Panel Talk SOL67
Discussing Mobile Experiences in the Classroom
How does the increasing integration of mobile technologies in education affect students motivation and engagement and on teaching attitudes? And how can responsive design be used to develop operational skills in different contexts? Come and share experiences.
Christina Gitsaki
Research Coordinator, Zayed University, Center for Educational Innovation, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Christina Gitsaki is an Associate Professor and Research Coordinator at the Center for Educational Innovation, Zayed University, UAE. She has previously served as the UNESCO Chair in Applied Research in Education designing professional development programs for teachers in the K-12 and higher education sectors. Dr. Gitsaki has served on the executive boards of professional associations such as the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, the Gulf Comparative Education Society, TESOL Arabia, and she is currently the Secretary General of the International Association of Applied Linguistics. Her research interests are in second language acquisition and pedagogy, the use of educational technology in the second language classroom, teacher professional development, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
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Moderator
Herman van der Merwe
Executive Dean, North-West University, South Africa
Prof Herman van der Merwe is Dean of the Faculty Economic Sciences & IT at the North-West University: Vaal Triangle in Vanderbijlpark & CEO of an expert centre named CUTE (Centre for the Utilisation of Technology in Education).
As an international expert on the utilisation & management of technology in education he has been invited to act as keynote- or invited speaker and plays an active role on various national and international workgroups that do research in this field.
His current research focus is on mobile & handheld devices and Serious Games and the effective use of that in higher education and everyday life. He is Founder member and one of the directors of the International Association for Mobile Learning (IAmLearn).
As a teacher, researcher, policy advocate & manager, he has been described as: ”A visionary whose fascination with technology has been informed by his commitment to serving the highest ideals of education.”