Abstracts and speaker profiles

Roo Reynolds, IBM How big business learned to love virtual worlds IBM has long been recognised as an interested player in virtual worlds. Roo Reynolds will share how a handful of brave IBMers first began a foray into virtual worlds, and how this grass-roots interest became widespread adoption within the company. What can a corporation expect from getting involved in a virtual world, and why would one bother? What about an employee? Every day seems to bring a fresh new story of businesses from every sector promoting themselves using the latest, trendiest Web 2.0 site and inside virtual worlds such as Second Life and There.com. Is there more to this than just hype though? What are the bigger opportunities for collaboration and learning? Expect a lively tour of what's interesting in this space, together with some real-world examples of what's virtually possible. Roo Reynolds is a Metaverse Evangelist based at IBM's Hursley Park laboratory in the UK and is part of a team which facilitates the use of virtual worlds within the Company. For the past two years he has been helping people understand the importance of social software and virtual worlds, as well as contributing to the design and strategy for IBM's internal use of them. All of this work is made even more enjoyable thanks to a large world wide community who are learning to collaborate and get things done in totally new ways. He was previously an Emerging Technologies Specialist in which his role included attempting to keep on the early adopter curve. While acknowledging there are not enough hours in the day to claim to be an expert in everything, Roo still reads and writes far too many blogs and tries to keep his eyes open. Roo is married to an artist, who tries her hardest to keep him balanced. As well as sharing his thoughts at rooreynolds.com, he also co-authors eightbar.co.uk, a group blog co-written by other Hursley geeks.

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Andy Powell, Eduserv Foundation

Virtually where? Are 3-D virtual worlds such as Second Life having an impact on learning?

This presentation will provide an overview of the use of 3-D virtual worlds to support learning, looking at where and how Second Life is being used in the UK and at whether that use is having a positive impact on learning. Technology-willing, the presentation will be given in-world, providing first-hand experience of what 3-D virtual worlds have to offer.

Andy is Head of Development at the Eduserv Foundation where he is responsible for specifying and delivering the Foundation's programme of internal research and standards-making activities and helping to oversee external grants. His primary areas of interest include: metadata, repositories and resource discovery; access and identity management; service architectures and Web 2.0; elearning, eportfolios and the use of 3-D virtual worlds such as Second Life in education.

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Professor Gilly Salmon, University of Leicester

Learning futures

Universities already know about learners’ needs, changing demographics and the challenges of the complex relationships between technologies and pedagogies. However, they know less about how to prepare for changes in learners’ expectations, including what, in the range of opportunities, is significant and what is not. A huge amount of investment in learning technologies could be wasted for a low return but ‘not engaging’ is also not an option. It is unrealistic to believe that each individual academic can address these issues for his or her own practice.

The adoption of new technologies in learners’ everyday lives offers wonderful opportunities but also outstrips HEIs’ understanding of and ability to exploit appropriate pedagogical and systemic approaches. Even when a worthwhile pathway is developed, exploiting it in the service of enhanced student learning involves changes in teaching practice and is demanding to achieve on a large scale. Stereotypical views abound: such as that the ’net generation’ knows how to learn through digital media or that experienced teaching staff cannot embrace new technologies.

The sector is now focussing on student experience as the lynchpin. Maybe there are better ways of engaging with students than by seeing them as customers or consumers Learners are often uninvolved in policy deliberations and largely inactive in shaping the future of their educational processes. Few authentic voices from learners have been interpreted into feasible approaches to learning. Meanwhile, HEIs, with their natural conservatism and concern for tradition and quality, change slowly. We need to look beyond the obvious and fully engage all stakeholders including students and future students if we are to prepare effectively for the future in largely unseen, unknown and uncharted territory. (Not for the fainthearted).

Gilly Salmon is Professor of E-learning and Learning Technologies at the University of Leicester, UK. She is head of the Beyond Distance Research Alliance (le.ac.uk/beyonddistance) and of the Media Zoos (le.ac.uk/beyonddistance/mediazoo/ and 165/150/17 in Second Life). She was previously with the Open University Business School. Gilly’s research interests span strategies for enhancing learning with and through new technologies, the future for learning in Higher Education and innovation through learning design. She is a Fellow of the HEA and National Teaching Fellow 2006.

Gilly has two research degrees in change management and ICT and pedagogy. Her book E-moderating (e-moderating.com) is considered seminal in the field of online teaching. Other recent books include E-tivities (e-tivities.com) and Learning in Groups, with David Jaques (learningingroups.com). Podcasting for Learning in Universities will be published in August 2008 (podcastingforlearning.com). She is currently writing ‘Learning Futures’.

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Les Watson

From space to place

Expenditure on buildings is at an at all time high in our schools, colleges and universities. Les Watson will explore what we should be thinking about in the design of new spaces for learning, what should drive our designs, and how design itself is crucial in the development of inspirational spaces.

Technological change has had significant impact on access to information and the rate of dissemination of ideas, inevitably affecting the way students learn, and to a lesser extent, the way teachers teach. The impact of the information age has also had major impact on our libraries of all types challenging their very purpose and some would argue threatening their existence as physical places. There is evidence, however, that the virtual and the physical are not either/or choices for individual learners are both/and possibilities. The existence of virtual learning does not mean that learners will migrate to virtual worlds and have no need of physical learning spaces but rather that physical spaces are enabled and strengthened by technology.

This talk will incorporate ideas from the development and implementation of the highly acclaimed Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University which is a library, but is also a one-stop shop for student services and a place of learning. The Saltire Centre, through its wide range of study environments, aims to provide a multiplicity of different learning opportunities and engage the whole student population.

Les Watson is a freelance educational adviser. He is currently interim Director of Information Services at Royal Holloway University of London for part of his time and he is also a consultant to the Joint Information Systems Committee e-learning programme on Technology Enhanced Learning Environments. Les has done many presentations and workshops for a wide range of organisations and was recently an invited keynote speaker at a series of five seminars on Places and Spaces for Learning organised by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in Australia.

Previously, Les was a Pro Vice-Chancellor at Glasgow Caledonian University from 1999 to September 2006. During this time he was responsible for Library, C&IT Services, student services, e-learning, the Caledonian Degree and work based learning all of which were integrated into a University wide Learning Service. At Caledonian, Les led the development of the Learning Cafe, REAL@Caledonian, and the award winning Saltire Centre.

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Carlo Teminiello

Getting the information to where it’s needed

This session will discuss how Cisco sees wireless technologies becoming more prevalent in the education and other sectors. Solutions are becoming more complex and spanning multiple technology types leading to increased complexity from a deployment and support perspective. It will finish by explaining how Cisco’s Business Unit shares information with the field based presales and support parts of the business.

Carlo Terminiello has been working as a Systems Engineer on the BT Account team for 6 years with particular focus on indoor and outdoor wireless and security technologies during this time. The last 18 months have seen him involved in BT's next generation PWLAN platform, Wireless Cities development as well as supporting the wider UK customer base for outdoor wireless and mobility projects. Carlo has 12 years experience of the IT and networking industry.

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Ted Johns

From sausage to sizzle: from service quality to service experience

This presentation will focus on what it means to deliver world class service experiences to customers, why you should aim for world class service delivery, and how you can achieve it, through the Institute of Customer Service's research based formula, which already represents the route to excellence used in many leading edge organisations.

Ted Johns is Chairman of the Institute of Customer Service, founded in 1997 to advance service performance (by organisations) and professionalism (by the people who provide services for the benefit of others − which means, in effect, everyone in paid employment). His publications include Tales of the Unexpected, the Unbelievable and the Unforgivable; he is a regular columnist for Customer Strategy magazine and a powerful, authoritative, entertaining and simulating conference speaker.

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Jo Nyirenda & Mark Stephens

Student Centre – not just a building?

Alongside a major construction project to build a Student Services Centre on campus, the University of Reading also invested in new systems and procedures to provide an integrated student helpdesk at the University. The goal was to offer easy student access to help and advice (in person and online) on any student support issue. This session, led by two of the key individuals leading the project, outlines the journey from concept to implementation.

The Student Services Centre concept was designed to be more than just a building; it offered the chance of a new way of working in an integrated and customer focussed approach to University student services. The process of understanding how a helpdesk could assist in this process was integral to the success of the project. However, producing a functional specification, procuring an appropriate information system, and defining helpdesk procedures was not part of the normal competency of staff working in student support.

This session describes how IT professionals worked together with colleagues in Student Services to provide a system bringing individual areas of student advice together in to one combined helpdesk. The result would enhance the student experience and enable support staff to provide a more efficient and coherent service.

Jo Nyirenda has worked at the University of Reading since 1990 in a variety of administrative roles ranging from undergraduate admissions, graduation, faculty management, and a period as acting Academic Registrar. In 2004, she was appointed as the full-time coordinator for the Student Services Centre project, working with the Design Team on the construction of the new Centre building (which opened in September 2007). During this period, she hot desked for two years in IT Services, developing an invaluable network of contacts with specialists in helpdesk systems, web support, and multimedia facilities. Her current role is involved with managing administrative services to support and promote the work of the Student Services Centre.

Mark Stephens has worked in IT Services at the University of Reading for 12 years in various roles, including: User Support, Web Support, Help Team Leader, Departmental Support and as an adviser to the Student HelpDesk Project at the University. Most recently, Mark has taken the role of Group Manager for Departmental Support which is involved in software licence agreements, negotiating extended departmental support contracts, managing a team of dedicated desktop support technicians and advising on general issues regarding departmental IT support, including liaising with the IT Support Staff employed by schools at the University of Reading. Mark’s areas of expertise include assessing customer requirements, explaining technical issues to customers and applying or adapting existing services to meet those needs.

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Ted Johns

From sausage to sizzle: from service quality to service experience

This presentation will focus on what it means to deliver world class service experiences to customers, why you should aim for world class service delivery, and how you can achieve it, through the Institute of Customer Service's research based formula, which already represents the route to excellence used in many leading edge organisations.

Ted Johns is Chairman of the Institute of Customer Service, founded in 1997 to advance service performance (by organisations) and professionalism (by the people who provide services for the benefit of others − which means, in effect, everyone in paid employment). His publications include Tales of the Unexpected, the Unbelievable and the Unforgivable; he is a regular columnist for Customer Strategy magazine and a powerful, authoritative, entertaining and simulating conference speaker.

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Neil Deakin & Matthew Pearson, Steljes
Tony Brett, University of Oxford
Steve Gough, University of Reading

Panel session: "Do voting systems have a future in learning?"

This session will cover examples of current usage from UK higher education and some of the challenges and opportunities that voting systems bring. It will build on some of the issues identified in the Steljes workshop "Multiple choices: multiple challenges". The session will also include information on usage from Oxford University and will end with questions & answers and an opportunity to give live feedback on the event.