Writing against the tide

A tide of conservatism is rising. Despite bushfires and a global epidemic, many are unwilling or unable to grapple with the facts behind these catastrophes. What is not said drifts in and out of public consciousness. In present silences and lacunae, past stories wait to be told anew. In this presentation, I reflect on discontinuity and continuity in the curious silence around the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era in Queensland history, a time remembered for corrupt politicians and cops, but otherwise culturally (and conveniently) forgotten in literary fiction. I discuss my creative response to this era, and outline processes that are saving me from drowning in entwined political, cultural and personal silences as I write an exegesis and novel

The EdTech difference: Digitalisation, digital pedagogy, and technology enhanced learning

This editorial is in support of an issue of the Journal that has a focus on educational technology (EdTech). With this in mind, this editorial will provide advice on how the editorial team for this section feels that educational technology will evolve into the latter part of the 2020’s, especially given the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples are given of how writing in this space has changed over the years of the pandemic, with a history of EdTech given, followed by an argument for the need for technology to be used in context. This is followed by descriptions of good practice around theoretical framing, methodology rigour, inclusion of the people element, and the need for the technology to serve a purpose. The piece concludes with a summary of where the editorial team feels the field will go from here into the future. Throughout, practical examples of submissions made over the last few years are given to help illustrate a coherent direction. It is anticipated that this editorial will serve as a guide for future authors to use in service of better educational technology outputs in the future

How are students engaging in different types of online discussion boards?

Communication in online learning environments became essential in the global pandemic and lockdown. Apart from online lectures and classes, many educators began or increased their use of asynchronous text discussion boards. Often educators are faced with a choice of many different discussion boards or tools and would benefit from better understanding how students may engage with these different types. This study explores the use of three different asynchronous text discussion tools used in Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), by drawing upon the concept of ‘set design’ from the Activity Centred Analysis and Design (ACAD) framework. Discussion boards are conceptualised as shaping the learning activity which occurs in it, as the physical (digital and material) elements and the social context of discussion. To understand how the educational design of discussions intersects with technological affordances and barriers, this exploratory study adopted a qualitative approach to data collection. Over a period of one year, university business students enrolled in four postgraduate subjects (including accounting, finance, and leadership subjects) and an undergraduate first year business subject were invited to share their perceptions of online discussion boards. Participation in the discussion boards was voluntary and ungraded, and were designed as either a space to ask questions and elaborate on topics, to critique and construct knowledge, or share ideas. Data from ten student focus groups was thematically analysed, refined and coded, to compare different types of student engagement with three different online asynchronous discussion tools in five different courses with varying course designs. The findings reveal that different discussion tools may satisfy different needs, even if educators’ design intentions and expectations around discussions often do not match students. Furthermore, the value of discussion boards may be better assessed as part of a learning ecosystem, rather than evaluated as discrete tools. Future research directions are suggested in analysing how discussion boards are shaped by technology, and to support educators to understand the design of online conversations across different tools to make evidence-based decisions

Approaching design thinking online: Critical reflections in higher education

Design thinking is becoming more commonly used as a collaborative, problem-solving approach in higher education outside design disciplines. With the pivot to remote and online learning in response to Covid-19 and lockdown measures, many educators have had to rethink their practice and collaboration in design thinking, without the usual recourse to shared physical space and material resources. This reflective study brings together four educators who take their human-centred design thinking approaches to higher education online. Through a process of collaborative reflective professional inquiry, the authors offer practice-oriented insights into learning design, educational development and facilitation in design thinking online. Findings challenge commonly held assumptions about teaching online, the role of technology, and the importance of ‘best practice’ in education. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research to explore design thinking online as a practice and mindset outside the confines of the design studio

Redefining and interrogating pedagogical practices

Lockdowns and the rapid pivot to remote teaching disrupted much of Australasian higher education and has given us impetus to rethink educational design and practice. Overnight, some educators found themselves thrown into remote teaching, while for others, their courses were already designed with blended and online learning in mind. Universities with large face-to-face cohorts have tended to rely upon traditional teaching and assessment modes, with some variation across faculties and departments. Long before the pandemic, learners had been choosing flexible, online teaching and learning modes with dedicated online providers with programmes purposefully designed to leverage online technologies over the traditional on-campus experiences. Many across the higher education sector have recognised this as an opportune time to reflect on just how far education has shifted from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred approach, and how technology may enable or hinder that process

Hemodynamic and metabolic effects of a new pediatric dobutamine formulation in hypoxic newborn pigs

Background: The aim of our study was to measure drug-related changes in hemodynamics and oxygen metabolism in response to different doses of an age-appropriate dobutamine formulation in hypoxic pigs. A secondary aim was to validate superior vena cava flow (SVCF) as a marker of cardiac index (CI) for subsequent clinical trials of this formulation in humans. Methods: Newborn pigs (n=18) were exposed to 2h-hypoxia (10-15% oxygen) followed by reoxygenation (21-30% oxygen 4h). After 1h-reoxygenation, pigs were randomized to: control group (no treatment), dobutamine infusion at a rate of 10-15μg/kg/min or 15-20μg/kg/min. Dobutamine groups received two dobutamine doses during 30min with a 60min washout period between doses. Cardiovascular profile and oxygen metabolism were monitored. In four animals an ultrasonic perivascular flow probe was placed around superior vena cava to measure SVCF. Results: Hypoxia significantly decreased CI, systemic-vascular-resistance and mean-arterial-bloodpressure (MABP). Dobutamine doses significantly increased heart-rate, CI and oxygen-delivery without changes in stroke-volume and MABP. Only 10-15μg/kg/min increased oxygen consumption and peripheral tissue oxygenation measured by Near-infrared-spectroscopy. A positive correlation was observed between SVCF and CI. Conclusion: The new pediatric dobutamine formulation improved hemodynamic status, with dose-specific differences in metabolic response. SVCF may be a useful surrogate for CI in subsequent clinical trials

Introducing design thinking online to large business education courses for twenty-first century learning

Design thinking can be broadly defined as a set of creative skills to understand and problem-solve ambiguous and complex problems, and a practice that places humans at the heart of the design process. Such collaborative ways of design thinking and design-doing are much needed to address twenty-first century challenges such as climate change. Design thinking methodology is well known for teaching and learning in design disciplines, and to a lesser extent, as an innovative problem-solving framework for business education. Typically design thinking has been taught and practised in physical settings and to a lesser extent online. While design thinking is also increasingly practised online, this is challenging at scale in higher education contexts. This case study analyses design thinking activities with educational technologies in a large undergraduate cohort of first-year business students. Eleven students and three teachers were interviewed to ascertain their level of engagement with design thinking with digital tools and to identify common themes that enabled or inhibited such practice. Student artefacts of design thinking are explored and compared to the interview data. Findings indicate that students may develop novice design thinking skills, process knowledge and mindsets in online and remote delivery modes, despite limited experience, technical and time constraints. Broader learning design implications of design thinking constraints in digital practice are discussed to assist educators. It is suggested that higher education adopt and support design thinking, as a subject and practice, more widely

Bend me, stretch me: Connecting learning design to choice

Active and interactive learning approaches in course design are widely supported as increasing student engagement and learning outcomes in blended or technology-enhanced environments. As such, designing for student engagement in self-paced distance and online learning environments is a growing area of research. However, learning is increasingly developed and delivered via the institutional LMS where the design and sequencing of content is linear and has an inherent directional flow. Learner choice in navigation and activity in online learning environments may also impact learner engagement but there is less research on these factors. In this research project, we evaluate the redesign and prototype of one week of a first-year business subject that offers learner choice in navigating the online environment and choice of activity. Insights into the innovative educational design and implementation of non-linear and interactive learning are presented within an Australian higher education business context, where flexibility and choice emerge as key design affordances

A CLaS on its own: Connected Learning at Scale

The challenge: redesign the student experience in large core units in the Business School. Enter CLaS: the Connected Learning at Scale project to re-engage learners inside and outside the classroom through designing and leveraging educational technology across physical and digital spaces, for an active learning experience with practical, real-world application. We share our learnings so far in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) as a lever to draw learners and 21st century learning together

#OurPlace2020: Blurring Boundaries of Learning Spaces

The move to online learning has blurred the distinction between the Foucauldian conceptualisation of university as a ‘Heterotopia’ with the real world of contingent alternative learning spaces students create. In this paper, we highlight the need for a broader and more holistic approach to educational design which requires a re-conceptualisation of the learning environment to include the students’ real-world spaces and their socio-cultural surroundings through a postdigital paradigm. We seek to understand how Covid-19 has accelerated postdigital disruption of the concept of university as heterotopia, where learning is traditionally highly structured and segmented in slices of time for seminars, lectures, and workshops. In April 2020, the University of Sydney Business School invited students to share stories of their remote learning experience using the #OurPlace2020 hashtag. Using Actor Network Theory (ANT), we analyse 37 digital stories to provide examples of how the boundaries of the traditional learning spaces of university campus are blurred with real-life learning spaces when students are studying remotely. We argue for the need to adopt a broader analytical approach that can elucidate the complexity of heterogenous networks of interacting digital and non-digital entities through which learning spaces are constructed