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DTSTART:20170405T123000Z
DTEND:20170405T135000Z
DTSTAMP:20170404T060637Z
SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-gb:Breaking the physical presence barrier: Virtually Connecting as an approach to open\, inclusive conferences [1460]
DESCRIPTION:Room: Seminar 6\nTrack: Participation & Social Equality\nAcademic conferences are sites of power and privilege. There are multiple ways in which privilege and social capital are reproduced in these events. Choices of location\, speakers\, reviewers\, formats and topics are political and have potential to influence disciplines in particular directions. Virtually Connecting (VC) is one attempt to challenge the ways in which conferences privilege particular voices to be heard\, while marginalizing others from learning and from speaking. Caines (2016) calls VC a “movement of digital educators subverting time and space to come together for informal conversations at these formal gatherings of knowledge sharing”. She reminds us that “we have to use our privilege to create the spaces for those lesser heard voices”.\nVolunteers doing VC continually question the alternative kinds of power our initiative produces and how well it succeeds in subverting the status quo as we strive towards more equitable access to conferences and more participatory\, inclusive professional development.\nAs described in Bali\, Caines\, DeWaard & Hogue (in press)\, VC “was created to engage individuals and groups in  virtual participation at  academic conferences thus widening access for those who cannot be physically present. VC is a grassroots connected and connectivist learning movement powered by a team of volunteers”. In this session\, we will highlight the ways VC embodies open\, connected learning practice\, but also focus on how our practice addresses the first two items in VC’s manifesto:\n\n\n \nVC’s motivation is “a desire to improve the virtual conference experience for those who cannot be present at conferences for financial\, logistical\, social or health reasons” (Virtually Connecting\, undated)\n\n \nVC strives for inclusion even while knowing it is elusive.\n\n\nVC can be seen as an example of an open education practice\, by going beyond simply streaming conferences\, and allowing remote participants to engage with online participants constructing an authentic dialogue. As conferences seek to accommodate the political dimensions of inclusivity\, VC can act as a meaningful way to broaden the range of voices that participate at events\, promoting more equitable access to professional development\, and enriching both the onsite and virtual experiences while also promoting digital literacies of participants and especially volunteers.\nUsing feedback from a 2016 survey and from social media\, we will explore the ways VC’s practice has been inclusive and invite the audience to recommend possible solutions for aspects we have identified as wanting\, ones we strive towards but have not yet resolved/reached. We will discuss this in terms of VC’s internal and external processes addressing onsite guests\, virtual participants and conference organizers. We will will share our hopes for the future of VC as an approach to opening up conferences.\nReferences\nBali\, M.\, Caines\, A.\, DeWaard\, H. J.\, & Hogue\, R. J. (in press). Ethos and Practice of a Connected Learning Movement: Interpreting Virtually Connecting Through Alignment with Theory and Survey Results. Online Learning Journal. (due out December 2016).\nCaines\, A. (2016\, August). The praxis of Virtually Connecting. Digital Pedagogy Lab. Retrieved from http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/praxis-virtually-connecting/\nVirtually Connected Manifesto. (n.d.) [website]. Retrieved from http://virtuallyconnecting.org/virtually-connecting-manifesto/\nhttp://oer17.oerconf.org/sessions/breaking-the-physical-presence-barrier-virtually-connecting-as-an-approach-to-open-inclusive-conferences-1460/
LOCATION:Seminar 6
URL:http://oer17.oerconf.org/sessions/breaking-the-physical-presence-barrier-virtually-connecting-as-an-approach-to-open-inclusive-conferences-1460/
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