The context for design across courses at Sydney

Three parts:

• Context of e-learning at Sydney
• Cycles of design
• Barriers to teaching as design

Overarching questions

• Will universities ever be configured to use this stuff – ie tools and design ideas?
• Particularly in a campus based and research intensive university?
• Idea of researcher as teacher – what are the markers of professional identity
• Go write a paper, teach what you research, NOT design what you teach
• Size is an issue – Sydney is a large institution

Cycles of design in relation to ICTs

• Avoidance ca. 40% - too busy, not relevant, no money, no support
• Toe in the water ca. 40% little above information based and minor changes
• Committed approaches to integrated designs
• Barrier to greater uptake are complex

Barriers to growth

• Markers of a legitimate professional identity of teacher/designers (with ICTs) – workload recognition for design, budgets for online tutoring, teaching category of online tutoring,
• Shared design language – linking shared deign language to use of tools for even the technophobic or just slight irritated

How do we overcome the barriers?

• Better tools?
• Executive buy-in?
• Faculty demand?
• Student demand?
• Transparent design language?