Author: aucadmin

Transitions and Memberships

Today, March 28 2013, marks the last business day for the AUC as a consortium of universities. For over 28 years we’ve been able to bring together people from across the tertiary sector in Australia and New Zealand who work with Apple technology to share experience, know-how, and techniques, to undergo training and professional development, and to establish new friendships and build professional networks. It’s been a rich and rewarding partnership without parallel.

As the first incarnation of the AUC winds up, we’d like to thank the many people who’ve supported us over the years – especially those in our member universities who have done so much to promote our programs to their staff and students, to those who’ve presented at our events, and to those who have attended them and help keep them viable.

But today is also about new beginnings, and as the consortium winds up, a new AUC takes over. It still has the same goals as its predecessor. We’re still doing what we can to foster collaboration amongst our membership – initially via our three “world” conferences X World, CreateWorld and /dev/world – and with the hope that we’ll be able to bring other members-only benefits in the future.

The new AUC is an association. For the first time, we’re accepting membership applications from individuals who are staff and students of universities across Australia and New Zealand, as well as AUC alumni. Institutional membership is also open to Australian and New Zealand universities, and also for the first time we will accept departmental membership from schools, faculties and similar organisational units in Australian and New Zealand universities.

We look forward to continuing the outstanding work of the original consortium, and hope you’ll come along with us as we build the next chapter in the history of the AUC.

Tony Gray,
Chair

X World 2013 Call for Presenters

X World is our annual training event for OS X and iOS system administrators and support staff, and will be held at UTS, Sydney, on the 4th and 5th of July, 2013.

X World features keynote presentations, hands-on workshops, lecture presentations and a number of social events to facilitate networking. It’s a fantastic way to keep up with others who work with and manage systems based on Apple technology, and a great opportunity to network and make valuable contacts. X World 2013 will cater for up to 150 attendees, and is the largest single training event we will undertake this year.

We are now calling for presenters who wish to offer sessions and workshops at X World 2013. If you have a background in the installation, configuration, deployment, or on-going administration of OS X based systems, or experience in iOS deployment, management and app development, or if you work in related areas, we’d really like to hear from you. Presenters will receive free registration to X World and a subsidy to go towards flights and/or accommodation.

This call for presenters closes Friday 12 April, 2013, and offers can be made by completing the submission form.

Registrations for X World will open in May 2013.

AUC 2.0

We’re delighted to report that at the February General Meeting, delegates unanimously approved the transition of the AUC from a consortium of universities into an association.

The new AUC will accept membership applications from individuals, as well as Universities and University departments, and for the first time individuals will be able to participate in AUC elections and have a voice in how the association is run.

For 2013, we’ll be running our “world” conferences at their usual times – thus you’ll see X World in early July, /dev/world at the end of September, and CreateWorld in early December (the exact dates are yet to be confirmed).

Watch this space for more details on how to become a member and help us evolve into AUC 2.0!

iPad in Tertiary Education Seminars

This series of seminars builds upon the AUC update last year. Since then iPad programmes have rolled out at numerous institutions here in ANZ as well as internationally. The lead presenter will summarise iPad use at institutions such as the University of Western Sydney (11,000 iPads were distributed this year); Medical Schools at Harvard, Manchester, and UC Irvine (where all students are given iPads); The University of Adelaide’s Science Faculty (all first year students have been given iPads for 3 years now); and tertiary institutions in the United Arab Emirates (14,000 iPads were distributed in 2012).

Continue reading “iPad in Tertiary Education Seminars”

Wheels Crossword Winner

Glen MundayGlen Munday from ANU is the lucky winner of a silver iPod nano for correctly submitting the unscrambled crossword from the latest issue of Wheels.

Glen’s iPod nano is on his way to him and our thanks to everyone who entered.

Wheels Summer 2012 Edition

The latest edition of Wheels is now available to download as a PDF file.  This edition includes articles on:
  • /dev/world/2012 Report
  • Apple Product Updates
  • AUC Memories
  • CreateWorld 2012
  • Joy of Tech
  • and much more…
And don’t forget the crossword competition where you can win a brand new iPod nano!

CreateWorld 2012 Registrations Open

CreateWorld is our 3 day performance, presentation, and professional development event, specifically for academic and technical staff who work in the digital arts disciplines.

The conference features a wide range of academic and technical presenters from the tertiary education and industry sectors, and includes several keynotes, panel sessions, hypotheticals, hands-on technical workshops, and regular presentation sessions.

More information about Create World and how to register is available here.

Research findings -Tpack iPads in Schools Project (TIPS)

Jennifer Lane, Edith Cowan University Part of CW12

This presentation will report on the findings and lessons learnt in the TPACK iPads in Schools Project.  This project undertaken in 2012 has 5 phases and uses qualitative and quantitive research to gather data on how mobile learning devices were introduced in educational institutions in WA.

Key features to be discussed will be;

  • transforming pedagogy with mobile devices and online tools
  • the use of iPads to promote deep learning
  • the use of digital video as a research tool
  • the use of social networks to form online communities of practice.

A range of resources developed in the project will be shared.

What property students may learn from playing games

Steven Boyd, University of the Sunshine Coast Part of CW12

Learning in property programs may be enhanced through gameplay.  Games are, by their nature, fun problem solving activities enabling students to gain skills and build knowledge through participation.  With property education the problem with gameplay lies with the lack of alignment between what an individual student may learn from playing a game and the intended learning outcomes of a university program.

This research will investigate the opportunities for enhancing learning through playing content situated property games.  As an emergent research field only SimCity has been empirically tested leaving Monopoly variants and other popular property games free from pedagogical assessment.

This presentation presents a review of literature into game enhanced learning as it may apply to property studies, followed by an analysis of existing property games, and observations from situated gameplay.  The experiential learning approach utilises a rubric to assess the gameplay alignment with the skills and attributes sought after by stakeholders in property education.  It will identify gameplay attributes inherent in existing property games which may enhance the learning experience for university students studying property.

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