NODE+project

=NODE project – Networking Online to Diversify Engagement= Dr Lisa Cluett and Dr Judy Skene Student Services

In 2006 and as part of an ongoing commitment to aspirational practice and providing services focused on the student experience, a team from Student Services proposed a pilot project that examined the role of on-line communities in student engagement. The project was RIF-funded and since the start of the project has consisted of 2 main parts: 1. Node.live online community. The online environment (www.node.uwa.edu.au) was developed by the WebOffice using Drupal. The site has blogging, wiki, groups and discussion board functionality and the online community was developed and maintained by Lisa Cluett and Judy Skene with guest student bloggers creating much of the original content. 2. Student ICT survey. A survey of UWA First Year students’ access to, experience with and expectations of ICT at University was initially undertaken in 2006-07 with an extended version used in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

node.live site Visits and content have varied hugely in volume during the three and a half years the site has been live and a variety of approaches have been used to promote the site and create community (many of which are outlined in our publications available from http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning/networking_smarter/llrs_projects/llrs_publications_list) although the ultimate barrier throughout the project has been the requirement for students to engage in an online community they weren’t already using. Pheme authentication for the site meant that all users could be tracked and contacted although it also meant that students could not join until they had enrolled and been issued a UWA student number. The most recent evolution of the node.live site has therefore been to start to direct all traffic to the new UWA Students Facebook page.

Student Surveys A survey of first year students who had completed more than 50% of their first year unit load was conducted late in 2006 and the data received provided a useful overview of the access to ICT, the usage and the expectations of first year students. Multi-variate analysis was completed by Kevin Murray of the School of Mathematics and a report discussing the finding produced. We were then able to start speaking with some confidence about the UWA First Year student cohort, rather than making assumptions about their ICT preferences. There has been a lag between collecting the data and writing-up reports due to a number of factors including staff leave and funding interruptions.

Future The node.live site is no longer actively promoted to students and any traffic is now being redirected to the UWA Students Facebook page (see pg12). The survey will continue to be run each summer with each year’s successive cohort. The data belong to Student Services but it available to anyone who is interested – in an ideal world we’d write it up each year and send it out. Anyone who knows how to make this aspect easier should contact the project team!