ASCILITE NEWS
AJET Call for Lead Editor (Re-issued)
As you may know, the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) is the official journal of ascilite. Since 1985, AJET has continued to publish peer reviewed scholarly research related to the educational use of technologies in the tertiary education sector. It now enjoys the reputation of being a highly regarded, influential, open access, online journal with an international standing and reach.
AJET is led by a small team of Lead Editors, namely Professor Barney Dalgarno, Charles Sturt University, Professor Sue Bennett, University of Wollongong and Dr Michael Henderson, Faculty of Education, Monash University. The Lead Editors are supported by a team of Associate Editors, an Editorial Board and a Management Committee. All editors act in a volunteer capacity to support the work of the journal.
In December 2015, Professor Sue Bennett will complete her term as a Lead Editor. As a result ascilite now invites applications for a new Lead Editor to join the existing editorial team.
Ascilite is committed to active succession planning for this important role and Professor Bennett and the AJET team will be providing support to the successful applicant to ensure a smooth transition into the role.
If you are interested in applying for this important position, you will find full details on the ascilite website here. Applications close 4 September 2015.
Please note that no EOIs were received in the first call out which closed 30 June due to an email system glitch. Anyone who applied prior to that date is therefore encouraged to re-submit. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused any previous applicants.
ascilite Live! Webinar: Awards for Excellence in Learning Analytics
Date & Time
The webinar will be conducted on 17 August 2015 at 10am (AEST). For your local time go here.
Abstract
The Awards for Excellence in Learning Analytics are an initiative of the Ascilite Learning Analytics Special Interest Group (LA SIG). The Awards focus on the practical application of Learning Analytics at any scale – from the classroom to the Institution as a whole. This session provides important information for anyone considering an Awards submission. You can find-out more about the LA SIG and the awards here.
Presenters
Simon Welsh – Simon is the Manager, Adaptive Learning and Teaching at Charles Sturt University. He is responsible for leading the implementation of the University’s Learning Analytics program including technical implementation, research and organisational engagement.
Dr Abelardo Pardo – Abelardo is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney. He specialises in technology enhanced learning with emphasis on learning and behavioural analytics, computer supported collaborative learning, and personalization of learning experiences.
How to Register
You can register for this webinar here.
ascilite2015 Conference Speakers
The Call for Papers closes in two days (5 August) and the submission rate across all categories has been strong so we can expect many excellent presentations again this year. ascilite2015 is beginning to take shape and more programme highlights will be published in the bulletin as they come to light. In the meantime, you may be interested to learn about some of the Keynote speakers who will be featured this year in Perth.
Jonghwi Park (Keynote)
Programme Specialist in ICT in Education, UNESCO
Dr Jonghwi Park is Programme Specialist in ICT in Education, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok). Her main duty is to support 46 Member States of the Asia-Pacific region in integrating ICT in their education system. Led by Dr Park, ICT in Education Team at UNESCO Bangkok provides ICT policy review, technical supports for ICT policy development and regional comparative research on ICT in education. Her team is also specialised in designing and implementing various capacity building modules for teachers and teacher educators to facilitate the effective ICT-pedagogy integration. She oversees high-level policy fora to promote policy dialogues on ICT in Education at regional and sub-regional levels, including the Asia Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education, the Central Asia Symposium on ICT in Education, and the Regional Seminar on Innovative ICT Practices, to name a few.
Prior to joining the UNESCO Bangkok, Dr Park managed various e-learning projects in both private and public sectors in Korea and worked as ICT-pedagogy consultant for secondary teachers and university professors in Canada. She holds MA in Educational Technology from Hanyang University, Republic of Korea and PhD in Educational Psychology (specialised in Learning Sciences) from McGill University, Canada.
Jeff Gomez (Keynote)
CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment
Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is the world’s leading expert in the field of transmedia storytelling, specialising in the expansion entertainment properties, premium brands and socio-political themes into highly successful multi-platform franchises and international campaigns. As a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Jeff contributes strategic planning and production for the extension of narrative content across digital and traditional platforms. He also extends the story worlds of films, television shows, toys, books, animation and videogame titles across multiple access points, which deepen audience engagement, generate massive fan communities and multiple revenue streams.
Jeff’s pop culture work has impacted such blockbuster entertainment properties as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, James Cameron’s Avatar, Hasbro’s Transformers, Sony Pictures’ The Amazing Spider-Man, Microsoft’s Halo, Mattel/Cartoon Network’s Hot Wheels, and Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He has also developed highly successful transmedia campaigns and brand narratives for The Coca-Cola Company (Happiness Factory), Pepperidge Farm (Goldfish) and Spartan Race. Jeff is currently serving as Transmedia Producer on Mark Burnett’s Lucha Underground for Comcast’s El Rey television network.
Jeff’s proprietary transmedia development and implementation methods have also been applied to social, educational, and geo-political causes, particularly in the area of higher education and population activation. He has consulted on projects of national impact in Singapore, Mexico and Colombia, and his work has helped to mobilize large communities in Italy, England, and Afghanistan. Jeff has developed courses and curricula for many universities and technical schools around the world, and has taught transmedia development and production at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University New York, University of Southern California, Hong Kong Institute of Design, and Curtin University in Perth, Australia, amongst others. He is currently developing a Transmedia Learning System, which can increase student retention, improve grades, and enhance the quality of campus and online life.
Paul Resta (Keynote)
Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Texas at Austin
Dr Paul E. Resta holds the Ruth Knight Millikan Centennial Professorship in Learning Technology. He teaches advanced graduate courses in learning technology, instructional systems design, online learning, technology planning, and computer-supported collaborative learning at the University of Texas. His current work focuses on Web-based learning environments, computer-supported collaborative learning, and national planning and policy issues in the use of information and communication technologies in teacher education.
Dr Resta is the Founding President of the International Society for Technology in Education (www.iste.org), the world’s largest educational technology organization, and also served as President of the International Council for Computers in Education. Dr Resta currently serves as the President of the International Jury for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education and was recently honored by the UNESCO Director-General for his leadership at the award ceremony in Paris.
Marion Kickett (Invited Speaker)
Director, Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin University
Associate Professor Marion Kickett is a Noongar from the Balardong language group. Marion was born in the wheatbelt town of York and spent her early years living on the York Reserve. She has a nursing background and has spent all her working life in the area of health. Marion lectured in Aboriginal Health and Culture for twenty years and completed her PhD at the University of WA on Resilience from an Aboriginal perspective. Marion is the newly appointed Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University and believes the key to a better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is education for all Australians.
Early Bird Rates Now Available for ascilite2015
The Early Bird rate is now available for conference registrations. Rates for the conference, workshops and so forth will be found on page 3 of the registration system which can be found here.
OTHER NEWS
New Article of Interest (ALT UK)
Connectivist Massive Open Online Course) underpinned by Rhizomatic Learning
Designed to take full advantage of the connective possibilities of the web for dispersed conversations, this cMOOC (Connectivist Massive Open Online Course) was underpinned by Rhizomatic Learning, an approach based in the work of French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari. It takes their view of knowledge as resilient, alinear and uncertain and applies it to the learning process. This participatory view of learning has the advantage of allowing multiple narratives to exist around a given theme, while constantly running the risk of being taken over by dominant voices that exists in any online learning community. The goal, inevitably, was to make the community the curriculum. Read more >>
