Since completing my doctorate in 2013 my research has broadened across disciplines and international borders. My research agenda is aligned with the scholarship of teaching and learning, underpinned by sociocultural theorising, with ethnographic and phenomenographic methodologies. My primary interests are the human, social and relational dimensions of learning through digital technologies, including ethics and professionalism. I study innovative pedagogies, from low-tech asynchronous forum discussions, to podcasts, video, social media and flipped/blended learning.  A consistent focus of my work is the perspectives and experiences of students and teachers as participants in digital learning. One example of this is my thesis, which has been downloaded from Waikato Research Commons more than 1300 times.

I experiment with pedagogical innovations, searching for best practices, examining participant experiences, illuminating areas of contention, confusion and common ground, and suggesting revision of theory and practice. In the main, my research outcomes posit conceptual frameworks and guidelines for informing practice, while raising questions for application to wider contexts.

My work  is significant as it values a human dimension in a technological realm. It is commonplace for technologies to be underutilised because people do not realise the potential of digital technologies for teaching and learning. My work has informed guidelines for effective teaching and learning through online discussion, across the University of Waikato, in Australia and in the United Kingdom. I have edited an ebook (1000+ downloads) and two special issues, curating international research. With UK colleagues, I have researched peer review and mentoring of online teaching. I have worked with students to promote professional online presence and learning networks. My two most recent international publications in journals that are widely read by researchers and practitioners worldwide attest to the currency and innovation of this work.

I have completed five supervisions at masters level, and am supervising five doctoral students. I teach research methods online, building graduate student research capacity, and have published with two students. For colleagues, I convene a monthly series of seminars on research-informed elearning, representing sustained commitment (over a period of 9 years so far) to cultivating research knowledge and capability.

Recent Publications

• Forbes, D. (2019). Digital technologies and online learning in primary education (New Zealand). Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies, 1-5. doi:10.5040/9781350995932.0027

• Forbes, D. (2019). A second chance to learn and teach:How online teacher education changes lives. In 28th ICDE World Conference on Online Learning. Dublin, Ireland.

• Forbes, D., & Gedera, D. (2019). From confounded to common ground: misunderstandings between tertiary teachers and students ‎in online discussions. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35(4), 13 pages. doi:10.14742/ajet.3595 Open Access version: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12187

• Forbes, D., & Earl Rinehart, K. (2019). Digital learning: Critical perspectives and lifelong possibilities. In M. F. Hill, & M. Thrupp (Eds.), The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand (6th ed., pp. 236-255). Auckland, New Zealand: Cengage.

Find more research publications by Dianne Forbes

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