Association for Learning Technology
Fortnightly news Digest 277 issued on 28 June 2013

Please submit items for the ALT Fortnightly Digest, including job vacancies, via the form at http://goo.gl/LlJ3y. 

The deadline for the next issue of the Digest is 12.00 on Wednesday 10 July for the Digest to be issued on Friday 12 July 2013. 


Key links: http://www.alt.ac.uk/key-links


Table of Contents
1. ALT news
2. ALT events
3. News
4. Other events
5. Calls for proposals
6. Funding calls
7. Open Educational Resources
8. Job vacancies 
9. Courses
10. ALT Online Newsletter - links to articles from the latest Issue 
11. Current articles the ALT Journal - Research in Learning Technology 


1. ALT News

1.1 Early Bird deadline for altc2013: 02 July
Bookings are now open for this year’s conference.
http://goo.gl/iXkxq

1.2 We warmly welcome The Wolfram Centre as a new Sponsoring Member and Unison as a new Organisational Member of ALT.
http://www.wolfram.com/
http://www.unison.org.uk/

1.3 Chief Executive’s Report
The Chief Executive’s report has now been published in ALT’s Online Newsletter.
http://goo.gl/3NNYH

1.4 Early call for expressions of interest in Chairing the 2015 ALT Conference
ALT's Trustees are seeking an experienced Chair (or up to 3 Co-Chairs) for the 2015 Conference Programme Committee and its executive, who will play a major role in planning and delivery of ALT's 22nd annual conference in 2015.
http://goo.gl/NY2OT

1.5 Robin Mason Fellowships
ALT has set up a fund to commemorate Robin Mason’s life. The purpose of the fellowship fund is to support researchers who cannot otherwise come to the annual conference. You can now contribute to the fund at
http://www.alt.ac.uk/robinmasonfellowships

1.6 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


2. ALT events

2.1 CMALT Webinar for Candidates, 17 July, 12:30-13:30 BST
The session is designed to provide information and support to candidates looking to complete their portfolios in the next few months.
http://goo.gl/VOsYB

2.2 Developing Digital Literacies pre-conference webinar, 30 August, 12:30-13:30 BST
This webinar will look at some of the long-term trends behind the digital literacies agenda, with reference to outcomes from the JISC Developing Digital Literacies programme and beyond. 
http://goo.gl/Vbp6b

2.3 altc2013 Building new cultures of learning
The 20th annual conference of the Association for Learning Technology will be held at the University of Nottingham, 10-12 September 2013.
More information is at http://goo.gl/TOiAk


3. News

3.1 OER14 Organising Committee – Call for Members
Following a highly successful OER13 conference we are delighted to have the continued support of ALT to deliver OER14. We would greatly appreciate it if you would consider joining the OER14 organising committee. Most meetings are virtual (using Adobe Connect) approximately once a month. 
To sign up to the organising committee of OER14 please join [log in to unmask] at http://bit.ly/ZllGUJ
Or email Megan at [log in to unmask] 

3.2 Jisc Legal Launches BYOD Toolkit
Jisc Legal has published a BYOD toolkit in response to the rise in learners and employees using their personal computing devices (typically smart phone and tablets) in the work and learning environment. 
http://jiscleg.al/BYODToolkit


4. Events

4.3 Summer School on Technology and Change in Higher Education: The Impact on Learning and Teaching, 11-12 July
The Summer School focuses on emerging forms of professional practice relating to student learning in higher education. It explores relationships between new technologies and changes to the roles, practices and experiences of students and staff.
http://goo.gl/Hya6P

4.2 PebblePad 3 Symposium, Birmingham, 10 July
PebblePad 3 was released in July 2012 and this free event is an opportunity for anyone interested in personal learning and assessment to see how practitioners have used the enhanced version of PebblePad to support learning, personal development and assessment. 
http://tinyurl.com/p9d4qh2

4.3 WorldCALL2013, Glasgow, 10-13 July
WorldCALL aims to enhance computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the global community by bringing educators from around the world together. A number of the sessions will involve practical demonstrations of courseware and other technology that will be of interest to teachers in secondary and further education and we would like to encourage language teachers to attend.
http://goo.gl/zgkSo

4.4 European MOOCs and Libraries Conference, London, 12 July
This one day event hosted by the Open University Library in partnership with OCLC Research  and Jisc will focus on the challenges MOOCs pose to the traditional delivery of library services, and the opportunities they offer for libraries to rethink and revitalise their proposition. 
http://goo.gl/ayHdz

4.5 European Immersive Education Summit in London, 28-29 November
The invited keynote presenters for the forthcoming European Immersive Education Summit have been announced. The summit will take place at King's College London on 28th-29th November 2013. For further information see the summit website at: http://goo.gl/un35c

4.6 Intellect SME Town Hall meeting at Digital Summer Camp, London, Wednesday 10 July 2013
This education themed Intellect SME Town Hall meeting will provide public sector technology suppliers with the opportunity to feed back their recent experiences (both positive and negative) as an SME or working with SMEs when supplying to government, as well as hearing firsthand about the progress made with the SME reform agenda to date.
To register please contact [log in to unmask]


5. Calls for proposals

5.1 Call for Book Chapters - Open Learning and Formal Credentialing
Deadline for 2-3 page chapter proposal: 30 July 2013
This new Book, published by IGI Global, will attempt to explore the philosophy, politics, theories, debates, curriculum models and assessment practices that characterise recognition practices associated with the development of formal credentials in response to open and lifelong learning. 
http://goo.gl/ttciD

5.2 Call for papers and presentation proposals: 2014 International HETL Conference, Anchorage, 8-10 June 2014
Deadline for submission: 26 July 2013
The International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL) invites you to submit a proposal for a presentation at its 2014 International HETL Conference, to be held in Anchorage, in partnership with the University of Alaska. Proposals are especially favoured on the conference theme: Impacts of Social and Mobile Media on Higher Education.
http://goo.gl/ALCAi


6. Funding calls

6.1 MOOC Research - Call for Proposals
MOOC Research Initiative (MRI) is to award grants in the range of $10,000 – $25,000 to explore the potential of MOOCs to extend access to postsecondary credentials through more personalized, more affordable pathways. The grant is lead and administered by Athabasca University. 
http://goo.gl/dNNWN


7. Open Educational Resources

7.1 European TEL Thesaurus and dictionary
A group of European leaders in TEL, led by Nicolas Balacheff, is putting together an open access Thesaurus and Dictionary of TEL, in multiple languages, as a service to the community. Nicolas is looking for further entries to be written on e.g.: Pervasive Learning, Augmented Reality Learning, Handheld Learning, Blended Learning and would be happy to have offers of further topics that are not in the list. A Thesaurus entry is short (one page) in a structured format, and you will be credited as editor of that entry. 
Contact Nicolas Balacheff: [log in to unmask] 
www.tel-thesaurus.net/wiki/

7.2 CETIS Analytics Series
The CETIS Analytics Series explores a number of key issues around the potential strategic advantages and insights which the increased attention on, and use of, analytics is bringing to the education sector.
For more information: http://goo.gl/gwmZ2


8. Jobs

8.1 Wikimedia Foundation
Executive Director
Full time
Informal enquiries to: [log in to unmask] 
http://goo.gl/c6joa

8.2 Teaching Centre, Loughborough University
Head of Academic Practice
REQ13323
£47,314 - £53,233
Full time
Closing date: 04 July
Informal enquiries to Dr Carol Robinson, Director of the Teaching Centre: [log in to unmask] | +44 (0)1509 228252 / 22387
http://goo.gl/1egsg

8.3 Learning & Research Technologies, Manchester Metropolitan University
E-Learning Support Officer
G2/3223A
£27854.00 - £31331.00
Full time
Closing date: 04 July
Informal enquiries to Mark Roche: [log in to unmask] | 0161 247 3362
http://goo.gl/JYA3n

8.4 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.


9. Courses

9.1 New: MSc Learning Innovation, University of Leicester
The University of Leicester's Institute of Learning Innovation and School of Education is excited to announce the new MSc Learning Innovation, beginning October 2013, which will be delivered by distance learning. The first 12 full-fee-paying students to register will receive an iPad mini for use in their studies.
http://goo.gl/2mxcR


10. ALT Online Newsletter

The newsletter website is at: http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/

Latest Articles

Article – “Chief Executive’s Report”
Maren Deepwell
http://goo.gl/0mzCo

Article – “Developing digital literacies in the Curriculum”
Helen Beetham
http://goo.gl/WqQOA


11. Current articles from our peer-reviewed Open Access journal Research in Learning Technology

The journal website is at: http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/

Latest Articles

Article – “Redesigning professional development: reconceptualising teaching using social learning technologies”
Thomas Cochrane, Vickel Narayan
http://goo.gl/eEQLZ
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.19226

Article – “Teaching with student response systems (SRS): teacher-centric aspects that can negatively affect students’ experience of using SRS”
Kjetil L. Nielsen, Gabrielle Hansen, John B. Stav
http://goo.gl/UWGDw
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.18989

Article – “Experience of developing Twitter-based communities of practice in higher education”
Bex Lewis, David Rush
http://goo.gl/NPCGQ
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.18598

Article – “Introducing blended learning: An experience of uncertainty for students in the United Arab Emirates”
Linzi J. Kemp
http://goo.gl/QU9KO
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.18461

Article – “Combining the formative with the summative: the development of a twostage online test to encourage engagement and provide personal feedback in large classes”
Susanne Voelkel
http://goo.gl/47gwu
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.19153

Article – “Is it cheating – or learning the craft of writing? Using Turnitin to help students avoid plagiarism”
Lynne Graham-Matheson, Simon Starr
http://goo.gl/MGaZz
DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i0.17218


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The digest returns on 12 July 2013. All items for inclusion in the next issue should be submitted using the form at http://goo.gl/LlJ3y by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 10 July 2013. This issue was compiled by those who submitted content for it, and very lightly edited by Heather Stallard.
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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.