THE PRE ACDE CONFERENCE PRACTICAL WORKSHOP
Blue Pearl Hotel, Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA
4th -9th July 2011

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND PARTICIPATION

BACKGROUND

Open University of Tanzania is organizing ACDE conference to be held in Mlimani city from 12th to 15th July 2011. Prior to this conference, the e-learning department of the Open University of Tanzania is organizing a practical workshop from 4th to 9th July 2011, facilitated by Commonwealth of Leaning (COL). The workshop is open to academic/research staff from various ODL institutions. During this workshop, there will be practical sessions (from 4th to 6th ) where participants will be equipped with practical skills on ODL research and evaluation. On 7th , participants of the same training done in 2009 and beneficiaries of the small research grant, will present their experiences and research progress reports to participants. On 8th and 9th , the workshop will continue with the theme "CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH MAINSTREAMING OF E-LEARNING IN UNIVERSITIES" where various papers will be presented, discussed, and experience shared among participants. On the 10th , participants will be visiting Mikumi National park (optional ), and on the 11th , participants will be registering for the 3rd ACDE Conference and General Assembly. Organizers are looking towards the attendance of 100 participants.

THEME

The proposed theme of the conference is: "CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH MAINSTREAMING OF E-LEARNING IN UNIVERSITIES"

SUB – THEMES

Five sub-themes of the conference are:

• Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Education
• E-Learning and Open educational Resources
• Capacity building and partnership in the development of ODL in Tanzania
• Professional Training and Development through ODL
• ODL for special and vulnerable groups

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE

• Introduce practical ODL research and evaluation skills to a wider group of ODL practitioners.
• Improve the quality and extent of ODL research and evaluation in Higher Learning Institutions.
• Discuss the practice impact of ODL research and evaluation on policy-making, management and practice.
• Contribute to the development of a principled and systematic ODL research capacity within ODL institutions.
• Provide opportunity for e-learning practitioners in Africa to share experiences on the challenges and opportunities involved in mainstreaming of e-learning in various universities (ODL and Conventional).
• Promote networking of e-learning practitioners for professional development.
• Equip participants with different skills to solve the challenges involved in application of e-learning in the universities.

CONFERENCE SPECIFICATIONS

1.0 PARTICIPANTS:

Academic/research staff from all ODL Institutions and all Higher Education Institutions/Universities

2.0 DATE: 4th - 9th July 2011

3.0 VENUE: Blue Pearl Hotel

4.0 REGISTRATION FEE:

• 100 USD For the workshop
• 50 USD Tour to Mikumi National park

Fees should be credited to the following account:
Bank: CRDB Bank LTD
Branch: Kijitonyama
Account Number: 01J1013520600
Account Title: OUT IET

4.1 REGISTRATION OR SUBMISSION OF ABSTARCT

Send an email with your full names and contact details to: acde.preconference@out.ac.tz or register online at http://www.out.ac.tz/acde/preconf

IMPORTANT DATES

Submission of Abstract deadline: 15th May 2011
Submission of full paper deadline: 15th June 2011
Payment Deadline: 15th June 2011

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME