George Siemens
George Siemens is a prominent writer and researcher on learning, networks, technology and organizational effectiveness in digital environments. He is the author of Knowing Knowledge, an exploration of how the context and characteristics of knowledge have changed and what it means to organizations today. Siemens is also Associate Director, Research and Development, with the Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba and founder and President of Complexive Systems Inc. (www.complexive.com), a learning lab focused on helping organizations develop integrated learning structures to meet the needs of global strategy execution. He is an international speaker and consultant, detailing the changes universities, colleges, and corporations must make in order to address the challenges of an increasingly complex world. Siemens maintains www.elearnspace.org , www.connectivism.ca, http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wordpress/, and www.knowingknowledge.com. Additional background information is available at www.elearnspace.org/about.htm.
On Becoming: The cognitive and social impact of technology
Internet users experience content and conversations in much smaller “chunks” than previous generations. Sitcoms are reduced to 5 minute YouTube videos, newspaper articles to blog posts, a written letter (or even email) to a mobile text message. This presentation will explore the cognitive and social impact of how technology is being used for sharing information and interacting with others, particularly from the perspective of teachers and learners. The presentation will argue for importance of striking a balance between the values of tradition and the opportunities of emerging technologies and modes of creating and sharing information and communicating.
Going Deeper
Participants will have an opportunity to continue to discuss the topics in George’s presentation in a less formal format.
Shari Graydon
After earning a BA in Theatre at the University of British Columbia, Shari developed an understanding of the business world by flogging stories about fast food chains and drug companies to the news media, while employed by the world’s largest PR agency. She’s been putting the insights she gained to much better use in the non-profit sector ever since.
She co-founded the BC Association for Media Education and served for eight years as the President of MediaWatch. She produced a TV series for WTN about women and the media while completing a Masters degree in Communications at Simon Fraser University. And she performed regular media analysis commentaries on CBC Radio and TV while writing a weekly column for The Vancouver Sun, where she tackled a wide variety of subjects, from political polling and news construction to violence against women.
In her keynote presentations and media literacy workshops, Shari shamelessly exploits contemporary advertising campaigns and mainstream media images to engage her audiences. She employs the healing properties of humour to redirect the understandable outrage that sometimes results. And she shares true stories about effective activism to motivate children and adults alike.
Website: http://www.sharigraydon.com/
“Eloquent Seductions”: Using Pop Culture to Cultivate Critical Thinking
From YouTube and MTV to video games and fashion media, young people’s engagement with the pop culture provides the ideal opportunity to help them develop the kind of critical thinking skills necessary in today’s pervasive, image-based, commercial culture. This illustrated presentation offers research-informed insights and practical strategies to support teachers in addressing the media’s alternative curriculum.
Media Violence: Truth and Consequences
This workshop explores the themes and issues of Shari’s next book, which goes beyond the simplistic cause and effect media violence debate to raise questions about the gap between the death and destruction young people consume as entertainment, and the violence in the world around them, exploring how one impacts the other and both shape their everyday experiences and perceptions of the world.
Dr Roger Austin
Roger Austin is a significant and active researcher in the use of Information Communication Technologies to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. He has given papers or presentations at over 100 conferences on the role of ICT ineducation.
These conferences have been held in Dubrovnik, Braunschweig, Luxembourg, Barcelona, San Diego and Paris, as well as various locations in England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Most have had an international character; a sample of some of the more recent ones include the following:
September 2006. Conference Chair and keynote speaker for international conference on ‘The Role of ICT in bridge-building and social inclusion’, University of Ulster, Coleraine
September 2007. ‘Researching Identity and Social Engagement in Divided and Segregated School Communities; A case study of inter-school work between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.’ ECER, Ghent.
November 2007, Keynote speaker,’The Knowledge Society and what it means for educators’, Standing Conference of Teacher Educators, North and South, Annual conference, Dublin
E-schooling and ICT for intercultural learning; evidence
from Northern Ireland
While there are a growing number of examples of schools across the world starting to use ICT in the delivery of the curriculum, there are relatively few examples of extended use of ICT for citizenship. The keynote will analyse emerging evidence from Northern Ireland about the importance of aligning a system-wide ICT infrastructure with core social, economic and political polices. The term ‘e-schooling’, a process of re-schooling through the use of ICT, is used as a tool to refl ect on what kinds of knowledge really matter in a knowledgebased society and economy.
Dr. Bill Muirhead
In his current position as Associate Provost, for Teaching and Learning at the University of Ontario, Institute of Technology (UOIT) Bill brings a unique view to the emerging learning environment of the 21st century. As one of the founding university administrators, Bill has been responsible for the design of the technology-enhanced learning environment at UOIT. One of the central features of the learning environment at UOIT is the mobile learning (laptop) program. UOIT is the only laptop university in Ontario with 6000 laptop computers in the mobile program. The learning environment is unique at UOIT including ubiquitous wired and wireless connectivity, a learning management system, online services to students and library resources available to student online available anytime-anyplace. During the five years Bill has been at UOIT he has been responsible for developing the faculty mentorship program, the faculty IT support center, and has overseen the development of “web-centric” learning. In 2007, UOIT was recognized by the Globe and Mail as one of the top five universities “to watch” as well granting UOIT an A+ for its use of technology for teaching and learning.
Prior to joining UOIT, Bill was the founding Executive Director of the Alberta Online Consortium and the Online Learning Symposium held annually in Edmonton. As well, Bill has held positions such as, President of the Canadian Association for Distanced Education (now called the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education) and was the founding Editor in Chief of the Collaborative Learning Object Exchange (CLOE) in Ontario.
With extensive experience in international research into online education, hybrid and online course development as well as the application of information and communication technology for learning, Bill has received many awards. In 2007, Bill received Association for Media in Education Canada (AMTEC) Leadership Award for his contributions to distance education in Canada and to leading the creation of the new Canadian Network for Innovation in Education.
There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear
Educators find themselves in a time where teachers and society are reappraising what it means to learn, and to be educated. Parents and employers are debating how best to provide high quality instruction to meet increasing expectations for enhancing learning outcomes. Experts suggest that new information and communication technologies (ICT) offers solutions to some of the challenges facing teachers. At the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) the development of a web-centric learning environment is changing faculty and student expectations regarding teaching and learning. Pervasive access to laptop computers, course specifi c software and wired and wireless connectivity are but a few new approaches to enhancing established teaching and learning strategies. In an effort to explicate “what is going on” this presentation will highlight some of the success factors and barriers associated with integrating ICT into all facets of teaching and learning in a post secondary environment.
Going Deeper
Participants will have an opportunity to continue to discuss the topics in Bill’s presentation in a less formal format.
Ken Hudson
Ken Hudson, Virtual World Design Centre, Loyalist College, designs and coordinates Loyalist College's Second Life projects. He works directly with educators and institutions to create environments and experiences that leverage the strengths of emerging platforms to augment and enhance communication and learning. His leadership in virtual worlds for education earned Loyalist College the Colleges Ontario Innovation Award for 2008. He was educated at the University of Toronto and at the Institute for the Psychological Study of the Arts (UF).
Educational Opportunities in Virtual Worlds
Three dimensional virtual worlds like Second Life are fast becoming popular platforms for educators all over the world. These engaging environments allow for a range of classroom experiences and distance learning opportunities far beyond those available in traditional classrooms, and they also widely extend the possibilities for technologically enabled learning generally. Ken Hudson will explore the present day benefi ts and challenges of using virtual world technologies for education, and will look to some possible futures for how these platforms are set to become valuable tools in the expansion of learning opportunities.
Mike Parkhill
As Director of the Academic Sector, Mike Parkhill is responsible for Microsoft Canada’s educational activities and initiatives across Canada. With responsibility for K-12, Colleges and Universities, Mike heads a team of education specialists dedicated to meeting the unique and diverse needs of customers. One of the key factors in the team’s success has been their ability to strike the right balance between Corporate Social Responsibility and their role to provide effective market solutions. Never satisfi ed by the status quo, Mike views himself as a change agent for certain Canadian societal issues. Mike has participated in initiatives addressing the situation of homelessness in Canada, releasing Inuktitut versions of Windows and Offi ce so that the Inuit peoples can function in their mother tongue, committing to safety on the internet and helping to share best practices and visions for improved learning outcomes through the use of technology. Mike realizes there is much to do to engage child learners in an effort to stay in school, involving the evangalising of the development of learning games.
The Internet, Safety, and the Next Five Years
The Internet is an incredibly valuable tool for learning and for research, however, does one really know how who is watching and why? Mike will cover Safe Surfi ng, Protecting one’s identity and online bullying. This nontechnical presentation will arm educators with the knowledge they need to surf the web safely and effectively. All examples and research are Canadian based.