Technology Demonstrators

I admire the work of ex school teacher and now university professor, John Spencer. His YouTube channel shares creatively constructed videos around educational theory, his own perspectives on learning and teaching, teacher education and school teaching. His recent post and podcast about Creative Habits vs Creative Momentum popped into my email and I want to share this with you.

What are your habits? skills? daily routine? Do you reflect on your hard work?

Spencer argues it is creative momentum, not necessarily habits, that lead to inspiration and innovation. Watch the video (also below) to learn more.

Creatively yours, Julie Lindsay

Do you know about the UniSQ CADMUS pilot?? If not, or if you could not join, here is your opportunity to hear more about it from your own colleagues.

You are invited to participate in the UniSQ CADMUS showcase on Tuesday August 13. 12:30-1:30. (See brochure below).

Join Dr Rohan Genrich, Dr Katie Burke, and Dr Anna Chruscik as they share why and how they have used CADMUS to improve student success.

READ MORE about the UniSQ CADMUS pilot.

REGISTER to attend this event and receive the Zoom link.

DATE: August 22 (Thursday)

TIME: 2-3pm

LOCATION: Engageli (please use Chrome or Edge browser)

Join Julie Lindsay who will share possibilities and opportunities for Course Coordinators and Program Directors, learning designers and support, and interested others, to consider curriculum embedded Online Global Collaborative Learning (OGCL).

This is a revisited initiative led by Learning and Teaching Futures and has been a focus of discussions and submissions to committees for the past three years. It is not a new pedagogical approach, however to many it may be the first time you have heard of it or considered it for your discipline and courses. This approach is often referred to as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

OGCL / COIL can give UniSQ that point of difference among other regional universities in Australia (and tie in with Grad attributes).

The July 2024 Learning and Teaching Innovation Sub-Committee endorsed the recommendation that UniSQ ‘pilot’ curriculum-embedded OGCL in 2024-2025, evaluate the experiences and make further decisions about continuity and sustainability. To start this process 2x General information sessions for UniSQ staff (August, then again October/November) will take place.

Topics covered at the online session:

• What is OGCL? How does it work?
• Project ideas
• Finding partners
• How UniSQ can support your goals
• Lots of time for questions and discussion

It is pertinent to advise at this point that just about any curriculum can be aligned with OGCL to enrich the student experience. Ideally this should be part of assessment, which could be, for example, a reflection on the experience (challenges and outcomes).

The next AI Pedagogy meeting is on Wednesday August 21, 10-11am in this Engageli room.

Are you aware of the UniSQ AI Pedagogy Project (AIPP)? This initiative aims to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the quality of learning and teaching experiences at UniSQ.

By leveraging the affordance of AI technologies, the project seeks to reimagine traditional approaches to education, improve student outcomes, and foster innovation in teaching and assessment methods.

What does this mean for YOU?? Well.....you can.....

• Come to our AIPP meetings each month (third Wednesday - time varies).
• Join the twice yearly AI Symposium featuring both internal and external speakers and practices
• Explore, search, contribute to and share the AI for L&T Padlet
• Be part of an active community within UniSQ that is focused on learning MORE about the integration of AI and MORE about best practices (tools and pedagogy, and assessment)

There is no minimum level of current understanding needed!

• If you have not had time to engage with any AI tools or approaches yet, this is the place for you
• If you have already engaged, are starting to embed AI into learning and assessment, this is also the place for you

Spread the word about the AI Pedagogy Project .

Come and join the AIPP MS Team to connect with others.

Highlights from the July meeting

Participants 'Explored Pedagogical Approaches to AI Integration'

This was done via small table groups using the open source book: '101 Creative ideas to use in AI education'. Ideas were then shared on this Collaborative Google doc.

If you could not attend you are invited to access the eBook and contribute to the Google doc.

Also you can....

• Watch the recording

• Preferably access the session via Engageli Playback and choose July 2024

UniSQ is hosting the 2024 Australian ePortfolio Forum over two days, September 10-11. The website and program reveals a combination of research and praxis around the implementation of portfolios for student and staff use. Some sessions also reveal applications of AI to portfolios.

Opening Keynote
Associate Professor Jack Wang, Microbiology, School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience at University of Queensland, YouTuber, Podcaster, and Writer

Topic: ePortfolios Vs Track Records: The Best Tool for Professional Development?

Come and join in and learn how other universities are approaching portfolios for WIL, employability and reflective practice Take the opportunity also to support colleagues who are sharing approaches at UniSQ.

It's happening right here in Toowoomba - not far to go!

These tools were shared at the recent ACEN webinar: "Digitising WIL: AI & MicroCredentials in WIL".

More tools are shared HERE and HERE.

Listen to Episode 16.

An interesting webinar lead by ICDE secretary general Torunn Gjelsvik in Oslo. Concepts and practice worthy of further exploration and discussion with key discussions around AI competence and employability.

Watch the video.

Rod Fogarty and the User Experience and Training in ICT team provide an excellent webinar series - every Wednesday!

Recently, July 17 they shared the basics of using Co-Pilot 'Let Co-Pilot chat help you fly'

You can sign on to Co-Pilot using Edge using this URL copilot.microsoft.com and your UniSQ ID.

Find all past recordings HERE.

A thought provoking, open access, journal article by Dr Yong Zhao.

In a recent blog post Zhao shared "AI is hot today. Almost everyone is talking about AI with all sorts of suggestions, advice, comments, and emotions. The majority of the conversations are about how to integrate AI in traditional classrooms. But given the history of educational technology, it is unlikely that AI can do much in the traditional classroom that aims to teach students the same prescribed curriculum and pass traditional exams. For AI to realize its potential, we have to reimagine education."

In the article he states that "The purpose is to stimulate imagination of artificial intelligence (AI) and education beyond current schooling."

and...

"Another version of personalized learning is drastically different. It does not aim to help all students achieve the same outcomes. It is not to allow students to move along the same path to the same goal. Instead, it is to help each student to become uniquely great in their own way."

You must read this article - lots to consider and discuss with colleagues and students!

Open Praxis is a peer-reviewed open access scholarly journal focusing on research and innovation in open, distance, and flexible education. It is published by International Council for Open and Distance Education - ICDE

The aim of Open Praxis is to provide a platform for global collaboration and discussion of issues in the practice of open, online, and distance education.

Don't forget UniSQ is an institutional member of ICDE.

• Access the Members area - https://www.icde.org/members-login/

• Use password for 2024 - 2024icdemember

Shiran Maor is our UniSQ Engageli customer support person. We talk a lot about data informed learning especially as Engageli provides such extensive analytics. In this blog post he states:

Leveraging data for learning can significantly increase learners' engagement and facilitate more active learning environments. Engagement data provides early indicators of risk, allowing instructors to intervene effectively and keep learners on track. Planning intentional interventions based on learning analytics can also boost retention rates and help learners retain new knowledge.

The article shares how UniSQ student engagement has increased through the affordances of a tool such as Engageli (see image below) that is designed for learning, not just web conferencing.

Have you tried Engageli yet? It is a tool now being implemented across all disciplines at UniSQ. Get in touch with us for support.

Are you a follower of the Thesis Whisperer?

This recent article by Inger Mewburn provides a humorous and useful description of how GenAI in the form of Claude and ChatGPT can be used professionally on a daily basis. Great descriptions of workflow and approaches.

Inger states:

I get new ideas for teaching AI from my own daily work as an academic. I have ChattieG and Claude open, all day, every day, to lighten my cognitive load and extend my human capabilities. Extensive use of AI saves me around 12 hours a week. I spend this productivity dividend having coffee and long lunches with colleagues, doing analysis or reading academic papers. I’m less stressed and more creative than I’ve been in, well – forever.

The most recent newsletters:

• May 2024 - Walk, don't run, is that the message?
• AI for Learning and Teaching Symposium April 2024 - Special edition
  
• January/February 2024 - Be the Change you Want to See
• AI for Learning and Teaching Symposium November 2023 - Special edition

ARCHIVED Newsletters from September 2021 - today

Technology Demonstrators (TechDems) is a UniSQ initiative designed to foster educational innovation, through active experimentation with, pilots, evaluation of and research into educational technologies and virtual platforms to continuously improve learning and teaching.

All activities and support in 2024 are provided by:

• Dr Julie Lindsay (Senior Education Technology Advisor)
• Dr Lisa Jacka (Senior Lecturer, Curriculum & Pedagogy)

Connect with us! Email: edtech@unisq.edu.au

Dr Julie Lindsay

Senior Education Technology Advisor

Learning and Teaching Futures

Email: julie.lindsay@unisq.edu.au
Phone: +61 7 46312890