Association for Learning Technology
Fortnightly news digest 100, 30 January 2006

Lots of calls for papers, invitations to tender and great jobs this week 
in our 100th issue.

To send items for the fortnightly digest, email [log in to unmask]
- with your _brief_ text in the body of the message (no attachments, 
please, and no pdf files).
Deadline for next issue (number 101): Tuesday 7 February 2006

Join ALT at http://www.alt.ac.uk/membership_join.html
Corporate and institutional members list: 
http://www.alt.ac.uk/corporate_members.php

1. Association news: call for ALT-J Editorial Board members
2. Association events: ALT-C 2006 deadlines approaching!
3. Invitations to tender: three from the JISC
4. Calls for papers: five calls for events and journals
5. Other events: three events
6. News: network enhancements, e-learning in prisons...
7. Vacancies: six great vacancies
8. Courses: post-graduate e-learning at the OU

1. Association news

1.1 A warm welcome to the following organisation which has recently 
joined ALT:
   Norwegian Networked University  http://www.nvu.no
- and to all the individual members who have joined in the last 
fortnight.

1.2 The Association’s response to the JISC survey on environments to 
support e-learning is now available on the web site [~71kB pdf] at
http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/jisc_elearning_survey_consultation_response.pdf

1.3 ALT-J

1.3.1 ALT J 13.3 delay: please accept our apologies for the lateness of 
this issue, which was due in part to editorial matters and to a change in 
distribution arrangements by the publishers, Taylor & Francis. The next 
issue of ALT-J (14.1) should be with you in March.

1.3.2 ALT-J Editorial Board: Call for new members

The ALT-J Editorial Board is seeking to recruit 5-10 new members. We are 
looking for researchers who are actively publishing and presenting peer-
reviewed work to a wide audience and who have an interest in and 
commitment to:
* supporting the editors in meeting the aims of the journal;
* promoting the journal widely within the fields and constituencies that 
members practice;
* encouraging potential authors to submit their work to ALT-J;
* supporting editors in improving the reviewing, editing and publishing 
processes of the journal.

For more information about the journal please see:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09687769.asp

For more information about the work of the Editorial Board please feel 
free to contact any of the editors:
Jane Seale [log in to unmask]
Grainne Conole [log in to unmask]
Martin Oliver [log in to unmask]

The editors are particularly keen to encourage expressions of interest 
from international researchers. Our international board members are not 
expected to attend the face-to-face meetings, but are encouraged instead 
to make their contributions virtually, via email, etc.

If you would like to express an interest in becoming an editorial board 
member please email your CV to Jane Seale at [log in to unmask] by 
Friday 16th March.

2. Association events

2.1 ALT-C 2006: the next generation
5-7 September 2006, Edinburgh, UK
Conference co-chairs: Prof Terry Mayes and Prof Ron Oliver

* Research papers close 14 FEBRUARY 2006
* Other streams close 28 FEBRUARY 2006
* Submit now at https://www.alt.ac.uk/pss/index.php
* Conference themes: http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2006/papers.html
* Submission guidelines: http://www.alt.ac.uk/guidelines_papers.html

The conference is for practitioners and researchers from all sectors 
involved in learning technology, as well as those new to the field. The 
conference welcomes research papers for publication in the peer-reviewed 
Proceedings of ALT-C 2006, as well as short papers, symposia, workshops, 
demonstrations and posters.
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2006/

2.2 Spring Conference & Research Seminar 2006
New connections, new challenges
6-7 April 2006, Leiden University, The Netherlands
In association with SURF and ILTA.
* Speakers include: Prof Angela McFarlane, Prof Robert Jan Simons, Scott 
Wilson, Leo Waijers, Igor Mayer
* Booking deadline: 5 March 2006 (hotels are limited, so book early!)
http://www.alt.ac.uk/conferences.php

2.3 Bidding for learning technology funds: a one-day workshop
26 April 2006, Birmingham (tbc)
Presenters include: Mark Stiles, Staffordshire University, and Jeff 
Haywood, University of Edinburgh.
An excellent opportunity to learn the secrets of successful project 
funding applications.
Programme to follow soon - put the date in your diary!

2.4 Edublogs: the educational use of weblogs, weblogging tools and really 
simple syndication (RSS)
4 May 2006, King’s College, London
Presenters: Josie Fraser, Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I College, and 
Steven Warburton, King’s College London.
Another chance to attend this popular workshop; bookings will open soon.

3. Invitations to tender

3.1 JISC ITT: JISC Information Environment Portal activity - supporting 
the needs of e-Research
…a study to investigate and make recommendations on how JISC Portal 
activity could be enhanced to support the needs of e-Research. The focus 
for this area of work is resource discovery. Deadline: 1300 hours on 
Friday 3rd March 2006. Funding of up to £30,000 (Inclusive of VAT and 
related travel and subsistence) is available for the study.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=funding_portaleresearch

3.2 JISC ITT: Metadata Generation for Resource Discovery
… a study to outline the issues surrounding metadata creation and to look 
at other possible strategies, tools and mechanisms for automatic metadata 
generation and exposure. Deadline: 1300 hours on Friday 3rd March 2006. 
Funding of up to £40,000 (Inclusive of VAT and related travel and 
subsistence) is available for the study.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=funding_metageneration

3.3 JISC ITT: 3 key areas of the management of ICT within UK higher and 
further education.
Deadline for each of the ITTs is 1.00 pm on Monday 27 February 2006.
Each project is expected to last for six months.

3.3.1. ITT: To investigate the methods by which UK higher and further 
education institutions sustain their ICT infrastructure. Funds of up to 
£50,000.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=funding_ictsustain

3.3.2. ITT: To investigate the extent of information systems integration 
within UK higher and further education institutions. Funds of up to 
£90,000 for:
* a survey of the extent of systems integration within UK higher and 
further education institutions (£45,000)
* critical analysis of the risks and benefits of integration in practice 
(£45,000)
JISC welcomes bids which treats this as a single contract worth up to 
£90,000 in total.  
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=funding_ictintegration

3.3.3. ITT: To study the impact of restricted access to ICT based 
communications upon staff within UK higher and further education 
institutions. Funds of up to £50,000.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=funding_accesstoict

4. Calls for papers

4.1 Higher Education Academy Conference 2006: Enhancing the Student 
Learning Experience
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, 3-5 July 2006
Submission deadline: 30 January 2006
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/conference.htm

4.2 Diverse practices; common futures
21st June 2006, University of Greenwich
Proposals for case studies and posters invited.
http://www.gre.ac.uk/e-conference

4.3 Innovate special issue on open-source software (OSS).
Submission guidelines: 
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=submit
Send your manuscript to the guest editor, Vijay Kumar ([log in to unmask]),
and to the editor-in-chief, James Morrison ([log in to unmask]) by 30 March 
2006.

4.4 eLit2006: Digital literacies and learning in the information society
28th - 30th June 2006, Loughborough University, East Midlands, UK.
Deadline for submission of papers: Friday 31 March 2006. 
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/eLit2006/index.html

4.5 7th Annual Higher Education Academy Subject Network for Information 
Computer Science Conference
29th August - 31st August 2006, Trinity College, Dublin.
Deadline papers: 14 April 2006. Deadline workshops/posters: 21 April 2006
http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/Events/HEADublin2006_V2/home.htm

5. Other events

5.1 eLearning Network: Understanding the Impact of e-learning on Business
3rd February 2005, 14-15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS
Members of Association of Learning Technology pay only £85 plus VAT.
http://www.elearningnetwork.org

5.2 Building a Departmental Image Collection
Friday 24th February, TASI, Bristol
Deals with issues of image creation, selection, cataloguing, and delivery 
to users.
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/training/

5.3 A one-day workshop/conference on IPR in E-Learning organised by 
Middlesex University
21 March 2006, BCS Central London office
Cost: Early Bird £70 (incl VAT) for registration & payment by 1st March. 
http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/bdu/IPRworkshop.html

6. News

6.1 UK education and research to receive new state-of-the-art network
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=sj5_announcement

6.2 Web of Science links to JSTOR
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=wos_jstor

6.3 E-assessment glossary published by JISC and QCA
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=assessment_glossary

6.4 2006 National Student Survey by HEFCE, HEFCW and DEL
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2006/nss.htm

6.5 US Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher 
Education
- a thoughtful and interesting submission by David Wiley.
http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/240

6.6 Apple Releases Free 'iTunes U' Software to Colleges for Coursecasting
http://chronicle.com/free/2006/01/2006012501t.htm

6.7 13 prisons in South West England to get e-learning in £10 million IT 
deal
http://tinyurl.com/87jts

7. Vacancies

7.1  The National Institutions of the Church of England
Information Manager, based in Westminster
Closing date for applications: Friday 3 February 2006
http://www.churchfiles.org.uk/

7.2 University of Exeter
Project Development Worker: e-Portfolio and ICT, SWOOP
Salary: £23,182 - £30,002.  Ref: S8-N152
Closing date: 8 February 2006
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/jobs

7.3 South Yorkshire e-Learning Project, Sheffield, UK
Project Manager (Sheffield)
Salary: £32,361 - £38,010 p.a.
Closing date: 10 February 2006.  Ref: CYPD403
http://jobs.sheffield.gov.uk/

7.4 The University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre, Barbados
Curriculum Development Specialist (Senior Lecturer Level)
  Further details at: http://dec.uwi.edu/about/employment.php
Assistant Curriculum Development Specialist (Editor)
  Further details at: http://dec.uwi.edu/about/employment.php
http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/

7.5 Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Flexible Learning and Access Services (FLAS)
Manager, Teaching and Learning Systems (Level 10).
http://www.griffith.edu.au/hrm/employment/

8. Courses

8.1 Open University
Innovations in e-learning (H807)
This postgraduate course helps you get to grips with understanding 
technological innovation in learning and teaching and understand why some 
innovations are adopted more readily than others. Three of the 
technologies the course focuses on are instant messaging, blogging and 
podcasting. The course explores their impact on individuals and groups; 
their connections to conceptions of learning with electronic media; and 
their implications for accessibility and privacy. You will also develop 
your e-learning and e-tutoring skills and a conduct small-scale 
investigation in your own professional context. 
http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses or http://www.iet.open.ac.uk/courses
--

The digest returns on 8 February 2006. All news, jobs, events, etc, to
[log in to unmask] by Tuesday 7 February, please.

Regards
Rhonda

Disclaimer: Whilst every care is taken to provide accurate
information in compiling this digest, ALT cannot vouch for the
accuracy of information provided on other web sites to which the
digest links, and opinions expressed on those sites should not be
construed to be those of ALT.

  Rhonda Riachi, Director
  Association for Learning Technology
  Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
  Tel: +44 (0)1865 484125   Fax: +44 (0)1865 484165
  Email: [log in to unmask]   URL: http://www.alt.ac.uk/
  Registered Charity Number: 1063519

  ALT-C 2006: 5-7 September, Edinburgh, Scotland
  http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2006
  
  ALT's email response policy: 
  http://www.alt.ac.uk/contact.html#Email