Programme

e/merge 2004 takes place over 2 weeks, from Monday 28 June to Saturday 10 July. Presentations have been grouped into four themes: The Big Picture, Case Studies, Learning Communities and Learning Environments. Presentation and discussion of papers in each theme will take place over 3 days. Workshops will each run for an entire week.

1. The Big Picture

Mon 28 June to Wed 30 June

Keynote: Going Global, Locally: Geographically Distributed Collaborative Learning Environments for Studies of Globalisation and the Information Society	Derrick L. Cogburn, School of Information and Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan
Towards appropriate methodologies to research interactive learning: Using a design experiment to assess a learning programme for complex thinking development	Jean Botha, Duan van der Westhuizen and Estelle De Swardt, Rand Afrikaans University
Activity theory as a potential framework for technology research in an unequal terrain.	Joanne Hardman, School of Education University of Cape Town
Do Students Learn in Collaborative Consultation? A Speech Act Theory Perspective of Dynamic Frequently Asked Questions	Dick Ng’ambi, Multimedia Education Group, University of Cape Town
A conceptual framework of access to educational technologies	Laura Czerniewicz and Cheryl Brown, Multimedia Education Group, University of Cape Town
A Pedagogical and Economic critique of student charges for Internet access	Duncan Greaves, Tertiary Education Network
Information systems and institutional mergers in South African higher education	Andrew Paterson, HSRC

2. Case Studies across the Region

Wed 30 June to Fri 2 July

Global eQuality: Lessons from NetTel@Africa	Maria Beebe, Centre for Bridging the Digital Divide
Online debating to encourage student participation in online learning communities: A case study in the Education Department of Rhodes University	Cheryl Hodgkinson and Markus Mostert, Rhodes University
Blended online and face-to-face learning – a pilot project in Faculty of Education, Eduardo Mondlane University	Xavier Muianga, Faculty of Education Eduardo Mondlane University Mozambique
Blended Learning at the Central University of Technology, Free State	JJC Badenhorst and KJ de Beer, Central University of Technology
The Shongololo Interconnectivity Project	Joy Rosario, KwaZulu Natal Education Department
Integration of the two homegrown Learner Management Systems of “Old Unisa” and “Old TSA”: The past, the merger and the future.	Deon van der Merwe & Johann Möller, UNISA and Technikon SA

3. Learning Communities

Mon 5 July to Wed 7 July

Keynote: Scenarios for the future of e-learning	Gilly Salmon, Open University
Growing Internet-mediated Communities of Practice in Education	Bronwyn Stuckey, Wollongong University
A post-merger strategy to grow e-Learning practice at a multi-campus university of technology	Marí Peté, Durban Institute of Technology
Artful roles in blended learning: reflections on collaborative digital arts and Zimbabwe	Andrew Morrison, InterMedia, University of Oslo
For students by students: Publishing DITonline, the Durban Institute of Technology’s daily news website, collaboratively	Tara Turkington, Durban Institute of Technology
Experiences with Online Forums in Developing Countries	Geoffrey Seleka and Daniela Giannini, University of Botswana

4. Learning Environments

Wed 7 July to Fri 9 July

Reflections by Open Learning System Practitioners: Development, Deployment and Use	P. Clarke, K. Murrell, M. Voges and S. Yates, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Integrating worldware in blended learning environments	Andrew Deacon & Jacob Jaftha, Multimedia Education Group, University of Cape Town
Computer-supported development of critical reasoning skills	David Spurrett, Philosophy Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Online Writing Laboratories: Their Potential in Southern African Education	Andrew van der Spuy and Fiona Cameron-Brown, WritingLab SA
Videoconferencing for student support at UNISA	Hentie Wilson, UNISA
A Dynamic Innovative Approach to the Application of ICTs for Flexible Learning within the Distance Education Institutions	Sello Sekgwelea, New Unisa

Workshops

Mon 28 June to Fri 2 July

Online Facilitation Workshop: The Heartbeat of Online Groups	Nancy White, Full Circle Associates, USA and Tony Carr, Multimedia Education Group, University of Cape Town
Workshop on Learning Objects, Metadata and Learning Object Repositories	Greig Krull and Brenda Mallinson, Department of Information Systems, Rhodes University

Mon 5 July to Fri 9 July

Tour of Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaboration Environments [to be confirmed]

Robin Good, Master New Media and others

Please note that the above schedule is provisional, and the timing of presentations may be changed before the conference starts.