My professional work in the School of Computing & Mathematics at CSU is based upon an interdisciplinary context, supported by the Faculty of Business , comprising a range of varied experiences including teaching high school science, chemistry, biology and computing studies to my academic pursuits in information technology at the university level. I have tried to combine the tools and paradigms from these disparate fields into an integrated framework for my research activity. Various patterns of questioning, testing and interpretation in research are influenced by my understandings that have evolved through my life experiences. Recognising the ways in which new learning situations are investigated as reflections of prior understandings and experiences, forms the basis of the learning paradigm inside information systems research activity.
I enjoy the social networking aspects of collaborative research as well as its outputs as evidenced by 23 of my 50 published papers done with co-authors and by my memberships of various international research groups as the Internet Special Projects Group, Border Studies Institute, the enCore consortium, ethnography-in-education and CONTENT (content analysis discussion group).
My approach to research is one of informed inquiry by qualitative methods, while the quantitative methods are also used to provide both a ‘window’ and a ‘lens’ for focusing the qualitative work. Research is a complex system, so we see that ICT research has in particular, been using a hybrid approach of mixing methods and tools, borrowed from other disciplines in the arts, sciences and social sciences that have preceded ICT into the research realm. My PhD thesis as an example used both ethnography and action research, where the former sits inside the latter.
Recent experience since 2004 has shown to me that good management of research is the ‘value added wrapper’ to doing the research well and producing outcomes like the prized DEST points. So now my role is one of research manager rather than the research worker and it is my belief that the quality of the research outcomes is enhanced. Getting time release from teaching duties to do the research is less efficient and productive than using the same money to hire a research assistant to do it under a research management plan.
I like my research supervision to adjust to the needs of each student, while being both student-focused and student-driven. Research is also a high level learning experience for both the student and supervisor. Research must be proactive and not reactive regarding the student's decision-making. While some need ‘micro-managing’ all the way, others need the supervisor to get out of the way and let them carry on without intervention, until the next milestone or meeting.
Research interests are in a state of flux and tend bounce around the corridors of my teaching practice.
PhD thesis title is "Building Effective Learning Communities Online: An Ethnographic Study".
My current research agenda can be divided into four
related areas:
1. ICT in education
a. instructional gaming,
b. learning technologies and frameworks for teaching practice: Interact, MOODLE, enCore, ZOPE
2. Web technologies
a. e-learning: blog, wiki, Podcasting
b. e-commerce applications: AJAX, Ruby-on-Rails
3. Human-Computer Interaction
4. Online communities
a. automated electronic publishing systems,
b. social networks, research information networks and workgroups
The application of a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to collaborative learning and teaching practice in schools. (http://ispg.csu.edu.au/research/mmorpg)
Podcasting techniques for online and mobile participants.
Scupper’s Island: a role playing game form computing ethics students using the pirate code of conduct (http://ispg.csu.edu.au:7688/)
Kakapo: A distributed collaborative framework for developing research opportunities;
The quality and trust of wiki content in a learning community: with Trevor Peacock and Geoff Fellows
Web 2.0 applications for collaboarative work.
Under a theoretical framework, dominated by computer supported collaborative
learning (CSCL) theories, CSCL is a popular theoretical paradigm for e-learning
research that focuses on the use of ICT as a mediating tool for telelearning
environments. It has an emphasis on understanding of language, culture and
the social setting, founded in the social constructivism. The mixed methodology
of ethnographic case study plus action research used in a research design
is ideal for ICT projects aimed at improving professional practice and represents
a research design which can be used for rich data collection and analysis.
Instrument used: |
Online survey, interview, focus group, participant observation, field notes, case studies, content analysis. |
Analysis and coding: |
Nvivo, UNIX shell scripting, Python, PHP |
Data collection: |
Web Survey (ZOPE), enCore and Moodle |
Content management/version control: |
ZOPE |
Presentation of results: |
Microsoft Office, Macromedia Dreamweaver |
Collaborative document sharing: |
ZOPE and Blogging or Wiki via RSS |
Founding member - Internet Special Projects Group (ISPG).
Member of CRiCS - Strategic Research Centre: Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRCS)
Member of Research Into Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE)
at CSU
Agricultural and Environmental
Research
Land, water and society: "Waterscapes"
initiative, member of Theme F: Nature and use of knowledge and information.
Member of the Centre
for Information Studies at CSU
Member of ReCITE (Innovation
in Telelearning Environments)
SILO project was a prototpye
Web portal for encouraging farmers to use the Internet. Local, national and
international interest was sparked and the project has now sporned many initiatives
in e-commerce and e-publishing in agriculture.
Research associate member of Centre
for Rural Social Research (rural social issues, rural change, rural community
development)
Former Research associate of CRC for Sustainable
Rice Production, Sub-Program 5.2 Education and Technology Transfer
Borderstudies.net is a MOODLE site for people
who want to learn together on the basis of their and others research at http://www.borderstudies.net
CONTENT the mailing list supporting researchers interested
in quantitative analysis of texts, transcripts, and images at http://www.car.ua.edu/
Ethnography-in-Education mailing list at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/archives/ethnography-in-education.html
Student supervision duties with the following thesis topics:
PhD
"Educational MOOs as supportive online learning environments for literature
discussions: an investigation of upper primary students participating in MOO-based
literature circles" Jennie Bales,2003+
Masters
"Podcasting an oral presentation for assessment" Mark Lee, 2005
"Towards an IT project portfolio management integrated framework"
Andrew Mann, 2005
"Designing electronic publishing resources for regional communities"
Roger Johnson, 2003+
"Building an interactive multimedia website for a distributed workgroup"
Jong Pil Park , 2000
"A study in the feasilbility of employer sponsored information technology
vocational education and training via the Internet for Information Technology
Specialists" Kelvin Wilson, 1999.
"Teacher reactions to the introduction of the Internet in rural secondary
colleges." Malcom Baker, 2000
"K2 MOO: a polysynchronous environment for workgroups using mountain
climbing metaphor" Khalid Hamid Chohan, 2001.
Honours
"The quality and trust of content in a wiki community." Trevor Peacock, 2006. [Geoff Fellows co-supervisor]
"The application of a clustering algorithm for detecting computer intrusions."
Andrew Hanson, 2004.
"The impact the expectations of stakeholders have on the development
of a private school's ICT infrastructure" Allan Bytheway 2003.
"Dynamic billing within a federated distributed information system"
Tim Austin CSIRO Scholarship co-supervision. 2002.
Eustace, K, Mason, C & Swan, M (2007). Scupper’s Island: using game design and role-play to learn about professional ethics. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore December 2-5, 2007. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/eustace.doc
Peacock, T, Fellows, G & Eustace, K (2007). The quality and trust of wiki content in a learning community. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore December 2-5, 2007. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/peacock.doc
Lee, M.J.W., Eustace, K., Fellows, G., Bytheway, A. & Irving, L. 2005, Rochester Castle MMORPG: Instructional gaming and collaborative learning at a Western Australian school. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(4), 446-469.
Lee, M.J.W., Eustace, K., Fellows, G., Bytheway, A. & Irving, L. 2005, Using massively-multiplayer online role-playing games to enhance collaborative learning and teaching in the Australian high school classroom. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2005 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 2039-2046). Montréal, Canada, June 27-July 2.
Eustace,K., Fellows, G., Bytheway, A., Lee, M and Irving, L. 2004. The application of massively multiplayer online role playing games to collaborative learning and teaching practice in schools. Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference. Perth WA. December 5-8, 2004.
Eustace, K., Henri, J. and Meloche, J. 2004, Developments in Tele-learning
professional practice in higher education: less teaching, more learning. Electronic
Journal of Instructional Science and Technology (E-JIST), 7 (1). ISSN 1324-0781
TEACHKen - my Teaching Portfolio is here
RESKen Index
Research Philosophy
Interests
Projects 2007
Methods
Tools
Social networks and research groups
Postgraduate supervision
Publications 2004-2007
