Three good reasons to understand the research impact of a technology-enabled initiative

The real-world impact of research is gaining much attention across the international Higher Education sector. Funding agencies, government organisations and community groups are seeking evidence that research initiatives are delivering impact beyond contributions to academia. Researchers, practitioners, educators, learning designers and developers require a good understanding of research impact, and associated terminology, to articulate the real-world benefits of technology-enabled initiatives. There are three good reasons to understand research impact in a Higher Education context. Firstly, comprehending the language of research impact facilitates meaningful discussion with research stakeholders. Secondly, recognising and communicating the real-world impact of an initiative affirms the 'so what' factor of a research project. And thirdly, demonstrating research impact, rather than reporting research outputs, is becoming more important in funding applications and project documentation. This paper concludes with a brief review of assessment frameworks developed to evaluate the real-world impact of Higher Education research

In their own words: learning from the experiences of first time distance learners

This study took place set against a backdrop of significant challenges facing traditional distance education. The conventional 'pack and post' or correspondence model of distance education was being threatened by the growth of new technology and increasing concerns about poor retention (attrition), progression and completion rates. In this context, the performance of distance education providers, is increasingly under scrutiny from governments and funding bodies

From Lurker to Active Participant

The original publication is available from www.springerlink.com. Sloep, P. B., & Kester, L. (2009). From Lurker to Active Participant. In R. Koper (Ed)., Learning Network Services for Professional Development (pp. 17-26). Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag.In this chapter we will specifically go into the question of how prospective Learning Network users may be convinced of these benefits, for that is likely to be the necessary condition for their active participation in any Learning Network. Their question would be ‘Why should I participate?’, this chapter inventories an-swers to that question, which are then translated into a few guidelines for those contemplating to set up a particular, topic-bound Learning Network. Two kinds of answer are distinguished. Proximate answers, which affect the decision to partici-pate here and now; and ultimate answers, which motivate participation, but only in the long run, after the decision to participate has already been taken. Both are im-portant, the former to persuade people to participate, the latter to persuade people to keep participating. Before going into them, we’ll introduce a concrete example to add some realism to the discussion.The work on this publication has been sponsored in part by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Optimising instructional designer - subject matter expert communication in the design and development of multimedia projects

Abstract not available

Optimising communication between instructional designers, graphic artists and computer programmers in the development of multimedia materials

The main focus of the conference was on issues of teaching and learning in higher education, examined from research, practitioner and staff development perspectives. Sessions were run on topics such as teaching and learning, computer-based education, multimedia educational technology, assessment, evaluation, writing, and quality issues

The Carrick Exchange: Not Just Another Repository

In 2004, the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education was established by the Australian government to “promote and advance learning and teaching in Australian higher education.” (Carrick Institute, 2006). One aspect of the role of this institution is to establish the Carrick Exchange, “a new online service that will provide learning and teaching resources and functions to support communication and collaboration across the national and international higher education sector” (Carrick Institute, 2007a). This paper provides an overview of the purpose of the Carrick Exchange and will focus on the research contribution of ascilite, a professional association in Australia, in the first and second stages of the project development