AJET 18(2) Bain (2002)

Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 2002, 18(2), iii-iv.

Editorial

This special issue of AJET arose from an evaluation project undertaken by ASCILITE and funded by the Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development (CUTSD). The project involved the participation of 44 university staff from 10 participating universities who took part in 20 evaluation studies supported by 11 mentors (Phillips, 2002). The studies were centred on the technology based teaching developments of the university staff involved, and most studies were informed by the learning centred evaluation framework of Alexander and Hedberg (1994) and Bain (1999), as augmented by Phillips et al (2000). Seven of the 20 evaluation studies were selected for this special issue of AJET so as to illustrate a wide range of discipline areas, information technologies, and evaluation methods. The authors include the academic staff and their project mentors.

Unlike the formal evaluations of earlier literature, the studies reported here focus on whether a teaching development is functioning as intended - with adjustments made if it is not - rather than on demonstrating the superiority of the development relative to others that might be available. Accordingly, the evidence gathered has an emphasis on whether students use the technology in the ways intended, whether they understand, think and learn as intended, and whether the outcomes of their learning show the characteristics that were planned. All studies are works in progress, and hence they should be viewed as ways in which teaching developments can be informed and improved by systematic evaluation, and how the evaluations can be enhanced with successive iterations.

John D Bain
Special Issue Editor

References

Bain, J. D. (1999). Introduction: Learning centred evaluation of innovation in higher education. Higher Education Research and Development, 18(2), 165-172.

Alexander, S. & Hedberg, J. (1994). Evaluating technology-based learning: Which model? In K. Beattie, C. McNaught & S. Wills (Eds), Multimedia in higher education: Designing for change in teaching and learning (pp. 233-244). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Phillips, R., Bain, J. D., McNaught, C., Rice, M. & Tripp, D. (2000). Handbook for learning-centred evaluation of computer-facilitated learning projects in higher education. Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) and Murdoch University. http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/projects/cutsd99/handbook/handbook.htm

Phillips, R. A. (2002). Learning-centred evaluation of computer-facilitated learning projects in higher education: Outcomes of a CUTSD staff development grant. Canberra: Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development, Commonwealth of Australia. http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/projects/cutsd99/

Conferences advertised in AJET 18(2)

ASCILITE 2002
http://www.unitec.ac.nz/ascilite/
hosted by Unitec, Auckland, New Zealand
8-11 December 2001

The Australian Journal of Educational Technology is a refereed research journal published three times per year jointly by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education and the Australian Society for Educational Technology. For details on submission of manuscripts, subscriptions and access to the AJET online archives, please see:

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html

or for manuscript submission contact the Editor, Associate Professor Catherine McLoughlin, School of Education (ACT), Australian Catholic University, PO Box 256, Dickson ACT 2602, Australia. Email: C.McLoughlin@signadou.acu.edu.au, Tel: +61 2 6209 1100 Fax +61 2 6209 1185, or for subscriptions contact the Production Editor, Dr Roger Atkinson, 5/202 Coode Street, Como WA 6152, Australia. Email: rjatkinson@bigpond.com, Tel: +61 8 9367 1133. Members of ASET, ASCILITE and ISPI (Vic) receive AJET as a part of their membership benefits.

AJET is managed by an Editorial Board nominated by ASCILITE and ASET. The 2002 Editorial Board comprises:

Catherine McLoughlin (Editor), Australian Catholic University
Roger Atkinson (Production Editor)
Trish Andrews, University of Queensland
Carolyn Dowling, Australian Catholic University
Mike Keppell, University of Melbourne
Lori Lockyer, University of Wollongong
Mary Jane Mahony, University of Sydney
Elizabeth Stacey, Deakin University

Copyright in individual articles contained in Australian Journal of Educational Technology is vested in each of the authors in respect of his or her contributions. Copyright in AJET is vested in ASET (1985-86), AJET Publications (1987-1996), and ASET and ASCILITE (from 1997).

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