Festival of Learning and Teaching 2017

Welcome to the 2017 Festival of Learning and Teaching.

The theme for the seventh Festival of Learning and Teaching is Digital Futures/Digital Capabilities: Design. Create. Transform. The future of higher education learning and teaching is digital, flexible and personalised - whether in blended or fully online modes. Digital technologies will continue to disrupt traditional educational models and practices, bringing exciting new opportunities for creativity and innovation for educators and universities seeking to provide higher education that is profoundly relevant, engaging and transformative. At the same time, higher education that is focused on student success must respond to current, predicted and unpredictable digital disruptions in wider work and society. This challenges us to find new ways of connecting academic discipline learning with opportunities for students to develop the digital capabilities that are becoming so fundamental to graduate employability across all sectors.

Some of the questions we will be exploring are:

• What works? What kinds of blended and online learning activities and assessments are proving effective in different discipline areas?
• How can we leverage new technology to enrich and deepen learning and teaching experiences?
• What are the outcomes for students of innovations in the use of digital technologies, for example in SGDE, flipped learning?
• What new opportunities does our new MyUni environment (Canvas and Echo360) offer students and staff? How can it support active, collaborative and discovery-oriented approaches to learning?
• How can learning analytics features accessed through MyUni help educators design effective learning activities and support students?
• What digital capabilities do students need for academic success but also for future employability?
• How can we most effectively develop students’ digital capabilities through the curriculum and in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities?
• How can students and staff partner with each other to develop digital capabilities and create new approaches to technology- enhanced learning?
• How can flexibility and personalisation be provided for students through the use of digital approaches, while also maintaining connection and community?
• What are we learning from MOOC-making that can be used for our ‘mainstream’ learning and teaching?
• This year, we will also be launching the University’s new Digital Capabilities Framework, which has been created to support development of our students’ digital capabilities as well as to support staff in their skills development, as well as celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Maths Learning Centre.

The Festival is an opportunity to celebrate our experiences as both teachers and learners at the University of Adelaide, to showcase innovations, to share evidence, ideas and practical tips, and to debate issues and challenges. I wish all participants an inspiring, motivating and enjoyable day.

2017 program