What's new
The official opening of the ICDE World Conference on Online Learning in Dublin is less than 100-days away. We expect to welcome around 1000 delegates from over 50 countries based on the high number of paper submissions and early bird conference registrations. If you haven’t already done so, then please make sure you register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. There is even a possibility that we may have to cap the number of conference registrations due to spacing venue constraints.
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If you can’t travel to Dublin then we are pleased to announce that in response to numerous requests you can now submit a Virtual Paper for this year’s ICDE World Conference. This new Virtual Paper option enables you to share your work with a wider international audience even though you are unable to attend the November conference in person. Virtual Papers will be included in the conference programme and formal proceedings with the same status and validity as other paper categories. They also help to make the conference more inclusive and enable us to better walk the talk of online learning. More information about Virtual Paper submissions (due 23rd August) is available on the conference website: https://wcol2019.ie/call-for-papers/
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This year’s ICDE World Conference has a diverse range of plenary talks, invited speakers and panel discussions from leading educators and thought leaders from around the world. We are pleased to announce that day-2 of the conference starts on Tuesday 5th November with Simon Nelson, FutureLearn’s CEO sharing his insights and critical reflections on the global growth of online learning and the way the MOOC movement is rapidly evolving through new partnerships and business models.
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Simon will argue that MOOCs continue to challenge traditional models of open and distance education, with the emergence of stackable micro-credentials and professional development short courses leading to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In the context of the conference theme, the question remains just how this movement will help to provide educational opportunities that truly transform lives and societies—for all. Watch this space for further speaker spotlights as we count down to the ICDE World Conference.
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According to Professor Mark Brown, Conference Chair, more than ever online distance learning has become an important part of the global higher education eco-system. In 2015 the global value of online learning reached almost €100 billion and this is predicted to be around €300 billion in the next 5-years (McCue, 2019).
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The global market for MOOCs alone, which was valued at €3.5 billion in 2018, is predicted to reach around €20 billion by 2023 (MOOC Market, 2019). In 2018, over 100 million people worldwide registered for a free online course through one of the major MOOC platforms and this figure is closer to 130 million when local platforms from India and China are taken into account (ClassCentral, 2019).
Professor Mairéad Nic Giollamhichil, a member of the local conference team at Dublin City University (DCU), believes the growing demand for online lifelong learning is reflective of an increasingly aging global population. Those aged 65+ will increase by 35% by 2025, thus constituting 10% of the total global population: China and India will have the largest population in this age segment, the highest growth though will be in the Middle East notable in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (Euromonitor, 2014). Already the number of students learning online in the United States is over 6 million (Allen & Seaman, 2018). However, Australa’s International Education 2025 Roadmap (2016) estimates in the future the size of the largely “untapped” borderless skills market, which can be serviced by online and blended approaches, will be in excess of one billion students.
Of course, online learning is not new as there is a long tradition of open and distance education in many parts of the world. Building on this history the ICDE World Conference in Dublin provides a unique opportunity for educational leaders, policy-makers, researchers and experienced practitioners from both traditional institutions and new and emerging providers to meet, share their expertise and engage in productive debate concerning the challenges and opportunities facing us now and in the future. The Dublin conference takes place at a time when there is increasing recognition that new models of online learning must be part of the solution if we are to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the wider agenda of promoting “Education for all”.
This transformative goal is at the core of the conference theme of “Transforming Lives and Societies” and by joining us in Dublin you will have an opportunity to help address and shape our responses to a number of big questions:
- What is the future of online education?
- How can online education contribute to better futures?
- What is required to harness the potential of online education?
- What are the implications of online learning for educational leaders?
- How should governments and policy-makers respond to online education?
In sum, the ICDE World Conference is unique for the way it brings together delegates from over 50 countries and offers a powerful forum for seeking ways of harnessing the potential of new digital technologies to promote educational change and global transformation for better futures.
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Taste of Ireland
At the start each day and throughout the ICDE World Conference we will be offering delegates a special taste of Ireland. The local organising team from Dublin City University (DCU) has been busy over recent months arranging a number of special performances that will help you better appreciate Celtic and Irish culture. We will be sharing more details about these performance in future newsletters.
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In the meantime, we would like to introduce you to “Cara” our official ICDE World Conference emoji. For those of you not familiar with the term “emoji” this refers to an ideogram or smiley that can be used in electronic messages. The term “Cara” translates in the Irish language to “friend” and you can expect to see a lot more of this friendly image leading up to conference. There is even a rumour that Cara will be present during the conference in a life-size form. Feel free to include an image of Cara in your social media posts leading up to the World Conference.
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Update for Presenters
This section of the conference newsletter will provide regular updates for presenters and help to answer some of your frequently asked questions. Please note that if authors do not register for the conference, then your accepted paper will remain on hold until such time as your registration is confirmed. If you require a formal letter for funding and registration purposes, then please do not hesitate to contact us. The date to make final changes to your paper submissions has now closed but if you have any questions or special requests then please contact Judy at Happening Conferences and Events (HCE).
Watch out in future newsletters and on the conference website for our guidelines for authors and presenters for each of the paper categories. More detailed instructions will also be shared on how to upload presentations and the time you have available to present your work. We will also be sharing news of our forthcoming webinars where we plan to offer tips and helpful suggestions on how to prepare both engaging and impactful presentations. The webinar should be of particular interest to first-time presenters. A recording of the webinar will also be available from the conference website.
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The ICDE World Conference would not be possible without the support of our sponsors and exhibitors and we are pleased to have secured all of our major sponsors. In this newsletter we are delighted to inform you that Desire2Learn (D2L) is once again a Gold Sponsor of the ICDE World Conference.
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This sponsorship continues a valued partnership first established in Toronto for the 2017 ICDE World Conference and we are looking forward to D2L’s significant contribution to the Dublin event.
D2L (Desire2Learn) was founded in 1999 by John Baker. At the time, his engineering class was being challenged to look at the world in new ways by coming up with questions that no one had asked before. John realized that despite all the change technology was driving in the world, his University campus seemed almost untouched by that momentum. The question he wanted to ask was clear: how could we use technology to dramatically transform learning? John believes that one of the most important things we can do to help each other is ensure that everyone has access to the best possible learning opportunities. Today, D2L is working with customers around the world to help learners at a scale that was hard to imagine back in 1999.
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It’s not too late yet to register for the ICDE World Conference but the clock is rapidly counting down and we strongly encourage you to do so as soon as possible. As mentioned above based on current demand there is a chance that we may have to cap registrations and you will find accommodation in Dublin increasingly difficult to find the longer you leave it to finalise your arrangements. So register now to avoid disappointment!
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There are multiple ways to reach the city centre from Dublin Airport using public transportation but the most affordable is by bus. All buses leave within an easy walking distance of the two main terminals and the most popular bus is Airlink 747 which makes multiple stops in the city centre and costs €7 for a one-way ticket. The bus stops right outside the Convention Centre on banks of the River Liffey.
Once you have arrived in the city centre Ireland's capital city is compact and easy to navigate on foot. This means that if you plan to stay in the city centre, which we recommend, you might not ever need to take public transportation in Dublin. The central area is small enough that walking is usually the most efficient way to get around the city. The Convention Centre is about 10 to 15 minutes walk from the historic Temple Bar area of the city which we will feature in a future newsletter.
But even though Dublin is fairly condensed, it still has a fantastic and easy-to-use public transportation system. Between the bus, LUAS, DART and train networks, there are so many ways to get around Dublin, that you'll actually be spoilt for choice. There is no subway or underground system in Dublin, so the best transportation option inside the city centre is the bus. If you are planning on seeing some of the sights of Dublin then we highly recommend a hop-on-hop-off tourist bus. Buses in Dublin are double-decker style and, like all traffic, drive on the left side of the road (an important point to remember when you are trying to decide which direction to take the bus). You can buy tickets directly on the bus but you can only do so using Euro coins. No cards are accepted and no change is given, so it is best to have the exact fare already counted out in coins in your hand, ready to drop into the machine next to the driver when you board.
If you are planning to take Dublin Bus or other Dublin public transportation extensively, it may be worth investing in the LeapCard. The reloadable travel card offers slightly lower fares on every journey and using one means you will never have any hassle dealing cash on board. In a future newsletter we will offer some travel tips on using taxis in Dublin with make economic sense when you have a group of three or four passengers.
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Booking your accommodation
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The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) is located down at the docks in the very heart of Dublin so there are multiple options for accommodation. We have listed some options on the conference website but you are sploit for choice from budget accommodation through to upmarket hotels. A more extensive list of hotels, serviced apartments and bed and breakfast accommodation can be viewed on the Dublin Convention Bureau website. Please note that Dublin is a very popular business and tourist destination with a number of major events taking place in November, so we highly recommend that you book your accommodation as soon as possible.
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Follow us
Please remember to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook for further “bite sized” conference updates as we share just in time and just enough information about this year’s ICDE World Conference.
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