Deakins Learning and Teaching Conference goes Digital for 2020
Teaching & Learning
Learning Innovations
Team Collaboration
Announcing the 2020 Deakin Learning and Teaching Week, hosted virtually from Monday 16th to Friday 20th November
Deakin Learning Futures is pleased to announce that preparations are well under way for the 2020 Deakin Learning and Teaching Virtual Conference. This year, our theme is ‘Critical conversations, challenges and celebrations’. The program will be a rich exploration of how we have found ways to share and work together during this very unusual year, new conversations about learning and teaching practice and big ideas, and staff and student reflection on experiences of going virtual. Professor Liz Johnson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education, will be our keynote speaker. Her opening session will take a look at the year that was – and what a year it has been.
That will include sharing experiences round tackling some big challenges that the Deakin community has faced, such as finding ways to create and support virtual and online assessment, pracs and labs and Work Integrated Learning. It’s also time to take a deeper look at how where were and headed and how we are tracking with microcredentials, revisiting Deakin’s GLO8 and enhancing the First Year Experience. These focus points, plus a spotlight on Mental health and wellbeing, will allow space for collective acknowledgement of the impact of COVID19 on how we live and work.
Speaking of which, things will be a little different this year from past years. This fully digital event will run over a full week, from Monday 16th to Friday 20th November. It might be a good idea to put a placeholder into your diary now. However, a program of shorter, more varied options for people to engage with has been crafted with an eye to avoiding ‘zoom exhaustion’, recognition that there will be other pressing matters learning and teaching matters to attend to, as well as other responsibilities to juggle in a period of working from home for many. The plan is to make time to engage with activities in many different ways, as we come together to celebrate and share Deakin community’s achievements and experiences, as well as those of our students over this most difficult of years.
As such, the week will offer a range of synchronous and asynchronous options for staff to participate in and engage with. Some of these are about solving our problems together, some are more about our research and experiences, while others will be purely social. We also hope to see more collaborative partnerships and student-led sessions in 2020. Synchronous session types will include full papers, panel discussions, chances to tour virtual learning spaces and informal social events. Asynchronous options may include virtual posters, videos, podcasts, a Padlet wall for shared reflections and a Human Library to browse. You will be invited to suggest another format, if preferred, when you submit a proposal.
These varied and accessible opportunities will be further supplemented by making support for ‘access on demand’ content available to those presenters who wish to provide it. So, a panel discussion might be extended with, for example, an online discussion space. A paper presentation might feature a chat roulette ‘after event’ in which the participants are randomly allocated to small group chats for further discussion. What else would make for a great session? We look forward to hearing your answers in the coming weeks
For further information, questions or to lodge submission please visit the conference page
