#CfP Call for papers on #education, open #learning, #AI and #teaching

This call for papers offers a mix for research papers and call for speakers, enabling more research-based or more experienced based proposals to be written. The calls are organized in order of deadline.

ECTEL2019 conference

Deadline for submitting the mandatory abstract: 29 April 2019 (200 words using Springer template)
Deadline for submitting a full paper: 13 May 2019 (6 - 14 pages using Springer template)
When: 16 - 19 September 2019
Where: TU Delft, Netherlands
More information: http://www.ec-tel.eu/
Description (from website)
The European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL) is a unique opportunity for researchers, practitioners, educational developers and policy makers to address current challenges and advances in the field. This year’s theme of “Transforming learning with meaningful technologies” addresses how emerging and future learning technologies can be used in a meaningful way to enhance human-machine interrelationships, to contribute to efficient and effective education, and to assess the added value of such technologies.
The conference calls for papers focusing on this theme and addressing many topics: intermediation between learning systems, learners and educators; guidelines and methodologies to enhance learning experience through technologies; bridges between technology and learning; assessment of technologies’ educational added value; promotion of coherence and unity of technology and learning; and improvement of complementarity between technology and learning. We encourage participants to extend the debate around the role of and challenges for cutting-edge 21st century technologies and advances such as artificial intelligence and robots, augmented reality and ubiquitous computing technologies and at the same time connecting them to different pedagogical approaches, types of learning settings, and application domains that can benefit from such technologies.

Online Educa Berlin  

Deadline for submission call for proposals: 30 April 2019
When: 27 - 29 November 2019
Where: Berlin, Germany
Link to 'submit your proposal': https://secretariat.oeb.global/oeb_proposals/
More information: https://oeb.global/
Description (from website)
OEB Global, incorporating Learning Technologies, brings you to the forefront of learning technology developments. Get insights on opportunities and challenges that are changing the world of learning

• Find out how to choose and use various technologies
• Discover proven practice, approaches, strategies from leading institutions and organisations
• Participate in pre-conference activities and 120+ break-out sessions with 300+ expert speakers from 70+ countries from across different disciplines, sharing their knowledge, skills and passion
• Follow case studies presenting critical success factors and discuss innovative approaches with peers
• Meet with 2,500+ learning professionals from the education, workplace learning and government sectors and forge essential international contacts and partnerships
• Explore the exhibition at the heart of the event, where leading international e-learning manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers give hands-on demonstrations of innovative products and tools
• Join us as we analyse new technologies and trends within ICT-enhanced learning and training

OEB Global has pushed boundaries, challenged preconceptions and catalysed new ideas for shaping the future of digital learning for 24 years.

International Open and Distance Learning conference

Deadline for submission: 15 July 2019
When: 14 - 16 November 2019
Where: Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
More information: http://iodl.anadolu.edu.tr/
Description

The Anadolu University is proud to invite you to the INTERNATIONAL OPEN & DISTANCE LEARNING CONFERENCE – IODL 2019, which will be held at Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey on 14-15-16 November, 2019. After the conferences in 2002, 2006 and 2010, IODL 2019 is the 4th IODL event hosted by Anadolu University Open Education System. The conference is organized by Open Education Faculty, Anadolu University.

Anadolu University, one of the world leaders in open and distance education, currently offers higher education to over one million students worldwide. Anadolu University Open Education System aims to reduce the barriers to education, especially for adult and self-learners. In the 21st century, the idea of openness is in the very core of education which is surrounded with technology in multi-cultural learning environments.

Scope
The main theme of the IODL 2019 is “Glocal ODL Opportunities and Dynamics”.
The aim of the IODL 2019 is to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss a broad range of topics related to open and distance learning, including but not limited to:
• Open and distance learning, Lifelong learning, Open education and globalization, Drop-out in open and distance education, Open and distance learning for refugees, Learning analytics, Financial issues in massive education, Digital division, Barriers to learning, Role of education in crisis, Education in a multicultural society, Micro credential and short learning programs, Mobile learning, Adaptive learning environments, Deep learning in ODL, AI in/for ODL, IoTs for ODL, Student Support Services in ODL, Public science, New challenges to the Higher Education Area, Evaluation and assessment in ODL, Accreditation and QA in ODL, MOOCs and OERs

Transdisciplinary AI (TransAI) conference (combining AI with other disciplines)

Deadline for submission: 1 July 2019
When: 25 - 27 September 2019
Where: Laguna Hills, California, USA
More information: https://www.transai.org/
Description
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is concerned with computing technologies that allow machines to see, hear, talk, think, learn, and solve problems even above the level of human beings. On the one hand it allows data to be analyzed by real-time models that enable unprecedented levels of accuracy and efficiency. On the other hand it enables domain specific problem solving and knowledge discovery that cannot be easily done by humans.
Transdisciplinary AI 2019 (TransAI 2019), technically sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, is an international forum focusing on the interactions between artificial intelligence (AI) and other research disciplines. It consists of themes that each addresses the applications of AI to a specific research discipline as well as how domain specific applications may advance the research on AI.
The TransAI themes address two dimensions--technology and academic research domains so that technologies can be mapped to domain applications.

Asian conference on education

(focusing on dependence and independence, nice topic)
Deadline for submission abstract: 22 August 2019
When: 31 October - 3 November 2019
Where: Toshi Center hotel, Tokyo, Japan.
More information: https://ace.iafor.org/
Description
The 2019 conference theme for The 11th Asian Conference on Education is “Independence & Interdependence”, and invites reflections on the desirability, extent and limits of our individual independence and autonomy, of that of our students, and of the institutions and structures within which we work, teach and learn. We do not educate, and are not educated in vacuums, but in such contexts and constraints as families, groups, and societies; of nations and cultures; of identities and religions; and of political and financial realities.

Ever changing technologies offer new ways for us to be independent and autonomous learners, encouraging students to be self-directed and confident in making choices, and enabling and empowering students and teachers to be proactive and tailor content. However, myriad technologies and services make us more dependent on the very things allowing autonomy. How do we help students and teachers alike navigate and curate the vast information available? How do we encourage individual growth while also underlining the importance of belonging and of the reciprocal responsibilities and privileges of education? How do we help students build the skills and attitudes necessary for positive engagement in distributed, globalised communities that so often lead to polarisation and alienation instead? How do we educate with independence and interdependence in mind?

This conference is organised by IAFOR in association with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in Osaka University, Japan.

Open Textbooks through REBUS community #opened

Great open textbook opportunity! Ever contemplated writing and sharing an open textbook? This might be the moment/community you were waiting for. The Rebus community offers an organized (actively learning) option to create, review, add, to open textbook initiatives… and - in the end - get them published. So open access, open writing, open collaboration … all the way and with an international perspective as well, in addition to being open minded about using multiple languages. 
 

Driven by a huge goal: “building a universal library of free Open Textbooks in every subject, in every language”, I have the feeling this is something to volunteer for, even if it is simply to gain more knowledge on the subject itself. They gather librarians, educators, researchers... to start or help with getting projects realised. I am very tempted (which book first?!).

How does the Rebus community achieve this goal? By supporting initiatives to write, organise and publish open textbooks on specific subject matter, and in as many languages as possible. As it is a non-profit organisation, those willing to put an effort into creating an open textbook, will not be paid… but like in Wikipedia, every contributor adds to a greater good: available open textbooks.

Every open textbook is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license, where the copyright remains with the author(s), and readers have access to the content without any kind of payment. 

Forum-driven, but with social extensions and network

Their main medium to create these textbooks is a forum. Forums have been trialed, tested over decades and they work if they are actively moderated. In this case, it is a dynamic and focused forum moderation.

They partner up with institutions and organizations dedicated to Open Textbooks, including: The Open Textbook Network, BCcampus, eCampus Ontario and OpenOregon (University of Arizona, University of Washington, University of British Columbia, Cleveland State University, University of Saskatchewan, University of Minnesota, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Brigham Young University, University of Hawaii, University of Maryland, and Plymouth State University).

More practical FAQ’s can be found here: https://about.rebus.community/faq/

Some practical first findings

• The collaboration can take place on multiple levels: copy edit/proofread/illustrate (etc.).
• The forum is well organized, and clearly aims at promoting collaboration based on social interaction.
• They have monthly, online office hours/meetings: video meetings offering advise or sharing knowledge (one definitely worth watching is the “open textbook: internationalperspectives” video with guest speakers from South-Africa, Haiti, Chile, Australia and USA), all of the videos can be seen here, e.g. how to adapt open textbooks, as well as planning options (e.g. who is willing to work on what).
• Although the community relies heavily on a forum, there is a clear and well-designed social media integration, both for projects, posts as for social purposes (e.g. following).

The Rebus community describes itself as

The Rebus Community is a non-profit organization developing a new, collaborative process for publishing open textbooks, and associated content. Rebus is building tools and resources to support open textbook publishing, and to bring together a community of faculty, librarians, students and others working with open textbooks around the world.
We want to make it easy for the community to contribute to the creation of open textbooks (their own, or others’), and support the creation of new, high-quality open textbooks, available for free to anyone, in standard formats (web, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, and print).

Free OpenCon online Conference 25 January focus #K12 and #OER highlights #education #online

The best way to start the year is by promoting Openness either in education, development or academic work. Yes, it is all happening in January, so join or read up, which ever you prefer. Or simply keep informed with the @Open_Con twitter account.

OpenCon18 online on 25 January 2018

Athabasca University is organising a virtual, free K-12 Open Educational Resources Teacher conference on:

Date: January 25, 2018

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. MST (Mountain Standard Time = UTC -7)

Event URL: https://athabascau.adobeconnect.com/k12oc 

More information: http://bolt.athabascau.ca/index.php/oer-teacher-network/satellite-opencon-2017-building-the-k-12-oer-teacher-network/ 

Theme: “Building the K-12 OER Teacher Network”

Hashtag: #K-12OC2018

Open Education Resource (OER) novice and champions are invited. 

As a satellite offering of the OpenCon17 held in Berlin, the OpenCon18 will mark a first for educators, within Alberta and beyond. Presentations will range from OER fundamentals to the current K-12 OER landscape. Schedule:

10:00 – 10:25 MST	Understanding the Commons for K-12	Serena Henderson
10:25 – 10:30	5 min Break
10:30 – 10:55	Go Open: From the Ground Up	Kristina Ishmael Peters & Heather Callihan
10:55 – 11:00	5 min Break
11:00 – 11:25	Simple Curation: Using Online Tools to Collect, Organize, and Share OER Resources	Stephanie Slaton
11:25 – 11:30	5 min Break
11:30 -11:55	Opening Up 1-12 Education in Alberta	Frank McCallum & Lise Pethybridge
11:55 – Noon	5 min Break
12:00 – 12:25	The Multiply K-12 OER Media Project	Connie Blomgren
12:25 – 12:30	5 min Break
12: 30 – 12:55	Sharing K-12 Resources Across Canada: Silos, Gardens, or Open Range?	Randy Labonte

1:45 – 2:00

Building the K-12 OER Teacher Network – Next steps?

Facilitated by Connie Blomgren

Ending our virtual offering will be a unique dialogue – the “Berlin Remix”. A panel discussion has been organized so that the OpenCon18 K-12 Athabasca discussants (and attendees – asked upon registration) to view in advance a 20 minute video clip. This recording was part of the Berlin OpenCon17 conference where an international panel explored the broad topic of Inclusive Education and how OER responds to diversity and inclusion needs within education.

For our panel, the discussants will address this Berlin discussion and will “remix” two questions of OER curriculum creation. Within an OER curricular resource, how can educators consider: Who is missing? and Whose knowledge is reliable?

OER holds opportunity for rethinking how resources are accessed and used by K-12 educators. Come and join the “Berlin Remix” Panel Discussion - and one, some or all of the offerings! We hope to nurture a K-12 OER teacher network – and this virtual conference marks the first step of this journey.

Note: registration is suggested but not required. The K-12 OC will be recorded and archived on the BOLT Multi-author Blog.

http://bolt.athabascau.ca/index.php/oer-teacher-network/satellite-opencon-2017-building-the-k-12-oer-teacher-network/

OpenCon17 highlights

On November 11-13, the fourth annual OpenCon meeting in Berlin, Germany was held. OpenCon 2017 included a diverse set of panels, regional workshops, project presentations, unconference sessions, and a very first OpenCon Do-a-Thon. 

These activities are highlighted on a webpage here, so feel free to spend some time exploring and sharing them. You can also find notes to all sessions here, and a full Youtube playlist from 2017 here.

More on the Do-a-Thon

The OpenCon Do-a-Thon was organised in November 2017 and deserves a bit of extra attention: building off the concept of a hackathon, a do-a-thon is a work-sprint where people from different skill sets work together and collaborate on different challenges and projects. For OpenCon 2017’s do-a-thon, the focus was on building projects and solutions that seek to advance Open Access, Open Education, and Open Data. 

More information on the Do-a-Thon can be found here: http://doathon.opencon2017.org/  and to give you an idea of what they did, I am pasting some of the information here (feel free to look at the links, and see what the participants came up with):

1. Anyone can propose a problem to work on.

Is there a big question or challenge you want to tackle in Open Research and Education? Here's a chance to share it with the community and work together on designing a solution. Participants can submit challenges the day of the do-a-thon, but we'd love if folks could submit big questions they want to tackle in advance, too. Find out more about how to submit a challenge here.

2. Anyone can propose a project for others to collaborate on and contribute to.

Have a project idea you want to put into action? Or an existing project that needs development or support? The do-a-thon is a great opportunity to receive support and contributions from collaborators around the world. Learn more about how to propose and lead a project here.

3. Anyone can contribute their skills and ideas to existing challenges and projects.

Participate from wherever you are by contributing to one or more of the do-a-thon projects and challenges submitted. We expect that most of the action will take place on November 13th, but feel free to get in touch with project leads and see how you can help out beforehand! You can explore the growing list of projects and challenges we're working on here.

Report on Innovative #Pedagogy #EdTech #elearning #data @IETatOU

The new 48-page Innovative Pedagogy report from my colleagues at IET at the Open University, UK is published in collaboration with the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE). And as always it is of interest for everybody looking for a quick overview of interesting innovative educational technologies, including practical examples and linked references (with the great PhD-researcher Tina Papathoma @aktinaki on the front cover).
The report was written by Rebecca Ferguson, Sarit Barzilai, Dani Ben-Zvi, Clark A Chinn,
Christothea Herodotou, Yotam Hod, Yael Kali, Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, Haggai Kupermintz,
Patrick McAndrew, Bart Rienties, Ornit Sagy, Eileen Scanlon, Mike Sharples, Martin Weller,
Denise Whitelock.

The 5 previous reports with themes can be found here.

This report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. A remarkable move is the insistance of looking at the learning from the learners' perspective, including emotions, self-direction in terms of learning analytics, values and communities.

1. Spaced learning: admittedly not that new, but functional and effective for more behaviorist content (including test preparation), includes 3 spaced learning resources.
2. Citizen science: I am totally in favor of more of these projects, as citizen science can benefit from all for all citizens. The three resources mentioned (which you can experience as much as you like are: Galaxy Zoo (yes! observing and adding star galaxies!), iSpot (identifying plants and animals!), nQuire-it (which lets you decide what you want to explore - android mobiles)
3. Open textbooks: in relation to OER, with links on the benefits of open pedagogy, for example a wonderful chapter by DeRosa and Robison entitles from OER to Open Pedagogy: harnessing the power of open.
4. Navigating post-truth societies (think critical thinking in action): with a focus on epistemic education and ways to stimulate epistemic growth. Including the very useful guide for web literacy for student-fact-finders.
5. Intergroup empathy (nice!): or understanding the perspectives of others. This connects with the post-truth society topic. A remarkable initiative is 'the enemy is here' (it is a mixed Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality experience where you meet persons at different sides of a war conflict and you get to 'engage' with them and their believes which comes down to the shared humanity on both sides (small critique: mostly male protagonists it seems, but okay that can improved in later versions). And a science game called to-be-education.
6. Immersive learning: or intensifying learning by experiencing new situations.
7. Student-led analytics: refering to the University of Michigan and their toolkit for students to direct their learning based on data, the Academic Reporting Tool.
8. Big data inquiry (thinking with big data):  wcith a nice link to Ocean Tracks.
9. Learning with internal values: more along the line of using students' interests to stimulate their learning. 
10. Humanistic knowledge building communities: helpint learners to develop knowledge (now that is a lifelong mission :)

Full #PhD scholarships in Technology Enhanced Learning #onlinelearning #telearning

The Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET) Technology Enhanced Learning Priority Research Area have just released a call for Open Technology Enhanced Learning (OpenTEL) PhD scholarships.

Deadline for application is 31 March 2016. A quick overview of how to apply can be found here (= filling in the application form (is found in the link), and write a 600 - 1000 word proposal; I put my proposal here as an example). What I did (but not sure whether this approach made a difference), was to start from my research idea, and then see whether people with a OU background had done research in the same area. Then I put that research also into my proposal (not only, just a bit to indicate that I did know OU research).  I also contacted a person I knew who worked at the OU, to get a better understanding of what a PhD is like at that institute. Then I referred to that person in my application, just by name to indicate that I was truly actively getting information.
Do it, I did it and it is really worthwhile (strengthening knowledge, great research environment, multiple TEL-laboratories available). Sending a proposal does not take too much time, and it is really worth the effort as this is a worldclass institute for those investigating online learning in all its aspects (mobile learning, MOOC, learning analytics...).

The Centre for Research in Education andEducational Technology at the Open University has an international reputation for the quality of its research. At the Open University research students are provided with a supportive environment and excellent research facilities to ensure a future supply of first class researchers. We are recruiting PhD students in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) who study under guidance from world-class experts in the field. Open Technology Enhanced Learning (OpenTEL) brings together CREET researchers in the Institute of Educational Technology and Faculty of Education and Language Studies with those from Faculty of Business and Law, Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, the Knowledge Media Institute, Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Social Sciences. We encourage interdisciplinary research. If you feel that the challenge of research in this exciting and interesting area is for you and you have the drive and intellectual curiosity to pursue postgraduate research, then we look forward to hearing from you!

We are offering up to 4 fully funded full-time studentships for a 1+3 programme (MRes and PhD) or +3 programme (3-year PhD) - the latter is what I am doing, and almost finishing. 

You will have, or expect, a 2:1 or above in an undergraduate degree or a Master’s degree in education (or equivalent), psychology, computer science or another appropriate discipline. For direct entry to PhD you will need to have completed postgraduate study that includes appropriate research methods.

The Open University is one of the UK’s leading research Institutions. In the 2014 REF 72% of its research was rated as “world leading” or “internationally excellent”, in Education we were ranked 2nd for research power, a measure that combines quality and scale.

There is a vibrant international community of students studying our MRes and PhD programmes. The Open University provides excellent support for students and offers a full range of training in computer, library and presentation skills. The studentships are full time at the Milton Keynes campus and students are normally expected to live within commuting distance of Milton Keynes.

Funding is available for UK, EU and International students. Full funding for studentships will include fees and maintenance (£14057 in 2016/17) for either four years (1+3) or three years, depending on satisfactory progress.

Further information, including more details of CREET research, can be found at http://www.open.ac.uk/creet/main/.

Closing date: 31 March 2016

Interviews will commence in early May 2016

For detailed information and how to apply for the studentships go to www3.open.ac.uk/employment, call Anne Foward, Student Coordinator, on 01908 655364 or e-mail CREET-student-enquiries@open.ac.uk.

Equal Opportunity is University Policy.

Write, create, curate and collaborate: preparing for #digiWriMo

Great initiative to combine digital writing and creativity all through the month of November 2015. I learn by writing. It always feels like the movement of my fingers on my keyboard makes me think more clearly, and even pushes thoughts right into the open. So this Digital Writing Month initiative (#DigiWriMo), organised by the Hybrid Pedagogy bloggers (Maha Bali, Sarah Honeychurch, and Kevin Hogdson), is right up my alley. The #DigiWriMo will push people to engage in digital writing and creativity during the month of November. The frequency is left to your own preference, even the choice to make your writings public or not is up to you. The definition of writing is also very open (though digital): it can be any narrative making media: drawing, video, audio, text...

So here it is: if you ever had an idea about writing (making use of whichever digital media, and for an idea that can be either big or as small), this is the moment to test it out. It is simple and open. 

My addition to #DigiWriMo: I will be able to test out a strand of writing that has been sitting in my mind for months: imagine future daily life, and connect it with current digital, learning options. Breadcrumbs from here to the future... To prepare I am listing a number of topics already... oh, nice initiative!

Get subscribed through the designated website: http://www.digitalwritingmonth.com/ 

Or get into all or some of the online communities (or not, as I said, they are really open with this initiative, open to all of us), what they provide as guidance and locations:

How Does One DigiWriMo?

1. There are no secrets to doing DigiWriMo, no right way and no wrong way to do it. Some people may write a novel using their computer and call it a day; while others may write hundreds of Twitter haiku. The key to success is your imagination and your love of experimentation, exploration, and fun. Along the way, check out our regular prompts and guest posts for inspiration.
2. Prepare to join the fray! Beginning on November 1 at 12:01 UTC, post your goals for the month on our Roster. This will help you connect with others in the DigiWriMo community and keep on track!
3. Join in wherever you like: Because digital writing takes place everywhere on the web, so will our discussions. Plan to join our regular Twitter chats using#digiwrimo, head over to our Facebook page, or participate in the DiGiWriMo Google Community, and visit this site often. All the Digital Writing Month writing prompts and special challenges will be posted here.
4. Not all digital writing has to be public. But, if you want to share your work with others, do so by posting it on our Facebook page, on Twitter using #digiwrimo, in the Google Community, or tag your blog posts with “digiwrimo”. That way, you’ll have all the audience you deserve for your grueling hours of digital brilliance. We’ll be curating content created on the web via a Flipboard magazine entitled “Along the Edges of Digital Writing.”

#Teacher contest: using innovative practices in your classroom? Enter!

My wonderful PAU education colleague Maria Perifanou just sent me a wonderful contest for all you primary and secondary teachers (in EU).

The Open Education Europa portal has just launched a contest aiming at collecting and sharing innovative teaching practices taking place in Europe. Just sharing the information from the platform here.
From my end, I am going to ask my GUSCO colleagues to enter (one or three wonderful teachers working on the integrate MOOCs in secondary school classrooms to increase lifelong learning skills).

Practical
You must register (free) yourself on the Open Education Portal: http://openeducationeuropa.eu/
Otherwise you will not have access to the submission form.

Deadline for submissions: 31 October 2015
More information: http://openeducationeuropa.eu/en/teacher-contest
Submission template:  http://openeducationeuropa.eu/en/share-your-good-teaching-or-learning-practice
To fill in the template you need to describe the project, who was involved and give a summary of why it was innovative, inclusive and/or open.
Language of submission: your own mother tongue! (well, if it is an EU language)
Prize: visiting one of the leading innovative schools in EU and recognition, as well as the fact that your best practice will be shared throughout the EU.

More information
The contest aims at European teachers and educators in primary, secondary and higher education, vocational training and adult learning who teach in an innovative way or aim to achieve greater openness or inclusion in the classroom. More information from the call:

To participate in the contest, please submit electronically a Good Practice you were personally involved in. We define “Good Practice” in education as an action, initiative or experience that enhances learning and combines one or more of the following principles:

1. Innovation; the application of a novel approach, method or resource to improve teaching or learning.
2. Openness; the use or production of resources that are shared freely; the opening up of the classroom with open educational practices.
3. Inclusion; providing access to education or training to a previously excluded group or audience.
4. For the contest we will also consider the Replicability of the practice; whether it is easy for colleagues in other countries to apply and adapt the practice.

Everyone taking part in the OEE Teachers Contest will receive the “Open Education Europa Pioneer” badge and have a chance to win a trip to an innovative school in Europe.

We invite innovators from all all disciplines, fields and levels of education who use successfully various approaches and resources to share their good teaching practices until October 31th, 2015!
We are looking forward to meeting you online and learning about your successful practices!

Open Education Europa Teachers Contest from Open Education Europa

Free online #webinar on The Impact of Open Education @Edtechie

Martin Weller (blogger Ed Techie), who is professor of Educational Technology at The Open University in the UK will present a webinar on: The Impact of Open Education on Wednesday 30 September at 12.30 - 13.15 BST (British Summer Time). Martin has been an OER expert for years, this webinar will be wonderful for all of us interested in open education. 

This free webinar, which is being promoted by the ALT Open Education Special Interest Group, will explore findings of the OER Research Hub, which has been investigating the impact of open educational resources. btw, the OER Research Hub is a source of wonderful, innovative OER-work, really worth exploring!

The OER Research Hub has been investigating the impact of OERs, using eleven hypotheses, and a mixed methods approach to establish an evidence base. This talk explores the findings relating to teaching and learning. The findings reveal a set of direct impacts, including an increase in factors relating to student performance, increased reflection on the part of educators, and the use of OER to trial and supplement formal study. There are also indirect impacts, whose benefits will be seen after several iterations. These include the wide scale reporting of adaptation, and the increase in sharing and open practice that results from OER usage. 

Further details are at:https://www.alt.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=177

The free webinar will use Blackboard Collaborate (also available for mobile devices): https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=7565&password=M.013F40B58C3B85B8D597F2862E95CE

Module on open education: policy, accreditation by George Siemens #openEd

This is a course I saw passing by, that I just cannot keep in my mail box, as it might be of interest to many. It is however a paid for course organised by Athabasca University (yeah!). But if you are interested in a short cut to know all about open education through great content, shares, as well as direction and guidance by a great researcher: consider registering. From the mail:

This Fall 2015, the Centre for Distance Education will be offering the course MDDE 622: Openness in Education taught by CDE Faculty member Dr. George Siemens.  

Dr. Siemens is best known for his pioneering work on Connectivism, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and Learning Analytics.  He acts as the Associate Director of the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) at Athabasca University, has authored many books and articles including Knowing Knowledge and the Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning, and is the founding member of the Society for Learning Analytics Research.  More recently, Dr. Siemens was invited to the White House to share his research on Innovation and Quality in Higher Education.  

More information about this exciting course can be found below.

MDDE 622: Openness in Education

Openness in content, data, government, and access is influencing organizations of all types. Education is influenced heavily: open educational resources and open teaching hold potential to disrupt the full spectrum of education: policy, learning development, delivery, and accreditation.

This course will offer a detailed overview of the history of openness in education, current trends including legal and technological developments, as well as future directions. Educators in all sectors (primary, secondary, and higher education), as well as administrators, will benefit from being well informed of trends and the organizational impact of open education.

Through review of literature, participation in group discussions, online lectures, and related open education resources, students will be able to:

1. Define openness in an educational context and describe its various instantiations in different educational sectors
2. Identify the potential of openness to contribute to systemic change in higher education and policy
3. Plan, search, deploy, and integrate open educational resources (OERs) from design to delivery phases of learning
4. Analyze current research views on how openness influences higher education enrolment, course design costs, and the distinctions between peer-developed resources (“crowd sourcing”) and centrally curated resources (expert).
5. Describe the history of openness in education (including early literature on open universities in the 1960’s) and detail the impact of technological developments on openness
6. Evaluate prominent intellectual property and copyright systems, detailing the influence of each on scholarship.

Students can register for this course online or by contacting the CDE office at mde@athabascau.ca . 

Have a great day!