Conference Committee

Co-chairs

Mike Sharples is Professor of Learning Sciences and Director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Nottingham. He has an international reputation for research in the design of learning technologies. He inaugurated the mLearn conference series and is Deputy Scientific Manager of the Kaleidoscope European 6th Framework Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning. His current projects include MyArtSpace for mobile learning in museums and the L-Mo project with Sharp Laboratories of Europe to develop handheld technologies for language learning. He is author of 160 publications in the areas of interactive systems design, artificial intelligence and educational technology.

Sharon Waller is Deputy Director of UCLT for the Cambridge campus at Anglia Ruskin University. Sharon was originally employed by the university in October 1996 to develop a CD-ROM for preparing non-native speakers of English for entry into English speaking universities - 'Excel at Academic English'. Through this process she developed research interests in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and computer facilitated learning (CFL). The CD has been a commercial success and is in use in universities and colleges around the world. Following a secondment in March 2000 to the UCLT as a senior lecturer with a specific interest in the use of ICT in learning and teaching Sharon was appointed to the position of Deputy Director for the Cambridge campus in July 2000. In addition to deputising for UCLT's Director, Professor Gina Wisker, Sharon's responsibilities include the promotion of the appropriate and effective use and integration of new technologies into learning and teaching. In August 2001 Sharon undertook the management of the ESF EMPOWER project followed in January 2003 by the ESF COPE project, both projects were completed successfully.

Research proceedings co-editors

Steve Wheeler is Senior Lecturer in Education and ICT in the Faculty of Education at the University of Plymouth. He has worked with educational media and technology since 1976, and has worked as a consultant on several groundbreaking e-learning projects, including the RATIO project (UK) and South Dakota's state wide broadband network (USA). He is a visiting lecturer/professor at several universities in the US and Czech Republic and is regularly invited to speak at international conferences worldwide. His research interests include learner perception and e-learning, and he serves on the editorial boards of six international academic journals, including ALT-J, Interactive Learning Environments and IRRODL . His most recent book is entitled 'Transforming Primary ICT'.

Nicola Whitton is a Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has worked in a range of learning technology roles including educational design, multimedia development, research and teaching. Her research interests include online collaborative environments, multimedia interaction, and games-based learning.

Abstracts and other publications editors

Ian Smith, a lecturer and teaching fellow at Napier University, is actively researching the use of digital media and the concept of literacy in the delivery and submission of assessment. He is currently the project director of the development of a new suite of postgraduate programmes in eLearning. His published work has covered both his subject specialism digital media and his principal research interest pedagogy. A member of both the university's MLE Steering group and the ePedaogy Steering Group he is actively involved in the strategic implementation of technology-assisted learning. His other work extends to enhancing the experience for students with specific learning difficulties and the student retention project.

Isobel Falconer is a Lecturer in Learning Technology in the Caledonian Academy at Glasgow Caledonian University. Her research focuses on learning design across the post-compulsory sector, and representation of effective practice. She co-directs the JISC 'Models of Practice' project and recently completed 'Learning Activity Design in Education' project for JISC. Previously Isobel was Associate Director of the International Centre for Research on Learning at the University of Dundee, an Associate Lecturer with the Open University and an academic historian of science.

Committee members

Philip Barker is Professor of Applied Computing within the School of Computing and Mathematics at the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough, UK. He is a graduate of the University of Wales and holds both a BSc and PhD qualifications. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and is currently an Associate Lecturer with the UK's Open University. He has written several books on the application of educational technology to teaching and learning within computer-based environments. He was recently awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy.

David Beards has worked with the Scottish Funding Council since 1992. His responsibilities have included managing computer-assisted learning programmes and network development in Scotland, as well as policy work on quality enhancement and sustainable development. He currently holds the title of 'Senior Policy Officer'.

Frances Bell's research interests are in the social and technical configuration of e-learning and collaboration spaces (formal and informal) and the interaction within and between these spaces. Frances runs the CABWEB portal that hosts student and staff international collaborations. She has published over 40 articles in conferences and journals, including International Journal of Web-based Communities, Education Media International, IFIP 8.2, UKAIS, ALT-C and EUNIS.

Liz Bennett is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield where she is the course leader of an MSc in Multimedia and Elearning. Previously she worked at the Open University where she was involved in developing online courses (Computing with Confidence: Learning Online and You, Your Computer and the Net). She is committed to making elearning a successful and fulfilling way of delivering learning. Her research interests are in applying Wenger's ideas of Communities of Practice to elearning.

Haydn Blackey is a senior member of the University of Glamorgan's Blended Learning Team . As a Principal Lecturer in Blended Learning Curriculum and Assessment Development, Haydn's role within the team is to ensure that the technology enhanced learning agenda at the University is not limited to areas of innovation alone, but embedded in the way that curriculum and assessment is managed across the institution. Haydn's background in Marketing and Management and his current engagement with Blended Learning has led his research focus to be on Knowledge Management, Management of Organisational Change, Personal Learning Environments, Social Software and the wider Scholarship of Learning and Teaching.

Professor Tom Boyle is Director of the Learning Technology Research Institute (LTRI) at London Metropolitan University. He has a long history of developing and evaluating innovative multimedia learning technology. Tom led a major project in the development, use and evaluation of learning objects that won an EASA (European Academic Software Award) in 2004. He is the Director of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in Reusable Learning Objects. This CETL involves collaboration between three universities - London Metropolitan University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Nottingham - to develop and evaluate high quality learning objects across a range of subject areas.

Following a successful management career in the Hospitality Industry Tony Burgess moved into Training, Tutoring and Assessing in the same industry with a variety of FE and HE Institutions. In 1996 he joined Dorset Training and Enterprise Council (TEC)as a training advisor and within 2 years was promoted to Lifelong Learning Manager with specific responsibility for ICT and e-learning. He was successful in gaining European and DfES funding to develop a network of on-line learning centres in rural communities in Dorset working in partnership with HE and FE institutions. He was responsible for developing an ICT Strategy for Dorset and contributed significantly to the SWRDA Regional ICT Strategy. In 2001 the TEC transformed into the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) where he was the e-learning manager - bringing together local providers to develop communities of best practice in the use of technology in learning. In 2003 he was promoted to the national office of the LSC where he is now the Senior e-learning policy manager taking responsibility for developing the LSC e-learning policy and managing a national, multi agency programme to embed the use of technology in the Learning and Skills Sector.

Margaret Cairns is Head of Information and Learning Services at Stow College, Glasgow. Having qualified in Information Science and Educational Technology, for the past ten years she has been in a position to combine these two areas in establishing and managing learning centres, developing learning materials and supporting wider access to education through flexible delivery. She is currently Chair of Coleg's (Colleges open Learning Exchange Group) Operational Group and is involved in blended learning and resource repository projects as well as studying for a qualification in Technology Enhanced Learning.

Julian Clayton is VP Training &Educational Systems at John Wiley & Sons. After a career in educational and trade publishing he became involved in elearning as a partner in Maris Technologies developing online and CD-ROM learning products for companies and academic publishers, winning over 25 international awards including a BAFTA and a Codie. Subsequent to the sale of Maris to John Wiley & Sons Julian became responsible for the development of the company's elearning product portfolio including the commercially successful WileyPLUS range. WileyPLUS is an online tool that provides instructors and students with an integrated suite of teaching and learning resources, it is available to accompany many of Wiley's leading higher education textbooks. Since launch in September 2004, WileyPLUS has hosted in excess of 300,000 students.

Dr John Cook is Centre Manager for the Reusable Learning Objects CETL and has been principal investigator or co-investigator on research and development projects that have attracted £3.4 million in competitive external funding. Furthermore, has published over 80 refereed articles in the area of e-learning, having a specific interest in three related areas: the design of adaptive learning support tools, reusable learning objects and informal learning. He is a member of the Joint Information Systems Committee 'e-Learning and Pedagogy Experts Group' and carries out review work for the EU, ESRC and SFI.

Sarah Cornelius is a Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen. She previously worked as an independent consultant designing and authoring e-learning for the private and Higher Education sectors, and before that as a Lecturer in Geographical Information Systems at Manchester Metropolitan University. Sarah is also a tutor for the Open University's MA in Distance and Online Education. Her recent publications report on research into learning with learning objects and staff development for online teaching and support. Current projects also include the development of a Virtual Placement for students in the geosciences.

Linda Creanor is currently Chair of ALT, having previously served as Vice Chair and on the Membership Committee. She is a Senior Lecturer (e-learning) at Glasgow Caledonian University where she teaches, develops and supports technology enhanced learning. She has been involved in a range of national and international projects as a researcher, designer, evaluator and consultant, and has presented and published widely. Current research interests include the learner's experience of e-learning and the impact of online communities in a social action context. She is a registered practitioner of the Higher Education Academy.

Rod Cullen taught biogeography at Manchester Metropolitan University before studying for a Masters in Computing Science at the University of Newcastle. This led to an interest in eLearning and he took up a post with the JISC service Netskills where he developed and ran staff development workshops in effective course design for Virtual Learning Environments. He subsequently worked as an advisor on Distributed Learning at the University of Manchester specialising in online assessment, monitoring and evaluation of distributed courses. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching Technologies and a member of the MLE project team at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Adele Cushing commenced her career in education through working as a University secretary and studying IT via distance learning. Having moved institutions to perform a learning support/teaching role, her interest in teaching led her to enrol on a B-ED in Secondary IT. After two years using e-learning in her teaching to further engage less able students she applied for the E-Learning Co-ordinator role at South Nottingham College. In 2006 she studied E-Learning in the USA as a Walter Hines Page Scholar and is continuing her study with a Masters Degree at Nottingham University.

Mike Dobson has been an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University School of Interactive Arts and Technology since 2002. His research and teaching interests lie in developing scientific approaches to the design and development of interactive technologies to support learning and enhanced human performance. Building on a background that includes an MSc in Artificial Intelligence/Cognitive Science from Sussex University and a PhD from the Institute of Educational Technology in the UK Open University, he has over seven post-doctoral years of research and teaching experience in advanced interactive systems design gained in Europe, Canada and the UK. He has significant research experience as principle investigator within European and Canadian networks in interactive media for training emergency response and health care. He has published two peer-reviewed journal special editions and around twenty articles, book chapters and magazine contributions.

Kevin Donovan retired in 2006 as an e-learning development adviser with the former Learning and Skills Development Agency. Kevin has wide and varied experience of teaching, management and research in post-16 education and training. In recent years this has included responsibility for a number of major evaluation exercises and research into innovation in teaching and learning. He managed the first national e-learning staff development programme. Kevin now works as a self-employed consultant and undertakes projects for disparate organisations.

Tom Franklin has been active in learning technology for over 10 years in which time he has been responsible for much of the early work on VLEs and MLEs. His current areas of interest include learning environments, standards, portals, evaluation and ubiquitous computing. He believes that ubiquitous computing will have the most profound impact on education and schools, and will move the locus of control towards students. Colleges and universities need to start grappling with it now. He undertakes consultancy for universities, colleges and a wide variety of national bodies.

Laurence Habib was awarded her PhD at the Department of Information Systems at the London School of Economics in 2000. She is now an Associate Professor at the Centre for Educational Research and Development at Oslo University College. She is currently the head of the GOLEM project (Generating learning using an Online Learning Environment as a Medium), which explores the consequences of the use of online learning environments on teaching and learning in Higher Education. Her current research interests include the pedagogical, organisational and societal aspects of learning technologies as well as methodological issues in educational research and academic development.

Dr Robert Harding has long experience in educational technology. In 1971, working at Cambridge's Applied Mathematics Department, he led the CATAM Project, one of HE's earliest computer based learning projects. He has since directed or contributed to many others, including two that have won international awards (Webby Award 2001, EASA 1996), and two major TLTP projects. From 1997 until 2005 he was Director of the 'Innovation in Assessment and Learning Unit' (formerly ITAL) within Cambridge Assessment (formerly UCLES), where he directed wide ranging R and D work on all aspects linking eLearning to eAssessment. Robert now works as an independent consultant and is also a Fellow and College Lecturer at Selwyn College Cambridge.

Bob Harrison is a learner and teacher who taught in schools and colleges in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottingham before forming Support for Education and Training following a period as Principal of South Nottingham College just after incorporation. Bob also advises the DfES Standards Unit on e/m learning in the Post 16 sector and is a governor of Northern College, Barnsley and Lostock School in Trafford. He is a consultant and online tutor and assessor for the National College for School Leadership and works on the NPQH programme at the Manchester University. He recently featured in the DfES 'hotseat' on mobile learning and has written several articles and papers for a variety of communities and networks on e/m learning.

Stylianos Hatzipanagos works in King's Institute of Learning and Teaching (KILT, King's College London). He contributes to the development and delivery of KILT's post- and undergraduate programmes and also to the design and development of learning and teaching activities that focus on web-based learning and the pedagogy of ICT. He has a first degree in Physics; MScs in Physics Education and in Information Technology (Artificial Intelligence) and his doctoral research was on design and evaluation of interactive learning environments. His research portfolio includes: innovation in learning and teaching, assessment in higher education, usability and evaluation of educational interfaces, computer mediated communication and computer supported collaborative work.

As a senior academic (earth) scientist with more than 30 years of continuous experience in Australian and UK Universities, Patrick James has developed a significant interest in implementing and evaluating learning technology for more than half of that time. This has included being a long term member of ALT and ASCILITE (including conference volume editor), a presenter at CAL (UK), ASCILITE (Aus.) and AACE/Ed Media (US) conferences, and a developer and implementer of CAL, IMM, e Learning and other IST technologies in teaching and learning. Patricks' current role lies in leading a major School involved in Environmentally Sustainable Development issues in the natural and built environments, which includes significant national, international and transnational programs in which an e Learning strategy is fundamental.

Associate Professor Sally Joy is Associate Dean of Education Quality and Innovation in the Faculty of Business and Economics and also Vice President for the Academic Board at Monash University, Australia. The University has approximately 50,000 students, with about 20,000 of those enrolled in business courses. She has had a long interest in technology supported education and was an early adopter, in 1996 of a LMS. Monash has the largest installation of WebCT/Blackboard in Australia. She has responsibility for the Faculty quality control of teaching and learning activities on 5 Australian and 2 international campuses in Malaysia and South Africa. She has a strong interest in the internationalisation and development of curriculum that can be taught through global collaboration.

Linzi Kemp (Ph.D., M.B.A. B.Ed. (Business), Diploma in Marketing) is Faculty Associate/Academic Area Coordinator with Empire State College, State University of New York. She teaches and mentors students in the Centers for Distance Learning and International Programs. Originally from the UK, Linzi has worked there in private and public organizations within education, retail and the NHS. Previous educational experience has been international. In the UAE she was professional development coordinator. In Saudi Arabia she coordinated the information technology curriculum at a Junior High School. In the PRC she was involved with training teachers.

Sabine Little currently works for CILASS (The Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences), a HEFCE-funded CETL based at the University of Sheffield. She holds the position of Learning Development and Research Associate, specialising in support for networked learning and working with staff to incorporate inquiry-based learning (IBL) into their teaching. Prior to this, she co-ordinated an MEd in Educational Studies, a distance learning programme located in the Caribbean. She is particularly interested in the stories and experiences of networked learners and the facilitation and Dynamics of groups involved in collaborative inquiry.

A dedicated educator and researcher of over twenty five years, Dr Grace Lynch provides consulting services across State and Commonwealth Departments of Education and many tertiary institutions including lab.3000 at RMIT University, Melbourne Australia. Dr Lynch has practiced in Asia, Canada and Australia, chaired many management and review committees, contributed to advisory boards and published widely. Her current research specifically investigates implications for learning with new technologies and methodologies. She has been a key contributor to the Victorian Government's strategic direction for Schools In 2020 particularly in the area of implications for schooling from evolving science and technology.

Lina Markauskaite is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney, the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition. She has been researching ICT applications in secondary and higher education since the mid 1990s. During 1996-2003, she coordinated the first national study 'Computers in Lithuanian Schools' and was a national coordinator of the IEA SITES-1 and SITES-2 studies in Lithuania. For the past two years she has been researching trainee teachers' ICT literacy. Her research interests also include cognitive engagement in online learning, computer-mediated discourse analysis, qualitative and quantitative research methods and national policies for ICT introduction into education.

Liz Masterman has been researching and evaluating e-learning for the past ten years, having previously worked for 15 years in the commercial IT sector. She holds an MSc in Human-Centred Computing Systems from the University of Sussex and a PhD in Educational Technology from the University of Birmingham. She is currently an evaluation specialist with the Learning Technologies Group at Oxford University Computing Services. Since August 2004 she has worked on a number of JISC-funded projects investigating the tools and processes involved in designing for learning, and also have a strong interest in the integration of cognitive and sociocultural approaches in the design and evaluation of learning technologies.

Terry Mayes is currently a research professor at Glasgow Caledonian University. He has a long experience as both researcher and practitioner in learning technology. He was Director of Research in the Institute for Computer-Based Learning at Heriot-Watt University from its formation in 1990. Before that he was Deputy Director of the Scottish Human-Computer Interaction Centre at Strathclyde University from 1986-1990. His early work with teaching machines was followed by 14 years as a lecturer in psychology at the University of Strathclyde during which period he researched cognitive aspects of learning. Applying this to problems of computer 'learnability' led him into the emerging field of Human Computer Interaction. Since the mid-eighties he has worked extensively on the development of interactive learning through technology. In ICBL at Heriot-Watt the research programme was funded under five different EU programmes, directly by industry (Digital and BT), and through both University Funding Council and Research Council projects.

Maggie McPherson has just taken up her post as Senior Lecturer for ICT in Education within the School of Education at the University of Leeds. Her previous role was lecturer in Department of Information Studies (DIS). In terms of research, Maggie has been involved in numerous research studies, participated in a number of EU and UK funded projects over the last 12 years, and not only has publications in the fields of e-Learning, but also in the field of IT and Project Management. As a member of the DIS Educational Informatics Research Group, she has written extensively in the field of eLearning and online distance education. Maggie is a member of Council for the Institute of Management of Information Systems (IMIS), a professional body representing the interests of the IS profession.

Dr. Shailey Minocha is Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the Department of Computing of the Open University (OU), UK. She is currently leading projects in two research programmes: (a) CRM and service quality of e-business environments; (b) information design and pedagogical effectiveness of e-learning environments. Dr. Minocha's other research interests include the internationalisation of products and systems, and the evaluation of interactive systems by eye-tracking analysis. She has a Ph.D. in Digital Signal Processing, Post-Doctorate in Adaptive User Interfaces from Technical University, Braunschweig, Germany, and an MBA from the OU.

As Director of Technology, Dick Moore looks after four teams that design, build and maintain learndirect's IT infrastructure. Previously Head of Systems Engineering for Ufi, Dick has also spent time as Vice-President for Systems and Information at Los Angeles-based dot.com company 'thedock.com' and has been Director of ICT for two of Europe's largest Further Education colleges, Sheffield and Doncaster College. During the 80s Dick was Director of a new media company 'Interactive Media Resources', working with Interactive Video and Educational Software and wrote educational software and simulations for the Stock Exchange, Shell and Tandy Corporation amongst others Dick has a BSc in Botany specialising in Taxonomy and is a Member of the British Computer Society.

Elaine Pearson is a Principal Lecturer in the School of Computing, University of Teesside, UK, with responsibility for supporting the development of E-Learning, and is also Director of the Accessibility Research Centre. Her research interests lie in all aspects of computing for people with disabilities, and learning and teaching online. She has published and presented extensively in journals and conferences in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia on the subject of accessibility and online learning, was invited Program Co- Chair for EDMEDIA 2006, and is on the editorial board of a number of journals. She coordinates and contributes to a number of research projects funded by HEFCE, ESF, ERDF, JISC and HEIF.

John Phelps is Chair of the ALT Membership Services Committee. John has worked in the field of Higher Education for fifteen years, and specialised in learning technology since 1998. He is currently based at Goldsmiths, where he leads the work of the Centre for Excellence in Learning Technology. He has been involved with the Association since 2003, initially as a member of the Events Executive, before being elected a trustee in September 2004. John's interests in Learning Technology include Assessment, Evaluation, and Facilitating Change in Practice. John was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy in 2006.

Andy Powell is currently Head of Development at the Eduserv Foundation, a UK not-for-profit charity that works to support the effective application of ICT in education. At the moment his primary areas of interest are repositories, access and identity management, service architectures and elearning. Andy has had a long involvement with the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and he is currently involved in work to align the use of DC metadata with IEEE LOM. He was the principle architect of the JISC Information Environment and he continues to advise JISC and the wider community about the use of digital library and elearning interoperability standards. He is a member of the JISC/DEST eFramework for Education and Research Integrity Group.

Simon Rae is currently in Learning and Teaching Development at The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology where he is currently working on the Broadcast Strategy Review and on the Student Learning from Media enquiry. His recent external research activities include two national JISC-funded projects on e-assessment that were completed in 2006 and he has participated in the evaluation of several European funded projects involving networked e-learning. Simon has been engaged in the uses of ICT for the support of learning, especially in the humanities, since the mid 1970s.

Mohamed Riffi gained a PhD degree in probability from Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, USA in 1993. He spent his sabbatical year in the University of Wisconsin – Eau Clair in 2003-2004 studying the use of technology in teaching mathematics at the university. He is currently the Assistant Vice President for Information Technology and a Professor of Mathematics at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). He is responsible for promoting and advancing e-learning and academic technologies at IUG. His interests include the use of technology in teaching, lifelong learning, and the production of educational multimedia.

George Roberts, MPhil (Oxon), MA Ed (Open), CMALT, has been at Oxford Brookes since 2000 and joined OCSLD in July 2006 as Senior Lecturer: Educational Development. In his previous role he advised the Head of E-Learning and Senior Management Team of the University on policy for off-campus e-learning and e-learning partnerships. He undertakes research into the pedagogical, social and technical dimensions of e-learning nationally and internationally. George also teaches on the Open University MA course, 'Language and Literacy in a Changing World' and is the Project Manager for a series of JISC Distributed e-Learning Tools Projects, developing and implementing the Open Source Portfolio in 14 sites in Southern England. Before Brookes he worked in Adult Community Learning projects and as an instructional designer for the energy industry.

Albert Sangra is a full professor and researcher at the Psychology and Education Department at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), where he currently is the Academic Director of the International Master Degree in Education and ICT (e-learning). He was Director for Educational Innovation and Methodology (1995-2004), and he has been in charge of the strategic development of the pedagogical model of this online university. He developed his educational background in the University of Barcelona (Educational Sciences), the UK Open University (Postgraduate in Applications of IT in ODL) and Harvard University (Diploma in Strategic Use of IT in Education). Member of the Executive Committee of EDEN (European Distance and E-learning Network).

Julie-Ann Sime is a lecturer in Advanced Learning Technology at Lancaster University. Julie-Ann's interests lie in the principled design of learning resources for education in science and engineering. With a background in both Computing (Artificial Intelligence) and Psychology she is interested in the pedagogical design of eLearning environments that include technologies such as qualitative simulations, intelligent agents and virtual reality. Over the past 16 years she has published papers on: design methodologies; instructional design; learner modelling; learner support tools for reflection and team training; teaching of qualitative reasoning; and development of on-line communities. She reviews proposals for both ESPRC and ESRC, and is an Assessor for HETAC in Eire.

John Traxler is Reader in Mobile Technology for e-Learning and Director of the Applied Innovative Digital Technologies Research Group at the University of Wolverhampton. He also works with the University's HEFCE-funded Centre of Excellence looking at innovative technologies to support diverse communities. John has recently co-written a guide to mobile learning in developing countries and is co-editor of a book on mobile learning. He recently worked on the JISC Landscape Study on the use of mobile and wireless technologies; on the evaluation of national pilots of educational interactive digital TV and on implementing support for Kenyan teachers' in-service training using mobiles. He is contributing to the JISC Workshops on Innovative Practice and working on broadcasting with Bluetooth.

John Thompson is an Assistant Professor at Buffalo State College where he coordinates the Educational Computing graduate program. He also operates his own consulting and training business, Global Learning Institute, Inc. John teaches all his graduate courses 100% online, having taught close to 70 online courses. His current research interests include asynchronous online discussions, Web 2.0, and 1:1 computer initiatives. John's previous career experience includes working in K-12 schools as a teacher and administrator, including school superintendent, and being director of training for two state governments and director of a university-based computer training organisation.

Steven Warburton is an ICT and e-Learning manager at King's College London and is currently working on a number of projects that include personal publishing tools, social software, virtual learning environments, and the development of a blended learning study skills programme. He provides consultancy both within/out the University specialising in the support of distributed/distance learners. His research interests are focussed around questions of selfhood in online learners, social tools (in particular blogs) and the changing notion of community. Steven has recently been made a Fellow of the newly formed Centre for Distance Education at the University of London.

Dr Heather Wharrad is Senior Lecturer in Education and Health Informatics at University of Nottingham. She leads the research group in Education & Technology for Health in the School of Nursing. She is a founder member of the Universities Collaboration in E-learning (UCeL) whose remit is to develop high quality multimedia re-usable learning objects in Higher Education and more recently the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for Reusable Learning Objects. She has a PhD in Physiology and her current research interests are around the use of technology to enhance learning.

Dr Denise Whitelock is a Senior Lecturer in Information Technology working in the field of new technologies in distance learning at the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology. She has expertise in electronic assessment and monitoring systems; virtual reality systems for conceptual learning; interactive multimedia for science teaching and computer supported collaborative learning. Denise has recently directed two JISC funded e-assessment projects. These included a RoadMap study, together with a collection of 17 case studies which illustrated innovative and effective practice in e-Assessment. She is also working with Robert Gordon University, on transforming the OpenMentor application into an Open Comment system.

Chris Yapp is Head of Public Sector Innovation at Microsoft. He has been in the IT Industry since 1980 at Honeywell, ICL and most recently Hewlett Packard. He has been involved in Public Sector IT for the majority of that period and has been involved in many policy and advisory groups on strategic and management aspects of IT. Chris is a Patron of NACE, and a Trustee of world e-citizens. Chris is also an Associate of the think tank, DEMOS, and a former Director of the Internet Society of England. He is a past Trustee of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and the British Committee of the UK-Canada colloquia He is a frequent public speaker and writer on the e-agenda. His most recent publication is 'Personalization of education in the 21st century'.