Annual Report 2005, Dublin

Interest in the work of this group continued at the ECER 2005 conference in Dublin with over twenty papers accepted that were organised under the following eight themes:

• Adolescent Identities
• Cultural Contexts for Computer-Aided Language Learning
• Networking, Community Building and Knowledge Management
• Issues of Leadership, Consultancy and Change
• Critical, Cultural and Post-Modern Perspectives
• Culture, Language and Media
• Values in Education
• Raising Awareness of Cultural Diversity

The network meeting discussed several issues, the first of which involved a discussion about how to address the theme of the 2006 conference in Geneva of Transforming Knowledge. The meeting also discussed the name of the network and how best to convey the interest of the group in considering the three themes of open learning contexts, cultural diversity and democracy in an integrated way. We agreed that ideally role of main convenor of the group should be fulfilled on the basis of a three year term and Brian Hudson agreed to continue to undertake this role for at least one further year.

There was also a discussion about collaboration with other networks both within EERA and also externally. In particular we discussed the relationship between EERA Network 6 and the LEARN Intensive Programme (IP) for doctoral students on the topic of e-Learning in Higher Education funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus Action (Higher Education) from 2003 to 2006. The latter network has involved several members of EERA Network 6 over recent years in supporting the development of new researchers in the field. Accordingly the meeting agreed to recognise the collaboration between these networks formally and noted that the next meeting of the LEARN IP would take place in Estonia in June 2006 hosted by the Centre for Educational Technology at Tallinn University.

We also noted the possibility of the establishment of a new EERA network on Teaching and Learning/Didactics with interest and agreed to continue to discuss the inter-relationship of EERA Network 6 with other networks at our next meeting in 2006. Members were encouraged to submit conference papers for consideration to be published in the European Educational Research Journal (EERJ). Finally the meeting agreed to the further strengthening of the team of convenors with the addition of Kristen Snyder from Mid Sweden University as a co-convenor.