Recently I discovered that the strength of my practice has been my interest in ideas. Perhaps this explains why, as a communication designer, I have enjoyed working across so many types of projects, mediums, and disciplines. This has led me to think more broadly about what constitutes design practice and what we do as designers. The intention here is not to critique design methodologies, but rather, to explore something seldom discussed in everyday practice, the importance of writing as a skill for designers. Here are a few observations from my own experience. Relational design As design shifts further away from purely form and function concerns, navigating context has never been more important than now. It helps us move away from the idealised user towards more appropriate solutions for the complex reality of diverse audience behaviour. As Akkawi (2017) notes, ‘the act of writing and designing are strongest when it comes to building context. Both require sensitivity to every plausible situation. Like writing, the design process considers varying levels of complexity in the context of use’. In my own work, writing has become an important practice for sense-making. It has allowed me to articulate what is understood, design with reflexivity, and […]
Joining the VEDT as an RMIT student: Caitlin
Caitlin is heading into her second year of the Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT University in Melbourne. She has a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from Curtin University in Western Australia and a Bachelor of Arts from Edith Cowan University. We all remember teachers who assured us in class that we would be “using this in the real world!” but this rarely happens. So, imagine my surprise when, on day one of work with the Vocational Education (VE) Design Team, my colleague handed over the Australian Style Manual and echoed the advice of my copy-editing and proofreading teacher– “this will be your Bible”. So much of what I have learnt at RMIT has been put into practise since joining this fast-paced project team, but I’ve also acquired many new skills including the use of Canvas and SCORM, working to deadlines, and navigating hand-overs between Instructional Designers and Multimedia Designers. Participating in the online review stage of projects put my editing and feedback skills to the test and taught me how essential effective communication is to the outcome of a review. This editing role has given me the confidence to pursue greater assignments and responsibilities. It has […]
NDIS—a new RMIT developed qualification embedding VR
RMIT is developing a new Certificate III in Individual Support which will be rolled out across metropolitan and regional Victoria, designed to qualify large numbers of individuals to work with people with disability and elderly people who are service users within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The qualification is expected to attract learners from various life stages and from diverse social, cultural and language backgrounds. Embedded in this qualification is the Virtual Reality (VR) component designed to enhance the quality of the learning and ensure graduates are ready to enter the workforce as responsive and compassionate support workers whose strengths include social awareness and an understanding of the ethics of care. Yvette Wouters is the Unity Developer within the VE Design team working on the development of VR guided experiences. Yvette graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of IT (games and graphics programming) and has worked for the RMIT VX Lab, was a staffer on the first VR RMIT booth at the Grand Prix in Melbourne and worked on educational VR experiences in curriculum projects including some for TAFE NSW. While VR is a relatively new EdTech tool, early indications are promising for the VR medium. Its growing popularity may be partly attributed to its usability as VR experiences require minimal preparation for the user. For RMIT’s […]
Think Tank Series – Student motivation
The VE Design team held another think tank session on November 15, to provoke and provide new ideas on improving the quality of vocational education. The topic this month focused on student motivation and engagement and the proposed question to the panellists was: What are the best methods or strategies that can be used to engage and motivate students in the changing world of VET, industry and skills training? The panel experts included: Naomi Holding – General Manager of Didasko Group Justin Cruickshank – Design and Production Manager of The Learning Hook Mark Newhook – Teacher at Box Hill Institute Tony Valance – Learning Specialist at Department of Education and Training Victoria Naomi Holding – Didasko Group To tackle the issue about student motivation, Naomi looked at what interferes with a student’s motivation in the first place. Some of the key factors Naomi has observed are anxiety, self-doubt, busy lives and boring subjects. To help combat this, Naomi and the team at Didasko use the 4MAT learning and communication tool (shown below) to structure their courses. Why? – Why is the student doing the course? This gives personal meaning making sure they’re correctly matched to a goal. […]
Learning Analytics and Big Data
In the age of artificial intelligence and smart cities, it is only natural to think about the future of education and how we can be competent enough to face the eminent change that new age technologies demand. In our attempts to imagine the future of education, as well as educational institutes, we often focus on new age computer technologies, innovative visual displays and flexible classroom designs. But, the most dramatic factor that we often overlook that is changing the face of education is Big data and Analytics. Learning analytics, although in its early stages of implementation and experimentation, can be used to answer numerous questions which now surround existing organisational systems. Big data and analytics can provide us with student data compiled over many years which can then be utilised to enhance higher education as well as reform learning strategies and enhance global competency in schools. There are three main areas in education where Big data can help form a strong foundation for advanced learning outcomes: educators, learners and administrators. Educators For educators, the availability of real-time insights into the performance of students, including students who are at risk, can help in planning enhanced teaching activities or organise extra help. […]
Copy Contracting
In less than 24 hours Aussie students can now have an assessment written and submitted without even opening a text book, attending a lecture or logging onto a learning management system. With the new buzz industry of Copy Contracting hitting the underground world of education, students are being tempted to cheat in even more creative ways. Impressive websites that promise production of services from essay writing and short answer question responses, through to bespoke dissertations and theses that are being dangled in front of Australian students every day. These essay mills are promising the reproduction of any assessment content for as little as $130 with a 24 hour turnaround time. Clever reassurance cues such as “Your order is 100% confidential” and “Zero plagiarism guaranteed” guide students into a false sense of security. Others offer emotional encouragement: “We know sometimes you’re having hard times writing your essays or overloaded with so much work”. Copy Contracting has become so normalised in the education sector that investigations have uncovered YouTube stars being paid to promote an academic cheating website based in the Ukraine, in videos with more than 700 million views. Even if students manage to resist the urge to engage Copy Contracting […]
LaTeX in Instructure Canvas
The aim of this project is to develop six blended units of competency that are used across multiple programs to improve student engagement and experiences, and enhance teaching practice. Two key units “Apply technical mathematics” and “Apply physics to solving electrotechnology engineering problems” required the presentation of multiple mathematical formulas in the course content and assessments. A groan—as many of us who had hoped to leave complex maths behind the fences at secondary school. Once we delved deeper into the subject matter, we realised that such formulas are often beautiful to look at, but difficult to display and manage in an online environment. The options are to either use images of formulae, which are inaccessible for screen readers, or use the notational shorthand for formula, which doesn’t really represent the material accurately. Most word processors operate on a ‘what you see is what you get’ system which means what you type into the word processor appears on screen exactly as you typed it, and most of the time that’s great. However, advanced mathematics and science subjects have elaborate formulas full of symbols which don’t appear on your standard QWERTY keyboard, and for that you need a document preparation system such […]
Think Tank Series – Skills for the future
The latest in the VE Design think tank series brought together a panel of experts in education design to discuss “What skills will VET and industry teachers need to deliver in the future and how can we help to build them?” The panel included: Colleen Mandaliti – Educational design consultant at TLC Education Design Steph Clarke – Learning and development at EY and leadership development at Steph Clarke Stephen Joyce – Senior manager at the Centre of Digital Enterprise at RMIT Sarah Phillips – Managing Director at Pop Education The overarching themes from this discussion focused on changing how we think about education. This includes: moving from teacher-driven to student-driven learning environments, broadening our definition of learning to include both formal and informal instructional methods, and emphasising collaboration between educational institutions, industries, communities, and government. Colleen highlighted how digital disruption is impacting education, with big data creating more personalised learning experiences through agile instructional tools on devices that learners already have. As technology continues to change workplace roles, soft skills, such as collaboration, leadership, evidence-based practice and research, and project management are in demand. Teaching these skills requires a more holistic approach that integrates both physical and […]
Augmented reality and the democratisation of the education sector
Education is becoming increasingly digitised and as a result, the education technology industry (edtech) is gaining momentum – at a rapid rate. Frost and Sullivan’s most recent study shows that the Australian edtech market is expected to grow to A$1.7 billion by 2022. Augmented reality is one of the fastest growing technologies in the edtech realm. It does not require expensive hardware to operate and the technology is easily accessible by the majority of target audiences via their smartphone (88% of Australians currently own a smartphone – Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey) at home, in the classroom or on the go. Educational AR apps can help students achieve better results by depicting real life scenarios. The subject matter becomes an immersive experience, enhanced by computer-generated visualisation and sound effects. Students who might once have received a truncated learning experience by only having access to textbooks and diagrams, become enabled by the experiential impact of AR’s interactive models and lessons which increase participation and sensory development. AR app development in education also makes learning less expensive as it can reduce costs incurred by students and training providers alike (educational materials and supplies, travel, training environments etc.) In the vocational space, the […]
Think Tank series – Student led learning
The VE Design Team is continuing to host its series of think tanks to explore the future of VET and what today’s top educators and learning designers are working on right now. Our fourth gathering, held on 27th August, focused on student led learning. The question we put forward was, “How can we achieve meaningful personalised and student led learning in VET, skills and industry training programs?” Four experts from various organisations joined us: Claude Gomes – Lead Consultant at Reflector Tania Teese – Manager, Teaching and Learning Enhancement at Box Hill Institute Ramon Marmolejos – Co-founder of Emzingo and Learning Design Facilitator at Kaospilots Aimee Gonzales – Senior UX design consultant at Transpire Claude emphasised the importance of knowing one’s audience; how they will unpack the information we provide, and how they will undertake their learning journey. He discussed the benefits of understanding personality types and factoring preferences into the learning design. Claude introduced the Prosci ADKAR Model – a goal-oriented change management model – detailing the five outcomes an individual must realise for change to be successful: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement. Tania reflected upon her understanding of the Box Hill Institute student cohort: They’re […]
