EDEN Annual Conference on 6-9 June 2012, Porto

Registration Open!

With a very good response to the Call, nearly 200 submissions, we are looking forward to a great conference again.

Apetizers for Keynotes:

E-learning and e-jobs for every generation

Gyula Hegyi, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner László Andor, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission

Learning, Knowledge and Wisdom for all in Late Modernity

Bob Fryer, Chair of Board, Campaign for Learning, UK

Connected Minds: Is technology really transforming students' expectations?

Francesc Pedro, Chief of Section for Sector Policy Advice and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education, UNESCO

The Self-Directed Future of Education

Dale J. Stephens, Educational futurist, 2011 Thiel Fellow "20 Under 20", USA

"Grandma', may I use your iPad, please?" Openness, friendliness and collaboration between generations

Ingeborg Bø, Norwegian Association of Distance Education, EDEN Past-president

Details on the Conference website.

New Members

EDEN welcomes the following institutions that have joined the Association as Members since February 2012:

Deutsche Akademie für Management, Germany
Niels Brock - eBrock, Denmark
Aksaray University, Turkey

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

Call for Proposals EAC / S03 / 2012 - Pilot Project for the Development of Knowledge Partnerships

Following last year's call for proposals (EAC/19/2011) and building on its success, the European Parliament (EP) has decided to allocate also for 2012 one Million Euros to the further development of this pilot action. This action will also allow preparing the implementation of the Knowledge Alliances proposed in the upcoming Erasmus for All programme 2014-2020.

The Knowledge Alliances are part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 strategy; they are structured partnerships between education institutions and innovation players, aiming at developing Europe's innovation potential.

All relevant documents for the call for proposals are available here.

Entrepreneurship Education on the Increase

Entrepreneurship education is being increasingly promoted in most European countries, according to a new report published by the European Commission. Half of European countries are engaged in a process of educational reforms which include the strengthening of entrepreneurship education. A total of 31 European countries and 5 regions were surveyed for the report, entitled "Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe". Read full press release.

The European Higher Education Area in 2012: Bologna Process Implementation Report

by Eurostat, Eurostudent and Eurydice; overseen by the Bologna Follow-Up Group.

The Bologna Process Implementation Report reveals that while much progress has been made, countries face significant challenges in modernising higher education. The report covers a broad range of higher education issues, such as the demographic and funding context for higher education; degree structures and qualifications; quality assurance; the social dimension of higher education; outcomes and employability, as well as lifelong learning and mobility.

The study is available on the Eurydice website in English together with the Highlights. The German and French translations of the study will be published later this year.

Incorporating 4MAT Model in Distance Instructional Material – An Innovative Design

by Alexandra Nikolaou, Maria Koutsouba

Exploring Group Forming Strategies by Examining Participation Behaviours during Whole Class Discussions

by Namsook Jahng, Mark Bullen

A Social Network Analysis Comparison of an Experienced and a Novice Instructor in Online Teaching

by Patricia Fidalgo, Joan Thormann

www.eurodl.org

Developing ICT Competences in the Care Sector

The CareNet and CARER+ projects are aimed at developing a critical set of ICT competences for 2 identified 'at risk' target groups: care-workers and older persons. The project is designed to work in a synergistic way to tackle identified problems in the low skilled and under professionalised care-worker sector while at the same time promoting social inclusion and enhancing the quality of life of older people.

EDEN is calling its members for interest: the project partners are looking for institutions/organisations/companies involved in training of care-workers, promoting intergenerational learning or interested in developing ICT skills in the care sector. Join the Special Interest Group on the NAP Member Area to learn more on activities coming up soon. To learn more on the project, please visit the short project description here.

The First MENON Policy Brief is Published, Focusing on Human and Social Capital Reform in Greece

Titled Human and Social Capital development policies: a growth priority for Europe, the brief gives the view of by Dr Nikitas Kastis, MENON President on possible ways to reform the education and training systems in Europe focussing on the case of Greece, a European society under crisis. Read publication...

Universitat Oberta de Catalunia: The eLearn Center Welcomes European PhD Candidacies for its Doctoral Programme in Education and ICT (e-learning)

The eLearn Center, research centre created by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and focused in e-learning, has opened for 2013 the Admission process for the enrolment to its Doctoral Programme in Education and Information and Communication Technologies (e-learning). From 2009 to 2012 research projects are based on Time Factor programme, in order to contribute with unpublished research to the scientific progress about this issue. Read more...

The UOC Launches a Citizen Ideas Competition to Catalyse Creativity in a Time of Crisis

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is to launch an ideas competition open to everyone on Monday 23 April. It is to run for 17 weeks and is designed to catalyse creativity as an antidote to the crisis. The university is looking to support the values of talent and open collaboration in order to drive entrepreneurship and generate opportunities. Read details...

Quality Assurance Toolkit for Open and Distance Non-formal Education

The Commonwealth of Learning, has recently published a guide to quality assurance in open and distance non-formal education. The toolkit aims to be a useful resource for non-formal education and training policy makers, programme managers and researchers. Details and downloadable publication available here.

The Regulatory Frameworks for Distance Education - Published by ICDE

An ICDE - International Council for Open and Distance Education - funded study on the regulatory frameworks for distance education in the Southwest Pacific/ South East Asia Region is published. It presents the outcomes of case studies of nine higher education institutions, and analyses the key regulatory barriers and enablers for distance education for twenty-three countries in the study region. Read full article...

Tony Bates Discusses whether Education can Afford the iPad

Popular blogger Tony Bates carried out a useful exercise on his blog recently making the comparison between traditional textboks and the iPad. Tony concludes that while we are not there yet, e-textbooks are coming, probably within 3-5 years for general use. However Tony goes on to predict that e-textbooks of themselves will disappear altogether, to be replaced with modular collections of multi-media digital material that can be searched and combined at will by both teachers and learners. Read the full blog...

Article from Science|Business

Horizon 2020: Different. But different enough?
by Peter Wrobel

Articles from IRRODL - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning

Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences?
by Neus Capdeferro, Margarida Romero

Examining the reuse of open textbooks
by John Levi Hilton III, Neil Lutz, David Wiley

EFMD Annual Conference 2012: Beyond Maturity: Innovating in Management Education

13-15 May 2012, Sophia Antipolis, France
More information on the EFMD website

EdReNe 8th Strategic Seminar

7-8 May 2012, Lisbon, Portugal
More information here

MEDEA Awards Launched with Invitation to Submit Entries Online before 17 September 2012

The organisers of the MEDEA Awards have opened this year's call for entries on the website www.medea-awards.com. Read press release here.

Media & Learning Conference 2012: Media as an Agent of Change in Education and Training

14-15 November 2012, Brussels, Belgium
More information on the Medea & Learning Conference site.

We inform with deep regrets that Jim Herbolich, Director, EFMD passed away on 8 April 2012. Jim was hugely involved in promoting the EDEN-EFMD relations over the past decade. He was well-known for his professionalism, openness and friendliness.

We shall keep his memory alive.