2 – 3 February 2017: Get Published! 6 Steps to Creating a Publication Strategy

Presenter: Dr Janet Salmons, Vision2Lead, United States

Format: Asynchronous discussion from 2-3 February 2017 + Live online meeting on 2 February, 4 pm SAST (15:00 Abuja time/ 16:00 Cape Town time/ 17:00 Nairobi time).

While publishing results is a critical next step after the completion of research, too often we take what comes without reflecting fully on the best options that fit our work and goals. We aren’t sure where to start, then see a call for papers and start working on an article. We see a call for book titles or chapters, and shoot off a proposal. We answer a friend’s request to contribute to the blog of a professional association. We create a social media presence and may be very active one month and silent when things get hectic. We all know how this story goes…

Academic researchers and graduate students alike face such dilemmas. Even skilled writers can feel lost by the publication process, or get distracted by day-to-day activities. Sometimes even those who have successfully published articles or chapters still don’t feel that they had accomplished what they had hoped. While most graduate programs emphasise the need to publish, and most academic positions require publications, the space or help needed to think through the options is largely unavailable.

As a result, Dr. Janet Salmons set about to develop some supportive solutions, including materials, webinars, and a course offered with Dr. Helen Kara. The next ‘Create Your Publication Strategy’ course runs from February 10 to March 31 and e/merge Africa members signed up for this webinar are eligible for a discount. The course, with small group discussion and feedback from Janet and Helen, is designed for scholars who have completed or are nearing completion of a doctoral degree.

Performing careful reflection and systematic analysis is critical in order to make purposeful use of our research findings and the new knowledge we acquired. We call this process creating a publication strategy. A publication strategy should include carefully-defined goals, a purposeful timeline, and actionable steps for proposing and writing the kinds of pieces large or small that allow others to access what we’ve learned, produce impact, and propel our careers forward. Join this webinar to learn more about how to create a publication strategy.


Dr. Janet SalmonsDr. Janet Salmons, is an independent researcher, writer, instructor and consultant through Vision2Lead. She has published books, chapters, articles, and blog posts. She is on the PhD faculty in the Walden University Riley College of Education. Learn more about Janet here. Janet has previously presented e/merge Africa online events on doing qualitative research online and doing online interviews. Recordings of these events are available on the e/merge Africa YouTube channel.

This seminar has ended. Please view or re-view resources here

 

30 January – 3 February – Survey of Instructional Design (ID) Models seminar

Presenter: Dr. Tonia A. Dousay, University of Wyoming, United States, Robert Maribe Branch, University of Georgia, United States

Format: Asynchronous discussion from 30 January – 3 February + Live online meeting on Monday 30 January (14:00 Abuja time/ 15:00 Cape Town time/ 16:00 Nairobi time).

Survey of Instructional Design (ID) Models offers a framework for adopting or adapting (ID) models for use in curriculum, courses, and training development. Teaching and learning paradigms in conjunction with how technology influences instructional delivery, the authors help readers consider the inherent value in matching ID with a corresponding context. Thus, effective ID models, and therefore the designs themselves, must be responsive to different educational contexts. This webinar will help practicing IDs in the following areas:

  • Distinguish between the process of instructional design and specific models
  • Describe the different ways in which instruction is systematically designed
  • Identify other philosophical approaches to designing instruction; cyclical, layered, etc.
  • Visualize the processes commonly used to design instruction
  • Discuss future implications for instructional design

Rob Branch Photo credit: University of GeorgiaRobert Maribe Branch, Ed.D., is a professor of Learning, Design, and Technology at the University of Georgia and the head of the Department of Career and Information Studies. Rob taught secondary school in Botswana as a Peace Corps volunteer and later joined the University of Botswana as a lecturer in the Technology Education Department. Branch worked as Fulbright lecturer/researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, conducting research on the complexities of intentional learning spaces. Branch taught graduate courses and conducted research at Syracuse University prior to relocating to Athens. Branch edits the Educational Media and Technology Yearbook and published Instructional Design: The ADDIE Approach. Branch’s published research focuses on diagramming complex conceptual relationships and other complicated flow processes. He is a past Dousay received the 2015 AECT-IAP Distance Education Best Practices Award, the 2014 Mary Garland Early Career Fellowship Award from the University of Wyoming, and the 2013 AECT-MPD Immersive president of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Dr. Tonia DousayTonia A. Dousay, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Wyoming with fifteen years of instructional design and project management experience. Tonia’s teaching and research focus on design-based learning activities and the knowledge and skills acquired and reinforced through these opportunities, both in face-to-face and online classrooms. Learning Award. She is an active member of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology and can be contacted at [email protected] or on Twitter at @tadousay

This seminar has ended. Please view seminar resources and landing page here

 

6 – 10 February: Growing open data in Africa

Presenter: Nodumo Dhlamini, Association of African Universities & Thomas King, Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D), University of Cape Town, South Africa 

Format: Asynchronous discussion from 6 – 10 February + two webinars:
Webinar 1: Nodumo Dhlamini Monday 6 February 2017 at 3 pm (SAST)
Webinar 2: Thomas King Thursday 9 February 1 pm (SAST)

What is open data? Why is it important? What are some of the global and local drivers of the growing open data movement? Who is currently engaging in sharing open data in Africa and why? How can we create and share open data? Whose interests does it serve to do so?
Do we perhaps want to include where to find open data? And suggestions for how it might be used or possible relevance for different audiences?
This online event will consist of two webinars. The first webinar will be presented by Nodumo Dhlamini who will provide an introduction to open data and share an overview of the current state of open data in Africa. She will discuss global and local drivers of the growing open data movement and provide some insight into who is currently involved in sharing open data in Africa and why. The second webinar will be presented by Thomas King who will share their experiences of publishing open data within the Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project hosted in the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Thomas will share useful advice for researchers who are just getting started with curating and sharing their data, highlighting ethical, contractual and other practical issues for consideration


Nodumo Dhlamini AAUNodumo Dhlamini is the Director of ICT Services and Knowledge Management for the Association of African Universities. Her background is in Information Technology Systems, Communication and Knowledge Management.
Blog http://nodumodhlamini.blogspot.co.za/p/blog-page.html
Twitter: @NodumoDhlamini


 

Thomas King, ROER4DThomas King is the Data Administrator for ROER4D and has worked on the Vice Chancellor’s Open Educational Resources Adaptation project and the Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme. His primary research interests revolve around Open Educational Resources and quantifying/analysing ‘impact’ in research and education. His Masters investigated OER production and adaptation by students at the Unviersity of Cape Town.


 

This seminar has ended. Please view seminar resources here and the e/merge Africa YouTube playlist on Open Data and Open Educational Resources