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This paper reflects a multi-year collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and Griffith University to help inform Australian educational leaders about significant developments in technologies supporting teaching, learning, and research in tertiary education. The research underpinning the report makes use of the NMC's Delphi-based process for bringing groups of experts to a consensus viewpoint, in this case around the impact of emerging technologies on teaching, learning, research, or information management in Australian tertiary education over the next five years. This paper was produced to explore emerging technologies and forecast their potential impact expressly in an Australian context. In the effort that ran from February through April 2012, a carefully selected group of 41 experts behind this report considered hundreds of relevant articles, news, blog posts, research, and project examples as part of the preparation that ultimately pinpointed the most notable emerging technology topics, trends, and challenges for tertiary education in Australia over the next five years. That group of experts, known as the 2012 Horizon.au Advisory Board, is comprised of a body of knowledgeable individuals, all highly regarded in their fields; collectively the advisory board represents a range of diverse perspectives across the learning sector. [For "Technology Outlook for UK Tertiary Education 2011-2016: An NMC Horizon Report Regional Analysis," see ED532399.]

This paper reflects a collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the JISC Innovation Support Centres, CETIS and UKOLN. The research underpinning the report makes use of the NMC's Delphi-based process for bringing groups of experts to a consensus viewpoint, in this case around the impact of emerging technologies on teaching, learning, research or information management in UK tertiary education over the next five years. In an effort that ran from January through August 2011, the team behind this report considered a wide range of relevant articles, news, blog posts, research, and project examples as part of the preparation for a carefully selected group of 33 experts that ultimately pinpointed the most notable emerging technology topics, trends, and challenges for tertiary education in the United Kingdom over the next five years. That group of experts, known as the Horizon.JISC Advisory Board, is comprised of an international body of knowledgeable individuals, all highly regarded in their fields; collectively the advisory board represents a range of diverse perspectives across the learning sector. [This paper is a collaboration with the Centre for Educational Technology and Interoperability Standards (CETIS) and the United Kingdom Office for Library and Information Networking (UKOLN).]

The perceptions and practical experiences are important influences when creating and developing online learning experiences in cross cultural contexts. In this study, 15 educational designers studying for their Master's Degree were asked to contribute their interpretations to an ongoing study of what meaning and interpretations were generated from a series of different learning environments offered via the Web. Course materials were designed in Australia and delivered into Hong Kong, Special Administration Region, China. Students did not always interpret the visual information in the manner expected by the original designers. This paper discusses the outcomes of the investigation in relation to students' perceptions of the appropriateness of the interface design guidelines when applied to a number of exemplary Web sites, highlighting the cultural differences encountered. (Author/AEF)

This paper focuses on the development, adoption, and integration of resource discovery, knowledge management, and/or knowledge sharing interfaces such as interactive portals, and the use of the library's World Wide Web presence to increase the availability and usability of information services. The introduction addresses changes in library services due to information technology and summarizes the three basic functions that comprise the knowledge mediation function of the library. The first section discusses portals as an access tool and lists several types of portals, i.e., Consumer Portals, Vertical or Niche Portals, Affinity Portals, Horizontal Portals, Enterprise Resource or Corporate Portals, and B2B or Industry Portals. The second section addresses knowledge management, including trends that play a significant role in the current knowledge economy. The third section discusses the evolution of the library Web site to portal. The fourth section describes the portal development program at the Australian National University for Scholarly Information, including examples of library portals and a schematic representation of the database structure. The final section considers future challenges. (Contains 12 references.) (MES)

This survey examined the home pages of 36 Australian university library World Wide Web sites. Reports were run on these pages, using a service that checks the HTML for validity and reports errors, a service that checks usability by the visually disabled, and a program that checks the HTML, corrects and reports errors, and improves efficiency style specifications. The following data were extracted: the size in bytes of each report and the source; the number of errors encountered; the download time for the page; and the total size of the page and associated graphics. A table presents numeric results, and findings are reported related to use of graphics, download times, quality of HTML, frames, scripting, metatagging, and disability testing. Problems with the Web sites are summarized. The paper also provides a list of what to avoid in Web site design in general and specifically for library Web sites. (MES)

Visualizing the structure and relationships in three dimensions (3D) of organs is a challenge for students of anatomy. To provide an alternative way of learning anatomy engaging multiple senses, we are developing a force-feedback (haptic) interface for manipulation of 3D virtual organs, using design research methodology, with iterations of system implementation, formative evaluation, and cyclic enhancements. In the present study, we aimed to determine the user acceptance of the haptic interface for exploring anatomical structures and relationships. Undergraduate computing (n = 10) and medical (n = 35) students from the University of Tasmania, Australia, who volunteered to try two iterations of the system (n = 18 and 27 in two separate user tests) reported on anonymous questionnaire with quantitative and qualitative questions that the system was easy to use, useful for learning, and neither physically nor mentally stressful. We conclude that many medical students would accept a haptic interface for manipulating 3D virtual organs as an aid to learning anatomy. Further development of the system will involve development of learning and assessment modules, and we plan to evaluate the system's usefulness in promoting learning of anatomy. [For the full proceedings see ED562127.]