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2013 CSET ODL Conference - Integrating theory into practice

Welcome to the second biennial Open Distance Learning conference for Science, Engineering and Technology subjects, hosted by the CSET College at UNISA, which will be held in Magaliesburg at the Mount Grace Country House & Spa on 5 – 6 September 2013.

The theme of this year’s conference will be “Integrating theory into practice”. The intention of the conference is to showcase and engage with innovative research projects in teaching Science, Engineering, and Technology in an ODL environment. We invite practitioners and researchers in the fields of ODL, e-learning and blended learning in the domain of Science, Engineering and Technology to attend and present at the conference, to share and discuss research, ideas and findings.

The conference will feature keynote lectures, invited plenary lectures and individual or group presentations.

Aims of conference

Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) tuition in ODL poses some very specific challenges. UNISA, and several other institutions, have long track records of tuition and innovation in this area. However, as is the case in many other fields in ODL, theory and research often lag behind practice. Further, ODL is reinventing itself all the time as new technologies become available.  In order not to have ODL teaching practice end up being driven by new technologies, it is crucial for ODL learning developers to keep up with and constantly interrogate the conjunct of technologies and learning/teaching. This entails research into pedagogical issues, learner support, and assessment, changing roles of students and lecturers and all other dimensions that form a part of ODL teaching and learning.

This biennial conference aims to promote continuing high quality research into SET ODL practices. It provides a platform for sharing experiences and research and forming collaborations and partnerships.

Themes

This year, the conference will be organised around the following themes:

  • Academic student support     
  • Innovative assessment in ODL
  • Technology-enhanced learning 
  • Changing role of academics in ODL  
  • Research designs and methodologies

Presentations

Research paper presentations are invited in these five areas. Proposals for presentations should be submitted as extended abstracts (1000 words).  All submitted abstracts will be peer-reviewed, and if accepted, will be published in the conference programme. Full papers will go through the normal review process.