This keynote panel brings together five of Australasia's leading researchers and practitioners in distance and blended learning. Dr Mark Brown, Professor Bruce King, Professor Yoni Ryan, Dr Colin Latchem and Dr Michael Crock to explore:
What does it mean to be a distance education provider in 2011 and what will it mean in 2021?
What are the key issues for quality in the higher education sector?
What are the new and developing models to meet student demand and flexibility?
The panel will be accompanied the SUMMIT's Agent Provocateur Dr Don Olcott, internationally recognised for his expertise in distance and blended learning within the context of global and borderless education.

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are becoming increasingly popular in educational institutions. OERs include all educational resources - normally digital in nature such as learning objects, open courseware, etc. that can be freely accessed (with no cost to users) via the Internet with minimal or no restrictions.
UNESCO (2002, Paragraph 3) has defined OERs as the “… technology-enabled, open provision of educational resources for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes.
OERs are normally accessed freely using the World Wide Web either on institutional sites or in organizational repositories. Course developers, teachers and instructors are principal users of OERs, but there is a growing number of students who are accessing them directly to augment their learning. OERs include learning objects such as modularized lessons, video and audio lectures (podcasts), references, workbooks and textbooks, multimedia simulations, experiments and demonstrations, as well as syllabi, curricula and lesson plans.
This panel will lead a discussion on major issues associated with the creation, adaptation, localization, dissemination and reuse of OERs. Questions of quality, interoperability, accessibility and reusability will also be raised.

Panelists - Anne Forster, Rory McGreal (Athabasca), Mohamed Ally (Athabasca), Graham Webb (UNE), Stella Porto (UMUC), Thomas Hulsmann (Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg), Phillip Candy (USQ)

The panel will open with a focus on the graduate programs offered by Athabasca University and the University of Maryland University College.  Mohamed Ally and Rory McGreal from Athabasca University plus Stella Porto from University of Maryland University College and Thomas Hülsmann from Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, will outline the context of their respective master and doctoral programs in distance education and e-learning. Panelists will then be invited to outline their institutional and program planning approach to the twin issues of quality and the digital future. Professor Phillip Candy from University of Southern Queensland will open the discussion on the digital future followed by Professor Graham Webb from the University of New England who will address national and global quality improvement processes. The audience will be encouraged to participate actively in the discussion.

Symposiums

Can a virtual world take the distance out of education?

Presenters: Sue Gregory - DEHub, University of New England; Helen Farley - University of Southern Queensland; Allan Ellis - Southern Cross University; Lyn Hay - Charles Sturt University; Lisa Jacka - Southern Cross University; Kerrie Smith - Education Services Australia; Scott Grant - Monash University.

When can our distance students begin to feel that they are receiving the same educational experiences as the face-to-face students? Can a virtual world take the distance out of education? Educators from higher education institutions from around Australia argue that it can. These educators are going to discuss the experiences that students have had when using a virtual world for education both on- and off-campus students. Virtual worlds can provide authentic learning where students can practise tasks without the real world consequences. Students can be geographically dispersed and virtual worlds can bring them together to the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson & Levine, 2008). Some institutions are using virtual worlds for blended learning so that the on-campus students can study from anywhere and yet still experience similar – and sometimes superior – to what they receive in face-to-face learning. Others are using virtual worlds to take the distance out of education. This symposium will explore whether a virtual world has the potential to take the distance out of education

Distributive Leadership and Transformative Institutional Change – Blended and Flexible Learning and a Teaching Fellowship Scheme

Presenters:Mike Keppell,Merilyn Childs,Lyn Hay, Richard Taffe & Lucy Webster, Charles Sturt University

The Symposium approaches “distance education” from the perspective of “blended and flexible learning”. The Symposium explores a Teaching Fellowship Scheme developed by the Flexible Learning Institute (2008-2010) that was designed as a distributive leadership approach to capacity building in response to situated learning and teaching challenges and opportunities. It engages participants in an exploration of the meanings of “leadership”; and proposes “distributive leadership” as a key concept in the development of innovative and transformative change related to blended and flexible learning in the context of the future of Higher Education. The Symposium provides an opportunity for those involved in the FLI Teaching Fellowship Scheme to present aspects of their innovative change processes and leaderships. Professor Mike Keppell, (Director of the FLI) will provide an introduction to the concept of “distributive leadership” as a change strategy within Higher Education, and report key findings from a longitudinal design-based study (2008-2010) into the efficacy and impact of the Teaching Fellowship Scheme on leadership and blended and flexible learning at Charles Sturt University. Teaching Fellows Dr Lucy Webster (biomedical sciences), Dr Richard Taffe (teacher education) and Lyn Hay (information studies) will provide an overview of the aims and outcomes of their blended and flexible learning Teaching Fellowship projects, and explore the development of situated leadership capabilities derived from the Teaching Fellowship experience. Associate Professor Merilyn Childs (Deputy Director of the FLI) will facilitate the Symposium.

It's not easy being 'e': a behind the scenes look at what it really takes to succeed as an e-learning e-business

Presenters:John Van Emden, Robyn Wright, Kuan Sin, Carmen Vallis, Gina Veliotis

OTEN in its various forms has over one hundred years experience in distance education in NSW as well as other parts of Australia and overseas. This symposium will focus on OTEN’s past decade and how we’ve moved from a predominantly paper-based promotional, enrolment and resource delivery system, to a predominantly digital and online e-business system.

Offering Educational Opportunities in Isolated Communities

Presenters:Dr. Donna J. Duellberg, Dr. Marsha D. Wellein

Service Guard members stationed on Guam and Saipan are arguably disadvantaged when it comes to educational opportunities. This is due, in part, to the unavailability of multiple colleges physically located on Guam and Saipan and those few colleges allowed to operate on Guam under the provision of a DOD contract focus on Navy or Air Force needs. This forces our Coast Guard and USAR students to select college majors which they would not normally pursue or enroll in distance programs, which may not be the best suited learning strategy for many of our members. This geographic isolation coupled with other variables serve as barriers to education. Research has shown that military personnel who work 35 or more hours a week, or those saddled with numerous family concerns and responsibilities, as well as those who lack easy access to computer workstations/Internet services/printers generally do not pursue postsecondary educational opportunities in comparison to those individuals who do not work full time, have few family responsibilities, and have quick, regular access to a computer/Internet services/printers. In order to serve service members in isolated communities, such as Guam, Saipan, and Samoa, Education Services Officers (ESO) have to make available a variety of blended and distance learning options. Our most innovative approaches to outreach this past year included: Education Fairs and Try College for a Day Events where multiple Hawaii-based schools traveled to Guam and Saipan; Video-teleconferencing partnerships with multiple sites and across the different Armed services; sending professors underway on patrols with cutters; automating testing; and the creation of a virtual counseling center in Second Life.

Beyond the Technology Bungy: Designing Untethered Learning for Today’s Socially Wired Distance Students

Presenters: Mark Brown, Ingrid Day & Duncan O'Hara - Massey University

This symposium describes how Massey University is responding to the challenge of meeting the needs of today's highly diverse and mobile learners. In the backdrop of Cuban’s (1987) technology expectation cycle, it reports a number of technology-enhanced learning initiatives that have been designed to go beyond quick thrills and one-off leaps of faith. Several innovations are described which aim to disrupt the ‘old normal’ of distance education by creating an exceptional and distinctive learning experience for all students—regardless of location or delivery mode. Drawing on the Massey experience, the symposium identifies the importance of vision, strong leadership and an integrated strategy for blended and distance education, which is illustrated through examples of new tools and spaces for learning along with new approaches to staff and student support. We report what students have to say about greater digitalisation of the curriculum and the symposium concludes by reflecting on some of the challenges of designing scalable and sustainable untethered learning for today’s socially wired distance students.

An institutional voice to support teachers and learners in blended and distance education

Presenters: Bobby Harreveld, Katrina Higgins, Dolene Rossi, Julie Fleming, Robyn Donovan, Coin Beer, Damien Clark and Wendy Fasso (CQUniversity)

This symposium interrogates the ways in which ‘institutional voice’ may construct an open and distance education model and practice for 21st century teaching and learning. In particular, it engages with the research theme question: What strategies and approaches are required at institutional level to support the higher education workforce in the provision of distance learning opportunities for students in culturally and linguistically, socially and economically diverse communities? The findings from four research projects are used to frame our analysis in relation to: (1) learning relationships as both a condition and consequence of learner-learner interaction in online contexts; (2) graduate attributes and curriculum design implications; (3) online learning networks and communities of practice for teachers’ professional development; and (4) workforce planning integration of casual academics in a university blended and distance education system.

Challenges and opportunities that contribute to leading and engagement in institutional change

Presenters: Belinda Tynan, David Patterson, Helen Carter, Cherry Stewart, Rod Sims - University of New England

The University of New England (UNE) is located in Armidale, a major centre in regional New South Wales, Australia. Founded as a University College of the University of Sydney in 1938, it became a university gaining autonomy in 1954 and is one of Australia's great distance education teaching, training and research universities. This symposium addresses a major transformation of teaching and learning at UNE through the eyes of the key stakeholders involved in the work. The Academic Director, Strategic Academic Leader, Learning Design & Development Lead, an educational developer and academic staff. These 5 perspectives provide insights into the lessons learned so far, challenges and opportunities that contribute to leading and participating in institutional change in progress. 
 
Colleagues from UNE will each contribute informally stating their role in the project, lessons learned so far, challenges and opportunities and the importance of resilience and capacity for deep change that can be both painful but also joyful.

Benchmarks or bureaucracy? Quality in Australian & New Zealand Distance Education.

Presenters: Belinda Tynan, Colin Latchem, Yoni Ryan, Trish Andrews

This session will focus on four complementary aspects of quality assurance and quality improvement in distance and online learning. Quality is a multifaceted debate. In some global contexts it appears to be all about rhetoric and bureaucratic paper-shuffling for regulation and accreditation.
A lack of contextualisation and pragmatism can hinder the implementation of quality processes and outcomes. Which stakeholders are we really here for?
Where is the student voice? How serious are we about ensuring they don't get a 'budget airline' learning experience as we take advantage of new interactive web modes? Following brief presentations the panellists will engage the audience in discussion so as to gauge their attitudes and experiences in regard to these and other issues.
The four panellists will speak to the following key areas:
a) International regulatory frameworks project being sponsored by the International Consortium of Distance Educators (ICDE)
b) Global quality trends and issues
c) Frameworks for quality in Australia and New Zealand
d) Locating the student voice in the quality debate

Workshops

** Each workshop will accommodate only specified numbers of attendees. Attendees are requested to sign up on the day at the registration desk. Please examine the program and provide your name at the registration desk any time preceding the workshop you wish to attend. **

Conversations about student equity, educational disadvantage, and distance education

Presenter -Julie Willems
Attendee Requirements:

This workshop is a conversational dialog with delegates on issues surrounding student equity, educational disadvantage and multiple equity overlays, in the context of distance education. The workshop will commence with a 5-10 minute overview. Delegates will then break into 3 groups and under the umbrella of each of the under-represented groups as identified and operationalised by Bradley et al. (2008), the groups will discuss equity issues specific to those groups in terms of successful participation and completion in courses in distance education, under the headings of personal challenges, institutional challenges, socio-cultural challenges, and situational challenges. These groups will be Indigenous students, students with low socio economic status (SES), and students from rural and isolated areas. The groups will then present their findings back to the larger group. Comparisons in issues will then take place. These findings will be then compared to research currently undertaken on multiple equity issues in distance education (Willems, J. (2009). Towards a multi-dimensional indicator to understand equity in education: Introducing the Equity Raw-Score Matrix http://www.msp.unimelb.edu.au/index.php/LTSJHE/issue/current ; Willems, J. (2010). The Equity Raw-Score Matrix – a multidimensional indicator of potential disadvantage in higher education. HERDSA Journal, 29(6), 603-621.).

The Why, What and How of Accessible Curriculum Design for Blended and Distance Learning (two session workshop)

Presenters - Sharon Kerr, Michaela Baker, Michael Grant
Attendee Requirements: Delegates will work through workshop activities.
Maximum number: 40

The workshop will be presented from the viewpoint of the way we design our curricula dictates who we allow to participate and succeed and who we do not. This workshop will be run over two 120 minutes sessions over two days, with a no-holds-barred approach to addressing concerns and questions relating to the issues of inclusive curriculum design, delivery and assessment. It is anticipated that this workshop will provide an environment where people feel safe to ask questions, seek clarification and workshop solutions with colleagues. This workshop will:
1) Discuss the importance of all Distance and Blended learning being fully accessible
2) Showcase assistive technologies used by students to access their learning materials including WYNN, DAISY,LIVESCRIBE
3) Overview legal issues to be considered when developing learning materials (e.g. Disability Discrimination Act ; Copyright Act; Trade Practices Act)
4) Demonstrate how to make accessible e-books and documents for use with the iPad
5) Workshop inclusive curriculum design strategies that have broad social inclusion benefits

Construction, approaches, varieties and processes of e-portfolios in post-secondary education

Presenter - Debra Hoven
Attendee Requirements: Delegates will each need to bring a laptop computer with internet capability

This workshop crosses several themes of the Summit. The aim is to provide participants with an overview of the breadth of uses and applicability of digital media, reflective practice, community and social networking in education. This overview and hands-on exposure will cover a range of post-secondary contexts, countries and cultures. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout and the facilitator will provide a variety of tools, links and sites, mostly free or open source, to suit participants’ needs and backgrounds. Drawing on her considerable experience in Australasian, European and north American educational institutions, the facilitator will demonstrate and illustrate how digital media can and have been used in different contexts to promote experiential learning, critical reflection, transition from learning to practice, community cohesion and lifelong learning in distance and open education.

Fast Forward Learning: What If?

Presenter - Gilly Salmon

What future(s) for learning? Participants in this workshop will engage in hands-on exercises on imagining possible futures quickly and collaboratively, and how to escape routine thinking patterns. The workshop will explore emerging visions for the future of learning, technological innovations and their implications for learning and teaching.

Academic Publishing in Distance Education: Put yourself in the hot seat

Presenters - Som Naidu, Colin Latchem and Olaf Zawacki – Richter
Attendee Requirements:

This workshop will take the form of a role play in which participants explore the issues confronting the academic publishing process. It will focus on the following topics:

• The review and publication of books and journals in distance education.
• The role of publishers, editors, reviewers and contributors in academic publishing.
• The challenges and opportunities in academic publishing.

Participants at the workshop will be assigned roles and asked to play out their roles in view of their role profiles. The object of the role play will be presented at the workshop.

• Authors: Are seeking to publish their work in reputable and high quality journals.
• Editors: Are seeking to publish high quality articles in their journals and raise the profile of the journal. Extend its outreach and help raise the quality and range of publications from non-traditional areas.
• Reviewers: Willing to engage and contribute to the nurturing of research and scholarship in the field, but often pressed for time.
• Publishers: Interested in publishing high quality journals and making a profit of course, but struggling with issues around open access publications.

  Come prepared to participate and engage in a lively 90-minute discussion and debate of the issues confronting academic publishing in distance and e-learning today.

Facilitating Quality Outcomes in Distributed Marking Teams – Assignment Marking with Moodle and Lightwork

Presenter - Eva Heinrich
Attendee Requirements: Delegates will each need to bring a laptop computer with internet capability.It is recommended that participants have lightwork installed on their computer. This is available from http://lightworkmarking.org/downloads.asp.
Maximum number: 20

Assignments are a main component of internal assessment in most tertiary courses. The marking of assignments incorporates both formative and summative aspects and plays an important role in facilitating student learning. Electronic submission of assignments is highly welcomed by students, especially by distance students, and opens up opportunities for increasing the efficiency and quality of marking. For medium and large class sizes marking is often performed with the support of markers. The marking teams work distributed, both in location and time. This workshop focuses on how to support marking teams in the context of electronic assignment submission, aiming at efficiency and quality of marking. The workshop builds on recommendations from the literature in regard to marking rubrics and interaction with markers, explores the current practices of the participants and looks into the support that is provided by suitable e-learning tools. The particular tools used in the workshop are Moodle (http://moodle.org/) and Lightwork (http://lightworkmarking.org/). The participants will be actively involved in preparing and conducting marking in marking teams, both conceptually and in hands-on exploration of Moodle and Lightwork.

Understanding Creative Commons licensing for Open Educational Resource creation and usage

Presenter - Lindy Klein
Attendee Requirements: Delegates will each need to bring a laptop computer with internet capability. Attendees are prepared with an example of the course/unit/subject they are trying to find/build resources for.
Maximum number: 30

An examination of Open Educational Resources and the practical implications for their usage in higher education and tertiary education institutions. The Creative Commons suite of licences is investigated, with discussion on the influence of the different component licences on the later usage of the resources concerned. this workshop will use current examples of OER licensing, and assist participants to locate resources of relevance to their field.

Seminars

Enhancing Distance Learning and Teaching with ICTs: An Overview from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)

Presenters: Siobhan Lenihan Head of Programs, ALTC and Trish Treagus, Web Resources Manager, ALTC

The ALTC and its predecessors have been funding work on technology-enhanced learning since the 1990s. The broad range of related resources on the ALTC website addresses issues such as Web 3D technologies, the use of mobile technologies, podcasts, vodcasts and social networking software. This session introduces some of the key points that have emerged from the ALTC funded work in this area. These points will be put into the context of the challenges facing the higher education sector in harnessing the full potential of ICT for today's students.

ACER and DEHub: A Strategy for connecting, sharing and co-building of knowledge

Presenters: Belinda Tynan - DEHub, Lance Deveson - Australian Council for Education Research

DEHub takes a broad view that community development involves connecting, sharing and co-building of knowledge in a variety of global contexts amongst and with a range of researchers and practitioners. The DEHub provides an opportunity for a consortium of distance education universities to reach out to a range of research communities so as to support the making of policies and structures that are more flexible and relevant to community development in all aspects. DEHub supports the democratization of knowledge and the research hub has established a presence on wikieducator http://wikieducator.org/DEHub and a range of links on http://delicious.com/dehub in the spirit of sharing, constructing and disseminating research that is key to the field of distance education and the priority research themes of learning and teaching, research and evaluation and community and open education resources. A new data base DEHub Database of Research on Distance Education http://cunningham.acer.edu.au/dbtw-wpd/textbase/drde/drde.html which draws upon international indices and journals complements the project and is a resource available to all researchers in the field. This paper/presentation will demonstrate these resources and seek collaboration from others attending the conference.
DEHub Database of Research on Distance Education http://cunningham.acer.edu.au/dbtw-wpd/textbase/drde/drde.html

The database was established in April 2010 and grows through the input of the Cunningham Library but also through submissions via the website. The database aims to be built by the community of scholars who see its value. This searchable web database contains details of 6,391 books, articles, conference papers and reports on various aspects of distance education and distance learning from publishers in Australia and overseas. Material in the database is drawn from the Australian Education Index, produced by Cunningham Library, with additional material sourced from a variety of international organisations and publishers. This session will demonstrate the database and seeks input for participants.

Open Universities Australia (OUA)

Presenters:Darien Rossiter, Director of Academic Products and Services

Open Universities Australia (OUA) has grown to be Australia’s largest online higher education provider, providing access to more than 1100 units and 130 courses from 18 universities and higher learning institutions. Dr Darien Rossiter, Director of Academic Products and Services, will provide a brief outline of OUA's development, current projects and a glimpse of the future of online learning.

ODLAA – Education Across Space and Time

Presenters: Rod Sims, Sam Meredith, Andrew Burrell, Som Naidu, Trish Andrews, Stephen Relf - ODLAA

This session will enable colleagues to interact with the executive members of ODLAA as they raise issues about Education Across Space and Time. The executive members will each present a perspective on ODLAA’s new theme and seeks your input in redefining ODLAA’s future focus. ODLAA is Australia’s open and Distance Education Association with a vision to expand how we reconceptualise distance education across space and time.

The WebCam Exam: Assessment Innovations for Life-Long Learning

Presenters: Paul Walker - Kryterion – Online Secure Testing

As learning institutions seek to increase the reach of their educational offering, there is an increasing need to find convenient and cost effective means of conducting summative examinations where today’s student live, work and learn. Traditional concerns around the use of online examination technology including security of the examination content and the identity of the examination candidate have limited online assessment to formative applications, or at best to awarding partial credit for educational attainment derived by this means.
Today, breakthroughs in security technology and innovative biometric techniques have for the first time provided a solution for the delivery of secure online tests and examinations. Students can now take examinations from any location using the same computer from which they access their learning material. Using easily obtained webcams, these examinations are observed in real time at a professional supervision centre, with the event recorded for subsequent review after the examination event.
This paper will describe three case study applications where educational organisations have adopted secure online assessment and authentication technology to conduct high stakes examinations. Each case study will highlight the three distinct perspectives of institution, faculty and the student examination candidate, especially in relation to:
• Cost / benefit
• Convenience
• Ease of Use
• The ‘How to’ of implementation
The paper will also include a brief technical overview of how the technology works.

Summit Awards

Best paper award - $250
Innovation paper - $150
Emerging idea paper - $100

ODLAA Members Awards

Best Paper Summit Subsidy
The best paper submitted by an ODLAA Member will receive one Full Summit Registration plus an opportunity to have a version of their paper published in Distance Education

Best Papers
The five best papers overall will win $200 plus an opportunity to have a version of their paper published in Distance Education

Best Student Papers
The two best student papers will win $250 plus an opportunity to have a version of their paper published in Distance Education