Leonie Ellis

The Development and Implementation of Learning Objects in a Higher Education Setting

With the increase in offshore and off-campus demand for University of Tasmania degrees, lecturers have become aware of the need to develop more flexible delivery processes which add value to the student learning experience and provide teaching staff with opportunities for greater creativity in the teaching process. The three cases described will outline a model guiding Learning Object development and teaching within the School of Information Systems and will describe the process of student interaction and response to these Learning Objects. This paper describes the replacement of face-to-face lectures with the online delivery of complex learning objects, resulting in high quality outcomes for students. The development of these discrete re-usable learning objects has followed a ‘tell, show and do’ model by way of integrating a theory presentation with a practical example exercise, followed by an opportunity for individual review & application of the material within each learning object. The development of these Learning objects has been undertaken in Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® with audio narration, with files being compressed using Impatica for PowerPoint™ and streamed within the University environment by WebCT Vista allowing access to all students enrolled over three local campuses as well as those enrolled interstate and overseas. The application and use of these learning objects has allowed for the concentration of face-to-face resources on highly interactive workshops that are supported by the Learning Objects, rather than on traditional lectures. The outcomes are better coverage of material in the three units, greater student satisfaction with the delivery of the unit and increased flexibility for both the students and staff.

Everything goes into or out of the iPad: the iPad, information scraps and personal information management

Personal information management (PIM) is of considerable interest to the information science community. Traditionally the domain of paper, desktop computers and laptops, we have seen the widespread introduction of tablet computers in PIM. In this paper we discuss the findings of the first stage of a multi year study into the emergent role of tablets in PIM with a particular focus on information and knowledge workers. We discuss a set of observations on how the use of tablet computers affects PIM and how it fits into the process of collecting and managing information. In particular, heavy tablet users appear to be supplanting paper with tablets for the purposes of micronote taking. A major finding detailed in the paper is an unexpected increase in the use of paper by heavy tablet users.

Pilot evaluation of web enabled symptom monitoring in cystic fibrosis

Background: People with cystic fibrosis (CF) frequently experience isolation and are subjected to extensive complex treatment regimens which could be complemented by remote support. In the current research this is particularly relevant as the location, Tasmania, has the second highest incidence of CF in the world. This paper provides an overview of the evaluation of a pilot trial of an information system conceptualised and developed to assist people with CF, and their families, to enhance their skills and communication in relation to self-management for their condition. Methods: The pilot involved people with CF ranging in age from 19 months to 52 years and their families. The primary outcome was the perceived usability of the online-symptom diary from the user’s perspective. To assess perceived usability qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted pre- and post-pilot and analysed using thematic coding. Results: Participants initially and primarily perceived myCF as a system that would help others and enable peer support. Connectivity and involvement were highlighted as complex issues that needed consideration. Conclusion: There was an overall encouraging response to the pilot and indications that the use of information communication technology to complement health care delivery and facilitate self-care skills may be particularly suited to the Australian context where geographical distances and isolation provide a relative barrier to specialist care for chronic complex conditions.

Who are Australia's information educators?

In recent years, there has been considerable discussion of the challenges facing the future of information education in Australia. This paper reports a study that explored the characteristics and experiences of Australias information educators. The study was undertaken as part of a larger project, which was designed to establish a consolidated and holistic picture of the Australian information profession and identify how its future education could be mediated in a cohesive and sustainable manner. Sixty-nine of Australias information educators completed an online questionnaire that gathered data on aspects such as age, gender, rank, qualifications, work activities and job satisfaction. The key findings from this study confirm that a number of pressing issues are confronting information educators in Australia. For example, Australias information educators are considerably older than that of the total Australian academic workforce; over half the information educators who participated in the study are looking to retire in the next 10 years; and Australias information educators spend more time on service activities than members of other disciplines within Australias education system and place a stronger importance on teaching over research. Left unaddressed, these issues will have significant implications for the future of information education as well as the broader information profession. Many of the key observations drawn from this study may also have relevance to other disciplines in the Australian educational context.

Supporting Cystic Fibrosis With ICT

ICT use in cystic fibrosis management provides an alternative means of information supply to individuals, families, health care professionals and other stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of a series of projects culminating in a project that translates the previous research into practice. In this paper the sequential nature of the projects will be detailed. The three projects explored are the Pathways Home for Respiratory Illness Project (Pathways Home), Enhancing Self-Efficacy for Self-Management in People with Cystic Fibrosis and the Tasmanian Community Fund Project (myCF pilot).

Education for Australia's information future

Digital disruption and an increasingly networked society drive rapid change in many professions and a corresponding need for change in tertiary education. Across the world, information education has, to date, prepared graduates for employment in discrete professions, such as librarianship, records management, archives and teacher librarianship. However, contemporary information practices are less defined and are demanding of new professional skill-sets and understandings. This paper reports a study that consulted Australias tertiary academics about the current circumstances of information education in the academy and elicited a vision and a concern for future directions in Australian information education.

iPad as PIM device: input, interrelation and indexes

This paper presents preliminary results from components of a larger research study which explores the processes and challenges of information workers conducting personal information management (PIM) within offices. Here, we focus on the findings specific to users of iPad-style tablet computers with the Evernote PIM software; data reported was collected using several online questionnaires and semistructured interviews; content analysis and open coding techniques were used to analyse the data. Our results suggest three themes — input, linking and tagging fatigue — that regularly impact users of this software, these themes are not specific to Evernote, and are common to many PIM tools. Our results give insights into the use of software for PIM, generally, and specifically the use of software on iPad-style tablet computers for PIM, and we provide suggestions for future work to improve tools and practices.