JISC

The conference will be open for contributions from the 27-31 March, 2006. However, it will available for delegates to read and view presentations from 20 March, and will also stay open for some weeks after 31 March, so that delegates can catch up on reading the conference postings.

The conference will be opened by  Sarah Porter, JISC Head of Development.

The programme is divided into three themes, each with its own keynote speaker. Each theme will have up to five supporting papers and presentations. Details of these will be added as they are confirmed. Hosted presentations for each theme will also be available following the Open Call submissions (Speakers to be confirmed).In total, we are expecting that there will be 30-40 presentations, papers and demonstrations available for delegates.

The conference will also provide general discussion areas, a social area, a file library, an official conference blogger ( Fred Garnett) and a showcase area where submissions selected from the open call will be found.

Theme 1: Designing for Learning

27-28 March 

This theme centres on key issues in the area of learning design, or the practice of designing effective learning activities in a technology-rich environment. Several invited speakers are contributors to a forthcoming book from Routledge, Rethinking Pedagogy for the Digital Age, which is based on research funded by the JISC e-learning and pedagogy strand. Key issues from the book will be presented for discussion, using a range of techniques such as online interviews and debates between contributors. There is a real opportunity for participants to shape the ideas that will finally be presented in this important new volume.

Alongside these discussion sessions there will be a number of presentations and demonstrations of learning design in context. These will include e-learning case studies and evaluations, and other contributions made under the open call.

The over-riding aim of this theme is to bring researchers and practitioners together to discuss what characterises effective practice in e-learning, and how these insights can best be articulated and shared.

Keynote speaker :  Professor Diana Laurillard, Chair of Learning with Digital Technologies at the London Knowledge Lab. Her presentation is Learning design futures - what are our ambitions?

Presenters:

• Professor Ron Oliver (EdithCowanUniversity) and  Professor Allison Littlejohn (UniversityofDundeeand LADIE project) lead a discussion on discovering and describing accessible and reusable practitioner focussed learning designs.
• Professor James Dalziel ( Macquarie University and LAMS foundation) and  Dr Patrick McAndrew (UK Open University) debate how learning designs and patterns can be shared, and how effective design communities can be developed and supported.
• John Cook (London Metropolitan University), with representatives of the HE Academy Subject Centres and CETLs. A symposium jointly hosted with the HE Subject Centres will focus on the disciplinary aspects of learning design.
• Liz Heathcote of Queensland University of Technology will give a presentation on Learning design templates - a pedagogical just-in-time support tool.
• Ellen Lessner of Abingdon and Witney College, and  Eta de Cicco, NIACE: Don't Disable the Learner: all technology is, or should be, assistive.

Theme 2: Learner Experiences of e-Learning

28-29 March 

The focus in this theme is on the learner’s view of e-learning – what researchers and practitioners can learn from their participation in, and perceptions of, e-learning in both formal and informal education.

Keynote speaker: Putting into practice a learner-centred vision: The view from Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College :  John Stone, Principal of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College and chair of JISC Learning and Teaching Committee.

Presenters:

• The learners voice – a session which explores the views of learners on their use of technology for their formal and informal learning. This session will simulate an interview with two learners who will share their views and experiences on using technology. Presented by  Linda Creanor, Glasgow Caledonian University and Learner Experience; and  Doug Gowan and  Carol Howells, Open Learning Partnership.
• Learner experiences of e-learning - exploring subject differences. Presented by  Gráinne Conole and Maarten de Laat, e-Learning Research Centre.
• Learners in control – A session which explores the work of the SFC e-Learning Transformation project, TSEP, which is looking to transform the learners experience. Presented by  Andrew Comrie, Vice-Principal of Lauder College and Project Director of the TSEP Project, plus the TSEP team.
• John Webber , Sussex Downs College, on Wikis, collaborative writing and the social construction of learning.
• Judy Hardy and  Simon Bates, University of Edinburgh, on Tracking e-learners across the disciplines.

Theme 3: Innovating e-Learning Practice

30-31 March 

This theme focuses on creative and innovative uses of technology in support of learning and teaching: mobile and wireless learning, learning with gaming technologies, and design of learning spaces to support effective e-learning. The presentations and discussions will range widely across aspects of innovative practice but will encompass three key areas of interest under this theme:

• Collaborative e-learning practices (e.g. groupwork, supporting online learning communities)
• Sharing learning practices between institutions
• Traversing virtual and physical spaces

Keynote speaker:    Professor Stephen Heppell, Learn3K Research Centre, National College of Ireland. Professor Heppell’s theme will be Bringing Creativity into Practice.

Presenters:

• Geoff Stead , CTAD, and  Lilian Soon, xlearn, will lead a discussion on the benefits and hazards of teaching with mobile devices.
• Russell Francis , Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, and  Richard Sandford, NESTA Futurelab, will lead a discussion entitled: Towards a theory of a games based pedagogy.
• Alexi Marmot ofAlexi MarmotAssociates and  Tom Hamilton, IDEAS Lab and Assistant Director of the CETL Project,UniversityofSussex, will lead a discussion on Learning Spaces: Emerging Trends.
• James Clay , Director, Western Colleges Consortium, on mobile learning on a VLE.
• Paul Maharg , University of Strathclyde, on authenticity and professionalism: transactional learning in virtual communities.

Taking the vision forward

31 March

A presentation by  Chris Yapp, Head of Public Sector Innovation at Microsoft, will close the conference. Chris will discuss how to take the vision for transforming learner experiences forward.

Other presenters

We are also featuring submissions from the following:

• Dr. Eben J. Muse, University of Wales, Bangor, on sharable learning materials through collaborative development.
• Nigel Wynne, University of Central England, on creating reusable, highly interactive, multimedia simulations.
• Annette Odell , University of East London, reflecting on professional practice.
• Paul Mathews, MGL, on the Brain Sells project.
• Jacqueline Wilson, The University of the West Indies, on First-Timers’ Attitudes to the Online Delivery of an Environmental Planning and Management Course.
• S. Ganesamoorthi, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, on the Development and Testing of Computer Assisted Instructional Modules (CAIMs) in Agricultural Education.
• Vivien Sieber, University of Oxford, on Comparison of a literature search skills workshop delivered either via VLE or LAMS.
• Paula Taylor, LSC, on Kickstart TV - a new medium for learning.
• Philip Wane , Nottingham Trent University, on Crosswords Not Cross Words.
• Ian Reid , University of South Australia, on educationally useful learning objects.
• Steve Bond ,  Jerome Lewis and  Caroline Ingram, London School of Economics, on What’s Going On? A customisable video-interpretation tool.
• Lisa Corley and Sheila MacNeill, CETIS, on Pedagogical Vocabularies – a discussion issue?
• Perry Williams , Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, on goals and roles: learners’ experience of self-direction in e-learning.
• Neil Currant , University of Bradford, on the role of e-portfolios in raising aspirations and supporting transition into HE: learners' Experiences.
• Sharon Brown and Annette Odell, University of East London, on more than just reading!
• Jacqueline Wilson, the University of the West Indies, on First-Timers’ Attitudes to the Online Delivery of an Environmental Planning and Management Course.
• Abdulhameed Kayode Agboola, International Islamic University, Malaysia, on e-learning implementation amongst lecturers in the tertiary institution: a case study.