Green Technology Strategies Course Advertised Online

Reading a car review website today, I was surprised to find an advertisement for the course Green Technology Strategies from Open Universities Australia (OUA). This is a course I designed for the Australian Computer Society ACS Virtual College, who also offer it to OUA's students. I assume that the advertisement was specifically aimed at me, due to my profile of green web page reading. But I am unlikely to enrol, as I am the tutor for the course. ;-)

Technology Outlook for Australian Tertiary Education 2013-2018

The report "Technology Outlook for Australian Tertiary Education 2013-2018" (Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Freeman, A., Ifenthaler, D., and Vardaxis, N., 2013) was produced by New Media Consortium (NMC) and
Open Universities Australia. I found their short term topics of most interest. But in all of this I suspect the technology which will have most impact is the use of relatively conventional small scale, closed on-line learning for teaching teachers how to teach.

Time-to-Adoption:

• One Year or Less:
  1. Learning Analytics,
  2. Massive Open Online Courses,
  3. Mobile Learning
  4. Social Media
• Two to Three Years:
  1. 3D Printing
  2. Badges
  3. Information Visualisation
  4. Location-Based Services
• Four to Five Years:
  1. Flexible Displays
  2. The Internet of Things
  3. Virtual and Remote Laboratories
  4. Wearable Technology

Open2Study Needs More Work

Open Universities Australia (OUA), are offering nine free on-line courses on their Open2Study page. Over the last few weeks I have been trying one of these:  Writing for the Web", but was unable to complete the course. Open2Study shows some promise, but the web interface needs to be greatly improved. Also an option for downloading content needs to be added

These courses looked appealing as they were only four weeks long each, much shorter than the full semester courses from other MOOC providers. The suggested study time is 2 to 4 hours per week, much less than a typical university course (about 12 hours a week) and much more manageable. .Also the courses were authored by an Australian organization, not a US one (and an organization with extensive experience in on-line education).

Unfortunately the start of the course coincided with my traveling in Asia. As a result I had intermittent Internet access and only limited time to study, with the Internet access not coinciding with the study time. This showed a fundamental flaw in the design of the course: I could not find a way to download the course materials for later study (I provide my students with an eBook). The course design assumed I would have a live Internet connection while I was studying.

Each topic in the course has a series of short videos. These videos have closed captions and an "interactive" transcript. What would have been more useful than the interactive transcript, would have been a workbook of notes, or even just a simple file with the text in it.

Each topic started with a quiz question. If I got the question wrong, I was told "Incorrect" and was offered a hint, but the hints seemed to consist of a video with no transcript, which was not a lot of use. If I got the question right I did not get anything to say it was right, the system just presented me another video, again with no transcript. As a result I did not know what was going on (I did not have enough bandwidth normally to play the videos).

So what happened was each week I would get a reminder by email from the system to say I had work to do. But that was about all I got. There did not seem to be an fostering of discussion between students and no prompts by email about the actual cruse content. As a result I was not motivated to actually look at the content in the rare moments when I had time to do so and also had a working Internet connection.

One peculiarity of the system is that I collected some "badges" along the way, even though I had not undertaken any of the course activities. I understand that these badges are supposed to be a lightweight way to motivate students. But if they accumulate badges not having done anything, that is going to confuse, rather than motivate.

The web interface for the course had some problems (which is a little ironic, as the course is about the web). I found I could display a list of modules for the course from "My Study Center". But I could not access any of the modules from this list. There was a button marked "Got to Classroom" which would take me to a video in the course. I never worked out which video it was taking me to. The interface does not highlight all the hypertext links and so I spent a considerable amount of time clicking on assorted text on the screen hoping that I could find the actual course content, but seemed to get stuck on this screen. In the end I concluded that either the course was locked away somewhere I could not find, or this was all there was. It was a very frustrating experience. Normally there would be some sort of forum where students would discuss the topic, but I never found this.

Back from my trip, with high speed Internet access I tried the last module of the course, with video. It worked reasonably well and I was able to get 100% in the last test. But it was now too late to go back and do the other modules.

As this course is assessed I worried that my lack of progress would count against me (I tutor in a OUA course and would not want this recorded against me as a "fail"). So I attempted to withdraw. This proved very difficult. After posting a question and waiting a week or so, I noticed at the bottom of the course page a message waiting for me from a staff member explaining that I needed to go to "my study center", select "actions" and click on "withdraw". Even this proved difficult, as clicking on "actions" moved the cursor to the top of the page. After a few attempts I found that if I first clicked on "actions" and then scrolled down the page, there was a pull down menu with "withdraw" on it.

I would have liked to post this as a suggestion to the OUA, but could not find anywhere on the Open2Study website for suggestions and no-post course feedback form.

OUA Free Online Courses Look Good

So far, the Open2 Study Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) system from Open Universities Australia (OUA) looks good and much better than any of the US MOOCs I have tried. I enrolled in "Writing for the Web". OUA seem to have anticipated the sort of worries students have and are starting to introduce us to each other on-line, even before the course formally starts. I will discuss some of this in my "MOOCs with Books" series of talks:  Singapore 24 April, Colombo 28 April, CSIRO 8 July, and Canberra 12 November 2013.

Open Universities Australia MOOCs

Open Universities Australia (OUA), are offering nine free on-line courses on their Open2Study page. This appears to be OUA's response to the media attention over Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Open2Study appears to be implemented with Drupal. One of the courses which got my attention is "Writing for the Web" by Frankie Madden. This is run over four weeks, with about nine videos and quizzes per week. The suggested study time is 2 to 4 hours per week, which is much less than a typical university course (about 12 hours a week).

What I could not find out from the web site was how members of the OUA consortia of universities offer a course. The Green Technology Strategies course I designed for the Australian Computer Society's Computer Professional Education Program, is offered through OUA. I was thinking of creating some video content and quizzes, which could be used as part of that course and be used on their own as a short free MOOC. I did create a short version of the course "How Green is My Computer?" but this assumed the student would read text notes and respond to a text based forum with a human tutor.

It might be interesting to see if the cost of creating the video and quizzes for a MOOC could be funded with Crowdfunding. Matthew Benetti at Pozible.com is interested in hearing from universities interested in Crowdfunding a MOOC.

Online Student Readiness Assessment

Open Universities Australia (OUA) offer online tools to help students with Career Advice  and Readiness Assessment for Study.

The readiness assessment asks students to rate themselves using a five point Likert scale (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly agree).  The first eighteen questions, headed "Goals", address the student's attitude to studying online, level of  motivation and time available for study. A second fourteen questions ask if the student has suitable technology for on-line study.

Curiously, one question asks if the student has Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, or Mac OS X. Apparently students using Linux, Google Android or iOS on an Apple iPad are excluded from study. Having undertaken several online courses, I have had some difficulties using Linux and there would appear to be too small a user base to cater for. However, tablet computer and web appliance operating systems Google Android and Apple iOS would see a large enough potential market.

The student is also asked if they are using a dial-up internet connection and they have a high speed internet connection. Dial-up and 3G connections are apparently considered too slow. I found a 3G wireless connection more than adequate for most online courses (both as a student and tutor). For real time video and audio conferencing careful setting of the system to minimise bandwidth was needed, but most online courses will not require video.

The student is asked if they have a recent version of Microsoft Office. I found that OpenOffice/LibreOffice was an adequate alternative.

The third set of twelve questions asks about the student's approach to study and in particular their writing skills. One problem with the questions is that this is an opinion survey, that is the student is asked if they know what plagiarism is, there is no text of this knowledge administered.

The tool presents the student with an assessment (mine was "Almost Ready", which is curious given I have successfully passed online courses, as well as designing one) and then makes recommendations for first units. In my case PREP03 "Preparing for University Learning Intensive", was recommended. Also Bridging units are offered, which is particularly relevant for those who would not have previously considered university.

It would be interesting to apply this technique to higher degree and research students.

Bachelor of Counter Terrorism Online

Open Universities Australia, a consortium of universities offering online degrees, is now advertising a "Bachelor of Counter Terrorism", via Google ads. The web site this links to explains the degree is actually a Bachelor of Arts (Security, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism). Most of the units appear to be provided by Murdoch University, with titles such as "Spies, Saboteurs and Secret Agents".

Higher Education for Professionals

Professions Australia and Universities Australia are holding a Workshop on "Higher Education and the Professions in 2011 and Beyond", 8 April 2011 in Canberra. The Program is available. The Austrlaian Computer Society is leading the way with internationally accredited tertiary level professional education, in conjunction with universities (such as my Green ICT course).

The Professions make up around 20% of the Australian workforce and they are a fast growing sector. They are vital for the health and wellbeing - economic, social and environmental - of all Australians. The Australian Higher Education system is the main source of professionals for Australia and manages around one million enrolled students per year. ...

... from 2012, public higher education will be funded on the basis of student demand. The Government is investing funding of $491 million over 2009-10 to 2012-13 to fund a Commonwealth supported place for all undergraduate domestic students accepted into an eligible, accredited higher education course at a recognised public higher education provider.

... the new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will oversee the development of strengthened quality assurance arrangements and protect the overall quality of the Australian higher education system. It will accredit providers, evaluate the performance of institutions and programs, encourage best practice, streamline current regulatory arrangements and provide greater national consistency. ...

From: Higher Education and the Professions in 2011 and Beyond, Professions Australia and Universities Australia, 2011


Program
9.30 – 9.40 am Welcome and Introduction to the Program for the day: Don Larkin, President, Professions Australia / Glenn Withers, CEO, Universities Australia
9.40 – 9.55 am David Hazlehurst, Group Manager Higher Education, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR): A brief overview of the Higher Education reforms in the policy context...
9.55 – 10.20 am How is it envisaged that the student demand model will work? ...

• Professor Elizabeth Deane Pro Vice Chancellor (Students) ANU ...
  
• Professor Nick Shaw, Head of Pharmacy School University of Queensland ...
  

10.20 – 10.35 am Philip Bullock, Chair Skills Australia: Public interest oversight of the student demand model from a skills perspective ...
10.35 – 11.15am The Questions So Far: Discussion Facilitated by

• Alex Malley CEO of CPA Australia
• Terry Aulich CEO Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• Professor Elizabeth Deane
• Professor Nick Shaw
  

11.15 – 11.30am Morning Tea
11.30 – 11.50 am Professor Denise Bradley, Interim Chair of TEQSA: Where are we up to in the implementation phase? How it is proposed that TEQSA will work in practice...
11.50am – 1pm The role of others in the accreditation sphere:

• Martin Fletcher CEO Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency (AHPRA) and the Accreditation Councils for the health professions
• Professional bodies: Alex Malley, Terry Aulich, Professor Nick Shaw

1.00 - 2.00pm Lunch
2.00 – 3.30pm Discussions: How does it all fit together to produce the next generations of professionals?
3.30 – 4.00 pm Wrap up. We should have at least worked out all the questions, even if we do not have all the answers just yet.

From: Program, Workshop on Higher Education and the Professions 2011 and Beyond, Professions Australia and Universities Australia, 2011

Open Model for Australian Universities

Universities Australia is holding a policy forum on "The Open Model - Innovation in Government, Science and Research", featuring Professor Beth Noveck, White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government, at Parliament House, Canberra, 28 October 2010.

Unfortunately the program makes no mention of the most important area in which the open model can directly impact the Australian universities, the community and economy: open access applied to education.

After tourism, education is Australia's largest services export, worth $18.6B in 2009. E-learning using Australian developed open source software and open access content, is transforming the way university education is provided. An example is the UK Open University.

This is an opportunity for Australia's education export industry. Australian universities can incorporate their open access research and data in online courses to remain competitive on the world market (a model I call "e-oxbridge"). If Australian universities fail to adopt e-learning, they will cease to be competitive. Billions of dollars in export income will be lost if international students choose not to study at Australian universities. Billions more dollars will be lost if Australian students choose to enrol in cheaper, higher quality, overseas online university courses and abandon Australian campuses.

Universities Australia Policy Forum 2

8.30am-1.00pm, Thursday, 28 October 2010
Mural Hall, Australian Parliament House, Canberra

The Open Model - Innovation in Government, Science and Research

Intended Purpose

It is often remarked that the transformation that society is undergoing at present is at least as great as that of the Industrial Revolution. As well as the broader social and business effects of the revolutionary changes wrought by and through the internet, there are profound actual and potential effects on the way government and related services, as well as research and science are conducted.

We are challenged to harness and strategically leverage the “new connectedness” to seek to exploit new domains of interaction. How can we assess and respond to this challenge? In particular what principles should we develop to understand the gains to be made through more open access to services and content?

Intended Audience

Parliamentarians, invited government and university representatives and other interested stakeholders.

Brief program

Thematically the half day will move through two phases, opening with a discussion about openness in government and access to government services, and moving on to related questions for open access to research, science, and research data in our universities.

These phases will be brought together through a final session in which access to innovation nationally and internationally will become the theme. The government theme will be explored through a presentation by Nicholas Gruen, and extended through international examples from key presenters.

The research questions will be opened up by John Wilbanks and others, and Richard Jeffersen
will make the linkages involving innovation and access to innovation as the end piece.

Universities Australia Policy Forum 2

8.30am-1.00pm, Thursday, 28 October 2010

Mural Hall, Australian Parliament House, Canberra
8.30 APH security clearance and escort to Mural Hall

Program
9.00-9.10 Welcome and Scene Setting: Professor Peter Coaldrake, Chair, Universities Australia, Vice-Chancellor, QUT
9.10-10.30 Open Government
Chair and Commentator: Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation, QUT
Speakers:

• Professor Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government, White House Office of Science & Technology, Policy: The Open Government initiative
• Dr Nicholas Gruen, Chief Executive Officer, Lateral Economics, Chair Gov2.0 Taskforce: Making public information more open
• Senator the Hon Kate Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship
  
• Senator the Hon Brett Mason, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research: Open government: views from Parliament
• Mr Martin Stewart-Weeks, Director, Internet Business Solutions, Public Sector Consult Group, Cisco Systems
  

10.30-11.00 Morning Tea
11.00-1.00 Open Access to Research

Chair and Commentator: Professor Tom Cochrane, Chair, Australian eResearch Infrastructure Council, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, QUT

Speakers:

• Mr John Wilbanks, Vice-President, Science, Creative Commons: Future trends in science
• Professor Steven Schwartz, Vice-Chancellor, Macquarie University: Open Access: An institutional perspective
• Dr Warwick Anderson AM, Chief Executive, National Health and Medical Research Council: Open Access: A funder’s perspective
Dr Michael Spence, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Sydney: Obstacles to collaboration and access
• Dr Terry Cutler, Principal, Cutler & Company: Open Access and Innovation
• Professor Richard Jefferson, Professor of Science, Technology & Law, QUT: Access to open innovation

12.30-1.00 Close

Green IT Fundamentals Foundation Certification Training

Plus GreenIT Pty Limited are offering "Green IT Fundamentals Foundation Certification Training" in Australia, starting with Canberra in mid July. The three day course costs AU$2,800.00 and is in association with the British Computer Society (BCS).

Professional Green IT courses were introduced to Australia in 2009 by the Australian Computer Society (one semester $1500) and are now also offered by Execom (2 days $2,295), the Australian National University (one semester $2400), Box Hill TAFE (short course $360.01) and Open Universities Australia (one semester $1,500.00).

The ACS, ANU and OUA are offering online e-learning courses (which I designed and teach) available worldwide, whereas the others are face-to-face small group classes. ACS, ANU and, to some extent Box Hill TAFE, share the same course content from my book "Green Technology Strategies: Using computers and telecommunications to reduce carbon emissions" (2009).

Key Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, you will learn:

• What is Green IT
• What is Green IT Policy
• Benefits of Green IT Policy
• Goals, scope and key activities in Green IT Management
• Roles and responsibilities of process owners
• How to bridge the gap between IT and business

Who should attend?

This course is suitable for all levels of personnel within your IT Service Delivery Organisation and will form a key component of your Green IT Policy.

How this course delivers value?

• You will learn how to bridge the gap between IT and business.
• They synergy between your Service Management processes and Green IT
• Introduce the technology to support the Green IT Policy

Course fees includes refreshments, lunch, exam fees, course materials, mock exams ...

From: "Green IT Fundamentals Founcation Certification Training", Plus GreenIT Pty Limited, 2010

Open University Green ICT Course

Open Universities Australia is now offering my Green ICT Strategies course (ACS25). This is through the Computer Professional Education Program of the Australian Computer Society. The course is available to students of Curtin University, Griffith University, Macquarie University, Monash University, RMIT University, Swinburne University and the University of South Australia.

The course uses the same materials as COMP7310, in the Graduate Studies Select program of the Australian National University (first run July 2009). The course materials are published as "Green Technology Strategies: Using computers and telecommunications to reduce carbon emissions".

Open Universities Australia
2010 Unit Profile

Unit Code ACS25
Unit Title Green ICT Strategies
Provider Australian Computer Society
Unit Type PGD
Level of Study Postgraduate
EFTSL 0.0
Delivery Method Fully Online

Unit Overview
The unit is offered in response to an explosion of interest in climate change and sustainability, including a growing realisation of the high contribution of ICT. This unit investigates the contribution of ICT to carbon emissions and how technology can reduce those emissions. The
topics are drawn from practices being developed in the public and private sectors internationally.

Topics

1. Introduction to Green ICT
2. The Global ICT Footprint
3. Enabling ICT
4. Energy saving - Data Centres and Client Equipment
5. Materials Use
6. Methods and tools
7. Business process improvement
8. Improving Data Centre Energy Efficiency
9. Enterprise Architecture
10. Procurement
11. Energy Star Program and Quality Management
12. Compliance audit
13. Review and discussion for assignment 2
...