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Despite continuous growth in the number of positions in Australia's Information Technology (IT) industry since 2015, only half of Australia's IT graduates go on to work in IT positions. A much-debated challenge for graduates is that the transition to work is complex and often demands several attempts. Less discussed is why school students choose to study IT at university and whether these motivational factors inform their career choice. The motivation to study at university has many potential influences including social factors, prior experience, self-perceptions, intrinsic or personal utility values, or simply the prospect of a good salary. Students' choice of university major has similar influences; however, many learners select their major and enter university without having thought about possible career pathways. As such, without appropriate support during their time at university, students may not translate interest and motivation into career identity or commitment, and they may not develop realistic career goals or job-seeking strategies. To understand the antecedents to career interest, this study investigated the choice of major and career aspirations of undergraduate IT students at an Australian university. The two-year study engaged students in two phases of data collection. First, students completed an online self-assessment of study and career confidence, answering two open questions on why they chose to study IT and how long they intended to work in the discipline. Students then responded to a short online survey about their short- and longer-term career aspirations and prior experience. The results show that the motivation to study IT is based largely on intrinsic interest and enjoyment of IT rather than on external factors such as salary or job security. Most students reported broad career aspirations related to IT; however, students were unable to articulate what these careers might entail and they were unsure about the amount of time they would spend in the IT profession. The study concluded that understanding IT students' motivation for study could inform career development learning activities through which students transform their interest into career choice and pre-professional identity.

Blended learning is often viewed as a teaching mode that integrates a combination of online interactive activities with face-to-face learnings. This includes a mixture of different types of teaching and learning techniques, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools. In this study, we undertook an experiment to ascertain what constituted a practitioner-based approach to team-teaching for blended learning. The experiment occurred during one teaching period (11 weeks) at an Australian University where the classroom teaching experience was accessed by students and teachers across different geographical locations, using ICT. During the experiment, we completed individual and collaborative reflections, utilised an online survey to elicit students' perceptions about our team-teaching practice and critiqued the literature on blended learning. Qualitative analysis was conducted for each data source, revealing several key themes, which were: (1) skills, (2) student, team-teaching and teacher roles and (3) the role of ICT. This study explored these themes in detail, showing that when using ICT, specific communication processes build student and teachers' confidence as well as facilitating trust between those involved in providing a blended classroom experience. This in turn, contributes to the flexible use of ICT tools, offering opportunities for teacher and students to participate in variety of class roles, interacting via online, face-to-face or blended methods. Overall we found that to assist with setting-up and facilitating teach-teaching for blended learning, it was important to provide role clarity, an agreed-to approach for classroom communications and purposeful integration of ICT for the teaching team and students when failure occurred.

Career development is a multifaceted, life-stage-dependant and discipline-specific process that is difference for every decision maker. During their time at university, students are building upon their career choice through discipline-specific activities yet many still find the transition into the workforce problematic, particularly for those in the discipline of IT. With the varied nature of the labour market in Australia, it is more important than ever before for universities to assist students in their career development through various opportunities for career education. With this in mind, this research asked: What career development model, and curriculum recommendations, can support IT students to be better prepared for life after university to achieve their graduate outcomes? To answer this, this research will present how career education has been implemented in undergraduate IT education at Deakin University in Australia. In addition, this paper demonstrates how a career development model together with appropriate curriculum resources can assist in addressing students' career needs, specifically for the IT context. The model will help educators' better support students to build their career interest and navigate the changing labour market.

Aim/Purpose: This paper focuses on understanding undergraduate computing student-learning behaviour through reviewing their online activity in a university online learning management system (LMS), along with their grade outcome, across three subjects. A specific focus is on the activity of students who failed the computing subjects. Background: Between 2008 and 2020 there has been a multiplicative growth and adoption of Learning Analytics (LA) by education institutions across many countries. Insights gained through LA can result in actionable implementations at higher institutions for the benefit of students, including refinement of curriculum and assessment regimes, teacher reflection, and more targeted course offerings. Methodology: To understand student activity, this study utilised a quantitative approach to analyse LMS activity and grade outcome data drawn from three undergraduate computing subjects. Data analysis focused on presenting counts and averages to show an understanding of student activity. Contribution: This paper contributes a practical approach towards LA use in higher education, demonstrating how a review of student activity can impact the learning design of the computing subjects. In addition, this study has provided a focus on poor performing students so that future offerings of the computing subjects can support students who are at risk of failure. Findings: The study found that: (1) Collecting data relating to student activity and analysing the activity is an important indicator of engagement, with cross referencing the data to grade outcome providing information to support modification to the learning design of the computing subjects (2) The computing subjects in this study all had the majority of the assessment marks awarded at the later part of the study period; (3) Students that fail subjects are active within the LMS for the period of the subject even when they submit no assessments; and (4) Assessment weight and the time of delivery could influence the out-comes Recommendations for Practitioners: The collection and analysis of student activity in the LMS can enable learning designers and practitioners to better reflect the subject design and delivery to provide more informed ways of delivering the learning material. Recommendation for Researchers: Collecting LA requires a thought-out process, designed well in advance of the teaching period. This study provides useful insight that can impact other researchers in the collection of assessment related analytics. Impact on Society: The cost of education is expensive to those that undertake it. Failing, although expected, potentially can be reduced by examining how education is designed, delivered, and assessed. The study has shown how information on how students are engaging has the potential to impact their outcomes. Future Research: Further work is needed to investigate whether intervention may assist the poor performing students to improve their grade outcomes relative to activity levels, subsequently impacting their retention.

The aim of education in the 21st century is to cultivate a whole person, not just a professional. Therefore, obtaining an academic qualification (standard credentials) is not enough and other qualities (soft credentials) are also important, including the ability to properly package and present one's credentials and capabilities. This article focuses on a pilot study on career development learning (CDL) in an undergraduate science course and an undergraduate information technology (IT) course from two universities in Australia. We used career intervention suitable to individual disciplines to improve student career-associated self-efficacy. A 25-question Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale was used to evaluate the CDL. Altogether, 58 of 86 (67.4%) students voluntarily participated in the joint survey study. The number of valid responses is 91.3% (53/58). After the CDL interventions, students (N = 53) were significantly more confident in all five career-associated aspects of self-efficacy: self-appraisal, goal selection, occupational information, planning, and problem solving (Wilcoxon, p = 0.022). The results of this pilot study support the extension of this approach to more undergraduate courses.

Attending university can assist students to make informed and realistic choices regarding their career. However, career development is a complex process and there are discipline-specific aspects to consider. In Information Technology, no clear career developmental pathway is evident in the literature despite recent efforts by employers, educators, and professional societies to help students improve their career expectations and employability upon graduation. This study aims to understand better the career aspirations and expectations of tertiary Information Technology students, so that their beliefs and needs can be taken into consideration when supporting them in career development. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the career aspirations of 306 students. The results demonstrated variability in students' short-term aspirations and a lack of understanding regarding effective actions to achieve their career goals, highlighting issues with setting realistic expectations. Outcomes show that undergraduate Information Technology students may require assistance with negotiating career choice.

Aim/Purpose: This paper focuses on understanding undergraduate computing student-learning behaviour through reviewing their online activity in a university online learning management system (LMS), along with their grade outcome, across three subjects. A specific focus is on the activity of students who failed the computing subjects. Background: Between 2008 and 2020 there has been a multiplicative growth and adoption of Learning Analytics (LA) by education institutions across many countries. Insights gained through LA can result in actionable implementations at higher institutions for the benefit of students, including refinement of curriculum and assessment regimes, teacher reflection, and more targeted course offerings. Methodology: To understand student activity, this study utilised a quantitative approach to analyse LMS activity and grade outcome data drawn from three undergraduate computing subjects. Data analysis focused on presenting counts and averages to show an understanding of student activity. Contribution: This paper contributes a practical approach towards LA use in higher education, demonstrating how a review of student activity can impact the learning design of the computing subjects. In addition, this study has provided a focus on poor performing students so that future offerings of the computing subjects can support students who are at risk of failure. Findings: The study found that: • Collecting data relating to student activity and analysing the activity is an important indicator of engagement, with cross referencing the data to grade outcome providing information to support modification to the learning design of the computing subjects. • The computing subjects in this study all had the majority of the assessment marks awarded at the later part of the study period. • Students that fail subjects are active within the LMS for the period of the subject even when they submit no assessments • Assessment weight and the time of delivery could influence the outcomes. Recommendations for Practitioners: The collection and analysis of student activity in the LMS can enable learning designers and practitioners to better reflect the subject design and delivery to provide more informed ways of delivering the learning material. Recommendations for Researchers: Collecting LA requires a thought-out process, designed well in advance of the teaching period. This study provides useful insight that can impact other researchers in the collection of assessment related analytics. Impact on Society: The cost of education is expensive to those that undertake it. Failing, although expected, potentially can be reduced by examining how education is designed, delivered, and assessed. The study has shown how information on how students are engaging has the potential to impact their outcomes. Future Research: Further work is needed to investigate whether intervention may assist the poor performing students to improve their grade outcomes relative to activity levels, subsequently impacting their retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of education in the 21st century is to cultivate a whole person, not just a professional. Therefore, obtaining an academic qualification (standard credentials) is not enough and other qualities (soft credentials) are also important, including the ability to properly package and present one's credentials and capabilities. This article focuses on a pilot study on career development learning (CDL) in an undergraduate science course and an undergraduate information technology (IT) course from two universities in Australia. We used career intervention suitable to individual disciplines to improve student career-associated self-efficacy. A 25-question Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale was used to evaluate the CDL. Altogether, 58 of 86 (67.4%) students voluntarily participated in the joint survey study. The number of valid responses is 91.3% (53/58). After the CDL interventions, students (N = 53) were significantly more confident in all five career-associated aspects of self-efficacy: self-appraisal, goal selection, occupational information, planning, and problem solving (Wilcoxon, p ≤ 0.022). The results of this pilot study support the extension of this approach to more undergraduate courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attending university can assist students to make informed and realistic choices regarding their career. However, career development is a complex process and there are discipline-specific aspects to consider. In Information Technology, no clear career developmental pathway is evident in the literature despite recent efforts by employers, educators, and professional societies to help students improve their career expectations and employability upon graduation. This study aims to understand better the career aspirations and expectations of tertiary Information Technology students, so that their beliefs and needs can be taken into consideration when supporting them in career development. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the career aspirations of 306 students. The results demonstrated variability in students' short-term aspirations and a lack of understanding regarding effective actions to achieve their career goals, highlighting issues with setting realistic expectations. Outcomes show that undergraduate Information Technology students may require assistance with negotiating career choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]