Massey Documents by Type
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item Digital badges - What is the state of play within the New Zealand Higher Education sector?(ASCILTE - Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, 2018-01-01) Hartnett M; Campbell M; Willems J; Adachi C; Blake D; Doherty I; Krishnan S; Macfarlane S; Ngo L; O’Donnell M; Palmer S; Riddell L; Story I; Suri H; Tai JThe importance and influence of digital technologies as a mediator and facilitator of learning is fundamentally changing education; what it encompasses, what counts as learning, who has access, where and when it occurs, and the ways in which skills, knowledge and capabilities are recognised. One technological innovation that has emerged within the last few years is digital badges. Developed to act as indicators of accomplishment, skill, or interest, they are being used in a variety of contexts for purposes such as to motivate, capture achievement, or credential learning. Digital badging is a technology that has the potential to change how we engage learners, deliver content and acknowledge learning. Internationally, digital badge use is growing particularly in Higher Education. However, to-date, it is difficult to determine how many institutions are using digital badges and for what purposes. This is particularly true within the New Zealand Higher Education context where little research is currently available. The focus of this study was to identify the ‘current state of play’ of digital badge use (i.e. which tertiary institutions are using badges, and the perceived benefits and drawbacks associated with their use) within the public New Zealand Higher Education sector.Item Computational Thinking in Junior Classrooms in New Zealand(Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ), 2020-12-15) Irons JMM; Hartnett MFrom 2020, the New Zealand technology curriculum will include computational thinking. The new curriculum content is being introduced to students from five-years-old onwards. In preparation for its introduction, online resources have been developed for teachers, including junior teachers (who teach new entrants to year three), that contain progress outcomes, lesson plans, exemplars and assessments. However, it is unclear whether New Zealand junior teachers are sufficiently prepared to teach computational thinking and what factors influence their preparedness to teach the new curriculum. This research explored the experiences of a small group of junior school teachers in the year prior to the official introduction of the technology curriculum. Research findings highlight that factors including professional development, assessment, schoolwide support, and time availability influence the uptake of the computational thinking curriculum by teachers in New Zealand junior classrooms.Item How have MOOCs been portrayed in the New Zealand public media?(Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ), 13/02/2020) Rowan Y; Hartnett MReports of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) hit the news media from 2012 with messages of disruption to existing higher education systems. However, several years on their role is still evolving. Given the power of media to influence acceptance of new ideas, this research investigates New Zealand news media representations of MOOCs to the public. A document analysis of twenty seven newspaper articles published in New Zealand mainstream media between January, 2012 and December, 2016 revealed similar results to overseas research, in that MOOCs are predominantly reported as a catalyst for necessary change to higher education, with higher education commonly discussed in commodified terms. Previously published research focuses on the association of MOOCs and elite universities, whereas this research reveals that MOOCs are considered experimental within New Zealand’s higher education system. While New Zealand media present a more balanced perspective than previous research, dominant themes of MOOCs as revolutionising are likely to foster the public’s acceptance of radical changes to existing higher education structures.
