The USQ Student learning Journey

1. The USQ Student learning Journey Dr Michael Sankey Program Manager: Learning Technologies & EnvironmentsUSQ

2. Teacher support • Establish a context • The SLJ • F2F strategies • Online strategies • Some examples • Now its over to you

4. University of Southern Queensland • Founded in 1967 • A distance edprovider since 1977 • Fully online programs since 1997 • 5 Faculties: Arts, Business & Law, Education, Sciences, Engineering & Surveying • All faculties have external programs • More than 200 under-grad and post-grad award programs

5. Enrolled students USQ • All students 26,000 • On-campus6,000 • External/online 20,000 (77%) • International 7,400 (2,300 ONC) • The vast majority of USQ students access information services online • Most Students and Staff know what they’re getting themselves in for when they come to USQ 

6. Some current strategies • Every student has a named person to contact • Every course has an online presence • Minimum standards for all courses • Threshold standards – based in a eLearning framework • Learning Innovation & Teaching Enhancement (LITE) teams • Significant media enhancement available • Strong focus on the Student Learning Journey (SLJ) and personal learning environment (PLE)

7. Some current trends • Print – Progressively reducing but still wanted by some - but will be gone within 18 months • Digital content – Increasingly more accessible & able to be used on mobile devices • CDs – popular for many years but will also be gone within 18 months • Physical spaces – Comfortable places to meet, study, eat, talk and recharge. • BYOD – Closed two computer labs

8. Discernable periods in SLJ Application & offer The early weeks Continuing study Completing study Alumni Student Learning Journey Decision to enrol Enrol Experience of first semester Unforseen events Graduation The SLJ is a series of interactions between students & the Uni. Identified 9 student groups with some 150 individual points of interaction.

9. Accessing the Student Voice • Professor Geoff Scott in his report Accessing the Student Voice (2005) concluded that ‘it is the whole experience that matters to students. Students are not concerned about whether or not a particular interaction is academic or administrative, but they are concerned about the quality of the interaction. In this context, the quality of interactions in the pre-enrolment phase is just as important as the quality of face-to-face and/or virtual interactions in academic study or in completing study (including graduation ceremony and membership of the Alumni Network)’.

10. Key interaction points • Decision to enrol • Application and offer process • Enrolment process • The early weeks (orientation & first classes) • The experience of study in the 1st Semester • Preparing for the next semester • Continuing study the following years • When things don't go as planned • Completing study • Learning Centre • Student Services • Library • Careers & employment

11. SLJ Online Services ALUMNI

12. Some key things • Student relationship officers • Academic learning support • Peer assisted learning • USQ Retention strategy • Communities of Practice (CoPs) • Graduate skills and capabilities • ePortfolios • Closing the loop • Alumni

13. Your SRO

14. Student Relationship Officer (SRO) Network • STUDENT MANAGEMENT DIVISION • Recruitment & Admissions – prospective and new students • USQ International – prospective and new students • Student Support & Retention – current and continuing students • FACULTIES • Student Support staff in each Faculty based at Toowoomba campus • CAMPUSES • Discipline based SROs based at Springfield & Fraser Coast campuses

15. Current Discipline Allocation for SRO’s within Student Support Manager, Enrolments & Student Support Janelle Hartwig

16. RELATIONSHIP FRAMEWORK SUPPORT ADVICE EXPERTISE Individual or specific support (individual students) Individual academic advice, career or personal counselling etc Course and program advice, retention etc Specific or targeted support (specific students) Student support, recruitment and retention etc Must have (all students) Available and common to specific student cohorts and/or individuals Available and common to all students and / or cohorts Specific, individual advice and support

17. Proactive support • Retention Management • Introduction • Week 4 • Week 6 • Week 10 • Week 15 • Week18 • Study Desk Inactivity • Pilot Projects - Assignment Non-Submission - Missed Exams Dana Damien Shani

18. Academic learning support Online and face-to-face sessions for communication skills and maths: • Individual or small group consultations • face to face • phone • email • online chat. • Workshops • Meet - Up • Course-based assistance

19. Current home page

20. The Learning Centre • Also do: • lectures on common problem areas • embedded workshops in lectures in collaboration with academic staff • and we have an online learning centre

21. Meet-Up • 54 Meet-Up groups meeting • Sessions are different from tutorials as they are: • led by students who have previously done the course • responsive to your needs as a student • interactive, informal and fun • they encourage discussion and develop understanding of course content • concerned with how to learn as well as what to learn • supervised by qualified academic staff

22. Preemptive

23. New current students site

24. ASK USQ – Right Now

25. Social networking

26. Peer assisted learning • We’re good at doingit for students • Meet-Up student leaders • Online student mentors • For staff • Learning Technologists in centralised units • Faculty technology mentors

27. The role of the teacher • They are our interface • In most cases they want to • But are not confident • And not overly aware of what others are doing

28. Encourage staff • Exemplars of good Practice • Identify and promote • Scaffold up to awards& promotion • Faculty – USQ – OLT • Evidence • Work with them on SoTL • Keep the communication common place • Road shows – teaching tips – drip feed info

29. Academic PD framework

30. Example short course • A Key: Get the staff using the same tools as the students (if it’s good for the students it’s good for us) Image accessed 24 February 2012 from: http://www.fusionhq.com/package/templates/0/eatingdogfood.jpg

31. ePortfolios Personal learning environment Outside environments Artefact 1 View 1 For course assessments Group 1 Artefact 2 Twitter Artefact 3 Group 2 Flickr View 2 For potential employers Skill 1 Artefact 5 YouTube Individual 1 Artefact 6 View 3 For parents or friends Facebook Skill 2 Individual 2 Artefact 8

32. Some basic stats • 11,000 Portfolios – 24,000 pages • Between Mar – Nov 2011 • 7,061 people established an ePortfolio • 12,091 pages were established

33. Staff portfolio • Professional portfolio • Evidence forpromotion • Teaching tool • Interest group interaction • Linked with the LMS

34. Supporting the staff

35. Communicating the message in as many ways as possible.

36. Communities of Practice Groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. CoPs provide an opportunity to create a learning community around an area of interest or practice, to share and develop practice and build personal and professional knowledge and expertise. 21 + CoPs – e.g. CoP for Faculty technology mentors

37. Management or Facilitation What we have had What is emerging Traditional LMS LMS Activity1 EdCom/OER etc. Activity4 Activity1 Activity2 PLE Activity2 Activity3 Activity3 Activity4

38. This is currently emerging Stuff Mahara Repository (PLE) Moodle 2 (LMS) MIT OCC & OERU Stuff Media repository & USQOpen (OERs) iTunesU The walled garden The big bad world

39. Defined minimum standards • An introductory message, posted before the start of semester, which: • welcomes students to the course; • introduces the teaching team for the course; • describes how the StudyDesk space will be used throughout the semester; and • explains how students may obtain support by appropriately directing academic or technical. enquiries. • Checking of discussions and other student access areas on at least three [3] working days per week in order to: • monitor and moderate comments and discussion by students; • manage course operation by responding to student enquiries and learning activities. • Student requests for clarification or assistance should be responded to as soon as possible, but certainly within 48 hours during the working week.

40. Staff regularly use: • Moodle LMS • Mahara ePortfolio • Equella repository • Camtasia Relay/Studio • Virtual Classroom • Voice tools • TurnItIn • Remote Access Labs • Video conferencing • Discovery layer • Cloud services (Skype, 2nd Life, etc.)

41. Tools Matrix

42. Moving to mobile

43. Mobile theme

44. The ACODE Benchmarks

45. Currently 8 • Institution policy and governance for technology supported learning and teaching • Planning for, and quality improvement of the integration of technologies for learning and teaching • Information technology infrastructure to support learning and teaching • Pedagogical application of information and communication technology • Professional/staff development for the effective use of technologies for learning and teaching • Staff support for the use of technologies for learning and teaching • Student training for the effective use of technologies for learning • Student support for the use of technologies for learning

46. Don’t forget!!! http://moodlemoot.org.au/