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Purpose: To refine a motor competence assessment app prototype, enabling its redesign. Method: Workshops were conducted to inform the prototype development. App's usability was evaluated on its ability to communicate relevant information to the teachers (n = 9). A "think out loud" protocol was applied by the users. Results: Both workshops refined the app, namely: "interface," "background," "acceptability/feasibility," "results," "teachers themselves," and "effectiveness." Competitor analysis revealed recommendations for the "wireframe," "visuals," and "proposed skills to be assessed." The need to include a demonstration for first-time users, video guidance, and links to more information for each skill was also raised. There was a recommendation on the design brief features and experiences. Conclusions: This study will provide guidance in discovering how digital solutions may shape motor competence assessment. The usability testing process with the teachers provides insight on the essential/desirable features required on these apps, enabling the prototype's redesign to meet the users' needs.

Despite the acknowledged complexity of early childhood educators' work, little is documented about how early childhood educators actually spend their time at work. A typical way of studying time at work is through the use of time-use diaries. Recent developments have shown the benefits of using randomized sampling electronic time-use diaries. This paper reports on the development and useability testing of a random time sampling (RTS) time-use smart-phone application to capture the work of educators, the first time such a method has been used in early childhood settings. Descriptive analyses were conducted of time use data collected from 20 Australian early childhood educators. Seventeen went on to participate in follow-up focus groups / interviews, which were thematically analysed. The paper demonstrates the capacity of RTS apps to gather accurate and useful data about educators' work, and points to the acceptability of this method to educators, and its manageability within early childhood settings. Limitations of the method, including, participant buy-in, design and technical requirements, and cost, are also highlighted.

Understanding the key physiology and anatomy of the brain, and the mechanisms underlying dementia, represents essential components within a medical curriculum. This study assessed the implementation feasibility of an augmented reality (AR) three-dimensional (3D) brain visualisation learning mode and the knowledge improvements in medical students when compared to a text-based pamphlet. The pamphlet group learnt from a double-sided information pamphlet, while the AR group used an AR app. In AR, participants held a cube in front of the camera on the tablet, rendered on-screen as a 3D brain model, and received a narrated lesson containing the same information as the pamphlet verbatim. Both resources were also evaluated for perceived usefulness via pre-post tests and written survey. A total of 24 students participated in the study. A significant overall difference in knowledge scores (p < 0.001) was found for all participants but without significant differences between groups. Prior education was a significant covariate for pre-post change (p = 0.016) across all participants but had no impact on group outcomes. Positive feedback was received on both resources where the majority perceived them as easy to use, enjoyable, and helped develop their knowledge of dementia. Both the text-based pamphlet and AR delivery modes improved knowledge, although neither was significantly superior to the other. However, the AR lesson was perceived highly for learning, and has the potential for implementation within a medical programme.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) has helped develop the education sector since the COVID-19 pandemic, though it causes low retention. This study used a systematic literature review method to analyze the factors affecting the retention level of MOOCs participants in developing countries and worldwide. A total of 89 publications in the Scopus journal during 2015-2021 and 26 published in developing countries were examined. The results showed that the factors affecting the retention level of MOOCs' participants include perceived ease of use, usefulness, social influence, and self-efficacy. However, motivation was an insignificant factor in developing countries despite being significant worldwide. Infrastructure was an internal factor for the retention level among participants, though this study can be further expanded using better methods.

Institutions, organisations, and policymakers use open educational resources (OERs) to promote student equity and social inclusion. The global COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for lifelong learning and underscored the importance of the higher education system in this endeavour. This study describes informal learning among adults through OERs, during the COVID-19 crisis, distinguishing between employed and unemployed individuals and between professional and personal development. A questionnaire distributed during the COVID-19 lockdown focused on three themes: (1) types of OERs used for learning during this period; (2) perceived OERs' usefulness; and (3) changes in OER use due to the crisis. Our findings revealed group differences in types of OERs used and in changes brought about by COVID-19, as well as within-group differences based on personal characteristics. Only a few participants reported using massive open online courses (MOOCs). Moreover, videoconferencing usage increased despite low perceived usefulness ratings, pointing to a change in informal learning modes. This exploratory research provides insights into the preferences of individual groups. These insights may be used to reduce socioeconomic disparities, especially among those who have lost their jobs, and to develop effective models for open education.

Thousands of early childhood education centres around the world use digital documentation platforms to report children's learning. Yet there is little research into how these platforms are changing work practices in early childhood education. This pilot study tested the usefulness of cultural-historical activity theory to analyse work shadowing observations and follow-up interviews with seven teachers across four centres in Australia and New Zealand. The use of Leontiev's 'hierarchy of activity' of operations, actions and motive objects was found to foreground two actions -- "tagging" and "monitoring" -- that connected basic technical operations with motives for the use of digital documentation platforms. The article reflects on the potential of this theory for future research in digital documentation in early childhood education, and suggests areas for further research, including the emergence of datafication in early childhood education as a new mode of governance of educators' work.

Whilst online learning has gained rapid momentum, the development of online technology and practices that support the delivery of online courses with a large research component has been slow. In 2017, the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University, Australia, developed a potentially scalable and transferable online research portal. This is an all-in-one platform that is designed to facilitate and support online research and research supervision, for supervisors and students. The research portal has evolved to currently provide research and research supervision support to over 700 online psychology students at the university. This paper describes the development, implementation and impact of the research portal and presents data from a preliminary evaluation of its usability and user satisfaction. Both research students and supervisors from the fully online fourth-year Graduate Diploma of Psychology Advanced program at Monash University participated in a series of focus groups, individual usability testing sessions, and surveys, and reported favourably on the research portal's research supervisor and supervisee user satisfaction and usability. Qualitative and quantitative feedback provided useful information supporting research portal improvement and expansion possibilities, allowing an increasingly valuable contribution to online research supervision, research and research teaching.

This article will explore usage patterns and perceptions of online learning support among university students. As higher education expands to include increasingly diverse student cohorts, alternative online-supported learning services have gained attention as a mechanism to support student success. However, there is a paucity of research regarding student perceptions and usage patterns for online support and the impact of these services on students' learning experiences. To address this gap, this study explored student usage patterns and perceptions of impact of students enrolled in a large research-intensive university in Australia, using data collected through the third-party provider and a supplementary student survey from July 2018-June 2019. Overall, 90.4% of students considered their interaction with the service to be positive, with 81% reporting that the service assisted their learning. While the service is not aimed at replacing face-to-face tutoring of academic skills support, this study suggests that online-supported learning services may provide an increasingly relevant and useful service to students and ­supplement face-to-face offerings.

This study aimed to understand the effects of a custom-developed, artificial intelligence-based, asynchronous remote invigilation system on the student user experience. The study was conducted over 3 years at a large Australian university, and findings demonstrate that familiarity with the system over time improved student attitudes towards remote invigilation. Positive experiences were found to be related to ease of use and convenience for test sitting. The majority of students reported that it was important for the institution to have approaches such as remote invigilation to discourage cheating and they believed that the system was useful in this regard. Perceived technical problems were found to invoke feelings of anxiety with being remotely invigilated, and students suggested that greater clarity on expectations of appropriate behaviour, privacy and data security would help alleviate discomfort and improve the system.

Introduction: This paper describes the findings of a study of 1517 public library Websites in Australia, Canada, and the United States over a period of four years. These Websites are referred to as 'electronic branches' of the libraries, thereby extending the definition of physical library branches into the digital realm. The purpose of the research was to investigate the accessibility of public library Websites, the available online resources and whether library staff are available to respond to users' questions and concerns regarding the Website. Method: A quantitative study was conducted, using a spreadsheet protocol to determine if 18 criteria were present on the Websites. General comments about the Websites were also recorded and included in the analysis. Analysis: The quantitative data analysis for the 1517 Websites was done using Excel spreadsheets through formula manipulations. Descriptive statistics are used to report the findings. Results: The data revealed that the Websites of Canadian and USA libraries include more of the criteria than the Australian libraries. Overall many similarities were found between the accessibility of the Websites of the different countries. Conclusion: The study provides exemplars of an electronic branch of a public library and the services it can offer to its community members. These examples can be used to model ideal electronic branch libraries for library staff to improve their Websites.

This paper explores the design, development and evaluation of an early childhood literacy iPad application, focusing on the English Alphabet, called "A to Z Safari" trialled in Australian classrooms. A to Z Safari was designed to assist students in the early years of schooling with learning the alphabet and building on their knowledge of letter-sounds. This paper details the process that led to the design and development of A to Z Safari and evaluates the success of the application (also known as "app"), using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), from a classroom trial in 2015. Quantitative data from the app statistics gathered on student use, and qualitative interviews with classroom teachers explores how students and teachers received A to Z Safari. It was found that the design of A to Z Safari exhibited ease of use and usefulness for the target cohort in regards to gameplay and teacher support, however a number of updates need to be made to the app's functionality to satisfy future, larger scale use. Suggestions for those designing similar apps for use in classroom environments have been provided.

At the University of Canberra, Australia, the design and architecture faculty are trialling a range of approaches to incorporating learning technologies in the first year foundation studio to improve student learning outcomes. For this study researchers collected information on students' access to their assignment information and feedback from the learning management system (LMS) to discover how the students engaged in the design process. The studio curriculum was designed to encourage students to engage in a convergence, divergence dynamic (Brown 2009, Thomas, Billsberry et al. 2014) in developing their own understanding of the design process. The staff tailored around points of convergence, online instruction, assessment tools and feedback in studio. We argue that using learning technologies in this way can improve intentionality at the beginning of semester, enhance students understanding of feedback and facilitate a more iterative approach to problem based learning in studio practice.

This pilot study examined student engagement with a web-based digital professional portfolio through the 3C process of collect-critique-curate. To overcome common problems associated with electronic portfolios, including cost; specificity; lifelong access; and ease of use, the study used "Weebly" as its portfolio platform. The creation and use of the portfolio was embedded into the first professional studies unit in the second year of an undergraduate initial teacher education degree, and technical seminars ensured that the base portfolio was created. As students reflected on possible sources of evidence to demonstrate achievement of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011) and crafted their capacity statements to preface their CVs, they began to clarify their present selves and to envisage their possible future selves as graduate teachers. The study tested strategies, based on the notion of self-authorship that assisted the students' transition from aligning with a personal student identity to demonstrating a burgeoning professional teacher identity.

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) and mobile technologies have been identified as important in reimaging information delivery and pedagogy. This, coupled with evolving research in single (SUVR) and multiuser (MUVR) IVR environments, may enhance educational practice. However, there is limited research on the impact of such technologies on the learners' experience in authentic learning environments, such as building information modeling in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) workflows. This paper addresses this through a study of forty-eight participants recruited from a postgraduate construction course at an Australian University to answer a research question on how mobile MUVR is more useable than mobile SUVR when experiencing building information models. A within-subjects' experiment was performed using a mixed-methods approach assessing participant mobile IVR Usability on a 5-point Likert scale across four constructs and analysis of reflective sentiment and essays. The results show that when the participants moved from SUVR to MUVR, this significantly increased the overall perceived mobile IVR Usability. Combined with the qualitative analysis, these results suggest that MUVR influences mobile IVR Usability and an increase in learner experience. This study can be used as a launchpad for future research that will explore the causes of the evolution of the enhancement that MUVR provides, expanding beyond the scope of AEC education and industries.

This article reports on the effective use of short videos as part of a microlearning strategy aimed at improving student success and satisfaction in an undergraduate literary history course at Flinders University. Although the pedagogical tenets of microlearning ostensibly contradict the deep, sustained critical attention literary study typically demands, this case study exemplifies how videos can be tailored for knowledge transfer and incorporated to supplement other parts of the syllabus that might require more traditional forms of interactive and individual application and practice. Video analytics from 2017 to 2019, in conjunction with the feedback gathered by subsequent university student evaluations and personally administered surveys, reveal important insights into both pedagogical efficacy and study and viewing patterns including: preferred viewing times; video completion rates; student attention span; repeat viewings; use of study spaces; and use of devices. Collectively, these paint a timely picture of the modern English undergraduate student, and how English syllabi and teaching resources can be tailored to meet their needs.

Slowmation is a twenty-first century digital literacy educational tool. This teaching and learning tool has been incorporated as an assessment strategy in the curriculum area of science and mathematics with pre-service teachers (PSTs). This paper explores two themes: developing twenty-first century digital literacy skills and modelling best practice assessment tools. In the growing debate about the impact of multi-model representations, researchers such as Hoban and Nielsen, and Brown, Murcia and Hackling emphasise the development of conceptual understandings and semiotics. This paper focuses on PSTs' experiences of and reflections on Slowmation as an educational tool. Data was collected from a cohort of final year PSTs who created, presented and reflected on their Slowmation process.

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the development, promotion and evaluation of sustainability learning experience database (SLED), a university-curated database of sustainability experiences to augment formal student learning. Its purpose was to encourage students to participate in experiential learning, to facilitate students' critical appraisal of programs ostensibly designed to create sustainability and to, thus, develop students' sustainability self-efficacy and employability. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 55 sustainability experiences were curated and placed into the SLED database, which was promoted to students in nine subjects. Supporting materials designed to assist critical evaluation, reflection on experiences and to build student employability were also developed. A comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of the program was conducted. Findings: The quantitative evaluation revealed some changes in environmental behaviors, depth of critical sustainability thinking and graduate attributes. The qualitative evaluation revealed that students see the value of a university-curated database of experiences and provided ideas for improvements to the database. It also revealed examples of higher-order learning facilitated by SLED. Research limitations/implications: Recruitment and attrition of research subjects, common challenges in pedagogical research, were experienced. "Opt-out" is one response to this but it comes with ethical challenges. Originality/value: This exploratory study demonstrates the potential of SLED to build students' sustainability efficacy and suggests ways in which it and similar programs can be developed for improved student and sustainability outcomes. Namely, the use of an online platform closely associated with existing learning management systems, higher-level institutional stewardship, closer curriculum integration and close partnering with credentialing programs.

As health-related mobile apps have proliferated in recent years in USA and Australia, counsellor opinions were solicited to aid development of therapeutic apps. After being informed of the therapeutic potential of time and location-based reminders, 33 drug and alcohol counsellors from New Zealand and Australia answered an anonymous online survey. Counsellors were willing to use timed and location based reminders to assist clients with their sobriety, but were concerned about running costs. Less experienced counsellors may be less willing to use mobile technology therapeutically. Counsellors could be willing to use location services on mobile phones therapeutically, but training may be required to address concerns about privacy and the ability to engage with clients about their spatial and temporal vulnerabilities.

Australian tertiary institutions offer online units to provide flexibility for students unable to attend classes on campus due to the constraints of distance and scheduling. While lecture materials and discussions can be accessed asynchronously, a synchronous element allows lecturers and students to interact in real time. Blackboard Collaborate, featuring videoconferencing, text, voice chat and interactive whiteboard, is a synchronous tool which can encourage a collaborative learning environment. This study explored seven lecturers' perceptions of, and experiences with Blackboard Collaborate in an Australian university setting. Quantitative data was collected and statistically analysed from responses to closed-ended items in an online survey. Qualitative data was gathered and thematically analysed from open-ended item responses and semi-structured interviews. Lecturers found that the use of Blackboard Collaborate motivated students, helped them to share knowledge, facilitated timely responses to student queries, enhanced interaction via multimodality and built virtual learning and teaching communities. Negative aspects were also noted, however, and included lecturers having to cope with technical glitches, a lack of face-to-face co-presence, delayed turn-taking in live sessions and difficulties with engagement due to suitable session scheduling.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of five factors on the user acceptance of Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVWs) in higher education. Another objective of the study was to investigate the effects of the application of 3DVWs on five variables relevant to positive outcomes for higher education students. Background: Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) are of considerable importance and potential for the creation of the next generation of teaching and learning environments. There has been a remarkable interest in the educational communities in applying virtual environments for teaching and learning, and this technology has been largely adopted to favour educational settings. With the increasing development of 3DVW technologies in the education sector, two uncertainties have emerged with respect to higher education that significantly influence the applicability of the technology in the field: user acceptance of the technology and educational benefits of the technology for both individuals and institutions. Thus, this study examined the relationship between various factors and the user acceptance of 3DVWs in higher education as well as the relationship between the application of 3DVWs in higher education and positive educational outcomes. Methodology: By conducting a quantitative study, an extensive research model was developed by which 21 hypotheses were examined to assess the relationships between 12 variables. In order to evaluate the hypotheses, an online survey with 32 questions was developed and distributed among the participants. The questionnaire was developed to analyse the relationship between independent and dependent constructs of the research model. By applying a purposive convenience sampling technique, 135 undergraduate students, who were enrolled in a first-year elective course, participated in the survey. The PLS-SEM method was used to analyse the relationships between variables based on the hypothesised hypotheses. Second Life was used as the primary 3DVW environment for the research experiment in this study. Contribution: This study is among the first to conduct a quantitative method by developing an extensive research model to examine both antecedents and consequences of the application of 3DVWs in higher education. The research model examined several self-developed variables relevant to the antecedents and consequences of user acceptance of 3DVWs those had not been defined or examined previously in this field. The study takes 3DVW engagement into account, which is a variable associated with not only use, but also with continuous use of the technology, and deeper involvement with the technology. This study contributes to the research and practitioner body of knowledge by introducing various factors significant in preparing a distance learning environment and activities that can be adapted in higher education. Findings: The findings suggest the effectiveness of ease of use, usefulness, enjoyment, and visual attractiveness of a 3DVW-based learning environment on user acceptance of the technology. Findings also suggest that application of 3DVWs has a significant impact on student satisfaction, learning outcome, retention, course engagement, and students' graduate outcome. The study confirms that computer self-efficacy of higher education students does not have a positive impact on the acceptance of 3DVWs. Recommendations for Practitioners: Curriculum designers and developers should consider designing easy-to-use and user-friendly virtual learning environments and should make aesthetic design decisions to create appealing learning environments to attract students' attention. A 3DVW-based learning environment needs to be realistic to make students experience a sense of presence within the environment. Increased enjoyment, pleasure, and playfulness of the virtual learning environment contribute to a higher level of adoption of 3DVWs among students. For the higher education institutions, the costs of developing and maintaining a virtual learning environment and implementing a teaching and learning programme are very low in comparison with a traditional face-to-face education system. This technology provides great capabilities for collaboration, teamwork, and networking on a worldwide scale. Recommendations for Researchers: Further studies are required to investigate from different perspectives the various factors impacting on user acceptance and/or positive outcomes of user acceptance of the technology. Using the technology for different courses, imple-menting different teaching and learning methods, and developing creative activities in the virtual environment might contribute to new findings in the field. This study could be extended by applying the technology in educational settings other than higher education, such as K--12. New studies could also explore other aspects of 3DVWs which were not part of the case study, such as the implementation of the technology on virtual reality, augmented reality, and smartphones. Impact on Society: The study would be beneficial for higher education institutions worldwide to regulate the key factors that affect students' entrancement of 3DVWs as well as the positive outcomes of user acceptance of this cutting-edge technology for students. Future Research: This study could be a starting point for future research focusing on various aspects of the application of 3DVW technology in education. Future studies could identify and investigate other variables that are associated with user acceptance of 3DVW in education as well as the positive outcomes of the application of the technology in this field. The four new variables presented in this study can also be examined in different contexts and/or with the application of various technologies. There have been some inconsistencies between the findings of the current study and some of the previous studies in the field. Future studies can investigate inconsistent relationships much more meticulously in a similar context. Future studies could also explore other aspects of 3DVWs which were not part of the case study.

This study sought to identify the most effective elements required in online professional development to enable teachers to improve their use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in their classrooms. Four schools in Queensland were involved, with twelve classroom teachers participating in a year-long online professional development program over the school year supported by an online mentor. The online professional development program did not provide course based or sequential learning activities. Rather it was design to enable individual learning pathways and draw on the many professional learning opportunities available through web 2.0 tools and Internet resources. The focus was to explore the process of online ICT professional development to contribute to the conceptualization of how teachers learn in the 21st Century. Findings indicate that teachers need to engage in three elements: investigation, reflection, and constructive dialogue; build a sense of group and individual online presence; and be supported by mentorship that responds to the various cognitive and affective demands of autonomous learners.

Employers in the 21st century seek graduates with a demonstrated ability to be independent, self-managing, lifelong learners. In this paper the authors explore student responses to a tutorial activity designed to promote lifelong learning skills. The activity is framed around situated learning theory, and capitalises on the affordances of video and a structured reflective process to extend opportunities for students to learn from their authentic clinical practicum experiences; enhance student skills in reflection, evaluation and feedback; and promote self-efficacy and lifelong learning.

This article reports on the findings of phase two of a larger study, which examines pre-service teacher experiences engaging with a synchronous (live-time) platform as a part of their training. While phase one focused on pre-service experiences "e-learning" with this synchronous platform (Woodcock, Sisco, & Eady, 2015), phase two focuses on their experiences "e-teaching" with the platform. During phase two, fifty-three students who participated in a blended learning (including both face-to-face and online lectures) course were assessed in a teaching simulation through an online presentation, and participated in questionnaires and interviews about their experiences as e-learners using the platform. The EPEC (ease of use, psychologically safe environment, e-learning/e-teaching efficacy, and e-learning competence) hierarchy of conditions for e-learning competency (Woodcock, Sisco, & Eady, 2015), developed during phase one based on an analysis of pre-service teachers' experience as e-learners in this same study, was used as a framework to assess teacher perspectives as e-teachers using this technology. Qualitative interview and survey data were collected about students' experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis. Quantitative survey data were also collected and analyzed via basic statistical analysis. The findings showed that students generally favoured the online e-teaching synchronous platform over in-person presentations, and the quality of online presentations was considered at least as good as in person.

This study examined the effectiveness of an online synchronous platform used for training preservice teachers. A blended learning approach was implemented. Fifty-three students participated in the course. Qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data were collected about students' experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis and statistical analysis, respectively. The findings show that e-learning synchronous technology is an effective learning tool in enhancing preservice teachers' e-learning competency in subject matter and information communication technology skills. However, preservice teachers' competency to learn and implement e-learning for students is dependent on four hierarchical conditions (a) ease of use, (b) psychologically safe environment, (c) e-learning self-efficacy, and, (d) competency. Implications from the findings and future research recommendations are also presented.

Scholars are increasingly being asked to share teaching materials, publish in open access journals, network in social media, and reuse open educational resources (OER). The theoretical benefits of Open Educational Practices (OEP) have become understood in the academic community but thus far, the use of OER has not been rapidly adopted. We aim to understand the challenges academics face with in attempting to adopt OEP, and identify whether these are related to or stem from the functionalities afforded by current repositories of OER (ROER). By understanding what academics and experts consider good practices, we can develop guidelines for quality in the development of ROER. In this article we present the findings from a study surveying academics using OER and experts who develop and/or work with ROER. We conclude by suggesting a framework to enhance the development and quality of ROER.

Assessment feedback is increasingly being provided in digital modes, from electronic annotations to digital recordings. Digitally recorded feedback is generally considered to be more detailed than text-based feedback. However, few studies have compared digital recordings with other common feedback modes, including non-digital forms such as face-to-face conversations. It is also unclear whether providing multiple feedback modes is better than a single mode. To explore these possibilities, an online survey asked 4514 Australian university students to rate the level of detail, personalisation and usability of the feedback comments they had most recently received. Of the students who received a single feedback mode only, electronic annotations and digital recordings were rated most highly on the three quality indicators. Students who received multiple modes were more likely to agree with all three indicators than those who received a single mode. Finally, students who received multiple modes were more likely to agree that the comments were detailed and usable when one of those modes was a digital recording. These findings enhance our understanding of feedback design, indicating that it is important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of particular modes, and the value of offering multiple modes.

Parent and family engagement has long been a significant element in early childhood (EC) education. Lack of family involvement can lead to a number of consequences in children's physical and emotional development. However, attempts and strategies used by early learning centres and childcare centres to resolve this issue are often unsuccessful. Face-to-face interactions as the traditional way of communication are becoming inadequate due to parents and families' busy schedules. Through interviews with 17 participants, including EC professionals and parents, from three childcare centres in Northern Tasmania, Australia, the project being reported in this paper explored the readiness of the two stakeholder groups to use social media tools to facilitate better communication, collaboration and family involvement. Findings of the research revealed an interest in adopting social media tools by both EC professionals and parents. Concerns were also expressed from a number of aspects, such as confidentiality and time constraints.

Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is an academic mentoring program, where high achieving senior students assist small groups of first years in study sessions throughout semester. One of the challenges PASS Leaders face at Monash in conducting their classes is the limited time they have with their students. The current paper explores, through action research, the use of Tablet PCs and an interactive, online whiteboard software suite called "MeTL" to increase the efficiency of time spent learning and sharing. The PASS Leaders found that while some difficulties remained, the advantages of using the Tablet PCs and the software were significant, particularly for student engagement, increasing time efficiencies, student collaboration and encouraging real-time feedback to the PASS Leader.

Aim/Purpose: This paper describes the context, development, implementation, and the potential transferability of an integrated online research environment that allows its users to conduct all aspects of research online. Background: While the content of most traditional courses can be delivered online and learning outcomes can be achieved by adopting equivalents to face-to-face pedagogic approaches, certain courses, such as those that require a substantial research component, present significant constraints for delivery online. To overcome these limitations, Australia's largest university developed and implemented a Research Portal. Methodology: The development team conducted a functional requirements analysis, identified the components that would be necessary to meet user needs, and reviewed existing solutions. The Monash University Psychology Research Portal was designed, tested, developed, tested for user experience, implemented, and reviewed. The Research Portal is structured according to the usual research sequence and provides users with access to supporting information and integrated capacities including research supervision, participant acquisition, and data collection, analysis, and storage. Contribution: This integrated online research environment is equivalent to and, in some ways, superior to an on campus/non-online research capacity. Findings: The usage of the Research Portal has grown rapidly and has satisfied the requirements and met the research needs of students of an online course that includes a research project, providing a common, ubiquitously accessible, and integrated online research environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: Further refinement, personalization, and expanded implementation and dissemination of the Research Portal components are required. The formation of networks and working partnerships to operate, maintain, and promote Research Portal initiatives is recommended to reduce operational costs, increase access, and create an impact. Impact on Society: The Research Portal is an efficient resource that provides easy access to a standard interface at any time and from anywhere and can potentially be used by other online research courses, as well as by online and non-online researchers.

Professional Experience is a key component of teacher education programs, bringing together the different disciplines of Education into a real-world setting. Helping pre-service teachers see theory in practice and begin to put theory into practice requires a close and explicit linkage between the coursework and practicum. A shared discourse that is accessible to pre-service teachers, field-based colleague teachers and university lecturers is an essential element in this process, particularly as there is an embedded assessment component. This project describes the evaluation of an assessment rubric developed for Professional Experience in the Bachelor of Teaching at UTAS.

Issues of academic plagiarism in educational institutions are often played out in the public arena. Media reports that "scandals" occur in universities where plagiarism has gone undetected, or unpunished can undermine public faith in the academic integrity of higher education. Antiplagiarism software has been successfully marketed to universities as a means through which to detect and deter plagiarism. One commercially available product, Turnitin, has been embraced and implemented in many educational settings around the globe. Although Turnitin has been heralded as an effective measure to combat plagiarism, little empirical research has been undertaken to examine user perceptions of its effectiveness. This paper details a site-specific case study which explores the perspectives of seven teachers across five faculties at South-Coast University about the effectiveness and usability of Turnitin. The findings indicate that Turnitin assists in detecting passages where text matches other sources. However, the software does not indicate whether plagiarism has occurred or not. That remains the decision of the teacher. Additionally, such software should not be considered a panacea for plagiarism. Students still require explicit teaching of the concept of textual attribution, often with subject-specific examples to understand acknowledgement conventions within academia.

This article describes the design of a web-based environment that links teaching strategies used in different faculties with graduate attributes. Whilst graduate attributes have existed at the University of Wollongong since the 1990s, this is the first time teaching strategies that enable students to develop these attributes have been articulated and shared electronically. The strategies are the practical or tacit knowledge of university teaching. The paper provides a background for the role of graduate attributes in higher education and explains the reason for focussing on teaching strategies. It describes the website resource with some examples and outlines dissemination and evaluation plans for the initiative. It is hoped that the website will become a "growing" site as a resource for a university community to share teaching strategies across different faculties.

Peer observation of teaching can provide valuable insights into effective educational practices. By adopting a developmental focus, peer observation can also provide insights into how practices might be enhanced and, importantly, how enhancements in practices might be aligned to teachers' development goals. However, a review of peer observation of teaching undertaken at Australian universities demonstrates that observation instruments and protocols typically do not explicitly afford alignment of peers' observations with teachers' developmental goals. Analysis of observers' uses of popular peer observation instruments through the deployment of the Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme through multiple institutions across Australia has informed the development and trial of a novel observation instrument and protocol design that is aligned with observer use characteristics, and provides a focus on development goals. This study will be of interest to teachers and academic developers researching and implementing goal-oriented curricular and pedagogical development through peer observation.

Traditional learning spaces have evolved into dynamic blended tertiary environments (BTEs), providing a modern means through which tertiary education institutes (TEIs) can augment delivery to meet stakeholder needs. Despite the significant demand for web-enabled learning, there are obstacles concerning the use of EOTs, which challenge the continued success of blended implementations in higher education. As technology usage accelerates, it is important for TEIs to understand and address the current challenges faced by key stakeholders using EOTs in BTEs, and provide appropriate support. This paper identifies and discusses the challenges stakeholders experience in using EOTs in BTEs. Interviews with 13 blended learning experts from New Zealand, Australia and Canada identified the challenges in using EOTs, and the extent to which these prevent widespread adoption and effective use of EOTs in BTEs. The outcomes of this study will enable them to design relevant approaches to tackle current obstacles in EOT usage, and deliver meaningful support to key stakeholders in BTEs.

The number of students entering engineering schools in Australian universities has increased tremendously over the last few years because of the Australian Federal Government's policy of increasing the participation rates of Higher School Certificate students and students from low social economic status backgrounds in the tertiary sector. They now come with a diverse background of skills, motivations and prior knowledge. It is imperative that new methods of teaching and learning be developed. This paper describes an online tutorial system used in conjunction with contextual physics and mathematics, and the revision of the relevant mathematical knowledge at the appropriate time before a new topic is introduced in the teaching and learning of engineering physics. Taken as a whole, this study shows that students not only improved their final examination results but there was also an increase in the retention rate of first-year engineering students which has financial implications for the university.

This paper reports on a global learning partnership using "the Café: the collaborative application for education" as an e-learning environment within the Facebook framework, for first-year animation students at the University of South Australia (USA) in Australia and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. "The Café" has been designed based on five principles of user interface design--visibility, usability, relevance, accessibility, and interactivity--and aims to provide institutions with an established, structured, and dedicated e-learning environment that meets the needs of modern-day tertiary students and teaching staff. From July to November in 2013, 71 students participated within the e-learning environment. Students submitted work-in-progress imagery related to major assignments, and provided feedback and critiques to their local and global peers. A post-semester survey provided students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the learning experience. The results are discussed in light of the use of peer feedback as a formative assessment tool.

In January 2009 the School of Education, University of Western Sydney decided to appoint an e-learning officer with the aim of improving the quality of online learning environments across course units. The e-learning officer had built a strong relationship with 45 academics across two campuses, with a positive impact on the application of university e-learning basic standards improving look and feel, information architecture, usability and accessibility of online units. Academics successfully integrated technological tools such as slidecasts, Google Docs, digital video and blogs into existing curricula and teaching contexts. This translated into an enhanced learning experience for our students. Significant aspects of the success of this experience included the provision of high quality educational design, empowerment of staff to experiment, staff development via workshops and one-on-one support, development of resources for academics to facilitate online teaching and learning, training of students in the use of technological tools, and strong focus on their learning experience monitored by reflection and research. We believe morale has increased in the School, especially in relation to online teaching, since the appointment of the e-learning officer. People seem to be more connected, are more open to change, and enthusiastic about trying new things, and are learning more about technology and what is available to them. There is more awareness about holistic approaches to online learning and how websites affect the student experience. We believe we have created significant attitudinal change. [Title varies: "Bringing Knowledge to Life: Implementing E-Learning across the School of Education."]

Annotation of video provides students with the opportunity to view and engage with audiovisual content in an interactive and participatory way rather than in passive-receptive mode. This article discusses research into the use of video annotation in four vocational programs at RMIT University in Melbourne, which allowed students to interact with and learn from video-based learning materials. Four different practice models were used in the study where students analysed case-based and role-played scenarios to understand and develop workplace skills. The findings of the study show that while students were actively engaged with their videos and generally satisfied with their experiences, factors such as video suitability, individual versus team analysis, deep- or surface-level activities, and timing of intervention affected satisfaction and learning outcomes. The study analysed data relating to student use of video annotation through Rogow's (1997) learning process of prepare-participate-connect. This process provided a framework to ascertain the advantages and disadvantages of the ways that the four cohorts used video annotation. The findings of the study provide insights into video-based annotation practice, leading to the adaptation and expansion of Rogow's process for use in the tertiary education sector.

Higher education institutions typically express the quality of their degree programs by describing the qualities, skills, and understanding their students possess upon graduation. One promising instructional design approach to facilitate institutions' efforts to deliver graduates with the appropriate knowledge and competencies is curriculum mapping. To support the complex activity of curriculum mapping and to address existing problems associated with current practices around unit guides, that many Australian higher education institutions are developing unit guide information systems (UGISs). This study examines factors influencing the acceptance and use of UGIS by unit conveners and academics. This study proposed a model for the acceptance of UGIS, which integrated key constructs from the technology acceptance model (TAM), social cognitive theory and model of PC utilization including seven main factors: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards using the UGIS, intention to use the UGIS, social influence, unit guide specific self-efficacy, and unit guide specific anxiety. The model was tested on a sample of 134 unit guide users from 39 Australian universities and analyzed using structural equation modeling and partial least squares methods. Analysis showed that attitude, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use from the basic TAM model contributed significantly to explain the intention of academics and unit conveners to use UGIS. In addition, the integration of self-efficacy, anxiety and social influence as constructs were found to improve the fit of the model. Implications of the results are discussed within the context of unit guides and curriculum mapping.

This paper investigates the extent of electronic dictionary use by language learners in an Australian university. All students in the study are formally enrolled in language courses across ten languages at first, second or third year level. The study places a particular emphasis on gauging student perceptions of the beneficial aspects of electronic dictionaries as judged by learners themselves in circumstances where they are able to act independently. As these benefits are often described in terms of "usability" and "functionality," these particular terms are defined and introduced in the literature review, and then later they are employed to help structure and describe the results. The arguments for the discussion are supported by the use of empirical data taken from a large-scale survey conducted in 2011 (n = 587) where comments from students were obtained on why and how dictionary-type resources were accessed and used (see also Steel & Levy, 2013). The paper restricts itself to the quantitative and qualitative data gathered on mobile phones, translators, dictionaries and web conjugators and related items (e.g. discussion forums). The particular functions that students use and the ways in which they use them are described and categorised, with the discussion supported by student comments. The data exhibits a remarkable range of resources available to students to look up unknown words or to see translations and, consequently, our understanding of what exactly an electronic dictionary might comprise is challenged. Many students' comments demonstrate a sophistication and knowledge about the effective use of these dictionary tools together with a keen awareness of their limitations.