Welcome to the Ninth DIVERSE Conference Wednesday 24th - Friday 26th June 2009, Aberystwyth University Update to conference information: 24th February, 2009 http://www.aber.ac.uk/diverse/ [log in to unmask] Reminder: please submit your abstracts by 27th February The DIVERSE Conference is an annual gathering of academics, teachers, technologists and students that engages participants in an ongoing dialogue on the effective uses of visual media in education. The event includes a large number of presentations, discussions and workshops on a range of topics related to the conference themes. - Pedagogy and assessment - Tools and content oriented applications - Projects and cases: implementation and sustainability - People and technology: societal aspects The Ninth DIVERSE Conference will be held from 11am, Wednesday 24th – 2pm, Friday 26th June, 2009 at Aberystwyth University on the West Coast of Wales. Conference registration Registration forms are now available from: http://www.aber.ac.uk/diverse Click on “registration and accommodation” tab, or go directly to the link below: http://www.aber.ac.uk/visitors/pdf/Application%20Form%20Diverse%2009.pdf Don’t forget to take advantage of the reduced registration fee before 30th April! o Conference fee including accommodation: £460 - This includes single en-suite accommodation on Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth University (within 5 minutes walking distance of the conference venue) - Shuttle bus service from and to Aberystwyth Railway and Bus Stations on Tuesday 23rd June and Friday 26th June - Breakfast - Welcome reception with drinks and buffet (Wednesday 24th) - Conference handbooks and materials - Lunch and refreshments during the conference - Free use of some facilities at Aberystwyth University Sports Centre o Conference fee excluding accommodation: £350 - Welcome reception with drinks and buffet (Wednesday 24th) - Conference handbooks and materials - Lunch and refreshments during the conference - See the external accommodation guide for a list of hotels and guest houses in and around Aberystwyth o Student fees - We have reserved 20 places for students who are interested in attending - Fees excluding accommodation: £175 - Fees including accommodation: £285 Keynote speakers Keynote speakers include: - Carol Skyring, CEO LearnTel, Australia o http://videoconference.edublogs.org o http://www.learntel.com.au/index.cfm - Other keynote speakers to be confirmed Call for Papers - The Call for Papers is still open. - The abstract form has been sent as a separate Word document attachment along with this information. Alternatively you can download the abstract form from the conference web-site http://www.aber.ac.uk/diverse/ (click on Call for papers tab). - Abstracts must be submitted by Friday 27th February, 2009. - Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words. Longer abstracts will be returned for editing prior to peer review. - All abstracts will be peer reviewed prior to acceptance after which you will be notified whether your abstract has been accepted or not. - If you are unfamiliar with the themes, levels of technicality or academic register of DIVERSE, please review some of the abstracts for the previous three DIVERSE Conferences in Glasgow, Lillehammer and Haarlem. Links to previous accepted abstracts are on the same web page as the Call for Papers. Masterclasses - We are offering delegates the opportunity to register for optional Masterclasses, which will take place from 9-10:30 am on Wednesday 24th June, 2009. - There will be two Masterclasses facilitated by experts in practical use of media technologies for educational purposes. They will be providing a handson approach to working with technologies. o Masterclass 1: - Alison Walker, Stuart Henderson and Maldwyn Jones: Welsh Video Network o Masterclass 2: to be confirmed - The Masterclasses are offered on a limited basis, at a cost of £75 per participant. Details of themes and facilitators of the Masterclasses will be distributed in the next update (see below). We would recommend that delegates wishing to attend Masterclasses register as soon as possible to ensure places. Conference Dinner - The Annual DIVERSE Conference Dinner will be held on Thursday 25th June, 2009. If you wish to attend the Dinner it will need to be booked in advance at the time of registration at a cost of £40 per person. Sponsors - We will have an Information Market at the conference, which will include publicity spaces for our sponsors. They will be displaying products and services that are related to media in education and related services. The Market will be positioned very closely to seminar rooms and catering facilities. If you are interested in booking space on the Information Market, please contact [log in to unmask] for details and prices. After Conference - On Saturday 27th June, we will be organising an After Conference trip to St Davids in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. - The trip will include return bus from Aberystwyth, one or two hour boat trip around Ramsey Island and lunch at the widely acclaimed Refectory of St Davids Cathedral. - The cost for the trip is £75, which includes return bus to St Davids, lunch, taxi transfer from St Davids to the boat station and boat trip around Ramsey Island. - The weather conditions will determine whether the trip will take place on the day. In the event of cancellation due to bad weather, appropriate refunds will be made. Conference web-site - The web-site for DIVERSE 2009 http://www.aber.ac.uk/diverse is the main information source for the event. It will be updated on a weekly basis. - You can find further information on travel, location and social life in Aberystwyth along with information on the conference itself.