KUCHING--August 27--Bernama-AsiaNet The role of online learning in tertiary education will be a persistent theme at the inaugural South East Asian Association for Institutional Research (SEAAIR) Conference to be held here in October. Tertiary education experts from around the world will gather at the Crowne Plaza Riverside Hotel from 23 to 25 October for the conference, jointly organised by the Swinburne Sarawak Institute of Technology and the Sarawak Development Institute. Dr. Daniel Chew of the Sarawak Development Institute said: "Tertiary education experts from Australia, Britain, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam will present about 40 papers during the three days." Dr Chew commented that the response to the call for papers had been so good that the conference will need 3 parallel "theme" sessions, as well as the plenary keynote addresses and sessions featuring distinguished international experts. Dr. Chew said that though the papers would cover a number of subjects, "several of them will examine the role of information technology in teaching. For instance a group of academics from Kuala Lumpur will present a paper entitled: 'Faculty Perception of Online Learning in a Medical School in Malaysia'. "Other papers will examine how the Internet can influence classroom dynamics, give guides to the employment of information technologies on teaching and learning, discuss evaluations of the use of online learning and show how IT can help in course scheduling." Conference Chair, Professor Ken Heskin of Swinburne Sarawak Institute of Technology said: "The wide range of papers from academics in different countries and different disciplines will cover the whole spectrum of tertiary education. "They will deal with many vital issues for tertiary education in the region, including forming productive partnerships with institutions in other countries, measuring efficiency and effectiveness of education, and how to facilitate the international movement of students." Professor Heskin said: "Other papers will emphasize quality assurance in higher education institutions, effective management and decentralization of university governance." Dr. Chew explained: "In organising the conference we are very aware that tertiary education is all about people and their human needs in this technological age of globalisation. There are a number of papers on how our technological responses to globalisation within tertiary education affect students and staff and the measures that need to be taken to ensure that the inevitable changes lead to positive outcomes for everyone." Further information is available on the conference website at: http://www.swinburne.edu.my/seaair.htm or contact: Ms. Caroline Hon, Manager, Finance & Administration, Swinburne Sarawak Institute of Technology, Tingkat 1, Kompleks Negeri, Jalan Simpang Tiga, 93576 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Tel: 6082 416 353; Fax: 6082 423 594; e-mail: [email protected]. SOURCE: Swinburne Sarawak Institute of Technology