I have been teaching for a little while now—not as long as some, but long enough to have some experience to draw on—and yet I am the first to acknowledge that I still have so much to learn. I was once again reminded of this when I attended the School of Information and Communication Studies (SICS) Learning and Teaching Retreat, held on campus in Wagga Wagga in early November last year.

We got together as a staff as best we could, with the Wagga staff meeting in one room and the Bathurst staff staying on their campus, but zooming in together from one room. A small number of staff joined online, and it worked pretty well. While I would have loved to see everyone in person, it was nice to be able to come together as much as possible, using technology to bridge the gaps.

The schedule for the three days that I participated in was reasonably packed. A range of presenters covered different areas of learning and teaching, including:

• Transitioning from Workplace Learning and Work-Integrated Learning;
• Sharing practice:
  • Audio feedback on assessment items pilot; and,
  • Designing digital learning materials and experiences;
• Adjusting and refining assessment tasks;
• Researching teaching;
• Evaluating teaching;
• Scholarly activity;
• Neurodivergence training; and,
• Strategic planning for whole school learning and teaching approaches.

While there were several great sessions, the one that really stood out to me and prompted me to reflect on my practice was ‘Designing Digital Learning Materials and Experiences.‘

The practice of presenting content in accessible ways is not new to me, and I’m sure it’s not new to many of my readers either. It is something that we are taught to consider in our education degrees and in the way we provide adjustments or scaffolds for our students. That being said, I did enjoy the reminder of the why behind the what I do as an educator.

It has also had a significant impact on the way I have been thinking about and approaching my teaching this year, particularly in the second of the three sessions that CSU offers. I am genuinely enjoying thinking about and attempting to design learning experiences that cater for a broader range of needs and preferences. I don’t always get it right, and sometimes the technology fails me, but it has been a lot of fun and brought a little joy back into my teaching. More on this later, I’m sure, but for now, I wanted to thank Dr Vi Truong, who presented on this particular topic last year. Vi, it certainly had an impact on me, and I am grateful to you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!

---

This post was edited with the help of Grammarly.

The feature image for this post was taken by me at Lake Albert, Wagga Wagga, in November 2024.