“Education is change, and change is at once our greatest strength and our greatest challenge. Change happens in society gradually and imperceptibly, but change happens to individuals abruptly and without warning. It is as though we wake up one morning to find that the world we once knew has disappeared, while all around us people proceed with their lives as usual as though nothing had happened.” Read the essay by Stephen Downes.
The Commission presented its contribution to the Social Summit in Gothenburg on 17 November, where EU leaders discussed the social dimension of Europe, including education and culture. As part of the ongoing debate on the Future of Europe, the Commission set out its vision and concrete steps to create a European Education Area by 2025.
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on fake news and online disinformation, with the aim to help assess the effectiveness of current actions by market players and other stakeholders, and the need for scaling them up and introducing new actions to address different types of fake news. For more information and to contribute to the consultation, visit the dedicated webpage.
The European Commission has launched the trial version of a new tool to support schools in using digital technologies: SELFIE to see how well they are using digital technologies for better learning outcomes. Read more…
The European Commission published the Mid-term Evaluation Report on the EIT – Europe’s largest innovation community. The Report was carried out to assess the work of the EIT, and examined how the EIT fulfils its mission of boosting innovation and enabling an effective innovation model for Europe.
The lead theme of this year’s Monitor is inequality in education and the important role that education plays in building a fairer society. The 2017 edition of the Commission’s Education and Training Monitor shows that national education systems are becoming more inclusive and effective. Yet it also confirms that students’ educational attainment largely depends on their socio-economic backgrounds. Read more in the press release and download the EU report.
The European University Association (EUA) applauds the European Commission’s proposal to put education front and centre on Europe’s social agenda. With its Communication on “Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture”, the Commission gives new impetus to European cooperation through education and culture and outlines its vision of a European Education Area for 2025. Read more…
21 November, 2017
18.00 CET (CET Converter)
The webinar will run on Adobe Connect
Select the UK flag and English room (unirresearch3)
Shireen Yacoub, Chief Executive Officer, Edraak.org, Queen Rania Foundation for Education & Development, Jordan
Shireen Yacoub is the Chief Operating Officer of Edraak.org – the first Arab non-profit massive open online platform of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development launched in May 2014 using OpenEdx technology. Shireen also leads Edraak’s partnerships and strategic initiatives including collaborations with local, regional and international universities. Among the strategic initiatives she has spearheaded are Edraak’s first series of employability skills courses developed in collaboration with the Middle East’s number one job search platform, Bayt.com and Edraak’s adoption of the Creative Commons License.
Before joining Edraak, Shireen worked on multiple economic development and youth empowerment programs mainly aimed at bridging the skills gap. She holds a B.A. degree from Manhattanville College in International and Human Resources Management with minors in Communications and French. She is also a certified instructional designer from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and has recently received certificates on “Strategic Frameworks for NGOs” from Harvard University Executive Education and “Instructional Design and Blended Learning” from the GeorgetownX Institute of Georgetown University.
Stretching the boundaries remains our focus
The demand for people with new, enhanced skills is growing. Pressure is on all players of the online education community to keep up with new learning solutions, and better supply the skills currently demanded by growing economies.
Digital credentials and open badges are the new currencies which are beginning to transform the economic models in education. Social and economic tensions continue to raise the issues of scalability, the micro-credentialling of education, training and skill development processes.
Micro, meso and macro aspects provide an interesting range of lenses for considering the problem. Navigating these dimensions are the reshaping of digital pedagogy and online instructional design; and social elements including digital societal mechanisms and the position of the individual in our new era. We have need of systematic awareness and research in the critical are of sustainable socio-cultural aspects as they relate to learning. Read more…
We need renowned reflections of practice that support paradigm-changing transformations based on systematic knowledge.
Join the Conference in Genova to tell
about your research, projects and experience!
Networking and interactivity, sharing and discussion will be core aspects of the conference experience, focusing on what you can learn from and with your peers.
Submissions, taking into account the Conference Scope and related to the Conference Themes are welcome in paper, poster, workshop, training, demonstration and Synergy formats.
Book Review: Knowing Knowledge – Aras Bozkurt, Jeffrey Keefer
Did you know that training material on non-formal open learning curriculum design is available for FREE?
The ReOPEN project creates solutions for establishing non-formal open learning at education organizations. Its 1st short term joint staff training event and 3rd partner meeting were held in Seville, October 2 – 6, 2017. Managers and researchers from the ReOPEN consortium discussed valid non-formal open and online learning infrastructures, learner verification solutions, assessment, proctoring and recognition issues. The special guest was Andreia Inamorato from EU Science Hub – Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The programme of the training week consisted of 3 parts:
Discussion continuously went on with teachers and trainers at lunchtime enjoying the delicious Spanish tapas.
In case you missed the last #EDENChat on Open Credentials and Open Badges moderated by Ilona Buchem, you can now read the archived discussion on EDEN’s Storify page.
Join #EDENChat in 2018 for more interesting discussions!
#EDENChat is an online discussion event on Twitter initiated by the Steering Committee of the EDEN Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP). It is mediated by members of the NAP community and runs for approximately 1 hour. Anyone can join in and contribute to the discussion which is presented in a Question and Answer format, and focuses on current issues in distance, open and e-learning.
Previous #EDENChats are listed here according to topics.
Tuesday, 5 December, 2017
18.00 CET (CET Converter)
The webinar will run on Adobe Connect (room 3, in English)
Catherine Cronin, Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT),
National University of Ireland, Galway
As educators and education professionals, we work in contexts and publics which are increasingly open and networked. Boundaries are blurring between physical and digital learning environments, formal and informal learning, educators and learners. In this webinar, Catherine will explore these challenges in the context of current research and practice in open education, focusing specifically on open educational practices (OEP). OEP is a broad descriptor of practices including the creation, use and reuse of open educational resources (OER) as well as open pedagogies and open sharing of teaching practices. As compared with OER, there has been little empirical research on the use of OEP in higher education. Catherine’s research addresses this gap. She has explored the digital and pedagogical strategies of university educators in relation to OEP, concluding that openness is complex, personal, contextual, and continuously negotiated. In this webinar, Catherine briefly explores current issues in open and higher education, presents a summary of her research, and invites participants to share their own ideas and questions regarding the use of OEP in their specific contexts.
Catherine Cronin is an educator, researcher and PhD candidate at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her work focuses on openness and open education, digital identity practices, and exploring the boundary between formal and informal learning. She is currently completing her PhD exploring the use of open educational practices (OEP) in higher education. Catherine has been involved in teaching, research and advocacy in higher education and in the community for over 25 years. Catherine advocates a critical approach to openness; she is a regular contributor to conversations and collaborative projects in the area of open education, within Ireland and globally.
Links:
The delegation of the Open University of China, lead by President Li Jing paid a full day study visit at the EDEN Secretariat in Budapest on 18 September. In the contentful discussions, information and experience was exchanged about the state of art and trends of the ICT enhanced University learning in China and Europe. It was agreed to continue the co-operation in the future on various occasions.
We are here at the World Conference on Online Learning: „Teaching in a Digital Age – Re-thinking Teaching & Learning”. EDEN delegates share and disseminate the European experience, research trends and achievements and discuss globally how learning design is changing, what the future looks like. The conference is proving that institutional business models change through online excellence cases, through building capacity and supporting teachers and learners, as well as innovating pedagogies. The Conference is hosted by EDEN’s long standing prestigious partner: Contact North. EDEN members will be updated on the achievements to exploit the benefits of global partnerships.
