An event not to be missed by academics in higher education

The sun reflects on the clouds as we leave South Africa to participate in an educational conference

I often hear my colleagues saying that they only attend and participate in conferences linked to their specific field of interest and specialization. In the network society, this is, according to me, an academic suicide attempt. Most academics in Higher education are apart from their subject specific research also educators. Therefore we need to be informed about the opportunities and challenges and developments in the field of education. The 9^th annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies is an event not to be missed, irrespective of your discipline.

This Edulearn conference is hosted by the International Academy of Technology, Education and Development and will take place in Barcelona, Spain from 3 to 5 July 2017. Due date for abstracts is March, 30. The conference topics are divided into Education and Technology in Education, both with several sub-topics.

In the Education strand, there are 6 sub categories. 1) Experiences in Education with 13 linked topics, including management and higher education. 2) Pedagogical Innovations in Education with 10 listed topics including methodology, assessment, new models and tutoring and coaching. 3) Career development and training has 8 topics including lifelong learning and staff training. 4) Experiences in research with 4 sub topics including methodology, links between education and research and new projects. 5) International projects (6 sub topics) include networks and funding programmes and opportunities.  6) General has 12 sub topics including the impact of education on development and student support.

The Technology strand has 5 categories. 1) E-learning has 19 topics linked to it including issues such as blended learning, assessment, distance education, mobile learning and MOOCS. 2) Computer supported collaborative work has 7 topics, including the use of social and digital media use in education. 3) Emerging technologies has 11 topics linked to it, including multimedia and the use of ICT for development. 4) Educational software and serious gaming has 8 topics linked and personally, I think this should be an important development in higher education in the next 5 years. 5) e-Content management and development has 9 linked topics including learning analytics, open access education, digital identity management and security and data protection.

Early bird registration closes 4 May and the registration cost is 480 Euro. The venue is not confirmed yet. I am sure that each one of my colleagues will be able to find an area of interest at this conference that they can link to their teaching and research. 

Highly recommended international workshops in Stellenbosch

Not far from the university town of Stellenbosch, the lovely town of Strand (meaning beach) provides a great place to unwind after the conference. Today the sea is like a dam -deceiving because this is also known as the Cape of storms. 

The centre for Higher and Adult Education in Stellebosch is presenting international workshops during March 2017. “The question of doctorateness: An international workshop for postgraduate supervision and doctoral candidates” will be presented by Prof Trafford and Prof Leshem based on their excellent book titled Stepping stones to achieving your doctorate. The conference will be presented 20-21 March and repeated 23-24 March. The registration fee (R5 100) include a copy of the book.

On 23-24 March Dr Plowright will present a workshop on “Challenging the mythology of methodology: upping your game in mixed methods research and supervision”. This workshop will cost R3 850.

Both these workshops will be held at Devon Valley Hotel, not one of our favourite hotels in Stellenbosch (too expensive, old and run down and not near the sites we wanted to visit and unaccommodating staff, parking is a nightmare, etc – but this was a few years back so it could have changed).  The price tag was the same as that of Spier but there is no comparison between the two facilities. So here is a few words on the choice of accommodation:

Normally, if it is not too expensive, try to stay in the conference hotel – you will have extra networking opportunities, especially with the keynote speakers, if you want to and you can easily and quickly go to your room to rest, fetch something or getting some work done between sessions. After the conference dinner, you do not have to drive and when the weather is terrible outside, you do not need to face it.

So, if possible, do use the conference hotel but there are also those times that you really want to be at another place than the conference. When we attended a conference in Mauritius, we definitely did not want to stay in the conference hotel because we could stay at a resort on the west coast of the island that combines work with a tropical vacation and island sunsets. We also booked with our credit card that promised a cash payback so the resort accommodation was indeed affordable and desirable.  

How about A conference in Los Angeles?

Technology is challenging academics to change and develop constantly

I always wanted to go to Los Angeles and in May 2017, we will DV present papers at the Global spring Education conference that will be hosted by the University of Riverside. The university hosts 4 such conferences each year (winter, spring, summer and fall). The short, two day conference is expanded with an optional third day excursion (which is not included in the $500 registration fee, but lunches and coffee breaks are included though). There is a long list – more than 60 - possible topics for abstracts and I am sure everyone in education would find a suitable topic to present research on. This also means that participants can expand their knowledge and insight into related or yet unknown fields by attending other presentations. Accommodation is provided by the Hampton Inn & Suites Riverside/Corona East at a special conference rate.

The university also hosts several other conferences, some of them also more than once in one academic year. The management conference is held in spring and fall. There are also HR conference, business research and information and network security conferences listed under the management banner but the most interesting symposium to me is the Women’s leadership conference that will take place in June 2017. I think female academics and females in academic leadership should explore such opportunities for networking and development to the full.

And for those who are in Psychology and nursing, the university also hosts annual conferences in these fields.  

To return to education, it is important that academics take note and respond to the changes and challenges that the network society is asking and demanding from education. The use of technology in education is no longer optional, but it should always also be remembered that technology itself does not enhance learning. Just like the printing press, (which was the previous great invention in educational development), it only opens up opportunities. One aspect of technology that can be put into great use in education, to my mind, is gamification, and that will also be the topic of some of my papers for 2017. 

The Society of Biblical Literature 2017 call for papers is open

Do not miss the cows at the Boston airport!

18-21 November 2017, the Society of Biblical Literature, with was founded in 1880 and is currently on of the largest societies in Biblical scholarship and Theology, will have its annual conference in Boston, USA. The call for abstracts (500 words) is open and will closes on 7 March 2017. 

This is one of the most important conferences for Theologians, students, religious leaders and lay persons interested in Theology. The conference normally has more than 1200 academic sessions. It also host one of the largest exhibitions of literature (books and other resources related to Theology) in the world which attracts Biblical scholars of all levels and interests to the conference. Authors, aspirant authors, and publishers also gather to network and promote at the conference.

And if you need to plan ahead, here are the venues for the next four annual SBL conferences: In 2018 the SBL will meet in Denver CO, in 2019 it will move to San Diego CA, back to Boston MA in 2020 and down to San Antonio TX in 2021.

In the past, Theology was the leading change agent in academic circles. Not only did Theology inspire and established European universities, it also adapted very quickly to the use of technology to improve and expand its influence on society. The use of the printing press during and after the Protestant Reformation that started in 1517 (exactly 500 years ago), is one of the most important examples of how Theology embraced and used technology to its advantage. The development of the technology-driven, network-based society which is currently evolving, should stimulate Theology in this centenary celebration year to once again take on the challenges and positively infuse change towards new and different ways of practicing Theology, provide education and serve society in general. Hopefully, this conference will aid towards speeding up this process in academic circles. 

Is distance education the way forward? Join the July conference in the Maldives

The sun sets over the Indian ocean islands

The technology-based network society does not need brick and mortar structures for work or education and it is time that higher education adapts to different ways of providing educational services to the changing society. This does not mean that face-to-face, structured and paced education is a thing of the past, but it does mean that there are more options available and many of them are becoming easier to implement successfully in the higher education sector due to the fact that the geographical an time distance are becoming less of a stumbling block as technology develops and is implemented in educational structures. Could it be that we are on the brink of a new dawn in distance education?

The 2017 International Conference on Education and Distance Learning will be held on the Maldives from 4 to 6 July with a one day tour of the islands on the last day. No information is available for accommodation or the conference venue yet, but the Maldives (stunning white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water) should be enough to draw our attention don’t you think?

Abstracts can be submitted until 15 February and the organisers promise a short five day peer review time. The conference is linked to the International Journal of Teaching and Learning but there are three different options for submissions of papers.  Registration fees depend on the option you choose. If you want to publish in the journal, the fee is 500 US Dollar, for presenters 350 US Dollar and listeners 300 US Dollar. This includes lunches, coffee breaks and dinner, as well as the conference bag and a souvenir. Registration must be done before 25 March 2017.

Topics include:

Blended Education
Language Education
Business Education
Professional Development
Contemporary Issues in Education
Science Education
Curriculum
Secondary Education
Distance Education
Special Education
Digital Education
Social Sciences
Teacher Education
E-Learning
Teaching Methods
Early Education
Engineering Education
Mobile learning
Accreditation
Multimedia in e-learning
Health Education
Web-based learning
Higher Education
Digital classrooms
International Education