Started at Uni SA today

"... it will be a start!" - The Jam

I have started work a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems in the School of Computer and Information Science at the University of South Australia.today! I am based at the City West Campus and my new e-mail is Simon.Shurville at unisa.edu.au. My home page at Uni Sa is http://people.unisa.edu.au/Simon.Shurville. I am program director of Business Information Management and Library Information Management.

I flew in from Perth a couple of weeks ago to start the reno on our house in Brighton. I have lifted a lot of dusty carpet so far. Marian flew over a few days later and has been busy stripping wall paper. The reno is going well and our furniture from Brighton, Enfgland and Fremantle arrived this morning. Fairly soon we will be able to relax in the pool and watch Skippy the cat slide on our newly polished floors into our newly painted walls. Bliss.

ICICTE 2008: Call For Papers

"Call me, call me any anytime ..." - Blondie

The call is now open for papers for plenary sessions examining the theoretical and practical applications of technology in education at all levels in both the public and private sectors. All proposals and papers are peer reviewed by members of the Scientific Committee. If you wish to present at ICICTE 2008 and have your paper published in the conference proceedings submit your proposal to Nancy Pyrini at nancypyrini@icicte.org by February 21, 2008. Papers from the conference will be published in special issues of Campus-Wide Information Systems (here is the 2007 issue), the UCFV Research Review and Interactive Learning Environments. Conference papers will be considered by each publication’s editorial board and authors will be invited to submit journal-length articles.

Proposals should be in MS Word and include title, purpose/objective section, and a 250–300 word summary. Papers must be suitable for a 15–20 minute presentation at a plenary session. Please include name, position and department, institution and contact information (mail, phone, fax and e-mail).Each proposal will be double-blind reviewed by the Scientific Committee. Notification on whether the proposal has been accepted will be sent by February 28, 2008.Completed manuscripts must be submitted by April 15, 2008 and will be double-blind peer reviewed by the Scientific Committee. Comments will be forwarded to the authors, and final manuscripts, with editorial changes, must be received by May 26, 2008.

Papers presented at the conference will be published in the proceedings under the title Information Communication Technologies in Education. Papers received after the deadline will not be included in the proceedings.Papers must not exceed 10 pages (including abstract, references, tables, figures and diagrams). Papers exceeding the stated limits will be returned to the authors for revision. Please consult the Manuscript Preparation Guidelines at the conference web site before submitting the final version of your paper.

On linked in

"Are you in or are you out?" - Ani Difranco

You can find me on linked in by following the linked button at the right. It has been great fun finding some old friends and colleagues. I would really like to track down Stephen Pantlin from Hampton Court if he is around. I suspect he moved to Australia a long time ago. Also David Wilshin from Epsom.

Paper on Learning Design Published in Kybernetes

"Don't have the inclination to look back on any mistake" - Bob Dylan

Ranulph Glanville has just edited a special issue of Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems, Cybernetics and Management Science (voume 36, isue 9/10) on Cybernetics and Design. The hard copy arrived in the post today and it is a very interesting read. I have a paper included co-authored with Bernard Scott, Piers MacLean and Chunyu Cong called 'Cybernetic Principles for Learning Design'.


Title: Cybernetic principles for learning design
Author(s): Bernard Scott, Simon Shurville, Piers Maclean, Chunyu Cong
Journal: Kybernetes
ISSN: 0368-492X
Year: 2007 Volume: 36 Issue: 9/10 Page: 1497 - 1514
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to present an approach from first principles to the design of learning experiences in interactive learning environments, that is “learning designs” in the broadest sense. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on conversation theory (CT), a theory of learning and teaching with principled foundations in cybernetics. The approach to learning design that is proposed is not dissimilar from other approaches such as that proposed by Rowntree. However, its basis in CT provides a coherent theoretical underpinning. Findings – Currently, in the world of e-learning, the terms “instructional design” and “learning design” are used to refer to the application of theories of learning and instruction to the creation of e-learning material and online learning experiences. The paper examines the roots of the two terms and discusses similarities and differences in usage. It then discusses how the processes of learning design fit into the larger processes of course, design, development and delivery. It goes on to examine the concept of a “learning design pattern”. Originality/value – The paper contends that, whilst learning design patterns are useful as starting-points for individual learning designs, learning designers should adopt the cybernetic principles of reflective practice – as expressed in CT – to create learning designs where received wisdom is enriched by contextual feedback from colleagues and learners.
Keywords: Cybernetics, Design, Learning
Article Type: Conceptual paper
Article URL: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/03684920710827445

There are a wide range of papers in this special issue that should appeal to anyone with an interest in cybernetics or design. I hope that the cross over between design theory and learning design will be investigated by other researchers. There is too much good design research to be ignored by learning designers.

The Extended Mind

"Keep on playing those mind games together ..." - John Lennon

My old mate Matthew Knight recently turned me on to some interesting work by Philosopher Andy Clark (who taught us both back in the day) and David Chalmers. The extended mind is a radical extension to situated cognition that sprang from Clark’s research into cognition (Clark, 1989) and Chalmers’ (1996) research into consciousness. It postulates an “active role of the environment in driving cognitive processes” (Clark and Chalmers, 2003, p 7) to the extent that “if, as we confront some task, a part of the world functions as a process which, were it done in the head, we would have no hesitation in recognizing as part of the cognitive process, then that part of the world is (so we claim) part of the cognitive process. Cognitive processes ain't (all) in the head!” (ibid, p 10).

References

• Chalmers (1996), The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.


• Clark, A. (1989), Microcognition: Philosophy, Cognitive Science, and Parallel Distributed Processing. Boston, M.A.: MIT Press.


• Clark, A. and Chalmers, D. J. (2003), The Extended Mind, Analysis, 58, pp 10-23.

ICICTE 2008 Web Site Launched: Clear July 10-12 in Your Diary

"Moonlight in Vermont" - Bill Evans' version played here for Ken

This year, ICICTE 2008, the best and most intimate e-learning conference in the history of civilisation, will be held on July 10-12 in Kanoni, Corfu (see below).

Papers from the conference will be published in special issues of Campus-Wide Information Systems (here is the 2007 issue), the UCFV Research Review and Interactive Learning Environments. Conference papers will be considered by each publication’s editorial board and authors will be invited to submit journal-length articles.

If you have not been to ICICTE before then, as the Aussies say, 'give it a go' --- you are in for a treat!

The new web site

Heroic action by new web master Ġorġ Mallia means that ICICTE 2008 has a handsome new web site.

Most of what follows is cribbed from Gorg's site. Hey Gorg, I'm sure there will be a beer in it for you in Corfu!

The conference

ICICTE 2008 will seek to address the many challenges and new directions presented by technological innovations in educational settings. Following in the tradition of previous ICICTE conferences, ICICTE 2008 will bring together an international community of scholars and practitioners in a forum setting. Opportunities for discussion on current thinking and practices in applications of technology to education are enhanced by the limited number of participants. The key note will be professor Gilly Salmon. Conference themes include:

• Institutional and national responses to technological change




• Political economy and educational technology: Intersections




• The architecture of learning; accessibility; the evolution of the classroom




• Pedagogy in the evolving tech environment




• Informal and formal adult education




• Multi-grade education




• Instructional design and delivery; evaluation and assessment




• Strategies and tools for teaching and learning, simulations and gaming




• Effects on training institutions and industry




• Impacts on educational institutions: effects on faculty, staff, administration, and students; curriculum and program development




• Intellectual property




• Ethical considerations in the use of information technology in teaching and learning




• The internationalization of institutions and of education




• Open/Distance learning




• Building communities of teachers/educators; cooperative learning




• Teacher training




• The use of technology in education to promote democratic ideals, freedom, equality.
  

This year the conference will be held at the Corfu Holiday Palace Hotel in Kanoni, Corfu. Located in Kanoni, 4km from Corfu town and 4 km from the airport, the location of the hotel is one of outstanding beauty with elevated panoramic views of the Ionian sea.
On one side overlooking the picturesque Convent of our Lady Vlacherna, the fully renovated hotel is the only one with a direct view to the famous “Mouse island”, the trademark of Corfu island. On the other side, a beautiful view of Lake Halikiopoulou and distant hills.

Organizers

ICICTE is lead by Professor Ken Fernstrom (above right) the Canadian with the best jazz appreciation out of B.C. if you are ever stuck in the Greek countryside without a ride home, Ken is your man. The conference director is Nancy Pyrini (above right) who could manage a moonshot for half what NASA would charge. Nicole Levinsky is the conference registra (somewhere above on the left!). Nicole could get mankind to Mars and then fish for salmon to feed everyone once we got there!

P.S. I am proud as punch to be named a friend of the conference alongside Ġorġ Mallia (a talented cartoonist) and Marcie Boucouvalas.