Formal off-campus flexible learning has been a feature of higher education since the 19th century. The introduction of various educational technologies over the years has provided additional opportunities for learners to undertake courses offered anytime and in any location, providing greater flexibility for the development of cost-effective learner-centred curricula. With the emergence of 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life in 2003, educators are quick to realise the potential of such immersive environments to extend the flexible learner-centred approaches that have been a feature of off-campus learning over the decades. However, the benefits of technology-enhanced learning can be contradictory and incompatible and can both widen and reduce access to education. Despite the proliferation of articles attesting to the benefits of teaching in virtual worlds such as Second Life, until relatively recently, there has been a lack of empirical evidence reporting on the learning outcomes for students participating in these virtual learning sessions. Good pedagogical practices must be taken into consideration when educating in a virtual world. The case studies presented in this chapter aim to go some way in addressing this perceived gap in the literature. In this chapter, six authors from five Australian Universities provide their accounts of teaching in a virtual world and report on the learning outcomes as well as their students' perceptions of their learning experiences.

Many views of fostering student resilience come from the perspective of a set of individual student traits, skill sets, or the lack of ability to "tough it out", rather than viewing resilience as a holistic entity which involves relationships, community and context. This belief, in turn, disconnects learners from the socio-cultural context in which their learning experience is embedded. These factors can play an equally pivotal role on participation and learning outcomes. This poster proposes a holistic model for understanding student resilience in a time of rapid change in education.

The introduction of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in secondary schools around Australia is currently being heavily promoted for the purposes of transforming the delivery of education through innovation and technology (Gillard, 2010). In such a climate, the evaluation of case studies exploring the effectiveness of the implementation of new technologies for the purposes of teaching and learning can help guide others contemplating or embarking on this process. While much of the literature reports positive outcomes in the adoption of IWBs in the secondary classroom, this paper provides a balance by exploring a case of change mismanagement which has led to the existence of electronic white elephants. The paper also explores the potential of modified force field analysis (FFA) as a decision-making and evaluation instrument for the process of technological change within educational contexts.

Educational disadvantage is complex. Former and current conceptions of under-represented (equity) groups only partially capture greater equity and diversity issues. Some students in under-represented categories experience little disadvantage. Others who are not recognised as members of under-represented groups can experience extreme disadvantage. This paper argues that educational disadvantage is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. It examines educational disadvantage in terms of equity and multiple equity overlap. It also examines intra-group differences, arguing for the existence of equity sub-groups as factors which cut indiscriminately across all student populations. Furthermore, the paper discusses the data collection instrument that will more clearly discern gradients of student disadvantage. With this knowledge, educational institutions across the sectors, staff, policy makers and funding bodies will be able to better assist student participation, retention and completions.

What are the differences in learning styles between students and educators who teach and/or design their e-learning environments? Are there variations in the learning styles of students at different levels of study? How may we use this learning styles data to inform the design in e-learning environments? This paper details mixed-methods research with three cohorts teaching and learning in e-learning environments in higher education: novice undergraduate e-learners, graduate e-learners, and educators teaching in, or designing for, e-learning environments (Willems, 2010). Quantitative findings from the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) (Felder & Silverman, 1988; Felder & Soloman, 1991, 1994) reflect an alignment of the results between both the graduate e-learner and e-educator cohorts across all four domains of the ILS, suggesting homogeneity of results between these two cohorts. By contrast, there was a statistically significant difference between the results of the graduate and educator cohorts with those of the undergraduate e-learners on two domains: sensing-intuitive (p=0.015) and the global-sequential (p=0.007), suggesting divergent learning style preferences. Qualitative data was also gathered to gain insights on participants' responses to their learning style results.

Educational equity is premised on the right of individuals to a higher education irrespective of their age, geographical location, gender, race, physical ability, or socio-economic background in order to improve their income generation and hence quality of life (Santiago et al., 2008). In the digital age, distance-, flexible-, mobile-, virtual- and e-learning are all being promoted as means by which disadvantaged learners from around the globe can access, participate in, and achieve the outcome of post-secondary qualifications. They are also promoted as the means by which staff can participate in commensurate employment irrespective of their personal circumstances. This paper examines equity as a key benchmark for both students and staff in an era of changing demands and changing directions in higher education. While grounded in the literature, the paper incorporates ethnographic (student voice) and autoethnographic (staff voice) exemplars to highlight ways that disadvantage is experienced in technologically-mediated education.

Popular social networking sites such as 'Facebook' demonstrate an emerging opportunity for students and educators within formal higher education contexts to share ideas, celebrate creativity and participate in an environment which offers immediate feedback from others who belong within a specific network. As this is an emerging use of the technology, an autoethnographic approach has helped capture the potentials and pitfalls of incorporating social networking within higher education. The findings highlight implications for the key stakeholders in higher education.

There are growing calls to make equity a focus of research concern in Australian higher education. In turn such research will, it is anticipated, inform the planning, delivery and implementation of education in an era of rapid global and technological change. Yet to undertake such research requires generating a greater understanding of the complex and multidimensional nature of educational disadvantage for the purposes of equity. This paper explores the 'Equity Raw-Score Matrix' as a means of capturing economic, geographic and social disadvantage.

Online learning has been touted as one means by which disadvantage for participation in higher education can be overcome. A frequent argument for the provision of online learning is the improvement of equity for those previously excluded from higher education 'due to location, family responsibilities, or disability' (Bishop, 2002, p. 231). However, the notion of equity in educational participation can be conceptualised in different ways. McIntyre et al. (2004, pp. 18-19) delineate five perceptions of equity on the basis of the underlying social paradigm upon which they are based: the conservative view of equity (opportunities are available to every individual in a society, and thus no additional equity strategies are necessary); the neo-conservative view (each individual should be able to realise their economic potential which is enabled by access to courses); the neo-liberalist view (social exclusion is the breakdown between an individual and society, thus equity strategies need to manage diversity); the liberal and liberal humanist view (the education system needs to be accessible to all by the redistribution of resources and the removal of any barriers that may be preventing successful participation); and finally, the socialist or radical socialist view of equity (non-dominant groups should be supported and resourced for social justice). In this paper, equity is viewed to as a social justice issue. That is, educational disadvantage should be acknowledged, and students experiencing disadvantage need to be supported in order to achieve educational outcomes.

In 2010, through the generosity of a legacy, DEHub - a consortium of 5 universities established to inform 'best practice' in distance education and based at the University of New England - advertised a scholarship throughout Australia for an Indigenous student to undertake a special research project relating in some way to both Indigenous needs in higher education and the broad field of distance education. From a group of keen applicants who came from a variety of backgrounds and locations, a successful recipient was selected. Following the awarding of the scholarship, the Indigenous scholar, staff from Oorala (the Indigenous Centre at the University of New England), and academic staff from DEHub, worked collaboratively to identify the chosen research topic. This presentation shares the preliminary findings of research into how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participate in higher education with technology. It also describes the research journey between the Indigenous scholar and the supervisor which was successfully mediated via by synchronous and asynchronous technology in the supervision process itself.