2013 T&L Colloquium:
Blended learning and supporting engaged enquiry
Blended learning opportunities that
advance community-engaged L&T
Professor David Lowe
Associate Dean (Education) / Professor of Software Eng.
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies
The University of Sydney
Community-Engaged Enquiry?
› What is community-engaged enquiry?
- Community: “A body of people or things viewed collectively… The civic body to which all belong;
the public; society”
- Engaged: “actively employed or occupied; involved”.
- Enquiry: “The action of seeking, esp. (now always) for truth, knowledge, or information
concerning something; search, research, investigation, examination”.
› “Seeking knowledge through active involvement with our society” ???
› What this is not:
- Community-embedded enquiry
- Community-relevant enquiry
- Community-engaged practice
› How do we involve the public in our collective search for understanding?
2
How do we achieve this?
› Isolated Examples: Community connections…
- Community-connected outreach: National Computing Summer School
- Industry-linked research: Australian Centre for Field Robotics
- Public-focused advocacy: The Conversation
› But how do we systematically bring this back into our T&L
- What limits us?
- Geographic separation?
- Pedagogic philosophies?
- Physical environment?
- How do we move to more diverse (blended) learning experiences.
3
Examples: Industry
› Industry placements
- Shared experiences
- UTS – Embedded reflective portfolios and
Engineering Practice Review units, with strong
industry collaboration
- CDU – Coogee Methanol plant
- Loughborough – Daily and weekly online
“exchange” sessions
- Ulster – Live industry feeds into classes…
4
Examples: Community
› Advanced Engineering Program
 EWB Challenge
 Schools outreach
› Community dialogues
 The Conversation
› ITESM (Monterrey Tech), Mexico
 Extensive programs in community social
service, social incubators, community
embedding…
5
Thank You
6