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There’s a video of Jo presenting here

How do virtual spaces help us to make connections with others? What are the impacts of immersion and shared experience in virtual worlds on teaching and learning? How can 3D environments be used for collaborative and social learning?

Jo Kay will lead a mixed reality presentation in both Mooloolaba QLD and in the virtual world of Second Life. The session will focus on the work she has been doing over the last 12mths on the Islands of jokaydia – a community of practice which includes practitioners from around the world who are exploring educational and community uses of virtual worlds. The session will include a tour of the virtual spaces used by the jokaydia Community of Practice in Second Life, and the opportunity to meet and hear from a number of the community members working there.

There’s a video of Mark presenting here

Unless you have been hiding in a cave you will be aware that the Internet has changed everything. Our social life, purchasing habits, our family life, our travel, our banking, even the way we buy junk. But not least of all the fundamental way we educate ourselves.

Having spent the last 15 years thinking about this, and actively building business models, some of which worked and others that were, shall we say best left on the drawing board, I think we have finally arrived at the tipping point, the point where everything in education will change for good.

This talk will focus on the technologies, online social practices, and practical approaches to surviving this tsunami. Drawing on real life case studies and current research, what may we do to respond to a permanent change in the Education climate.

Its not about Boomers, Gen X or Gen Y, its about you, and me and our friends, colleagues and how we respond towards Learning as a universal utility.

There’s a video of Nancy’s presentation here

This is a link to more of Nancy’s recent work on stewardship & change

Community leadership used to mean convening people, gathering some resources, making sure there were tea and biscuits and planting a few good questions. Today, communities spend “time together” not just face to face, but online. This brings into play a panoply of technologies. Who attends to the selection, implementation and use of these technologies to help a community thrive? Accidental or intentional, it is the community technology steward. Nancy will offer the research recently completed by her, Etienne Wenger and John Smith and share some tips for stewarding technology in your communities.

There’s a video of Simon’s presentation here

Building an online community linking trade skills students, their employers and other educators creates a knowledge-sharing environment that enhances traditional TAFE training. In this session, stonemasonry teacher Simon Brown shares how he uses a wide range of learning technologies in a TAFE context.

* Uses free Web tools (including Ning, Wikispaces, Flickr, Youtube) and Videolinq video streaming technologies to engage students and guide their literacy development.
* Re-focuses text-based learning resources into image-rich interactive learning experiences
* Collaborates online with industry personnel about their training requirements
* Displays apprentice achievements to a global community
* Regularly discusses educational technologies with fellow educators

There’s a video of Anne’s presentaion here

The end is nigh! The adult educator has been registered on the endangered species list and faces certain extinction within the next decade. How has this happened? The changing nature of work and the relationship to learning in the forms we now practice will substantially change within the next decade – challenging the relevance of adult educators in all fields. Can this dwindling profession be saved from extinction? What survival strategies must be implemented urgently to support these rare practitioners?

There’s a video of Garry’s presentation here

One of the shifts we are seeing (or have seen) occur on the Internet is the wrestling of responsibility and control away from authority, groups, institutions and jurisdictions (eg social networking is based on the premise of the individual selecting their community of practice and creating their own network). Many of us filter the complex internet world by selecting ‘like’ commentators and feeding this into our desktop. The trend of mobile devices connected anywhere, anytime further cements responsibility

There’s a video of the presentation here

The 2Learn.ca Education Society program is a professional development model that facilitates K- Gr.12 classroom teacher competencies in the effective integration of ICT within all curricula. The program provides technology leadership and vision to classroom teacher-leaders, who cascade knowledge to 30,000 colleagues. Teachers are empowered to shape their professional development within an environment that is adaptable, curricular-focused, student-centered, and mutually supported by other teachers. 2Learn.ca