OPSITAra - Day One

 At the local research forum ) OPSITAra, held this year at Invercargill and hosted by Southern Institute of Technology (SIT). The forum is an opportunity for researchers from Otago Polytechnic, Ara Institute of Canterbury and SIT to share research findings and to network across the three institutes. As we are all now Te Pūkenga, we also have participation from researchers across Aotearoa with researchers travelling from the North Island and the North of the South Island to also present.

The conference opens with Mihi Whakatau (welcome) hosted by Reniera Dallas, Daryl Haggerty, and Drs. Sally Bodkin Allen and James Savage. Dr. Megan Potiki, Executive Director Te Pūkenga Rohe 4 (which includes OP, SIT and Ara) provided an overview of her story and the mission required going forward to work with iwi. 

There is then a series of research Community of Practice (CoPs). Each meeting to discuss the possibilities for collegial and cooperative work and to network across the three institutions in the rohe.

After lunch, I attend the session with presentations on Teaching and Learning. There are two other streams (one pre-recorded) with presentations of research on construction/infrastructure and health well-being.

First up in the teaching and learning sessions, Dr. William Jenkins from UCOL talks about 'the impact of 2 COVID-19 lockdowns on NZ tertiary education students studying at a regional polytechnic. Reviewed the pandemic and the NZ response. Shared some NZ-based studies on the topic. Mixed responses from studies conducted at NZ universities and 2 ITP-context studies. In general, lock-down was stressful but all studies small and difficult to generalise. His study looked at the effects of the 2nd lockdown compared to the first. What was the difference between those who were more stressed and those less so. Survey at the end of 2021 with 68 analysed. In general students handled the second lockdown better. Divided data into 3 groups, 1/3 negative experiences, 1/3 neutral and 1/3 positive. In general, does with family had a more positive experience. 

He is followed on by Rachel van Gorp from Otago Polytechnic presenting on 'lecturing for neurodiversity: a guide to inclusive teaching'. Presented on the findings from her Master in Professional Practice where she interviewed 13 students and used these data to form practice recommendations. Neurodivergent brain functions differently. Challenges include difficulties understanding a following instructions, staying focused maintaining social interactions and high sensory overload. Important to build relationship with learners and make visible teachers' awareness and understanding of neurodiversity. Teaching methods need to be flexible and adaptable - use simple language and avoid jargon, check colours on visual resources, remember it is the first time learner is coming across the topic (even if you have taught it many times). Be aware of the need for breaks. Use support and resources. Ensure environment is inclusive. Connection between teacher and learner is critical. Teacher need to have access to resources and know how to use them. Be neurodiverse centred. Keep current with evidence-based practice on the topic. Draw on institutional support. For teachers, give learners extra time, provide visual aids, break complex tasks down, over one on one tutor support. 

Helen Mataiti and Amy Benian with Rach MacNamara from Otago Polytechnic are next on 'learning for all: designing learning in our work-based context'. Introduced the principles of Universal Design of Learning (UDL). Began with the socio-cultural history of the UDL framework and how it can be translated into our Aotearoa NZ tertiary and vocational education context. UDL backed up by neuroscience research to ensure there is good design of representation (recognition networks, - visual, aural etc. what we learn), action and expression (strategic networks - how we learn) and engagement (affective networks - why we learn). Used a qualitative, storying and empowerment method to find out how UDL help to reduce barriers to learning and that it is not a reinvention of 'learning styles'. Provided examples as to how to apply the UDL principles. 

The last session in this collection is with Rachel Byars with Greta Bauer, also from OP who presents on 'creating a sense of community and wellbeing through events'. Outlined the project carried out by Greta with the OP Student Association. OPSA events were impacted by Covid. The aim was to find out how students felt about student events and their impact on wellbeing. Summarised importance of these events, wellbeing and how each intersects with the other (lit. review). Survey of all students and then interviews with 6 event organisers and students as target groups. In general, survey revealed the importance of events to socialise with friends, entertainment, take a break, improve wellbeing, gain knowledge and for individual and community rewards. Overall, events are important to students, helping to build a sense of belonging, community and wellbeing. Important to create an events representative on the OPSA executive committee,  increased coordination within OP schools and survey each year to gauge student perpectives on events.

I attend the Research CoP on the Scholarship of teaching and learning, convened by Sonja Swale (SIT) and Claire Goode (OP). 

Short 'lightning talks' then occur across teaching and learning, construction, and health and well-being themes. 7 presentations, each 7 minutes long! Topics covered include 'reimaging Bourdieu'; assessment practice, psychological safety, personal experiences on teaching practice; how to communicate the unknown. and big ideas with students. Presenters from SIT, OP, Nelson-Marlborough Polytechnic - Selena Coburn, Fiona McLaren, Mark Wilson, Andrea Jones, Wendy Olsen, Maria Grace and Tim Lynch. 

The evening ends with a networking event, allowing everyone to few posters and creative exhibits. There are also several presentations from researchers in the creative industries.

Coping with COVID-19 - the Mobile way - book overview

 This is a timely addition to a plethora of studies/articles/books on how various educational sectors, coped with COVID-19 in the last 2 years. The book reports on case studies from China, which is still keeping the virus at bay with a 'zero COVID' approach. 

The book is edited by Dr. Xiaoge Xu and published in 2022 by Springer. 

After an introduction by the editor, there are five sections. The chapter introduces the frameworks underpinning the the book's approaches and provides short overviews of each chapter.

The first section - coping with COVID-19: the WeChat way has three chapters.

- 'You wait for me for a moment': mobile usage of the elderly female adults in China to cope with COVID-19 by Zhen Troy Chen and Xin Pei. Studies an under-researched demographic for mobile phone use and especially relevant in the current situation, whereby social connection is challenged but of utmost importance in helping individuals maintain mental well-being. 

- COVID-10 fake news and older adults: predicating news credibility evaluation, by Xiaoxiao Zhang. Follows on from the previous chapter and studies how older adults, evaluate the multiple sources of information they receive through mobile access to information. Found digital skills, literacy and social media use were the major influences on how individuals perceived the validity and credibility of online content.

- Coping with COVID-19: The WeChat way by Stephen Adriano-Moore and Yimeng Cai. An interesting study of how medical staff coped, whilst assigned to mobile / temporary treatment centres, used WeChat to develop and maintain social cohesion through challenging work.

The second section focuses on 'reporting on COVID-19, the mobile way.

- Predicting news engagement in Douyin: The case of COVID-10 coverag, by Qumo Ren. Douyin is China's version of TikTok - a mobile platform for sharing short videos. Found that high-visual-modality and solution-embedded news, increased social engagement (number of likes and comments).

- Reporting COVID-19 via crowdsourcing: The US vs China with Shixin Ivy Zhang, Jing Meng and Ranna Huang. Highlights the importance of mobile devices in crowdsourcing of 'just-in-time' news. Chinese 'real-name' authentication discouraged and reduced the chance of users producing 'fake news'.

Then a section on Coping with COVID-19: Information disorder and personal privacy.

- Typology and governance of information disorder related to COVID-19 in China by Yusi Liu and Lu Zhu. Defines, discusses and evaluates the various ways information can be viewed through various lenses.

- Public health vs Personal privacy during COVID-10 in China with Zhijing Zhang. Details the many initiatives, used by the Chinese government, to prevent and control the virus. Discusses the ethical concerns around citizen privacy and issues around data protection and security.

Followed by a section on Coping with COVID-19: The survival efforts.

- Digital transformation or new digital divde 2.0? Yiwu lady bosses embracing MSC technology to survive the pandemic by Chenxiang Elaine Ji. A case study on mobile social commerce and its influence on micro-entrepreneurs/micro-enterprises.

- Mobile marketing and innovation: Saviours for toursism during the pandemic bu Yi Wang, Yangyang Jiang and Cenhua lyu. A comparative study, pre and post -COVID 19 on mobile marketing strategies and processes.

- From epicentre to hero city: How Wuhan survived the pandemic written by Zizhen Wand and Stephen Andriano-Moore. Reports on how the city of Wuhan, turned the negative image around through the publicising of specific people whose bravery assured the safety of others.

The last section is of relevance covering 'beyond COVID-19: collaborative mobile learning and mobile workplaces.

- Collaborative learning during the pandemic: The role of mobile devices by Nancy Xiuzhi Liu and Zhen Troy Chen. Evaluated how learners acquired the skills of translation through collaborative learning.

- Mobile workplaces for the construction industry in the post-COVID-19 era with Georgios Kapogiannis, Tianlung Yang, Ahmed Mohammed Alkhard and Azzam Rasian. Reports through two case studies, the work to create mobile working environments when the workforce is not able to physically congregate. The use of mobile devices and the creation of a mobile work environment are key. 

Overall, the chapters report on many studies, undertaken to better understand the challenges and initiatives undertaken over the last few years, as society, education and work, grapple with swift change and the need to continually cope with moving from f2f interactions, towards undertaking most communication via digital means. The studies provide a window into how one country, still enmeshed in keeping the virus at bay, has deployed mobile technologies and the implications wrought on individuals and society at large.

AVETRA 'October VET' Federation University session

 The VET researchers at Federation University, offer a series of short presentations around the theme of 'The 'beyond COVID' OctoberVET'. The session is MCed by Annette Foley. This is the 14th session of OctoberVet from the university. 

The programme begins with an introduction and welcome from Professor Andy Smith, deputy vice-chancellor academic. Provided context, especially the current challenges posed by Covid especially the shift to online learning. VET will have to pay a significant role in the recovery as well and it is important to work towards the future. 

The programme's keynote is with Gary Workman, executive direction of Apprentice Employment Network. He presents on the topic 'Apprenticeships: what would it take?' Provided a summary of the state of apprenticeship in Victoria over the last two years and employer perspectives. AEN supports 6000 apprentices and works with 10,000 employers through a group apprenticeship training arrangement. Last 18 months has seen young people affected due to the long duration of Victoria's 'lockdown'. All apprenticeship have been affected but greatest across hairdressing, hospitality, childcare, automotive with Melbourne more deeply affected than regional areas. Vaccinations have also provided another stream of challenges. Now working on ensuring all apprentices are back to speed and able to continue / or move to another employer to continue their training. At the moment, apprentice numbers have increased due to the 50% wage subsidy offered to employers. Shared the project carried out to understand empployer needs. In general, employers considering more flexible arrangements rather than be locked in to a long period of time with most apprenticeship. Agility needed by employers as they cope with continual change (including to government subsidies) and challenge. Key findings revolved around financial levers, support models for employers, coolaborative pre-employment training models, use of the work/learning combination to suit industry needs and the implications of procurement and contracting from government funded projects. 

Researchers' presentations include:

'The curious case of jobs and training in retail and hospitality' with Professor Erica Smith, Associate Professor Darryn Snell (from RMIT) and Richard Robinson (University of Queensland) in conjuction with Skills IQ and funded by the National Careers Institute. Employ 20% of Australians, has low prestige but during Covid, increased understanding of their role. Reports on the preliminary phase on 'careers available' and evaluate how it is portrayed as post-school pathways and VET. Used census, Longitudinal surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) and NCVER VET data. LSAY data reveals only 3 - 5% of youth working in retail/hospitality expected to be working in these jobs at 30!. However, large numbers of young people work in these industries (50% of 19 year old workers). Hospitality has 200,000 plus enrolments but retail only 50,000 plus enrolled into VET qualifications. Therefore, large numbers of people in retail/hospitality were being trained. 5% in retail and 31% in hospitality. 

Then, Anthony Pearce with 'teacher-student relationships in alternative secondary education'. In Australia, the alternative secondary school sector is situated in VET. Students complete the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learing (VCAL). Shared story as a new teacher and a difficult student to provide rationale for his presentative. Interviews of VCAL students to tease out their perspectives on the importance of, value  and educaiton environment on the teacher-student relationship. Small study with 9 students who wrote one positive and one negative experience and followed up with informal interview. Key themes revealed students to be reflective, they attributed their opinions to particular environments, mainstream education seen to be negative, ways teachers responded often impacted on student outcomes; negative experiences revolved around perceived unfair treatment. Therefore, students can be at greatest risk when they are engaging with teachers, alternative education identified as the place students have more fulfilling relationships with teachers. 

A summary of "VET student employment outcomes during Covid-19' is presented by Peter Fieger. Analysed data from the NCVER student outcome survey - basically a graduate destination survey including indications of satisfaction with training/education. Impact of Covid was added to the last survey administered in mid- 2020 and completed by amost 1/2 million 'students'. Explained quantitative research process. As result of Covid, students who did not complete, tended to have decrease in hours whereas completers less affected. Larger decreases for people in creative arts and food/hospitality and younger people (no surprises). Similar patterns for people who lost their work but also high in 65+. Comparision of 2019 and 2020 data on training package labour market outcomes tell a similar story - younger workers more affected with regards to job outcomes.

Honorary Professor Barry Golding and Associate Professor Annette Foley present their work on 'and now women's sheds': broadening the scope of thecommunity-based shed field internationally'. Introduced the field, with the concept of 'men's sheds' opening to include women, children, First Nations people, war veterans, people with dementia etc. and traditional sheds moving beyond older, white, rutal, conservative anglophone men. Small numbers of women's sheds starting up but only small numbers when compared to men's sheds (e.g. NZ 121 mens to 3 womens). The original book. now extended and includes more case studies for woment's sheds. Shared 2 case studies, one at Yeoval and another the Central Coast Community Shed (Ulverstone, Tasmania). Concluded with the intangible benefits for participants and the contibution of women's sheds. 

An interesting range of topics :) 

IVEITA (International Vocational Education and Industry Training Association) symposium 2021

Listened to a couple of the presentations in the IVEITA symposium organised by Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute (PRC) and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi (Aotearoa New Zealand) this evening.

The event is MCed by Dr. John Clayton from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. The symposium opens with welcome from Professor Liu Yongliang, President of Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute with Professor Chen Zhimin, Chair of the Belt and Road International Educational Exchange and Vice President of Fudan University and Karl Wixon who is Kaitohu Matua Māori for Education  NZ.

The first keynote is with Mr. Craig Robertson, CEO of Skills for Victoria, Australia and former chair of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics. He speaks on 'the challenges ahead for TVET and ways for collaboration'. Began with an overview of his role in the Victoria Skills Authority which was set up in July this year. Summarised VSA objectives. Although Covid-19 has been disruptive, Industry 4.0 will be even more challenging, AI, robotics, IoTs, blockchain, big data synthesise between each other, accelerating change. Argued that automation is not necessarily bad. However, some industries will be impacted by displacement. There will be an increase in jobs created leading to net increase, but different types of work. Skills transition is critical with greater need for critical thinking and adaptive learning, higher soial evaluation, judgment and decision making, and requirement for computer literacy and digital/ICT skills. Skill needs will be specific to jobs and country contexts. TVET needs to emphasise social and emotional, cognitive/metacognitive skills, basic digital skills and skills for 'green jobs'. Contended that deeper and broader knowledge underpins the ability to be adaptable. Knowledge informed practice is the new human capability for the 21st century. Collaboration across sectors/industries a key the future.

The Dr. Benjamin Tak-Yuen Chan, Dean of the Li Ka Shing School of Profession and Continuing Education at Hong Kong Metropolitan University presents on 'the total learning experience: a unifying educational philosophy for VET colleges'. Started with overview of the University and its operational context, and range of programmes offered across health, education and hospitality. 'Totoal learning experience (TLE)' differentiates the university's programmes from other providers. It helps to compensate for the limited campus space and campus life, adding value to their fees and their learning. Overviewed the systems and frameworks underpinning TLE. Includes the programme and co-/extra curriculum and student services and support. Provided examples of student societies, lecture series with guest lecturers on contemporary issues, emotional and well-being workshops, replacement of overseas study with virtual travelling (monthly trips), virtual cultural tours, student hosted fairs, externally funded projects available to students, virtual exchanges, language and cultural workshops, activities with student counsellors, native English speakers etc. Helps students to achieve '3 I-initative' - internatinalisation in place, intercultural awareness and inclusiveness. Shared the positive impacts and measurable outcomes. 

APODE presentation - reimagining flexible learning to build resilience post covid-19

 Presentation by Dr. Som Naidu on Reimagining Flexible Learning to Build Resilience in Education Systems Post COVID-19.

Sarah Stein from the Open Polytechnic oc NZ (TOPNZ) welcomes participants and moderates the session.

Dr. Naidu begins with a welcome and respect to the original people (welcome to country). 

Summarised the key takeaways from Covid-10 - impacts indiscriminate, best resourced institutions affected just as much as lesser resourced, least affected have more open, flexible and distance, and has shown how unprepared and ill-equipped education sector has been for the disruption!

Encouraged all to learn from their experiences so that we can move forward, with better ways to engage learners through reengineering activities and models to ensure they are more resilient.

Comtemporary Australian Universities are unprepared. Still 'bricks n mortar' institutions which are faculty centred rather than flexible, agile and learning centric. Vector consulting report and Cisco/Optus report concur that digitalisation of learning (Australian universities and TAFEs) is slow and patchy despite the need to change. Educational leaders agree that the future of educaiton requires re-think but perhaps the teaching workforce not supported to build the relevant capabilities :(

Recommended the need to set up value principles to inform the design of flexible learning - equity, diversity, equality need to have precedence, all learning can be flexible, there is no one size fits all, therefore need for different approaches. Flexibility build in through learning experience design, learner-content engagement, learner-teacher engagement, learner-learner engagement, learner engagement with learning environment, learning engagement with assessment activities, feedback and with the larger iinstitution.

Strategy needs to move from responding (robust platform) to reflecting, reimagining.and rebound (evaluative processes). Suggested looking qt 'space agnostic design' and unbundling the 'credit' programme.

Think through the key considerations - what will the institution look like and how will it be different from now? What are the key functions, role and responsibilities and appointment of academic staff. What professional development required? What kinds of policy frameworks support the new approach?? See resource from UNESCO 2020 and article by Peters et al (2020). 

Therefore, how prepared are we?? 

Provided and discussed example - Open University of Australia collates courses from other universities. Shifting to this model may work for some. For most institutes, technology-enhanced learning sits on the periphery, most willing to experiement with flexible/open etc. but NOT at the detriment of their normal programmes!

Interesting Q & A with some discussion on Te Pūkenga, its aspirations and suggestion for us to be proactive and to represent the realities/pedagogical challenges etc.

Good presentation with clear line of narrative and challenge to the sector, to up our game, and to use the learning from the challenges to make things better.

Asia-Pacific Online and Distance Learning (APODE) presentation - distance education in the new normal

Through my membership with the Flexible Learning Association of NZ (FLANZ), I am able to access the presentations for this week's Asia-Pacific Online and Distance Learning (APODE) 2021. Presentations run all week but I am only able to attend a couple. Hopefully, recorded sessions will be available on the FLANZ website.

Here are notes are from a panel discussion with Dr. Aras Buzkurt and Dr. Ramesh Sharma on 'distance education for a new normal: Implications for a post COVID world. 

Dr. Sharma began with welcome and thanks to the other associations aligned with APODE and for their support. Introduced the role and objectives of APODE. 

Reiterated how the pandemic has spotlighted distance education and the importance of leveraging off this. Introduced Dr. Buzhurt and himself. 

Dr. Sharma began with overview of the pandemic and how it has affected education across the world. Made the connection to the possibilities availed - see The Fourth Education Revolution (Sir Anthony Sheldon) - with the 4th revolution based around AI. 

Sumised there were 3 waves of pandemic pedagogy - f2f to screen - screen - mask to mask education. Provided an example from India whereby the school used loudspeakers to broadcast learning to students living in several apartment blocks as the students did not have internet. Suggested 'it is better to fail originally than not to innovate at all'. Normal is very much based on context. The pandemic provides the impetus to question existing pedagogies. Building to last is now not viable, it should be build to adapt. Need to humanise pandemic pedagogy, especially in countries which have digital equity challenges. Transactional distance can be bridged using a range of methodologies. Affective proximity always important in teaching/learning. An intellectual renaissance required to work through and seek solutions which will work across many contexts.

Reminded the audience to look at Asian Journal of Distance Education.  

Dr. Bozhurt then presented a series of reflections - sometimes it takes a natural diaster to reveal a social disaster (Jim Wallis). Shared the shift of paradigms BC (before covid) and AC (after covid) leading to a new and next normal- with normal being a relational / subject to interpretation term. Responses from education (teaching and learning) are also not predictable or set. Emergency remote education (ERE) summarised as 'not normal' due to the need to respond rapidly. Trying to use substitution approach has not been successful in may cases. However, we could have created a global /online village for all learners! New learning ecosystems - transformations, digital ecosystems and digital 'twins' are now available. For both teachers and students, digital burnout and fatigue have made the experience more difficult. Issues of surveillance, ethics and data privacy have been highlighted. The digital divide began visible and obvious, leading to social divide and inequities in access to education. Called for more opennes and open education. 

Called for the need to support parents as teachers and the building of relationships between families, teachers and school. Including support for the mental anxieties triggered across the pandemic. Pedagogy of care and trauma-informed teaching and learning anchors human-centred pandemic pedagogogy. Support communities need to be financial, emotional and pedagogical. 

Contented that Higher Education especially has had their approaches revealed (not all for the good). Proposed a shift towards a hybrid/blended modality in education with openess, flexibility and different entry points to address inequalities. Now is the time to renew, recalibrate and reposition. People first, content second, technology third (Dennen, 2020). Teaching and learning are primarily about human beings, for human beings and by human beings. Finished with 'what will learners remember from this time' - students will remember not the content, but who cared about their learning'. In the educational kingdom, context is king, content is queen, quality is the crown and care and empathy are the kingdom itself. 

Good summary. 

 

Moving down to Level 3 - the challenge with practice-based learning

 On Wednesday, most of Aotearoa moves down from the strict Level 4 lockdown, to Level 3. Auckland and Northland remain at Level 4 as almost all the cases (400 +) have been situated there. They will remain at Level 4 for at least 2 weeks, signalling that the rest of the country will remain at Level 3 for at least 2 weeks as well.

Level 3 has been described as Level 4 with takeaways but the business community, frustrated at the restrictions and implications for their businesses. Many businesses are able to open but without dine-in or any close contact activities (i.e. hairdressing, gyms etc.). In education, the majority will be through distance learning with some leeway for students requiring learning situated in labs. Ara interprets this to also mean workshops, training kitchens, studios etc. The challenge is the number of students allowed into the practice area. Last year, the maximum was 20 but with 2 metre spacing, the actual number was more like 10. This makes it a challenge as most practice-based programmes have class cohort sizes of around 18 to 20. Splitting the class into half has challenges of doubling the teacher ratio.

Our learning design recommendations the use of a flipped classroom concept. One 1/2 of the class prepares for their practice session and the other 1/2 has a practical session. Then, the groups change over, with one 1/2 doing the preparation/reflection and 1/2 back into the practical workshop. The 1/2 of the class doing the preparation/reflection undertakes this through online 'attendance' with a check-in zoom session. These online sessions could consist of several combined cohorts in the same year and be managed by one tutor (or academic manager) whilst the other 1/2 of the class learns in practical workshops. 

We will need to evaluate this approach when Level 3 ends, to see how effective it has been from the learners and tutors perspectives. 

Back to level 4 and distance learning this week

 With the discovery of one case of the Delta strain of Covid, Aotearoa went back into Level 4 at midnight last Tuesday. To date, there have been 71 cases, all are in Auckland with 6 cases in Wellington. The government will broadcast their decision as to what happens from this week as level 4 was only put in place for a week across NZ. The general consensus is that level 4 will continue for at least another week before a reassessment of risks (based on cases being identified). If there are no cases in the South Island and no evidence of the virus from waste water testing, then the South Island may move to Level 3. So fingers crossed that we do not have to remain at Level 4 for too long.

The move to Level 4 was swift, within 6 hours of the first case showing up. Derek Wenmouth recorded how the entire education sector was caught by surprise although at Ara, our CE was continually reminding our teaching departments to be ready.

At the beginning of this year, departments were tasked with reporting on readiness and learners were prepared with inductions to zoom and Moodle (our LMS). However, these were not repeated in semester two when a small cohort of new students begin their studies. In hindsight, we should have repeated the exercise from the beginning of the year, thereby assisting our teachers with one item to not have to worry about. That is, inducting students new to distance learning to the digital tools. We also had a cohort of new teachers starting at the beginning of the semester. Most of these teachers will have only been teaching for about a month, before having to shift to distance learning.

The thing to learn from all of this is that prepareness is an ever moving target. There is never an end point as there will be new students/teachers having to be introduced to distance learning tools and approaches. 

Thankfully, most of our resources have been updated since last year and my colleagues and I could draw on these to support our teachers. The second 1/2 of last week was busy with workshops to update and orientate our teachers to the shift back to distance learning. This week, mostly drop-in type sessions to triage those who need support. 

Hopefully, this time around, the distance learning and Level 4 will be short. We are likely to also be in distance teaching mode at Level 3 which may be more drawn out. We will need to work on how we move forward after this event as Covid will still around for the immediate future :( 

Online assessments - Matthew Hillier podcast

Another podcast from the Leaders and Legends podcast series recorded in May with Dr. Matthew Hillier on the topic of online exams and assessments.

Began with background and how he became interested in e-assessments. He has worked in several universities and started working on e-assessments with Geoffrey Crisp. 
The focus of the podcast is on online exams/assessments as summative assessments.

Provided a summary of the evolution of e-assessments from over a decade ago, moving from using USB sticks to learning managements systems, virtual environments (second life) etc. or conducting exams via distance.

Sees covid-19 as a tipping point in having to pay attention to online learning which could be disregarded in the past. Designing for good online learning does not have to have so many synchronous sessions. Exams do not have to be synchronous and expensive on-line proctoring systems are not necessarily the solution. Shifting to distance needs to be carefully considered and not rushed - as is happening now. Provided an example of University of New England's 5 year journey to implement on-line proctoring and this did set them up well for the current challenges.

Supported the 'not all have to do the same' scenario as each discipline, student cohort, accreditation requirements etc. Therefore important to understand the 'needs' and work at finding a good solution.

Covered the important underpinning systems to be taken into account which include authencity, security and scalability. Difficult to have all three in place and each requires careful consideration. Security may result in usability issues. Authenticity of assessment and learner is key. To ensure both authencity and security makes scalability difficult. Cost effectiveness is also difficult if both authencity and security are to be met. Effectiveness of these also need to be balanced with pedagogical approaches.

Therefore, need to look at assessments and how innovation can be used to shift the way assessments are carried out. Example is the use of augmented reality exam (on second life) and to collect spatial data as the evidence of learning. Authencity of the activity and the learner's reactions and interactions is possible using this form of assessment.

Ethics needs to be considered and some online proctoring platforms are being resisted due to the challenges of ensuring privacy for the learner. Exams are passe and other ways of assessing must be considered. However, accreditation agencies etc. still require exams :( so educators need to think of ways to modernise exams which still have rigour. Opportunities are still to be explored, including the use of workplace practice, oral 'exams' etc.

Overall, a good summary of the challenges, potentialities and update on online exams and eassessments.

Hyflex - hybrid-flexible learning - elearning for the covid-19 age?

NZ has now moved to Level 2 whereby small groups (up to 10 people) are able to congregate. At the moment, Ara's courses will still be offered mainly through distance. However, if covid-19 case numbers remain low and community transmission a lessened threat, there will be a staged return to face to face (f2f) teaching.

Our challenge, as learning designers and educational developers at Ara is to maximise the gains from moving in to distance learning, achieved through much hard work, and the transfer back into the 'tried and true' of f2f  vocational education.

I encountered hyflex - hybrid-flexible learning - some years ago. It is a relatively new model developed as a sub-set of blended learning. At that time, I thought the effort to put into developing and offering both a f2f and a distance learning course, concurrently, with the same cohort of students, to be too big a challenge. However, the events of the last few months, has caused the hyflex model to be a consideration.

The advantage of hyflex for learners are many. It allows for students' mired in a complex work/learning/job availability scenario, to perhaps begin a course f2f, move to distance when they take up a job offer and perhaps move back to f2f should the job not work out. Similarly, for insitutions, enrolments are retained despite the challenges of a fluid job market whereby students may have to accept work if and when available, given the coming economic recession wrought by the pandemic.

The hyflex model is now being considered by many institutions as one way to support their students, to maintain fiscal viability and to ensure positive outcomes. However, there is a need to ensure the way in which courses are 'converted' to hyflex is planned. In particular, how courses have synergistic connections between the f2f and the distance learning delivery aspects. F2f classes may be videoed for distance learners. Resources prepared for distance learners may be useful as 'flipped learning' resources for f2f learners. Therefore, it is important to map out, learning outcomes and learning activities and identify which resources are may usefully deployed in each delivery mode or would be 'shared' between the two modes.

All making for another lot of work going forward. Hyflex will require resourcing to ensure it is effective but provides a degree of resiliency for institutions. Going forward, should the need be to move between f2f and distances delivery as the covid-19 situation evolves, then having two 'versions' of a course - distance and f2f - may be the norm.

An opportunity for educational change

Via Derek Wenmouth, comes a link to this blog - not just any 'new normal' will do - by Lesley Murrihy a NZ primary school principal. It is a call, like several other blogs/articles, for the current Covid-19 'rapid change in educational delivery' to be a lever for change within the educational system. Lesley, writes well about the need to use the learnings, wrought by the pandemic on society across the globe, to be an opportunity to sit back and think about what the actual objectives of education are. In particular, the role of education in addressing the societal equities brought about by the shifts in the last several decades to globalisation and marketisation of everything.

As someone who has benefited through the social mobility availed through access to education for my parents' generation through the sacrifices undertaken by my grandparents, I have always been aware and a supporter of the advantages conferred by being literate and 'educated'. We the benefits, also come the responsibility to 'feed it forward'.

In NZ, the reform of vocational education (RoVE) has provided a once in a life time opportunity to create a vocational education system which 'puts learners at the heart' of their learning. Due to the 'Level 4' restrictions in NZ across April, the formation of one of the pillars of RoVE, the merger of all the polytechnics and institutes of technology in to one NZ Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST - interim name) was decidedly low key. There were no major announcements apart from the main NZIST board being formed and individual boards appointed for all the 'subsideries'.

The need to rapidly then shift to distance learning, due to having to be in 'lockdown' and work from home for over 5 weeks, created a mass professional development objective across the entire educational sector. Therefore, we now have two unique 'once in a lifetime' opportunities to go forward with.

The blog by Lesley, indicates the need to be circumspect and to identify the objectives of education. In NZ VET, some of this was completed through the RoVE process. It is now important to perhaps review these objectives, in light of what has now taken place across the pandemic. NZ will have to remain, for the near future, 'an island of itself'. The NZ government's decision to 'go hard and go early' has led to the possibility of eliminating the virus. However, to keep the virus at bay will mean keeping external borders closed and strong social distancing measures. High earners of income like tourism will struggle and other parts of the economy, will have to shift to meet new challenges. VET's role is to support training and education and be 'agile' and flexible to meet industry needs as many may have to seek retraining.

The mass 'training' of the VET workforce to be able to 'deliver' to learners remotely, will now be an advantage. How this is leveraged will be important. The opportunity is now there to provide education 'when and where' learners require the learning. Instead of institutionally directed learning, the possibility of co-created curriculum with learners, is now even more achieveable. What is now required is time to think through the best ways to meet learners' needs given the access we now have to wider understanding and capability of technology-enhanced learning.

Returning to LinkedIn as a resource - distance/remote learning

I joined LinkedIn quite a few years ago but never really participated until a couple of months ago.

The reasons are many, but one would be the 'corporate' or 'organisational management' focus for many of the posts in my feed due to the people I am linked in with.

However, the international effects of Covid-19 has meant everyone has been affected as people scramble, in their own contexts, to cope with the need for rapid change.

The effect on having to shift education online has therefore created a large amount of activity and LinkedIn has been a source of many good articles, resources, think pieces and guides on how to cope.

Here is a small selection, gleaned over the last couple of weeks:

- Inge de Waard has provided some 'quick guides' on shifting from f2f to remote/distance learning, albeit from a higher education context, but still good templates to customise from.

- Alison Miller who consults in the elearning arena, provides links to a range of resources.

- Mark Nichols work on distance learning is always good to keep up with.

- Derek Wenmoth often helps educators see beyond the present and presents implication for current decisions.

- Michael Sankey's work is focussed on bigger picture and organisation strategy  related to on-line learning.

- Peter Mellow often links to useful resources for educators.

- Joyce Seitzinger is a go to for learning design in the area of distance/online learning.

- Mark Brown provides a mix of links to the big picture and educator practice.

Therefore, tapping into the present social networking opportunities, provides for a way to benchmark what we are doing at Ara. In particular, some idea of what others are doing, the important theoretical underpinnings for decisions made on curriculum and learning design, and reflections on things that have worked and challenges. All in, a good way to be supported and not feel that we are not the only ones caught up in a massive shift from the known into the unforseeable.

Holding on to institutional learning in response to swift change

We are now into our third week of Level 4 'lockdown' in New Zealand, with another week to go. Indications are promising, with a decline in number of covid-19 cases in the last several days. A decision will be made Monday next week (20/4) on what will happen next. Whether the country will continue at L4 or move progressively to L3. Even at L3, most schools and VET institutes and universities will likely remain closed for the short term.

Therefore, we continue with distance/remote delivery for the short term, with plans to move back into normal delivery soon. Planning for the next month or so, will therefore be difficult, given the uncertainties. At the moment, after 3 weeks of intense activity providing professional development and support to our lecturers to move to distance delivery, we move into the next stage of ensuring distance delivery challenges are provided with sufficient advise and information to solve these. Coupled with this work, is the next step of ensuring learning and teaching for the rest of the semester is also well resourced and supported. One key task will be to help lecturers re-configure summative assessments to allow for distance learning. We have begun looking into on-line invigilation/proctoring platforms. These tools come at some costs and summative assessments online have not been encouraged. However, there will be a few programmes requiring traditional exams, due to registration board requirements and we will need to find, evaluate, test and implement a process very quickly, if exams have to be run online.

The Easter 'break' has also provided some time to reflect on the swift changes. I have been ambivalent about the range of on-line tools we have been supporting our lecturers to use. In the main, these tools (LMS, video conferecing, video lecture capture), provide a way for our lecturers to replicate f2f teaching on-line. The 'push' content out to learners model, is still the majority approach instead of a 'pull' and co-constructed model of learning which is possible. Digital literacy challenges and some equity issues with learners access to hardware and infrastructure (wifi) mean some programmes have been able to move into a holding pattern of sorts. However, in the main, we still see the teacher directed model as predominant. Therefore, in a way, as with the earthquakes, the opportunity to sift practice has been lost, due to constraints of time and capability.   However, there will be pockets of innovation, these we need to record, evaluate, celebrate and disseminate.

Derek Wenmouth provides some ideas for moving forward. There is need to think through what is to be emphased, going forward. Is education to meet compliance/'quality'/learner outcomes? or should we transition to something better? In the VET sector, the combination of the sudden move to another mode of delivery, unfamiliar to many institutes, and the formation of the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, provide a once in a generation opportunity to shift practice. We learnt much from coping with the earthquakes, almost a decade ago. However, may initiatives moved back to the status quo once the market driven model of education took precedence. After all, Canterbury providers had to compete with all the other institutes and 'doing thing differently' was often 'less cost efficient'

Hopefully, this time around, some of the learnings from having to move to another form of delivery, will provide the nucleus for really actioning the mantra of 'the learner at the heart of learning'. As meeting the covid-19 challenge has shown, we have the technology and much of the capability with some innovation being shown. These need to be tapped into, going into the future, to ensure VET is 'seamless' as far as the learner is concerned and that 'delivery' is driven by the learner, not by the educational provider, as has been the case thus far.

Are you zoomed out?

I think I can speak for many when I say 'I am zoomed out!'. Last week, our team ran 4 workshops for our lecturers as they prepare to embark on distance learning. We had daily zoom team meetings to coordinate the workshops, debrief and additional meetings with our learning technologies to work out the technology. Average number of video conferencing meetings - 4 per day! All of this activity, left little time to do actual work.

This week, we are only offering one workshop this morning, to tie things together and bring the series of 'distance learning teaching' workshops to a close. However, we will be supporting the learning technologies team with their workshops covering our core learning platforms, Moodle, Panopto (for video sharing) and zoom (for video conferencing). They are offering 5 workshops this week, Taking that is a short week as Friday is a public holiday, it will be another busy week on-line in virtual meetings.

Therefore, it was good to read through this blog by Daniel Stanford on iddblog on alternatives to video conferencing. Our lecturers have become attached to zoom as it provides an easy entry into distance teaching. However, the 'stage on the sage' delivery approach is prevalent when all you do when you move to teaching on-line, is replicate the lecture. Therefore, the blog provides a platform for thinking through, more critically, the other ways possible to connect with and engage our learners.

A week of working from home and 2 days into NZ 'close down'

It's been a hectic week. After a series of meetings on Monday, my division headed home due to NZ being put on L2 which required as many people as able, to work from home. Levels 1 - 4 are NZ responses to the spread of covid-19 into NZ.

Then, just after lunch on Monday, NZ prime minister raised the level to 3 - requiring as many people as possible to work from home and a shutdown of all non-essential commercial activity (Level 4) as from midnight Wednesday.

So today, is day 2 of the 'shut down' which sees all schools, community facilities, non-essential commerce closed. The entire population is not to venture from their homes except to shop for groceries or pick up meds at the pharmacy. Going for a walk is OK but has to be within your neighbourhood. Driving to the Port Hills for a walk is not allowed :( Today, it is wet, so staying at home, warm and dry, and getting lots of work done is not a hardship. It is the sunny, blue sky days which are difficult, when the hills or beach beckon.

The shutdown is to last 4 weeks. With Ara closed, my work team will be working with our teachers to get their courses running as distance learning courses - by just after Easter. Hence, we have been busy setting up resource sites and there will be a series of workshops on 'how to teach from a distance', next week.

I checked linkedIn just after lunch and see some of our heads of department have posted. Nigel Young, head of department of business and computing, who is relatively new to Ara but with a strong background in developing elearning posted good hints.  Michael Edmonds, head of department for engineering and architecture, reminded us about how we in Christchurch are well practiced in dealing with the unexpected due to shared experiences from the earthquakes and mosque shootings.

Also from linkedIn is Mark Nichols advise on shifting modes of learning.  Mark was elearning leader for the Open Polytechnic in NZ for a time and well-recognised for his expertise in 'distance delivery'. He has practical advise for 'administrators' and 'educators'.

Derek Wenmouth posted on 'connectedness' and some tips on ensuring that 'remote' discussions can be undertaken by being prepared and a summary of the protocols for non-f2f interaction.

So, time away from the physical busyness of the workplace, has allowed many to also do some reflection and consolidation. It will be interesting to see how things are, at the end of next week :)