Category: sharing Page 33 of 41

Last August, I announced the publication of Emerging Technologies in Distance Education, a book I edited for AU Press that was published concurrently in print (for purchase) and in e-book format (as a free download). I am very excited (and surprised) to announce that Athabasca University Press is gearing up for a re-print! First of all, thank you to all of you who bought a copy, thus providing support to AU Press to continue publishing free versions of their books online.

I am surprised because I haven’t paid any attention to the printed version of the book. I’m also surprised by how quickly this happened (3 months – this could also mean that only a small number of books was printed). Either way, my interest on the printed version stops at the printed book’s ability to finance the free dissemination of the electronic version. I am more interested on the book’s reach and impact and a snapshot of these factors is provided below:

In relation to the reach of the book, here’s what Google Alerts and some simple tracking tells me:

– Every single day since publication, the book has been mentioned at least once (on blogs, twitter, and other social media)
– The e-book was bookmarked 81 times on the del.icio.us social bookmarking site.
– A number of libraries have bought copies of the printed book.
– Five instructors have used parts of the book in their teaching
– Elizabeth Wellburn has been summarizing the book chapter-by-chapter on her blog.

As far as download statistics go, this is what AU has to provided:

– The book was downloaded 350 times in August, 329 in September, and 316 times in October.
– Individual chapter downloads were: 506 times in August, 1,263 times in September, and 861 in October.
– From August to October there has been 306 visits to the book on the Google Books site.  283 of these visits have resulted in actual pages being viewed.
– From August to October there has been a total of 3, 311 pages of the book viewed on Google Books.

One final note: The book does NOT owe its popularity to me. The book is popular because of the authors who contributed their knowledge to this project (see complete list on this pdf file), and to well-known and well-connected individuals who have mentioned/used the book in their work. These include Terry Anderson, Alec Couros, and George Siemens (this list looks suspiciously Canadian!)

I don’t know how to end this entry, but to say a big thank you.

This CFP was emailed to me the other day – My colleagues presented here last year, but I was unable to attend unfortunately. Last year’s program looked quite interesting.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has just published a special report on Online Learning. Part of this issue involved asking individuals in the field the following question: Has the Quality of Online Learning Kept Up With Its Growth? Responses printed were from Elliott Masie, Alexander McCormick, Robert Mendenhall, Janet Salmons, Carol Twigg, and myself. You need to subscribe to read some of the content. I was however, given permission to post my response publicly, so here it is:

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the world saw the rise of a method of instruction called the monitorial or Lan­casterian method. This approach involved advanced students’ assisting their less-advanced colleagues in what amounted to modern-day tutoring sessions. Was the method effective? While it eventually fell out of favor, initial reactions varied. On the one hand, the approach allowed increased access to education. On the other, it could lead to poor learning experiences.

A few hundred years later, we face a similar dilemma: Has the quality of online-education offerings kept up with growth? Is the method effective? The answer is still the same: Yes and no. Over all, learning at a distance has dramatically improved during the last 15 years. The problems facing the traditional distance-learning model (e.g., feelings of isolation on the part of learners and instructors) can now be efficiently dealt with via participatory Internet technologies. Yet examples of outstanding online learning are hard to find. While social technologies enable the adoption of student-centered pedagogies, we remain faithful to our didactic approaches.

Nevertheless, we live in exciting times. I am encouraged because I see around me a desire to innovate and question cultural norms that may have hindered technology-enhanced education.

At the same time, three dominant narratives surrounding online learning concern me. These are:

• Online learning versus face-to-face learning. The tendency to compare the two prevents us from seeing the unique opportunities offered by online learning. While I understand the desire to compare, I would prefer to spend our energy on improving education rather than comparing what should be inherently different approaches.
• The latest technology as a panacea. To improve online learning, we need to stop thinking of technology as a tool to solve problems and start rethinking the ways we teach. While newer technologies may shape some of those ways, we need to evaluate our approaches, reconsider teacher/student roles, and assess the purposes of education and the meaning of learning in technology-rich environments.
• Delivering education to the masses. Unfortunately, online learning is often seen as a way to deliver education to large numbers of students. The narrative of online education as a product to be delivered harms education. We need to think of online education as an experience, and the instructor as the designer of that experience—an experience that can be fulfilling, engaging, and powerful.

Each month, I enjoy receiving the elearningeuropa newsletter that provides information on research, papers,  events, funding, and other European initiatives relating to technology and education. I am posting selected bits from the latest issue (per the EU permission on content reproduction), but you can subscribe for the (free) newsletter at the  elearningEuropa site.

elearningeuropa.info Newsletter – September 2010

Ongoing topics

ELEARNING PAPERS. Call for Papers: Training and work. Deadline October 8th. Today, a large part of learning takes place in a work environment, rather than in tertiary and post-tertiary education settings. In order to stay relevant and contribute to the human capital of future workers, learning needs to be tightly integrated into organizational work processes, allowing it to become a fundamental part of workers’ and managers’ everyday activities. Read more here

YOUTH ON THE MOVE. A new European Union initiative. During the month of October, international youth mobility will be celebrated in all its forms. Budapest and Bordeaux will provide the stage for the launch of a major European initiative that seeks to encourage youth mobility in all fields of education, training, creation and solidarity-based commitment. These two cities and their community, educational and economic actors will come together for an event at which the dominant theme will be mobility for young people and the values that they represent. Read more here

PROJECT OF THE MONTH. ICOPER is a best practice network that seeks to collect and further develop best practices for the design, development and delivery of interoperable content supporting competency-driven higher education. Read more here

ICT 2010, Digitally Driven, 27-29 September 2010, Brussels (Belgium). Europe’s most visible forum for ICT research and innovation. This biennial event has become a unique meeting point for researchers, business people, investors and high-level policy-makers in the field of digital innovation. ICT 2010 will focus on policy priorities such as Europe’s Digital Agenda and the 2011-2012 European Union financial programme (€ 2.8 billion) funding research and innovation in ICT. Read more here

Selected articles, events and open calls

At what age can a child start using a computer?

Without necessarily advocating the use of ICT as early as possible in childhood, this article tries to temper the negative view being an invitation to informed reflection and to interpretation of the…

ICT Resources Centres for Special Needs Education

In the framework of the recent reorganization of Special Needs Education in Portugal, aiming at the inclusion of children and youth, with permanent special needs, in mainstream schools, several…

Lifelong Learning Programme Info Days 2011

What are the European funding possibilities in the field of Lifelong Learning? What is the latest news on the Lifelong Learning Programme? How to increase your chances of having your project…

Second European Innovation Summit

A debate will take place on how to achieve Europe’s goal to become a global leader in innovation and how we can make innovation partnerships successful. The Summit also includes a three-day…

Diverse 2011 Developing Innovative Visual EducationalResources For Students Everywhere

The main goal for the conference is to enhance the use of visual media in teaching, learning and creative inquiry. To achieve this we are inviting those who produce, use or want to use visual media…

CSEDU 2011 – 3rd International Conference on Computer Supported Education

CSEDU 2011, the International Conference on Computer Supported Education, aims at becoming a yearly meeting place for presenting and discussing new educational environments, best practices and case…

Sixth EDEN Research Workshop. User Generated Content Assessment in Learning: Enhancing Transparency and Quality of Peer Production

The Budapest event will offer a platform to present newly born research, theory and practice about assessing the value and impact of e-learning, exchange ideas about the objectives, methods, tools…

VII International Seminar of the UNESCO Chair in e-learning. Mobile Technologies for Learning and Development – Silver Bullet Found?

The topic will be Mobile Learning. In the seminar, we will discuss and analyze this emerging phenomenon from three different approaches: academic, technological and cooperative….

Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators

The indicators show who participates in education, how much is spent on it and how education systems operate. They also illustrate a wide range of educational outcomes, comparing, for example,…

PISA Computer-Based Assessment of Student Skills in Science

PISA Computer-Based Assessment of Student Skills in Science describes how the 2006 survey was administered, presents 15-year-olds’ achievement scores in science and explains the impact of…

HOW TO Identify & Design Great Digital Content

What does exemplary digital learning content look like for Business? Use this check list to help you purchase or develop great content. The checklist has been developed over many years of…

The use of Web 2.0 in VET and adult training in SVEA Consortium’s regions. Summary of the Regional Needs Analysis

The report not only outlines the current needs and status quo in the use of web 2.0 tools in VET and adult training, but also responds to the identified needs and barriers by outlining appropriate…

EC Public consultation on next-generation EU programmes – education, training and youth policy

The new programmes should support the Europe 2020 strategy, which promotes an economy based on knowledge, research and innovation, high levels of education and skills, adaptability and creativity,…

Flexibility and Innovation Fund

The fund represents LSIS’s commitment to directing funding into the learning and skills sector and using provider expertise to build the sector’s capacity to innovate and improve…

Youth in Action – Partnerships

Call for proposals aiming to support partnership projects which intend to develop or reinforce their long-term actions, strategies and programmes in the field of non-formal learning and youth….

European Policy Network on Key Competences in School Education

This call for Proposals will support the implementation of the 2006 Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning. It will do so by addressing in particular the issues raised by the 2009…