I attended an excellent conference today at the University of Portsmouth, and it was the second time in as many months I have spoken there. There were 28 workshops and seminars in addition to my keynote speech. Just over 100 people attended from 3 of the faculties at the university, and there were several lively sessions to take part in. Martin Weller from the OU came in live via a webcast to talk about the intriguing topic of 'Academic output as collateral damage'. Also there from the OU was Tony Hirst, and it was a pleasure to meet him face to face for the first time, and talk about issues ranging from Google to assessment. His presentation was fittingly entitled: 'Making the most of Google'.
I also attended a session presented by Emma Duke Williams and her colleagues called 'Twispering in class' which explored the history, usefulness and application of Twitter as a tool for communication and reflection in formal learning contexts. Stewart Milton from Blue Orange Consulting gave an excellent, wideranging session on how to reach students through social media, which also covered the use of mobile handheld technologies. Both sessions drew quite a crowd, and provokes some good discussion. Manish Malik's session on 'Exam revision using Examopedia Wiki and Google Talk' was also well received, and prompted some quick fire questions from all those present.
June is going to be an exceptionally busy month for me, and what a contrast it will be to last year, when I was forced to put my feet up after abominable (sorry, abdominal) surgery. This June, instead of putting my feet up, I'm going to be trying to keep my head above water.... My first speaking engagement is at the Learning and Skills Group Conference at Olympia, in London. The invited workshop I'm presenting is titled: "Collaborative and Cooperative Learning - the how and the why" in which I will look at choosing online tools, creativity, the role of Web 2.0 and problem based learning approaches, and much more during the 70 minutes I have been allocated. As soon as this workshop is over, I dash off to Gatwick Airport, to catch my flight to Valencia, Spain.I will be in Valencia to speak at this year's European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN) Conference, on the subject of "Learning Space Mashups". I'm going to be talking about my recent research into combining Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs to promote reflective and collaborative learning, and will be outlining some of the difficulties and successes of these projects. EDEN is a great conference for networking and hearing about all the latest European transnational projects on e-learning, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone in that field. In the third week of June I have no less than 3 keynotes to present. My first takes place in relatively nearby Taunton, when I address the Association of Colleges Higher Education Managers event at Oake Manor on 22nd. Two days later on 24th I'm farther up the coast giving the opening keynote for the Learning and Teaching Conference at the University of Portsmouth. The title of my speech is: "Lifelong Learning in a Digital Age: Inspiration and Innovation through Social Media." My final speaking engagement of the week is on 29th June, at the University of Middlesex, where I will be one of the keynotes at the Engaging the Digital Generation in Academic Literacy Conference. I blogged previously about this event where I'm speaking on the subject of "Digital Tribes and the Social Web: How Web 2.0 will Transform Learning in Higher Education." It's a quick dash back that evening to Plymouth, where the following morning, during the VC's Learning and Teaching Conference at the University of Plymouth, I will pick up my Teaching Fellowship Award. But... I can only stay until lunch, because then I'm dashing back off to Heathrow Airport to fly to Helsinki, where...... (but more about that later). How did June get to be so busy? Well, don't look now, but July is even worse. I suppose I now have to earn my new title of Professor....Image source 
Keeping your heads above water by
Steve Wheeler is licensed under a
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I spent most of today over at the University of Portsmouth, where I led a 90 minute seminar/workshop on 'Learning 2.0: Web 2.0 in Education'. I was well looked after by several University of Portsmouth staff, inlcuding Manish Malik and his lovely wife, Emma Duke-Williams (not his wife - please refer to the separating comma), and the two Colins, Colin White and Colin Clarke. This morning Dr Clarke and his colleague Lucy Bailey took me on a tour of the ExPERT Centre (a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning), which was absolutely fascinating. One of the defining features of the Centre is its several simulation suites, including a fully equipped representation of an operating theatre, used to train student Operating Department Practitioners and Paramedics. The suite comes complete with a manikin that talks back to the students, breathes and mimics a number of other, um.... 'bodily functions'. In fact, just about the only thing it can't be programmed to do is act like my teenage daughter and constantly demand cash handouts, car rides to her boyfriend's house and back, and er... more money. All of the manikin's bodily functions can be programmed from the attached Mac computer, and the instructor can even programme in a sudden 'crisis' for the students to deal with. There are other simulated environments on the campus, including a courtroom for legal students to train in. In the ExPERT Centre I also saw a microbiology lab simulation and a simulated nursing ward. All of the above are equipped with remote controlled digital cameras and observation suites sited behind one-way mirrors.The great thing about these kind of simulated environments is that students can build their confidence as well as their skills, while at the same time immersing themselves in realistic situations with no real risk of doing any harm. They learn by their mistakes and they also learn within situated contexts. They can also view back video footage of their performance so they can reflect on their actions and the consequences. This is clearly an expensive, but extemely powerful and effective use of technology to train professionals. In my own university next week, during the Plymouth e-Learning Conference, delegates will get the chance to visit our Dentistry school and use the Phantom Head training manikins - possibly even doing some fillings and/or pulling teeth! Simulation is obviously where it's at when it comes to the training of professionals. Image source
I attended an excellent conference today at the University of Portsmouth, and it was the second time in as many months I have spoken there. There were 28 workshops and seminars in addition to my keynote speech. Just over 100 people attended from 3 of the faculties at the university, and there were several lively sessions to take part in. Martin Weller from the OU came in live via a webcast to talk about the intriguing topic of 'Academic output as collateral damage'. Also there from the OU was Tony Hirst, and it was a pleasure to meet him face to face for the first time, and talk about issues ranging from Google to assessment. His presentation was fittingly entitled: 'Making the most of Google'. 
