If you join as a member or become conference delegate you will also be invited to receive the newsletter. You can opt out at any time.
Recent New Posts
New Zealand Government, Mobile Phones and Flexible Learning
Opinion Dr Simon Paul Atkinson has spent over thirty years in educational technology, academic development and professional development roles. This blog represents a personal reflection on the part of the author and does not represent an official position on the part of the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand. The new National-led coalition government in…
No better time to join FLANZ
The Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand invites educators, learning and teaching professionals, schools and learning institutions to join the FLANZ community and contribute to the growing discussion, advocacy and change in flexible learning. With the ongoing interest in flexible and distance learning educators are seeking information and understanding of what’s new and what’s possible…
Recap: Collaborating with ChatGPT on your team
Rob Nelson, Doctor of Professional Practice ākonga in the College of Work Based Learning, Otago Polytechnic Te Pūkenga, facilitated the webinar ‘Collaborating with ChatGPT on your team’ on Thursday, 21 March 2024. In it, he introduced us to a simulation project with students at Otago Polytechnic in which a team used ChatGPT not just as…
FLANZ 2024 Conference – Submission Deadline Extended
The Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) is seeking submissions for the FLANZ 2024 Conference which will be held between 26 – 28 August 2024 at the Grafton Campus of Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland. All submissions now due on Sunday, 28 April 2024 Our theme this year will be Evolving Practice in Flexible Learning which will be…
FLANZ 2024 Conference – Call for Submissions
Kia ora koutou, The Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) is seeking submissions for the FLANZ 2024 Conference which will be held between 26 – 28 August 2024 at the Grafton Campus of Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland. Our theme this year will be Evolving Practice in Flexible Learning which will be…
Website Refresh and New Member Accounts Area
FLANZ has switched to a more straight-forward solution for renewing membership or becoming a member. It has been 5 years since FLANZ changed its underlying website architecture that enables members to manage their membership. Feedback from members told us that the ability to generate an invoice and pay via Bank Transfer would be appreciated. The…
Recap: APODE Week 2023
Empowering education: A glimpse into FLANZ’s APODE Week 2023 We are thrilled to share the success of the Asia-Pacific Online Distance Education (APODE) Week 2023, organised by FLANZ in collaboration with the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA) and global partners EDEN Digital Learning Europe, Coimbra Group Education Innovation, Doctoral Studies Working Groups,…
Webinar: Collaborating with ChatGPT on your team
The increasing use and capabilities of the large language model ChatGPT-3.5 (and its successors/imitators) are indicative of the potential of using artificial intelligence (AI) for knowledge-work tasks such as web searching and generating various types of creative literature. This makes it a useful tool for project teams working on collaborative tasks. It also raises the…
“Surely the most important thing is learning, rather than teaching.”
Context is oftentimes important. For this discussion, I was in a room of early and mid-career university academics with a shared, nascent interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). We all worked at a large, research-intensive university where research productivity—as in publications and grants—was seen as more important than high-quality teaching for…
Bridging Design Prototypes (BDPs) – A design tool to resource sustainable, equitable, flexible learning
For sustainable and equitable education in a flexible online distance classroom, design of learning resources should start with understanding needs, wants, and context of each member of a classroom community. So, teaching staff and students can relate to each other in this shared educational experience. Designing for one-size-fits-all might not bring about meaningful learning and…
Everyone could climb a tree
This is a well-known quote since a long time ago, however, it seems that such judgment is still going strong in our current education setting simply because there is an unspoken rule that higher education is not for everyone, let alone Flexible Learning. As per FLANZ’s slogan – Making ako accessible for all –…
Yes we can!” – Digital Education for Better Futures: Reflections and thoughts from EDEN 2023 in Dublin
The 2023 EDEN conference (18-20 June 2023) at Dublin City University (DCU), explored the theme, “Yes we can!” – Digital Education for Better Futures. This theme focused on the language of opportunity and challenged participants to dream big. With 324 participants from 35 countries and over 200 submissions, it provided a mix of insights into the current…
Registration is open for APODE Week 2023
The Asia-Pacific Online Distance Education (APODE) week will be held from 7 to 9 November 2023 and has the theme ‘Evolving Practice in Flexible Learning’. FLANZ and the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA) partner to provide a series of webinars. Globally, we partner with EDEN Digital Learning Europe who will be holding the European Open…
Audio podcasting: An important pedagogical tool for flexible and online learning
Today’s students—especially those engaged in blended and online learning—face many external pressures that impact their studies. Many students work one or more jobs, often full time, to keep up with the current cost-of-living crisis and housing crisis. Others have families and caretaking duties that require their time and attention. Flexible, blended, and online learning makes…
Webinar: 21 years of teaching online: The good, the bad, and the noteworthy
This presentation will draw key insights from 21 years of online teaching, with a focus on asynchronous online discussion, student perspectives, and teacher workloads. Alongside research insights, you will receive practical suggestions, with an invitation to join the conversation and share your insights about online discussion from your own viewpoint and context. You do not…
Seven years with the FLANZ Executive Committee
It’s a long time to serve with any group, but as a member of the FLANZ Executive Committee, the last seven years have been well worth it. And now that I’m stepping down, I’m not even prepared to go very far, as I continue to serve as Co-Editor of the FLANZ Flagship Journal, the Journal…