Learning Spaces

A vision of students today

Have you seen this video about university students' views on their education? It begins with a comment by Marshall McLuhan. If McLuhan did say this in 1967, then the scary thing is the quote could’ve been talking about me – I was one of those bewildered children learning in that 19th century environment that McLuhan talks about – in a secondary setting - looking out the window wondering why class was so tedious. At the same time I thought almost everything we were studying was interesting. Just the school bit was boring and slow. When I went back into the classroom not too many years after leaving school as a trainee teacher, I naively wondered why the classrooms were the same. I’d expected radical change - after only about 4 years. That was in the 1970s. Thirty years later and it’s business as usual: in both the K-12 and higher education sectors development is patchy.

Chris Johnson and Cuprien Lomas in ‘Design of the learning space: Learning and design principles’ (Educause Review, July/August 2005, 16-28) talk about the way the physical spaces we build for learning reflect the values of the institutions that provide them. For instance, do large lecture theatres, where students sit passively day after day taking down notes, reflect the educational values we most want to encourage in students? Does frequent use of this space set up a pattern of dependence that is difficult to change? How many of us are modelling active, collaborative, independent thinking in lecture halls? Have you put yourself on the other side of that lectern lately? This is not to say that lectures don’t have a place – but their continued dominance in the expected everyday pattern of students in higher education astounds me.

'It's not the biggest, the brightest, or the best that will survive, but those who adapt the quickest'. Charles Darwin (Source)

Blogs and wikis

A colleague and I are investigating group blogs and wikis for a third-year drama course. The following sites are interesting.

Blogs generally
Screencast on blogs, by Brian Lamb.
This screencast sits on Brian Lamb’s wiki, Beyond the Blog, where there are other links to information about social software.

Group blogs
We're looking at group blogs because students in the course are collaboratively making their own plays. A group blog might help with process. We've been looking at the traditional solo blogging software, but there is other collaborative software which might be of interest. Robin Good has some suggestions worth checking out.

Blog styles - examples
Journalism, group blog style: ABC Unleashed.
Politics around the 2007 election. Plenty of audio and video.

A poem a day: Gardner Writes
Low workload solo blogging. Gardner reads a poem by Donne and talks about his poetry. You can comment in text or audio.

Student site: Broadcasters of Tomorrow
Nominated for the Reuters Student Journalism Award 2007.
Lots of Youtube links.

About Robyn: Publications and CV

Robyn Philip
Educational developer/designer, consultant and higher degree research student


Contact:
Email: robyn-philip at bigpond.com
Web: http://creative-ed.blogspot.com
Academia.edu: http://qut.academia.edu/RPhilip

I've been an educational developer in higher education since 1991. I have extensive experience in educational design and development, particularly in the area of distance education and e-learning. I lecture in and conduct professional development workshops on e-learning and course design. I've collaborated with staff on projects from a wide range of disciplines, eg in the sciences, education, law, the humanities, business, nursing, engineering and linguistics. I am now studying for my PhD at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), after two-and-a half years in the Northern Territory at Charles Darwin University (CDU) working in the central academic and educational design unit leading a peer review of teaching project. My research now focuses on investigating how teachers foster student creativity in higher education.

Examples of previous projects:

• Educational development/design of online and on-campus diploma in Indigenous Creative Writing  for Charles Darwin University;
• Project leader for peer review of teaching and educational development (Charles Darwin University);
• E-portfolios for pre-service teachers and nurses (Australian Catholic University);
• Group blogging and collaboration for drama (Macquarie University);
• Curriculum design (Yooroang Garang, Health Sciences, Sydney University);
• User support (ALTC Exchange);
• Consultant Research Manager for the ALTC (Carrick) Exchange development project. Applied research with a team from the professional body, ascilite. The project investigated issues relating to the best methods for developing communities, and the sharing and reuse of educational resources across the Australian higher education sector.
• Program Manager for the LAMS@Macquarie Implementation Project (MELCOE, Macquarie University). The project supported and promoted the enterprise wide implementation of the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS). Activities included educational support for staff, evaluation, and the technical integration of the software within university systems. (2005 – 2006).
• Education Research Coordinator for the COLIS Project, Phase 2. Management of six research consortia from around Australia and one in the UK. The final report focused on user needs and systemic infrastructure requirements for e-learning in higher education. (2003-2004)
• Lecturing - Media and Methods (Charles Darwin University); Communication and Teaching Skills, School of Indigenous Health Studies (University of Sydney); Web Technologies and History Research, History and Media (Macquarie University); English for Academic Purposes (Deakin University).

Research interests:
I am currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at Queensland University of Technology, in the Creative Industries Faculty. My topic relates to fostering creative learning and teaching in higher education, and how digital technologies impact the process and outcomes. More generally, my research interests relate to the design of e-learning environments and learning spaces, and the sharing and reuse of educational resources.

PUBLICATIONS
Refereed journal and conference papers

Nicholls, J., and Robyn Philip, R. (2012). Solo life to Second Life: The design of physical and virtual learning spaces inspired by the drama classroom. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 17(4), 583-602.

OReilly, M., Lefoe, G., Philip, R. and Parrish, D. (2010). Designing for user engagement:  The ALTC Exchange for higher education. International Journal on E-Learning, 9(2), 251-277. Chesapeake, VA: AACE.  [abstract http://www.editlib.org/p/29499 ]

Philip, R. and Nicholls, J. (2009). Group blogs: Documenting collaborative drama processes. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(5), 683-699. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/philip.html

Philip, R. and Wozniak, H. (2009). Peer review of teaching practice and resources:

Exploring new spaces to embrace cultural change. In Same places, different spaces. Proceedings ascilite, Auckland 2009. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland09/procs/philip.pdf

Lefoe, G., Philip, R., O’Reilly, M., and Parrish, D. (2009). Sharing quality resources for teaching and learning: A peer review model for the ALTC Exchange in Australia. AJET, 25(1) [online journal] [html]

Philip, R., Lefoe, G., O’Reilly, M., and Parrish, D. (2008). A peer review model for the ALTC Exchange: Contributing to the landscape of shared learning and teaching resources. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings of ascilite Melbourne 2008, Deakin Univeristy, December, 766 -775. [pdf] (Award for outstanding paper, at the 2008 ascilite conference.)

O’Reilly, M., Lefoe, G., Philip, R. and Parrish, D. (2008). The Carrick Exchange for Higher Education: Design Factors for User Engagement. In Proceedings of Ed-Media World Conference on Educational Media, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Vienna, Austria, 30 June - 4 July. (abstract)


Philip, R., and Cameron, L. (2008). Sharing and reusing learning designs: Contextualising enablers and barriers. In Proceedings of Ed-Media World Conference on Educational Media, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Vienna, Austria, 30 June - 4 July. (abstract)

Philip, R., Lefoe, G., O’Reilly, M., and Parrish, D. (2007). Community, exchange and diversity: The Carrick Exchange. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/philip.pdf (pdf)

Philip, R., and Nicholls, J. (2007). Theatre Online: The design and drama of e-learning. Distance Education, 28(3), 261-279. (abstract)

Philip, R. (2007). Adaptable and reusable learning designs: Will they be shared? In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of Ed-Media World Conference on Educational Media, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Vancouver, Canada, 25 June – 29 June 2007, 2980-2985. (pdf)

Fergusson, J., Gibbs, D., Gosper, M., and Philip, R. (2007). E-learning in schools: Making successful connections, Information Technology, Education and Society. 8 (1), 5-23.

Philip, R., and Voerman, A. (2006). Implementing new technologies across the organization: The LAMS@Macquarie Project, in P. Goodyear et al (Eds), Whose Learning? Whose technology?. Proceedings of the ASCILITE Conference, Sydney, 3-6 December 2006. (pdf)

Roberts, S. and Philip, R. (2006). The grammar of visual design. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 22(2), 209 – 228. (html)

Gibbs, D. and Philip, R. (2005). Engaging with E-Learning: Trialling a New Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) in Australia. In P. Kommers & G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2005 (pp. 22-29). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. (abstract)

Voerman, A., and Philip, R. (2005). Walking Together: LAMS, Learning and Experience for Indigenous Students. In P. Kommers and G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2005 (pp. 1350-1358). (abstract)

Philip, R., and Dalziel, J. (2004). Designing activities for student learning using the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS). Acquiring and Constructing Knowledge Through Human-Computer Interaction: Creating New Visions for the Future of Learning. ICCE International Conference on Computers in Education Conference, Melbourne, 30 November – 3 December.

Philip, R., and Dalziel, J. (2003), Implications of COLIS for Course Development: The need for secondary usage meta-data. Sustaining Quality Learning Environments, 16th ODLAA Biennial Forum Conference Proceedings, Canberra, September. (pdf)

Nicholls, J., and Philip, R. (2001). Drama online. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 17(2), 150-168. (html)

Parashar, A., and Philip, R. (1998). Online assessment and legal discourse: Dialogue and choice. In R. Corderoy (Ed), Flexibility: The Next Wave. Proceedings of the 15th annual conference of ASCILITE, University of Wollongong, December 1998, 549 – 559. (pdf)

Book chapters
Philip, R., and Nicholls, J. (2010). Drama, theater and e-learning, in S. Marshall & Wanjira Kinuthia,W. (Eds.), Cases 'n' places: Global cases in educational and performance technology, Charlotte NC: Information Age Publishing, (Ch. 20).

Fergusson, J., Gibbs, D., Gosper, M., and Philip, R. (2009). E-Learning in Schools: Making Successful Connections. In J. Zajda & D. Gibbs (Eds.). Comparative Information Technology: Languages and the Internet, (Ch 3, pp.33-48). Netherlands: Springer. http://www.springerlink.com/content/nh8m6347x6336127/

Bennett, S., D.Parrish, D., G. Lefoe, G., O'Reilly, M., Keppell, M., and Philip, R. (2008). A needs analysis framework for digital repository design in higher education. In L. Lockyer, S. Bennett, S. Agostinho, B. Harper, (Eds.), Handbook of research on learning design and learning objects: Issues, applications, and technologies, (Ch. 30), Hershey USA: Information Science Reference.

Gibbs, D., and Philip, R. (2006). Using the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS), a case study. In Transforming learning with ICT: Making IT happen. Ch. 8, 309 - 311. Pearson Education: Australia.

Philip, R. (2004). The education project,. In J. Dalziel, R. Philip & J. Clare (Eds), The COLIS Project, Ch. 2. The Macquarie E-learning Centre Of Excellence: Macquarie University, Sydney. http://www.colis.mq.edu.au/

Editorial publications
Philip, R., Voerman, A., and Dalziel, J. (Eds) (2006). The First International LAMS Conference 2006: Designing the Future of Learning. Proceedings of the First International LAMS Conference 2006, Sydney, Australia, 6 - 8 December. (CD and Web) http://lamsfoundation.org/lams2006/papers.htm

Dalziel, J., Philip, R., and Clare, J. (Eds) (2004). The COLIS Project. The Macquarie E-learning Centre Of Excellence: Macquarie University, Sydney. (CD & Web) http://www.colis.mq.edu.au/COLIS_CD/index.html

Edited papers
Gibbs, D., and Philip, R. (2005). Libraries, learning and LAMS. Synergy, 3 (2). http://www.slav.schools.net.au/synergy/vol3num2/vol3num2.htm

Gibbs, D., and Philip, R. (2005). Professional Educator, 4 (4). Australian College of Educators. http://www.austcolled.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2883&Itemid=0

Philip R., and Gibbs, D. (2005). Using LAMS in the classroom: New ways to engage students with curriculum. Connections. 53 (Term 2). http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/cnetw05/53lams.htm

Devonshire, E., and Philip, R. (2001). Managing change in flexible times: Reflecting on the role of the educational developer. Continuing the Odyssey. Proceedings of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), September 2001, Technology Park, Sydney, NSW.

Nicholls, J., and Philip, R. (1999). Enriching the learning environment for drama students: On and off campus. Collected papers from the 14th Biennial Forum of the ODLAA, Deakin University, September.

Philip, R., and Litchfield, A. (1999). Learning and Teaching Online: A short course for higher education staff. ASCILITE 99 Responding to Diversity. Short papers of the Proceedings of the 16th annual conference of ASCILITE, University of Queensland, Brisbane, December.

Education
PhD candidate, Creative Industries Faculty (Queensland University of Technology)
Master of Arts (Creative Writing), (Macquarie University)
Master of Professional Education and Training (Open and Distance Education), (Deakin University)
Graduate Diploma in Education (Canberra College of Advanced Education)
Bachelor of Arts (Australian National University)