Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

Student perceptions of weekly synchronous team quizzes in an online statistics course

2024-01-22T02:25:13+11:00

In a fully online college introductory statistics class, we incorporated a flexible synchronous course component to provide instructor immediacy and support students who are lacking sufficient prior knowledge when a new topic is introduced. We describe a learning cycle with weekly team quizzes inspired by the readiness assurance process of team-based learning; we interviewed eight students for their perceptions of the course structure. Team quizzes are designed to provide regular formative assessment and feedback in real-time with the goal of improving student satisfaction and success in the course. Overall, students reported that the weekly synchronous sessions contributed to a strong sense of belonging to peers and the instructor, were helpful for their learning and helped them successfully complete the course.

Implications for practice or policy:

Instructors can use regular synchronous team quizzes in a fully online course to improve student engagement, connectedness, persistence and learning.
Instructors can use team quizzes for regular formative assessment and feedback and to facilitate just-in-time intervention.

The affordances of artificial intelligence-based tools for supporting 21st-century skills: A systematic review of empirical research in higher education

2024-03-08T16:33:34+11:00

Twenty-first-century skills should be integrated into higher education to prepare students for complex working-life challenges. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools have the potential to optimise skill development among higher education students. Therefore, it is important to conceptualise relevant affordances of AI systems for 21st-century skills development in higher education. This study aimed to present an overview of journal articles published in the Web of Science database that specifically addressed the affordances of AI-based tools for 21st-century skills development. Four distinct categories of AI-based tools (intelligent tutoring systems, chatbots, AI-powered dashboards and automated grading systems) were identified as capable of promoting six main 21st-century skills (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, information and communication technology and problem-solving). The review revealed that the utilisation of AI-based tools might contribute to the simultaneous development of multiple 21st-century skills (e.g., collaboration and critical thinking). The results showed that adaptive feedback from AI plays a significant role as a facilitator in the development of 21st-century skills. Furthermore, the utilisation of diverse functional AI affordances (e.g., prediction and profiling) might contribute to the development of various skills. AI-based technologies appeared to target the 21st-century skills of problem-solving and its subskills the most.

Implications for practice or policy:

More functional affordances of AI (e.g., prediction and profiling) should be employed in AI-based tools. This could support higher education students’ 21st-century skills.
AI-based tools (e.g., chatbots and intelligent tutors) interact with end users through their data. AI systems have the potential to promote 21st-century skills by using students’ multimodal data.
AI technologies should be more integrated into the social sciences and humanities in the higher education context to support students’ 21st-century skills.

Artificial intelligence-driven virtual patients for communication skill development in healthcare students: A scoping review

2024-05-14T10:11:40+10:00

This study presents a scoping review of research on artificial intelligence (AI)- driven virtual patients (VPs) for communication skills training of healthcare students. We aimed to establish what is known about these emergent learning tools, to characterise their design and implementation into training programmes. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews framework was consulted. Searches occurred in six online databases to capture relevant articles from 2014 to 2024. Eight articles from five disciplines met inclusion criteria. A variety of design approaches, creation tools and VP appearances exist. Educational considerations such as consultation of educational theory, curricular integration and provision of feedback was overall lacking. Neutral to positive evaluations of satisfaction and acceptance of the VPs were provided by most students. Emerging literature suggests AI-driven VPs are increasingly being utilised for communication skills training, although their effectiveness is not established. Careful consideration of technological design features, educational theory and evidence regarding communication skill development should occur by clinical educators wishing to include AI-driven VPs in their training programmes. Further empirical research involving key stakeholders is needed to learn more about this technology.

Implications for practice or policy:

Students may find benefit from having opportunities to use AI-driven VPs for communication skill development.
Developers could avoid some criticisms of AI-driven VPs by carefully addressing technical issues
Educators should consult evidence on educational and communication theories when utilising AI-driven VPs.
Researchers should consider increasing the involvement of key stakeholders in the design and evaluation of communication skill focused AI-driven VPs.

Making sense of student feedback and engagement using artificial intelligence

2024-03-08T16:31:55+11:00

Making sense of student feedback and engagement is important for informing pedagogical decision-making and broader strategies related to student retention and success in higher education courses. Although learning analytics and other strategies are employed within courses to understand student engagement, the interpretation of data for larger data sets is more challenging and rarely pursued. This is concerning as data offers the potential for critical insights into engagement behaviour and the value students place on engagement. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a revolutionary ability to make sense of data, with capacity for prediction and classification, by consuming vast amounts of structured and unstructured data sets. This paper reports on how AI methodologies (specifically, deep learning and natural language processing) were used to leverage labelled student feedback in terms of online engagement in five courses in a regional Australian university. This paper reinforces the value of AI as a viable and scalable multilayered analysis tool for analysing and interpreting student feedback, particularly for categorising student responses as to the types of engagement that they most valued to support their learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of suggested further refinement, including how the AI-derived data may add insights for informing pedagogical practice.

Implications for practice or policy:

AI offers an ability to make sense of large data sets in higher education courses.
Teachers can use student feedback data categorised into types of engagement by AI to support reflection on what students value in their courses.
Educators and key stakeholders can use the insights AI analysed data offers for informing pedagogical practice and decision-making in higher education to enhance student experiences.

Authentic learning and job readiness: Are mixed-reality simulations effective tools for preparing business students for the real world?

2024-03-19T13:45:58+11:00

Advances in technology have significantly enhanced the quality of mixed-reality simulations, incorporating both real and virtual aspects. Mixed-reality simulations have been used to develop individual knowledge, skills and abilities in higher education; however, the use of such simulations to introduce authentic learning activities into higher education courses remains under-researched. In the current paper, we detail the design, implementation, continuous improvements and student perceptions of a mixed-reality simulation used in a final-year undergraduate business unit. An iterative approach proved important to improving the simulation across deliveries. Clear instructions, student preparation, familiarisation with the technology used and support for the development of communication skills also influenced student perceptions of the activity. Our findings from over 200 students indicate that the use of mixed-reality simulations is an authentic and effective teaching approach for the development and demonstration of employability skills. This study is useful to educators seeking to understand the value of mixed-reality simulations in higher education and their ability to provide authentic learning experiences which increase overall student satisfaction.

Implications for practice or policy:

Student satisfaction and employability skills can be improved through participation in authentic mixed-reality simulations.
Students may require support developing communication skills required to interact with the simulation.
Educators can enhance the student experience by demonstrating how the simulation works, familiarising them with the avatars and how they interact with participants.
Educators should focus on continuous improvement to get the simulation right.
Universities should consider implications for workloads, technical support and budgets when introducing mixed-reality simulations.

Digital storytelling in teacher education: Developing pre-service teachers’ critical thinking

2024-03-12T04:54:23+11:00

Digital storytelling is a pedagogical strategy that relies on constructing digital artefacts, such as videos, to develop skills like critical thinking. However, clear actions that students need to engage in to develop these skills are often lacking. Therefore, in this qualitative study, we aimed to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of the relationship between creating a digital story and developing critical thinking. More specifically, we examined pre-service teachers' reported actions and experiences used to build their digital stories, analysing how critical thinking skills were brought into play during this process. The analysis of the interviews showed the actions pre-service teachers take when creating a digital story and how these actions, in turn, promote the development of critical thinking. The results suggest that (a) a wide range of critical thinking skills are at play when constructing a digital story and (b) the most reported skills are those related to planning and design, solving emerging challenges to pursue a critical argument and representing ideas with the use of rhetorical elements. Furthermore, we discuss the implications for pre-service teachers' training. Finally, we address the limitations of this study and provide suggestions for future research.

Implications for practice or policy:

Student teachers and teacher trainers can count on a set of actions that will allow them to visualise the development of critical thinking when their students create digital stories.
Teacher trainers can benefit from a pedagogical strategy that can facilitate the development of critical thinking in pre-service teachers.

Collaboration or competition? The value of sector-wide collaboration in educational technology research

2024-10-22T07:21:18+11:00

Collaboration or competition? This question is at the centre of this editorial, which explores the importance of sector-wide approaches to research into educational technology. This has become particularly relevant in recent years in response to a range of significant challenges or disruptions the tertiary education sector has had to face, for example, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic or the emergence of new generative AI tools. To address these challenges, we have taken a collaborative approach to writing this editorial, with contributing authors from across the world responding to four key questions. The responses to those questions were then arranged into four key themes: collaboration in response to disruption, individual benefits from collaboration, communal benefits from collaboration, and ensuring collaborative wisdom. The editorial concludes with a section that situates the preceding discussion in a broader context and challenges us to consider our wider impact on the world as a sector and, in particular, as related to educational technology. We conclude that collaboration is a must and has the potential to empower us to push the boundaries of what is possible.