News from Down Under : DE + IT = eLearning?

In the current era of eLearning with everything, distance education students have to not only master the intricacies of their discipline but also master sufficient information technology skills to access and use the eLearning environment. This article outlines some technology-relatedproblems that such students have to overcome in order to meet the online requirements of their studies<br /

Plagiarism - the bane of academics lives

Despite lengthy explanations. and multitudes of examples describing what plagiarism is, isn\u27t, how to avoid it, how to cite and reference correctly, students still do it! Why? No doubt we all have our theories. I\u27m probably stating the obvious here,-but nonetheless, here goes

Preparing faculty for eTeaching : leading horses to water?

In February this year, Deakin University launched Deakin Studies Online (DSO), its institution-wide learning management system (LMS) powered by WebCT Vista. Previously academics had a variety of applications available to them (and still do until DSO is fully implemented by late 2004) to support teaching and learning. These include TopClass, FirstClass, WebCT 3.6 and various custom-built systems and web pages.<br /

Students\u27 perspective of online learning

When a student commences a course of study that includes an online component the initial feedback academics receive can reflect their fear of the online concept, their bias against the use of technology, as well as difficulties they may have encountered with using the supporting technologies rather than with online learning per se. In second semester 2002, an evaluation of an online unit in the B. Computing was conducted at the end of the semester to gain a better understanding of students&rsquo; perceptions of online learning as well as the effectiveness of the technologies that support these activities. We report some preliminary results from the evaluation. Initial indications are that poor first impressions are reflected in students&rsquo; perceptions of the overall online learning experience. We highlight some areas, normally considered outside the immediate domain of eLearning, that must be attended to in order to minimise the potential negative impact on students, maximise the benefits of learning online and improve the learning experience for students.<br /

Deakin Online: an evolving case study

This paper describes the planning, implementation and current progress of the Deakin Online Project which aims to establish a virtual campus for Deakin University. The project is built upon the WebCT Vista&copy; learning management system. Strategies for eTeaching and eLearning are analysed and the dangers and opportunities are identified. Approaches to the preparation of both students and faculty for working in the online environment are discussed including online training, mentoring schemes and a dedicated teaching and learning support unit. An in-depth account of the project is presented which is potentially useful to any organization considering embarking on online teaching on a large scale.<br /

Managing student expectations online

In contrast to other studies of students in online environments, which examine the skills and attitudes that students bring to an online university learning environment, we are interested in the expectations with which students come to online university study. Four expectational barriers, which arise from students&rsquo; background and cultural history, are identified as being: who is responsible for learning, who is responsible for student interaction with content, who is responsible for the use of appropriate learning strategies and who is responsible for required ancillary skills. There is a discussion of how these barriers arise and how one might attempt to manage the students&rsquo; expectations and ameliorate their effects.<br /

Announcing the demise of the Digital Native

We challenge the assumption that students entering higher education are digitally prepared to navigate a digital learning environment and explore strategies to ensure students are able to develop into digitally literate graduates. Students from low SES areas at poorly digitally resourced schools tend to be less digitally fluent than students from high SES areas at well-resourced schools. Digital fluency is defined as the ability to create, re-formulate knowledge and to move with ease in a digital environment. Digital literacy, the foundation for digital fluency, is the ability to identify and use technology confidently, creatively and critically to effectively meet the demands and challenges of living, learning and working in a digital society (Coldwell-Neilson, 2018). Supporting Russo's findings, Coldwell-Neilson found that there is a significant mismatch between academic staff expectations, and their observations, of students' digital literacy capabilities. Therefore, digitally underprepared students could be disadvantaged if unsupported in a digital learning environment. Prenksy's (2001) concept of a Digital Native, defined as those who grew up with technology was flawed. Research demonstrates that extensive use of mobile technologies does not readily translate into being digitally literate nor does it provide the skills needed to navigate a digitally enhanced learning environment

The Push-Pull of Digital Literacy

Digital literacy within higher education was originally grounded in Gilster’s (1997) definition that essentially framed it as information literacy using technologies. This has necessarily evolved over the past two decades in conjunction with rapid technological advances. Digital literacy concepts have attempted to match the changing landscape engendered by ubiquitous and ever more available technologies, where cybersecurity and accessibility, multimodal communication channels, and push-pull models of information delivery impact the way we learn, work and play. A dizzying plethora of digital literacy definitions has emerged, with no common understanding of what it means or what skills and capabilities it reflects. Concomitantly, there is no one digital literacy framework that is unilaterally accepted. Recognising that digital literacy underpins teaching and research, regardless of discipline, Deakin University has positioned digital literacy as a core graduate learning outcome. A 2012 definition and a 2015 framework, developed collaboratively by the Library and Faculty over a three year period, currently guides Deakin’s digital literacy teaching. However, awareness of the changing nature of digital literacy has prompted a reconsideration of definitions and frameworks. A cross-divisional team of librarians and academics have reviewed the framework and are in the process of extending it to capture the broader understanding of digital literacy, moving away from an information literacy focussed version. The ultimate goal of the project is to find good practice within the Deakin context for building digital literacy capabilities in students by creating nuanced and modifiable frameworks at AQF7-10 levels that can guide curriculum (re)development

Student perceptions of ICT : a gendered analysis

This paper investigates the attitudes and perceptions of secondary school students to ICT. During the last decade there have been decreasing numbers of students completing ICT subjects at secondary school in their senior years. The data was collected from university students enrolled in a range of first year units. Although the survey was undertaken by university students, the data collected related to their opinions whilst still at secondary school. This study explored two areas: firstly, the reasons why students had elected not to study ICT in their senior years at secondary school; and secondly, it describes a gender analysis of the attitudes and perceptions of students who had elected to study ICT. The analysis found that many students were not interested in studying senior ICT subjects, and for those that were, there were only a few differences between the gendered opinions to ICT

Student perspectives of online learning

The advent of online learning in tertiary education has changed the way students interact with institutions and undertake their studies. All students at Deakin University interact with their courses through an online learning environment. While online learning environments can be evaluated in a number of ways, the perceptions of the key users and their levels of satisfaction with the online learning environment are important measures.This paper presents results of a survey of students studying at Deakin University in 2005. The survey explored their perceptions of learning in the online environment. The results indicate that overall students were enthusiastic about learning in such an environment. The main advantages are the flexibility that it provides and the ability to study when it suits students. The disadvantages include technical issues such as speed of access, and the need to participate regularly. The size and spread of the responses suggest that these outcomes can be generalized for all students studying online.<br /