Tim Winkler reports on new ideas to keep HR ticking over

A new article from QUT academics Amos Tay, Henk Huijser, Sarah Dart and Abby Cathcart look at the grey area between the roles of academic staff and learning designers in using educational technology and the challenges of working out who is in charge and how best to work in this contested space.

The global learning technology market is forecast to grow from $200bn in 2019 to $375bn in 2026 – a measure of the explosion in importance placed on improved on-line education tools, particularly after the acceleration of on-line learning adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article analyses aspects of some cases of increasing conflict between learning designers and academic staff as the role of both groups change, particularly with the accelerated roll out of on-line learning. Anecdotal evidence of increased conflict over the types of learning programmes used, reduced time available to work on solutions, and reduced access to learning designers reveal some of the pressures commonly reported by each group.

The analysis observed that both groups had a shared desire to improve learning and teaching, but changed power dynamics and understanding as a result of the accelerated on-line teaching rollout. Policies that prioritise collaboration over learning design rather than fragmentation and institutionalised power imbalances could help.

Winkler on the HR works runs regularly at the new HEJobs  recruitment site