Dr Richard Hall is De Montfort University's Head of Enhancing Learning through Technology, where he is responsible for the academic implementation of technologies in the curriculum, with the aim of enhancing the student learning experience. He is a UK National Teaching Fellow and a Reader in Education and Technology.

Richard is a Research Associate in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, and his research interests include: the idea of the university and radical alternatives to it; technology and critical social theory; resilient education and the place of cooperative practice in overcoming disruption in higher education; and the place of social media in the idea of the 21st Century university. Richard writes at: www.richard-hall.org.


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Barbara Newland is a National Teaching Fellow with 20 years' experience of leading educational developments in higher education. She is a principal lecturer at the Centre for Learning and Teaching at the University of Brighton. Previously, Barbara was Blended Learning Co-ordinator at Glasgow Caledonian University, Manager of the Educational Development Services at Bournemouth University and Learning Technology Team at Durham University.

Barbara was the Project Director for the Innovative e-Learning with e-Resources and Accessibility in Learning Environments projects. She is a member of the steering committees for the Heads of e-Learning Forum, Quality Assurance and Enhancement in e-Learning SIG, Technology Enhanced Professional Learning Forum and Association for Learning Technology Research Committee.

Barbara's research interests focus on strategic educational developments with blended learning including e-submission and mobile learning. She applies her research through the development and implementation of university policies and strategies. Barbara publishes and presents at national and international conferences.

Presentation: The future of learning

Developing innovative learning methods to fulfill the educational, training and skill requirements that can help contribute to economic growth and prosperity. The European Commission's report 'The Future of Learning: Preparing for Change' aims to identify, understand and visualise major changes to learning in the future. The overall vision is that personalisation, collaboration and informalisation (informal learning) are at the core of learning in the future. What changes and mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure more flexible and targeted lifelong learning becomes a reality and informally acquired skills are better supported?

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Professor Mike Neary has been the Dean of Teaching and Learning at the University of Lincoln, UK., since 2007. Key roles include Director of the Graduate School and Director of the Centre for Educational Research and Development. Before taking up his role at Lincoln Mike taught Political Sociology at the University of Warwick 1994 – 2007. Prior to becoming an academic Mike worked in youth development and community education in South London 1980 – 1994. Mike has published widely on the future of higher education. His most recent jointly edited book is 'Toward Teaching in Public: Making the Modern University', published by Continuum in 2012. He is currently writing a book to be published soon by Zero Books; the title of the book is 'Student as Producer: How Do Revolutionary Teachers Teach?'

Presentation: Access All Areas: Higher Education, Technology and the Future of the Future

Despite the normative assumptions contained in the European Commission's report: 'The Future of Learning: Preparing for Change', the future of work and the learning technologies on which it might be based is far from assured. In this presentation Prof Mike Neary presents an alternative vision for the future of work based on the influential book, 'Farewell to the Working Class', written by Andre Gorz in 1980. In this book Gorz predicts a future in which advances in technology make life-long and life-wide waged-work obsolete, providing the time and space for people to develop alternative types of work and play and higher forms of learning. Professor Neary will present his own experiments in higher learning designed to access this version of a radical workless future.

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Amanda Jefferies is a Reader in Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Hertfordshire, where she is based in the School of Computer Science and leads the Technology Supported Learning Research group. She was seconded to the university's nationally funded centre for excellence, the Blended Learning Unit (BLU), for five years from 2005, where she led the evaluation, research and scholarship strand of the work.

She was awarded a UK National Teaching Fellowship in October 2011, in recognition of her long-standing commitment to promote an excellent student experience and her research into using technology to support HE student learning. Amanda is well known for leading innovative research into understanding the student experience through using student-constructed reflective video and audio diaries, a technique she refined when she directed the JISC-supported Learners' Journeys STROLL project from 2007-2009 as part of the JISC funding for its e-learning programme: www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/lxpstroll.aspx.

Presentation: E-learning and the 21st century student

The student learning experience in the past ten years has experienced much change. There has been increased use of technology to both enhance classroom-based learning and to enable easily accessible flexible and distance learning. Software tools now offer students increased opportunities for collaboration and interactivity online, transforming aspects of student learning. As a result of recent research, greater thought has been given to developing innovative approaches to learning which can enrich the overall student experience and promote the core processes of learning and assessment.

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With nearly 30 years of experience in the retail and B2B markets Mark Herman is an Apple Solution Expert ASE and Director for Education at Albion.

Whilst at Albion he has developed the strategy for mobile technologies that puts engagement in learning at the heart of the business. Consequently, Albion are one of the top Apple Solution Experts in the UK enjoying year on year growth. His strategy has enabled Albion to dedicate their skills and resources to bringing mobile technologies into education in a creative and relevant way.

Presentation: Engagement in Learning: Getting the most from mobile technologies

Mark will be presenting how in a short space of time the iPad is making a difference in teaching and learning.

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John McGurk is CIPD Adviser on learning and talent development. Having left school at 16, he began his career as a train driver. John commenced academic studies at Glasgow University graduating with a first-class honours degree in 1993. John returned to Glasgow to study for a PhD in Airline Labour markets, and secured a Leverhulme Research fellowship post at Cardiff Business School.

His next role was with the UK pilots union and professional association BALPA as Director of Research and Policy. As the HR strategist and policy specialist, he spent eight years there dealing with every major HR and strategic issue.

In CIPD, John has delivered projects on coaching capability and L&TD evaluation, soft skills and e-learning, as well as leading CIPD's Business Savvy Research. He is currently working on the future skills needs of L&TD and the role of innovation in HR. He is also increasingly developing surveys and research for the international area. John is passionate about learning, as his journey shows, and he relaxes by cheering on Fulham Football Club.

Presentation: Innovation could be the inspiration for genuine public sector reform. But do we know it when we see it?

Tight budgets and difficult demands mean that innovation - particularly in process and service delivery - is a critical need for the public sector. Several internal and external barriers exist. Using the CIPD research, Dr John McGurk will explain how and by whom innovation can be driven, with examples from a number of public sector organisations, including the fire service, Big Lottery, housing associations and local authorities.

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Niall Sclater is Director of Learning, Teaching and Quality at the Open University, UK, responsible for the development and implementation of key strategies in these areas. Previously he directed the university's virtual learning environment programme and ran initiatives to embed learning technologies across the institution, including the procurement and deployment of cloud-based systems. He has been involved in the research, development and management of learning and teaching in higher education since 1992, previously at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde where he led a range of national and international projects related to e-learning. He has published and presented widely; further information and his blog are at sclater.com.

Presentation: The changing learning landscape

The learning landscape is far more complex than ever before. Through the combination of broadband, next generation mobile phones, cheaper laptops and tablet computers the ways and means in which we learn, teach, acquire and develop skills is shifting. To achieve the best results organisations need to gain a better understanding of how people learn and set out learning strategies that align training and development goals with the extended reach of new technologies and innovations.

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