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EDEN Newsflash Archives

EDEN Newsflash - February 2010

Dear EDEN Member,

New Keynotes Confirmed Besides the previously announced ones, Martine Vidal, Chief Editor of the Journal "Distances et savoirs" and Bernard Luskin, Provost and CEO for global eLearning Programs, Touro College and Touro University, Member of the Executive Strategic Council of IMS Global Learning Consortium have also accepted our invitation to speak at the Conference. Conference Dinner and EDEN Dancing This event will be organised on 11 June in the famous "Les Graelles", a typical Valencian restaurant, in the center of the city, near "Jardin del Turia". Besides the gastronomic pleasure, live jazz band will ensure the entertainment for the delegates. Booking for the event can be accomplished through the Online Registration Form.

2. News from the EDEN Executive Committee

At their meeting held on 1 February in London, the Executive Committee discussed thouroughly the transformation of the NAP Members' Area to an EDEN social networking site. This item was in the focus of the consultation with a view to modernize the present Area to meet the requirements of NAP members to build up personal portfolio, include resources, blogs, photos, etc.

With the new Members' Area, the aim is to promote the communication and dialogue, providing more information for members and opportunities for professional actions.

The EC approved the final report of the Porto Open Classroom Conference, that was found content-wise a successful event, due also to the massive involvement of the Portugal teacher community. The concept of the upcoming Research Workshop, that will take place 25-27 October in Budapest has also been discussed.

3. New Members

EDEN welcomes the following new institutions having joined the Association during the first two months of 2010:

• Transpersonal Psychology Institute, Slovenia
• DMi Partners, Inc. (eCollegeFinder.org), USA
• University of Iceland, Iceland

You can check their profile at the "Welcoming New Members" link on the EDEN web.

4. New post on the President's blog

We would like to draw your attention to the recently uploaded post of Alan Tait, EDEN President, commemorating about Robert Beevers, the first Director of Studies at the Open University, appointed at the foundation of the University in 1969.

5. EDEN-ELIG partnership

Following EDEN's involvement in the past years as ELIG (European Learning Industry Group) Consultative Group member, which relation has been most successful in developing relations with the corporate sector, a Document of Understanding on EDEN-ELIG Partnership, a new framework of collaboration has now been signed. The agreement is focusing on communication, professional collaboration and promotion elements of mutual benefits for both organisations which should also be useful for members directly.

6. EDEN - Honorary member of Middle East e-Learning Association

EDEN has been invited to join as Honorary Member in the newly established Middle East e-Learning Association. The inauguration of the new Association took place at the Third Annual Forum on e-Learning Excellence in the Middle East, on 1 February. The initiating host organisation is the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-Univesity, one of the leading e-learning institutions in the region, aspiring to become a catalyst in the discipline of e-Learning and the leader of new blue prints for the Arab World, in the Middle East and African region.

7. ICDE Standing Conference of Presidents - 2009 Declaration

The 2009 ICDE Standing Conference of Presidents (SCOP) was held in November in Barcelona, hosted by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. The 2009 SCOP Declaration combines four key strands, which were the subject of working group deliberations during the meeting; leading innovative approaches to the financial crisis, quality upgrading, employability and lifelong learning, and new entrepreneurship.

8. European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

The European Union has joined forces with its Member States to make 2010 the European Year For Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. The key objectives are to raise public awareness about these issues and renew the political commitment of the EU and its Member States to combat poverty and social exclusion. Open, distance, e-learning, non-typical learning forms, informal and non-formal learning have traditionally been powerful tools in this field. Increasing number and significance of related EU projects (some of them with EDEN involvement) are also indicating the growing awareness about the theme.

9. Learnovation Foresight Report

LEARNOVATION is a European project aimed at building a new vision of Technology enhanced learning in Europe - centred on its role on innovation and LLL implementation - by means of a wide ranging consensus process overcoming traditional borders of education and training.

Amongst its several activities, Learnovation included a foresight exercise on the future of learning, building primarily on a DELPHI survey involving a significant number of European experts.

The Learnovation foresight report, holding on the survey results, is now available.

10. New web portal of CEDEFOP

Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, has brought its redesigned and updated Web pages under a new roof. The new Web portal has been conceived primarily with the needs of policy-makers, researchers and social partners in mind, but also aims to serve practitioners and interested European citizens.

Briefing note - Jobs in Europe to become more knowledge- and skills-intensive

The economic crisis has had a dramatic impact on the European labour market. Even in the best case, it is likely that employment growth in Europe will only recover gradually over the next decade.

11. International Scientific Cooperation Activities - INCO

INCONTACT, the official Network of National Contact Points (NCP) for International Scientific Cooperation Activities has recently released a presentation on "Intercultural Communication in research and technology project initiatives".

The presentation consists of modules starting with an introduction on Intercultural Communication, the different Cultural Orientations that exist and what relevance they have in International Co-operation activities, further with a practical part on how research projects across cultures can be managed successfully. You can download the final set of presentations and the User’s Manual.

12. Horizon Report 2010

The annual Horizon Report (US) describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education.

13. News from EDEN member organisations and partners

"Education Board Upper Austria" invites interested institutions to join an application for a new Lifelong Learning Programme project: "Interactive Game Creation for Learning".

Game based learning can be seen under several different aspects. One aspect is to integrate complex, (high-in-production-costs) games into didactical settings to enhance a learning-experience for students. Another view is to actively involve teachers and students in the game-creation-process giving them better control over contents as well as pedagogical settings. The proposed project follows the second view.

Details about the outcome and the partnership of the project can be found in this outline.

If your organisation is interested in participating, please contact: Wilfried Nagl or Andreas Riepl

14. Highlights and readings

 

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