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E-Learning 2.0 - Why the New Tools?
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Stephen
Downes
Research Officer
NRC Institute for Information Technology |
Why do we need e-learning 2.0 at all? This presentation
will outline some of the tools involved in e-learning 2.0,
things like blogs and wikis and podcasting. It will compare
the learning enabled in these tools with the learning supported
by more traditional online and distance learning technologies,
such as conferencing and learning management systems. Underlying
e-learning 2.0, it will be argued, is not merely a new approach
to online learning technology, but also a pedagogy enabled
by the new technology, one that supports meaningful and
important learning.
The limits and possibilities of e-learning in Africa:
A brief expose of the AVU experiences
ICTs as an Enabler for the Development of the Education
Sector in Mozambique
Education has been declared as one of the national priority
sectors for the poverty reduction strategy for years 2006-2009
by the Government of Mozambique. The sector has defined
an ambitious strategy for years 2006-2011, which outlines
the priority areas and introduces new approaches for strengthening
the delivery of education services through revised curricula’s,
enhanced teacher training and better management of human
resources and the whole education network. Challenges remain
considerable but both qualitative and quantitative indicators
show that progress has been made.
To strengthen and to complement sectoral strategies, Government
of Mozambique has elaborated and approved a comprehensive
strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), which
supports the development of education services, from primary
education to tertiary institutions and places special weight
on national research capacities. STI strategy develops tools
and innovative concepts for building a comprehensive innovation
framework, combining applied research, private sector product
development with spearhead innovations. The strategy has
a clear focus on pro-poor solutions, benefiting the least
privileged members of the society. This applies also to
identifying technologies for supporting development of the
education sector, including science and computer laboratories,
distance learning platforms with appropriate contents and
tools for managing the expanding education network.
Designing staff development and support services
for eLearning on an evidence base created within one's own
university
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Carmel
McNaught
Professor of Learning Enhancement
Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research
The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
Staff development is a sales job. Academic staff developers
sell ideas and strategies to academic teachers. The academy
is built on evidence-based scholarship and therefore our
‘sales’ pitch needs to be evidence-based and
scholarly. This presentation will describe how staff at
the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR)
at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have used
clear and directed research to articulate teachers’
eLearning needs to the University administration. Multiple
sources of data were collected, including site logs, experts’
review of selected active websites, and interviews with
26 active eTeachers. This approach has enabled us to obtain
additional resources to enable us to work with each department
in the University. Interwoven into this research into eLearning
at CUHK is a set of principles for excellent teaching based
on interviews with 18 CUHK teachers who obtained Exemplary
Teaching Awards. So, we base our staff development work
on what the best teachers at our University believe and
how they enact those beliefs. These stories resonate with
colleagues in the community of our University.
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