spatial and temporal scales that correspond to their event horizons. With this capability, the EHT scientific goals are to probe general relativistic effects in the strong-field regime and to study accretion and relativistic jet formation near the black hole boundary. In this Letter we describe the system design of the EHT, detail the technology and instrumentation that enable observations, and provide measures of its performance. Meeting the EHT science objectives has required several key developments that have facilitated the robust extension of the VLBI technique to EHT observing wavelengths and the production of instrumentation that can be deployed on a heterogeneous array of existing telescopes and facilities. To meet sensitivity requirements, high-bandwidth digital systems were developed that process data at rates of 64 gigabit s−1, exceeding those of currently operating cm-wavelength VLBI arrays by more than an order of magnitude. Associated improvements include the development of phasing systems at array facilities, new receiver installation at several sites, and the deployment of hydrogen maser frequency standards to ensure coherent data capture across the array. These efforts led to the coordination and execution of the first Global EHT observations in 2017 April, and to event-horizon-scale imaging of the supermassive black hole candidate in M87

First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole

When surrounded by a transparent emission region, black holes are expected to reveal a dark shadow caused by gravitational light bending and photon capture at the event horizon. To image and study this phenomenon, we have assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a global very long baseline interferometry array observing at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. This allows us to reconstruct event-horizon-scale images of the supermassive black hole candidate in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. We have resolved the central compact radio source as an asymmetric bright emission ring with a diameter of 42 ± 3 μas, which is circular and encompasses a central depression in brightness with a flux ratio 10:1. The emission ring is recovered using different calibration and imaging schemes, with its diameter and width remaining stable over four different observations carried out in different days. Overall, the observed image is consistent with expectations for the shadow of a Kerr black hole as predicted by general relativity. The asymmetry in brightness in the ring can be explained in terms of relativistic beaming of the emission from a plasma rotating close to the speed of light around a black hole. We compare our images to an extensive library of ray-traced general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black holes and derive a central mass of M = (6.5 ± 0.7) × 109 Me. Our radiowave observations thus provide powerful evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes in centers of galaxies and as the central engines of active galactic nuclei. They also present a new tool to explore gravity in its most extreme limit and on a mass scale that was so far not accessible

A Practical Model for Implementing Digital Media Assessments in Tertiary Science Education

Learner-Generated Digital Media (LGDM) has been incorporated as a learning tool to assess students in Higher Education over the last decade. There are models developed for video making in the classroom that considers technical know-how, pedagogies or a combination of both. However, there is the absence of a student-centred, practical framework to inform academics and students on the implementation of digital presentations as an assessment tool in the curricula. This conceptual paper proposes a new framework to assist with the design, implementation and evaluation of LGDM as assessment tools. The framework considers the following elements: (1) pedagogy; (2) student training; (3) hosting of videos; (4) marking schemes; (5) group contribution; (6) feedback; (7) reflection, and; (8) evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to outline the basic elements of the framework and provide practical implementation strategies that academics from any discipline could apply to their classrooms