I would very much welcome further debate of this issue (and
thanks to Marina for starting it). I wondered if members of
Mailbase lists whose purpose overlaps/parallels that of
this one would be interested in joining in - or perhaps
they have already found a helpful way of dealing with such
a widespread problem.
Given the number of such lists hosted by Mailbase, I'm sure
we can't be the only group struggling with such facts of
life. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to have a little
networked-learning of our own!
Amanda
On Thu, 12 Oct 2000 13:34:22 +0100 "Goodyear, Peter"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I'm replying to Marina's observation - partly because I
> help with the networked-learning list and partly because
> i'm on the programme committee for the Euro CSCL conference.
>
> It seems troubling that on the one hand we have financial
> restraints within many of our universities that make it
> very hard for us to take part in international conferences
> (relevant to the theme of networked learning or otherwise)
> and on the other hand we are working in an area where new
> technology is (supposedly) reducing the need for such
> face-to-face get-togethers.
>
> Marina writes from a university which isn't well-funded
> with respect to research. I'm writing from a university
> which regularly comes in the top ten of UK research
> universities (and from a department which regularly comes
> out with a high research grade). Yet I get only 200 pounds
> a year as a conference allowance. That won't even cover the
> costs of attendance at one of our main national
> conferences. All my other conference participation is paid
> for from funds I've won in competitive bidding for national
> and European research projects. I'm not aware of any
> alternatives to these two main sources of funding. I
> suspect that there aren't any/many 'hardship funds' because
> they'd be overwhelmed with applications and would be too
> costly to administer.
>
> So?
>
> a) Should we be taking steps to create a serious 'virtual'
> conference in our field (or promote something which already
> exists in/near our field)? This would allow greater
> access, at the expense of some of the things which we
> value about face-to-face conferences
>
> b) do we need some infrastructure that would help with some
> selective funding of participation in face-to-face
> conferences - so that people with really good contributions
> to make to the NL field aren't silenced by shortage of cash?
>
> Peter
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Marina Orsini-Jones [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2000 11:33 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: FW: Extended Call for Papers EURO-CSCL 2001
> >
> > Dear all,
> > I've just joined this list and I would really like to
> contribure to the > conference
> > advertised here. However, in my institution, like in many
> other 'new unis' in > the
> > UK, the financial crisis has hit so hard that we just
> cannot attend > conferences
> > any longer, not even if we present papers. I am just
> telling you this, as > many
> > colleagues abroad are unaware of the situation. Perhaps
> we could set up a > 'hardship fund' for conference
> attenders like we do for needy students! > Regards to all,
> > marina orsini-jones >
> > Marina Orsini-Jones > Subject Leader for Italian/Teaching
> and Learning Fellow > School of International Studies and
> Law > Coventry University
> > >
> >
----------------------
Amanda Riley
Unit for Regional Learning
Keynes College
University of Kent
Canterbury
Kent CT2 7NP
Tel: 01227 823663 (direct line)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|