7th Durham BB Users Conference – Durham Blackboard

The Seventh Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference took place on Thursday the 14th and Friday the 15th December 2005. The conference is a mix of invited speakers, panel sessions and submitted papers.

This year’s conference has the themes of “the power of 2” – and we will be running strands looking at:

reflection
collaboration
personalisation
extension (building blocks)

Why “The Power of 2”?

There has been a lot of talk recently about “Web 2.0” which got us thinking. There are many other buzzwords which involve two. This conference brings together the user communities from the UK and Eire, from Higher and Further Education, and from Blackboard and WebCT. There’s three for starters. Building Blocks (ways of extending Blackboard – power links in WebCT) are often referred to as B2, that’s four… Worry not it has nothing to do with hard maths 🙂

Keynote Speaker

We are delighted to announce that Martin Weller – Professor of Educational Technology in the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University – has agreed to give the keynote on Thursday. You can read more about him on his blog.

Conference Programme

The year’s programme will be a mix of keynote speakers and parallel strands, to allow delegates to select the most appropriate conference path. We are to include presentations, discussions and demonstrations plus a Question & Answer Session from Blackboard.

Our Conference Sponsors will be available in the Exhibition areas during the two days for informal chats and demonstrations.

Thursday, 14th December 2007

10 am – Registration opens in The Business School
Coffee and tea are available in the exhibition area

11.00 am – Opening and Welcome

11.15 am
Keynote presentation
VLE 2.0 – the implications of Web 2.0 for learning environments
Martin Weller – Professor of Educational Technology, The Open University

12.15 pm – Strands – Session 1

A journey towards Web 2.0: From the e-library to e-common room (via the e-classroom) – Churchill – reflectionMore
Playing leapfrog: Supporting collaboration with wikis and blogs in entry level VLE projects – Fountain, Britcliffe & Colless – collaborationMore

1.00 pm – Lunch – Followed by a chance to browse the sponsor’s stands

2.00 pm – Strands – Session 2

Using wikis in education: A workshop to share experiences and create a resource for the future – Griffiths, Ramsden & Cameron – collaborationMore
Extensions, solutions and devolutions – tickling the underbelly of Blackboard – Leonard – extensionMore

2.45 pm – Strands – Session 3

Facilitating or Limiting Learning? A Discussion of the Relevance of VLEs for Tomorrow’s Students. – Irwin – personalisationMore
Open Source Community for Educational Learning Objects and Tools – Hamner & Murray – extensionMore

3.30 pm – Coffee and Tea

4.00 pm – Strands – Session 4

Student Self Evaluation and Peer Evaluation Within Blackboard – Whaley – reflectionMore
Not all Learning can be Scheduled. – Higgins – collaborationMore

4.45 – Strands – Session 5

Competence-based Assessment via Blackboard: A Six-pack of experience-sharing – Rienties, Arts, ten Boske & Verweij – reflectionMore
Podcasting as a Tool for Educators and Learners – Hamner – collaborationMore

5.30 – Break

7.00 pm – Drinks Reception in The Business School Bar
Coaches (without horses) will be on hand to transport delegates to the conference dinner afterwards.

8.30 pm – Conference Dinner in The Joachim Room, Hild Bede College
Includes Respondus Prize Draw
Coaches to transport you back to your hotel or another hostelry will leave the College at 10.45pm and 11.15pm.

Friday, 15th December 2006

9.00 – Welcome – Business School

9.15 – Product Roadmap: Staff from Blackboard give us a glimpse into the future…

10.00 – Strands – Session 6

Reflections on the use of web 2.0 in developing lecturers Blackboard skills: the good, the bad and the really ugly – Ramsden & Griffiths – reflectionMore
Conference tools – making it work using building blocks and a few choice words – Murray – extensionMore

10.45 – Strands – Session 7

Assessed Online Discussion Groups: Making Web 2.0 Work – Cann – collaborationMore
Doing two things at once – the cheat’s guide to blackboard uptake with teaching staff – Badge, Cann & Scott – extensionMore

11.30 – Coffee and tea

12 noon – Panel Discussion

1.00 pm – Lunch and then a final chance to tour the exhibitions

2.00 pm – Strands – Session 8

The Power of 2.0: One-to-one Communication – Pinkney, Durston & Tinney – collaborationMore
The Bloomsbury Learning Environment: collaboration, personalisation, innovation – Humphreys – personalisationMore

2.45 pm – Strands – Session 9

Rupert Bear meets The Wizard of Oz: applying design and technology to write e-learning guidelines for tutors and students – Dickinson – reflectionMore
Mobility, Assessment, Selection, Technology and E-Learning Research – Arts & Parsons – collaborationMore

3.30 pm – Plenary

4.00 pm – Close