Rebecca Vivian

Research Interests

Curriculum and Pedagogy Education Educational Psychology Educational Technology and Computing Higher Education Information and Computing Sciences Learning Sciences Primary Education Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators

Dr Rebecca Vivian

Grant-Funded Researcher (C)

School of Computer Science and Information Technology

College of Engineering and Information Technology

I am a Senior Research Fellow in the Computer Science Education Research Group (CSER) and Project Lead for CSER's National STEM Professional Learning programs, including Digital Technologies MOOCs, a national Lending Library and Maths in Schools MOOCs. I have qualifications in Education and expertise in Learning Sciences, Computer Science (Digital Technologies) Education, Teacher Training and Educational Technology. I have collaborated extensively with various stakeholders across industry, education, and government to deliver $22.3 million in successful consultancy and research contracts ($13.5 million as CI) in education. I receive invitations to contribute expertise and presentations toward a broad range of communities, including Computing, Higher Education, Teacher Education, government, industry and community associations.I am Lead Learning Designer and Project Lead for our massively open online courses (MOOCs) and PL-in-a-Box initiatives for teachers for our national CSER Digital Technologies Education Program. Project Lead for the University of Adelaide Mathematics and Numeracy MOOCs and professional learning program; an initiative in partnership with Education Services Australia that is supported through the Australian Department of Education Skills and Employment. Our highly-regarded programs have reached over 58,000 teachers across Australia, with a particular focus on disadvantaged schools.I am passionate about engaging more young people, and particularly women, in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) study pathways and careers, and have been involved in research and initiatives to support this endeavour.

I am a multidisciplinary researcher specialising in Computer Science Education, Teacher Training, Educational Technology and K-12 STEM engagement. I am particularly interested in understanding how people learn - their cognitive processes, interactions, self-efficacy and self-regulated learning skills, as well as investigating how we can harness technology to enhance and innovate learning experiences. I am a mixed-methods researcher with particular strengths in qualitative research methods combined with quantitative analysis. 

My primary research areas of interest include STEM engagement, K-6 Computer Science Education and Technology-Enhanced Learning:

  • I am passionate about K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and engaging future students, particularly those underrepresented in the field. My work explores ways to support stakeholders, including teachers and parents, to engage and inspire students in STEM learning and careers.
  • I lead our K-6 Computer Science Education research stream for CSER. This involves understanding how we can harness Learning Sciences and apply Computer Science techniques to understand how young children learn Computer Science (including Computational Thinking) and how we can best support teachers to build their capacity to teach the subject.
  • I work with our research team to apply Education Theories and Educational Psychology to investigate and enhance learning and collaboration with digital environments.

I have collaborated extensively with various industry, education, and government stakeholders to deliver education and research initiatives that inform policy or strategic directions. I have acquired over $223.3 million in research funding ($$13.5 as CI). This includes $6.9 million from the Australian Government Department of Education (DoE) to expand our highly successful CSER Digital Technologies teacher-training program consisting of a suite of online courses, a national lending library and PL-in-a-Box resources, which has seen over 40,000 teachers enrol. I have also secured $4.39 million in DoE funding as Chief Investigator to launch a national Maths in Schools Professional Learning program using the same model that has successfully launched.

Our research group leads the national CSER Digital Technologies Education Program, where we support Australian teachers in developing skills and confidence in the new Digital Technologies learning area and undertaking research into how we scaffold and understand the development of Computational Thinking skills in the primary years.

PhD Opportunities

We are seeking PhD student applications for students passionate about Computer Science Education Research. If you are interested, please review these example project descriptions for further details:

Date Position Institution name
2020 - ongoing Senior Research Fellow (Level C) The University of Adelaide
2016 - 2020 Research Fellow (Level B) The University of Adelaide
2012 - 2016 Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Level A) The University of Adelaide
2009 - 2010 Tutorial Instructor for 'Computers, Communication and Society' University of South Australia
2005 - 2009 Pharmacy Assistant National Pharmacies

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2016 Fellowship Barbara Cail STEM Fellow Chief Executive Women Australia -
2016 Award Women's Research Excellence Award (Early Career Researcher) The University of Adelaide - $5000.00
2015 Award ACEL "New Voice" In Educational Leadership Research Scholarship Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) Australia $500 gift & national conference attendance
2009 Scholarship University of South Australia Postgraduate Scholarship Award University of South Australia Australia -

Language Competency
English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
French Can understand spoken

Date Institution name Country Title
2009 - 2013 The University of South Australia Australia PhD
2004 - 2008 The University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Education (Junior Primary & Primary) With Honours

Date Title Institution Country
2014 - 2014 The University of Adelaide Supervisor Induction Program University of Adelaide Australia

Date Title Institution name Country
2015 Certificate II in Community Pharmacy National Pharmacies -
2014 Google Certified Teacher Google Teacher Academy Australia
2014 The University of Adelaide Supervisor Induction Program University of Adelaide Australia

Year Citation
2019 Atapattu, T., Thilakaratne, M., Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2019). Detecting cognitive engagement using word embeddings within an online teacher professional development community. Computers and Education, 140, 14 pages.
DOI Scopus51 WoS42
2018 Garcia, R., Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2018). Systematic literature review: Self-Regulated Learning strategies using e-learning tools for Computer Science. Computers and Education, 123, 150-163.
DOI Scopus151 WoS123
2018 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Williams, S. -A. (2018). An ecosystem approach to teacher professional development within computer science. Computer Science Education, 28(4), 303-344.
DOI Scopus33 WoS23
2016 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., Falkner, N., & Tarmazdi, H. (2016). A method to analyse computer science students’ teamwork in online collaborative learning environments. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 16(2), 7-1-7-28.
DOI Scopus39 WoS30
2016 Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2016). A review of Computer Science resources for learning and teaching with K-12 computing curricula: an Australian case study. Computer Science Education, 25(4), 390-429.
DOI Scopus30 WoS21
2014 Vivian, R., Barnes, A., Geer, R., & Wood, D. (2014). The academic journey of university students on Facebook: an analysis of informal academic-related activity over a semester. Research in Learning Technology, 22(1), 24681-1-24681-16.
DOI Scopus23 WoS28
2014 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2014). Addressing the challenges of a new digital technologies curriculum: MOOCs as a scalable solution for teacher professional development. Research in Learning Technology, 22(1), 24691-1-24691-19.
DOI Scopus87 WoS45

Year Citation
2024 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Bell, T. (2024). Computational Thinking Curricula in Australia and New Zealand. In H. Abelson, & S. -C. Kong (Eds.), Computational Thinking Curricula in K-12 (pp. 85-120). The MIT Press.
DOI
2020 Vivian, R., Grover, S., & Falkner, K. (2020). Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Beliefs: Learning Goals for Introductory Programming. In S. Grover (Ed.), Computer Science in K-12 An A-To-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming. United States: Edfinity.

Year Citation
2021 Faherty, R., Quille, K., Vivian, R., McGill, M. M., Becker, B. A., & Nolan, K. (2021). Comparing Programming Self-Esteem of Upper Secondary School Teachers to CS1 Students. In ITiCSE '21: Proceedings of the 26th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 1 Vol. 1 (pp. 554-560). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus10 WoS4
2020 Falkner, N., Vivian, R., Falkner, K., Ajanovski, V. V., Liebe, C., Morrison, A., & Parker, M. (2020). Meaningful Assessment at Scale: Helping Instructors to Assess Online Learning. In Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE (pp. 512-513). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus3
2020 Vivian, R., Quille, K., Mcgill, M. M., Falkner, K., Sentance, S., Barksdale, S., . . . Maiorana, F. (2020). An international pilot study of K-12 teachers' computer science self-esteem. In Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2020) (pp. 117-123). online: Association for Computing Machinery.
DOI Scopus15 WoS5
2020 Vivian, R., Franklin, D., Frye, D., Peterfreund, A., Ravitz, J., Sullivan, F., . . . Mcgill, M. M. (2020). Evaluation and Assessment Needs of Computing Education in Primary Grades. In Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE (pp. 124-130). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus7 WoS5
2020 McGill, M. M., Decker, A., Torbey, R., & Vivian, R. (2020). An introduction to conducting quantitative K-12 computing education research. In Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE 2020) (pp. 801-802). online: Association for Computing Machinery.
DOI
2019 Garcia, R., Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2019). Understanding Problems through Assignment Presentation: A Replication Study. In IEEE Frontiers in Education Vol. 2019-January (pp. 1-8). online: IEEE.
DOI Scopus2 WoS1
2019 Falkner, K. E., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2019). Supporting Computational Thinking Development in K-6. In Proceedings of Latice 2018 Vol. 1 (pp. 126-133). Auckland, New Zealand: IEEE.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6
2019 Le, K., Tarmazdi, H., Vivian, R., Falkner, K., Szabo, C., & Falkner, N. (2019). Directing Teacher Focus in Computer Science Online Learning Environments. In Proceedings of Latice 2017 (pp. 119-125). Hong Kong: IEEE.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2019 Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2019). Identifying teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge for computer science in the primary years. In ICER 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (pp. 147-155). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus27 WoS19
2019 Garcia, R., Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2019). Instructional framework for CS1 question activities. In Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE (pp. 189-195). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus7 WoS5
2019 Falkner, K., Sentance, S., Vivian, R., Barksdale, S., Busuttil, L., Cole, E., . . . Quille, K. (2019). An international benchmark study of K-12 computer science education in schools. In Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE (pp. 257-258). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus8 WoS6
2019 Falkner, K., Sentance, S., Vivian, R., Barksdale, S., Busuttil, L., Cole, E., . . . Quille, K. (2019). An international comparison of K-12 computer science education intended and enacted curricula. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 1-10). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus53 WoS42
2019 Falkner, K., Sentance, S., Vivian, R., Barksdale, S., Busuttil, L., Cole, E., . . . Quille, K. (2019). An international study piloting the measuring teacher enacted computing curriculum (METRECC) instrument. In Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Iticse (pp. 111-142). Aberdeen, SCOTLAND: ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY.
DOI Scopus28 WoS22
2018 Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2018). A survey of Australian teachers' self-efficacy and assessment approaches for the K-12 digital technologies curriculum. In Proceedings of the 13th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (pp. 1-10). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus11 WoS13
2018 Garcia, R., Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2018). Scaffolding the design process using parsons problems. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 1-2). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus8
2018 Garcia, R., Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2018). Parsons Problems Usage within a MOOC Pedagogy. In SIGCSE'18: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 49TH ACM TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION (pp. 1111-1112). Baltimore, MD: ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY.
DOI WoS1
2017 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., Falkner, N., & William, S. (2017). Reflecting on three offerings of a community-centric MOOC for K-6 computer science teachers. In SIGCSE '17 Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 195-200). New York, NY, USA: ACM.
DOI Scopus17 WoS11
2016 Falkner, K., Falkner, N., Szabo, C., & Vivian, R. (2016). Applying validated pedagogy to MOOCs: an introductory programming course with media computation. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Vol. 11-13-July-2016 (pp. 326-331). Arequipa, Peru: ACM New York.
DOI Scopus7
2015 Tarmazdi, H., Vivian, R., Szabo, C., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2015). Using learning analytics to visualise computer science teamwork. In V. Dagiene, C. Schulte, & T. Jevsikova (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Vol. 2015-June (pp. 165-170). Vilnius, Lithuania: ACM.
DOI Scopus37 WoS28
2015 Vivian, R., Tarmazdi, H., Falkner, K., Falkner, N., & Szabo, C. (2015). The development of a dashboard tool for visualising online teamwork discussions. In Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Software Engineering Vol. 2 (pp. 380-388). Florence, Italy: IEEE.
DOI Scopus28 WoS19
2015 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2015). Teaching computational thinking in K-6: the CSER digital technologies MOOC. In Proceedings of the 17th Australasian Computing Education Conference Vol. 160 (pp. 63-72). Sydney, Australia: Australian Computer Society Inc..
Scopus2
2015 Falkner, K., Szabo, C., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2015). Evolution of software development strategies. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM 37th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering Vol. 2 (pp. 243-252). online: IEEE.
DOI Scopus27 WoS20
2014 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2014). The Australian Digital Technologies Curriculum: challenge and opportunity. In Proceedings of the 16th Australasian Computing Education Conference Vol. 148 (pp. 3-12). Auckland, New Zealand: Australian Computer Society Inc..
Scopus52
2014 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2014). Identifying computer science self-regulated learning strategies. In ITICSE 2014 - Proceedings of the 2014 Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Conference (pp. 291-296). Uppsala, Sweden: Association for Computing Machinery.
DOI Scopus73
2014 Falkner, N., Vivian, R., Piper, D., & Falkner, K. (2014). Increasing the effectiveness of automated assessment by increasing marking granularity and feedback units. In Proceedings of the 45th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 9-14). Atlanta, Georgia: ACM New York.
DOI Scopus33 WoS28
2014 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Szabo, C. (2014). Can everybody learn to code?: computer science community perceptions about learning the fundamentals of programming. In Proceedings of the 14th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research Vol. 2014-November (pp. 41-50). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus9
2013 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2013). Computer science students' causal attributions for successful and unsuccessful outcomes in programming assignments. In Proceedings of the 13th Koli Calling International conference on computing education research (pp. 125-134). Finland: ACM.
DOI Scopus12
2013 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2013). Analysing computer science students' teamwork role adoption in an online self-organised teamwork activity. In Proceedings of the 13th Koli Calling International conference on computing education research (pp. 105-114). Finland: ACM.
DOI Scopus20
2013 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2013). Building consensus: Students' cognitive and metacognitive behaviours during wiki construction. In Proceedings of the IEEE 2013 Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering, LaTiCE (pp. 154-161). USA: IEEE.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5
2013 Falkner, N., Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2013). Computer science education: The first threshold concept. In 2013 Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (pp. 39-46). USA: IEEE.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2013 Falkner, K., Vivian, R., & Falkner, N. (2013). Neo-piagetian forms of reasoning in software development process construction. In Proceedings of the 2013 Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (pp. 31-38). USA: IEEE.
DOI Scopus7 WoS2
2013 Falkner, K., Falkner, N., & Vivian, R. (2013). Collaborative learning and anxiety a phenomenographic study of collaborative learning activities. In SIGCSE 2013 - Proceedings of the 44th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 227-232). USA: ACM.
DOI Scopus33
2011 Vivian, R. (2011). University students' informal learning practices using Facebook: Help or hindrance?. In R. Kwan, C. McNaught, P. Tsang, F. Wang, & K. Li (Eds.), Communications in Computer and Information Science Vol. 177 CCIS (pp. 254-267). Hong Kong, PEOPLES R CHINA: SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN.
DOI Scopus25 WoS21
2011 Vivian, R. (2011). University students face-up to their informal learning practices and cognitive learning strategies with Facebook. In T. Bastiaens, & M. Ehner (Eds.), Proceedings of the World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 1234-1243). Lisbon, Portugal: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
2010 Vivian, R., & Barnes Dr., A. (2010). Social networking: From living technology to learning technology?. In Ascilite 2010 the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (pp. 1007-1019).
Scopus13
2010 Wood, D., Barnes, A., Vivian, R., Scutter, S., & Stokes-Thompson, F. (2010). The future may have arrived, but engagement with icts is not equal among our diverse "net gen" learners. In Ascilite 2010 the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (pp. 1107-1118).
Scopus5

Year Citation
2024 Falkner, N., & Vivian, R. (2024). The "Koli DC": Towards Improving the Effectiveness of Doctoral Consortia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Proceedings of the 24th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research. FINLAND: ACM.
DOI
2024 Falkner, N., & Vivian, R. (2024). Thinking Beyond the Familiar with the Research Alternatives Exercise. Poster session presented at the meeting of ACM International Conference Proceeding Series. FINLAND: ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY.
DOI
2017 Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Szabo, C. (2017). Broadening participation in computer science: key strategies from international findings. Poster session presented at the meeting of SIGCSE '17 Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. New York, NY, USA: ACM.
DOI Scopus2 WoS1

Year Citation
2020 Vivian, R., Robertson, L., & Richards, M. (2020). Classroom strategies for inclusive STEM learning environments. Education Services Australia.
2018 Ng, D., Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2018). Advising Students on Careers of the Future: A Report on the Careers Development Landscape in Australia. The University of Adelaide.
2017 Vivian, R., Lozanovski, C., & Falkner, K. (2017). Literature review: Supporting teachers to assess F–10 Digital Technologies.
2017 Vivian, R., & Falkner, K. (2017). Building Australian Teacher Capacity in Teaching Digital Technologies.
2017 Chapman, S., & Vivian, R. (2017). Engaging the future of STEM: A study of international best practice for promoting the participation of young people, particularly girls,
in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Chief Executive Women (CEW) Ltd..
2015 Falkner, K., & Vivian, R. (2015). Coding Across the Curriculum: Resource Review (A157082). Australian Government : Department of Education and Training.

Current Grants and Research Contracts

Mathematics Massive Open Online Courses and Mathematics Hub (extension). Education Services Australia and University of Adelaide (Vivian, R., Falkner, K. & Mitchell, L.) ($2,286,122) (2025-2028)

Diversity in STEM Toolkit 7 Principles for Inclusive Learning Environments Research. Services contract. Education Services Australia. Vivian, R. Palmer, E. ($14,000). (2025).

Evidence-based micro credentials for teacher professional development. James, N. Palmer, E. Bentley, B., Vivian, R., Falkner, K. ($3,651,986) (2023-2026). *CSER to lead user testing research with teachers across jurisdictions and school sectors.

Provision of National Lending Library and Digital Resources. Services Contract. Department of Education. R. Vivian, K. Falkner and S. Barber. ($1,165, 896) (2023-2025). This project is currently operating at our CSER Digital Technologies program website. 

Completed Grants and Research Contracts

AI and Cyber Security Support. Google Australia and New Zealand. R. Vivian, K. Falkner and S. Barber. ($225,055) (2023-2025)

Project Albus - Pilot of Google Solutions for Education, Vivian, R. Palmer, E. & Kreig, J. Google/Panl Pte Ltd. ($13,538). (2024-2025).

Mathematics Massive Open Online Courses and Mathematics Hub. Education Services Australia and University of Adelaide (Vivian, R., Falkner, K. & Mitchell, L.) ($9,500,000 joint) (2020-2024)

Relaunch of CSER STEM focused MOOCs and related professional learning. Vivian, R., Falkner, K., Atapattu, T. Barber, S. Google Asia Pacific. ($60,175) (2023).

Public Library Services: Introductory Cyber Safety Related Workshops. Vivian, R. & Barber, S. SA Libraries Network. ($14,550). (2023). 

Workshop for teachers on cyber security and awareness. Vivian, R. & Barber, S. AustCyber. ($13,407). (2022).

Public Library Services: Introductory Cyber Safety and an Introduction to Emerging Technologies Workshop. Vivian, R. & Barber, S. SA Libraries Network. ($16,056). (2022). 

Public Library Services: Introductory Cyber Safety and an Introduction to Emerging Technologies Workshop (AI, VR & AR). Vivian, R. & Barber, S. SA Libraries Network. ($14,550). (2022). 

Culturally Responsive Digital Technologies, Vivian, R. & King, Jesse (Stronger Smarter Institute), Google Educator Grant, Partnership with Stronger Smarter Institute ($14,942) (2022)

Artificial Intelligence Resources. Falkner, F., Vivian, R., Atapattu, T. and Palmer, E., Department of Education and Training ($605,000) (2019-2023)

Workshop for teachers on cyber security and awareness. Vivian, R. & Barber, S. AustCyber. ($2,950). (2021).

Girls in STEM Toolkit Literature Review. Vivian, R. Education Services Australia. $9,731 (2020).

Cyber security education in K-12 Years. Falkner, K., Atapattu, T., Vivian, R. Google Australia. ($76,689). (2020). 

The Expanded Rollout and Support of University of Adelaide Digital Technology MOOCs - Closing the Digital Divide for Disadvantaged Students, Department of Education and Training, Falkner, K., Vivian, R., Falkner, N. & Szabo, C. $6.9 million. (2016-2020). (Federal Government Funding). This project has been launched and is currently operating at our CSER Digital Technologies program website. 

For the Expanded Rollout and Support of the University of Adelaide Digital Technology MOOCS – Closing the Digital Divide for Disadvantaged Students (Extension), Department of Education and Training. Falkner, K & Vivian, R. (2020)

Artificial Intelligence Education Models. Falkner, F., Vivian, R. and T. Atapattu, Google Research Contract ($83,749) (2019)

Assessment for the F-10 Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies, Education Services Australia (ESA) Research Contract. $114,000 (2016-2018), R. Vivian & K. Falkner. (Research Contract)

Maximising Echo360 Active Learning Platform (ALP) to improve the student experience in lectures. McEntee, J. Viven-Wilksch, J. Vivian, R. Pope, C. Learning Enhancement and Innovation Grants, UoA. $6,718 (2018).

Building Teacher Capacity in Digital Technologies, Department of Education Western Australia, R. Vivian & K. Falkner, $4545 (2017). (Consultancy Contract). This project resulted in a report for the Department of Education to inform their statewide strategy for professional development. 

Understanding the relationship between social community formation and progression within MOOC environments, Research Contract, Google Australia, K. Falkner, R. Vivian and T. Atapattu, $37,687 (2017). (Research Contract). This project resulted in a report for Google as well as peer-reviewed publications. 

Expanding Teacher Professional Development – Beyond the CSER MOOC, Google Research Contract. K. Falkner, R. Vivian. $95,101. (2016) (Research Contract). This project resulted in the development of PL-in-a-Box, a site with free ready-made presenter packs for implementing Digital Technologies and associated themes. 

Engaging the Future of STEM, Barbara Cail STEM Fellowship. Vivian, R. Australian Government & CEW Ltd. $40,000 (2016).

Coding Across the Curriculum – Curriculum Mapping and Analysis. K. Falkner and R. Vivian. $77,889. (2015). (Research Contract). This project resulted in a published report for the Australian Federal Department of Education and Training, as well as an extended peer-reviewed publication in Computer Science Education.

Addressing the Challenges of the Digital Technologies Curriculum (Years 7 & 8). K. Falkner, R. Vivian, N. Falkner & C. Szabo, Digital Careers Sponsorship Agreement, $119,588. (2014-2015). (Sponsorship Contract). This resulted in the launch of our Years 7&8 MOOC: Next Steps. 

Building Digital Technologies Capacity. K. Falkner and R. Vivian, Google Research Contract, $48,312. (2014-2015) (Research Contract). This resulted in the launch of our F-6 Extended MOOC and associated resources.

Digital Technologies Workshop for Primary Teachers, C. Izu, B. Alexander, C. Pope, C. Szabo, A. Weerasinghe, R. Vivian, Grant ($10,000). A workshop for non-CS teachers in schools about computational thinking and computer science, with links to the Australian curriculum. (Google CS4HS grant 2014)

Addressing the Challenges of the Digital Technologies Curriculum: MOOCs for Teacher Development, K. Falkner, N. Falkner and R. Vivian, $65,000 + in-kind. (2013-2014). (Google Research Contract). This resulted in the launch of our F-6 Extended MOOC and associated resources, as well as a number of peer-reviewed publications.  

An evidence-based approach to the design and redevelopment of inclusive, technology-enhanced learning environments, Prof D. Wood (Leader), Dr L. Glenny, Dr C. Snowden, A/Prof S. Scutter, Dr. T. Du, D. Tedmanson, B. Underwood, T. Johnson, Prof N. Lindsay, A/Prof K. Falkner, R. Vivian, and Prof H. Partridge, Office for Learning and Teaching, Australian Government, $211,000 (2013-2016). (Research Contract). 

Course-Coordinator Human and Ethical Factors in Computer Science (Online Postgraduate) 2019-2021

Students are introduced to two important areas in contemporary computing: human factors and ethical theory and practice. In human factors, students study all areas that assist us in performing work in an appropriate manner. In ethics, students study those areas that discuss whether the tasks that we seek to achieve fit our definitions of what is right for individuals, companies and our society. Participants are introduced to tools, thinking, and analyses to establish whether the computing tasks they are being asked to perform are fit for purpose in terms of both usage and ethics. 

K-12 Digital Technologies Education

Lead Learning Designer and Content Developer for CSER's national MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) Digital Technologies Education Program. We currently have the following free, online self-paced MOOCs:

  • F-6 Foundations in Digital Technologies
  • Years 7&8: Next Steps in Digital Technologies
  • F-6: Digital Technologies Extended
  • Years 9&10: Explore!
  • Teaching AI in the Primary Classroom
  • Teaching AI in the Secondary Classroom
  • Teaching Cybersecurity in the Primary Classroom
  • Teaching Cybersecurity in the Secondary Classroom

I am a team member for a 6-week AdelaideX introductory programming MOOC on edX: "Think. Create. Code (external link)". April 2015. This course teaches computational thinking and programming concepts through the creation of digital artwork using ProcessingJS.

I have been an invited speaker to numerous events across Australia on the topic of K-12 Digital Technologies (Computer Science) education and teacher professional development, including webinars for Education Services Australia, The Digital Technologies Hub, CSIRO Professionals in Schools Webinar, and Google Education events.

Previously I have taught UniSA's 'Computers Communication and Society' Foundation course and have presented at UniSA in 2012, 2013 and 2016 as a guest-lecturer for the Bachelor of Education ICT Course on the topic of social network sites: research, theory and current trends and guest lecturer for the Charles Sturt University Masters program on the topic of "CS+Education".

I have had course practicum and volunteer experience working in Reception to Year 7 classrooms in South Australia within both Catholic and Public school systems.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2021 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Investigating Students’ Learning through Learner roles and Linguistic Expressions in Massive Open Online Courses Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Lavendini Sivaneasharajah
2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Codification Pedagogy for Introductory Procedural Programming Courses Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Rita Alicia Garcia

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2020 - ongoing Board Member Digital Learning and Innovation Committee The University of Adelaide Australia
2017 - ongoing Co-Chair e-learning Community of Practice The University of Adelaide Australia
2015 - ongoing Member ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE) Journal Reviewer - -
2015 - ongoing Member The Internet and Higher Education Journal Reviewer - -
2014 - ongoing Member World Conference on E-learning Program Committee - -
2014 - ongoing Member IEEE Transactions on Education (TOE) Journal Reviewer - -
2012 - ongoing Member Higher Education Research Group of Adelaide (HERGA) - Australia
2009 - 2012 Board Member Student Leadership Undergraduate Group (SLUGG) (Inc.) The University of South Australia Australia

Date Role Membership Country
2013 - ongoing Member Individual Member of the CSTA (ACM) -

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