Dr. Leanne Ngo

Director, Teaching and Learning Innovations

Dr. Leanne Ngo is the Director of Teaching and Learning Innovations. She leads and oversees the Faculty’s Learning Innovations team. Leanne joined Deakin since 2000. She completed her UG studies and her Ph.D. in Cybersecurity culture education at Deakin. Leanne has been a sessional academic for over ten years, both an educational technologist and academic developer, unit chair and deputy course director of the Bachelor of Commerce. She represents the faculty on teaching and learning committees and working parties to help shape learning and teaching at Deakin. Leanne brings nearly two decades of teaching, research, and academic development and support experience in the application of technology and learning design in higher education.

Leanne can help staff with:

–        Designing academic staff T&L capacity building programs for faculty, school, department, course and unit teams including, new academic staff orientation and sessional staff professional development

–        Scoping, resourcing and operationalising T&L projects including scaling up sustainable solutions

–        Incorporating technology-enhanced learning in the course and unit curricula

–        Evaluating emerging digital technologies to enable engaging learning experiences and outcomes

–        Promoting active learning in physical and digital learning spaces

–        Designing ePortfolio in the course and unit curricula

–        Applying design thinking to curricula design

You can contact Leanne via leanne.ngo@deakin.edu.au, 924 68186, in-person at Burwood, Twitter

Maria Lentini

Digital Education Designer

Maria Lentini is a Digital Education Designer. Maria has worked at Deakin for 11 years, working for the (formerly) School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, prior to joining Learning Innovations, and before that Maria did programming for Mobil Oil. More recently she has worked on testing and implementing the technology for converged learning. Maria can help staff with:

• CloudDeakin support and training (for staff on boarding)
• Unit redesign
• Converged Learning

You can contact Maria via maria.lentini@deakin.edu.au, and 924 46887

Ella Wright

Instructional Designer

Ella Wright is an Instructional Designer. Ella has worked in primary, secondary, VET and higher education; in both the private and public sector in Australia and Europe. Recently she has been working on the WIL pre-placement module, developing assessment minimum standards and auditing Sustainable Development Goals in the curriculum. Ella can help staff with:

• Developing English language literacy in the curriculum and supporting international students’ learning
• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Designing for cloud learning

You can contact Ella via ella.w@deakin.edu.au, 924 68694, and LinkedIn

Komala Murugiah

Learning Designer

Komala Murugiah is a Learning Designer. Komala has also worked for several social enterprises in Singapore. Recently Komala has been working on training and development content for the Australian Bureau of Statistics. She also has teaching expertise in corporate communication, economics, management and corporate social responsibility. She can help staff with:

• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Designing for cloud learning
• Pedagogy

You can contact Komala via k.murugiah@deakin.edu.au, 924 68334, and LinkedIn

Anna Grbin

Learning Design Officer

Anna Grbin is a Learning Design officer, based at the Geelong Waterfront campus. She has worked for Deakin for over 20 years, and previously worked on study guides and readers. Recently Anna has been working on converting FutureLearn content into CloudDeakin. She can help staff with:

• Converting documents into any template
• Uploading rubrics, assignment dropboxes and quizzes into CloudDeakin
• Proof-reading and basic edits, templating and styling documents

You can contact Anna via anna.grbin@deakin.edu.au, and 522 78199

Dr Puva Arumugam

Lecturer Learning Futures

Dr Puva Arumugam is a Lecturer (Learning Futures). She has worked in the education sector for over 20 years, in Singapore. In Australia, she has worked for CPA, Open Universities Australia, and now Deakin. Her PhD explored the shift in Malay cultural identity, through theatre productions. Puva’s research interests include digital learning environments in Higher Education and stakeholder perspectives of digital literacy (including student, educator, academic and employer). Recently Puva has been working on the CloudFirst redesign project for Deakin Law School. She can help staff with:

• Students’ digital learning environment
• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Designing for cloud learning (including FutureLearn)
• Micro-credentials
• MOOC development

You can contact Puva via: p.arumugam@deakin.edu.au, 924 68739, Twitter (@Puvaaru), and LinkedIn

Robyn Barallon

Learning Designer

Robyn Barallon is a Learning Designer. She has worked at Deakin for 7 years, for Curriculum and Governance, and PASS before joining Learning Innovations. Robyn has also worked as an English Language teacher. Robyn is also hoping to start a PhD soon, and is interested in how we design for learning and assessment, and its impact on student equity. Recently Robyn has been working on piloting self and peer assessment tools (Feedback Fruits) in the curriculum, and on feedback literacy. She can help staff with:

• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Supporting unit site development

You can contact Robyn via: robyn.barallon@deakin.edu.au, 924 46375, and LinkedIn

Dr Mahen Jayawardena

Senior Educational Designer

Dr Mahen Jayawardena is a Senior Educational Designer. Mahen has been working with Deakin since early 2018, initially with Learning Futures on the FutureLearn project. Mahen has also worked as a Computer Science academic at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. His PhD touched on interdisciplinary studies and bioinformatics. Recently Mahen has been working on embedding self and peer assessment tools in the curriculum, and the Financial Planning CloudFirst redesign. Mahen can help staff with:

• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Designing for cloud learning
• CloudDeakin support

You can contact Mahen via: m.jayawardena@deakin.edu.au, 924 46741, and LinkedIn

Tesfalem Gdey

Learning Designer

Tesfalem Gdey is a Learning Designer. He has been working at Deakin for 2 years, prior to that he worked as a freelance web developer. Recently Tesfalem has been working on the BCEL website redesign and embedding H5P in unit sites. Tesfalem can help staff with:

• CloudDeakin support
• Converged learning training
• Coordinating and recording videos (e.g. welcome videos, interviews with academics and industry professionals)
• Unit site development

You can contact Tesfalem via: tesfalem.gdey@deakin.edu.au, 924 45260, and LinkedIn

James Buchan

Learning Designer

James Buchan is a Learning Designer with Learning Innovations, based at the Geelong Waterfront campus. He has worked with Deakin for 9 years and prior to that managed IT for Barwon Valley Primary School. More recently James has been working on embedding WordPress portfolios in the curriculum and helping to redesign and manage course sites. James can help staff with:

• Creating and uploading rubrics and quizzes
• Video editing
• Portfolios in the curriculum
• Course site design and support
• CloudDeakin support and resource creation
• BCEL training for teaching staff

You can contact James via: james.buchan@deakin.edu.au, and 522 72598

Dr Sharon Pittaway

Senior Lecturer (Student Engagement)

Dr Sharon Pittaway is a Senior Lecturer (Student Engagement). She joined Deakin late 2016, and has also worked for Learning Futures and the Faculty of Arts and Education. Sharon has also worked for Monash University, Swinburne University and the University of Tasmania. Prior to that, Sharon worked as an English and Drama teacher in Tasmania. Sharon’s current research interests include: student and staff engagement, and identity development. More recently she has been working on unit design guidelines and principles of premium learning. Sharon can help staff with:

• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Promoting active learning
• First year student transition pedagogy
• Researching teaching and learning

You can contact Sharon via: sharon.pittaway@deakin.edu.au, 924 68939, ResearchGate

Lincoln James

Learning Designer

Lincoln James is a Learning Designer. He has worked at Deakin since 2013 with the Writing Mentors (Student Life) and DeakinTALENT before joining Learning Innovations. Lincoln is also pursuing a PhD with CRADLE in assessment design, career education and professional identity. More recently he has been working on auditing BCom units’ learning design, BCEL website redevelopment and rubric minimum standards. He has teaching expertise in career education. Lincoln can help staff with:

• Learning design (from ULOs to assessment and rubric design)
• Designing for cloud learning

You can contact Lincoln via: Lincoln.james@deakin.edu.au, 924 45483, LinkedIn, Twitter (@ThenJames) and ResearchGate

Dr Harsh Suri

Senior Lecturer (Learning Futures)

Dr Harsh Suri is a Senior Lecturer (Learning Futures). She has been a teaching and research academic at Deakin since 2013, and at Melbourne, Monash and La Trobe Universities prior to that. Her current research interests include research synthesis methods, graduate employment and global learning. More recently Harsh has been working on embedding Sustainable Development Goals and Internationalisation in the curriculum, FutureLearn, CloudFirst redesign, and leads BLER@D. Harsh can help staff with:

• Learning design
• Redesigning curriculum to strengthen employability and global learning
• Work-integrated learning
• Finding evidenced-informed solutions to complex teaching and learning problems
• Mentoring and collaborating on SoTLprojects (including T&L awards, grants applications, and journal manuscripts)
• Evidence-based policy and teaching
• Evaluating teaching and learning innovations
• Work-integrated learning

You can contact Harsh via: harsh.suri@deakin.edu.au, 924 68032, LinkedIn, and Google Scholar

Victor Wong

Interactive Designer

Victor Wong is an Interactive Designer. He has worked at Deakin for over 4 years. Prior to joining Deakin, Victor has worked in animation, digital content development, learning and instructional design in Italy, South Korea, Singapore and in Melbourne. More recently Victor has worked on Institute of Public Accountants unit sites, Australian Bureau of Statistics modules, Ethics and Financial unit site visual content. Victor can assist staff with:

• Unit site design and other front end development
• UX/UI design
• Advice on accessibility and responsive design for digital platforms
• Video editing and production
• Instructional design and storyboarding
• 3D modelling and animation

You can contact Victor via: v.wong@deakin.edu.au and 924 68017

Jonathan Rogers

Interactive Learning Designer

Jonathan Rogers is an Interactive Learning Designer. He has worked at Deakin since mid-2018. Prior to joining Deakin, Jonathan has worked in digital media for education at Oxford University Press and Box Hill Institute. More recently Jonathan has worked on the Australian Bureau of Statistics training modules, the customisable Topic Selection Tool for CloudDeakin, and Financial Planning units. He can help staff with:

• Front-end development and creation of interactive objects
• UX/UI design
• Advice on accessibility and responsive design for digital platforms
• Motion graphics and animation
• Instructional design and storyboarding
• Illustration

You can contact Jonathan via: jonathan.rogers@deakin.edu.au and 924 68235

Vivek Venkiteswaran

Digital Resource Coordinator

Vivek Venkiteswaran is the Digital Resource Coordinator. Prior to working in higher education, Vivek was employed in various IT organisations as a project consultant. More recently Vivek has been working with education technology and working closely with academics to embed technology to facilitate student learning. In addition, Vivek is a sessional academic within the Faculty and teaches in project management, business logistics and others.  He can help with:

• Project scoping
• Learning Design
• Scoping and scheduling for digital resources

You can contact Vivek via: vivek.venkiteswaran@deakin.edu.au, and 924 68633

Tristan Kirby

Senior Educational Developer

Tristan Kirby is a Senior Educational Developer. He has been working at Deakin for 4 years, and prior to that taught English in Japan. More recently Tristan has been working on assignment extension and late submission automatic calculation, and using H5P to support student learning. Tristan can help staff with:

• Interactive and video technologies
• Embedding responsive and interactive web activities in unit sites

You can contact Tristan via: t.kirby@deakin.edu.au, 522 78870

Michael Wescott

Video Producer

Michael Wescott is a Video Producer, based at the Waterfront campus. He has worked for Deakin for a little over 10 years and is particularly interested in narrative storytelling as a method to connect students to course material. Most recently Michael has worked on video content for the Juris Doctor and Sport Management units, he has also been shooting videos for CloudFirst units. Michael can help staff with:

• Developing concepts for video material including pre-production scripting,
• Studio and location shooting
• Post-production (e.g. editing)

Michael can be contacted through Vivek Venkiteswaran.