BY SHELLEY KINASH
This week, one of my media staff
University Excellence
invited me in to demonstrate his work
1. Graduate success
on virtual reality in higher education.
These universities acknowledge that
He fitted me with the latest Oculus Rift
the primary reason most students go
headset and controllers. I went for a tour
to university is not for university itself,
of the human body, travelling through
but for what comes after, and thereby
the skin to the muscles, organs and
set students up for graduate success,
bones. Then I visited an office, where I
including in careers.
brought objects to virtual life by using a simulated 3D printer. It was all very cool
2. Knowledge, skills and attributes
and exciting. It reminded me of my stats
Learning is clearly defined and
professor taking me to the computer
supported as positive change
lab and showing email to me and my
and development in a balance of
peers. He said that email was going to
knowledge (both discipline-specific
revolutionise education. I could not see
and overall), skills (both technical
how, but I believed him. Once again,
and super-skills such as problem
I cannot envision just how far virtual
solving) and attributes (meaning that a
reality, in combination with artificial
graduate has become someone more
intelligence, is going to take higher
advanced and mature than if they had
education. What I do know is that we are
not gone to university).
on the cusp of something exciting and I am optimistic about a whole new type of
3. Assessment and feedback
learning for my future grandchildren.
Much of assessment at these
Across nearly 30 years, two
universities is designed as learning
countries and three universities,
opportunities whereby students are
some of the roles I have held include
given rich and compelling assignments
postgraduate student, researcher,
and specific, personalised feedback,
practicum coordinator, tutor, director
as well as iterative chances to adopt,
and professor. In addition, national
adapt and improve.
research grants have allowed me to
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042-045_ETS81 The Next Step.indd 43
visit most Australian universities. These
4. Student experience, learning and
experiences, over this timeframe,
graduate outcomes
have led me to three groups of seven:
The university embraces each
seven conditions for a university to
student as a whole person and makes
qualify as excellent, seven exemplar
university life about heightened
applications of education technology
opportunities for the overall student
and seven technology-related problems
experience (including social), learning
or challenges.
and graduate outcomes.
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