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Associate Professor Michael Cowling

PhD MBA GradCertHighEd BInfoTech(Hons)
Associate Professor - Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
School of Engineering and Technology
Centre for Research in Equity & Advancement of Teaching & Education (CREATE)
Brisbane
1 - Level 21
About Me

Associate Professor Michael Cowling has been a leader in educational technology and technology in society for over 20 years. He is currently an Associate Professor in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at CQUniversity Australia and was the 2020 recipient of the Universities Australia AAUT Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences). He founded The CREATE Lab, where he leads collaborative research and engagement around technology and education. He is an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion, and an Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) Community Fellow. Tens of thousands of academics, teachers, and students from kindergarten to doctoral level have learned directly and indirectly from him, through his award-winning workshop series ‘Weaving Technology into the Fabric of the Classroom’ training hundreds of educators, and his CSIRO-supported ‘Professor Tech’ program engaging hundreds of students in K-12 schools - all whilst delivering his mantra of 'pedagogy before technology'.

General
Background

Associate Professor Cowling is a recipient of an Australian Government Award for Teaching Excellence, a Citation holder for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion, an Australian Government TEQSA expert, an Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) team leader, and a CSIRO STEM Professional in Schools. He was appointed an ASCILITE Community Fellow in 2018 for his work in community outreach.

Additionally, A/Prof. Cowling was a partner in an OLT Innovation and Development grant and is the recipient of 3 CQUniversity Learning and Teaching grants related to teaching technology. He is is a three time recipient of a CQUniversity Learning & Teaching Award, and gained a CQUniversity Student Voice Commendation for his teaching practice in 2014. He is a regular contributor to media outlet The Conversation (with over 1.1million views) and is also a regular contributor in Australian radio and print media on the topics of Educational Technology and Technology Ubiquity.

A/Professor Cowling has a passion for the practical application of technology in the classroom, with a focus specifically on not just bolting technology onto a classroom setting, but instead investigating how technology can be weaved into the pedagogy of a classroom setting. Living by the mantra “pedagogy before technology”, Michael works to help teachers and academics to innovate with technology to improve their students motivation and learning outcomes, leveraging technology as a tool to improve the overall education process, not a another resource that will gather dust in the corner of a classroom.

Universities Studied At

Griffith University

University of Southern Queensland

Universities Worked At

Griffith University

Central Queensland University (CQUniversity)

Awards

2020 Australian Awards for University Teaching - Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences and related fields)

2019 CQUniversity Opal Award for Excellence in Engagement - Learning & Teaching

2018 ASCILITE Community Fellow Award

2018 Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion

2016 Australian Awards for University Teaching - Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning

2015 CQUniversity Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning

Media Citations

See www.michaelacowling.com for the latest Media coverage of my work, and www.thecreatelab.org for details of the projects I'm currently working on.

Previous teaching

Business

  • Conceptual Foundations of Mathematics
  • Foundations of Business Computing
  • Information System Management
  • Marketing Fundamentals
  • Organisational Behaviour
  • Principles of Economics
  • Principles of Human Resource Management
  • Professional & Technical Communication
  • Systems Management Overview
  • University Learning
  • Web Applications for Business


Information Systems/Technology & Multimedia

  • Analysis & Specification
  • Computer Hardware Fundamentals
  • Computing Systems
  • Conceptual Foundations of Computing
  • Data Communications
  • Database Development and Management
  • Database Use and Design
  • Digital Telecommunications and Networks
  • Human Computer Interaction
  • Information Systems Management with e-Commerce Applications
  • Information Systems Project Management
  • Innovation in Interactivity and Social Networks
  • Internet Application Development
  • Management & Design of Advanced Systems
  • Network Security
  • Programming Principles
  • Security, Ethics & E-Commerce Systems
  • Software Fundamentals
  • Systems Administration
  • Systems Analysis & Design
  • Systems Development Overview    

Professional Experience

Chair, CQUniversity Scholarship of Learning & Teaching Grant Panel

Member, ASCILITE Executive

... plus many other previous internal and external service roles.

Professional Memberships

Member, Australasian Research Management Society (Apr 2012 – present)

Member, International Education Association of Australia (Feb 2012 – present)

Member, Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (Jan 1999 – Dec 2004)

Recent Research Projects
Transforming exams across Australia: Processes and platform for e-exams in high stakes, supervised environments - OLT (thru Monash Uni)
From: 01/10/2016 to 30/06/2019
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Scheme: Office for Learning and Teaching - Innovation & Development Grants 2014 (Round 1)
Total Funding: $500,000.00
Research Supervision
Accreditation

I am currently accredited for supervision in the following:

  • 3904 Specialist Studies in Education
  • 3903 Education Systems
  • 3901 Curriculum and Pedagogy

At the level of Principal Supervisor


Current Capacity
I am currently available to supervise more research candidates
Current Supervision
Doctor of Philosophy
Does the Presence of Ancillary Technology in a First Term Higher Education Classroom Help or Hinder Learning?
Principal Supervisor
Complete Supervision
Doctor of Philosophy
Building Internal Coaching Capacity and Coaching Culture to Promote Positive Behaviour Change in Employees in the face of Corporate Restructure
Principal Supervisor
Research Interests
Education

Specialist Studies in Education - Educational Technology and Computing

Information And Computing Sciences

Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing - Virtual Reality and Related Simulation

Publications
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Teaching
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