Best wishes from Transform

As 2013 draws to a close and we reflect on the first few months of developing ideas for transformed learning at QUT it is worth taking stock. We have:

• Developed a conceptual framework and draft business models for transformed learning, focused on the personal learning needs of a wide range of potential learners.
• Worked with around 50 staff in six course teams to develop modules of learning based on our ideas.
• Investigated online community learning, learning ecologies, models for online assessment, serious games for learning, mobile technologies for learning and much more.
• Discussed transformed learning with a wide variety of faculty and divisional staff across the university. In all, we have briefed around 500 staff in formal information sessions.
• Worked with about a dozen student ambassadors to learn about modern learners and the ways they engage with QUT.

Currently we have, in development, an interface for learning which draws from ideas for online shopping in the way it allows learners to interact with QUT materials. Our colleagues in Marketing and Communication are assisting us to build an environment which has the look and feel of QUT’s real world brand and allows learners to easily get to the learning they need.

Our model for learning is centred on:

• Connected learning using ubiquitous technologies. Our working proposition is that learning is social and that our online learners will be assisted to form connections with each other and with experts using the technologies which we all use every day. Access to this mediated environment will assist learners to work with others to develop understanding of the concepts and ideas presented in independent learning elements. 
• Independent learning elements may be in the form of ebooks, videos or combinations of various other types of files. In these independent learning elements, the materials necessary to participate in connected learning will be collated and curated by QUT experts.
• Assessment elements will be separately provided so that learners can provide evidence of their knowledge and skills.
• A scaffolded portfolio will assist learners to collate evidence of their learning.

Transform’s first six months have been energising, revealing, hard work and good fun. We have traversed QUT’s learning landscape and found a wide range of colleagues ready to engage with imagination and grit in the task of ensuring that QUT’s real world, collaborative learning brand can be brought to a wide and diverse range of learners wherever they are and whatever level of engagement they need with learning.

From the core team (Sheona Thomson, Richard Evans, Steven Kickbusch and me) we extend our gratitude for all the good work and support we have enjoyed from across QUT.

Best wishes for a safe and relaxing holiday season; we look forward to working with you again in 2014 and beyond.

Professor Sue Savage - Director Learning Futures QUT.

My best learning experience at university

As 2013 rushes to an end, our final three posts for the year will reflect on what the Transform team has learned since we began our work, as well as what lies ahead.

Ultimately, Transform is about using the enormous range of online tools at our disposal to provide students with the richest learning experiences possible.  So, this week, we’ve asked some of the Transform Student Ambassadors to share the best learning experience they’ve had at university.

Only one ambassador mentions the impact of technology on his learning. However, all of them mention the impact of individual teachers: committed, engaging and inspiring teachers. 

This is one of Transform’s greatest challenges. How do we take what great teachers do best – connecting with students – and ensure this occurs digitally on a global scale? 

Samuel Weston – Bachelor of Journalism / Bachelor of Laws 

A Journalism subject – KJB222 Online Journalism - is certainly the most rewarding example of utilising digital technologies to enhance learning I’ve been involved in. The unit coordinator, Susan Hetherington, reinforced the importance of understanding key online concepts, and as a result, online capabilities played an integral role in the subject’s assessments. For example:

• A running story, where new information would appear incrementally on Blackboard that we would then write a story about; simulating a real-time newsroom;
• A live blogging exercise, where we watched a video online and simultaneously created a running commentary pertaining to what we saw;
• A weekly blog entry, in which we had freedom to write about topics relevant to the course.

All information was conveyed to us through a Twitter feed set up with the hashtag #QUTOJ1. Even during lectures, students were free to tweet, enabling us to discuss and comment on what we were hearing as we heard it. This made lectures so much more invigorating, even if the zombie apocalypse made them more hazardous than most!

Kristy Winter – Bachelor of Applied Science / Bachelor of Information Technology

I recently discovered I had to change majors because mine was no longer offered by the university. After tracking down Laura Gregory, my course coordinator, I spent an entire hour in her small office discussing my future degree and career. It was the best hour of my academic life. Laura was incredibly helpful in guiding my study plan, offering me positions in research for the summer, and planning my honours degree. Upon entering the appointment I had little hope for my graduation. Leaving with a newly structured plan that focuses on my personal interests at university, and a step closer to my career, I could not have been happier.

Anna Kalma – Bachelor of Creative Industries / Bachelor of Information Technology

The best learning experience I have had during university, I experienced this semester. I was reunited with Jane James, a tutor who I previously had in my first year. I had developed a good relationship with Jane; she had taught and encouraged me to develop my drawing skills. She always took time to provide additional exercises or explanations of the topic and took a personal interest in helping me achieve my best work. This semester it was highly satisfying to show her my progress and continue to achieve success through her assistance. Again this time, Jane took a personal interest in my work and assisted me. The best part was that she often went above and beyond what was required, such as recommending resources and stores for supplies. At the end of semester I felt my work had improved beyond what I previously thought possible; all through her assistance.

Melissa Blacklock – Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

My most memorable learning experiences are the ones where I can tell my teacher/lecturer/tutor is interested in the fact that I am engaging.  That is more important than achieving perfect test scores. This usually boils down to who the teacher is – what kind of person they are and what their teaching pedagogy is. Often this overlaps with hands-on work because the interests of students have been considered. Practical work in labs and interactive tutorials always stick with me much more than dry lectures where we are merely being taught at – as though we are empty vessels.

It’s ironic, because while we Education students are taught how to teach, we are frequently shown examples of teachers who don’t follow these models. If anything, the bad experiences make me appreciate the good ones more, and overwhelmingly my best university learning experiences are the ones where I can feel someone is taking an interest in me.