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Analysis Interviews PhD qualitative quantitative survey

Notes on: The coding manual for qualitative researchers – Saldaña Chapter 1

Fair warning – this is very much just a post for me and is more about how I store my notes to search later than publicly examining this highly regarded book about qual data analysis.

Open coding -> Axial coding

‘A code is a researcher generated construct that symbolises or “translates” data’ (P.4)

Can be a single word capturing the primary topic of a paragraph – e.g. security – even if that word isn’t used

When a code is taken from the transcript, it is put in quotes and is an in vivo code

Eclectic coding – open ended process

Decoding – reflecting on text to decipher the core meaning
Encoding – determining and applying an appropriate label

Patterns demonstrate habits, salience and importance in people’s daily lives (routine, ritual, rules, roles, relationships) (P.6)

Simultaneous coding – multiple codes applied to the same text, indicating that one theme is part of a larger theme

Data can not always be precisely boundaried – it is fuzzy
Characteristic patterns:
Similarity – things happen the same way
Difference – they happen in predictably different ways
Frequency – happen often or seldom
Sequence – happen in a certain order
Correspondence – happen in relation to other activities
Causation – One appears to cause another

Patterns aren’t the only show in town
Anomalies and deviations can also intrigue us
It is ok to have stray/orphan codes

My theoretical lens may shape the codes I use

Coding is a cyclical act – first cycle of coding rarely gets it right. Can be a 2nd, 3rd even 4th cycle of recoding

[I think I need to do some of my survey analysis in tandem with interview coding. I’m also curious if i have used data about blended roles in the survey – closest may be % association with a role. Quartiles/Quintiles? (or above 50%)
The whole knowledge/activity thing seems particularly relevant]

Saldana – Codes are essence capturing that you cluster together by similarity and regularity (ie a pattern) to develop categories and thus analysis of their connections.

Analysis is searching for patterns in data and ideas that explain why these patterns are there

[What can I take from interviewee’s survey responses to inform this analysis – working on the assumption that survey takers are trying less hard to write their own hero narrative]

Grounded theory approach to coding – Initial -> Focused -> Axial

Harding says some codes can be applied to multiple categories. This conflicts with domain or taxonomic coding but works with ‘fuzzy sets’ which acknowledges overlaps. (The risk in this if overused is of weakening category boundaries) P.11

[Did I ask enough/anything about edvisor’s personal strategies for making work relationships better? Bit of quals/accreditation maybe. This possibly should have been informed by the main survey]

Data – Code (+ subcode) -> Category (+ subcategory) -> Themes/Concepts -> Assertion/Theory

Theory comes from the interrelation of themes and concepts
(but it doesn’t always have to – we can also apply existing theory to the process)

Themes can be outcomes of coding but shouldn’t be the code itself. Codes should be more explicit and descriptive.

I will likely see themes as I code – just put it in Scrivener as an analytical note and move on.
(Other phenomena may also emerge, depending on the approach, like participant processes, emotions and values)

Jess has recommended ‘open coding’ as my first step – Saldana doesn’t list this specifically but I think ‘eclectic’ coding is the closest version. Also seems recommended for ECRs

Interviewer questions/prompts/comments aren’t coded
BUT
if the interactions are significant – e.g. meaning making – it may be appropriate.
[I can think of times I said something and they agreed and said it added to their thinking]

Code irrelevant sections as N/A (not applicable)

Code my own reflective notes during interviews and transcription [I probably need to find a way to make stuff from me clear]

Preparing data for coding

For manual (pen and paper) coding, format the page so there is a good wide (50%) white space on the right to add codes and notes.

Break the text into digestible stanzas

Abbreviate participant names to an initial

Put non-code bits (e.g. my questions and comments) into brackets

This can also still have value in Nvivo but I should see what the software needs.

Pre-coding

So I have done some of this in highlighting/copying key quotes while fixing the transcript.
When bringing these into Nvivo, I should codes all of these bits as QUOTE to make them easier to find.

It may also be worth me putting all of my text into italics.

The Word doc for preliminary jottings could have 3 columns:
Raw data (transcript) | Preliminary code | Final code

Keep a page with research questions, theory framework, study goals, main issues etc at hand to stay on track

Questions to consider as I review the transcripts:

  • What are people doing/trying to accomplish?
  • How exactly do they do this? What specific strategies do they use?
  • How do they talk about, characterise and understand what is going on?
  • What assumptions are they making?
  • What do I see going on here?
  • What did I learn from these notes/transcript?
  • Why did I include them?
  • How is what is going on here similar to or different from other interviews?
  • What is the broader import or significance of this incident or event? What is it a case of?
  • What strikes you?
  • What surprised me? (to track my assumptions)
  • What intrigued you? (to track my positionality)
  • What disturbed me? (to track tensions with my values)

Coding contrasting data

The codes from the 2nd transcript may make me go back and tweak those for the 1st, so code a contrasting data source (e.g. don’t do all ETs in a cluster, go AD – ET – LD etc)

Lumper VS Splitter coding – Lumper uses minimal codes for a section, catching the essence of the category. Splitter is more line by line, greater detail but this may be overwhelming.

How many final codes / categories / concepts?
Huge variance in the literature about this:
Codes – 30-40 OR 80-100 OR 50-300
Categories – 15-20 OR 25-30
Concepts/Themes – 3 or 5-7

[Do I have text questions in the survey that could or should be coded? Did I already do that informally in Survey 1? Do I need to describe that process better in my Methods section?]

Quantitizing the Qualitative

Generally reducing codes and categories to quant data isn’t needed but it can have value in corroborating quant findings from the survey (maybe from an aca/prof, role type, gender perspective?)
This is paradigmatic corroboration and can add trustworthiness. P.27
Look for quant data in the survey with statistical significance first.
Hypothesis coding is designed to test differences between 2 or more participant groups P.27

[Check what statistical tools Nvivo has – Dedoose is also suggested]

Make a codebook / code list
Separate file – may be done in Nvivo though
Code-Description-Data examples for reference
Could also include inclusion/exclusion data and atypical examples

Categories
AI CMM ePortfolio Learning design students Students as Partners video web2.0

Ed tech must reads: column #61

First published in Campus Morning Mail 22nd Nov 2022

10 Pedagogical innovations from Business School Professors around the world from Business Education Innovations

While there are often specific practices or pedagogies that are more relevant to teaching in one discipline over another, in my experience there are far more universalities relevant to all disciplines. This report outlines 10 case studies of innovation in teaching business, with what looks like a strong focus on authentic learning and simulations, and is well worth a look for any educator wondering what is going on right now.

Student partners as co-contributors in research: a collective autoethnographic account from HERD

Bubbling away under the surface of Australian Higher Ed, we have long had a movement dedicated to democratising learning by bringing students into the process in a meaningful way. This recent paper from some of the shining lights in this space discusses experiences and challenges in the next step – engaging students in collaborative research. (Maybe there are also lessons to be applied to working with Third Space education workers in similar ways)

The Power of Portfolios: Evidence-based Assessment Design for Lifelong and Life-wide Learning: Webinar from Open Learning Fri 2nd Dec 12:45 AEDT

As Higher Ed continues to emphasise the importance of authentic learning experiences and workplace skills, ePortfolios continue to offer a rich yet underused platform to support this. This workshop from Beverley Miles as part of the free OpenLearning Forums 2022 promises a dive into creating meaningful assessment with this tool.

Make-A-Video from Meta AI

It seems only natural that as the AI generated art movement has exploded, it would move into ‘video’. (By video I would say it looks much more like animated GIFs than Citizen Kane but baby steps). Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is releasing a tool to support the creation of video from text and this site showcases some examples and associated papers. Sign-up for the beta program has closed though.

How Kepler Invented Science Fiction and Defended His Mother in a Witchcraft Trial While Revolutionizing Our Understanding of the Universe from The Marginalian

In some ways this read feels like a stretch for this column, but at its heart is the idea of using stories to teach complex new ideas in a yin yang blending of STEM and HASS. This entertaining read takes you on a wild journey across astronomy, 17th Century politics, helio-centrism and witchcraft in making a credible case that Johannes Kepler actually wrote the first science fiction book.

Are you the ultimate LMS designer? From ASCILITE TELedvisors Network

If you are going to the ASCILITE 2022 conference (or know someone going) and fancy yourself a dab hand with the LMS, you might consider this fun design challenge that is part of the Battle of the LMS event. Entries close Tuesday 29th.

Categories
academic integrity AI CMM ed tech implementation Twitter video web2.0

Ed tech must reads: column #60

First published in Campus Morning Mail 15th Nov 2022

Not drowning, waving: The role of video in a renewed digital learning world from AJET

Most discussion of video for teaching in Higher Education centres around specific applications but this insightful study from Meg Colasante (Deakin) offers a multidimensional typology which should be invaluable for anyone with an interest in the bigger picture. She examines the use of video through functional purpose, academic focus (knowledge type) and pedagogical strategy to support educators and educator advisors in taking video far beyond a passive learning experience.

The effect of prequestions on learning from video presentations from APA PsycNet

Asking students questions about concepts or information that they have not yet been exposed to (‘prequestioning’) has long been considered a useful tool for signposting and demonstrating contextual value in teaching. Carpenter and Toftness point out that some studies on the use of prequestioning with reading exercises can have mixed results but see a positive overall impact when it comes to the use of video in this interesting article from 2017.

Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in teaching and learning for educators from Publications Office of the European Union

The seeming explosion in AI tools this year has left many of us scratching our heads at how this will reshape learning and teaching in the near future. Fortunately, the EU continues to lead the way when it comes to meaningful action on emerging technologies and has published this handy overview as part of current work towards developing a regulatory framework. The focus is more on the use of AI to enhance learning, it doesn’t really touch on the swathe of academic integrity issues presented by automated generation of text, but it is encouraging to see how these tools can be used well and justly.

“Do we have to use a wiki, Miss?” How Web 2.0 technologies can support students as inquiry learners in a secondary school from Lynette Hay (Thesis)

Evidently I am in a 2017 kind of mood this week, as this rich doctoral thesis from Lynette Hay (CSU) is also from that year. This thesis explores the factors shaping student usage of a range of collaborative Web 2.0 tools that position users more as a web creators than as passive consumers. She offers handy suggestions on how to best support learners in finding the tools that best suit their needs.

Making the Move: Shift from Twitter to the Fediverse from Around the Corner

While the shenanigans on the Twitter side of the web continue to be hilarious, for those of us that have found community there, concern continues to grow for the future. I must admit that I haven’t spent much time yet in Mastodon and it still feels not quite right but hopefully some of the tips in this migration overview will help.

Categories
academic integrity CMM ed tech implementation feedback learning analytics nudges students

Ed tech must reads: column #59

First published in Campus Morning Mail 8th Nov 2022

Suggestions on dealing with AI-generated papers that don’t get flagged by plagiarism-checking software from Twitter

Umar Ruhi (@Informatician) raises the question that won’t go away in this Twitter discussion about how he might investigate a student submission that doesn’t feel quite right. The explosion of high quality AI text generation tools this year is having a major impact on the integrity of assessment and without a clear technological solution in sight, rethinking the design of assignments is the only logical step.

How do we do effective feedback?: A practical example from Teaching Matters blog

Feedback is routinely identified as an area for improvement in discussions of good learning and teaching practice in Higher Ed. Providing and using meaningful, actionable feedback is time-intensive and requires a certain measure of feedback literacy on the part of both educators and students. This post from Jane Hislop and (my soon-to-be colleague) Tim Fawns from Uni of Edinburgh outlines a way to build peer feedback into rich assessment activities that draws on students’ inclinations to compare their progress with their peers.

Student support spotlight cards in Education Insights from Microsoft Teams for education

Many big tech firms have been steadily establishing beachheads in the education space in recent years and Microsoft’s appears to centre around their Teams communication and collaboration platform. This post on their support site outlines their upcoming learning analytics functionality, which mostly just tracks changes in student interaction with the system and generates a report for educators to follow up on.

Lessons from Treadmills and Owls: The Most Important Feature in Educational Technology Products from Improving Learning

This short post from David Wiley explores the idea that education technologies can add all the rich data tracking and analysis tools in the world but these don’t matter that much if nobody is using them. He argues that the thing that makes the greatest difference is the behavioural nudge, outlining the way that popular language learning app Duolingo strategically reminds learners to continue to engage with the platform. (And it has worked for me, 668 days into a French learning streak).

Leadership and Management needs of Australasian Higher Education – Webinar 1/12 4pm AEDT

Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a UK based organisation behind the increasingly popular HEA fellowship accreditation scheme for Higher Ed. They also support research into the sector and this promising looking webinar at the start of December covering a July 2022 study by Dr Jo Chaffer looks worthwhile. (ACODE also has a decent set of interviews with Oz HE leaders on their site if this grabs your interest)

Categories
CMM ed tech implementation innovation students Twitter

Ed tech must reads: column #58

First published in Campus Morning Mail 1st Nov 2022

How to make students read? From The Educationalist

One of the most universal complaints that educators have about their students, regardless of the discipline, is that they ‘never do the readings’. For some, this is where the issue begins and ends. This thoughtful piece from Alexandra Mihai delves into some of the possible reasons for learners not engaging with readings and offers some useful strategies for sparking their interest. She reminds that academic reading requires learnable skills and that educators can ease this path.

Strategic directions in the what and how of learning and teaching innovation—a fifty-year synopsis from Higher Education

Either learning and teaching innovation in the last fifty years has been so minimal as to fit into a fifteen-page article (with 4 pages of refs) or Griffith’s Rob Ellis has the skills to sum up five decades of increasing complexity succinctly. Happily, it appears to be the latter. The paper focuses exclusively on the discussion within this particular journal in this time, taking us from early calls for research into HE learning and teaching to be undertaken to the inevitable discussion of the pandemic response. It offers a rich overview of HE history.

Moving to Mastodon from Steve Fenton

Now that his Muskiness has officially taken over Twitter, many of my online colleagues are looking around warily for what this might mean for our favourite online space. Having been a twit for 11 years, it would be a hard ship to abandon, so, for now, I’m just watching with interest. I know more than a few people are exploring Mastodon, the peace, love and mung beans alternative option. This article offers some useful advice for those considering the change. I also found this handy tool for re-following your Twitter friends, as long as they put their new username in their Twitter bio.

Does the Educause Exhibitor’s Floor Plan Reflect Market Trends in HigherEd IT? From listedtech

Where there are large education conferences you will inevitably find people with things to sell. The US based Educause conference easily fits into this category. This clever piece of data analysis examines the amount of floor space taken up in the vendor hall by businesses in a range of categories to map broader trends in the sector. Among these we see conferencing tools, general consultancies, customer relationship management systems and general hardware sellers in the ascendent and LMS providers taking 1/7th the space they did a decade ago.

Slowroads from anslo

This is more something for a moment of zen than anything. Slowroads is a simple driving simulator – that looks a lot like a Tesla – taking you through picturesque procedurally generated landscapes in your web browser. You can drive yourself or just set auto-pilot and zone out for a little.

Categories
Accessibility AI AR/VR/XR CMM ed tech implementation research

Ed tech must reads: column #58

First published in Campus Morning Mail 25th Oct 2022

The combination of segmentation and self-explanation to enhance video-based learning from Active Learning in Higher Education

The received wisdom when it comes to the use of video in education has long been to chunk it into bite-sized chunks to give learners breathing space between concepts. Over time I have read assertions that these chunks should be a maximum of 20/15/7/3 minutes, depending perhaps on how distracted writers feel students can be. Zheng et al. don’t go into chunk size but do make the valuable point in this pre-test/post-test based study of 121 participants that segments definitely appear to lead to better learning outcomes than continuous viewing of a long video. More importantly, they observe that building in activities between segments – even simple summarisation tasks – is more helpful than not.

Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives of Accessible and Inclusive Online Learning from Distance Education (Pre-print)

Addressing the barriers experienced by disabled students in online learning is work that is commonly acknowledged by universities as vitally important but which sometimes lands in the too-hard basket. Gradually things have improved but there is still work to be done. This paper from Lomellini et al. discusses their interviews with nine HE online learning leaders about the current state of play and how to do things better. More agency for learning designers, better faculty development, quality standards and accessibility checkers are all identified as ways forward. Most interesting for me though was the small note that while the literature suggests pushing the learning gains in advocating for support from the executive level, they pragmatically suggest that legal obligations, recruitment, retention and satisfaction are more likely to get their attention.

Accessible IT Procurement from CAUDIT (and co.)

From an operational perspective, working smarter to ensure that institutional technologies are accessible is clearly an important step. Last week, this guide was launched, part of a collaborative project involving a number of high level sector bodies from IT, Disability and Education. It offers detailed guidelines and some useful sample clauses for tender documents for better IT procurement. Anyone with an interest in how Higher Ed IT really works would be well served by looking over this valuable guide. 

A journey through time and space – Mixed reality media in teaching (Webinar – Thursday 27/10 12 noon AEDT) from ASCILITE TELedvisors Network

One of the greatest benefits of technology for learning and teaching is the opportunity to do things that would simply not be possible in person. Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality, 3D models, video games and simulations and even simpler tools such as Light Boards extend our ability to share experiences and ideas. This webinar showcases two innovative examples of the use of these teaching tools in practice from Greg Dorrian (UNE) and Carmen Vallis (USyd)

Categories
Accessibility CMM ed tech implementation Learning design research theory

Ed tech must reads: column #57

First published in Campus Morning Mail 18th Oct 2022

Compared to what? Effects of social and temporal comparison standards of feedback in an e-learning context from International Journal of Education Technology in Higher Education

This rich article from Janson et al. seems to state the obvious at first glance, in that students perform better when the approach taken to assessment and feedback aligns with their personal preferences. It still offers some valuable insights into the nature of evaluation – whether learners are judged on their performance based on that of their peers or based on their past performance – and also whether feedback is largely descriptive or offers direction for improvement. The affordances of education technologies to support more personalised forms of evaluation are alluded to but the question of how this is done by educators is left to the practitioners.

Accessible Online Learning: A Preliminary Investigation of Educational Technologists’ and Faculty Members’ Knowledge and Skills from TechTrends

Understanding of the needs of students with disabilities in Higher Ed is slowly growing but this paper shows that there is still much room for improvement when it comes to designing accessible learning resources and environments. Lowenthal and Lomellini acknowledge the multi-faceted nature of these activities in a modern university, investigating perceptions of the knowledge of both educators and “education technologists” – their catchall term for Third Space education advisors such as learning designers, academic developers and ed techs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they note that the latter group tend to be better equipped for this work and they offer some practical suggestions for closing the gap.

Learning design, work integrated learning and microcredentials: Making it all fit from ASCILITE TELall Blog

This case study from Keith Heggart of the development of the UTS Grad Cert in Learning Design outlines some of the innovative and practical approaches to course design that you would kind of hope to get from something with a learning design focus. The use of microcredentials, a strong focus on practitioner voices and experience and an emphasis on building community in the space highlight good 21st century practice.

Instructor insights from MIT Open Courseware

The best MOOC I have ever taken is MIT’s 11.133x Implementation and Evaluation of Education Technology. (Yes, I am that sad and nerdy). The Instructor Insights pages for their open courses illustrate the strength of their approach to this space, here providing a rich explanation of the underpinning pedagogy, organisation and practice behind an introductory biology unit.

Microsoft Designer – Beautiful AI-infused designs in a flash from TikTok

It seems like it was only months ago that using AI based creation tools required a certain level of geekery and access to powerful backend tools. This rather hypey video about a new Microsoft Design tool in the M365 suite (currently in limited access) shows how quickly this technology has been normalised.

Categories
Accessibility CMM ed tech implementation hyflex online learning research theory

Ed tech must reads: column #56

First published in Campus Morning Mail 11th Oct 2022

How Conducting a Mixed-mode Class is Similar to Hosting a Late-night Talk Show from Faculty Focus

There is a theatrical element to good teaching in person – using the space, varying your vocal dynamics and timing, and building engagement through interactions with learners. Many educators can find the performative aspect more challenging when the teaching mode changes – as is the case with hybrid/hyflex teaching with a mixture of live in-person and online learners. This useful piece from Randy Riddle of the Duke Learning Innovation team suggests treating the experience more like a late-night talk show and offers some valuable suggestions for unlocking your own Stephen Colbert.

A Synthesis of Research on   Mental Health and Remote Learning: How Pandemic Grief Haunts Claims of Causality from OTESSA Journal

As with many aspects of the pandemic, wild claims abound about the changes it has led to in learning and teaching. The impact of online learning on student mental health in this time has been flagged by some people in pushing back against the growing use of education technologies and shifts in learning and teaching practice. Stephanie Moore and colleagues explore the literature around this relationship, finding that there was little conducted before 2020 and that as much as 75% of research in this space overstates causal relationships.

2022 Students and Technology Report: Rebalancing the student experience from Educause

Educause’s survey of 820 US Higher Ed students reflects some of the findings of the larger JISC survey in terms a growing acceptance of online learning and students generally having access to the technology that they need. This research has more of a focus on the technology side of things and does not speak to satisfaction with how technology enabled learning and teaching is designed or conducted. It does note a relationship between challenges with ed tech and mental health.

Agile and the Long Crisis of Software from Logic

Software development workflow models may not at first glance seem entirely relevant to Higher Educators but you can be assured that they shape the work of your institutional IT departments when it comes to implementation and changes to uni ed tech systems. Many of the component parts of Agile methodology, including sprints, stand ups and Kanban boards are also increasingly finding their way into wider project management. This informative piece explores where Agile has come from, how it is useful and some of its challenges.

Is using someone else’s #AltText plagiarism? From Karen Costa

Alt text is descriptive information that should always be added when images are used online. This is a vital part of supporting blind and vision-impaired people using screen readers – software that speaks the content on a page. This interesting Twitter thread explores where Alt text sits in terms of intellectual property, landing on it as being a public good and ‘authorless’.

Categories
academic integrity academic publishing CMM ed tech implementation engagement online learning theory

Ed tech must reads: column #55

First published in Campus Morning Mail 4th Oct 2022

Should online learning have its own learning theories? from Tim Fawns

A slightly philosophical start to the CMM week with this question from Edinburgh Uni digital education expert Tim Fawns shared on Twitter last Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, it sparked wide ranging discussion about whether the modality or pedagogy matters more and how theory is currently used to support and enhance learning and teaching. Whatever you think, your position is likely to have been represented in this discussion.

Creating emotional engagement in online learning from Educause

The emotional side of learners’ time in education aren’t always at the front of mind of educators but research indicates strong ties between emotional experiences and the formation of memories. Melissa Fanshawe and colleagues built on Redmond et al’s work in online student engagement in this valuable project by exploring the emotional aspects of connectedness to their course. They offer some valuable practical advice for communicating more effectively with students.

Challenging Cheating symposium keynote – Weds 12th Oct 10am AEDT from CRADLE

Award winning scholar on academic integrity Dr Sarah Eaton kicks off CRADLE’s 2022 international research symposium with a keynote next week about academic integrity as a transdisciplinary field of research, policy and practice in Higher Education. As a hot topic in the sector, ranging across contract cheating, AI, research integrity, publication ethics and assessment, there is much to discuss and this looks likely to be a popular event.

Infusing educational technologies in the heart of the university from BJET

Given the all-pervasive nature of education technologies in Higher Education, it would seem that understanding, describing and improving the ways in which they are implemented institutionally should be a key focus of ed tech publications. Yet much of it relates more to localised interventions or high-level philosophy divorced from operational reality. This valuable systematic literature review from Bronwen Deacon and colleagues explores key organisational factors that shape successful and persistent education technology implementations, including leadership & strategy, infrastructure & resources and recognition & motivation.

Wordcloud of names of the authors of the published articles in top-5 journals between 2005 and 2020 from Twitter

While it is unclear which ‘top-5’ journals are used in this Wordcloud of author first names, the image makes a powerful point about academic publishing that many commenters nonetheless go out of their way to miss or obfuscate. This is a fantastic exemplar of a simple data tool from David Ubilava. 

Categories
CMM conference JISC privacy security Uncategorized

Ed tech must reads: column #54

First published in Campus Morning Mail on Tuesday 27th September

Loose Ends: A Mixed-Initiative Creative Interface for Playful Storytelling from MaxKreminski

It is probably fair to say that many of the ‘AI in education’ stories that I have shared have sat in the raised eyebrows column of the ledger but, as with most tools that aren’t going away, there are equally promising new applications of the technology. This Twitter thread about Loose Ends, an AI based storytelling aid is one of those. It summarises an upcoming conference paper about a tool that writers can use to manage and inspire complex multi-threaded writing pieces.

Submissions to THETA 2023 close soon from THETA

The biennial THETA conference is one of the crown jewels in the Australasian education innovation calendar. Jointly held by CAUDIT, CAUL and ACODE, next year’s event in Brisbane will be the first since 2019. Conference sub-themes include Teaching to the attention economy, Cyber complacency, Online and Multi-modal learning for equity students and Testing times. Submissions are currently slated to close on October 1

We need to deal with data privacy in our classrooms from University Affairs

Bonnie Stewart (University of Windsor, Canada) writes a strong piece about the potential data privacy risks embodied in teaching in the digital age. She draws on a survey she posted in 2020 which had responses from 300 university educators in 26 countries and highlighted notable gaps in knowledge about how and where data from education technologies go. As someone at the coalface in this space, I do feel confident that this is something taken more seriously (sometimes painfully so) by institutions than the article might suggest but it is always important to keep these issues in mind.

Optus Under $1 Million Extortion Threat in Data Breach from Bank Info Security

This isn’t my normal content but given the scope and seriousness of the recent Optus data breach and its potential impact on educators and students, it is worth sharing. In a nutshell, private data including driver’s licence and passport numbers of Optus customers going back to 2017 have been exposed. This article provides the best explanation to date of how this seems to have happened and what happens next. In short, be particularly vigilant.

Survey shows majority of university students want blended learning from JISC

The UK’s JISC digital experience insights survey of Higher Ed students is always worth exploring for the size of its sample – 33,726 respondents this time.  Some takeaways of note, nearly three quarters of students rated the quality of their online learning environment as above average, 45% of students want a mix of on-site and online learning and only 13% of students had participated in an online forum in the two weeks before responding.