Mollie Dollinger

Whew, made @amandalovestoaudit.bsky.social 's #HERDSA2025 mash up dinner post. Also taking full credit for planting the seed for her to get selfie with Andrew Norton ;-)

Herman B Wells vision for IU was a uni with strong linguistic and cultural roots - preparing grads for a complex internationalized world.

That’s now all being dismantled, thanks to a conservative gov who doesn’t see value in ‘niche’ courses. And they’re only just getting started.

Alex Steel from UNSW encourages a practical yet undervalued reflection for educators:

- Why am I offering this assessment?
- What course learning outcomes does it support?
- What am I hoping they will learn?

#HERDSA2025

The fab @drjot.bsky.social presenting on behalf of our team on the challenges of group assessment for equity students

Speaks the variety of experiences our students (often lumped together) face - there is no one type of student! #HERDSA2025

If you’re coming to my #herds2025 keynote tomorrow and want to check out a bit about what I do - you can check out my IG

www.instagram.com/amandalovest...

Same handle on YT (longer form video) and TikTok

Gov messaging is contradictory.

One hand trying to increase total number of heads, other hand hoping to dictate spots in this course but not that, this uni but not that one.

Norton points out this won’t work. Can’t have the cake and eat it too! #HERDSA2025

Norton brings up the new gov review of uni board membership.

He predicts that it will find that most uni boards will be shown not to have the necessary expertise needed to make sound uni-wide decisions. #HERDSA2025

In case anyone is interested - collecting student complaints IMO is not student voice nor partnership activity.

It retains traditional power imbalances, and pits educators vs students.

Not saying it shouldn’t exist, but it should be the last ditch effort. #HERDSA2025

Whew! Norton highlighting so many policy issues - gender based violence, discrimination, campus safety, casual underpayment.

This is why we need more policy research! #HERDSA2025

The creation of the National Student Ombudsman is really a game-changer.

Creates a central function to acknowledge students complaints - which increases some admin - but attempts to elevate these concerns.

#HERDSA2025

Andrew Norton’s work and expertise rightfully calls out concern of over regulation in higher ed — makes us less nimble, more constrained..

That not how big ideas get made. #HERDSA2025

Haha on my soapbox, but we really do need more policy people.. and esp diverse people!

Would be good to link up more if the frameworks that emerged from that time! Surely would save some time

Oh yes!! I knew it (without the help of the internet or AI). Thx for sharing

Update. @drjot.bsky.social now knitting. Def should get points if you ever spot this IRL, but likely means the responsibility to tweet is on me now… #HERDSA2025

Can anyone ‘longer in the tooth’ tell me if there was this much emphasis on the various ways students would use the Internet?

Compared to the now focus on the ways students use AI.

#HERDSA2025

Or maybe it was… @carlessdavid.bsky.social ?

I also like Esterhazy’s notion of feedback as an event (didn’t @kgravett.bsky.social also write on this?)

I like nuancing the type of feedback, from the banal, the expected, to the transformation. In the latter, it really feeling like a moment. #HERDSA2025

Jack from CRADLE further notes that students uncomplicated use of GenAI is in fact complicated…

Good point. And really links to the need to shift to detect learning, which btw is really hard and much much harder than detecting cheating @jasonmlodge.bsky.social #HERDSA2025

Sometimes I take sentences that say students and replace it with ‘people’. In this case, it totally works 😅

Corbin points out that AI tools often guide our students on what to read. This is really really scary!!

Good news - this is why we need educators. To curate the reading and make sure students aren’t just reading the dominant texts of our disciplines #HERDSA2025

Oh something positive! That’s nice

Thomas Corbin of CRADLE fame, highlights that most students use GenAI even though they don’t trust it very much.

Human nature I suppose to cut corners, even when we know it’s not good for us. #HERDSA2025

Love the UNSW recognition that students don’t love surveys!

This is why we need more engaging and dare I say relational approaches to higher ed research…

#HERDSA2025

Jo Tai in a yellow cardigan

When you see the back of this head, you know the pressure to share on social media is off. 🤣

@drjot.bsky.social

There was a q around why the education focused roles exists?

We know why. Several gov policies around reducing casual or sessional teachers, as well as growing professionalisation of courses, where many educators don’t have PhDs - or don’t excel at research.

#HERDSA2025

At Collins F talk on education focused roles.

Great to emphasise there is NO literature to assert that EF roles are more effective teachers!

So many reasons to unpack this, but it’s such an important reminder we have a long way to go to support these roles - and measure their impact. #HERDSA2025

Great opening keynote by Rowena at #herdsa2025

Interested to hear ECU is piloting units with no assessments. I imagine this would require lots of socialisation with students, not only staff. Helping them understand that can’t just fob off as they will need to demonstrate skills later.. 🤔

Are we doing BlueSky this year at #HERDSA2025...? Or #HERDSA25?

Asking social media whizs' @drjot.bsky.social and @amandalovestoaudit.bsky.social

This is an excellent speech by the new Chancellor of Oxford University, William Hague.

Lots of good jokes, but also a staunch defence of what a university should be. We're going to need a lot of that in the years ahead.