networks
ALADIN - Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network. Directory of Members 2012
Despite rapid expansion of knowledge and new media, many in the adult learning community have to contend with shortages of information and resources in their work. This is particularly the case in developing countries. But better access to relevant information will improve the linkages between research, documentation and policy-making that are vital in meeting the needs of adult learning. Given such improvements, we would all benefit from more efficient project planning and less duplication of effort, more fruitful relationships and, above all, better-informed policy decisions. In line with its own dedication to the cause of lifelong learning, UIL is looking forward to coordinating further interesting and inspiring projects that support ALADIN’s vision of working for a global learning society, where information and knowledge on adult learning is created, well-documented and made accessible to all.
TERENA Compendium of National Research and Education Networks 2011
The Internet basically began as a technological innovation for which growing numbers of institutions and individuals found an ever-increasing variety of uses. Subsequent Internet developments were essentially driven by further technological innovations. Currently, the emphasis on technology is decreasing and greater importance is being attached to meeting user demands. This does not mean that the technology is no longer developing; it does mean that, more so than in the past, developments in services and technology have to go hand in hand. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly important to disseminate information about these services and technologies. This edition of the Compendium offers the most extensive overview of NREN services yet, including security services, network collaboration tools, network computing resources and e-learning.
Media & Learning Conference 2012 to take place 14-15 November 2012
The dates for the next Media & Learning Conference in Brussels have been announced, the conference will take place on 14-15 November 2012.
Aimed at policy makers, service providers and practitioners, the third annual Media & Learning Conference will build on the success of Media & Learning 2011 which attracted over 298 people from 39 countries with a packed programme of talks, discussions and demonstrations.
Media & Learning 2012 is being organised in collaboration with the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training and the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture and will take place in the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training Headquarters in Brussels.
The programme will include lots of new features including debates, exchanges and online elements and will include the annual awards ceremony for the MEDEA Awards as well as presentations and inputs from all finalists in the 2012 competition.
Media & Learning 2012 will bring together an ever-widening community of people interested in how media can be used to support learning across all sectors, in media literacy and in the re-use of media based resources in education and training as well as broader issues related to innovation, creativity, ICT skills and digital competence.
Contact the organisers if you would like to be involved in the development of the conference programme. Interested individuals, project teams, institutions and organisations are invited to submit proposals to give presentations, demonstrations and workshops at this conference, the closing date for submissions is 1 June 2012.
More information including the public call for input will be available from the Media & Learning Conference website shortly: http://www.media-and-learning.eu.
To read the public report about the Media & Learning Conference 2011, you can download it from the online press and publications page.
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Media & Learning Brussels 2011: Exploring the power of media to support learning now and in the future
The Media & Learning Brussels 2011 Conference was organised by the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training and media company ATiT with the support of the European Commission, DG Education and Culture. It took place on 24-25 November 2011 in the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training headquarters in Brussels and involved 298 participants from 39 countries who came together to discuss the advantages and implications of using media in teaching and learning.
OTeN Annuaire cartographique des acteurs du numérique territorial
520 acteurs présents sur les territoires et œuvrant pour le développement du numérique sont en effet identifiés et localisés sur l’annuaire cartographique, leurs actions décrites sous formes de fiche descriptive.
Teacher Collaboration Networks in 2025. What is the role of teacher Networks for professional development in Europe?
This report gives the findings of an expert workshop organized by JRC/IPTS carried out within the TeLLNet project to start the debate on how teachers’ networks are currently contributing to the modernization of the educational systems, and what they will be like in 15 year time.
The outcome of the Media & Learning 2011 Conference
eLearning Europa sent two representatives at the Media & Learning 2011 event that took place last November 24 – 25 (2011) in Brussels.
The results of the two days meetings in the Flemish Ministry of Education are concisely presented by Sally Reynolds from ATiT Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications, organiser of the Media & Learning Conference and sponsor of the MEDEA Media in Education Awards 2011.
eLearning Europa: What were the targets of the Media & Learning 2011 conference? Were they met?
Sally Reynolds: In terms of numbers, we were keen to have somewhere between 250 and 300 people, 300 is about the maximum for the Flemish Ministry's facilities so our final number of 298 was really on target. But more importantly, we were keen to bring together practitioners engaged in educational media production and usage from different countries and to connect them with one another as well as with representatives from ministries, broadcast organisations, publishers, researchers and others interested in the possible links between media and learning, and in this too we believe we have been successful.
eLearning Europa: How do you evaluate the level of participation in the M&L 2011 event? What was the main target group?
Sally Reynolds: We are delighted with the level of participation, there was an excellent atmosphere of participation and collaboration and we see this reflected in the conference evaluation. People were really engaged and quite a few have described the conference as a whole to be highly motivational which is of course very encouraging. Our main target group was as previously described, and the fact that we had such a wide geographical spread of participation is very satisfying.
eLearning Europa: You have used various social networking tools to promote the M&L 2011 conference. How did they help?
Sally Reynolds: We have been busy online before the conference and in just 6 months, our Facebook and LinkedIn groups have grown really well. We also have a dedicated online conference community, which many people use to find out who will be at the conference and to make contact beforehand. We are determined with this conference to ensure there is excellent networking during the conference itself, which is why we make available the pigeon service which almost 80% of participants signed up to beforehand. This enabled any participant with a pigeon code to contact any other participant with a pigeon code using their own mobile phone without have to know one another's mobile number. We have had a lot of positive feedback about this service, which made a difference for many participants. Going to a conference is all about making new contacts and regardless of the size of the conference, we want to make sure people can network and communicate with one another successfully in a friendly and relaxed environment.
eLearning Europa: How do you evaluate the submissions in the MEDEA Awards?
Sally Reynolds: We are very pleased with the level of participation in the MEDEA Awards this year, with 115 entries from 28 countries. These entries were judged online by our judging panel of 75 education and media experts from 15 countries who evaluated the MEDEA entries in late September and early October. This led to a list of 9 finalists and 13 Highly Commended entries. These 9 Finalists were invited to Brussels for the conference and took part in the MEDEA Awards ceremony last Thursday evening which went very well - we even had a live competition for the audience favourite which was very exciting.
It is interesting to see that educational games won in both the professionally produced and user-generated categories this year, which will certainly influence our conference programme design for 2012
eLearning Europa: Can you share with us some inside stories from the event? What was the biggest challenge?
Sally Reynolds: Conference organisation with almost 300 participants from so many countries is always a bit challenging, but we have a great team and super supporting organisations and friends, which makes the difference. Keeping the programme on schedule when so many people wanted to extend discussions, network with new people they had met and show one another excellent examples of media-supported learning did mean there were some fraught moments - but we managed to stay generally on time, which was a help!
Classroom4.eu - An interactive textbook for schools on European civilisation and culture
Classroom4.eu is a project that tries to map the cultural history and civilization of Europe as an exchange and communication process with the help of a student-designed wiki. European history is connected with the regional and local research: Students describe in short essays how their city, their region has participated in the European innovation processes. The project aims at all European upper secondary schools, and especially promotes an independent, research-based and propaedeutic learning.
For further information see also: http://www.classroom4wiki.eu/
PLNs and PLEs - It's the 'Personal' bit that counts the most
A discussion of what the terms Personal Leaning Networks and Personal Learning Enviroments mean and why they are such effective tools for educators professional development by Graham Stanley.
I was writing a comment on an interesting blog post by Cecilia Lemos about what having a PLN has done for her, when I realised that this comment deserved to be expanded a blog post of its own, so here it is!
For some time now, I've been concerned about how some people are using this term, which stands for 'Personal Learning Network' and which developed out of the concept of PLE (Personal Learning Environment).
Shelly Terrell has said she prefers the term 'Passionate Learning Networks and others refer to Professional Learning Networks, but for me, the whole point about the term is that it's 'personal'.
The term PLN is bandied about so much these days it's starting to lose its meaning. Another thing I hear a lot now is people talking about 'the PLN' , which is fine when people are referring to 'their' PLN, but not if they have a big social club in mind that people are either part of or not. This is not a PLN. A PLN is something people have to build and which takes time to nurture and develop. It is also and involves active participation and hard work. It's not just about pressing a button and joining a Ning.
Where did the term PLN come from? You can find a great discussion about this on a blog post by Alec Couros, but I'll also share what I have come to understand about the differences here.
First of all there was the idea of PLE (Personal Learning Environment), which was a reaction to the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) represented by platforms such as Blackboard or Moodle. The VLE is all very well, but the big problem with it is that it is usually institution owned. You join when you are a student or employee of an organisation or institution and then when you leave (because you change jobs or stop studying at a particular university, etc) then you will probably have to leave the VLE. This usually means losing all of the learning content you have contributed and becoming divorced from the people you have connected with. Not ideal as it means you have to start all over again somewhere else.
A PLE, on the other hand is owned by the teacher or student and is all about 'small pieces loosely joined' (i.e. a collection of tools that work for you. Soon after the popularisation of the PLE, people started to realise that it wasn't about the tools (i.e. the environment) it's about the people you choose to connect to to enable learning to occur (i.e. your network). So, the idea of a PLN was born, and by all accounts we have David Warlick to thank for this.
Perversely, I have subsequently seen organisations trying to hijack the popularity of the term PLN and use it for what really is a VLE - I went to one presentation at a conference where the presenter talked about how her university was building a 'PLN system' to help their students - what they were in fact doing was building another VLE (i.e. a learning environment that was owned by the university) - bizarre,and totally missing the point!
The benefits a teacher can gain by building a PLN and how best to do it are the reasons why a group of us have started the aPLaNet project - to raise awareness of what this can do for teachers who are reluctant or who don't know how to begin. If you think you can help us by becoming a mentor to new teachers or you are a teacher that would like to build your own PLN, then please join us here: http://aplanet-project.org.
This blog post was originally published on http://blog-efl.blogspot.com