Archive for June, 2006
June 30th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Motivating Students. ‘Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: “Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher’s ability … to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place” (Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.’
Tools for Teaching, Davis, B.G., Jossey-Bass; San Francisco, 1993. ‘A compendium of classroom-tested strategies and suggestions designed to improve the teaching practices of all college instructors, including beginning, mid-career, and senior faculty members. The book describes 49 teaching tools that cover both traditional practical tasks–writing a course syllabus, delivering an effective lecture–as well as newer, broader concerns such as responding to diversity on campus and coping with budget constraints.’
Technorati Tags: Motivating Students, Teaching, Teaching Tools
June 29th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Personal Learning Environments. ‘Personal Learning Envionments (PLE) are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to
* set their own learning goals
* manage their learning; managing both content and process
* communicate with others in the process of learning
and thereby achieve learning goals. There are many dimensions to a space of PLEs. One basic distinction is between those visions , or incarnations, of PLEs as pure Web 2.0 artefacts, and those running on local hardware, be that anything from a laptop to a handheld. In the latter incarnation a further distinction is between those PLEs connected to the web, and those operating offline, perhaps in a field environment or a wi-fi free hospital. Off-line usage without connecting back to the web would be possible, but would be an incredibly impovrishing use, since the common conception of a PLE is that it is to be used in pedagogic contexts that acknowledge (or even emphasise) the role of communication in learning.’
Technorati Tags: PLE, Personal Learning Environments, Learning
June 29th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Wikibooks. ‘Wikibooks is a collection of free instructional textbooks that are being written collaboratively by the readers of this web site. As an alternative to the proprietary model used by publishers of more expensive textbooks, Wikibooks uses the GNU Free Documentation License so that anyone may copy, modify, and reuse our textbooks. You can participate in Wikibooks by authoring and editing content on this site.’
Wikibooks:Education bookshelf
Technorati Tags: Wikis, Wikibooks
June 29th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
The LAMS Foundation. ‘The LAMS Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that manages research and development into LAMS and the concepts of Learning Design. The Foundation is based at Macquarie University, Australia as part of the Macquarie E-learning Centre of Excellence (MELCOE), under the leadership of Professor James Dalziel (Director of MELCOE and inventor of LAMS). The LAMS Foundation collaborates with LAMS International to foster the adoption and implementation of LAMS across all education sectors.’
LAMS - Learning Activity Management System - ‘LAMS is a revolutionary new tool for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities. It provides teachers with a highly intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities. These activities can include a range of individual tasks, small group work and whole class activities based on both content and collaboration.’
Software Download
LAMS 2.0 Development Wiki
Technorati Tags: LAMS, LAMS Foundation, Learning, Learning Design, Collaborative Learning
June 29th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
The First International LAMS Conference: Designing the Future of Learning. ‘The focus of the conference is on designing for the future. Where will Learning Design take us now? How is LAMS shaping up? What are the challenges for individuals and organisations? Importantly we want to capture the experience of those who have used LAMS and share some of the lessons learnt in higher education, the K-12 sector, vocational and professional education. The conference is being hosted by the LAMS Foundation and the Macquarie University E-Learning Centre Of Excellence - MELCOE. The LAMS Conference follows the ASCILITE 2006 Conference (3-6 December 2006), which is being held at the same venue earlier in the week.’
ASCILITE 2006 Conference - ‘The annual conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. This year’s theme, “Who’s Learning? Whose Technology?” focuses attention on understanding the needs of a diversifying population.’
Technorati Tags: LAMS, LAMS Conference, Ascilite, Learning, Learning Design
June 28th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Open Source Academy. ‘Our aim is to encourage the use of Open Source Software by local authorities through knowledge sharing and practical advice. The content of our portal, as well as our one-to-one services, can help you economise on costs and increase Open Source’s implementation efficiency. Registered Users are able to comment on documents such as White Papers and Case Studies as well as participate in Discussion Forums and Ask an Expert. To become a Registered User please follow the ‘Join’ link above. As a Registered User we would prefer you to be involved in the Local Government sector.’
Technorati Tags: Open Source Academy, Open Source, Open Access
June 26th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Theory and Practice of Online Learning, edited by Terry Anderson and Fathi Elloumi. ‘Theory and Practice of Online Learning is concerned with assisting providers of online education with useful tools to carry out the teaching and learning transactions online. It presents, in an easily readable form, the theory, administration, tools, and methods of designing and delivering learning online. By doing so, the authors bring to the teaching community a valuable product which should go a long way in popularizing the use of the learning technologies.’
Download book (PDF)
Technorati Tags: Online Learning, Distance Education, Online Book, Learning, Teaching
June 25th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Pandora’s Box: A New Model for Education in Asia. ‘Distance education. Just say the words and a stereotype comes to mind — a system of education that is “second best.†Many who have only experienced face-to-face education in an institutional setting believe that the quality of education provided through distance education is inferior. However, this is far from true, according to Naveed A. Malik, rector of the Virtual University of Pakistan. In fact, in Asia, distance education using information and communication technologies (ICTs) is proving to be an efficient way of delivering high-quality education using course materials often developed by the best faculty teams. And by making higher education affordable and accessible, it is helping to address equity issues.’
PANdora: Pan Asia Networking Distance and Open Resource Access
Networking Distance Learning Technology Engines for Research
Technorati Tags: Distance Education, Education Asia, Distance Learning, IDRC, Pandora
June 25th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Technology and teachers take learning beyond classroom walls. ‘Dickinson State University continues to expand classroom walls by combining creative thinking with the latest technologies. Multimedia classrooms, Web CT, blogging and iPods are just a few of the innovative technological applications being used at Dickinson State. “The information age poses new challenges for universities to keep abreast of the continually changing information landscape,†said Dickinson State University President Dr. Lee Vickers. “We strive to be on the cutting edge of advancements in technology that can enhance student learning at Dickinson Stateâ€.’
June 25th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
The Journal of Distance Learning Administration. ‘The Journal of Distance Learning Administration is a peer-reviewed electronic journal offered free each quarter over the World Wide Web. The Journal welcomes manuscripts based on original work of practitioners and researchers with specific focus or implications for the management of distance education programs.’
From Summer 2006 - Volume 9, Number 2:
- DL-sQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Service Quality of Online Distance Learning Programs
- Forgotten Faculty: Stress and Job Satisfaction among Distance Educators
- A Needs Assessment: A Study of Perceived Need for Student Services by Distance Learners
Technorati Tags: Distance Learning, Open Access, Online Journal
June 24th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
New Online Learning Opportunities for Regulatory Intelligence Training. ‘Thomson Scientific, a business of The Thomson Corporation, today announced the launch of a Web-based resource for regulatory intelligence training. Called Regulatory Online Learning, it integrates with IDRAC ® , which was acquired by Thomson in 2004 and is recognized by regulatory professionals the world over as the leading authority in global regulatory intelligence. Users will have access to expert instruction designed to provide unparalleled training in global regulatory affairs and to optimize success when dealing with regulatory authorities. The Regulatory Online Learning modules now available include:
* Introduction to European Union institutions and regulatory authority (EMEA)
* Introduction to US institutions and regulatory authority (FDA)
* Introduction to Japanese institutions and regulatory authorities
* How to Register Medicinal Products through the Centralized Procedure
Twelve more Regulatory Online Learning modules are poised for launch later this year, totaling 16 training modules to be available for the first year of introduction. Further modules will be added subsequently.’
Technorati Tags: Thomson+Scientific, online+learning, Training
June 24th, 2006 by Jorge Goncalves
Arriving at the Electronic Frontier. ‘Achieving universal primary education in countries jumpstarts secondary education. However, many regions find themselves without the resources needed to meet this demand. A UNESCO program using Open and Distance Learning (ODL) systems is giving secondary school students access to the world of learning. “This situation urgently calls for the development of innovative new educational services and an expansion of existing educational methods,” says Sonia Bahri of UNESCO Paris. “Reaching geographically remote and impoverished urban areas is a particular challenge,” she adds. Pilot sites in Asia, Africa and Latin America are demonstrating the effectiveness of ODL via e-Learning as an important educational tool for meeting this challenge.’
IberoAmerican Online High School
Technorati Tags: UNESCO, ODL, Distance Learning
