This article provides an account of a collaborative teaching and learning project conducted in the English programme at the University of Tasmania in 2015. The project, Blended English, involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of learning and teaching activities using online and mobile technologies for undergraduate English units. The authors draw on the project’s findings from survey and focus group data, and staff reflective practice and peer review, to make the case for increasing technology-enhanced teaching and learning in English literary studies. The blended approach described in this article has the capacity to enhance disciplinary learning; increase accessibility for students in remote and regional areas; facilitate deeper scholarly enquiry; and encourage staff to develop innovative, collaborative, and flexible teaching and learning practices. Appendix 1 presents examples of the project’s practical outcomes, as well as outlines of and reflections on three of the activities developed during the project.

Assessment is a central feature of student learning in higher education and has a strong influence on the student experience. Accordingly, the appropriate communication of assessment aims is a priority for all higher education institutions. This study proposes an analytical framework for the interpretation and creation of assessments across higher education disciplines. The framework suggests that assessments can be categorised according to rhetorical purposes, formats, modes and group arrangements. Assessments from three degree programmes at one Australian university are analysed using the framework to show its usefulness in classifying and evaluating task components and generating broad images of degrees based on assessment regimes. We draw on these practical applications to explain and compare discipline-specific qualities of each degree, and argue that the framework might enhance the communication of assessment aims to benefit higher education stakeholders.