HURRY, LAST CHANCE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE!

Dear Colleague, 

As face-to-face teaching moves more and more towards blended learning and flipped teaching supported by mobile learning and virtual learning platforms, the divide between teaching students enrolled on a face-to-face course and a distance learning course is narrowing. In addition, the pace of technological developments means it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay abreast with developing and current practice. Consequently, there is an increasing need to network and share good practice within the distance learning community and the wider online learning community. 

The Manchester Distance Learning Network (MaDLeN) is proud to host this inaugural FREE event in conjunction with the launch of a virtual community of practice (http://www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/distance/), both of which aim to promote networking and the sharing of good practice within the online learning community at The University of Manchester and further afield. 

Date: Wednesday, 26th March 2014 
Time: 12.30-4.30 
Venue: Roscoe Theatre B (Building 53 on the campus map at http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=6507) 

12.30 – Registration and lunch on arrival and an opportunity to look at a small array of promotional stands. 
1.30 – Welcome by Manchester Distance Learning Network Chair, Professor Kathryn Else. 
1.45 – Launch of the University of Manchester Virtual Community of Practice by Associate Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students, Professor Richard Reece. 
2.00 – Dr Gary Motteram, Senior Lecturer in Education (TESOL) and Head of Distance Learning for the School of Environment, Education and Development, will discuss his experience of the use of social media in teaching. 
2.30 – Ian Miller, eLearning Manager for the Faculty of Life Sciences, and Ian Hutt, Senior Learning Technologist and Distance Learning Lead for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and The University of Manchester MOOC Lead, will discuss tried and tested technologies for teaching. 
3.00 – Break for refreshments and an opportunity to look at a small array of promotional stands. 
3.30 – Dr Roger Harrison, Senior Lecturer and course unit leader for the MSc in Public Health by distance learning, will lead a session on opportunities and barriers to online teaching and network support. 
4.00 – Dr Paul Bingham, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Joanne Souza, Lecturer and Director of Biology online, from Stony Brook University, USA (by videoconference via Fuze Meeting) will discuss their experience of successfully transforming a face-to-face course into a hybrid distance learning/face-to-face course to cater to all student audiences. 
4.30 – Event closing 

To register, please go to Eventbrite at: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/never-mind-the-gap-teaching-at-a-distance-in-the-digital-age-tickets-10551561003?utm_campaign=new_eventv2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventname_text

Please Tweet about this event and share information with other members of the distance learning and wider online community via other social networks. Please feel free to circulate this message more widely.

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