——Opening Speech on 12th ICEI - NAHEMA

Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here today to make this opening speech and present our work on the 12th ICEI. For twelve years, the International Conference on Education Innovation represented a tradition for educators all over the world, as well as offering them opportunities to share the best practices in education. The objection of the ICEI is to promote and facilitate experimentation and innovation among educators by bringing them closer to domestic and international panoramas, which connect them with experts in the fields concerning, and make them learn more about what they are persuing and keep abreast of the current global trends in education. This is the first time it is opened up to universities in China and discuss the use of VLE in the E-Learning field.

VLE-which means"Virtual Learning Environments", has become an integral section of the technological furniture of higher education over the past two decades. While some VLE adopters have argued that the enhancement of teaching and learning is a key driver underpinning their use, an increasing number have described typical VLE usage as a "notes-bank approach". However, while it is widely accepted that they are used primarily as content repositories, the actual value that they add to the teaching and learning process, and ultimately to the student experience, has not been widely questioned. So, in an age of increasing budgetary constraints, combined with the prioritization of investment in appropriate technologies for higher education, it seems better to scrutinize how the VLE is used and what value it has added.

At the Dublin Institute of Technology, we first initiated a study which sought to find out how academic staff were using the VLE as part of their teaching practice. Additionally, given the proliferation of emerging eLearning tools outside the VLE, we wanted to discover if academics were aware of such technologies and if, or how they were using them. Finally, in order to inform future practice and strategic planning, we wanted to gain an insight into factors inhibiting or preventing staff from engaging with E-Learning technologies.

Here I would like to thank Dr.XXXXXXX, Dr.XXXXXXX and Dr.XXXXXXX from DIT team for working together with me on this research. I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr.XXX for hosting today's conference, and bringing together all these distinguished audience to examine the work. Together with Dr.XXXXXX, for taking time off his busy schedule to attend and conclude the conference.

Now it is time for the DIT team Doctors to present the key findings of the research and indicate possible methods foward for higher education in the digital age. 

Thank you.