Educational Technology involves research into how we currently use technology, how we should use technology, as well as how we can best use technology in higher education.
This includes research into technology-enhanced support for teaching and research, how to integrate technology into academic practice, as well as technology-enhanced methods to support student learning.
We have a specific interest in Technology in Teaching, Learning Analytics and Big Data, and Using Emerging Technologies to Understand Academic Life.
For more information, visit the Learning Sciences Research Cluster website
Educational Technology research and development
HEDC's educational technology team also engages and partners with collaborators in research and development projects to innovate technology and student-centred approaches into university teaching and learning environments. Some of our signature research programmes are as follows:
Big Data and Analytics
More than ever, the increasingly complex challenges facing higher education are requiring institutions to develop a deeper understanding of the data at their disposal. Often, however, the available information is too vast and too variable to handle using traditional analytic methods.
Big Data provides a conceptual framework for managing and analysing large and disparate information stores, allowing institutions to identify and model patterns, and ultimately improve decision-making capabilities.
For more information, visit the Big Data Otago website
Selected funded projects
- 2016-2017 – How to Improve Student Engagement with Online Evaluation System: Deployment of Otago Evaluation Systems on Mobile and Ubiquitous Devices, University of Otago Improvement Grant (Ben Daniel, Principal Investigator)
- 2017-2018 – Internationalisation of the Curriculum on Analytics and Research Methods (ARM) Programme for Academic Development, University of Otago (Ben Daniel, Principal Investigator)
- 2019 – Developing and implementing four flipped models to develop professional thinking during early learning in Dietetics lectures, Otago University Teaching Development Grant (Joyce Koh, Principal Investigator)
Contact
Professor Ben Daniel
Big Data analytics, research and technology, social media
Email ben.daniel@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 5362
Professor Joyce Koh
Technology-enhanced teaching and student-centred instructional design
Email joyce.koh@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7232
Dr Russell Butson
Learning with technology and measuring learning behaviours
Email russell.butson@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 5789
Dr Qian Liu
Technology adoption, technology-enhanced learning, academic development
Email qian.liu@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7758