Copyright (c) 2013 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers Recent documents in Wendy Meyers en-us Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:06:06 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/3 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/3 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:17:51 PST A major challenge facing academic developers is meeting the development needs of both time poor academics and those staff in multi-location campuses, especially sessional tutors, who may start teaching several weeks before electronic access is enabled. Necessary restrictions placed on access to local intranet and Learning Management Systems meant rethinking how to meet the needs of all staff and in the process model good practice through the use of blended learning environments. One regional university, with seven national and one international campus, is currently redesigning their staff development program to incorporate the use of blogs and wikis to provide access for all staff to a collaborative space to support improved teaching. This paper provides a rationale for the new direction and outlines the design phase to incorporate the use of collaborative technologies within the staff development program. It outlines the challenges faced in designing the environment and provides an overview of the design for the pilot phase.

]]> Geraldine E. Lefoe et al. http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/2 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/2 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:17:50 PST Recent research has acknowledged equity problems in higher education associated with the use of online learning technologies. In the past, some factors inherent within traditional learning environments were shown to inhibit the experience of women. However, the incorporation of ICT (information and communication technologies) into the learning environment was initially thought to offer an equitable alternative for women. This research explores these issues, investigating the experience of women in an online learning environment. The study focused on a group of mature-age women in a rural Australian community. Through the use of qualitative techniques, including semi-structured interviews, face-to-face and online focus groups, the researcher asked women to reflect on and reveal their experience in online learning. The study identified a range of issues that impacted on the educational experience of this group including student readiness, access, support, isolation, increased flexibility, gender, and negative online behaviours. The findings contribute to the knowledge base about ICT in higher education from the perspective of gender and equity issues in asynchronous communication. The study makes a unique contribution through its focus on the learning experience of students in higher education, with its emphasis on the perspectives of women who are mature-age students based in rural Australia.

]]> Wendy Meyers http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/1 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_meyers/1 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:17:48 PST This paper outlines the development of a project which aims to improve the teaching and learning outcomes within the Computer Sciences. A major strategy being examined is the effectiveness of digital gamesbased learning. Utilising the Neverwinter Nights game engine the team have created a prototype to be trialled in the first half of 2008. The project forms part of a broader faculty based solution to address teaching and learning problems of first year students, known as QUALITY101.

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