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Association for Learning Technology Fortnightly News Digest 152, 18 April 2008 For great events, vacancies, invitations to tender and news, please read on... The digest is compiled by Maren Kurz and is edited for the time being by Seb Schmoller. NB (1): To send items for the fortnightly digest, email [log in to unmask] - with the subject line "For the digest" and your _brief_ text in the body of the message (no attachments, please, and no pdf files; hyperlinks welcome). Deadline for next issue (number 153): 29 April 2008. NB (2): If you forward this digest, in whole or part, within your organisation or to another distribution list, please include the text: "[taken from the] ALT Digest, a fortnightly publication from the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) - http://www.alt.ac.uk/." 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 2. Association events 3. News 4. Calls for papers 5. Other events 6. Invitations to tender 7. Vacancies 8. Courses 1. ALT news 1.1 Our 2008 Learning Technologist of the Year Award is open for entries. The closing date is 8 May 2008. For full details go to http://www.alt.ac.uk/. Please publicise the Award widely. 1.2. ALT’s Trustees recently appointed Dr Mark van Harmelen as ALT’s first Director of Development. Mark will take up his post during May. Trustees and staff are looking forward to working with Mark. His brief biography is at http://www.alt.ac.uk/team.html . 1.3. To note that Sue Garrett, who joined ALT as Administration Officer in January 2004 will be leaving ALT shortly. Sue has played a major part in ALT operations since her appointment, and we will miss her greatly. In addition we are pleased to announce that Hayley Willis has been promoted to Events Manager. 1.4. The calling notice for the ALT AGM has been issued, along with a call for nominations for the election of 2 Trustees and a Vice-chair of ALT. The closing date for nominations is 2 June 2008. If you are considering standing for election, and would like to discuss this informally with ALT colleagues, please contact Seb Schmoller. See http://www.alt.ac.uk/ . 1.5. We will shortly be sending all members hard copies of two important publications: the report from the e-learning practitioner conference that we organised with the Quality Improvement Agency last October; and the Tangible Benefits of E-learning report that we produced with JISCinfonet, JISC, and the Higher Education Academy, and which was launched at the JISC Conference last week. 1.6. A JISC-supported scheme is now open through which any individual working in UK HE/FE (including Adult & Community Learning and Work Based Learning) who is entered for CMALT (our Certified Membership Scheme) before 31 July 2008 can enter for CMALT at a 50% reduction in the normal fee. For more information about CMALT, see http://www.alt.ac.uk/cmalt.html . 2. Association events 2.1. ALT-C 2008: Rethinking the digital divide. 9-11 September 2008, Leeds, UK. Online booking will open in early May. For more details, see: http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2008 . 2.2. Bidding and winning: the secrets of successful learning technology project bids (due to popular demand). Thursday, 29 May 2008. National College for School Leadership (NCSL), Nottingham. Presenters: Jeff Haywood, Vice Principal Knowledge Management, Chief Information Officer & Librarian at University of Edinburgh; Seb Schmoller, Chief Executive of ALT; and Mark Stiles, Head of Learning Development and Innovation at Staffordshire University. http://www.alt.ac.uk/workshop_detail.php?e=296 . Booking deadline: Thursday, 15 May 2008 Costs: £150 members, £250 for non-members. 2.3. NEW: e-Learning, what’s hot in Post-16, and wazzup? Wednesday 2 July 2008, University of Leeds. Presenters: Chris Barber, Theresa Beattie, Kevin Campbell-Wright, JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber at the University of Leeds. JISC Regional Support Centres have been supporting post 16 providers in the use of e-Learning for nearly 10 years. They have an unrivalled grasp of what is happening on the ground. This workshop will highlight key current developments as well as consider what is in the pipeline in the way of tools, approaches, and techniques in the e-learning domain. http://www.alt.ac.uk/workshop_detail.php?e=302 . Booking deadline: Wednesday 18 June 2008 Costs: £100 members, £155 non-members. 2.4. NEW: Can mobile devices be used in pedagogically effective ways? Wednesday 09 July 2008, The Graduate Centre, London Metropolitan University. Presenters: Carl Smith, Claire Bradley, Cecile Tschirhart and Christopher O’Reilly, London Metropolitan University; Lilian Soon, Freelance Consultant; Jill Attewell, LSN, Technology Enhanced Learning Research Centre. A chance to experience state-of-the-art mobile learning technology developments, to be followed by questions and discussions. This session aims to examine the question: Can mobile learning technology be used in pedagogically effective ways? http://www.alt.ac.uk/workshop_detail.php?e=303 . Booking Deadline: Wednesday 25 June 2008 Costs: £100 members, £155 for non-members. 2.5. Second Life in real life: education beyond the hype (due to popular demand). Thursday 23 October 2008, National College for School Leadership (NCSL), Nottingham, led by Dr Steven Warburton, King's College, London. The aim of this workshop is to introduce participants to immersive 3D environments from a practical perspective and to stimulate critical inquiry into the possibilities that massive multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) offer learning and teaching practice. http://www.alt.ac.uk/workshop_detail.php?e=297 . Costs: £100 members, £155 for non-members. 3. News 3.1. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) has just published its latest issue. See http://online-journals.org/i-jim . 3.2. HEFCE News: Recurrent grants for 2008-09. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_12/ . Withdrawal of funding for equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQs): outcomes of consultation (Web only). See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_13/ . HEIF 4: Funding allocations. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/circlets/2008/cl04_08/ . Allocation of funds for additional student numbers in 2009-10 and 2010-11. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/circlets/2008/cl05_08/ . Reprofiling of learning and teaching grant for the 2007-08 academic year. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/circlets/2008/cl06_08/ . Review of HEFCE funding for research libraries. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rdreports/2008/rd04_08/ . HEFCE Board papers Papers from the 28 February meeting of the HEFCE Board are available. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/board/2008/119/ . 3.3. Eight new Intute subject booklets have been published this month: Internet resources for environmental science Internet resources for materials engineering Internet resources for film and theatre Internet resources for philosophy Internet resources for education Internet resources for Olympic studies Internet resources for biological sciences Internet resources for pregnancy and childbirth Online versions (pdf for downloading and printing, and html for online access with clickable links) are freely available to everyone via the Intute website. See http://www.intute.ac.uk/subjectbooklets.html . 3.4. Futurelab announces the appointment of a new CEO. Dr Stephen Breslin will take up his position on 21 April. Stephen was previously Chief Executive of the Kelvin Institute, an R&D lab formed in partnership with Glasgow University, Strathclyde University and Scottish Enterprise. See http://www.futurelab.org.uk/about_us/Press_Release954 . 3.5. Survey on Accessibility advice - prizes for completion! The JISC TechDis service provides advice and guidance on the use of technology to achieve a more accessible experience for students and staff in higher and further education. They are seeking responses from anyone working in HE, from a wide range of subject disciplines, role areas and institutions. Even if you have never heard of TechDis please tell us so using the survey - this is still very valuable information! See http://tinyurl.com/3DTQFY . 3.6. Netskills workshops running at venues across the UK in June & July 2008, including new workshops ‘Podcasting: A Practical Guide’ and ‘CSS: Techniques Tips & Tactics’. Venues include Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Newcastle. See http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/products/index.html . 3.7. The EdNET Industry Awards recognize organizations that have made important contributions through their products and programs to the education industry in the past year. Nominations due 13 April 2008. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, during the EdNET 2008 Conference, September 14-16, 2008 in Boston, MA. See http://www.EdNETconference.com . 3.8. SQA signs landmark e-Assessment contract with BTL BTL Group Ltd announced that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has selected BTL to provide an enterprise wide e-assessment development and delivery system. The initial 2 year contract will see the SQA license BTL’s award-winning Surpass Suite in order to author, itembank and deliver e-assessments across a broad range of Qualifications. BTL will also be providing a full hosting, training, support and project management service to ensure the success of this project. See http://www.btl.com/news.asp?newsitem . 3.9. ALT Sponsoring Member Elluminate, Inc., announced on 31 March that The Open University (OU), the largest university in the United Kingdom for part time higher education, and a pioneer of large-scale distance learning, has selected Elluminate Live! as its enterprise synchronous collaboration solution. In addition, the OU will also integrate the virtual classroom with its chosen learning management system, Moodle. See http://www.elluminate.com/press/open_university.jsp . 4. Calls for papers 4.1. TLAD 2008 - Sixth International Workshop on Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases 10 July 2008, Cardiff, Wales, UK Extended Submission Deadline: 1 May 2008 http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/events/events.php . 4.2. Call for evidence on lifelong learning, citizenship and belonging (NIACE) Inquiry was launched in September 2007 and will report in June 2009. Interested individuals and organisations are invited to submit written by 22 May 2008. http://www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry . 5. Other events 5.1. HEFCE annual conference 2008: blog and other materials The HEFCE annual conference is now in progress. Speeches, presentations, session commentaries and selected audio highlights will appear on the HEFCE web-site over the next few weeks. See HEFCE conference blog: http://hefce2008.wordpress.com/ . http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/events/2008/annconf/ . 5.2. Work-with-IT Consultation Workshops A JISC study into the technology-driven evolution of working practices Workshop dates: 24 April 2008 (Birmingham), 8 May 2008 (Glasgow) http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/work-with-it/Workshops.aspx . 5.3. Virtual Worlds in Education (eLearning Alliance) 9 May 2008, The Moray House School of Education, Edinburgh http://www.elearningalliance.org/content.asp?ArticleCode=2140 . 5.4. The 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training 28-30 May 2008, Accra, Ghana http://www.elearning-africa.com . 5.5. LLAS / HEA Workshop: E-learning and educational technologies 9 June 2008, University of Bristol, School of Chemistry http://www.llas.ac.uk/events/llaseventitem.aspx?resourceid=2918 . 5.6. Will the UK learn anything from the Olympics? (National Learning Forum) 2 July 2008, Stratford, East London http://www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk/cfl/events/will_the_uk_learn_anything_from_the_olympics_2july2008.asp .. 5.7. Designs on e-Learning 8 – 10 September 2008, Penn State University, USA http://designsonelearning.psu.edu/ . 6. Invitations to tender and funding calls 6.1. JISC Circular 4/08: Learning and Teaching Innovation Grants Available funds: £75,000 per project Duration: project to last 1 year Submission Deadline: 5 May 2008 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2008/04/circular408.aspx .. 6.2. JISC invites tenders a project to investigate the feasibility of approaches to improve the consistency with which repositories share material. Available funds: £50,000 Duration: May – October 2008 Submission Deadline: 9 May 2008 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2008/04/sharingrepositoriesmaterialitt.aspx .. 6.3. The Leverhulme Trust A call for expressions of interest with regards to a scheme for the Embedding of Emerging Disciplines Responses to this call are due at the Trust in hard copy form by the close of business on 16th May 2008. It is intended that where, following the June meeting of the Trustees, an invitation is made for the submission of a full bid, then this should be sent to arrive at the Trust by the close of business on 10th October 2008, with final announcements of awards likely by the end of November 2008. Available funds: £2M - £5M per award, for up to 5 awards Duration: Up to 5 years For details, see: (PDF, large file, no warning) http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/Leverhulme_Embedding.pdf . 7. Vacancies 7.1. University of Greenwich E-technologist Salary £32,309-£36,814 Ref 941/G7 Closing date: 25 April 2008 http://www.gre.ac.uk/jobs . 7.2. BTL Group Ltd Net Developer Salary: £24,000-£27,000 negotiable according to experience Closing date: 25 April 2008 Enquiries: Dodds, [log in to unmask], 01274 203298. 7.3. King’s College London The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery Learning Technology Officer Salary: £28,289 to £34,813 + £2,323 London allowance p/a Ref: E2/GNI/052/08-HH Closing date: 30 April 2008 http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/pertra/vacancy/external/ . 7.4. University of Surrey Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences E-Learning Facilitator Salary: £26,666 - £30,012 Ref: 6541 Closing date: 6 May 2008 Informal enquiries to Prof Pam Smith, [log in to unmask] http://www.surrey.ac.uk/jobs . 7.5. University of York VLE Application Manager Salary: £27,466 - £33,780 Ref: H08122 Closing Date: 8 May 08 http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/persnl/jobs . 7.6. Hamble College Teacher of ICT Salary: main scale Enquiries to: [log in to unmask] 7.7. Botswana International University Founding Director of Information and Communication Technology Ref: AP142 http://www.executive-partners.co.za . 7.8. Roehampton University Senior Lecturer Teaching and Learning £36,874 - £43,429 Ref: HR28/08 http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/jobs . 7.9. Roehampton University Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teacher in Higher Education £36,874 - £43,429 Ref: HR29/08 http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/jobs . 8. Courses 8.1. NIACE Online Course Delivery: Exploring Successful Learning Online 22 April- 6 June 2008, Fee: £465, Additional fee covering registration for NOCN accreditation £35. Contact: [log in to unmask] . 8.2. The Sheffield College 9 June 2008 Getting to Grips with Moodle course, 7 week course at Level 2 (2 OCN credits) http://www.sheffcol.ac.uk/onlinecollege . 8.3. The Sheffield College 26 June 2008 LeTTOL (Learning to Teach Online), 23 week course at Level 3 (18 OCN credits) http://www.sheffcol.ac.uk/onlinecollege 8.4. University of East London School of Distance and E-Learning MA in Online and Blended Learning Content: Applications of Learning Technologies, Supporting Learners Online, Designing and Evaluating Online and Blended Learning, Educational Research, Dissertation. Duration: Each module is offered part time over 12 weeks. The durations of the short courses vary between 3 and 6 weeks. Awards: Short course certificate, Postgraduate Associate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, MA. See: http://www.uel.ac.uk/dl/programmes/module_info/ma_obl.htm . ---- The digest returns on 2 May 2008. All news, jobs, events, etc, to [log in to unmask] by Tuesday 29 April please. Regards Seb Schmoller 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. Association for Learning Technology Telephone: +44 (0) 1865 484125 Fax: +44 (0) 1865 484165 Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK Registered Charity Number 1063519 http://www.alt.ac.uk/ ALT Conference, 9-11 September 2008, http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2008/ ----