“Our community members and first time attendees come from all corners of the globe. Intellectually, our interests span the breath of the field of education. The Conference is a site of critical reflection, both by leaders in the field and emerging academics and teachers. Those unable to attend the Conference may opt for virtual participation in which community members may either submit a video and/or slide presentation with voice-over, or simply submit a paper for peer review and possible publication in the Journal.”

In 2010 a “Dear Colleague” email to our Prof. William Schafer caught Mom’s eye and titillated her galactic imagination.  On behalf of the Advisory Board of the Ubiquitous Learning Conference and Ubiquitous Learning Journal, Garett Gietzen of U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was sounding the call for papers/registrations to the Vancouver conference.  Ever watching out for the jpt community and mindful of our eclectic fascinations, Mom alerted these offices, where the information was appreciatively if serenely received.  “Why yes, we’ll certainly pass this on,” she was told; there was no accompanying assurance that the transmittal would be timely by any particular standard.  jpt does not traffic in pedestrian perceptions of time.  Years passed in the outer world (perhaps 1.3 to 1.6 of them); and when in the fullness of jpt event-time our Things Stirring editor reached into the queue for Ubiquitous Learning Conference 2010, alors!  the rage had become Conference 2011 at U. California in Berkeley.  Go figure, an inner voice advised the Things Stirring editor; and so she went and figured and grew exceeding wise.

Here then the essence of the phenomenon.  There is yet time for you to act, the deadline for the “current round in the Call for Papers” being October 4, 2011 :   

Welcome to the website [http://ubi-learn.com/conference-2011/] of the Ubiquitous Learning Conference. The Conference will be held at the University of California, 11 to 12 November 2011, in Berkeley, California.

The Ubiquitous Learning Conference investigates the uses of technologies in learning, including devices with sophisticated computing and networking capacities which are now pervasively part of our everyday lives, from laptops to mobile phones, games, digital music players, personal digital assistants and cameras. The Conference explores the possibilities of new forms of learning using these devices not only in the classroom, but in a wider range of places and times than was conventionally the case for education. Ubiquitous Learning is made possible in part by the affordances of the new digital media. What’s new about it? What’s not-so-new? What are the main challenges of access to these new learning opportunities? These are the key themes and scope and concerns of the Conference and its companion Journal.

Plenary speakers will include some of the world’s leading thinkers in the field of technology-in-learning and they will be complemented by numerous parallel paper, workshop and colloquium presentations by researchers and practitioners. Participants are invited to submit a presentation proposal either for a 30-minute paper, 60-minute workshop, or a jointly presented 90-minute colloquium session. Parallel sessions are loosely grouped into streams reflecting different perspectives or disciplines. Each stream also has its own talking circle, a forum for focused discussion of issues. For those unable to attend the Conference in person, virtual participation is also available.

We encourage all presenters to submit written papers to Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal, a fully refereed academic Journal. Virtual participants may also submit papers for consideration by the Journal. All registered Conference participants will receive a complimentary online subscription to the Journal. This subscription is valid until one year after the Conference end-date.

If you would like to know more about this Conference, bookmark the Ubiquitous Learning Conference site and return for further information as the site is regularly updated. You might also wish to subscribe to the Conference and Journal Newsletter.

For all inquiries, please contact the Conference secretariat.

Ubiquitous Learning: An International Conference

This Conference is has evolved from e-Learning Symposia held in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 and 2007, connected with the International Conference on Learning. It is also connected to the Ubiquitous Learning Institute in the College of Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 2008 Ubiquitous Learning Conference held at Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 2009 Ubiquitous Learning Conference was held at Boston, Massachusetts, USA and in 2010 Ubiquitous Learning Conference was held at University of British Columbia.

Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal

Conference participants can submit papers to the Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal before the Conference and up until one month after the Conference. Papers submitted for publication will be fully refereed. The publication decision is based on the referees’ reports.

For those unable to attend the Conference in person, a virtual registration will provide participants access to the electronic version of the Journal, as well as the option to submit papers for refereeing and possible publication. For more information about the Journal please visit the Publish Your Paper page.

Publishing

The Ubiquitous Learning Community enables members to publish through three media. First, by participating in the Ubiquitous Learning Conference, community members can enter a world of journal publication unlike the traditional academic publishing forums – a result of the responsive, non-hierarchical and constructive nature of the peer review process. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal provides a framework for double-blind peer review, enabling authors to publish into an academic journal of the highest standard.

The second publication medium is through a book series Ubi-Learn, publishing cutting edge books in print and electronic formats. Publication proposals and manuscript submissions are welcome.

The third major publishing medium is our news blog, constantly publishing short news updates from the Ubiquitous Learning Community, as well as major developments in the emerging field of ubiquitous learning. You can also join this conversation at Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our email Newsletter.

World’s Best Contraceptive Rolled Out [sock-and-sandal sets apparently dampen the amorous mood]

In Idaho, Eight-foot Endangered Earthworms Run Amok

New NRA Initiative Aims to Put Lead Back in Paint, Gasoline

Obama to United States, World: “Sorry, My Bad on Climate Change”

Elk Herd Storms Mount Hood National Forest Office

Area Man Suffers Embarrassment Due to Wind Spill Mishap [“toupee -- was lifted in its entirety from his head by errant winds whilst he was in the company of a young female coworker”]

Brain-controlling Fungi Turn Ants Into Mindless Zombies

THERE'S NAE PLACE LIKE OTAGO YET

There's nae place like Otago yet:
There's nae wee beggar weans
Or auld men shiverin' at oor doors,
To beg for scraps or beans.
We never see puir workin' folk,
Wi' chilblains on their feet,
Like perfect icicles wi' cauld
Gaun starvin' through the street.

We never hear o' breaking stones
A shilling by the yard;
Or poor folk roped to the door,
To pay the greedy laird:
Nae purse-proud upstart mushroom lord
To scowl at honest toil,
Or break it down, that he--the wretch!--
May feed on roast and boil.

My curse upon them; root and branch:
A tyrant I abhor;
May Despotism's iron foot
Never mark Otago's shore.
May wealth and labour, hand in hand,
Work out our glorious plan;
But never let it be allowed
That money makes the man.

—John Barr, 1859