collaborative learning

More than 200 attendees from four continents and over 30 different countries contributed to a vibrant conference dialogue at LINQ 2013 carried out over May 16th and 17th. LINQ 2013 participants gathered at the global headquarters of the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy to discuss the future of international learning innovations and quality. Keynote speeches by prominent experts in the fields of educational innovation and representatives of the European Commission, UNESCO, and CEDEFOP complemented a great variety of on-going research projects and state-of-the-art papers presented during the conference. In his introductory speech, the LINQ Conference Chair Christian M. Stracke pointed out the need for bridging learning innovations and learning quality, which is the core objective of LINQ. The success of LINQ 2013 has inspired conference organizers from the University of Duisburg-Essen to begin preparations for LINQ 2014, expected to take place on the island of Crete next May.

Highlights from the LINQ 2013 Plenum on May 16th include elaboration by António Silva Mendes, Director of the European Commission and Coordinator of the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme on the importance of quality improvement in learning outcomes. Silva Mendes asserted the efficacy of learning programmes in promoting employment chances, the role the EU can play in supporting member states transfer successful schemes to other members, and the importance of developing benchmarking activities to monitor said schemes’ success in new contexts. Tony Bates of Tony Bates Associates provided LINQ 2013 with an analysis of the most recent forms of open education, concluding that open access education must be accompanied by quality assessment to ensure its value for learners. UNESCO OER Chairs Rory McGreal (University of Athabasca) and Fred Mulder (Open University of the Netherlands) emphasized the advantages Open Educational Resources (OER) have provided to contemporary learners – Rory McGreal underlined the need for free education and open mobile access, whereas Fred Mulder explained the broad, multifaceted meaning of open education, including demand-side arguments for opening up education.

Further keynote speakers included the expert and inventor of the term “e-learning” Jay Cross of the Internet Time Alliance, who focused on the need for integrating learning into work and the value of happiness for learning. Christian-Friedrich Lettmayr, Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) presented current trends in vocational training in Europe. Ignasi Labastida, board member of the OCW Consortium and Creative Commons, explained the value and benefits of open licenses and pled for an opening and sharing of educational resources. Miguel-Angel Sicilia of the University of Alcalá expounded on linked open data and its connections to the evolution of the semantic web, exemplifying this “web of linked learning” through the Virtual Open Access Repository VOA3R (www.voa3r.eu). Finally, Christian M. Stracke introduced the International Association ICORE for Open Research and Open Education and the results of its first meeting on the day before LINQ 2013.

On May 17th four parallel sessions gave invited speakers, research projects, and paper authors thematic space in which to present their work. More information about LINQ can be found online at the official LINQ website at www.learning-innovations.eu, including videos of the complete conference, the conference proceedings, and information about future events. For the most up-to-date news on the results of LINQ 2013 as well as LINQ 2014, including new opportunities for participation, please follow @LINQ_Conference on Twitter and like www.facebook.com/LINQConference on Facebook.

About the 2nd European Conference on

Learning Innovations and Quality:

“The Future of Digital Resources”

The main goal of LINQ 2013 was to bring together a variety of academics and professionals in active in the field of Innovations and Quality in Lifelong Learning (LLL) for an innovative exchange of the latest developments in education and training innovations and quality on both a European and international level. Potential points of access to this field included new learning methods and design, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), quality standards and certification, human resources development, competences and skills, digital resources, learning materials, and online collaboration and communities.

LINQ 2013 attracted submissions from throughout Europe, as well as Asia, America, and Africa. More than 150 researchers and practitioners answered the LINQ 2013 call for papers and projects. This year thus showed a continuation in the high level of interest which made LINQ 2012 such a successful conference in Brussels last year. The Global Headquarters of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy provided an ideal location for LINQ 2013. The first day of the conference began with a plenary which included remarks from prominent keynote speakers. The second day was divided into four parallel sessions, allowing the chosen project and paper submitters to present their work.

More information about LINQ online:

www.learning-innovations.eu

The project (2009-2011) identified a number of tools to raise awareness and to demonstrate the importance of language learning and produced the YELL Handbook, targeted at multipliers in non-formal and formal education, providers of cultural, social and sport activities for young people.

The Handbook provides insight on how to implement best practices on raising awareness about cultural diversity and motivation of young people to learn foreign languages. The tools are designed for all education and vocational qualification institutions and for the trainers.

The project also produced the Virtual Documentation Center, an on-line database of examples of good practise in the field of innovative and creative ways of language learning in non-formal and informal contexts.

The YELL 2 project was launched in April 2013 to to disseminate the results of the network and to raise awareness of the Virtual Documentation Centre. The consortium of partners from Germany, UK and Turkey, aims to extend the user base of their online database and to enhance the tool by gathering additional Best Practice resources from around Europe.

“The Hungry Turkey” magazine will not only be published in paper – it will also have an online vesion, constantly updated by the students. The project will also include radio and television events with the participation of the learners from the Tibor Jankay Bilingual Primary School (Hungary) and Taşköprü Primary School (Turkey).

The aim is to emphasize the intercultural dimension of modern education and the communication of students with children from different cultures.

During the duration of the project both schools will place the focus of IT classes in the practical aspects of technology, encouraging students to use their skills in productive, creative and intelligent activities.