1. Interactions with Cloud students and unit design
A case study
PG Nutrition Suite of offerings:
Grad Cert Human Nutrition; Grad Dip Human Nutrition; Master of Human Nutrition
Cloud only, long history
Lynn
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

2. Lynn
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

3. Active Discussion boards
Thousands of discussion board posts and s
Course wide strategy
How can we manage them so they become a tool for:
Inquiry
Discussion
Practice
Collaboration
Pressure to respond
Student dependence
Lynn
Low satisfaction
High anxiety
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

4. Putting the learning back into the ‘discussion’
The culture matters:
Be clear, communicate with students. Rinse and repeat
If you don’t want it to be a Q&A zone, try not to set it up to be.
Get the whole of course on board (consistency is easiest)
Follow through, support both staff and students; negotiate!
Students supporting Students
“…..that responses to student questions will be made within 2-3 working days. In order to encourage a community of learners, the academic staff will endeavour not to be the first to reply to questions as this ultimately results in a decrease in peer-led learning”
“Thanks for posting. Can I ask that you compare your responses with those of others in this thread to look for consistencies or areas of disagreement?”
“I would like to suggest the following:
1) we all work on trust and good faith and acknowledge that we are all appreciative of any assistance and feedback provided and therefore we can forgo posting a 'thank you' message
2) if someone else has correctly responded to a post, I wont add anything more in - so if you don't hear from me, all is well
3) be as specific as possible with your subject line to allow people to search for like posts and to determine if they need to read it or not
4) things that fascinate you about nutrition and you would love to discuss and share but they are not directly related to the weekly topic then these would be better place in the "student lounge" discussion board.
Hope these suggestions are acceptable to you all - I welcome any others you can come up with.
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

5. SENS Teaching seminar
Autonomy
Communicate expectations
(to establish the culture)
Ask don’t tell
(to develop students’ critical thinking, autonomy and confidence)
Explain approach and reasons
(to include students as equals in the change)
Focus on students’ learning
(identify the learning underpinning each post)
Be consistent and follow through
(e.g. don’t answer s re academic content)
Lynn
Be respectful and kind
(shift authoritarian role to partnership model)
Model for managing discussion boards to support student autonomy and learning
S Macfarlane, S Torres, H Brown, P Gastin

6. Code of practice
Purpose of CoP – framework we are guided by (autonomous, critical thinking, problem solvers, professional)
Link to and explain authentic workplace skills
Set up guidelines: Not jump in, wait for a peer (make it clear, acknowledge question remind re CoP)
Direct content questions to CloudDeakin
Clearly articulate subject line; professionally written, respectful
Create FAQ doc (short, clear, updated, clear layout, based on principles)
Well designed assessment tasks
Collaboration and consistency of approach across course teams
Progression from first year
Respond kindly and support student learning
Julie

7. FAQs for the course Can I ask questions and will I get direct answers?
Questions are definitely encouraged but please do not expect Unit Chairs to provide direct answers to questions. In the world of work there is not usually someone to answer every question you may have. It is expected that you will investigate answers yourself and seek guidance along the way. A discussion board is designed to help prepare you and your skills for this style of self-directed working.
Students are encouraged to respond to each others’ questions as a first step. Unit Chairs will give pointers to help your thought process to find the answers. When asking a question, you should demonstrate that you have thought about the possible answers, and you should state where you have already looked for the information (so that any suggestions provided can be more useful to you).
Julie
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

8. Example response SENS Teaching seminar
Julie
S Macfarlane, S Torres, H Brown, P Gastin

9. Course wide uptake of interactive technologies
Have some earlier adopters
Evaluate/ Refine
Showcase
Negotiate / Discuss – strengths, pain points, benefits
Support
Resource
Evaluate / Refine
Lynn
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

10. Redesigning the delivery of cloud learning
2012
Development of a showcase unit
2013
Live with first full unit T2
Showcasing teaching seminars
Course team discussions
Significant school resourcing
2014-current
Primary delivery mode for all units within PG nutrition
Why:
iSprings – no longer a supported interface
Lynn
Needed to be very transparent about the difference between PG and UG: AQF
Echo recordings of UG units putting us at risk
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

11. Advantages and disadvantages
Take the simple questions out of discussion boards
Use technology to help the students know if they have the foundation learning concepts
Interactive online resources can help students assess their understanding
Provides them with an opportunity for practice
Lynn
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

12. Helped to decrease low satisfaction teaching task
Within skill set of our academics
Updates / edits easy
Support from multimedia wonder woman
Help guides
Provided consistency between units - templates
Hallway panic management!
HUGELY time / resource intensive
Downloads not possible (still) - ?accessibility
Different approach needed now but in 2012 was the best decision
Through a whole of course approach using conversation, resourcing (+sense of opt in) & collaborative agreements changed delivery
Lynn
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B