Edmedia 2011

One of the highlights of the EDMEDIA 2011 conference in Lisbon has been the number of presentations on research into the use of digital technologies in higher education that acknowledge the complete lack of empirical support for the digital native rhetoric.

This event is primarily intended for doctoral students unfamiliar with this the unique design research approach to educational inquiry. The emphasis will be less on the theoretical aspects of this approach and more on the "nuts and bolts" of how it can be done by doctoral students, their supervisors, and other educational researchers. Several actual examples of design research conducted by Jan and Susan when they were doctoral students as well as by the doctoral students all three workshop presenters have supervised will be shared. This workshop is intended for all fields of inquiry in education, not just educational technology. In addition, educators from other disciplines such as public health, social work, etc. should find value in attending this workshop.

EdMedia '11 included the usual mix of various paper genres. Most belong to what I would call "mainstream topics in technology-enhanced education". I had the impression that both attendance and proportion of younger people was lower than usual. I truly enjoy the openness of EdMedia. Anyone that has a good idea or did create a nice design (and can write) is allowed to present. In that respect, EdMedia continues to play an important role in the landscape. I also found the PhD track interesting, although it might be improved by adding more difficult and more technical subjects.

Last week this year ED-Media Conference took place in Lisbon, Portugal. I as member of the Steering Committee was elected beforehand to coordinate the Social Media Team. Our task was to handle the Twitter stream (#edmedia11) as well as engage people to interact online.