Brett Van Heekeren, Charles Sturt University The BA Communication (Advertising) undergraduate degree program is an industry based, hands-on course that relies heavily on situated learning environments to facilitate the learning outcomes of the course. Adapting subjects in this course to the online environment has posed many challenges, none more than the need to create 'Advertising Agency' situations for teams of students to operate within. ADV205 is a subject that introduces students to the Advertising Creative process, that requires teams to develop idea generation processes, idea evaluation processes and idea publication situations. All of these 'hands-on' subject requirements have been successfully re-created online through Interact, via the mix and match of key tools and the creative branding of these tools. The audience for this presentation will be exposed to the educational design 'thinking' as well as learning outcomes from this heavily 'scaffolded' and interactive online learning model

1. Making group-work ‘work’ online:
the ‘virtual agency’ case.
Brett Van Heekeren
School of Communication
Charles Sturt University

2. The Background
ADV205 Ad Creative...it’s all about ideas!
The Subject Story
Advertising ideas
Practice-based
Authentic environments
Team interaction
Team member interaction
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

3. The Essential Tools
Creating environments for delivery and interaction
Instructor to student asynchronous communication
Instructor and student media archive and storage
Student ‘publication’ space: the Virtual Gallery
Podcast delivery of core content and workshop stimuli
Visual support for content and workshops
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

4. The Stages of Learning
Scaffolding and supporting the learning
Stage 1: Delivering the content
Podcast &
Slides Readings
audio files
Lectures: topic by
topic content delivery
Prompting interaction in
more ‘authentic’
Workshops: ‘kick environments – the ‘VA’
(Project Worksite)
start’ group activities
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

5. The Stages of Learning
Scaffolding and supporting the learning
Stage 2: Setting up the VA: introducing & navigating the authentic environments
Asynchronous group communication(formal)
Synchronous group communication(informal)
Media and file storage
Replicates the
hands-on group
interactivity of the
internal subject.
(Think & Do)
Ginger Bunnies Virtual Boardroom
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

6. The Stages of Learning
Scaffolding and supporting the learning
Stage 3: ‘Putting it out there’: developing accountability among the cohort.
Using the subject wiki as a virtual gallery for general publication and comment.
VA 1 VA 5
VA 2
VA 4
VA 3
ADV205 virtual gallery
Ginger Bunnies Virtual Boardroom
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

7. The Stages of Learning
Pushing for higher order learning
Stage 4: ‘Raising the stakes’: professional outcomes in intimate teams
Using the current learning to support a higher order challenge – portfolio construction
Creative Teams (CT) of two established
Project worksite allocation
Site mirrors their virtual agency (VA) environments
Teams work independently on authentic ‘briefs’
Design & construct professional creative portfolio
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

8. The Stages of Learning
Pushing for higher order learning
Stage 4: ‘Raising the stakes’: professional outcomes in intimate teams
Using the current learning to support a higher order challenge – portfolio construction
The critical ‘construction zone’
Ginger Bunnies Portfolio
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

9. The Evaluation
What made the group-work work?
Basic Accountable Higher level
VG Environment
CT Environment
VA Environment
professional & publication. professional
domain Views of skills.
knowledge ‘others’. Independent
Intro Content online
environment Feedback interaction
navigation
Transfer of learning Transfer of learning
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

10. The Evaluation
What made the group-work work?
THE AUTHENTIC ENVIRONMENT ARGUEMENT
Authentic Assessment Tasks
Professional Socialisation (professional + social rhetoric)
Sense of ‘place’ & ‘identity’
Engagement of the human dimensions of...
‘Think’
‘Do ‘
‘Feel’ (the practice)
Intrinsic interest ... ‘fun’
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

11. The Evaluation
What made the group-work work?
Making group-work ‘work’ online: the ‘virtual agency’ case.

12. Making group-work ‘work’ online:
the ‘virtual agency’ case.
Brett Van Heekeren
School of Communication
Charles Sturt University
The Q&A