conference entry

DEANZ conference coming up – plan to attend

The biennial conference of the Distance Education Association of New Zealand is being held in April this year at Te Papa in Wellington. As a member of the DEANZ exec and organising committee, it's excting to see the lineup of conference speakers and delegates. While not usually a 'big' conference, this is an opportunity for those with an interest in sharing experiences and pursuing understandings of open, flexible and distance education to do so in a more intimate environment. 

Featured speakers at this year's conference include:

  • Professor Paul Bacsich – Canterbury fellow visiting the University of Canterbury e-Learning Lab in 2012
  • Professor Kwok-Wing Lai – Professor of Education, University of Otago
  • Dr Diana Oblinger – President and CEO of EDUCAUSE
  • Dr Caroline Seelig – Chief Executive, Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
  • Ken Kay – CEO EdLeader21 (joining by video conference

This is a great line-up, and along with the myriad of workshops and paper presentations, will make this a very stimulating conference as we've enjoyed in previuous years

Registrations are still open – and with the growth of interest in open, flexible and distance learning in all areas of the educaiton sector in New Zealand, this will provide an excellent opportunity to engage with others in the field, to go beyond the fascination in the tools and technology, and delve deeply into the issues around the changes we're seeing in our education system as these practices are adopted more widely. 

I'm also the convenor for the DEANZ award which will be presented at the conference. Applications are still open for the 2012 DEANZ award, which is open to individuals or groups in New Zealand, or New Zealand citizens living overseas, who have completed a project that meets the criteria of the Award. Awards are given for projects that;

  • Advance understanding of best practice in e-learning, distance, open and flexible learning in New Zealand.
  • Are original or innovative in concept or application.
  • Are relevant to and whose outcomes are useful to the e-learning, distance, open and flexible-learning community.

Applications for the DEANZ Award 2012 should be linked to the conference theme. Interpretations of the theme will be broad, but should include reference to one or more of…

  • Resilience
  • Relevance
  • Reform

For further details download the guidelines and application form – you've still got a fortnight before applications close 😉

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