ICICTE 2008

"These miss you nights ... are the long nights" - Cliff Richard

Sadly we could not attend ICICTE this year as it was impossible to get plane tickets from Australia to Greece due to the Olympics. However, we were pleased to be woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call from Henk, Ken, Nancy and Nicole from the conference dinner. Even though you were eating Greek lamb on a balmy summer evening and we were huddled in a South Australia winter without central heating, we missed you guys.

I also missed my spars Asher and Mitch at ICICTE. However, I was unsuprised to learn that Asher has burned down his house in the country in order to move into a Tipee. Anyway, I hear he did a great job of presenting the paper by Shurville, Greener and Rospigliosi.

This year the ICICTE special issue of Campus Wide Information Systems will be edited by Dr Michael Henderson. Mike is already doing a superb job and I predict he will edit his own journal before we know it.

Upcoming conferences

"Hey, Eddie, can you lend me a few bucks,

And tonight can you get us a ride?"

- Bruce Springsteen

This year I plan to attend the following conferences:

• 6-9th August, 2008, Perth, Archives: Discovery and Exploration Australian Society of Archivists (attending)



• 2-5th September, 2008, Alice Springs, dreaming08 ALIA 2008 Biennial (attending)



• 7 - 10th September 2008, Sydney, Adopting & Adapting 25th International Convention Records Management Association of Australasia (presenting)



• 20-21 November 2008, Adelaide, The ATN Assessment Conference 2008 will be held at on 20-21 November at the University of South Australia (representing CWIS)



• ASCILITE Melbourne, Deakin University, Nov 30 - Dec 3 2008

CALL FOR CHAPTERS: Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery

Prof. Ken Fernstrom of ICICTE asked me to post this call. He is on the EAB for this project. So you *know* it is going to be interesting!

CALL FOR CHAPTERS

Proposals Submission Deadline: 5/31/2008

Full Chapters Due: 9/30/2008

Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery

A book edited by J Ola Lindberg, Mid Sweden University, Sweden and Anders D Olofsson, Umeå University, Sweden

Introduction

In today’s society, teachers need professional development due to the constant change in working conditions and the impact that information and communication technologies have in teaching practices. Teachers must be prepared to adapt to the future demands of their workplace, and consequentially, their knowledge and skills are in constant need of improvement. Teacher professional development (TPD), anchored in participation, collaborative activities and dialogue, allows for such professional development by offering a way to bridge theory and practice. Online communities provide productive arenas for TPD for teachers, teacher trainees, and school leaders. In such enterprise, technology as innovation will have a crucial place both as leverage and catalyst of change, and as a pedagogical tool in itself.

TPD is often constricted by a number of barriers, such as the following: top-down decision making, a lack of ownership of the professional development process, an inaccessibility of professional development opportunities, and the lack of support in transferring professional development ideas to the classroom. Other barriers that have been recognised are, for example, that TPD is arranged and carried out in a single session or in short sessions which the teachers attend in person.

In order to interconnect TPD and the online community, TPD will be discussed in terms of change. Change is understood as a consequence of innovation and pedagogy. In this book, TPD in online communities will therefore be examined in terms of innovation and pedagogy. Teachers from all levels of education, from pre-service to in-service education up to university teachers may be included.

The book’s discussion on the innovations of technology will focus on different aspects of the need for teachers to develop the knowledge and skills for integrating technology into their everyday teaching practices. In particular, the book will discuss how technology itself can serve as an important resource in terms of providing arenas for professional development together with colleagues in online communities. The book will also focus on pedagogy and the intertwining of education, teaching, learning, ethics and morals and how these aspects are affected by technological innovations. The main objectives of the manuscript will be to shed light on different aspects of the continuing need for teachers to develop professionally, to discuss and share with colleagues new knowledge and understandings of the recent pedagogical research in order to inform their own teaching practices, and to investigate the possibilities for teachers to share such knowledge, understanding, and practices in online communities. Overall, these objectives could be seen as an attempt to both understand TPD, framed within online communities, and to understand the design of virtual arenas in which teachers have possibilities to develop into professionals who have the capacity to not only respond to changing conditions, but also anticipate future technologies, and, in the process, re-define their practice.

Objectives, Contribution and Potential Impact of the Book

Three key objectives of this book are as follows:
· To present the most recent advances in TPD in online communities
· To examine the possibilities to enhance TPD by a critical discussion about the role and scope of technology
· To participate in an international dialogue about TPD and ICT

This volume will thereby contribute to a wider and deeper understanding of the potentials of using ICT and internet resources such as online communities in TPD, both at the level of pre-service teachers and in-service teachers and also at the policy-making level as the content will show a way of bridging the otherwise separated groups of professionals concerned with learning to teach and actually teaching.

In this book, ideas will be offered concerning how to move away from TPD-barriers, such as top-down decision making and the little to no support which is provided in transferring professional development ideas to the classroom.

Target Audience

This book is intended for professionals who, on a daily basis, work with issues concerning TPD, ICT and the internet. Teachers, principals, educational researchers, curriculum developers, teacher professional associations, teacher training staff, teacher trainees, universities, colleges and potentially also parents will find that the content of the book is firmly anchored in the inner lives of schools and universities. It will also be helpful for those who will design for TPD through the use of different media and technology. Even though the book will have an explicit focus on teachers and their joint efforts for professional development, the basic ideas in the book are grounded in learning theories possible to apply to numerous adult learning situations and vocations where beginning professionals can be helped by being guided by more experienced peers. The content of the book can also be of interest for a broader, local or national audience of policymakers and politicians.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Theoretical foundations of TPD
· Theoretical foundations of online communities
· The theory and practice divide in relation to TPD
· Learning in Networks in relation to TPD
· Models of online communities in TPD
· Different accounts of online communities
· Innovations in the use of technology and TPD
· Different accounts of technological use
· Web 2.0 and TPD
· Pod Casting, mobile learning and TPD
· Pedagogies afforded by technology in TPD
· Case studies and examples on successes and failures of TPD and online communities
· Different accounts of pedagogical use of technological affordances and constraints
· Pros and Cons of the use of technology in relation to online TPD
· Future Trends

Submission ProcedureResearchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before May 31, 2008, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of their proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by June 30, 2008 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by September 30, 2008. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), http://www.igi-global.com/, publisher of the Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference) and Medical Information Science Reference imprints.
Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to:
J. Ola LindbergDept. of EducationMid Sweden University, 871 88 Härnösand, SwedenTel: (+46)61186291, Fax: (+46)061186100ola.lindberg@miun.se

ICICTE 2007 special issue of CWIS gone to press

"... its a wide open road" - The Triffids

The ICICTE 2007 special issue of Campus-Wide Information Systems has now gone to press. This is an Australasian issue and it provides a snapshot of e-learning in Australasia for international readers. It was edited by Ken Fernstrom, Barry O’Grady, Michael Henderson and me. This may be the first special issue in the history of academic publishing to go to press four months early.

Here is a snippet from the editorial to whet your appetite:

The issue features papers presented at the International Conference on Information and Communications Technology in Education (ICICTE). ICICTE addresses the many challenges and new directions presented by technological innovations in educational settings. Each year academic and professional participants at ICICTE gain an excellent overview of current thinking and practices in applications of technology to education. This was exemplified in 2007 by our keynote speaker Professor Rob Koper of the Open University of the Netherlands, who gave an overview the €10,000,000 pan European TenCompetence project (see Stefanov and Koper, 2007): “The aim of the project is to build a European Network for Lifelong Competence Development by establishing a technical and organizational infrastructure for lifelong competence development. The infrastructure will use open-source, standards-based, sustainable and innovative technology to support the lifelong development of competences by any citizen, team or organization” (TenCompetence, 2007, online). Although TenCompetence is a European Union funded project, it is important that contributions from the accession countries and beyond Europe have been included in the research and dissemination agenda. For example Richards, Donkers, Hatala and Dufresne (2007) have contributed work undertaken in Canada. Such cosmopolitanism shows that the educational technology community is taking strides towards the internationalist goals set by Papandreou at ICICTE in 2006 and practical steps toward global interoperability.

Informal discussions of Koper’s keynote throughout the conference noted that TenCompetence seems to be as concerned with fostering international networks as it is about pioneering new educational technologies. Such multi-cultural activity is also a hallmark of ICICTE. While the conferences are based in Greece, they are co-organized between local universities and the University College of the Fraser Valley in Canada. Throughout the conference delegates can find themselves networking with colleagues from all five continents. Conspicuously, despite the travel costs, Australasian delegates have loyally attended year after year; making sizable contributions to the both academic and social life of the conference. Indeed, it is fair to say that ICICTE just would not be ICICTE without them. So the organizers thought it appropriate to acknowledge the dedication of the Australasian contingent by selecting papers from the 2007 event that offer overseas readers a snapshot of current developments in Australasian e-learning and flexible education. This is a timely decision as Australasian institutions have made considerable inroads into Asian higher education and are now turning their gaze towards China. As a forthcoming themed issue of this journal will attest, the Chinese market for e-learning is set to grow considerably and China’s choice of platforms and partners could decisively affect international standards and technologies. With its new Mandarin speaking prime minister taking a public interest in educational technology, Australia is particularly well positioned to enter this emerging market. Competitors and potential collaborators are therefore advised to follow developments in Australasian e-learning closely.

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.

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.

Themed issue of Campus-Wide Information Systems on Australasian E-learning

"I'm happy just to sit here round a table with old friends ... and see which one of us can tell the biggest lies" - Flame Trees by Cold Chisel

Ken Fernstrom, Barry O’Grady, Michael Henderson (who now seems able to fly) and I are editing a special issue of Campus-Wide Information Systems on Australasian E-learning including expanded versions of papers from ICICTE 2007. We hope to publish five papers form Australia and one from New Zealand.

A special issue that Ken and I edited based upon last year's conference entitled 'Rhodes to Global Educational Networks for the Common Good' is now available. It is a good idea to stay on the right side of Ken as he seems to be toteing a wolf these days. Flax the husky who is Ken's new room mate can be seen on the right. Bring some fresh Moose.

Hope to see you all at ICICTE 2008!

ICICTE 2007: 12-14 July 2007

"So now I walk in the midday sun, I never thought that my saviour would come, I think it's amazing, I think you're amazing" - George Michael (tenuous I know but George is Greek)

ICICTE 2007 was a great conference as always. I really enjoyed meeting the familiar faces as new making some new friends. The organization was superb as always and Crete was a welcoming destination. I was very proud to receive an award for being a friend of the conference (which made me so proud that I turned up in a socceroos replica strip). Cheers Ken! I also enjoyed introducing the keynote Rob Koper of the Open University of the Netherlands, who gave an inspiring overview of Learning Design. It was great to catch up with Rob who I met in Bulgaria last year as part of a TenCompetence based special issue I was organizing for Interactive Learning Environments (where I used to be Associate Editor).

My old spar Asher Rospigliosi and I contributed to a paper presented by Sue Greener called ‘The Value of Social Cognitive Theory in Online Discussion: Reflection via a Critical Incident repertory Grid’, which was invited for publication in Interactive Learning Environments. Asher needs a haircut and a shave as always. Aureli Owens and I presented ‘Engaging Colleagues in Personal and Organizational Change via Force Field Analysis’, which was invited for publication in the UCFV Research Review. I think this will be Aureli's first publication. But watch out I think she is a rising star.

The man of the match was definitely Barry O’Grady of Curtin University who presenteda great paper on finance and e-learning co-authored with his colleague Peter Mayall. The best bar conversation was with Steve Wheeler of the Faculty of Education at the University of Plymouth. Steve is the book reviews editor of Interactive Learning Environments. He is something of a rival now of course but as he invited our paper I guess we can live and let live! You can check out his views on ICICTE here.

Piers MacLean was in great form, although rarely seen at the bar, and his paper with Bernard Scott 'Researching Requirements, Practice, and Prospects for Learning Design: Some Results and Conclusions' is part of a research program that is really useful to anyone interested in training the next generation of learning designers. Check out their expanded paper from ICICTE 2006. It is good to see these old muckers from Cranfield have started the new JISC funded WALTER project. The future of learning design education is in safe hands!

We stayed in the Creta Sun apartments about 1/2 an hour from the action. The girls did a fine job of controlling the pool and the beach (Michelle did this by remote from her bed until around 4pm each day) while we were hard at work. Our host Dennis was a man in a million and generous with the four roses. I wish we had the time to nip back later in the summer for another dose of fine Greek hospitality. We eat nuff times at a local Greek lunch wagon that served the best dressed chicken in town for a couple of Euro. Nice! No them belly full but we hungry.

Wackies and Studio One was the boys music of choice in the Creta Sun apartments (except when Marian treated us to early morning Robbie Williams or Michelle went for some serious deep Brixton House) where we entertained Emory and Mina Craig from New York. Barry and Peter provided the most exciting taxi service on the island. Next year I hire a Hummer.