APrf Jennifer Stokes

Associate Director: Teaching Innovation Unit

Teaching Innovation Unit

Teaching Enterprise

Available For Media Comment.


I am Associate Director of the Teaching Innovation Unit and an AdvanceHE Senior Fellow. Our TIU team focuses on educational excellence achieved through technology-enhanced learning and research-informed practice. We support our colleagues to innovate with technology grounded in pedagogy to enhance learning outcomes. Throughout my career, I have employed innovative teaching approaches to build student engagement, with a focus on technology, equity, interactivity and digital learning. I publish regularly and recently shared insights as a HERDSA keynote (YT clip) and invited speaker at ICERI (Waseda University, Tokyo). 
Prior to this appointment, I was a Senior Lecturer in Education Futures where I coordinated courses in Digital Literacy and Future Ideas. I was honoured to receive a 2018 Australian Award for University Teaching and a 2016 UniSA Teaching Citation for my work in enabling pedagogy, and a 2017 Digital Learning Citation with Rebecca Godwin and Cameron McTernan for 'leadership in digital learning through innovative course design which empowers students as digital citizens and producers'. View some of the innovative student work and explore our teaching approaches here. In 2017-2018 I coordinated and developed the UniSA Online core course Critical Approaches to Online Learning with OCF Lucy Andrew, leading to a team nomination as finalists for a UO Award. Read more about the approaches my colleagues and I employ in 'New course opens up digital world to College students', 'Creating tomorrow's digital citizens' and 'All the students in my lecture are on their phones... that's perfect!'
There is broad social application for effective approaches to new technology; I regularly contribute to global discussions on these topics. For more information, view my recent pieces on strategies for commencing university in the age of COVID, Mean Girls and Social Media, and how Barbie is changing the film industry, and guest editorial with Professor John Butcher (The Open University, UK) on 'Lessons from Digital Spaces'. Watch my interview on Social Media on the Weekend Today show here, or read about The joy of missing out: How to stop your social media addiction, How reducing social media use and staying active can help fight off winter blues, Viral Crazes, or What Instagram privacy settings and copyright mean for the photos you post.
In recent years, my research has focused on digital learning and enabling pedagogy. I have published on policy and enabling programs and presented nationally and internationally on these themes. I have also published on digital media, diversity, and enabling pedagogies. I served as Deputy Chair of the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia from 2017 to 2018 and the Executive Board until March 2019. Dr Bianca Price and I established a student mentor program with College alumni in late 2012 and have also presented on this process. My current work examines the intersection between digital learning, authentic assessment and enabling pedagogies. I regularly publish and present research. Earlier academic publications focused on media and student engagement. For further details, please see my publications. 
I have worked at the University of South Australia since 2001, teaching across a range of subject areas in the School of Creative Industries (Previously: Communication, International Studies and Languages), including Film and Television, Media Arts, Foundation Studies and Cultural Studies courses. Sophie Relf and I received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council citation based on our exemplary team-teaching and our commitment to student engagement. In our teaching, we enjoyed exploring the innovative methods available through recent developments in digital technology. As a result of our innovative and collaborative teaching, we received an ALTC citation in 2008, a UniSA citation in 2007, as well as the award for Sessional Staff Excellence in Team-teaching for the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences in 2003 and 2004. I was also honoured to receive a Supported Teacher Award in 2009 and Supported Researcher recognition in 2012. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, I presented papers at the Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association conference and served on the Executive Board of ASPERA - the peak body for the nation's film schools.
Sophie Relf and I developed the www.equity101.info website for the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education from 2008-2011; a site designed to build access and capacity for equity scholarship and networking. When active, this web 2.0 site represented Australia's largest online education and social equity community.
In my "spare" time, I produced the micro-budget indie film 'Justice Squad' with director Daniel Lawrance. The film was released in 2012 and screened in Australia and the USA.

My current research focus is on the role of education in supporting access to life opportunities. Topics that I have published or presented on include widening participation policy, enabling pedagogies, student engagement through media, universal design learning and critical pedagogy.

I am interested in the technical and theoretical aspects of film studies. I am proficient with Final Cut Pro, Premiere and other relevant software. I am excited by new technological developments and their impact on contemporary communication practice and identity development.

I have published and presented on the role of women on television in late modernity, particularly in contemporary animation and fantasy texts. I am also interested in depictions of adolescence, the consumption of 'alternative' youth culture, music and identity. I approach these areas from a feminist film theory and cultural studies perspective.

Date Position Institution name
2024 - 2025 Associate Director University of South Australia
2020 - ongoing Senior Lecturer: Digital and Information Literacy University of South Australia

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2024 Fellowship AdvanceHE Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy United Kingdom -
2018 Award 2018 Australian Award for University Teaching Australian Government Australia -
2008 Teaching Award Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Australia -

Date Institution name Country Title
2016 - 2024 University of Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy
2011 - 2012 University of South Australia Australia Graduate Certificate in Education
1997 - 1999 University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Arts

Year Citation
2024 Stokes, J. (2024). Transition as transformation: developing student identities and academic literacies through university enabling pathways in Australia. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 26(2), 31-59.
DOI
2024 Stokes, J. J. (2024). ADEPT and enabled: an Australian case study of enabling pedagogy as innovative educational practice to support students from underrepresented backgrounds at university. International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 10(6), 674-678.
DOI
2023 Stahl, G., McDonald, S., & Stokes, J. (2023). Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie's journey as a learner. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(7), 1624-1639.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2023 Stokes, J. (2023). Enabling pedagogy. HERDSA Connect, 45(1), 20.
2022 Stokes, J., & Butcher, J. (2022). Editorial-special edition-'Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning'. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 24(2), 1-6.
DOI
2021 Stokes, J. (2021). 'Those skills to take on the world': developing capitals through university enabling programs. International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 28(2), 133-146.
DOI Scopus5
2021 Stokes, J. (2021). Key messages for online education. HERDSA Connect, 43(1), 22.
2020 Stahl, G., McDonald, S., & Stokes, J. (2020). 'I see myself as undeveloped': supporting Indigenous first-in-family males in the transition to higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(7), 1488-1501.
DOI Scopus25 WoS20
2018 Stokes, J. (2018). Inclusion and engagement by design: creating a digital literacy course to inspire diverse learners in an Australian university enabling program. International studies in widening participation, 4(2), 65-78.
2018 Hattam, S., Stokes, J., & Ulpen, T. (2018). Should I stay or should I go? Understanding student subjectivity, institutional discourse, and the role enabling academics can play in empowering students within the system. International journal of educational organization and leadership, 25(1-2), 1-14.
DOI Scopus4
2015 Stokes, J., & Ulpen, T. (2015). Agents for change: applying critical pedagogy in enabling programs. The international journal of learning in higher education, 22(3), 57-65.
DOI Scopus3
2015 Dinmore, S., & Stokes, J. (2015). Creating inclusive university curriculum: implementing universal design for learning in an enabling program. Widening participation and lifelong learning, 17(4), 4-19.
DOI
2014 Stokes, J. J. (2014). New students and enabling pedagogies: supporting students from diverse backgrounds through a university enabling program. The international journal of diversity in education, 13(2), 1-10.
DOI
2014 Stokes, J. (2014). Student perspectives on transitioning to university in South Australia: exploring skill needs identified by commencing enabling program students. International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 20(4), 1-8.
DOI Scopus4
2013 Cocks, T. L., & Stokes, J. J. (2013). Policy into practice: a case study of widening participation in Australian higher education. Widening participation and lifelong learning, 15(1), 22-38.
DOI
2012 Cocks, T., & Stokes, J. (2012). A strong foundation: inclusive education at an Australian university college. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 3(4), 844-851.
DOI
2011 Stokes, J., & Wotherspoon, A. (2011). New world order?: challenges for screen production education in participatory culture. Text: journal of writing and writing courses, 15(S11), 1-9.

Year Citation
2024 Hattam, S., Hattam, R., Weiler, T., King, S., Abi Abdallah, M., Bilic, S., . . . Wilson, N. (2024). Toward a theory of critical enabling pedagogy for Australian higher education. In S. Hattam, R. Hattam, T. Weiler, & S. King (Eds.), Source details - Title: Enabling pedagogy and action research in higher education (pp. 285-317). US: DIO Press Inc.
2024 Stokes, J. (2024). Groupwork that works: fostering dialogue and teamwork through learning analytics. In S. Hattam, R. Hattam, T. Weiler, & S. King (Eds.), Source details - Title: Enabling pedagogy and Action Research in Higher Education (pp. 67-92). US: DIO Press.
2023 Stokes, J., & Fudge, A. (2023). Learning Analytics in Higher Education. In L. Meyer (Ed.), Source details - Title: Oxford Bibliographies. UK: Oxford University Press.
DOI
2019 Hattam, S., & Stokes, J. (2019). Liberation and connection: fostering critical students as active agents of their own learning. In A. Jones, A. Olds, & J. G. Lisciandro (Eds.), Source details - Title: Transitioning students into higher education: philosophy, pedagogy and practice (pp. 45-53). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2018 Stokes, J. (2018). Students on the threshold: commencing student perspectives and enabling pedagogy. In C. I. Agosti, & E. Bernat (Eds.), Source details - Title: University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend (pp. 223-242). Switzerland: Springer.
DOI Scopus6
2014 Hattam, S., & Stokes, J. (2014). Critical thinking: argument, logic and persuasion. In D. Carroll (Ed.), Source details - Title: Skills for academic and career success (pp. 72-97). Australia: Pearson Australia.

Year Citation
2025 Stokes, J., Pike, J., & Folber, T. (2025). Building critical AI literacy and fit for purpose application of generative AI in digital literacy: screen, web and new media. In ASPERA Learning and Teaching Online Symposium: Generative AI in the Screen Production Classroom. Australia: Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association.
2017 Stokes, J., & Price, B. (2017). Social media, visual culture and contemporary identity. In N. Callaos (Ed.), Proceedings of the 11th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics: IMSCI 2017 (pp. 159-163). US: International Institute of Informatics and Systemics.
Scopus30
2012 Ulpen, T. L., & Stokes, J. J. (2012). Ethics, equity and excellence: a case study of supported transition to higher education in the Australian context. In Discourses of Inclusion in Higher Education. US: Open University Press.
2012 Ulpen, T. L., & Stokes, J. J. (2012). Accessing academia: an exploration of inclusive education in an Australian university. In C. A. Shoniregun, & G. A. Akmayeva (Eds.), Ireland international conference on education: IICE-2012 proceedings (pp. 34-39). UK: Infonomics Society.
2011 Read, K., & Stokes, J. (2011). Access Plan: the role of enabling programs in widening participation for students with disabilities. In C. M. Klinger, & N. Murray (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Australasian Conference on Enabling Access to Higher Education (pp. 13-22). Australia: University of South Australia National Committee of Enabling Educators.

Courses I teach

  • INFS 1030 Digital Literacy: Screen, Web and New Media (2024)

Programs I'm associated with

  • MFFS - UniSA Foundation Studies

Date Role Membership Country
2024 - ongoing Member Higher Education Research Network -
2020 - ongoing Member Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning -
2018 - ongoing Member Women in Innvoation -

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2017 - ongoing Editor Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Journal The Open University United Kingdom

Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
2025 - 2025 Global Challenges, Local Lessons: Australian Pedagogical Innovation, the ADEPT Framework for Enabling Pedagogy, and Curriculum Development for Widening University Participation World Congress of Education, Osaka BitCongress Japan
2024 - 2024 Keynote: 'Universities as beacons of hope: Insights from lived experience and the ADEPT framework to support diverse students through systemic change' Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Australia
2024 - 2024 ADEPT and enabled: an Australian case study of enabling pedagogy as innovative educational practice to support students from underrepresented backgrounds at university International Conference on Education, Research and Innovation Waseda University, Tokyo Japan
  • Position: Associate Director: Teaching Innovation Unit
  • Email: jennifer.stokes@adelaide.edu.au
  • Alternative Contact: For general enquiries, please contact the Teaching Innovation Unit (TIU) Web: https://i.unisa.edu.au/staff/teaching-innovation-unit/Email: tiu@unisa.edu.auPh: (08) 8302 7847

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