Higher Education Today: crises, contestations, contemplations and futures

Durban is South Africa's 3rd largest city and one of the most popular holiday attractions in the country

The 11th Annual Higher Education Conference will be hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the Southern Sun Elangeni hotel in Durban on the east coast of South Africa from 27 to 29 September 2017. Key note speakers include Kris Chesky from Texas, Jonathan Jansen, the former Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State, Chandra Raju from India and Pali Lehohla who is the Statistician-General of South Africa since 2000. 

The theme of the conference is Higher Education Today: crises, contestations, contemplations and futures. The aim is to interrogate the artificial dichotomy between teaching and research. I am sure all educators are interested to hear more on these issues. Combine the interesting theme, the key note speakers who will have us questioning our comfort zones I am sure, Durban (sun, sea, dolphins, hibiscus flowers and the smell of curry) with the beautiful Elangeni hotel, and the word conference takes on new and exciting meanings. I cannot wait.

Early bird registration is open until 24 March and costs R3750. Abstracts can be submitted until 28 April 2017 on any of the following eleven interesting strands:

Decolonisation and Transformation of the Curriculum: When, what, how, who? 

Higher Education Data Analytics: Building organizational and analytical capacity to support student progression 

Governance and Leadership in Higher Education  

Student Attributes, Transitions, Destinations and Aspirations 

Funding Higher Education as a System: Entitlements, accountabilities, consequences, possibilities Collaborative Quality Enhancement for Sector-wide Change in Higher Education: Responsibilities and possibilities 

Language Policy, Planning and Implementation in Higher Education: Future directions 

Technology for the 21st Century Teaching & Learning 

Disciplinary Contestations and Pedagogic Practices: Fuzzy Boundaries but Clear Teaching? 

Reclaiming the Arts in Higher Education 

Open and Blended Learning

Some more Friday tips for conference travelling

Indeed time flies on happy wings but some times we also need to stop and think, train and prepare for the times when we are not in perfect conditions while travelling to conferences

People with hearing problems and other related conditions often suffer from the changes in cabin pressure on take-off and landing. My father, who we later discovered suffered from a brain tumor, also experienced intense pain each time the aircraft landed or take off, to such an extent that he did not want to fly in the last years of his life. Other members of my family also suffer from headaches, hearing difficulty and even nausea until we discovered that chewing gum helps to prevent or at least ease most of these symptoms. We also experienced that this helps for mild cases of travel sickness in cars, on buses and trams. So my backpack always has a pocket stuffed with gum of every flavour and texture. I also ensure that I have a few small sealed snacks for when blood sugar drops and the in-flight service is slow or the tour itinerary is not going according to plan. 

Only once in my life I took my shoes off during a flight and wandered with the airline-provided sleep socks to the toilet. That was way before there were lists of not-to-do-things-in-an-aircraft (and on the airport) that you could read on the internet so I got a terrible surprise when stepping on the soaked carpet of the toilet. Never ever go barefoot on an aircraft and if you leave your seat, do put on your shoes. 

Frequent travelers know that the emergency exit nearest to them could be behind them and normally when the safety announcement is made we do glance over our shoulders just to make sure, but a friend who survived an accident told me to actually count the numbers of rows between your seat and the nearest exit. Not that this always would help in a serious incident, but at least it will give you an indication of how many steps you need to take in a certain direction when the cabin (or what is left of it) is dark or filled with smoke. 

Last, everyone should know how to do CPR. Just in case you need it. We often train to do CPR at work and think we will use it in our offices, or at our homes or on the road, but speaking to people who actually had to use their CPR training, I was told that they actually needed their skills while attending an academic conference - scary, isn't it? 

A conference focusing on team projects for student success coming up in June

I kept staring at this artwork on the wall at a conference in Australia as for me, it relates to the individuality of students who only happens to enroll for the same course or porgramme 

During the industrial era, with its focus on the printing press, education was designed for groups. Learners were arranged according to groups and language and culture and lots of other group criteria. Luckily, with the dawn of the technology based, networking era, the focus is shifting away from groups to individuals. Also, but not so fast, within the educational system.  

The triangle of effective education has student-contentedness as one of its corner pillars and I am glad to see numerous academic conferences focusing on student success that acknowledge the fact that education must move away from mass focus to empowering self-directed, life long learning that is focused on individual students, accommodating their past, prior learning, and their development desires for the future. 

The Learning summit of the League for innovation in the community college that will be held at Paradise Valley, Arizona in 110 days' time (11-14 June) and it will focus on facilitating student success. This conference is actually a working retreat for institutional teams who are encouraged to identify a specific project related to student success. These projects will then from the focus point for each team during the workshops under experts in the field. The conference will be focusing on three important themes, namely Innovation, Engagement and Scalability. 

Information on the web page suggests that this conference is not open to individuals but to colleges and the college must be registered as a member to participate in the conferencing activities. With the focus shifting towards Multi- Interdisciplinary- and Transdisciplinary (MIT) research and teamwork and co-operation within Higher Education (at least in South Africa), it could be a good idea for academics to call together and organise people from different sectors within the organisation (university or college) to form task teams focusing on the three important pillars of effective education: Student-centred teaching, blended learning and transformative assessment. 

An update for cruise conferences for 2017

Willem is looking at the two cruise ships in Tallinn. We were attending a conference on board the Norwegian Star.

What I like most about the cruise conference is the fact that my hotel room is moving with me from one place to the next without me having to pack and unpack or having to wait because my room is not ready yet when I am exhausted or wanting to take a nap before a long night out. The moving hotel (no additional stressful public transport is needed) with its ever-changing views and 24-hour buffet type restaurant that includes soft serve ice-cream and lemon juice, is just about heaven to me.  

Could it be that the rest of the academic world is finally beginning to see what the medical profession already know for many years? That cruise conferences are in high demand. No, we are not there yet, but there are a few new lights of hope on the horizon, thankfully. 

I did mention that the Academic Forum is expanding their conference cruises and they are including a cruise conference in October this year from Houston Texas as well as a cruise conference in January 2018 from Florida. Do investigate their themes and topics which is broad and accommodating to several academic disciplines. 

Psychology is also arranging a number of cruise conferences and the 14 AMA PRA credits conference with Dr. Zur will take place on 23 to 30 June 2017 while visiting Alaska on board a lovely cruise ship. The theme of this educational conference is: Psychotherapy, Psychiatry and Counseling in the Digital Age: Therapeutic Boundaries, Digital Ethics & Tele-Mental Health. 

If you are into any aspect of business and economics and related fields such as Accounting, Hospitality & Tourism, Consumer behaviour, Human Resources, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, E-Business & IT, International trade, Econometrics, Management, Marketing< Banking, and even Social Science Studies, hurry to get your abstract in before 3 March. Join the 7th International Business-Economics Advancement Conference that will be held from 9 to 14 April 2017, hosted by the University of South Florida Sarasofa-Manatee. The ship will dock in Miami, Florida. 

Three tips for international conference attendance on weather, flights and receipts

Arriving in London on a transit trip to the USA, it was raining, but on our return day, we had lovely weather and we decided to make the most of it by seeing the city from the London eye

More than once a week I see and read some of the lists on what to do or what not to do when travelling. Some of these lists are useful and others are wasting your time. This morning, one blogger instructed travellers to do  research regarding the weather at your planned destination. This not only helps you to pack correctly, but also ensure that you do not need to spend money (which our South Africans rarely have enough of when we travel due to the poor exchange rate) on buying clothing. I normally use web pages such as AccuWeather and the web page of the airline to provide me with a forecast of what to expect, but my dry mac is always in the outer zip bag of my suite case for easy reach should I need it when leaving the airport terminal. I normally only pack one pair of shoes, but when we are expecting lots of rain there must be backup (dry) shoes in my bag.

I also read a list advising not to travel on the same day that the conference starts or ends. This is also very good advise. Although you will not save that extra dollars you have to pay for accommodation you will save yourself a lot of stress and give yourself a few more hours to explore. Only once did I book our tickets directly after the conference ends and we nearly did not make the flight. I like to book the last night of our stay near the airport, or even on the airport if we have an early flight (to avoid traffic jams and delays). If we have a late night flight which is normally the case when coming back via Dubai on the Emirates flight, we book at least one night near attractions that we want to see or visit and enjoy a short break before heading home.

And lastly, this I did not read in a to-do list, but experienced firsthand last week due to changes in university policies on conference attendance and travelling: Strict measures are becoming more common at Universities in South Africa to provide evidence that academics did indeed attend academic conferences and used the money paid out to for the purpose that it was intended. So, my fellow academics, do not throw away your boarding passes, car hire slips and conference pamphlets, pack them in your checked luggage for future use. You already know that you should keep all these receipts (hotel, meals, air tickets) for use when you prepare your annual income tax forms to submit to SARS, so add these few sheets of paper to your luggage and ensure that you can proof to the university that you actually did attend the conference.

International conference presentation opportunity for students and junior academics

The white buildings and beautiful blue sky of Athens in summer time 

The Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) was established in 1995 and since then has organised more than 400 international conferences and other events and has published about 200 books. However, 2017 will only be the second Annual International Symposium on Religion and Theology hosted by ATINER in Athens, Greece on 22 to 25 May. The aim of this conference is to bring together academics and researchers of Religion, Theology and other related disciplines and one of the major advantages for students and junior academics it that the conferences organised by this organisation (all the different topics - not only religion) do not focus on specific themes within the disciplines. This opens the floor for Students to present their research on the topics of their choice and for junior academics to present on their current research projects without having to link it with a specific topic or theme. 

The conferences (different topics) are all hosted in Athens on an annual basis and all have three calls for proposals. The due date for abstracts for the upcoming Religion and Theology conference in May is April 1st 2017. These are not large symposiums (about 25 to 50 participants) and they are fashioned on  the ancient Greek Tradition of academic presentation. 

The International Symposium on Religion and Theology would be without doubt a wonderful event for Master and Doctoral students in Theology and Religion to present their research and get feedback from international scholars on their work. The organisers make an effort to have academics and researchers from as many countries as possible at the conferences and also include social events to promote networking opportunities for all participants. I am sure everyone would enjoy the Greek dinner and entertainment show, the one-day cruise to selected Greek Islands, the archaeological tour of Athens and a one day visit to Delphi which is included in this years' conference. 

An item for the academic's conference bucketlist

TED is about ideas worth spreading. Willem gives his own interpretation of looking at the world through a different lens in Dubai 

I often read bucket lists of things people want to do or places they want to go. When it comes to conferencing, ever since I discovered TED, I tell myself: one day I will be standing there. I still do not know what I will talk about but it will probably be a combination of Open Distance Learning and Theology and the influence this combination should have on developing agents of change since this is my passion and focus of my current research.

If you want to know why I did not, as yet, at least attend the annual TED conference, the answer is simple and twofold. One, I do not have $8500 to pay to become a member and attend the conference and two, the annual conferences are in very high demand and sold out quickly, long before I can submit forms to ask for money from the university. The theme of the 2017 conference is 'The Future you' and it will be held between 24 and 28 April in Vancouver Canada.  Luckily there are also other events that one can attend: The 2017 Global TED event will be hosted in Tanzania between 27 and 30 August, on the theme 'Builders, Truth tellers, Catalysts' and it will cost you $6000. Yes you pay in American dollars in Canada and in Africa and who in Africa has $6000 to attend a conference? - Currently this amounts to more than R80 000!

The first Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference on ideas worth spreading was held in 1984 and today you can watch hundreds of these inspirational talks on your mobile phone as they are added almost daily. The topics also expanded to include science, business, art and global issues. There is also a TED women conference and a TED education leg which focus on the youth with TEDed weekends in June. TEDx is a project that supports independent organisers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.  There are already 4 events listed for South Africa for 2017: 3 March in Bloemfontein for youth and regular events on June 16 in Cape Town, August 5 in Lynnwood Pretoria and September 29 in Pretoria central.

A few extras to pack but they make your life so much easier fo rconference attendance

An apartment hotel in Cape Town

Why would nice hotels provide you with small cups and saucers, paper cups, only one teaspoon for two or more people or even thin wooden sticks as replacements for teaspoons?  Well I really do not know the answer but what I do know is that many hotels actually do this and when you complain about it, the staff members look at you as if you are being rude or uninformed or both and normally they do not react on your requests. Only once our coffee cups were replaced with nice mugs (and by a smiling staff member).

We like to pack cup-o-snack-soups and our own favourite tea bags. We also do not want to drink soup from a small cup that is meant for coffee and you cannot use a wooden stick to stir soup. So, we got ourselves nice, medium sized colourful and sturdy plastic cups to take on our journeys. I am no big fan of plastic, but the double insulated designer cups with lids you often receive as promotional gifts are much better than a paper cup and bigger than a coffee cup. I also pack two teaspoons.

Of cause, when you book into an apartment hotel, these precautions are not necessary. We love to book this kind of hotel because you have everything that you need and usually also more than what you need right at hand and normally, but not always, also more space. We stayed in Adina apartment hotels a few times and were impressed with the space and array of things provided. This type of hotel is especially nice for longer stays or when you go to countries where our money is worthless and you would prefer self-catering. Some of these apartment hotel units also have a washing machine, tumble dryer, and dishwasher apart from the fridge, microwave and stove.    

Critical thinking - a conference

A sure place to practice critical thinking is the the African wilderness (but not while watching elephants though)

Looking for academic stimulation? Critical thinking is an important skill for all academics and how nice could it be to be at a conference focus on this? Registration is open for the 37th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform. This year the conference will take place at the Sonoma State University in North Carolina. Delegates will stay on campus in a newly build facility, all with private rooms and private bathrooms. All meals are also included which tends to soften the $1470 early bird registration fee that applies until 10 June 2017. The theme of this year's conference is Cultivating fair-minded critical thinking across education and throughout human societies. The conference dates are 31 July to 4 August. Keynote speakers include Dr. Linda Elder, Dr Brain Barnes, Dr. Paul Bankes and Dr. Gerald Nosich. This means that this conference is not to be missed! And for those who need it, academic credit is available at this conference.

Educators not only need to be critical thinkers themselves, they also need their students to develop this skill. One way of ensuring the growth and development of critical thinking skills is through using applicable assessment tools and providing enough opportunities for students to work and practice their abilities. The critical thinking community provides tests and assessment tools provide support to those who need it on their web page. However, for those who register for the annual conference, there is an extra bonus of two guides on assessment (Critical Thinking Competency Standards and Critical Thinking Reading and Writing Test).  And this is not all: There is an online library and the Critical Thinking community offers both on-site and remote professional development programs in critical thinking? 

Apart form the annual international conference, the critical thinking community also host a few regional conferences each year.

Authentic, Experiential,Evidence-based Learning and ePortfolios - education in the network society

An eProtfolio project initiated at Unisa expanded into community projects and an academic publication 

The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-based Learning (AAEEBL) and the community of e-portfolio academics that focus on leading change in Higher Education through their practice, research and dissemination of ideas are hosting the 7th annual AAEEBL conference on the campus of the Portland State University from 24 to 27 July 2017. This is the first time the conference will be held on a university campus which means it will cut costs and allow participants to focus on the conference purpose. 

The call for papers is open until 15 February. There will be three different interest groups: 1) Practices and pedagogies, 2) Research and 3) Technologies. Registration fees for non members is $340 before 1st April or $400 after 1st April. Students will pay special discounted rates. There are also special accommodation rates within a block reservation at the conference hotel. 

The inaugural issue of the AAEEBL ePortfolio Review has been published (available online) and the second edition is on its way, while the call for contributions to the third edition is open and will be published in July. The theme for this third issue is: ePortfolios as High Impact Practices. 

A few years ago we started to introduce ePortfolios as an alternative assessment method in Open Distance Education at the University of South Africa. This method of assessment replaced the traditional essay type assignments based on the content of the study guides. The ePortfolios focused on what the students learned and how they interpreted and used the content from the study guides in their daily lives and work and studies. Although some of the students (second year undergraduates) were very sceptical at first mostly due to the fact that they were unsure about how to use technology, they soon adapted with the help of scaffolding efforts by the educators and the positive impact of this type of assessment in already showing results in a very high throughput rate. The work done by students in one module resulted in small community projects under the guidance of the students who are becoming agents of change. 

What to do with all your stuff?

My all in one 'important stuff' bag is always around my neck when travelling

One of my male colleagues prefer a waistcoat with many pockets – like those green or khaki safari ones with all the zips and buttoned pockets. And then I love watching him patting all those pockets when searching for his phone or passport or boarding pass because he tends to forget what he puts where.

I have a travel bag that fits around my neck with an adjustable neckband. This is important because when walking, you do not want the neckband to be too long because it makes the bag swing and when you are sitting in the aircraft, you want to have it longer so it can rest on your legs and not be in the way when eating or working on the fold-down table or sleeping. This bag is much smaller than a handbag (and you do not need to have it clasped firmly in your hand for avoiding it getting stolen) but do provide enough space and different pockets to accommodate my phone, pen, credit cards, tissues, passports, boarding passes, vouchers and even a few mints or other small things in neatly separated spaces. Sometimes I even fit my glasses into it although it was not designed for this purpose. Having all the things you need around your neck keeps your hands free, keep the important stuff close at hand for safekeeping as well as having quick access to it. I also carry this bag with me whenever I leave the hotel room. During the conference, I put it in one of the small pockets in my backpack, but when out shopping or exploring I keep it around my neck all the time.

These bags come in different shapes and sizes and colours that could fit any taste and I see both men and women use them. I bought my first bag at a mobile phone provider, my second one from a luggage shop at an international airport (they really have nice choices) and the third one I ordered from a guy who does leather work for a living and asked him to adjust everything to my personal needs (like the size of my mobile phone and the number of cards I want to include).  

Luggage for conferencing

Willem is pulling his suitecase uphill towards the ship (upper right) with his laptop in his backpack and his phone in his other hand

Today a few tips on packing and making your life easier when travelling to attend a conference. First, ensure that you have a suitcase with four sturdy wheels. No, not two, four wheels that allow it to stand on its own when you need both hands for other tasks.

I, like many others, tried to resist at first but today I must confess that a super-light, four wheeled sturdy suitecase is a lifesaver. Just last week, we were booked into a hotel where we had to take the stairs up to our room (no lifts) and there was no help available either to get the luggage from the car that was parked in the street a few hundred meters away from the hotel entrance (due to non-availability of hotel parking). Fortunately, the suitecases are lightweight four-wheelers that are easy to navigate on the sidewalk and on the steep 17^th century staircases. We had this same experience a few years ago in Amsterdam – staying in the top apartment of the building which is five floors up in one of the old buildings next to the canal with no lifts. Having to drag our heavy bags up without the help of wheels, was not a nice experience as we had to make several trips up and down to get them and the hand luggage to and from the room.

The second, and equally important piece of equipment you need when travelling for a conference is a comfortable, strong backpack into which your laptop can be strapped in securely, with enough space for adapters, batteries, cords and documentation and that will not kill you when you must carry it on your back while transiting or exploring huge airports. Security wise, this is also a good choice because the backpack stays with you and linked with your body all the time – you never need to put it down to free up your hands. Backpacks are easier to fit into the space under a seat when everyone else is using their suitecases as hand luggage (which happens more frequently) and there is no space in the overhead compartments to put your stuff. And when you are a tourist before or after the conference, the back pack is handy for supplies such as water and snacks and souvenirs.