Dear Colleague, We look forward to meeting you in e/merge 2018 - our upcoming online festival of e-learning in Africa from 9–20 July 2018. Dip in and out of the programme of live meetings and online discussions according to your passions, priorities and schedule. After the festival you will be able to access all the content and conversations that you missed. We are able to offer registration at no charge to colleagues in most African countries. Please register here. Its best to register for access to all the Festival resources and activities before the site opens on Friday 6 July because there will be some lags in the issue of login details during e/merge 2018. Login details will be sent to registered participants when the site opens on the afternoon of 6 July.
Our upcoming online festival is about the development of deep capacity for e-learning by African higher education in an increasingly networked world. We have an exciting range of topics, keynotes and conference presenters from across the African continent and beyond! Our focus is on e-learning in African higher education and on joining up the African and global conversations about e-learning research and practice. The presenters and festival interactions will be supported by a team of trained and experienced online facilitators from across Africa. e/merge 2018 is organised by the e/merge Africa professional development network and is supported under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Registration Standard registration fees are: ZAR 200 for participants from South Africa No charge for participants from the rest of Africa ZAR 600 for participants from other continents Presenters and facilitators attend free of change. Please register here.
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The online festival will be hosted on its own website with access for registered delegates. Within the festival site you will be able to connect with colleagues from across the continent and beyond, access selected presentations, read conference papers, share useful resources, take part in online discussion forums, attend webinars, share good practices and participate in experiential learning workshops.
Confirmed keynotes: Our confirmed keynote presenters are Esther Gacicio - Assistant Director, Kenya institute of Curriculum Development, Mohammad Santally - Associate Professor and Pro-ViceChancellor (Planning and Resources) at the University of Mauritius, Tutaleni I. Asino Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University & President of the Culture, Learning and Technology Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Maha Bali - Associate Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at The American University in Cairo, Rob Branch - Professor and Department Head, Department of Career and Information Studies, College of Education, University of Georgia and Laura Czerniewicz - Director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town. Read more about them and the descriptions of their talks here.
Presentations and workshops We have received a fascinating blend of proposals that include topics ranging from global debates to the application of pedagogic approaches and technology-mediated initiatives in local contexts, blended and online learning, open education (i.e. OERs, OEP, MOOCs, open online courses), professional development of university staff to the integration of devices, pedagogic approaches inside, outside and beyond the classroom. In addition to the keynotes there will be more than 35 presentations and workshops with the presenters coming from 15 African countries and from across 4 continents. The online workshop topics include collaborative e-learning, digital fluency, Liberating Structures in online learning, and teacher professional development. e/merge 2018 is also part of a larger conference ecosystem which will give e/merge 2018 participants access through online streaming to a keynote from the DELC conference at Makerere University in Uganda, selected presentations from University of Cape Town Teaching and Learning Conference, and online participation in a workshop at the Wikimania conference in Cape Town. View festival programme with the schedule of live online events.
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EdTech Startups Do you have an innovative, evidence-driven idea that can solve some of Africa’s school and university education challenges using digital technology? We’re keen to hear from African educational technology startups in secondary or tertiary education for an e/merge 2018 pitch session on Friday 20 July with the Injini startup incubator focussed on edtech startups. Enter even if you are just at the great idea stage. Please submit your details here and get advice about the competition. Entries by Friday 6 July.
Unconference Proposals We still have spaces for Unconference proposals here for Saturday 14 July.
Check your tech Access to technology: There will be no need for other equipment than a PC, laptop or tablet with an up-to-date browser and headphones. Presenters will require a microphone. Internet access: e/merge 2018 does require fair network speed, especially for our live sessions, however even with limited bandwidth you are still able to participate in text discussions and view recorded presentations. If you have any further questions about our online festival please email us at info@emerge2018.net
OTHER NEWS Upcoming conferences ICEL 2018 The 13th International Conference on e-Learning (ICEL 2018) is being held at the The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (Cape Town) from the 5 - 6th July 2018. DELC The 1st International Conference on Open Distance and eLearning will be held at Makerere University, Uganda from 9 - 10 July 2018. Info & registration here. Programme available here. Related read: interview with Godfrey Mayende. Elearning Update Theme: How to design optimal blended learning in the 4th Industrial revolution. 2 & 3 August, Emperor's Palace, Johannesburg. Details here.
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eLearning Africa The 13th International Conference on ICT for Education, Training & Skills Development will take place in Kigali, Rwanda from 26 - 28 September 2018. Info & registration here. Programme available here. The e/merge Africa team will be facilitating a pre-conference event “Online Facilitation: Unleashing Human Connection and Passion for Learning”. Sign up here. It’s a free event so make sure you sign up early to reserve your spot.
Call for Papers International Journal of Designs for Learning Special Issue: Designing learning for high-impact, high-stakes distance contexts. Submit a 250-word abstract by 15 July 2018. Details here.
Research support community Are you a researcher or aspiring researcher? Join our research support group on Facebook. Have you published an article in a reputable journal recently that you’d like us to share in our newsletter? Please email your article details to us at info@emergeafrica.net ● ●
Journals for interest (editable - feel free to add) Become an AECT member
We look forward to seeing you in the e/merge 2018 Festival of e-Learning, the e/merge 2018 team
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 2018 e/merge Africa.
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