Special Issue on Technology Enhanced Information Retrieval for Online Learning

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning

Online learning has been developed for over decades and has become an important tool for education. Many tutors design web-based teaching materials and share them in the learning management systems. Learners develop knowledge from those materials, tutor supports, and the collaborations with other learners in distance in the online learning environment and platforms. While information technology changes rapidly and the variety of online learning activities increase, especially with the aid of social network and Web 2.0 tools that are available to instruction designers, we may need to consider how to provide learners personalized pedagogical service which can help them learn more efficiently. In order to have such personalized service, both course contents and learner's characteristics need to be well analyzed. How to retrieve useful information from learning materials, data stored in the learning management systems, and discussions and interactions among learners and how to design and use information retrieval technologies to improve learner's online learning performance become interesting and important topics. The purpose of this special issue is to explore how models, theories, and solutions of information retrieval and content analysis can be used in online learning and what benefits users can receive from such systems and agents.

April 30, 2012: Submission deadline
July 15, 2012: Review result notification
August 31, 2012: Revised manuscript submission deadline
September 30, 2012: Acceptance notification
October 31, 2012: Final camera-ready manuscript submission deadline

Please submit your article to the IRRODL site at http://www.irrodl,org, after registering as an author and hopefully also offering to be a reviewer by clicking the reviewer category in the enrollment form and noting your area of research expertise.

Digital Inclusion and Learning - Call for Papers

Digital Inclusion and Learning - Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Research in Learning Technology

This is the November 2011 call for papers for a Special Issue of Research in Learning Technology, the Journal of the Association for Learning Technology (Volume 20, Number 4).

From January 2012 Research in Learning Technology will be published by Co-Action Publishing as an Open Access journal. Read the media release regarding the journal's transition to Open Access.

Guest Editors

Jane Seale, Professor of Education, Plymouth University, UK

William Dutton, Professor of Internet Studies, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK

Deadlines

Abstracts can be submitted to Jane Seale for informal feedback until 1 March 2012.

Papers should be submitted via the online submission system by 1 May 2012. The new online submission system will open in January 2012 and further information is available here.

The Special Issue will be published in autumn 2012.

Call Summary

Digital inequities relating to socioeconomic status, income, level of education, ethnicity, gender, age, connectivity and geography are still affecting levels of access to technology for all kinds of people. Digital inclusion research therefore has a role to play in providing explanations and solutions to these inequities. This call for papers on digital inclusion and learning aims to sharpen our focus on what is known and unknown about digital inclusion in the context of learning, learners and education. Our conceptualisation of digital inclusion encompasses a wide range of technologies, learners and learning contexts.

We are seeking articles that can inform digital inclusion practice, policy or research. A variety of papers will be considered, including empirical, review and discussion papers. Of particular interest are papers that offer conceptual, methodological and analytical rigour. We welcome papers that are multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary in nature. No particular method or theory will be privileged in this special issue, but we do expect all accepted papers to critically engage with the complexity of the concept of digital inclusion. In particular, we welcome papers that seek to challenge common assumptions or widely accepted positions in the field of digital inclusion.

The submission of abstracts for informal feedback is encouraged. They can be sent directly to Jane Seale until 1 March 2012.

Full papers must be submitted according to the journal's Instructions for Authors.

Papers should be submitted via the online submission system by 1 May 2012.

USDLA 2012 Annual Conference ~ St. Louis ~ April 29-May 2, 2012

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Submission Deadline: December 16, 2011

We welcome proposals from all corporate, education (higher and K-12), healthcare, government and military organizations on distance education topics related to:

Excellence, Leadership and Best Practices

Emerging Strategies, Technologies, Techniques and Research

Global Delivery and Mobile Learning

Meeting the Needs of Today’s Learners and Faculty

Course and Program Development

Distance Learning Ethics and Copyright

Administrative Issues and Concerns

There is also a continued opportunity this year to present your session in our virtual classroom setting, which means your session will be viewed by face-to-face attendees as well as those attendees joining us virtually.

There are several ways to participate:

• Concurrent information sessions provide an opportunity for you to give an interactive presentation in one or more of the conference topic areas. Conference attendees expect sessions to provide practical advice and the sharing of experiences. The committee seeks high quality, thought-provoking and interactive sessions, not lecture format. Co-presenters are encouraged. (45 minutes)

• Poster sessions allow presenters to prepare a standing table-top poster that describes a project, process, research or other activity. This will be an opportunity to meet and network with a majority of conference attendees and USDLA Award Winners as these sessions are held during the Award Dinner Reception. The poster presenters will be grouped by topic to provide an even more in-depth discussion and comparison of the various issues. (60 minutes)

• *NEW. Panels of “like topics” are a new option and allow attendees to hear about a topic from several points of view. The program committee may select your proposal to be featured in a panel along with other presenters. (90 minutes)

• *NEW. Collaborative Sessions will be highlighted throughout the conference and feature an expert leader on a particular topic. If you would like to lead a collaborative session, please select the collaborative session option in your proposal. You will be directed to a form to: (1) identify a hot or controversial topic for discussion; (2) note your credentials as an expert in this subject; (3) state how you would engage the participants in the discussion, and (4) note your willingness to turn the discussion into a short white paper for publication by USDLA.

(90 minutes)

Annual Distance Teaching and Learning Conference Aug 8-10~Madison, WI

2012 Call for Proposals is now open!

Submit online by: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 4 pm (CST)

We invite you to submit your proposal(s) to present at the 28th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning, hosted in Madison, Wisconsin next August.

Lead sessions on the planning and management of distance education/training programs.

Share your research and expertise.

Network with other professionals in your field.

Distill essential knowledge/skills.

Demonstrate your successful course and/or training materials to others.

Guide interactive discussions with your colleagues.

Learn more about the presentation formats by selecting from the session types on the left menu.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I submit a proposal?

All proposals must be submitted online. Go to the "Create/edit Proposal" button on the left menu to create a login account.

• How many proposals may I submit?

You may submit multiple proposals. If you are accepted for more than one proposal, you are eligible foronly one discounted registration.

EdMedia - Call for Presentations: June 26 - June 29, 2012 - Denver, CO, USA

EdMedia--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications is an international conference, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Call for Presentations : December 12, 2011

This annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education.

EdMedia, the premiere international conference in the field, spans all disciplines and levels of education and annually attracts more than 1,500 leaders in the field from over 70 countries. For a list, see: Countries @ EdMedia.

We invite you to attend EdMedia and submit proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, tutorials, workshops, posters/demonstrations, corporate showcases/demos, and SIG discussions. The Conference Review Policy requires that each proposal will be peer-reviewed by for inclusion in the conference program, proceedings book, and online proceedings available on EdITLib - Education and Information Technology Digital Library.

TOPICS

The scope of the conference includes, but is not limited to, the following major topics as they relate to the educational and developmental aspects of multimedia/hypermedia and telecommunications. Sub-topics listed here.

1. Infrastructure
2. Tools & Content-Oriented Applications
3. New Roles of the Instructor & Learner
4. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI/CHI)
5. Cases & Projects
6. Universal Web Accessibility
7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology

PRESENTATION CATEGORIES

The Technical Program includes a wide range of interesting and useful activities designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information.

• Keynote Speakers
• Invited Panels/Speakers
• Papers
• Panels
• Student Panels
• Posters/Demonstrations
• Corporate Showcases & Demonstrations
• Workshops
• Roundtables
• Symposia
• Virtual Papers

The 9th Annual SLATE Conference ~ October 13-14, 2011 in Chicago, IL.

The 9th Annual SLATE Conference will be held on October 13-14, 2011 in Chicago, IL. This conference has become a premier event in the Midwest and has attracted participants from around the world in higher-ed, K-12, government, and the corporate sector. Realizing that everyone has the same challenges and issues (no matter the platform) this conference reaches out to institutions and individuals that are using and supporting technology and web-based teaching tools tools such as Blackboard’s family of products (WebCT, Angel), along with Moodle or other open source systems. Here is your opportunity to share your experiences and expertise with friends and colleagues and learn from each other.

Call for Papers
We invite submissions for presentations, panel discussions, or working group activities (now through July 15, 2011) which can cover a broad range of topics that relate to best practices, innovative, engaging, and pedagogically sound uses of technology in teaching and learning, etc. The conference theme of “build it better,” hopes to ask the next question, explore new possibilities, and develop sound models that can be implemented in online, distance education, and classroom instruction.

Some of the topics presented in past conferences included:

• Using Podcasting to Meet the Needs of Millennial Students
• Platform-Independent Course Design
• Teaching Writing Using Blogs and Wikis
• Student GPA and Course Delivery Methods
• Using Technology Tools to Ensure Faculty Success
• Online Assessment Strategies
• Using Your CMS as a Retention Tool

2011 UPCEA Central Region Conference ~ Oct 12-14 ~ Clayton, MO

Finding Opportunities in Crisis

Proposals should focus on the following areas (related topics will also be considered): Finding opportunities in crisis Programming innovations Doing what matters for your institution Leading regional economic recovery Outreach and engagement Adapting to legislative changes Distance Education across state lines Marketing and strategic business planning Please submit proposal (175-word maximum) no later than June 3, 2011. Priority will be given to proposals based on successful and practical solutions that can be replicated. Be sure to include session title, presenter(s), brief session description for program purposes, contact information, institutional affiliation and a 2-3 sentence biography of each presenter. Presenters will be notified no later than July 1, 2011.

WCET Annual Conference ~ October 26-29 ~ Denver, CO

Deadline for submissions: March 25, 2011

Session Selection Criteria

WCET conference sessions are recognized for bringing together diverse perspectives and ideas and for being forward-thinking. Attendees find the program valuable because the sessions provide actionable information addressing issues facing higher education today and balanced with presentations by thought leaders that challenge the e-learning community to look forward to new issues on the horizon. Interactive group discussions invite ideas and sharing by all which creates a valuable opportunity for networking. The diverse session formats, ideas, and presenters are what makes the conference distinctive and a worthwhile investment for attendees.

A Community Forum is available for finding co-presenters and for idea exchanges.

The Program Committee looks for sessions that may include:
Actionable information- practical applications an attendee can bring back to their institution.
Sessions that include multiple perspectives. Examples include panels with speakers from different roles within an institution, panelists with varying viewpoints, proprietary and non-profit institution panelists, or perhaps a session with a course designer, faculty member, and a student.
Sessions that address a genuine challenge.
Problem-solving discussions around a timely topic such as federal policy implications, managing online education, adopting ADA standards, etc.
Sharing of expertise such as research based findings, innovative uses of technology, emerging strategies, or demonstrated outcomes.

Washington Interactive Technologies Conference ~ August 17-19, 2011 ~ Reston, Virginia

Key Dates:

• Deadline to Submit Abstracts: March 23, 2011
• Notification of Acceptance: April 6, 2011

Abstracts for presentations from knowledgeable professionals in industry, government, military, and academia are solicited to provide presentations which would be part of a comprehensive conference program on the latest learning technologies as they are being applied to training, education and job performance improvement, including ways to implement technology, descriptions of education and technical skills applications, e-Learning, Enterprise Management, Instructional Systems Design, Mobile Computing, Gaming and Simulation for Training and Job Performance Improvement, New Technologies & the Marketplace, together with Knowledge Management systems.

Illinois Faculty Summer Institute ~ May 16-19 ~ Urbana

Faculty Summer Institute (FSI) is a 4-day conference for higher education instructors and other professionals. Participants come from Illinois state universities, community colleges, private institutions, and out-of-state universities. FSI offers presentations, workshops, and hands-on training involving the latest technological advances in education. Participants may choose to exclusively follow one of three tracks, or attend any session in any track. They may also choose to participate in a Learning Team, in which a group of up to 15 people meet 3 times during the week to focus on one specific aspect of technology or software. Two new options this year are Discovery Labs and Headliner Workshops.


Key Dates
Call for Proposals Opens: Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Call for Proposals Closes: Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Proposals Approved & Presenters Notified by: Friday, April 1, 2011
Conference Registration Opens: Friday, April 1, 2011
Acceptance by Presenters/Facilitators: Friday, April 8, 2011
FSI Conference: May 16-19, 2011

Annual Sloan Consortium Online Learning Conference ~ Nov 9-11 ~ Orlando

The call for papers for the 17th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning opens Monday, February 14th. The theme of this year’s conference is “Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology” It is clear that we are in the midst of rapid and ongoing changes in the way that we communicate and represent ideas and these changes have profound consequence for how we know, learn, think, and teach in higher education and beyond. The dizzying pace of change is highlighted by the fact that even the relatively new conventions of online education associated with asynchronous learning networks are being challenged by emerging means of access, such as mobile and cloud computing, new forms of communication, such as video streaming and instant messaging, as well as the innovative modes of participation represented in social media. The more than 5.5 million college students who study online are increasingly at the forefront of this rapidly evolving landscape and it is crucial that we gain a clear understanding of how to best leverage the new media ecology to support our students’ learning.

e-Cornucopia 2011: The Open Digital University May 26, 2011 - Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan

Call for Proposals

Application Form

At this year's conference the break-out sessions will be divided into three tracks, Open Education, Open Access and Open Source. Please submit a 200 word abstract of your presentation proposal.

Track One--Open Education. Open Education is the theory of free access to education and educational materials. A free flow of information became possible with the rise online methods of distribution and powerful search engines. One of the first examples of the open education movement is the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative that made all syllabi and course materials available to the public. Another example, iTunes U, distributes free course lecture podcasts and videos from many different universities. YouTube and other social media are also sites for open online education. The inspiration and motivation for the open education movement is the hope that it will help create a more democratic and equal global society.

Possible Topics: (Any other topics relevant to Open Education also will be welcome.)
The use of specific platforms for globally accessible educational content such as iTunes U or YouTube or homegrown webpages.
Non-traditional learning spaces such as Hackerspace
Implications for the economic future of the university under the open education mode
What are the legal and intellectual property implications of open education for faculty
Global sharing of open digital learning objects and easily accessible resources for teaching.

Track Two--Open Access. Libraries have moved from a paper model to digital and so have changed research and teaching. Open access academic journals are open, unrestricted, and free for anyone to read on the Internet, while others are extremely expensive with annual fees. There are multiple economic models for open access journals and debates about reliability and interrelationship with the tenure process.

Possible Topics: (Any other topics relevant to Open Access also will be welcome.)
Open Access Journals – Benefits and challenges of publishing open access journals, from the publisher’s perspective.
Open Access Publishing – Why faculty should care – tenure and impact factor
Institutional Repositories – Development and current trends, role in OA.. Role of librarians in promoting OA and digital preservation.
Open Access Research – Scientific and medical research – government mandates, Public library of science http://www.plos.org/, OA data sets.
Open Access - Intellectual Property/Copyright & Creative Commons.

Track Three--Open Source. Open Source is the practice of making computer code that is available to be downloaded, edited, and used by anyone. This philosophy of software has resulted in collaborative teams of programmers working globally with source code, often communicating through online discussion boards and chat systems. Universities have benefitted from the open source movement by implementing open source software like Linux, Moodle, and Mahara e-Portfolio. Advantages include the capability to customize and control functionality to meet specific local needs, and to quickly trouble-shoot and resolve errors. This track will also explore how open source contributors are often motivated more by the social reputation they gain by participating in a project than by a traditional monetary incentive.

Possible Topics: (Any other topics relevant to Open Source also will be welcome.)
Linux - the most popular open source operating system. An intro to what Linux is, what uses it (you may be using it and not know it), how it's made, and how it may be useful to you.
Open Source Media Editing - an introduction to the Kdenlive video editor, Audacity audio editor, and GIMP Image editor.
Open Social Networking - Run your own "Facebook" with Status.net.
Open Hardware - the benefits of using Open Hardware like the Arduino micro-controller and 3D printers like the Reprap or Makerbot.
Open Conferencing Software - Big Blue Button is a emerging Open Source competitor to dimdim, WizIQ, and Elluminate.
Open Learning Management System - Moodle... "How we deployed it and why" or "Moodle 2.0".
Open Mobile - Android and Meego vs. iOS and Windows Mobile. Open vs. Closed. The pros and cons for the companies, the developers and the users.
A presentation session will last 40 minutes with an additional 10 minutes for questions. A projector and laptop will be available.

Please submit proposals by February 15, 2011.

Blackboard World July 12 – 15 in Las Vegas

Call for Presentations

The most rewarding moments at Blackboard Users' Conferences come from the presentations made by Blackboard clients. The 2011 BbWorld, Developers Conference, and Pre-Conference programs will feature sessions led by Blackboard clients from all over the country. BbWorld, Developers Conference, and Pre-Conference programs are great opportunities to connect with peers and share best practices, as well as gain insight and training from the Blackboard staff.

Reasons to Present

Receive discounted registration fee
Share your best practices with peers
Influence and enhance teaching and learning at other institutions
Shape eLearning around the world

Call for Presentations GuidelinesBbWorld presentations will take place July 12 – 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada; Developers Conference sessions will take place July 11 – 12.

The content of submissions should relate to the use of Blackboard technologies to solve challenges on and off campus. The following session formats will be accepted:

BbWorld Standard Session (55-minutes): Presentations given by one or more speakers/institutions on a topic of interest or case study with time for questions and answers.

BbWorld Panel Discussion (55-minutes): Consists of multiple speakers (maximum 4), each offering a perspective on an issue or set of issues, with time for questions and answers.

BbWorld Mini Session (20-minutes): Either present one mini session for 20 minutes or 2 pecha kucha sessions (exactly 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each, that's it - say what you need to say in six minutes and 40 seconds).

BbWorld Poster Session: Posters are a combination of pictures and text arranged in an aesthetic manner for easy viewing and for conveying information. All posters will be 'presented' during the Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall.

DevCon Standard Session (45-minutes): Presentations given by one or more speakers/institutions on a topic of interest or case study with time for questions and answers.

DevCon Double Session (90-minutes): Double sessions are just like standard sessions, but more time is available to get into more detailed and technical topics.

Proposals may be submitted by individuals or by groups of presenters (maxium 4).
Proposals where speakers are drawn from more than one institution are encouraged.

Note: Depending on what sessions are submitted and the schedule, we may ask you to present in a different format than originally proposed.

Presenter Expectations

The number of presenters can range from 1-4, with 4 being the maximum number per session.
All co-presenters must actively participate in the presentation.
Presenters from different institutions are encouraged to present together.
Presentations must reflect the description given when originally proposed.
All accepted presenters must register to attend the conference by May 13, 2011 and will be eligible for a $200 discount off of the regular registration fee. Note that presenters are only eligible for ONE discount.
Presenters are responsible for securing and paying for travel and lodging.
Selection Process

The Client Program Committee will review all submitted proposals and presentations will be selected based on the following criteria:

Do you believe this session would be of high value to attendees?
Does this proposal address a 'hot topic' at institutions today?
Would you recommend this session to a colleague?

Timeline

Friday, January 21, 2011: Final deadline to submit proposals.