Learning Technologies 2008 - Speaker Profiles

George Siemens is a prominent writer and researcher on learning, networks, technology and organizational effectiveness in digital environments. He is the author of Knowing Knowledge, an exploration of how the context and characteristics of knowledge have changed and what it means to organizations today.

Siemens is also Associate Director, Research and Development, with the Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba and founder and President of Complexive Systems Inc. (www.complexive.com) , a learning lab focused on helping organizations develop integrated learning structures to meet the needs of global strategy execution.

He is an international speaker and consultant, detailing the changes universities, colleges, and corporations must make in order to address the challenges of an increasingly complex world. Siemens maintains www.elearnspace.org , www.connectivism.ca and www.knowingknowledge.com.

Additional background information is available at www.elearnspace.org/about.htm.

Nancy White - Founder, Full Circle Associates - Nancy will be joining us via videoconference

I am a "Jill of all trades," using my facilitation, communications marketing, and leadership abilities for over 25 years in a wide range of settings: broadcast media, not-for-profit and business communities. I started Full Circle Associates, a collaboration and communications consultancy, to provide assistance to non-profits and businesses and help them connect through online and offline strategies. I have a particular interest in the application of online interaction tools and techniques to virtual teams, communities of practice, in international community development, and with all types of learning communities. Lately I've added graphic facilitation and other visual approaches to my toolkit and have been developing the concept of community technology stewardship with Etienne Wenger and John Smith. Some of this will be shared in our forthcoming book, "Stewarding Technology for Communities of Practice" (2008).

Anne Bartlett-Bragg specialises in the creation of innovative learning environments for organisations with social software and has recently opened the Australian division of Headshift, a social media consultancy and development business.

She is also the Executive Director of the Learning Technologies User Group and the education advisor for the Australian Businesswomen's Network where she designed the first national mentoring program for young women entrepreneurs delivered entirely with Web2.0 software.

In addition. Anne is a sessional lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney where she has been involved with the design, development and delivery of e-Learning qualifications and subjects in the Faculty of Education.

She is currently completing her PhD that is investigating the adult learners' experiences of developing distributed learning networks through the use of weblogs or self-publishing technologies.

Jo Kay is a freelance geek, web designer, artist and facilitator based in NSW. She has broad experience in educational technology, web development and virtual worlds. In recent years she has worked for a number of organizations supporting the research and implementation of new and innovative technologies for teaching and learning and online community building.

Jo has interests in online culture and social networking and the impacts both are having in the education sector, but also on society in general. Her current research is around virtual worlds, with a particular focus on Second Life and the possibilities that it offers for education, communication and collaboration.

Mark Keough is a pioneer in e-learning. In 1994 he founded TechWorks in Australia, one of the earliest e-learning companies to use the Web to deliver online learning to major corporations. TechWorks created Qantas College Online in 1996 to meet the learning needs of over 30,000 Qantas employees worldwide.

Originally from Adelaide, Mark's background includes teaching and administering Vocational Learning programs as well as Systems Integration. After TechWorks was acquired by TMP Worldwide group in 1999, Mark became Vice President of Monster Learning based in Boston USA.

From 2002 to 2005 he was the Deputy President of the Regency Institute of TAFE Council in South Australia. In February 2003 he founded Archer College where he continues as its CEO. In recent times Mark has developed a major work for Westpac, introducing a Flexible Learning Framework for the bank that has been adopted as part of their overall HR Strategy.

Mark holds a BA(Communication Studies) from the University of South Australia and is a Doctoral Candidate (D.Comm) researching Learning Communications.

Danny Maas is the new VC RLN Provincial Coordinator for 2Learn.ca Education Society, Alberta, Canada. Prior to this role Danny was a technology teacher facilitator and was the Founder/Producer of TILT - Teachers Improving Learning with Technology.

His technology interests lie in how to use new and existing technologies to enhance learning and teaching across all subject areas. He's a big fan of the Internet and all it has to offer in the way of information, rich interactive learning objects, and connecting with other people.

Catherine Macklam is the Provincial Team Leader for the 2Learn.ca Education Society, Alberta, Canada. She has held that position since the inception of 2Learn.ca, originally called the TELUS Learning Connection, in 1997.

The mission of the not-for-profit 2Learn.ca Education Society is to initiate, advocate and share with educators technology-enriched teaching, learning and leadership options for tomorrow, empowered by unique alliances of educational and community partners.

The 2Learn.ca professional development model provides on-going support for thousands of teachers across Alberta, Canada.

Garry Putland started his career as a maths and physics teacher and then a curriculum coordinator for technology in a large secondary school in Adelaide. He was a technology consultant for Catholic schools in SA, then joined education.au as the Project manager for edna.

Garry is currently responsible for the development of new services and business opportunities for education.au. He works closely with peak education and training bodies and national/state organisations and has extensive experience in developing services and advice which contribute towards strategic national priorities. Garry develops and manages alliances both nationally and internationally and currently.

He has been a consultant and reviewer for the European Commission for a pan-European national e-learning project and is a founding member of the international GLOBE initiative which links like agencies in Canada, Japan, the US, Europe and Australia. Garry is also a member of the Microsoft Partners in Learning Advisory panel for Australia and is a member of the New Media Consortium Horizon.au Advisory committee on technologies in higher education. Garry was also a co-writer of the education.au 'Emerging Technologies' paper (2005), which explored the impact of emerging technologies in education.

Al Upton is a classroom teacher at Glenelg School, Adelaide. His Year 3 class have become known for their global connections. Al has presented at state and national level with a focus on integrating online learning tools.

He also is involved in developing 3D virtual learning environments particularly for primary aged students.

Laurence Zwimpfer, BE (Hons), MPP (VUW), SM (MIT), FIPENZ, HFNZCS, runs a private company in Wellington New Zealand specialising in the use of information and communication technologies in education. Since 1997 he has provided consulting and project management services to the Ministry of Education and other government and private sector organisations.

Prior to that he worked in a business development role at Telecom New Zealand, where he supported education institutions and businesses that were interested in exploring the effective use of ICTs.

He is a Trustee of the 2020 Communications Trust and chairs the Computer Access New Zealand Trust, two community organizations promoting digital literacy, especially in low-income and rural communities.

He is Deputy Chair of the National Commission for UNESCO in New Zealand and also chairs an innovative fibre loop project linking Wellington schools. In 2008 he received a Green Ribbon Award for New Zealand's first national e-waste day (eDay).

Simon Brown is a SkillsTech Australia stonemasonry teacher. A member of the Vocational e-Learning Mentors network, Simon enjoys discovering what tools other educators are using in their professional practices. He is particularly interested in using online social media to connect with students, their employers, and colleagues.

Craig Campbell has completed Bachelors Degree in Education and a Diploma of eLearning. Craig began his career working extensively as a Secondary Teacher in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Since commencing with the Department of Defence in 2005, Craig has dedicated his tenure to fostering an effective eLearning culture. His roles in Defence have included being a Subject Matter Expert for Defence's Learning Content Management System; Instructional Designer; and Client Manager.

His current role is in the provision of advice and guidance to the different functional areas of Defence to assist them in realising their internal and external strategic training needs. Craig not only assists Defence to be 'smarter' in how it deploys eLearning, but he is also interested in how all Government departments can work together to realise similar objectives.

Ritesh Chugh lectures in the Faculty of Business and Informatics at CQ University's Melbourne Campus. He teaches to both postgraduate and undergraduate students in the fields of Information Systems Management and Development, IS Project Management, and Electronic Commerce. Ritesh has been awarded CQ University's 2007 Faculty/Pro-Vice-Chancellors' portfolios/AIC Tier One Award for teaching excellence. Currently, he is working towards a PhD degree from Victoria University to create a model that will combine various knowledge management enablers from both a social and technological perspective to understand the creation, acquisition and distribution of tacit knowledge.

Ritesh has extensively used blogs for teaching and learning activities in an information systems development course and is keen to implement blogs in business courses too. He is an associate of CQ University's Intercultural Education Research Institute and, under its flagship, is currently working on the comparative analysis of cross cultural educational programs.

Ritesh is a member of the Australian Computer Society, IEEE, and IEEE's communication society too.

Roxanne Cooley brings to Queensland government both on-the-job skills and higher education. Over the past seven years of working in Queensland government, she has contributed to select government units and external clients through clear thinking, quick adaptation to change and the provision of business solutions which meet specific needs and applications.

Roxanne has performed two major roles in TAFE and Education: instructional designer and project manager. In her current role, she works as an Executive Officer to the Director, Innovations to manage current and emerging issues which impact on the Directorate and the VET sector.

She conducts research, prepares documentation to support Brisbane North Institute of TAFE and is supporting the implementation of an ePortfolio solution for use in an RPL process with the IT faculty.

Mark Dashper MA (hons), Dip Teach.Works for the University of Auckland as a Secondary School Facilitator for School Support Services, and is the Director of TE MANU AUTE – a NZ Ministry of Education ‘Talent Development Initiative’. Mark’s work was recently acknowledged internationally for excellence in a Scholastic Achievement Award (which recognizes a school district or other organization serving the K-12 educational community that harnessed the power of rich media to improve communication, learning and outreach) at the Fourth Annual Rich Media Impact Awards, Madison Wisconsin, USA, in May 2008.

He is also an occasional musician / composer for film and television, and currently has his work represented in Film Festivals internationally. He is a trained Visual Arts teacher with 20 years school experience, and is passionate about engaging Maori students and raising achievement. His innovative methods employ traditional Maori teaching and learning pedagogies combined with cutting edge rich media presentations.

Mary-Louise Dieckmann is the Humanities Faculty Teacher Developer at Gold Coast Institute of TAFE, and was involved in the conceptualisation, creation and implementation of the Institute's innovative Blended Diploma of Nursing project. She has a passion for developing learning programs that engage and connect learners across a broad spectrum of communities.

Mary-Louise is a true 'portfolio worker' with careers in the transport, tourism and airline industries before moving into the post-compulsory education sector. She established a resource development company specialising in learning resources for senior high schools. Her current interest includes exploring new frontiers in education and technology and integrating them into flexible user-friendly programs.

Howard Errey is currently an E-learning Consultant for e-Works and E-learning Innovations Coordinator (Victoria) for the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. During 2008 he is coordinating 34 E-learning Innovation projects across the VET sector in Victoria.

Howard is a psychologist who has pioneered the use of online counselling and student support in education using social media and mobile technologies. He has been employed in the health sector (McKesson Asia-Pacific), drug and alcohol treatment sector (Turning Point) and in the training sector at Box Hill Institute of TAFE, in each case using technology to enable engagement, support and treatment and learning options for individual clients and learners.

In a former life Howard was a bookseller and publisher and often wonders how that world would look now had he stayed.

Karen Fainges is a teacher at Mount Isa Institute of TAFE. Tying together a range of experiences as a member of the Learning Resource Management team, Videolinq and the Vocational e-Learning Mentors network, Karen enjoys using all the tools out there as a blended approach to get the most she can for students. With so much out there, every student can have exactly what suits them the best.

Shelley Gibb is the Learning and Development Officer at Coates, a role which is centred around increasing the access to learning opportunities for the Coates workforce. She has responded to this challenge by introducing a socially focussed e-Learning strategy based on the needs of geographically dispersed learners with a limited level of digital literacy. The introduction of webinars is the first significant movement toward a staged implementation spanning L&D, knowledge management and talent management within Coates.

Shelley holds a B.Bus in Human Resource Management and a Dip. e-Learning, she is currently studying a Masters degree in Adult Education at the University of Technology, Sydney. In addition to being a keen follower of web 2.0 technologies, she has also moderated for the Australian Business Women's Network MentorNet program and is an active member of several online communities based around e-Learning and other interests.

Ronnie Lam, BA (Media and Communications), works at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) as a Multimedia Instructional Designer. He is part of the RIDBC Teleschool department, and develops video, web, and new media resources for children, parents and professionals.

He was recently awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study multimedia production that will assist children who have vision impairments and their families.

Sandra Lawrence has more than 30 years experience in education, across the schools, higher education and vocational education and training sectors.

Sandra initially joined TAFE to teach in apprenticeship programs. Since then she has had various roles in industry consultancy, educational design and development, research and innovation and e-learning. She is currently Manager, Learning, in Information Technology and Product Services in the Department of Education, Training and the Arts.

Sandra led the Learning Resource Management Program into the Queensland Skills Plan to transform the teaching and learning opportunities in TAFE Queensland through enabling educators and supporting students.

Sandra's interest in technologies is as an educationalist, excited by its potential to liberate learning environments and relationships.

Anthea Leggett is an educational designer with the Innovations Unit, Brisbane North Institute of TAFE. She has several years experience as an educational designer in both the university and TAFE sectors with a background in web development.

Her interest and studies are in education technologies and their potential to support learner engagement through networking and collaboration. Recent work includes educational design and project officer work on Technologies for Learning, the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Blended Learning, and the trial of an ePortfolio tool to support Recognition of Prior Learning.

Melissa McCarthy, B.A. , M.E.D., is the Manager of RIDBC Teleschool at The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney. This unique program uses videoconferencing to provide specialist hearing and/or vision support to children and families living in rural and regional areas of Australia.

Before moving to Sydney, Melissa worked in the United States in a variety of educational settings for children with hearing impairment including bilingual-bicultural, total-communication and auditory-oral programs.

Melissa's first videoconferencing experience was an interview in 2004 for a teaching position at The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. She was appointed to the position and quickly developed her skills in teaching through videoconference. In her role as Coordinator, Melissa continues to expand her knowledge of technology and to develop ideas for utilising new technologies in an educational setting.

Paul Rixon, Teacher & Technologist (not Technician!)

• Used a wide range of technologies to try to minimise the isolation and lack of opportunity for students not living in the major metropolitan areas of the State
• Developed the teaching methodologies used in South Australia for telephone teaching in schools, then moved into audiographics and now into videoconferencing.
• Part of the team that developed the DUCT telephones: a name that has gone on to symbolise Telephone conferencing for many since.
• Been intimately involved with every part of TAFE SA's educational videoconferencing network for many years.

Lee Webster is the Manager of the Learning Resource Management Program, a role which has seen the ongoing successful implementation of the my.TAFE and ResourceBank systems across TAFE Queensland.

Lee, originally from New Zealand, has had a long involvement in training in adult community education and has held various roles in the public sector, including Project Manager of Victoria's TAFE Virtual Campus project and Team Leader of E-Learning Strategies within e-Works.

She also managed the Victorian Flexible Learning Networks projects, which created partnerships with schools, registered training organisations and vocational education and training and adult community education sectors to deliver e-learning.

Lee has also held representative positions with the Australian Flexible Learning Framework's Creative Community Partnerships Selection Panel, New Practices in Flexible Learning Reference Group and Learning Object Repository Network.