ICT and Education Projects

Below are just a few of the recent ICT research projects and initiatives underway at the faculty. More information on research projects in technology-supported learning, including an online poster session, is available on the CoCo Research Centre website (the faculty's centre for research in computer-supported learning and cognition).

Funding: The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Principal Investigator: Prof P Goodyear

Prof Peter Goodyear received a prestigious Senior Carrick Fellowship, one of only two awarded in 2007.

Slowly but steadily, conceptions of successful higher education are shifting. The focus of attention is moving from what the teacher says to what students do – especially to how they work with new knowledge. The quality of students’ activity is key. The design of good learning tasks, and the design and management of supportive learning environments, are moving centre stage in higher education. The aim of this project is to help universities become better at design. It will work at three levels: providing resources to help teachers become more proficient at educational design; working with PVCs (Learning & Teaching) and other senior staff to identify strategies that will enable higher education institutions to become more design-savvy places; stimulating and contributing to public debate about the changing nature of teaching work in higher education, and especially about how such teaching can be done in a more principled, professional, enjoyable and effective way. Focus will be on the planning activities of teachers and teaching teams: especially activities concerned with the design of good learning tasks and the selection of appropriate learning tools.

Funding: Australian Research Council

Principal Investigators: Prof P Reimann, Prof P Goodyear, A/Prof J Kay, Dr K Yacef

The main objective is to develop methods for supporting online learning communities because of the potential learning communities have for preparing for highly self-organised and life-long forms of learning and working, for creating new knowledge, and for creating social capital. Smart group support tools, including methods for user modelling and data mining, will be used in order to optimise knowledge building and exchange. Empirical studies and experiments will be conducted in order to identify successful cooperation patterns, including the selection of external representations and communication media.

Funding: Australian Research Council

Principal Investigators: Prof P Reimann, Prof Brian Paltridge , Dr Rafael Calvo

The project has the potential to further strengthen Australia's Higher Education industry by providing scalable solutions for teaching academic writing, a core competence for students in the tertiary sector. It is also a contribution to the E-learning industry in general. Innovating with these respective technologies will have a significant impact on the quality of online training. Australian organizations will be able to reap the benefits of a well-tested platform, with the exclusive added capabilities that this project will develop. One of the software systems to be used in this project is an open source Learning Management System that is available to every Australian institution without any licensing cost.

Funding: Australian Research Council

Principal Investigators: Prof Peter Goodyear, A/Prof MT Prosser; Dr RA Ellis

In practical terms, the project will provide evidence-based guidelines for the integration of 'blended' learning approaches, especially with respect to the ways ICT can support small group discussion activity. Scientifically, the project will add to our understanding of how students and teachers approach learning and teaching through discussion (co-present and online).

Funding: Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics

Principal Investigators: Prof P Reimann, Dr K Stewart

"Using Mobile IT to Support Sustained Student Inquiry in Learning Environments Beyond the Classroom" aims to provide students with meaningful interactions with real information technology (IT) specialists and real scientists. The project will focus on mobile technology (e.g. handheld computers, tablet computers etc) that can move the location of student learning to environments beyond the classroom. The project will involve three steps: teachers identifying the relevance of mobile technology to their learning situation; setting up an outdoor e-learning environment; and developing a model for student inquiry. ‘Scientists in residence from tertiary institutions will partner schools to support student inquiry. Conferences, professional teacher/educator organisations and a website will promote the work of the project. It will also be incorporated as a case study in science education and information and communication technology (ICT) courses in teacher education at the University of Sydney.

Funding: Australian Research Council

Partner Organisations::NT Department of Employment, Education and Training, NSW Department of Education and Training, SingTel Optus Pty Ltd

Principal investigators: A/Prof Stephen Crump, Prof Peter Goodyear, A/Prof Juhani Tuovinen, A/Prof Brian Devlin

The project will investigate people's use, and experience, of a new satellite-based communications system, being deployed for isolated communities in NSW and the NT. This system (IDeL) supports distance learning, using two-way video communications and interactive computer technologies. Our project will work at three levels: (1) gathering evidence about the experiences and new working practices of learners, teachers and others using IDeL; (2) seeing how different ways of capturing and sharing these local practices and experiences support the spread of ideas across the system; (3) understanding the dynamics of implementation and take-up of complex, highly-distributed systems of this kind.

Funding: Australian Research Council

Partner Organisation:: NSW Department of Education and Training

Prof P Goodyear A/Prof M Prosser, Dr RA Ellis, Dr S Blackwell, Dr M McNeill

Effective use of technology in education depends upon the teacher's understanding of good ways to support learning. New uses of technology to improve learning are emerging constantly: the challenge is to share good practice. This project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and using the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called a design pattern. Design patterns combine research-based evidence and the knowledge of experienced practitioners in a format which is relatively easy to communicate, learn and apply. They are not yet used in teaching with technology. We will generate and test design patterns for learning through discussion in technology-based and other classroom settings.