Deadline for receipt of abstracts: 26th January 2007

Recent years have seen a dramatic growth in both the inclusion of and research about elearning within higher education. Much of this research investigated the pedagogical implications of particular technological innovations; or focussed on the perspectives and experiences of learners and/or teachers; or concentrated on the methodological implications of adopting conventional research methods in virtual and other learning spaces. Whilst approaches to research and evaluation may be multifaceted and varied, much research shares a common concern with understanding the impact of elearning for institutions, practitioners, students and learning technologists. The conference theme similarly reflects the impact of elearning on innovation and development, be it technologically, educationally, personally or socially.

In the light of this, and the importance given to the elearning research agenda, we welcome papers and panels on the following themes, although these should not be considered an exhaustive list:

· eLearning Research Methods

Explanation of the nature and justification of a research method you have used in an elearning context, such as ethnography, narrative, survey, action research, etc., with particular emphasis on the actual issues of the method (as opposed to presenting research findings alone) and the implications of adopting the method in an elearning context.

· Methods in eLearning and eTeaching

How do you develop students’ knowledge using elearning? What elearning methods are (or may be) available to students? We invite contributions that shed light into the ways in which technologies may be used in different teaching and learning situations. This may also address issues of interactivity between learners and between learners and media.

· Technological Innovation for Learning and Teaching For example, the development and deployment of technologies and learning objects for selecting, sequencing and delivering appropriate learning content and activities is a particularly pertinent issue for learning technologists, practitioners and institutions alike. We particularly invite contributions, which discuss the types of technologies and learning objects currently in use in higher education. You may also consider multi-professional approaches to learning technology development.

· Impacting on Students’ Learning through eApproaches Recent years have seen increasing concerns by UK government bodies with providing the best possible learning experience to students in higher education including the arena of elearning. In this category, we invite contributions about the ways in which approaches may impact on and enhance (do they?) the student learning experience, or support learners’ diverse needs. Here, we invite, more generally, discussions and evidence about the impact of technologies on learning.

· eWork in Progress

Contributions are also welcome on issues that do not readily fit into any of the above categories, but can be aligned with the conference title.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSTRACTS

1. Paper or Presentation

Papers or presentations should last no longer than 20 minutes, including audio and visual illustrations, plus 10 minutes for discussions.

2. Demonstration

Demonstrations of technologies, learning methods, or the like, should last no longer than 20 minutes, including hands-on activities, plus 10 minutes for discussions.

3. Poster presentation

Posters will be displayed throughout the day, and there will be two 30 minute timeslots for informal discussions in the display area.

Please specify the name(s) of the author(s) clearly, as both individual and collaborative contributions within one or across institutions are welcome.

Submitted abstracts will be subject to peer review and authors may expect to be advised of their acceptance, or otherwise, by 9th February 2007.

Accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings of the 2nd International SOLSTICE Conference 2007, which will be considered by an editorial team and published online by Edge Hill University. Publication of papers will be dependent upon their compliance with format requirements which will be supplied on acceptance of abstracts.