ConnectEd

Break

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

We are taking a break from the Connected Blog at the moment. We’ll see you later in 2022. Warm wishes, Connected Blog Team

Why engage in student partnership?

December 14, 2021December 14, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

At VU we believe in the power of student staff partnership and the importance of student influence in learning and teaching. So in November, at the Students as Partners Roundtable, VU student partner Helen Chong Gum co-hosted a hackathon with students and staff from across Australia. During the hackathon we played, debated, and created. The […]

An image of a post-it note with a light bulb

Design Thinking to foster empathy for victims of crime

December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Academic and researcher in Victoria University’s College of Law and Justice, Ruth Liston is applying the principles of Design Thinking, an approach commonly used in the design world for software development, to a law setting instead. At VU’s recent Learning and Teaching Symposium, Ruth explained that Design Thinking focusses heavily on the empathy of the […]

How do you teach something as complex as clinical reasoning?

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Clinical reasoning is considered a core skill in healthcare and this is a skill that is difficult to teach using traditional teaching methods. Amy Lawton, Academic in Victoria University’s College of Health and Biomedicine explains that there is no ‘cookie-cutter’ approach when it comes to teaching clinical reasoning. It it is a combination of areas […]

Student Project: Creative Outdoor Space for Campus Life

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In the unit NEA2102 Architectural Design and Theory, students from different disciplines come together to work on real-life projects. For this project, students worked together to design an outdoor space for VU’s Werribee Campus. The collaboration between design and engineering students provided a unique experience for students to gain hands-on industry experience without even leaving […]

An image of a child running through a water sprinkler.

No placement: Early childhood students getting creative with pop-up playground

August 25, 2021September 20, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

When Victoria University’s early childhood students couldn’t go to childcare centers for placement, they decided to take the matter into their own hands. The Mini Maddern pop-up playground in Melbourne’s West is a collaboration with Public Realm Lab and Maribyrnong City Council and is providing a place for children to play and connect with the […]

An infographic of Camera Use In Zoom: making the right choices for your class

Camera use in Zoom: make the right choices for your class

August 5, 2021August 5, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

For many teachers – students not turning on their cameras in Zoom can sometimes feel like teaching in a black hole. Paul G Moss suggests that most students are actually “on the fence” about turning their cameras on, and can be persuaded by the benefits if you clearly articulate them. Benefits like: increasing student attention […]

The road to Learning Design Part 2

July 12, 2021July 12, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In our previous post we reported back from our wider network about their road to learning design. In this short video, you will hear from VU’s own Learning Designers Nick and Holly and how they ended up in the profession. (3 minutes) (Road to learning design video transcript) Are you interested in becoming a Learning […]

The road to Learning Design Part 1

June 18, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Since the global pandemic, the profound role of Learning Designers has been widely recognised (Bellaby & Sankey 2020). But who are these people and where do they come from? And if you are interested in this type of role, how do you become a Learning Designer? We reached out to our network and asked Learning […]

An image of VU fix your content day 2021

VU Accessibility Fix Your Content Day

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

VU has a commitment to increasing accessibility for all. All universities are required to provide accessible learning resources and websites under Disability Discrimination Act (1992). Next Friday 28th of May we are holding workshops at VU in line with the Worldwide Accessibility Fix your Content Day! On this day, we will be running a series of short […]

Alternative credentials: 10 recommendations for universities from Emeritus Prof. Bev Oliver

April 16, 2021April 19, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Micro, macro, alternative, badges, certificates & short courses – it’s hard to keep track of the trends (and hype) in this area. What we know is that demand for learning outside of the traditional bachelor or postgraduate degree is up (Oliver 2020), and that Australian universities, especially given the recent opportunities to provide commonwealth supported […]

The new Victoria University demonstration green roof

March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

*Drumroll…* We are very excited to present to you the new Victoria University demonstration green roof at our Footscray Park campus!!! This is a place for research, demonstration and education, and will be used with VU students and the wider community. Watch the video below to see what the finished green roof looks like (2 […]

The purpose and benefit of using lesson plans

February 12, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Lesson plans are standard issue in primary and secondary education but to date, have been less commonly used at the tertiary level. In Block Mode at VU, lesson plans are used extensively to assist learning design, prepare for and facilitate active and engaged learning. Listen to VU academics discuss how and why they use lesson […]

Teaching with tech in 2021

January 20, 2021 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

It is a new year with new possibilities, yet for many of us, it looks like 2021 is going to be another year of remote and blended learning. The difference? This year, with hours of practice and peer collaboration under our belt, we are going to do it better. Why not try some new tools […]

2020 is coming to an end…

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

And just like that 2020 is almost over… It feels like this year has gone extremely fast and slow at the same time. The end of 2020 is particularly special because our first Block Model graduates received their bachelor degrees, having studied exclusively in Block Mode since 2018 – a first in Australia. At the […]

Students as Partners and the power of the VU Block Model

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In this episode of the Student Experience podcast Trish McCluskey (Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor Learning & Teaching at Victoria University) explains how the transition away from traditional university teaching to the VU Block Model, has set VU up for success during COVID-19. Trish also describes how their Students as Staff (SAS) have been a crucial part of […]

No two blocks are the same: A paramedicine case study

November 5, 2020November 20, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In this video First Year College lecturer, Meg McInnes shares how she has adapted to digitally supported remote teaching and how the block model supports online learning and teaching. By July 2020 she was already in her 6th block teaching Bachelor of Paramedicine units remotely, allowing her to rapidly adjust and improve. Meg says that […]

“Effective feedback requires effect”

October 20, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

At Victoria University’s recent Learning and Teaching Symposium, keynote speaker Associate professor Phillip Dawson presented ‘Developing students feedback literacy for study, work and life’. Together with over 300 staff, we gained insights and debunked some myths around feedback. Phill’s four key takeaways from the keynote are: We need to focus more on what students do […]

Gamifying Learning 101

September 25, 2020September 25, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

A challenge many instructors are facing, not only in the online classroom but the physical classroom as well, is how to keep students active and engaged. In this podcast, we get to meet Nick Lekakis, a Learning Designer at Victoria University and expert on gamifying learning. Listen to the podcast below to find out what […]

Digital Pedagogies: industry leading live performance events

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In this video, we get to meet Nick Cooper, the Unit Convenor of Live Performance Management at Victoria University. Nick explains how he helped his students to deliver real live music events online during COVID-19, including local emerging and established artists and superstar DJ’s! “Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many serious they considering […]

“Doing a presentation in a very quiet Zoom classroom… it takes a lot of guts!”

August 28, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

What new skills have you learnt during your virtual teaching/learning? Let’s hear what new skills VU students have gained during their online studies in this short (3 min) video…

Active Learning: how is it received by students?

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Active learning is a term you probably come across frequently if you work in Higher Education. Extensive research shows that students learn more when they are actively engaged, but the question is how is it received by students? A recent article by Louis Deslauriers et al. explains why students’ perception of active learning is often negative […]

Digital Pedagogies for Remote Learning: Bringing the bush online

August 6, 2020August 6, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In this video, we are meeting Dr Christine Connelly a senior lecturer in Environmental Science at Victoria University. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, Christine couldn’t take her students on their usual field trips and therefore she decided to create virtual field trips for her students instead! Watch the (4 min) video to find out […]

Hairdresser spraying customer's hair in a hair salon

Digital Pedagogies for Remote Learning: Hairdresser Apprentices

July 10, 2020July 15, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

How do practical disciplines like hairdressing adapt to the new online study environment? In this short video, we meet Veronica Di-Girolamo, a teacher in Certificate III Hairdressing at Victoria University Polytechnic. It turns out that this challenge has led to new and better ways of teaching and engaging with industry. Watch the (3:45 min) video […]

Student voice: web accessibility through alternative formats

July 1, 2020July 1, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In the web accessibility for all series part 3, we are interviewing VU student Sharyl Brockett about her experience using the new web accessibility tool ‘Alternative formats‘ in VU Collaborate (Victoria University’s LMS). Sharyl explains that being vision impaired and studying online has its own set of challenges. What can we do to be more […]

Student voice: online vs face to face learning

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

How does the online study experience compare to face to face learning? Let’s see what VU students had to say about this…

The Perfect Score – web accessibility for all Part 2

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Following on from Part 1 of The Perfect score – web accessibility for all series, in this post Academic Jane Hickey shares her 4 key learnings from making her LMS site more accessible. “The tool makes it so easy,” Jane says, “it highlights what the issues are and tells you how to fix them.” Jane […]

The Perfect Score – web accessibility for all Part 1

May 29, 2020June 5, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Online learning in universities has come of age during the Coronavirus crisis and publications daily extol how we have risen to the challenge. But online learning creates barriers to some of our students even while it liberates others. What should university’s do about this? Clearly, we need to make our online materials accessible, but why […]

Student voice: what is it like studying from home?

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Receiving feedback from our students is essential in order to be able to offer the best possible study experience at VU. Let’s listen to what our students think of studying online and how their experience has been so far!

Student voice: staying connected while studying online

May 6, 2020May 6, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

At Connected Learning, we believe in staying connected. Let’s hear what students think about staying connected with VU while studying online.

Getting more out of your Zoom classroom!

April 27, 2020June 5, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

By now most of us are familiar with how to facilitate sessions online using Zoom. But how do we keep our students engaged online? That’s the million dollar question… Watch this video to find out how to use engaging visuals in Zoom!

Extended Classroom: Plan B for the Block

March 20, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In the current environment, certain circumstances might require you to extend your class online with minimal notice. Building on the principles of the Block, in the event that you may not be able to come to class, we want to continue to foster a sense of belonging for our students. We want to mirror our […]

What did VU students think of their first week of uni?

March 5, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In 2020 Victoria University will have successfully transitioned all undergraduate degrees into Block Mode. In the VU Block Model, students undertake only one unit at the time over four weeks. Our approach is designed with students’ needs in mind. Studying in smaller classes, students learn better with more access to their teachers and close contact […]

Return to learn to earn: micro credentials in the Australian context

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Emeritus Professor Beverly Oliver articulates the need for more certified granular learning in this 15 min podcast. Also check out the 2019 report ‘Making microcredentials work for learners, employers and providers‘, it gives a comprehensive overview of the current state and future needs.

Making screencast videos with a pen-enabled device

January 7, 2020February 7, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

If you want to record material that is highly visual, consider using a pen-enabled device (or Tablet PC) such as a Surface Pro or iPad to give your screencast videos an extra dimension. With these devices, you can quickly make sketches or draw pictures as you explain your ideas in the video. You can also […]

2019 is coming to an end

December 20, 2019December 20, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

There have been a number of highlights this year, including: Hitting the 400 block unit mark with our revolutionary VU Block Model. We are particularly proud of this in the Connected Learning team at VU. In 2020, we’re looking forward to starting on designing block units for our post grad courses too! Investing more time into performing […]

VU@TEQSA

December 4, 2019December 10, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Trish McCluskey, Miriam Gelotte & Aleksandra Trifkovic. The VU Connected Learning team attended the 4th annual TEQSA conference last week. The theme of the conference was ‘Partnerships driving quality’. Trish McCluskey, Miriam Gelotte and Aleksandra Trifkovic spoke about ‘Partnering with Students to Co-Design Quality Learning on the Block’. The presentation emphasised how the Student-as-Staff program […]

What is Design Thinking?

November 25, 2019November 28, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In its most basic form, Design Thinking is a problem-solving process, but it is much more than a set of rigid steps. It is a skill-set that involves unique abilities like empathy, integrative thinking, and a tolerance for risk and ambiguity. Design Thinking has been called a ‘mindset’ or an ‘attitude’ or ‘worldview’. David Kelly, […]

Reimagining tertiary education for our future

November 12, 2019November 14, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

What’s the state of policy in the Australian tertiary education sector and how can we re-imagine it for the future? Professor Peter Noonan of Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute recently presented for CEDA (Committee for Economic Development of Australia) discussing: Background to the current tertiary system The case for comprehensive tertiary reform (quick overview) Why the […]

What is it about the VU Block Model that makes it so special?

November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Let’s hear what our students think of the VU Block Model:

VU finalists for Academic Development Award

October 31, 2019November 6, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Victoria University has been recognised as a finalist in the Australasian Advancing Academic Good Practice Awards for 2019 for Students as Partners in Academic Development. Winners will be announced mid November. Let Connected Learning students as staff tell you about how they contribute to academic development in the video below, or at their presentation at HERSDA 2019. […]

What makes a great teacher?

October 21, 2019October 16, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Let’s hear what VU students think makes a great teacher (maybe we can learn a thing or two!)

VU in the spotlight at ATEM Awards night

October 16, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Victoria University won 5 categories at the recent Best Practice Awards in Tertiary Education Management with a 6th High Commendation. In Learning and Teaching, Director of Connected Learning, Trish McCluskey won Outstanding Achiever for her leadership contribution to VU’s Block Model. In addition, the Connected Learning team got a High Commendation in Excellence and Innovation […]

The 2019 Learning and Teaching Symposium

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

On the 26th of September, VU saw over 200 delegates attend the 2019 Learning and Teaching Symposium. With 60 presentations in concurrent streams, as well a students, industry partners and University leadership involved in panels and demonstrations, it was a fantastic opportunity to share practice and innovation. Chancellor George Pappas attended and said: “In my […]

Students ♥ VU

September 24, 2019September 24, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

We went out and asked students what they love about Victoria University. We love that you love VU so much!

VU Polytechnic wins outstanding award!

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

At the 65th anniversary of The Victorian Training awards night, VU Polytechnic won the Inclusive Training Provider of the Year Award! Amazing work VU Polytechnic, well done. The award recognises exceptional training providers within the Victorian Government’s vocational education and training system. Winners have demonstrated outstanding improvements in the achievement, engagement and well-being of students […]

Eric Mazur visits VU to deliver workshop on assessment

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Assessment For and not Of Learning The challenge of breaking the shackles of the Assessment paradigm in the Sciences and Engineering to empower our students with 21st Century skills was the focus of a thought-provoking workshop delivered by Harvard University’s Professor Eric Mazur. Assessment informs the way we teach and dictates the way we learn, […]

5 ways to create great rubrics

August 29, 2019September 11, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

There’s no doubt that good rubrics help student learning and make marking less of a chore. It’s also true that a badly designed rubric can make learning and marking more difficult for everyone. So, how do you create a great rubric? Here are five tips on how to get the most out of your rubrics: […]

Do you flip?

August 22, 2019September 5, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Are you familiar with ‘Flipped Learning‘? Flipped Learning is a great approach for academics that are teaching in the Block Model, as it encourages a dynamic and interactive learning environment for students! Martha Ramirez explains in the video below how she flips her classes. One important take away from this video was that Martha raised […]

Website accessibility is everyone’s business

August 15, 2019November 25, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Hey Learning Designers/Developers: do you format VU Collaborate resources with a view to their accessibility? Accessibility is complicated. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG vs 2.1) distills a set of thirteen guidelines for designing web pages for people with blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photo-sensitivity, and learning and cognitive restrictions – but at twenty thousand words, it’s a pretty hefty read. Here’s […]

How do we teach our students to write better?

August 5, 2019September 5, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

In this podcast, Cheryl E. Ball tells us about her “Editorial Pedagogy” approach. She discusses the real work of the publishing process and how students can learn how to write better by using “real-world projects.” Cheryl has also written a series of articles where she first introduces the approach. In this episode Cheryl E. Ball […]

What is it like being a Student as Staff at VU?

July 29, 2019February 21, 2020 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Our Students as Staff are our greatest asset and we say it often and with good reason. But what is it that they really do? Watch this video to find out:

VU Students @ HERDSA 2019

July 25, 2019October 14, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

During the first week of July, our students as staff (SAS) Jodie Gibbons and Aleksandra Trifkovic presented at the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) conference held in Auckland, New Zealand. The topic of their presentation was ‘Students as Co-creators of Curriculum’ which was based upon the unique SAS contribution to each […]

Victoria University App wins Australia’s coveted Good Design Award

July 24, 2019August 5, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

The Victoria University App received a prestigious Gold Accolade in the Digital Design category for outstanding design and innovation. An innovative mobile ‘super app’ created by a student-led team of Victoria University technologists and designers was given Australia’s highest honour for design and innovation at the peak industry Good Design Awards. Big congrats to our awesome colleagues for […]

Deep talks and power walks

July 4, 2019July 24, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Find out about deep talks and power walks in BMO2005 Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This 2nd year unit was recently taught for the first time in block mode. Academic Selvi Kannan explains how she took advantage of the four week block format to create deep learning experiences for her students.

Abstracts due July 15th for the 2019 VU L&T symposium

July 2, 2019July 22, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

What excites you about teaching this year? Tell us about it! Submit a 300 word abstract by July 15th to present in the: 5 minute lightning round 25 min plenary sessions the active learning room the tech garden More information about the 2019 Learning and Teaching Symposium. Come to our drop-in information sessions until the […]

David Helfand visiting VU

June 14, 2019August 5, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

This week David Helfand visited Victoria University to discuss the Block Model with staff and students at our Footscray Park campus. Who’s David Helfand? David Helfand is the pioneer behind block teaching and learning. In 2005, David became involved with creating Canada’s first independent, non-for-profit, secular university, Quest University in Canada. He was appointed as […]

How to improve your MCQs

May 29, 2019August 7, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

6 takeaways from a session with Brett Vaughan from Melbourne Uni on how to improve your MCQs: BLUEPRINT – map your learning outcomes, to your content, to your MCQs Focus one ONE concept per question with significant meaning and consequence Don’t use not, double negatives or all/none of the above The cover test. Can you […]

Should exams resemble real-world tasks?

May 24, 2019May 29, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

“What is the defining image of the academic side of undergraduate life? For many centuries, it has surely been the student bent over the exam hall desk or library table, scribbling furiously. And although the modern library image would more accurately feature a computer screen with a vast amount of tabs open, the time spent […]

The muddiest point and other CATs

May 8, 2019July 24, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Check out this H5P to learn about the muddiest point activity and other ways to check your students’ understanding.

Got questions about learning outcomes and AQF levels that you are too afraid to ask?

May 8, 2019July 24, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Most of you will be designing and redesigning units sooner or later, and decent learning outcomes at the right AQF level are the best place to start. This little interactive is for you. It’s 5 minutes. Really. Just 5 minutes. Download: Learning outcome verbs for AQF levels-4-10 Using AQF to guide learning

360 degree tour of the VU HIVE

May 8, 2019August 5, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

So what really goes on at the VU HIVE? Are you new to VU? Or maybe you are one of our awesome VU veterans, but have not ventured in to the strange yellow fish bowl at the bottom of A building. Checkout this interactive 360 Virtual Tour: Want to make your own interactive 360 images? […]

The DO’s and DONT’s of unit welcome videos

May 8, 2019October 22, 2019 by Connected Learning Team - Comment is Closed

Are you about to film a welcome video for your redesigned unit? Senior lecturer and Head of Curriculum for the First Year College, John Weldon, lays it down. First – what not to do… Here’s something better… Still really not your thing? Record your audio only or ask some of your students to introduce your […]