Testimonials
About AIRport
I'm a huge fan of AIRport. It is an extremely useful resource that encourages active, independent student learning. After visiting AIRport again recently, I was amazed at the range and variety of its features, from short interactive exercises with immediate feedback, to video clips showing how tutorials work, to short courses on essay writing, and the list goes on. Through its design, AIRport supports the development of important academic skills while enabling students to direct their own learning. They choose what they want to focus on and they work in their own time, at their own pace. AIRport really is an impressive resource and one which the University of Melbourne should feel very proud to own.
Chi BaikLecturer in Higher Education
Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE)
The University of Melbourne
One of the main reasons for choosing to visit Melbourne was to look at the AIRport package. I found it an excellent package. I was impressed with the variety of interactive exercises and use of real-life scenarios, real photographs and videos, which makes this package appealing to students. In addition the excellent feedback provided covers a wide range of suggested answers and outcomes. In taking a proactive approach to support, at an early stage, it can help to minimise feelings of disorientation and isolation, potentially reducing the need for additional support and the demand on other services. The AIRport team also stressed the need for as many students as possible to be able to access the package so they have made it available to watch, to listen to or to read. AIRport encourages students to engage with the University, their studies, fellow students and staff. As a result of the information gained from my meetings with the AIRport team we have been able to develop our own interactive online package at Nottingham. This provides information and advice for students as they prepare to come to the UK to study.
Rosemary GibsonSenior International Officer
International Support Services
Nottingham University
United Kingdom
About accessibility in AIRport
AIRport is an excellent resource for students whose learning or transition to study may be made more complicated by disability or other factors. I have personally found AIRport to be an excellent tool for empowering students during my consultations for students experiencing disability. The Finding Balance Tool in particular is a powerful mechanism for highlighting to students who struggle with time management that the solution to their problems is in their hands, albeit that it will take some conscious effort to resolve. This is in part what I find most appealing about AIRport as a resource for students. The information and resources embedded in AIRport are provided in a way that is personalised to the unique preferences of the individual, but delivered in such a way that students are not offered glib advice that will resolve any difficulties they are experiencing. The demands of higher education are significant and require students to engage not only with the subject content, but also with how they engage with higher education experiences. AIRport encourages students to be self reflective about how they are learning, and to be proactive in taking steps that will enhance their experience. For students experiencing disability, this approach is in my experience, a critically important factor student success. AIRport embeds useful advice for students in a way that is also mindful of web accessibility principles, something that is often missing in interactive web sites. AIRport is an excellent resource for staff working with students in a variety of advisory capacities and as a self help guide for students.
Matthew BrettManager Disability Liaison Unit
The University of Melbourne
About the First_year@UniMelb blog
I have been aware of the First_year@UniMelb blog since its inception in 2006, at which time its conceptualisation and implementation were absolutely pioneering. In almost every respect, this intelligent intervention makes a significant contribution to enhancing the quality of our students' first year experience (FYE) of higher education. To highlight just a few of its beneficial and critical aspects: it normalises the transition experience by demonstrating how the bloggers, who are as one with the student readers, are coping with and adjusting to the new demands of tertiary study while striving also to balance their competing commitments; it effortlessly creates a sense of both academic and social belonging; it is inherently engaging and reflective; and it facilitates peer-to-peer interactions. Further, in the course of doing all these things, the bloggers instinctively attend to the mediation of a range of transition issues on a crucial, just-in-time, basis. We know that all these things count in aid of first year student retention and satisfaction. Like so many deceptively simple and effective enhancements, the innovative and imaginative harnessing of social media as a familiar interactive tool for this purpose (now that it has been done by your team) is quite breathtakingly obvious. So much an admirer of your blog am I that, in the QUT Law Faculty in 2008, we introduced our own first year blog seeking to emulate its success. The team behind the blog's inception deserve the strongest possible commendation.
Professor Sally KiftAustralian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)
Senior Fellow Queensland University of Technology
About The Meeting Place social networking tool
Thanks to the introduction of The Meeting Place site in late January 2009, an international student now has the ability to make new university friends before they even depart. With very limited publicity, in just over a month, 406 new users sent 819 messages and 619 friendships were formed globally before orientation had even begun! Social networking communities were formed by country, by course and interest group. This facility has exciting possibilities for all students [original emphasis]. It could be used as a transition resource for all commencing students to form friendships before the academic year starts, no matter where they live in the Australia or the world. Or to create study groups, where all students can participate without regard for physical access or language issues and to create learning communities across disciplines.
Judith HeronManager International Student Services
The University of Melbourne
As an eLearning Designer at Victoria University, I have been very impressed by MEID's innovative work in helping pre-departure overseas students with their orientation to study in Australia. The Meeting Place in the 'International Gate' of AIRport is a fantastic example of social networking principles and tools appropriately applied to the academic experience. And the fact that after such a short time the network is so well used is testament to not only its usefulness but to the thoughtfulness of its design and implementation. Victoria University will be launching ELGG as a social networking platform in 2009, and as an eLearning Designer designing online experiences for a multi-campus and overseas student body, I will be hoping to implement several of the features of The Meeting Place into the design of our own virtual community campus experience.
Keith KirkwoodeLearning Designer Lecturer
Language and Learning Support
Victoria University
I got to know more international students and also got to know a couple of people doing the same course as me. As I was accessing the site before I landed in Melbourne, it helped make the reality of studying in Melbourne a little more as I had other students like me to discuss it with. The email notification for messages was good in helping to facilitate prompt interaction between students, because nobody would log onto the site just to check for replies. Pretty nifty when I want to narrow down my search based on certain keywords as well.
Singaporean student commencing at the University in 2009
About AIRport short courses
AIRport is an important resource for the Academic Skills Unit. Advisers often refer students to AIRport, in particular the academic writing short courses in Gate 2, but also Gate 1 and 3. It serves also a quick reference when preparing workshops and seminars, and advisers sometimes use examples or exercises from AIRport when they create activities for workshops. The moderation of the short courses has also helped to identify typical problems many student face: for most students certain activities seem to be harder than others. This has informed the content of our teaching programs and led to the development of ASU's resources that deal particularly with these areas.
Guido ErnstSenior Adviser
Academic Skills Unit
The University of Melbourne
About Gate 3 Engineering resources
The AIRport developers have advanced this project by genuine collaboration with the Schools and Faculties. In my own case, they consulted with myself and several of my colleagues in engineering and we identified a specific need that an AIRport self-learning module could address. Working together we developed the 'Preparing effective graphs' module which informs students on how to properly present technical data graphically. The module developed is typical of those found in the AIRport system, being easy to use but effective in getting its message across. As one of the lecturing staff for the new first year engineering subjects I do not hesitate to direct my students to this site. Its material on intellectual honesty and plagiarism are excellent and very useful in instilling these concepts into students at such an early stage in their academic careers. In the interactive quizzes that are part of the program the students automatically get useful feedback on their answers.
A/Prof David ShallcrossHead of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
The University of Melbourne
About Gate 3 Biology resources
AIRport has been an integral part of the curriculum in first year Biology since 2006. It has provided specific support for students in writing answers to essay questions. It has made a significant difference to a student's performance. In 2006-2007 we compared the results of those who had completed AIRport activities and those who had not, on the essay section of the examination. For the group who had completed AIRport activities there was a significant positive influence on performance. The Biology section of Gate 3 has provided students with activities which enhance their understanding of Biological terms and essay writing. The gate caters to 1600 students per semester in both the BSc and BBiomed, plus breadth students in the New Generation degree. The activities are 'fun' and interactive. Feedback from the students is extremely positive. The section on essay writing has been invaluable. Many students do not know how to approach essay writing and this module provides guidance. The activity involves students using a marking scheme to mark essays of different standards. This exercise heightens their awareness of pitfalls in preparing their own essays.
A/Prof Dawn GleesonDepartment of Genetics
Director of First Year Studies in Biology
The University of Melbourne