Digital Commons Network^™

Keeping Our Academics On The Cutting Edge: The Academic Outreach Program At The University Of Wollongong Library, Suzanne M. Lipu, Elizabeth H. Peisley

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

In the higher education sector, developing students' information literacy skills has been a hot issue in policy making and program development for almost a decade. But how do academic staff develop and maintain their information literacy skills? How do they cope in an increasingly electronic environment? In 1999 the University of Wollongong Library introduced an ambitious program coined Academic Outreach which targeted 100% of academics campus-wide. Identified as a strategic initiative of the Reference Services team, the program was designed to keep our academics on the cutting edge of information sources in their field. The aim was to help them …

Wireless, Mobile & Handheld: Where Are Our Teachers And Students Going With Their Computers?, Sandra Wills

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

There is another revolution in technology happening before our eyes; it's mobile, handheld and wireless - and it's converging. In what ways could this new technology facilitate change in our teaching and learning practices? What planning should we put in place now if we think our universities should be taking advantage of the potential?

Inside, Outside And Upside Down, Felicity Mcgregor

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

It is said that Abdul Kassem Ismael, the scholarly Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century had a library of 117,000 volumes. He was an avid reader and a lover of books. On his many travels, he could not bear to part with this beloved books. Wherever he went they were carried about by 400 camels trained to walk in alphabetical order. His camel drivers thus became librarians who could put their hands instantly on any book for which their master asked. (Hawkins, Brian L and Battin, Patricia (2000) Camel Drivers and Gatecrashers, Educause Review May/June 2000 p50). How …

Creating Partnerships In Suporting Student Learning: A Paradigm Shift In Student Learning Support, Jan Skillen, Alisa Percy, Neil Trivett, Bronwyn James

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

The main focus of this paper is the creation of partnerships between learning development academics and curricula, faculty staff and the institution that seek to ensure students achieve at their potential. These partnerships are part of a paradigm shift in learning support that has replaced a remedial philosophy with a developmental philosophy. The paper also focuses on the value of these partnerships to curricula, discipline academics, faculties and the institution as well as to students. It highlights three issues:

• the creation of partnerships to ensure student learning;
• the benefits of these partnerships to learning across an institution;
• the benefits of …

Use Of Quality Teaching And Learning Circles In Engineering, Alisa Percy, Wilma Vialle, Fazel Naghdy, Denis Montgomery, Gerry Turcotte

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

The commercialisation of higher education, an increasingly diverse student population, the emphasis on educational technology and flexible delivery, the need to be internationally competitive and the increased regulation on quality standards, just to name a few factors, has seen a rapid transformation of the university system and the demands placed on the staff therein. Assisting staff to cope with such changes and providing them with the necessary skills to effectively contribute to the needs or goals of the institution requires sophisticated methods of professional development. This paper introduces one such method that is being implemented at the University of Wollongong. …

Mapping The Tertiary Literacy Skills Of The Bachelor Of Commerce: A Step Towards Inter-Disciplinary Dialogue And Cohesive Skills Development In A Degree Program, Alisa Percy, Janet Moore, Anne Mitchell

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

This paper outlines a two-staged inter-disciplinary project in the Faculty of Commerce designed to identify, review and integrate the teaching of tertiary literacy skills within the undergraduate degree programs. The paper provides an overview of the process that involves three strategic learning partnerships: the partnership between the Faculty of Commerce and Learning Development; the partnership between Commerce academics and Learning Development staff; and inter-disciplinary partnerships within the faculty. The paper emphasises the importance of inter and intra-disciplinary dialogue and a whole degree approach as a means for ensuring articulated skills instruction across a degree program and improvements in teaching and …

The Power Of Three Plus One: Developing An Electronic Readings Service, Sandra Wills, Craig Littler

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

The multiple roles and skills required to create online learning environments challenge traditional organisational structures that are currently based on relatively autonomous functional units. At the University of Wollongong, the staged development of an electronic readings service demonstrates the ‘power of 3+1’ through the formation of collaborative partnerships between three principal university support units as per the theme of this conference: * Flexible Learning Centre known at UoW as the Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR), * Information Technology Services (ITS) and * Library, plus… one other important unit, our Print and Distribution Centre.

The Unilearning Project: Online Academic Learning Support, Edwina Pollock, Neil Trivett, Janice Skillen, Alisa Percy, Bronwyn James

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

The Unilearning project has developed a website that provides students with academic writing and study skills instruction. The development of the website has involved partnerships in three key areas. These are: a partnership between teaching and technology, a partnership between teaching and learning, and a partnership between theory and practice.