Ed/Tech must-reads 221024

Watch & learn: Reflections on peer observation in teaching from The Educationalist

Peer observation can be a funny thing in higher ed. I know of institutions where it is deeply embedded in the culture, and many more where it is largely looked upon with a certain degree of mistrust. There is a sensitivity, I suspect, tied to the expectation that everyone is meant to be an expert educator but there are no per-requisite skill development required to become a practitioner that sparks a degree of imposter syndrome. But if everyone is in the same boat, learning from peers seems the gentlest way to grow as educators. Alexandra Mihai shares her experiences is leading these kinds of programs in this thoughtful post and notes that engagement and success can depend very much on the level of formality of the scheme. If there is a hint that this might be used against someone, they are gone for dust. She also offers some useful tips for being a good observer.

Working at the level above: university promotion policies as a tool for wage theft and underpayment from Higher Education Research & Development

Given the increasingly terrible state of Australian HE at the moment - even before international student caps start to bite - this paper from Heffernan and Smithers reminds us of the need to be ever mindful of protecting workplace rights and conditions. They specifically explore the Catch-22 of needing substantial experience in working at the level that one wishes to be promoted to for academics.

Identifying challenges in implementing digital transformation in UK higher education from Quality Assurance in education

This systematic review of literature from Saini et al. may not reveal anything groundbreakingly new when it comes to the known challenges of digital transformation in HE but it captures most of the key points (resourcing, resistance to change, workload pressures) and repeats the common themes that we hear to address them (basically do those things better). I think it could have done with a little more on the consultation processes and the nature and rationale for change but overall this is a handy reference.

TELedvisors-SIG: Brisbane, SEQ and Northern NSW TELedvisors Meetup - Thursday 15th November, 12 noon AEST @QUT

This in-person gathering will explore ideas around Enhancing Assessment by leverage GenAI and is aimed at people working in the tertiary education third space (learning designers, academic developers, educational technologists). It looks to be a great event.

Registrations for the Third Space Symposium in-person (Sun, Dec 1) close soon.

If you have been thinking about coming to the Third Space Symposium event on Dec 1 but have not yet registered, the clock is ticking. We have a packed program across the day touching on a wide range of aspects of working in the tertiary education third space, with 24 different sessions to choose from. It is fully catered (lunch & morning/afternoon tea) and offers a great opportunity to connect with colleagues before (or instead of, if needs must) the ASCILITE conference kicks off on Monday 2nd.