The Learning and Teaching Green Paper is continuing to drive conversation around campus, and in the lead up to next week’s Town Hall on Tuesday 9 June, This Week is sharing some of those discussions with you.

Analyse this
The Green Paper discusses the incorporation of learning analytics into program development and reviews. According to Dr Danny Liu, Lecturer, Academic Practice, Learning and Teaching Centre, learning analytics can sometimes be constructed as big data, or even Big Brother – but it’s really about being able to tell a story about a learner.

“It’s fundamentally about using data to understand learners and optimize their learning,” said Dr Liu. “It’s not just about looking at one piece of data, but at how all the metrics fit together and tell you a story about the learner.”

Dr Liu said currently there’s very little visibility across a program. “Imagine if a Program Director could view a map of student activity over the course of a session in multiple units of a program simultaneously. Not just a calendar of assignment due dates, but imagine richer data that tells you how they are interacting with various learning resources.”

Read the full story on Teche.

What are we talking about when we talk about Learning Commons
By 2020, we will have shared online content and collaborative teaching with partner universities across the globe, according to the Green Paper. James Hamilton, Head of Learning Technologies, Learning and Teaching Centre said a virtual Learning Commons could connect Macquarie with local and global communities of content creation.

“As a technologist, it’s easy to assume Learning Commons is a piece of software we just turn on and use,” said James. “The Macquarie Learning Commons should involve technology like iShare and other systems like the Library’s MultiSearch, but it’s not just software. It’s about people coming together and sharing, and that includes staff, students, our community partners and our industry partners.”

James believes as we continue to create semi-permeable boundaries with our learning and research partners, and our industry and community partners, the Learning Commons would be a place where partners across the street and across the world could share in the development of content and resources with our students and our researchers.

Read the full story on Teche.

The PACE of change
The Green Paper proposes the creation of a paid internship opportunity in all undergraduate programs. Lindie Clark, Academic Program Director of PACE (Professional and Community Engagement) says this does not mean every student will get an internship.

“Many people will have misread it that way,” Lindie said. “We just want as many opportunities as possible for students to engage in this way. Students would have to meet prerequisites, and not all would want to participate anyway.”

Lindie explains internships are one mode of engagement currently offered through PACE in disciplines like Law, Business and Economics and Engineering.

“I’m really keen on expanding this mode to other disciplines because I know about the additional impacts it can have on enhancing student employability, but it’s only one of a variety of different ways of engaging through PACE,” said Lindie.

Read the full story on Teche.

Get involved
Access a copy of the Green paper and register for the Learning and Teaching Green Paper Town Hall.