Blended learning at the E learning Update Conference 2017

The entrance to the OR Tambo airport in Kempton Park, near the venue of the conference.

I agree with Masie (2006:22) that all learning is in fact blended learning and therefore I am grateful for the shift towards focusing on blended learning in the E learning environment. For some years now, I put the E Learning Update Conference on my wish list but never managed to make it there (maybe because it is held in Johannesburg – too close for a stayover and each time I thought about the traffic issue, I decided to just ignore the postings on my calendar).  

Next year though, this conference will not only celebrate its tenth year, it will also focus on blended learning. On the web page it is stated that the focus is not on technology but on blending to enhance learning. Like all other inventions (language, writing and the printing press), the technological developments of our current era are just supporting education and not replacing it.

Littlejohn and Pegler (2007:75-6) stated that blended learning consists of four adjustable aspects, namely time, space, media and activity.  The overlap and size of these blending ‘bubbles’ can be adjusted to serve individual educators, students and institutions. And this is where the real value of blended learning lies for me – the ability to adjust and to suite individual needs because we are long past the uniformity of the industrial era. 

The call for papers is open until 15 January 2017 and presenters only pay R3500, delegates pay R7500 (Why?). There are also packages for four or more delegates and early bird discounts available on the web page. The conference dates are 5-7 September 2017 at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park (near the OR Tambo airport for those of you who are flying and not having to negotiate the traffic). You can express your interest on the web page and will be included in the mailing list.

Littlejohn, A. & Pegler, C. (2007). Preparing for blended e-learning. New York: Routledge.

Masie, E. (20060. The blended learning imperative. In C.J. Bonk & C.R. Graham (eds). The handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs (San Francisco: Pfeiffer), pp. 22-26. 

Specials and sales and Black Friday travel offers compared

We had a lovely time in Mauritius and got a large amount of cash back through using our credit card travel partner deal.

I have been paying close attention to both local and international flights for a while now as I am planning two local trips early next year and an international trip in May. So, when the Black Friday specials were advertised, I made a note to check again early Friday morning. This was not the first time I do this, so I was not expecting much. The real specials are normally not for the dates or places or airlines I have in mind. But do not think that it is not worthwhile to check for specials, because every now and again, you do get lucky. Yes, really. So I will check again today, on Cyber Monday, just in case.

If you like to travel with Emirates be sure to have your dates and credit card ready when everybody else is doing last minute Christmas shopping because their great annual sale usually starts just before Christmas and ends in the first week of January. I usually buy all international tickets for the coming year during this time, using my annual bonus to cover the costs. And this year I will also use my loyalty programme miles to cut the costs even further on one of the more expensive trips as Emirates allows you to pay part of the tickets with miles.

When travel locally, make sure you are signed up as a member of a loyalty programme and use it when making flight and hotel and car bookings. You will really save a lot. We are on Discovery medical aid and although I cannot say that I am always impressed with the medical side, the vitality membership and the awesome Discovery credit card linked to it, are simply the best. When using the loyalty programme and paying with my Discovery Credit card, I normally get 50% discount on accommodation (at selected hotels), 35% on the base flight price (including Emirates) and 35% on car rentals. Add this up and it does allow you to upgrade the accommodation or, if you really having to save money, to do just that. This loyalty programme also have international deals which are great, but make sure you read all the fine print before you make your purchases as you will not be refunded you if you do not heed to the terms and conditions (a few years ago, we went to Mauritius and got R8000 paid back to my credit card account). 

Online Educa Berlin (OEB) is important for the ODL environment

We opted not to take the train to Berlin but instead to stay in Warnemunde for the day and we really enjoyed every moment

Academics in South Africa normally do not have the luxury to attend conferences at the end of November and the start of December due to the exam marks that need to be uploaded and finalized for submission and also because flights tend to be more expensive in the light of the holiday season (Thanksgiving, etc.). However, if you can manage to get the marking done early, or ask a colleague to help out, or are on leave, do make a point of investigating the possibility of attending the OEB conference that normally takes place the last week of November or the first week of December. This year, the Belin conference will be held from 30 November to 2 December. On the OEB web page, there is an option to receive their newsfeeds and e mails to keep you updated and informed. Even if we cannot attend, please do scan the programme and identify main issues and key figures in this developing field. And although it is certainly too late to present, there is still space available for attendance, should you find yourself in the neighbourhood in the coming week or two.

The Online Educa Berlin (OEB) conference draws more than 2300 participants from more than 100 countries and is really a trendsetter for developments in the field of online education.  This year more than 80 exhibitors will also showcase the latest innovations and initiatives in technology-based education.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Owning Learning’ and the main question that will be debated, is: Can students take charge of their own education? It is already clear that the answer is yes, indeed, they do and will continue to do so even more with the help and support of technology enhanced education options. This opens up huge possibilities but also present great challenges for educators who will have to face the impact of this paradigm shift in their own teaching strategies, especially in the ODL environment.

Maybe next year, maybe... 

A Reformation celebration in Hong Kong?

Beautiful Amsterdam! The center of Lutheranism in the Netherlands.

The International Reformed Theological Institute (IRTI) which is based in the Netherlands is calling for papers for their biennial international conference of 2017. Next year, Protestants all over the world will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that was started by Martin Luther in 1517. It seems as if we will be spoiled for choice with conferences celebrating this event all over the world and throughout the year. The IRTI conference will be held at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong (yes, this is correct – not in the Netherlands where the Lutheran church is very small).  

The due date for abstracts is 1 February and the conference will be held from 15 to 18 June 2017.  The theme of the conference is "Public Theology in plural contexts" and it focuses on "how to deal constructively with religious, economic, social, cultural and ethnic plurality in different contexts from the perspective of the Reformed tradition as a source of public theology".  Keynote speakers are from Indonesia, South Africa, the USA, China and Hong Kong.

PHD students will pay 135 Euro and other members need to pay 235 Euro for registration, but this fee includes meals, local transport in Hong Kong, as well as a two year membership fee and subscription to the journal. The website also have different options and fees for accommodation available for both PHD students and other delegates.

As I said earlier, there will be conferences celebrating the Reformation all over the world in 2017. South Africa will also offer a number of seminars and conferences, mainly in conjunction with the Theology Departments and Faculties of the major universities and Reformed Churches. So please make a note on your calendar for 2017 to keep the 31^st of October 2017 open to attend one or more of these events.  I will keep posting more information on these events in the coming weeks and months. 

Finally, a Humanities conference in Israel

The bread and the fish

In the early 1990s I was the leader of a small group of Christians who went on a 21-day tour to Egypt, Israel and Turkey and ever since I wanted to go back to Israel, but unfortunately there are not many conferences in Humanities or Theology held in this beautiful country to pick from. Therefore, the 28^th International Academic Conference that will be held in Tel Aviv, 7-11 March 2017 is worth mentioning. This is only the first of five such conferences planned for the first half of 2017 by the International institute of Social and Economic Sciences (IISES). Following the Tel Aviv conference will be Rome, Venice, London and Geneva.

The conference will be multi-disciplinary and includes tracks on Business and Economics, Qualitative methods, Social Sciences and Humanities, Teaching and Education, Health and Welfare, Environment and Sustainable development, Law in society, Energy resources and Policy and Technology and Science.

It will be held at the College of Law and Business in Tel Aviv and the early bird registration fee for non-members is 400 Euro (350 for members). The call for abstracts is open and feedback turnaround is very quick, within one week. This short response time and the fact that the early bird registration will be open until 7 February 2017 provides an opportunity for those who needs to wait for the start of the 2017 academic year before applying for funds or leave.  

The conference ends with a complementary day tour to the Dead Sea (40 Euro for partners). If you consider going to this conference, please do consider to stay on to explore this extraordinary country. Due to the size of Israel, 5-7 days are sufficient to explore and discover the country and the people but I am convinced that it would require a much longer stay to explore in depth the real wealth and beauty of the Holy Land, outside of the well-known tourist routes and attractions. ​

Why is travel planning important?

On our way back from New Zealand we knew we would suffer from jet-lag so we decided to have a short stopover in Dubai to rest and visit the Dubai mall. This lovely shop is close to the entrance next to the Dubai fountain - nice place to wait for the next water display.

Proper planning does not only saves you money and ensures that you do not miss out on terrific travel experiences, it most definitely adds value to the total travel experience. Most of the finer points about travelling we tend to learn the hard way (like making sure that the dates on the visa are indeed corresponding with the dates you stated in the application form – I still get nightmares about this one), but there are also things that we could benefit from by incorporating research results into our travel itineraries. Become your own travel agent and do some research during the planning phase of your trip. I know that this can sound like a waste of time because the travel office or travel agents can do this, but believe me, you will not only learn new skills and competencies and gather knowledge, you will also safe money and ensure that the whole trip is more enjoyable because you can adjust times, stopovers, air tickets, hotels, costs and much more to fit in with your personal preferences.

With the help of the Internet no one needs to be helpless when it comes to planning and booking air tickets, transfers, accommodation or activities (and if you really do not have the time to do this yourself, ask your travel partner or children or grandchildren to do it for you – you will be surprised at what they can come up with). Search the web pages of your favourite/preferred airline(s) and hotel groups. The hotel groups normally guarantee that they will provide the best and cheapest offers or will match other sites’ offers. I usually test this by first looking at sites such as Booking.com and Hotels.com and Tripadvisor to find their rates and then compare it with the hotel sites. Once or twice I did get a lower price on booking.com (as I already had several bookings with them and qualified for better deals), but after I signed up to the loyalty programmes of two hotel groups, their web sites always wins. This is also the case with air tickets. I usually start my investigation with sites that provide choice and flexibility such as Travelstart and then go to the individual airline web pages to see the price and itinerary differences and stopover or transit options. Again, being a member of one or two airline’s loyalty programmes is paying off and I tend to book directly on the airline page more often as the money I am saving this way is significant (and I like the benefits like the option to board first).

A last word: before you sign up for a loyalty programme with an airline or hotel, ensure that you are comfortable with their style, pricing and coverage. Although you normally do not have to pay to become a member, you could be inconvenienced when your preferred airline does not fly (directly) to the destinations your frequently visit or the hotel group does not have hotels in the cities or regions you are travelling to.  Make research part of travel planning and enjoy much more on each trip.

Driven by Hope: Economics and Theology in dialogue

I  have never been to Leuven, but oh! the glory of  the Belgium Grand Prix is next to none and this photo taken by my son Niel (2010) is simply brilliant with the car in focus and the motion visible in the surroundings.

I immediately opened the e mail with this topic on hope in the subject line because I could not wait to see the ‘what’ and ‘where’ of this conference. The Institute of Leadership and Social Issues (ILSE) and the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation (EHERO) are the organizers of this conference that will take place in Leuven (Belgium), 24-25 February 2017. The conference venue is the Leuven Center of Christian Studies which forms part of the ‘Evangelische Theologische Faculteit’. As can be expected with this topic, abstracts are expected from various disciplines, including Theology, Ethics, Psychology & Methodology, and Economics. Abstracts can focus either on the interplay between hope and/with these disciplines or on the significance of hope in general. Abstracts cannot exceed 500 words and must be submitted before 15 December to be double blind peer reviewed before the end of December.

‘Hope always triumphs over experience’, said Robert Fulghum the famous Texan theologian/author. Hope is also the driving force behind positive change, transformation, innovation and development. Hope helps us to cope and to persevere, and it is also a virtue that is needed in the academic world and especially amongst scholars who are not theologians. Maybe the greatest need for hope is in the economic sector and that is exactly why this will be such an important event. The keynote speakers are Prof. Luigino Bruni, Prof. Patrick Nullens and Dr. Martijn Burger; people who are inspirational and motivating.

Despite suffering severely during both World Wars, Leuven is a beautiful city with several magnificent old buildings that survived the wars (symbols of hope) and which could soon become UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with the two existing sites (the Groot Begijnhof and the Belfry on St Peter's Church) which are definitely worth a visit. The largest and oldest Catholic university is also in Leuven.

Hawaii in July, anyone?

The opening ceremony of The Learner conference in 2011. 

Why not? I think Hawaii would be a perfect place for an academic conference but the one that is held there regularly is in January and that is a difficult time for Academics from South Africa to attend due to the fact that the funding would be allocated from the previous years’  budget on the one hand and there is also the air traffic issues at that time of year – too close to the holiday season which means the tickets are expensive and hard to get what you want and also the possibility of snow and delays at major airports. So why not go in July if the opportunity presents itself?

In 2017, the 24^th International Conference of Learning will be held in Hawaii form 19 to 21 July. This is one of the Common Ground conferences which I personally can recommend. I attended two Learner conferences and they were excellently planned and well attended. The 2011 Learner conference in Mauritius was simply one of my favourites (because we managed to also make a lovely vacation of the time spend on the beautiful west coast of this island – just to make sure we could take awesome photos of the sunset over the sea). 

One aspect of these conferences I like very much is the variety of tracks that are presented. Next year, there will once again be 10 tracks under the special focus theme of ‘New media for new learning’. The learner conference is only one of about 24 research networks linked to Common Ground, and additional to the conferences, there are also a n impressive list of international journals and books which provide publishing opportunities.

The call for papers as well as registration is already open with good early payment discounts available. Conference registration costs USD550 and there is also discounted hotel accommodation available at Waikiki beach. The conference venue is the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The conference organizers are also arranging a selection of optional activities and tours to ensure that delegates do not only have to focus on academic work while on this lovely and interesting island.  ​

The early approval call for Proposals is open for ICDE 2017 in Toronto

Flowers near Niagara falls, summer 2015

As you probably know by now, Toronto, which is home to the Blue Jays baseball team and their awesome Rogers centre right next to the CN Tower, the hockey hall of fame and the Bata shoe museum is hosting the 27^th International Council for Open and Distance Education world conference in October 2017. This beautiful city also boasts with 11 swimming beaches and lovely waterfront parks. And friendly people. (The people of Montreal is also friendly but most of them speak French and my French vocabulary of about 100 words did not cut it). Another bonus about Toronto is that you get to see the Niagara Falls from the Canadian side! I love food and therefore I need to mention Canada’s poutine here – simply delicious and definitely worth a try.

The theme of the conference is: ‘Teaching in a digital age – re-thinking teaching and learning’ and all proposals must be in line with one of the 5 specified tracks. Presentations can be done in English, French or Spanish. The 2017 conference promise to be even bigger than the 2015 conference that was held in Sun City, South Africa. The Contact North University is expecting 2000 delegates from 95 countries. In line with this large show of interest, the organizers arranged for an early approval option for proposals. Although the last date for proposal submissions is 30 April 2017, people who submit their proposals before 31 December 2016 will receive feedback about the results of the peer review process after about 8 weeks and can start planning accordingly.

Abstract proposals must be submitted on the conference web page and the maximum word count is 600 words. Here are the 5 tracks that will be covered: 1) Emerging pedagogies and designs for online learning 2) Expanding access, openness and flexibility 3) Changing models of assessment 4) New delivery tools and resources for learning 5) Re-designing institutional business models.   

Early bird registration for the 2017 Postgraduate Supervision conference at Spier is open!

The Protea garden at Spier is so nice and beautiful.

This is a conference and workshop that neither M and D supervisors nor M and D students can afford to miss. The conference theme is: Postgraduate supervision: Spaces, journeys and new horizons. If you are enrolled for a M or D, and you can afford this, do attend.  The doctorateness workshop that is led by Leshem from Israel and Trafford from England is a unique opportunity to see a doctoral thesis from a new perspective. Their ‘stepping stones’ focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions that the researcher and the supervisor should ask at each step of the way towards the compilation of content that should construct a doctoral degree.

Other workshops, which precede the conference, include ‘Getting them to write and write well’ – also a useful topic for both supervisors and students; ‘Publishing pedagogies’, ‘Trends in doctorate education’ and ‘Supervisory resources’. There is also a full-day workshop on sustainable relationships with international funders which would complicate the choice of where one should focus.

One thing that I personally like is the reduced registration fee for South Africans and students. Early bird registration for South African academics is R5 500, and the workshops cost an additional fee of R1500 each. The welcoming function is included in the registration but the Gala dinner which is always exceptionally well organised and include awesome entertainment, cost an additional R450 per person (and you can take a partner with).

But the very best part of this conference (even better than the opportunities to learn from experts and be amazed by what is indeed possible in the field of postgraduate supervision) is the venue. Spier wine estate, just outside Stellenbosch is simply one of the very best conference venues I ever been to in the Western Cape region. I cannot list all their activities here (check out their web page) but one of my favourite things to do is to stroll over the bridge and walk through the protea garden on the other side of the water. And crossing back on the other bridge down the path, I would stand for a while to watch the birds on the water below. Oh, and there is nothing like the bathrooms (especially the shape of the bath – just right for two people to cuddle in with candles and wine and something to eat to the side). Spier accommodation for the conference is R2060 for two people sharing per night and this includes a very nice buffet style breakfast. Do ensure that you make the booking as soon as possible because each year, they are fully booked and several the delegates then need to find accommodation elsewhere. ​

2 full-day bus tours included with the conference – what a bonus for academics

The bus tour took us to the Niagara falls.

The International Journal of Arts and Sciences or IJAS as it is also known, offers 13 conferences annually in spectacular places in Europe and North America. Each of these conferences hosts several academic tracks, including Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Education and Technology and Science. Best of all, included in the registration fee are two full-day bus tours for all participants (and their companions – at an additional fee) to enjoy the special attractions of the region and to use the opportunity to network with other participants in a very innovative way, outside of the conference venue and setting.

Academics tend to attend subject specific conferences and I also do that, but every now and again, it is fun and an enlightening experience to attend a multi-discipline and more general conference. This is also one way to broaden your networking opportunities for possible multi-disciplinary cooperation with academics from other subject fields.

Two years ago, we attended the Boston conference on the famous Harvard campus and enjoyed it very much. The conference organizers are seasoned in this activity, have a vast knowledge and like to engage with and answer tourist-like questions. This year we attended the Toronto conference and had a ball of a time. To our surprise the same people we met in Boston were responsible for organizing this conference and we are already planning to attend another one of these conferences next year.

The bus tours are normally structured in a particular way; one day is set aside for the major tourist attractions in the area (like the Niagara falls in Toronto and the Black forest in Germany) while the second day focuses on the culture and history of the region (like the Indian village near Boston and the Mormon community market in Toronto – both tours were fascinating and stimulating and provided us with a lot of knowledge and insight and a different perspective on other cultures and the way people live and cherish their heritage.

Another bonus is that all conference registrations include the bus tours, and is charged in USA Dollars (even those in Europe which means that these conferences, although in Europe, are not so expensive for South Africans who are always looking at the hole in the pocket when it comes to other currencies). The registration fee is also the same amount for America and Europe.

One word of advice, please study the itinerary of the bus tours before you pack your suitcase as some of the excursions include a day at the beach (so pack a swimsuit and sun protection) or other activities that you would need to plan for. And if you do not want to eat the special lunch (for instance the lobster included in the Boston tour), there are always other options available.

The IJAS is hosting conferences in the following cities: Prague, London, Rome, Freiburg, Malta, Vegas, Paris, Harvard, Sicily, Montreal, Toronto, Venice and Vienna. So make your pick, read the conference page to ensure you know what the bus tours will be like and sent your abstract through! ​

Can Qatar match Emirates with stopovers?

The beautiful departing facility at Dubai airport

Today my focus will not be on international conferences as such, but instead on getting there and back. And more specifically on the wonderful opportunity to add a short stopover on to your journey. A few days ago I was stunned to read something like this on an economic forum post: One advantage that CEOs and celebrities have is that they do not need to spend time on uninteresting and time consuming issues such as making travel plans. Really? Searching for interesting stopovers, different airfares linked to different transits, and planning a day or two that can be added onto the trip just to unwind and recharge, is one of the major joys of travelling. Well, at least that is how I see it. I spend hours and hours on planning and also start months in advance – and because I do it in ‘my personal time’ I see this activity as my hobby.

   

This week Qatar announced that, like Emirates (which is based in Dubai), they would provide 96 hour visas to passengers using their airline and airport hub (Doha) to get to their final destination.  This is great news to me because although I only managed to fly Qatar once before, I was seriously impressed then with their standard of service and personal attention and would also like to see more of Doha than just the airport. We were treated like royalty on board the aircraft and because we only had three hours to connect with our next flight, were escorted by an official from the aircraft right through to the door of the next aircraft – support service that I liked a lot – and no, we flew ordinary economic class and we are not VIPs.  

We are members of the Emirates loyalty program and we really enjoy the stopovers that we usually take on our way back to South Africa. The arrangements for airport transfers, hotel accommodation that includes breakfast and the visa issues are all taken care of by the Emirates office in Johannesburg and done electronically. We just select when and where we want to go and they arrange it. And on arrival at the airport in Dubai, there is always a person waiting for us with my name on a board before we come to customs to provide me with an info pack and to direct me to the Arabian Adventures booth where the transport is arranged to get us to the hotel of our choice.

The first time I was informed about the stopover program was when I booked a flight and we had a transit time of more than 8 hours in Dubai. Someone from Emirates phoned and said that Emirates would like to put us up in a hotel so we do not need to stay at the airport. Wow. We enjoyed this so much and after that, arranged for our own stopover, each time that we fly Emirates. On a recent trip, we had a stopover of 5-6 hours early morning and were given vouchers for breakfast that we could use at one of several restaurants. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the gesture and had a lovely breakfast without our South African wallets suffering due to our indulgence.

So I cannot wait to try the Qatar stopover to compare it to that of Emirates…hopefully soon. 

A late but much needed start for Digital Humanities in South Africa

One of the many beauties in the town of Stellenbosch is the lovely huge and very old trees.

One can ask why it took so long for South Africans working within the field of Humanities to establish a Digital Humanities association but it would be more productive to focus on the fact that it finally happened and to everyone’s delight, the first Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa conference will be held early next year in the lovely town of Stellenbosch, able to accommodate about 220 people.

From the sound of it, I gathered that this must be a relatively new subject field, but I was proven wrong. The father of ‘Humanities computing’ is Roberto Busa who already in the 1940’s introduced the subject field and the name change only came in 2008 when the publication ‘A Companion to Digital Humanities’ saw the light under editorship of Unsworth, Schreibman and Siemens.

Digital Humanities is, as the name suggests, the area of scholarly activity at the intersection between technology and Humanities. The movement is in both directions: Naturally, scholars use technology to enhance their work within the field of Humanities, but they also subject technology to investigation from their particular point of view.

What I want to do today is to inform you about the DHASA conference that will take place at the University of Stellenbosch on 17-20 January 2017. The first two days will packed with workshops and the conference will commence thereafter. The organizers also arranged for lovely and worthwhile tours and excursions on the weekend following the conference (at extra costs). There are two wine tours in the vicinity of Stellenbosch, the city tour of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula tour that will take us to where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. O and the gala dinner promise to be something out of this world with the price tag set at R470 per person for a three course meal and the dress semi-formal.

As I said, better late than never, and hopefully the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa will grow extensively and rapidly and have a huge positive influence on lifting Humanities high in academic life. All the best of luck for the conference organizers and thank you for getting the ball rolling.