Call for Papers: Africa Connects Conference, (South Africa), 07/01

AFRICA CONNECTS CONFERENCE - CALL FOR PAPERS Cape Town, 10-13 July 2001
http://ac.wcape.school.za

Closing date: 1 June 2001

The Africa Connects conference, focusing on Education in the Internet Age, will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 10-13 July 2001, opened by SA Minister of Education Kader Asmal.

The conference is hosted by SchoolNet SA and the Western Cape Schools Network in association with the 8th Annual International I*EARN Conference (with activities for I*EARN delegates from 9-14 July).

You are invited to submit your presentation proposal. 1500 delegates with a wide range of ICT interests and abilities are expected to attend. All proposals will be seriously considered.

Africa Connects will be catering for different levels of experience of the delegates and you will be asked to identify the level of the target audience for your presentation.

*** Conference Tracks ***

Topics for presentations within the identified tracks include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. New opportunities, new communities

Topics on development and capacity building in South Africa, Africa and developing nations, including:

* Creating new learning opportunities through ICTs, and improving access to further and higher education
* Empowering new users
* Educator development programmes
* Access and infrastructure issues
* Major national and international ICT development projects: Telkom Internet Project, Thintana, Khanya, Gauteng Online, World Links for Development, GEMS.

2. I*EARN

Presentations and workshops on I*EARN projects, by teachers and students in the I*EARN network. (Presentations by I*EARN members may also be located in other tracks.)

3. School Management and ICT

Topics relating to the management of ICT at all levels within a school and its community, including:

* Staff development
* Whole-school technology strategies
* Computer room management
* Fund raising and sustainability models

4. ICTs and the Learning Environment

Topics relating to learners' use of and exposure to ICTs, including:

* Curriculum integration
* Information skills
* Online content resources
* New cultures of learning and teaching
* Special needs applications

5. ICTs in careers

Topics relating to training, development and support of potential ICT professionals and ICT-using professionals, including:

* Computer Studies
* ICT proficiency training in schools, including computer literacy * Post-school ICT training
* Careers in ICT

6. ICT Infrastructure

Technical aspects that are the foundation of ICT use, including:

* Networks
* Internet connectivity
* Hardware and software solutions
* Intranets
* Maintenance
* Emerging technologies
* Infrastructure management

7. Connected Classrooms - Communities Online

Collaborative efforts to build online communities of educators and learners, including:

* Collaborative projects using the Internet * Collaborative project design
* How ICT builds communities

8. Distance Education

Use of ICTs to participate in learning at a distance, including:

* Web-based learning and content
* Virtual schooling
* Online learning and support
* Courseware

9. Educational ICT Products and Services

All marketable ICT products and services that have value when used in educational environments.

*** Presentation methods ***

We want to encourage the following presentation methods and we encourage you to make your presentation interactive:

* Pre-conference hands-on workshops
* Make-and-take workshops (where delegates are able to produce resources and take them after the workshop)
* Informal and interactive sessions - posters, small-group discussion, exhibits, experimental sessions
* Formal presentations - these may require submission of papers before the conference.

Information for submitting proposals for presentations

The official language of the conference is English.

Please register on the conference web site at http://ac.wcape.school.za.

Once you have registered, log in to the conference web site and complete the form after clicking on the link to "Submit a presentation proposal".

*** Important Dates ***

Submitted proposals will be evaluated and confirmed if accepted on an ongoing basis. Presenters may be required to submit full text of papers or presentation material such as slides on request.

1 June 2001:Deadline for submission of proposals 1 June 2001:Deadline for software/equipment requirements for labs

15 June 2001:Final acceptance of presentations 15 June 2001:Final submission of presentation text or material (if requested, otherwise optional)

8 July 2001:I*EARN activities start
9-10 July 2001:Pre-conference workshops
10-13 July 2001:Main Africa Connects Conference

*** Sponsors ***

Africa Connects is sponsored by Telkom SA, with additional sponsorship from Microsoft, MWeb, New Deal, and UniForum SA.

*** Contact Details ***

E-mail: prog@ac.wcape.school.za
Web: http://ac.wcape.school.za

Telephone: +27 21 674-9140
Fax: +27 21 683-6766
Post: PO Box 44460, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa

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