Qatar sale and due dates for E learning Update conference in South Africa, Academic Forum cruise conference

Willem joined the armed forces at OR Tambo international airport - a tourist attraction on its own

Qatar is currently having a special on international flights (they fly to 150 destinations). The sale ends on 16 January and you need to fly before 15 December (and there are also blackout dates). So if you need to book a flight, check their options and remember to also read the terms and conditions that applies to the sale. I like to fly Qatar and also see that other travellers are awarding them full marks so do make sure that you investigate one of their flight options when planning your trip. I also mentioned previously that Qatar is now offering stopover options with their flights. This is a perfect way to work a short vacation into your conference travel and also to counter the effects of jet-lag. 

Second, the 10th annual Elearning Update Conference starts in 238 days on 5 September at the Emperor's Palace at the OR Tambo international airport in Kempton Park (Johannesburg). The call for proposals is open but ends on 15 January. Notifications of Abstract acceptance will be done by 20 January – remarkable. The conference costs R3500 for South African presenters and R350$ for foreigners (with a special price for students and an early bird discount).

‘The focus is on learning with technology. The focus is not on the technology, and neither on the specific application where the learning takes place. We want to know how and when technology adds value to the learning process. So, regardless of whether your application is pre-school or post-graduate (or anywhere in between) come and tell us what you are doing and what you have learnt.  The idea of the conference is that we might learn from things that resonate with us.’ (Quoted from the web page).

And third, a reminder about the cruise conference to Alaska in May hosted by the Academic forum. The call for abstracts for the Alaska conference ends 5 March but the reservations for accommodation on the ship needs to be done before 28 February so get to work! Also, I see they announced the January 2018 cruise conference that will leave from Tampa, Florida to Mexico.

Oh, and I was looking at domestic flight prices last night and decided not to book - too high, but this morning Kulula and British Airways sent an e-mail promoting a sale, so I already booked on BA. Do check it out.

Abstracts to be submitted for SAICET (educational technology) in Pretoria, South Africa

Although Pretoria is known as the Jacaranda city, in April, pansies are in abundance

May 2017 be a wonderful conferencing year to all academics. Back to full strength regarding these posts, I want to draw your attention today to a very important conference that will take place in Pretoria soon. 

There is still time to submit an abstract (maximum 500 words) for the South African International Conference on Educational Technology (SAICET) before the 31^st of January, or, if you only want to attend without presentation, you should register before the same date to save $100. Registration from 1^st of February will be $500, which is a lot of money for South Africans to pay but I really do think this conference is worth the money. We are experiencing the fourth revolution in society (first was the development of language, then came writing and after that the printing press), which is a technology-based, networking society and education needs to urgently adjust to this new world if it wants to stay relevant and a major influence in society. Therefore, academics do need to take note of the development and potential of using technology in education. By now I am sure that all of us understand that technology does not enhances learning nor does it replace it, but it surely does provide alternative and additional modes of instruction, learning and assessment that can enhance the learning experience.  

The SAICET conference will be held in the Manhattan hotel in Pretoria, next to the Gautrain station. There is major refurbishing taking place at the hotel at the moment and hopefully this will be finished by April when the conference will take place (24-26 April 2017). (This is not the best hotel in Pretoria if you need accommodation due to noise levels, but the conference facilities seem to be fine).

The African Academic Research Forum is hosting this conference and the range of topics is impressive. The more than 50 topics include issues such as blended learning, e-moderating, digital libraries, (and a number of other digital and Computer related topics), Distance Education, Games in Education, e-learning, e-portfolios, mobile learning and social media in education to name just a few.  The theme of the conference is ‘beyond the horizon’ which is certainly what we need to look at in 2017. 

Hurry up to submit abstracts before 9 January for Assessment in Higher Education

The triangle of effective education, using alternative modes of assessment to enhance transformation and change.

You need to submit your abstract before 9 January 2017 to participate in the 6th International Assessment in Higher Education (AHE) Leading assessment for learning in Higher Education conference that will take place in Manchester, UK on 28 and 29 May 2017. 

The conference venue is the four-star Macdonald Manchester Hotel and Spa which have limited discounted room rates for the conference. Early bird Conference registration ends first of May for 345 Pounds, after which you pay 395 Pounds. The registration fee includes coffee and snacks as well as lunch for both days but it excludes the conference dinner that will be held on the first night (47,50 Pounds). It does, however, includes a Master class of your choice on the pre-conference day, which is, according to me, highly recommended for all conferences.

You may ask why attending a conference on assessment is so important? Well, contrary to popular opinion, teaching and learning is not all there is to education. Effective education forms a triangle of teaching and learning on the bottom line of the triangle and assessment the pinnacle that ties teaching and learning together and ensure that the student is able to transform his/her competencies/skills/knowledge/understanding/values/behaviour/worldview/etc if the assessment is done well and outcomes based towards life-long, self-directed learning. Too often, assessment is seen as a subordinate part of teaching or a grading system by educators and a sifting process for students when they decide what to cram for tests and exams.  

Technology opens a world of alternative assessment options which can replace written, timed, and venue-based assessment with creative alternatives that would save money and could change assessment as we know it altogether.  

Conference themes are:

·        Exploring approaches to assessment and feedback in higher education·

·        Enhancing assessment and feedback at programme and institutional level

·        Cultivating assessment literacy

·        Integrating digital tools and technologies for assessment

·        Developing academic integrity and academic literacies through assessment

·        Assessment for Social Justice

Conferences in the USA and Europe with Clute Institute

Warnemunde, an awesome little town in Germany where we had a lovely time during a cruise conference

The Clute Institute was formed in 1985.  In the past, we presented at two conferences that were hosted by the Clute Institute.We met Ronald Clute and Diane, his right hand, at the first conference and it was very nice to see their faces again at the conference the following year. Both these conferences were held in Europe although the Clute Institute is based in the USA. We really enjoyed these conferences as they both were linked to cruises but unfortunately it seems as if these type of conferences are no longer part of the Clute Institute planning (which is really sad), although there are still European conferences on the calendar. In 2017, the Stockholm conference offers an additional classic boat tour on the day after the conference.  

In 2017 the Institute will be hosting conferences in Hawaii, Sweden and within the USA in Las Vegas, New York and San Diego. The USA conferences will also have additional morning tours on the day after the conferences end. 

There are three different strands to choose from, namely Business, Education and Science Education (Science Education will only be presented at the Hawaii conference in January though). The business and Education conferences are linked together and hosted in the same venues with registration fees covering both strands. The web page lists a large array of topics that are acceptable for these conferences which offers a variety of options to choose from and make conference attendance interesting.

The Institute also publishes 19 peer reviewed, open access journals. 

Questions and answers on Tripadvisor

Due to the advice of locals on TripAdvisor, we were able to enjoy a wonderful day in London (14 hours layover)

I already mentioned the forums on TripAdvisor in a previous post. This is one of the most helpful tools when planning a trip. You can check if your question was already addressed and check the answers or you can start a new line of questioning. and you will receive answers from other travelers or locals within a few minutes to a few hours. I often receive notifications of questions regarding places that I visited and some times I am amazed at how quick others respond to these questions.   

We once had a layover (less than 24 hours) in London and wanted to go to the Eye from the airport and back but since this was our first time in London, we had no idea what type of transport to use (bus or train) and where to get on or off. Our questions were promptly answered with full detail and even links to maps and prices included. One person even told us to 'turn right and look up as you exit the building'. You can ask just about anything on these forums and because the answers are often supplied by locals, you normally get very valuable and extra information included in the answers. 

Everybody knows one or two horror stories related to vanishing accommodation agents or paid transport that never showed up. Therefore I also often book our tours on TripAdvisor which means that I now trust a few service providers which I normally try to book before looking for other options (some times, in more remote places, these 'trusted' options are not available). 

Lastly,  just a piece of interesting information about the TripAdvisor logo which you often see displayed at hotels and restaurants: This owl has one red eye and one green eye. They represent the choice you make (yes or no) based on the reviews you read.