University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by ....University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by their teachers, how they complete those tasks by tracking their activities in real-time, and what outcomes they achieve. This study will advance fundamental understanding of these inter-related processes, and provide the stimulus to change thinking about educational design, teaching practices, and support for students.Read moreRead less
Data-smart schools: enhancing the use of digital data in secondary schools. This project aims to investigate the use of digital data in schools to identify ways to improve its capture and use. Masses of digital data are generated within schools every day, but despite its potential, this data remains poorly used and understood. The project intends to work with school communities in order to develop innovative data tools and techniques that make more effective use of the data. The project will pro ....Data-smart schools: enhancing the use of digital data in secondary schools. This project aims to investigate the use of digital data in schools to identify ways to improve its capture and use. Masses of digital data are generated within schools every day, but despite its potential, this data remains poorly used and understood. The project intends to work with school communities in order to develop innovative data tools and techniques that make more effective use of the data. The project will provide new insights into the technical, informatics, organisational and social issues surrounding the (re)use of digital data in schools and the development of digital data ‘best practice’ models. This project should provide benefits in terms of improved teaching and learning, parent engagement and use of infrastructure investment.Read moreRead less
Human-centred Teamwork Analytics. This project aims to develop methods to assist the assessment and improvement of collocated teamwork, by making multimodal activity traces visible and available for computational analysis. This project expects to bridge the gap between promising sensing technologies and the dearth of tools to automatically assess teamwork. Expected outcomes include co-design and modelling methodologies for human-centred analytics that map from low-level data to higher-order cons ....Human-centred Teamwork Analytics. This project aims to develop methods to assist the assessment and improvement of collocated teamwork, by making multimodal activity traces visible and available for computational analysis. This project expects to bridge the gap between promising sensing technologies and the dearth of tools to automatically assess teamwork. Expected outcomes include co-design and modelling methodologies for human-centred analytics that map from low-level data to higher-order constructs to enable non-data science savvy users to get actionable insights into multimodal team traces. This research aims to provide significant benefits to Australia, with communication and teamwork being two of the topmost critical skills required by Australian employers.Read moreRead less
Using immersive virtual reality to enhance students’ science visualisation. This project aims to investigate the potential of advanced visualisation technology, immersive virtual reality, as a collaborative learning environment to support students to explore their ideas and learn a core chemistry concept, molecular structures and functions. Incorporating both data analytics and qualitative video analysis, the project will establish a deep understanding of how students learn about the molecular w ....Using immersive virtual reality to enhance students’ science visualisation. This project aims to investigate the potential of advanced visualisation technology, immersive virtual reality, as a collaborative learning environment to support students to explore their ideas and learn a core chemistry concept, molecular structures and functions. Incorporating both data analytics and qualitative video analysis, the project will establish a deep understanding of how students learn about the molecular world within an immersive virtual reality environment in relation to the learners’ experience, chemistry content, visual representations, learning tasks, and design features. The project will recommend evidence-driven design considerations for learning resources development and further educational research with advanced technologies.Read moreRead less
The online future of Science and Engineering education: The essential elements of laboratory-based learning for remote-access implementation. Laboratory classes are a critical part of science and engineering degree programs, but there has been little research into what actually takes place within them. Remote laboratories, in which students control equipment via the internet, are one potential solution for accommodating rising numbers of students, but the interfaces must be developed to effectiv ....The online future of Science and Engineering education: The essential elements of laboratory-based learning for remote-access implementation. Laboratory classes are a critical part of science and engineering degree programs, but there has been little research into what actually takes place within them. Remote laboratories, in which students control equipment via the internet, are one potential solution for accommodating rising numbers of students, but the interfaces must be developed to effectively support student learning. This project will investigate how students interact with equipment, each other, and with laboratory demonstrators in order to determine the crucial components of effective laboratory learning experiences. It will identify and characterise the interactions of students in laboratory classes, and develop mechanisms to support these interactions remotely.Read moreRead less
Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the int ....Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the inter-relationship between the technologies and imaginative play - the renowned developmental force in the early years. By utilising theoretically based criteria, and considering the perspectives of children and their families, this study will develop principles for developmentally sound use of tablet technologies in children's digital play.Read moreRead less
Supporting teachers and teaching in the age of Artificial Intelligence. This project aims to investigate teacher capabilities to respond to, and engage with, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in their classrooms and online teaching. This project expects to generate significant new knowledge about teacher workforce development to work productively alongside AI and other automated technologies. Expected outcomes include insights into technical, organisational and social issues surrounding the dep ....Supporting teachers and teaching in the age of Artificial Intelligence. This project aims to investigate teacher capabilities to respond to, and engage with, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in their classrooms and online teaching. This project expects to generate significant new knowledge about teacher workforce development to work productively alongside AI and other automated technologies. Expected outcomes include insights into technical, organisational and social issues surrounding the deployment of AI tools in schools, and the development of models of AI best practice and professional learning. This should provide significant benefits such as improved classroom outcomes and better use of technical infrastructure investment.Read moreRead less
Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative ....Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative teaching and learning solutions for individuals, workplaces and education providers; particularly higher education. This project should provide significant benefits for a national policy on lifelong learning to address Australia’s agile skills development needs.
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Parent involvement goes online: New ecologies of school-home relations. This project aims to: identify forms of digital exclusion and inclusion impacting on parents’ ability to support their children’s education; produce a new conceptual model of technologically mediated school-home relationships; and provide a comprehensive map of school-home connected digital tools and services. Combining a detailed survey of 500 school leaders with innovative networked case studies across three schools and 18 ....Parent involvement goes online: New ecologies of school-home relations. This project aims to: identify forms of digital exclusion and inclusion impacting on parents’ ability to support their children’s education; produce a new conceptual model of technologically mediated school-home relationships; and provide a comprehensive map of school-home connected digital tools and services. Combining a detailed survey of 500 school leaders with innovative networked case studies across three schools and 18 families, this will be the first national study to comprehensively describe and analyse home-school partnerships in the digital age. It will provide policy and educational leadership with a roadmap for addressing barriers to digital inclusion, as schools advance their integration of digital platforms. Read moreRead less
Agent-based virtual learning environments for understanding science. It is vital that students understand science given its relevance in important economic and professional areas as well as for an informed democratic citizenry. This project aims to conduct classroom-based research in which students learn content in the Australian Curriculum - Science through the use of an innovative agent-based virtual learning environment that supports authentic science inquiry activities to enhance learning o ....Agent-based virtual learning environments for understanding science. It is vital that students understand science given its relevance in important economic and professional areas as well as for an informed democratic citizenry. This project aims to conduct classroom-based research in which students learn content in the Australian Curriculum - Science through the use of an innovative agent-based virtual learning environment that supports authentic science inquiry activities to enhance learning of difficult scientific knowledge and skills. The project also aims to develop teacher professional development materials for teachers to enhance teacher capacity to use innovative pedagogies and learning technologies in Australian schools.Read moreRead less