OEB reviews: Wednesday

Wednesday has seen ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN getting into its stride, with the opening of the Exhibition and a whole variety of pre-Conference events. The press team has been exploring every corner of the InterConti, to bring you this selection of the very best on offer today. Tomorrow will certainly be dominated by the Opening Plenary and Debate – but don’t miss out on some of the more unusual sessions, highlighted below.

The Languages & Business Forum
An innovative event, the Languages & Business Forum brought together language specialists from around the world. They were addressed by “agents provocateurs”, delivering powerful short speeches on controversial topics, followed by discussion of the issues raised. Prof. Dr Helen Bicknell lamented the monetisation of learning, and the fact that businesses want language specialists but aren’t prepared to pay for them; while Bob Dignen’s  presentation on intercultural communication questioned whether it is useful to think in terms of “culture” at all.

The Forum finished with a discussion of group findings on the topics of the talks, to bring the various strands addressed to a conclusion. Timothy Philips caught the mood of the day in his summing-up: “The Forum has made us all think about a few things in a different way”.

Workshops
One on one with Craig Weiss offered OEB participants the opportunity to get to know the mind behind E-Learning 24/7. As one of the e-Learning industry’s leading analysts, Weiss has a knack for predicting future industry trends. He told attendees that personalised learning would be a big trend in education through 2014, as well as better Gamifications, authoring tools with “true video course capabilities” and better uses for big data. Weiss was not optimistic about anti-plagiarism software, which he said simply “doesn’t work,” and warned attendees about student database software that doesn’t protect user privacy. He ended his session with advice for the audience on how to pick the perfect e-learning vendor, encouraging potential clients to do their research and bargain hard.

Exhibition
We’re very proud to have the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Uganda presenting at this year’s exhibition. Check out their stand, next to the Concierge, and find out about Uganda and the eLearning Africa Conference due to take place in Kampala this May.

Picks of tomorrow…
A selection of some of Thursday’s more interactive and individual events

11:45 – 13:00 Share your experience and learn from others at the ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN World Café, a chance to network and share ideas in an interactive setting (Rook)

14:00 – 16:00 The Video EDUCA Masterclass takes participants on a journey through the world of film, from Hollywood to YouTube, finding video learning inspiration along the way (Check)

16:30 – 17:30 Kirsten Winkler of EDUKWEST already starred in the Languages and Business Forum, delivering an outspoken address on the power of online learning. Join her in an equally forthright Learning Café entitled, provocatively, Victorian Teaching in a Digital Age (Charlottenburg I)

Insider tips:
Get your morning perk before the Opening Plenary tomorrow at the eLearning Africa stand in the Exhibition – where Ugandan coffee will be served from around 8:30.

An oasis of calm in the middle of the buzzing exhibition, the Arabic Tent is the perfect place to lie back and take time out from the Conference. Find it in the Wintergarten. Dates and Arabic coffee are on offer to all visitors.

And for OEB snapshots, find the giant O which will be touring the InterConti!