HELTASA conference call for papers open

Flying to port Elizabeth for the HELTASA 2018 conference and  to Cape Town for Learning LandsCAPE conference

First, the HELTASA conference that will take place in Port Elizabeth from 20-23 November this year recently opened the call for papers and it is all about change. Higher education must change and it is obvious that the traditional, linear, slow way of chancing education is no longer acceptable. The call is therefore for out-of-the-box, fresh approaches to bring about positive, radical change. Abstracts must be submitted by 15 June 2018 and early bird registration closes on 30 June 2018. Information on accommodation and the venue will be posted on the conference web page soon.   

Listed below are the 6 brought themes for the conference:
Responsive Curricula, and Curriculum and Career Pathways
Relevant Pedagogies and Assessment approaches
Student Access and Success
Learning Analytics to inform transformative teaching, learning and support
Leadership to respond to complexity and uncertainty in novel ways
Transformative teaching development across the academic career trajectory

Also, remember the e/merge2018 festival of e-Learning in Africa that will take place from 9 to 20 July. 

Second, here is also a reminder of this years Learning LandsCAPE conference on the theme: Perfecting the blend! Motivation and blended learning. Dates are 8-10 May 2018 at the Belmont square conference centre in Cape Town. And as usual, added to the conference is the Gamification @ work day that should not be missed. 

EduTECH Africa conference in Sandton

Santon Convention center where the 2018 EduTech Africa conference will be held, is linked to OR Tambo international airport via the Guatrain. 

Human communications developed over thousands of years and four remarkable evolutions or revolutions brought huge advances for education and training. In ancient times, humans used demonstration and repetition to teach but as soon as they developed speech, this communication tool was used effectively to teach and train. The development of writing and the printing press brought new technology to the educator's tool box. Currently, in the fourth revolution world, educators are focusing on adding another tool to their tool box - that of digital technology in all its forms. It is important that educators not only take note of the latest developments in this sector, but also to be involved in the development of new technology that can be used to enhance education and training. Keep in mind that these tools (language, writing, printing or digital media) do not replace learning, they can enhance and support learning and make learning opportunities available to more people. 

This year, the EduTech Africa conference will be held on 9 and 10 October at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sandton is part of the economic power hub of South Africa and the Convention center is conveniently situated adjacent to top shopping malls, entertainment complexes, great hotels and also linked to the OR Tambo international airport via the Gautrain.   

Pre-event workshops will be held on Monday 8 October and topics include 'The business of private education in Africa', 'Learn to code in a day', 'Virtual reality' and 'Cyber bullying'.  

There are six conference streams, 3500 attendees and  more than 150 speakers at this event.  The six streams are K-12 Leaders, K-12 IT, K-12 Business Management, Special educational needs, Tertiary Education and Vocational education. In the tertiary education stream, topics include 'The campus of the future', 'Adaptive learning technologies', 'Teacher training', 'Assessment and Evaluation' and 'Africa stories'.

Early bird registration ends 20 July and the costs is R3 825. There is also discount for groups of 3 and more people attending the conference. 

Dancing on the waves of change HELTASA conference

Dancing on the waves of change in higher education: the HELTASA conference 2018

The first call for abstracts is announced for the 2018 Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) conference that will be held at the South campus on Summerstrand at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth from 21 to 23 November. Pre-conference workshops will take place on 20 November. 

Although the web page for this years' conference is not fully functional yet (accommodation and maps and keynote speakers, etc. will be added soon hopefully), I am very excited about the awesome theme: Dancing on the waves of Change in Africa! Indeed, higher education is experiencing radical changes due to the 4 fourth revolutions that are shaping our society (and just in case you forgot them, they are the fourth communication revolution, the fourth industrial revolution, the fourth human identity revolution and the fourth Christian faith revolution - this last one is only slowly awakening). So, for a conference in the beautiful seaside city of Port Elizabeth, and in this changing higher education environment, what can be more fitting and challenging than to host a conference on how to stay on top of these changes and use them to our advantage?  I am sure we all will enjoy the opportunity to learn from each other and share our successes (and also maybe our failures in this uncertain and fast changing environment). 

Although the conference will host the usual presentations such as workshops, oral presentations, poster presentations, flipped paper sessions and critical dialogues, the organizers also encourages alternative and creative presentations such as music, dance, poetry, visual arts, drama and much more. The organizers also promise a range of social and cultural events for delegates to participate in and use and networking opportunities. 

The first call for abstracts will open 16 April and the due date is 16 June. 19 July is set as the closing date for early bird registration. So save the dates and ensure that you do not miss out on this promising conference.

Critical thinking conference

The 38th critical thinking conference will be held in California in July 2018

In a previous blog I already spoke about the venue and format of the next conference on critical thinking in July 2018 in the USA. The early bird registration is still open. 

Dr Linda Elder reminded us in a recent e mail about the crucial importance of the ability to really think about issues and the perceptions regarding technology: "We are reminded daily that there are many pressing problems facing humans. One of these is that technological advancement has given rise to the pedestrian belief that technology is the answer to all human ills. Technology seems now to be something akin to a holy grail we humans collectively worship, without entirely knowing why. For many, technology is treated as the whole, or nearly the whole, of human life. Digital reality has replaced actual reality, so that humans now frequently have difficulty differentiating the two. In the meantime, we are losing sense of family, of community, of connection to one another as human beings and sentient creatures. This can only lead us away from the principles embodied in fair-minded critical societies.

At this point in history, technology is treated in much the same way as early science and math were treated by the majority of Greek intellectuals more than 2,400 years ago - as the most important subjects to study for the advancement of human civilization. But neither math, nor science, nor any individual field or sub-specialty can be the whole of human thought or life. Each of these is merely a part of human experience. And it is clear that we do not always benefit from technological inventions and "improvements."

A rich conception of critical reasoning has seemingly little room in today's conversations; people are too buried in their cell phones (or other technology) to notice. The open exploration of ideas is not something most people feel comfortable with, because they have little experience with it."

She then conclude that the foundation of critical thinking is dedicated to advance human thought and understanding.  This conference is an opportunity to develop this crucial skill and is open to all levels of the community and academic world. 

SBL conference in Denver for theologians

The sun is setting and we are on our way to the next academic conference with SAA

The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), in partnership with the American Academy of Religion (AAR), will co-host their 2018 annual conference from 17 to 20 November in Denver, Colorado, USA. This huge conference, large exhibition of books and other resources and gathering of theologians on global scale is not to be missed. The call for papers is open until the end of June and the large selection of topics make this a conference that will spark the interest of all theologians and lay enthusiasts.  

The three main segments of this conference are sections, seminars and consultations. The Sections category offers more than one hundred topics to link papers for presentation. Seminars have limited membership and papers are discussed, not read. The seminars are structured around twenty pre-defined topics and projects. Consultations are exploratory program units focused on new areas of interest. The five current focus areas that are, according to the SBL, ‘new’ are: Animal studies and the Bible; Biblical exegesis from Eastern Orthodox perspectives; the book of Samuel: narrative, theology and interpretation; Racism, pedagogy and Biblical studies and the Historical Paul. Just wondering are these really 'new'?

The SBL as a society that is devoted to the critical investigation of the Bible was established in 1880. The AAR is a society and association of teachers and research scholars that has about 9000 members. 

The conference fee is $200 and the venue is not yet announced. Both associations have options on their web pages to keep you updated and informed, if needed. 

Unfortunately I cannot speak from personal experience as this is one of the conferences that is always on my wish-list but the date at the end of November is again during the exam marking time for our universities in South Africa, but a large number of my colleagues do manage to go annually and they say that this conference in definitely not to be missed.