A client recently asked for advice about e-learning conferences to attend. As I thought about which to recommend, I was struck by the abundance of conferences and how each seems to have a different orientation. I like to keep up with which are taking place where, even if I am not am submitting or presenting. But it is hard to know much about what takes place when you aren’t there. Conferences are largely experiential; if you aren’t there, the primary artifact is the conference proceedings, supplemented occasionally by blogs, tweets, videos, and photographs. Sometimes people write conference reports, which can be a useful way to learn about one person’s perspective on the highlights of the conference.
The 7th European Conference on e-Learning was held in November, 2008 in Cyprus. The chair, George Papadopoulos, posted a summary. He had solicited what the gaps are in e-Learning research, and the most interesting response, I thought, was:
how to engender industrial participation in e-Learning – it was felt that industry does not have time to research the benefits or otherwise of systems. Businesses are influenced by vendors and not what is said by academics at a conference. It is difficult to bring people from industry to present cases.
When I worked in the training world, not only were few people writing or presenting case studies, but there was little reflection about anything that took place. If I worked on a training project for a client, the focus was on finding the next project. Not only did inhibit reflection, but there was little focus on reuse of processes or knowledge gained. Internal training projects similarly had no post-mortem. Not only was there no discussion or reflection, but many projects included devising post-session evaluations, which I thought often allowed for little constructive criticism on the part of participants. I agree that this is a gap in e-Learning research and one that is unlikely to change without partnerships between industry and academia. The current economic situation may worsen the situation since people will be scrambling even harder to find and start the next project.
One last point that I was struck by in George’s summary: he commented that there little coverage of m-Learning at the conference. (In the age of the iPhone and other mobile devices, does m-learning actually exist any more as a separate category?)
I will conclude this by saying that selecting a conference is based on many factors, including location. Cyprus looks like a beautiful conference setting.
Hi Lisa:
I am a professional voiceover talent with hundreds of hours’ experience voicing e-learning projects.
Would you be interested in an article from, perhaps, tips on choosing a voiceover professional?
Also, do you have opportunities to place a web banner on your site and, what is the cost?
Sincerely,
Janet M. Ault
The Voice of Choice
http://www.janetault.net
janet.ault@cox.net
We worked with a M-learning initiative in Denmark, focuisng on public schools. They were very hesistant. It seemed to be too early. I think Twitter has great potential as a m-learning tool if somebody could figure out how to use it.
It traditionally brings together both researchers and practitioners whose aim is to explore, advance and improve e-Learning.ECEL will combine cutting-edge research with practical, real-life problems in business and in society.
Hello,
ECEL would like to invite everyone interested in e-Learning, academics, researchers and practitioners.ECEL will combine cutting edge research with practical, real life problems in business and in society.
Thanks,
Peter Parker
Industrial Product Design
The European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL) has become over the last few years a major event in this field. It traditionally brings together both researchers and practitioners whose aim is to explore, advance and improve e-Learning.
Hi,
The 7th European Conference on e-learning ECEL-2008 offers an opportunity for those involved in the study, implementation and delivery of e-learning to meet and exchange ideas and experience.The variety of methods in common use and the continuing debate on what constitutes new knowledge makes this a lively field and one which affects all academics and others involved in business research.
Thanks,
Mark Smith
Affordable Health Insurance
Animal sex free movies.
Animal story archive sex stories. Free animal sex movies free. Sex animal. Animal sex.
what ever it be ,either e-leaning or m-learning the
industrial pitch will count, it is a static trend ,
Cyprus Taxi Transfers
i would also like to know about e-leaning conferences to attend,i have a startup comp. btw cyprus is a nice venue!
last word in scuba diving
Hi, there… Thanks for sharing summary from the 7th European Conference on e-Learning… nice information…
Hi, there… Thanks for sharing summary from the 7th European Conference on e-Learning… nice information…
Hi, there… Thanks for sharing summary from the 7th European Conference on e-Learning… nice information…
Students think that the biography term paper composing supposes the most time taking process. However, students rely on the paper writing service assistance anytime when it is demanded.