Association for Learning Technology
Fortnightly news Digest 240, issued on 6 January 2012
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Key links
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* Join ALT at http://www.alt.ac.uk/get-involved/membership
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Table of Contents
1. ALT news
2. ALT events
3. News
4. Other events
5. Calls for proposals
6. Funding calls
7. Job vacancies
8. ALT Online Newsletter - links to articles from the most recent issue
9. Current issue (19.3) of the ALT Journal - Research in Learning Technology
1. ALT News
1.1 Research in Learning Technology is now Open Access
On January 1 2012 our journal Research in Learning Technology became an
Open Access journal. As a result the last 19 Volumes are freely
available at the journal's new web site
http://researchinlearningtechnology.net/. If you are a Twitter user we'd
love you to publicise the change, and you may wish to reuse the
following text for this (or other) purposes. "Research in Learning
Technology is now #OpenAccess. Articles from the last 19 years freely
available at ow.ly/8eZce @A_L_T". Thank you.
1.2 Digital Inclusion and Learning - Call for Papers for a Special Issue
of Research in Learning Technology
* Guest Editors: Jane Seale, Professor of Education, Plymouth
University, UK; William Dutton, Professor of Internet Studies, Oxford
Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK.
* Deadlines: Abstracts can be submitted to Jane Seale for informal
feedback until 1 March 2012.; Papers should be submitted via the online
submission system by 1 May 2012.
For the full call go to
http://www.alt.ac.uk/publications/rlt/callforpapers20.4
1.3 ALT-C 2012 - a confrontation with reality: call for proposals
* The 19th international conference of the Association for Learning
Technology will be held at the University of Manchester, UK, 11-13
September 2012.
* The conference themes are Problem solving, Mainstreaming, Openness and
sharing, sustainability, and Entrepreneurialism.
* The submission system will open during January 2012.
To access the detailed call for Abstracts go to http://goo.gl/lYgY5.
To access the detailed call for Proceedings Papers go to
http://goo.gl/btuIr.
1.4 Videos of the Keynote and Invited speaker sessions from ALT-C 2011
are available from ALT’s YouTube channel. Here are links to each talk:
* ‘The educational and social impacts of Plan Ceibal – a new approach to
the use of technology in education’ – Miguel Brechner http://goo.gl/21o7R
* ‘Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology’ –
Karen Cator http://goo.gl/hf53s
* ‘The elusive technological future’ – John Naughton http://goo.gl/zCNYN
* ‘Open courses: Converting, launching, and letting go...’ – Jo Axe
http://goo.gl/QCvND
* ‘Leadership in a cold climate. Leading where the past is no reliable
guide to the future. A reflection on the strategic leadership of people,
technology and institutions in UK HE’ – Ewart Wooldridge http://goo.gl/rIHQU
* ‘JISC's support for learning and teaching in a changing educational
environment’ – Malcolm Read http://goo.gl/icAJ9
* ‘The city as the learning environment: making change happen in
Leicester's schools’ – Josie Fraser http://goo.gl/Oe19J
* ‘On being public…how social media reshapes professional identity’ –
Anne Marie Cunningham http://goo.gl/J6I9f
* ‘The ROI of Online Collaboration: Doing More With Less’ – Rajeev Arora
http://goo.gl/UiGPX
* ‘Remembering Robin Mason’ – Sonam Penjor http://goo.gl/hOVSJ
* ‘I Have a Blind Student in My Maths/Science Class, Should I panic? How
to promote inclusion for blind students’ – Dónal FitzPatrick
http://goo.gl/famhd
* ‘Well, the kookaburras thought it was funny anyway! Gilly Salmon
explores innovation in UK and Australian Higher Education’ – Gilly
Salmon http://goo.gl/9m1bM
1.5 Any employee of an ALT member organisation is entitled to join ALT
individually at no cost as an Associate Member. You can do this in
seconds from http://goo.gl/fOCYC
1.6 ALT Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
ALT Special Interest Groups bring together individuals or organisations
within ALT around a common theme. Here are links to each of our active SIGs:
* Inclusive Learning SIG (ILSIG) http://goo.gl/CQNQX;
* Learning Environment Review SIG (LERSIG) http://goo.gl/3MgBO;
* Video in Education SIG (ViTAL) http://goo.gl/oqV7n;
* Games and Learning SIG (GLSIG) http://goo.gl/01OtH;
* Politics and Critical Theory SIG (PACT) http://goo.gl/Hhzjp;
* White Rose Learning Technologists' Forum (WRLT SIG) http://goo.gl/LLmJM.
2. ALT events
2.1 To what extent should learning design be supported computationally?
Book early for this 90 minute webinar-based discussion between Diana
Laurillard and Stephen Downes, to take place between 17.00 and 18.30 GMT
on 22 February 2012. Go to http://goo.gl/qbGxg.
2.2 The ALT/ELN webinar schedule for 2012
This is as follows, with fuller details soon to appear on the ALT web site.
* Writing effective assessment questions.
* The psychology of learning.
Both webinars *will* run, but they will *not* run on the previously
advertised dates. Please look out for new dates being published for
2012. We apologise if this decision – which results from difficulties in
making arrangements with the presenters – inconveniences you.
http://www.alt.ac.uk/events
2.3 Flowing from October’s meeting of all four of ALT’s Operational
Committees, several events are now in the pipeline including:
* a one-day event about large-scale curriculum redesign modelled on last
June’s successful Lecture Capture conference
(http://www.alt.ac.uk/events/lecture-capture-conference) for
particularly (but not exclusively) FE;
* an event for learning technology researchers and research managers,
with the working title “Getting to grips with impact in the learning
technology field”.
Dates to be announced shortly.
3. News
3.1 Michael Gove on technology in learning
The final section of Michael Gove's 1/12/2011 speech to the Schools
Network conference - from "Digital networks" onwards - has some
interesting pointers to Government thinking on technology in the schools
in England. See http://goo.gl/KNBsd
3.2 LSE's "Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact
activities"
LSE has produced a new twitter guide for academics and researchers,
written by Amy Mollett, Danielle Moran and Patrick Dunleavy. For more
information and to download the guide, go to http://goo.gl/x1oUK.
3.3 ALT Sponsoring Member ULCC has released a new “e-ILP” community version
With the release of Moodle 2.0, ULCC took the decision to review the
existing code and implement a new e-ILP (Individual Learning Plan) that
was more flexible and extensible to anticipate existing and future needs
of the systems. Benefits of the e-ILP module, like improved learner
engagement, retention and achievement as well as cost savings associated
with a well integrated IT solution, have since been mentioned in Ofsted
reports and JISC papers. Full details about the latest version of the
community release can be found at: http://bit.ly/eilp2.
3.4 Medill Northwestern University webcasts students' journalism and
technology projects
ALT Sponsoring Member Sonic Foundry's Mediasite webcasting platform has
been used by Medill Northwestern University in Chicago to showcase media
tools students have created. For its journalism and technology classes,
Medill webcasts student presentations to the public. This quarter 19
students created five one-of-a-kind news apps, such as TwitterDebate
which pulls opposing tweets of the current presidential candidates on
various topics. Students most recently gave presentations on November 30
and the archived Mediasite recording can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/cke9ywg.
4. Other events
4.1 Futures for Knowledge, Follow the Sun 2012 online conference, 28-30
March
Follow the Sun is a 48 hour global online conference co-hosted by Beyond
Distance Research Alliance, UK, Australian Digital Futures Institute,
Australia, and Athabasca University, Canada. It is sponsored by
Blackboard Collaborate(TM). Please join us as we explore the Futures for
Knowledge in a multidisciplinary mix of keynote speakers, moderated
panel discussions and technological showcases. Registration is FREE for
all delegates: http://tinyurl.com/followthesun
4.2 HEA Workshop: Making the Most of Open Data in Education Studies, 27
Jan 2012
A full-day hands-on workshop at Liverpool John Moores University, on
combining open data with easy-to-use visualisation tools for enhancement
of Education Studies courses. The morning session will introduce
developments in 'open and linked data' and review sources and types of
data that could be incorporated into classroom practice. In the
afternoon, participants will be supported in developing a simple 'linked
data' application for use in their own teaching. A closing plenary will
review what has been achieved, considering how best to exploit available
resources and embed these in participants own practices.
Information: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/ECL/93614/121440.htm
Enquiries to Kate Litherland: [log in to unmask]
Booking deadline 13 Jan 2012. Free to attend. Book:
http://tinyurl.com/EdStudDataDay
4.3 Learning from OER Research Projects
This workshop will consider the types of OER projects that have been
funded and how these have contributed to the evolution of what OER is
today. It will consider evidence of the effect that OER is having on
the Higher Education Sector and how this is impacting on the changing
face of Higher Education in England, and more broadly in the UK and
internationally. To register: http://goo.gl/U6150
4.4 Conference announcement: Global TIME: Global Conference on
Technology, Innovation, Media & Education (AACE) February 7-9, 2012
The Global TIME online conference serves as a means to connect and
engage creative educators, researchers, consultants, training managers,
policy makers, curriculum developers, entrepreneurs, and others in the
topics and fields in which they are passionate.
More information on the AACE website at http://www.aace.org/conf/gtime/
4.5 Free MEL SIG Event - Using Digital Media - University of Salford,
3rd February, 2012
The day will be the usual mix of workshops and presentations with
sessions for beginners and experienced podcasters. Come and join us to
find out how digital media is being used by many practitioners in the
North West and beyond…
To see the programme, visit the MELSIG wiki - http://goo.gl/fWbr7
To reserve a place, please contact Lisa Rojas – [log in to unmask]
4.6 David White gives update on Visitors and Residents
David White from the University of Oxford will deliver an update on the
JISC-funded Visitors & Residents project at OCLC’s two-day conference,
developing a New Brand of Library, in Birmingham on 28th and 29th
February 2012. For those who are looking for a broad picture of learner
motivations, the Visitors & Residents research project, partnered by
OCLC, is a welcome development. The project’s focus on
information-gathering behaviours dovetails with the conference theme –
how physical and digital spaces blend to meet the needs of today’s
library users. Find out more and register to attend this free of charge
event here http://goo.gl/vqIin
4.7 Learning from OER Research Projects
This workshop on 19th January 2012 at the Open University will consider
what can be learned from the OER Impact Study, the synthesis and
evaluation of the JISC OER phase 1 and 2 projects and OLnet, to
highlight what research shows us about stakeholder engagement and the
reasons for it, lessons learnt, and what the movement can do and is
doing, going forward.
To register: http://goo.gl/Z8nFm
4.8 KMO 2012: Seventh International KMO Conference (knowledge
management, services and cloud computing), 11 -13 July 2012 in
Salamanca, Spain
Knowledge is increasingly recognised as the most important resource in
organisations and a key differentiating factor in business today.
Knowledge Management (KM) can bring about much needed innovation and
improved business performance in organisations.
Full details at http://kmo.usal.es/?q=node/3
4.9 Learning Technology for Education in Cloud (LTEC'12)
In conjunction with KMO '12 Conference and International Symposium on
Management Intelligent Systems, 11 -13 July, 2012 in Salamanca, Spain.
This workshop will provide opportunities for delegates to discuss the
latest research in learning technology and its impacts for learners and
institutions. We will explore a number of issues surrounding the use of
technologies in learning, providing a platform for informed debate
across all sectors of education and learning.
Details at http://ltec.usal.es/
5. Calls for proposals
5.1 CFP Journal of Virtual Worlds Special Issue: Asian Perspectives
The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://jvwresearch.org/) is
happy to announce the call for this "Asian Perspectives on Virtual
Worlds" issue.
Guest Editors: Kenneth Y T Lim, National Institute of Education,
Singapore; Young Hoan Cho, National Institute of Education, Singapore;
Michael Vallance, Future University, Hakodate, Japan.
Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 1 2012.
Full details at http://goo.gl/BxDSF
5.2 The International Journal of Learning Technology (IJLT) seeks papers
in 2012
IJLT is an international, refereed, scholarly journal providing an
interdisciplinary forum for the presentation and discussion of important
ideas, concepts, and exemplars that can deeply influence the role of
learning technologies in learning and instruction. This unique and
dynamic journal focuses on the epistemological thrust of learning
vis-à-vis instruction and the technologies and tools that support the
process. IJLT publishes papers related to theoretical foundations,
design and implementation, and effectiveness and impact issues related
to learning technologies.
Website at http://goo.gl/gNiqV
6. Funding calls
6.1 JISC Grant Funding 18/11: OER Rapid Innovation
The JISC and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) invite eligible
institutions to submit funding proposals for Projects to enhance digital
infrastructure to support open content for education.
The full text of the call is available here: http://goo.gl/oDTYc
6.2 JISC Grant Funding 19/11: Transformations Programme
The JISC invite eligible institutions to submit bids to participate in
the JISC Transformations Programme. The objective of the Transformations
Programme is to help institutions move towards organisational change
through the application of existing JISC and other resources in order to:
*Enhance their student experience;
*Improve the efficiency of their business and become agile in a climate
of change;
*Enhance their organisational capability for business and community
engagement;
*Improve their environmental performance.
The full text of the call is available here:
http://goo.gl/LNqp3
6.3 JISC Grant Funding 20/11: Embedding impact analysis in research
using BCE practitioners - Second Round
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) invites institutions to
submit funding proposals for partnership projects to embed good practice
in impact analysis in research departments utilising the expertise of
Business and Community Engagement practitioners and information
management specialists. Funding of up to £30,000 per project is
available to support three-way collaborative partnerships comprising:
*Research groups seeking to develop their capabilities in analysing and
articulating the impact and benefits of their research;
*Business and Community Engagement (BCE) practitioners with expertise in
identifying external impact and benefits, and designing institutional
services for this purpose;
*Leading research information management expertise and resources for
impact evidence.
The full text of the call is available here - http://goo.gl/tPGvo
7. Jobs
7.1 Imperial College Business School
Business School
Learning Technologist
ICBS 2011 048R
£32,130 - £39,920
Full time, Permanent
Closing date: 16 January 2012 (midnight GMT)
Informal enquiries to: [log in to unmask]
http://goo.gl/k9fwD
7.2 There is a regular supply of mainly US jobs in the learning
technology field at http://www.salt.org/salt.asp?ss=l&pn=joblistall,
with a helpful RSS feed at http://www.salt.org/Weblink/SaltJobs.rss.
8. ALT Online Newsletter - links to articles from Issue 25, published in
November 2011
Table of contents for Issue 25 - http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/tag/issue-25/
Article – ‘ALT-C 2011 – Thriving in a colder and more challenging
climate’ by Julie Voce
http://goo.gl/LkYl1
Article – ‘What Can We Learn From Stanford University’s Free Online
Computer Science Courses?’ by Seb Schmoller
http://goo.gl/2ddmW
Article – ‘Developing and Reviewing Online Courses: Items for
Consideration’ by Clayton R. Wright
http://goo.gl/d2QSN
Article – ‘The elements of e-assessment’ by Sophie White
http://goo.gl/ibx80
Article – ‘Supporting Learners with Activity Data’ by Tom Franklin
http://goo.gl/cSRhm
Article – ‘Get set, ready and GO! ELT Blogathon 2012’ by Şirin Soyöz
http://goo.gl/AQGox
Article – ‘Future of Technology in Education Conference 2011’ by Frank
Steiner
http://goo.gl/S0PLZ
9. Most recent issue of Research in Learning Technology, the Journal of
the Association for Learning Technology (previously ALT-J) – published
online on 23 November.
Research in Learning Technology is now Open Access and published by
Co-Action Publishing. Articles from the last 19 years are now freely
available on the journal's new website where you can also find more
information about the journal. http://goo.gl/QukuN
Volume 19 Issue 3.
*Note.* The DOIs for the articles below still resolve to Taylor &
Francis, the journal’s former publisher. We are working to resolve this
issue as quickly as possible.
Table of contents http://goo.gl/P2FCY
Editorial – “Theory in Learning Technology”
Chris Jones & Laura Czerniewicz
http://goo.gl/mDxPC
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.632491
Article – “Talking back to theory: the missed opportunities in learning
technology research”
Sue Bennett & Martin Oliver
http://goo.gl/hYlP1
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624997
Article – “Theorising knowledge practices: a missing piece of the
educational technology puzzle”
Sarah Howard & Karl Maton
http://goo.gl/AWdLM
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624170
Article – “The socio-materiality of learning practices and implications
for the field of learning technology”
Aditya Johri
http://goo.gl/Y3eD1
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624169
Article – “Mobilities, moorings and boundary marking in developing
semantic technologies in educational practices”
Richard Edwards, Fran Tracy & Katy Jordan
http://goo.gl/IoKwQ
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624167
Article – “The roles and uses of design principles for developing the
trialogical approach on learning”
Sami Paavola, Minna Lakkala, Hanni Muukkonen, Kari Kosonen & Klas Karlgren
http://goo.gl/luSyd
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624171
Article – “Technologies for learning? An actor-network theory critique
of ‘affordances’ in research on mobile learning”
Steve Wright & Gale Parchoma
http://goo.gl/vQW7D
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624168
Article – “Situated, embodied and social problem-solving in virtual worlds”
Andrew Cram, John G. Hedberg, Maree Gosper & Geoff Dick
http://goo.gl/W5qX1
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624172
Article – “Revealing the transformatory moment of learning technology:
the place of critical social theory”
Richard Hall
http://goo.gl/tHFrS
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624996
Article – “The social construction of educational technology through the
use of authentic software tools”
Allan Jones & Christopher Bissell
http://goo.gl/xuFVq
DOI: 10.1080/21567069.2011.624995
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The digest returns on 20 January 2012. All news, jobs, events, etc, to
the form at
http://www.alt.ac.uk/publications-and-resources/publications/alt-news-digest
by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 18 January 2012. This issue was compiled
by those who submitted content for it, and very lightly edited by Anna
Davidge.
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Disclaimer. Reasonable care is taken to ensure that the ALT Digest is
accurate. But ALT does not vouch for the accuracy of information
provided on web sites to which the digest links, and opinions expressed
on those sites should not be construed to be those of ALT.
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