Open Access to Scientific Knowledge

I am pleased to inform my readers that the European Community is allocating resources to support a multi-year initiative for the growth and development of Scientific knowledge, available for al.

Details can be found atScientific Open Knowledge

New Director of COL

On September 26, The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) a consortium of the British Comonwealth with the mission of supporting open learning and distance education in the member countries, has recently appointed Burchell Whiteman, as New Chair of Commonwealth of Learning. You can read about this at: New COL Chairman

Second Life Embassies

On September 5, the Second Life of Sweden video streamed a conference on E-learning 2.0. The developer is going to offer free courses of Swedish language and give visitors the opportunity of developing their own Avatars
You can visit this interesting site at
Second House of Sweden

The New York Times as a Repository for Real Case Studies

An innovative way to bring into distance education a set of case studies has been developed by Professor Matt Cookson at the University of New Hampshire. Professor Cookson uses The New York Times as a vast learning repository posing real life dilemmas. The powerful search engines of this important newspaper help the students to track the chosen case. For the full story visit Inside HigherEd at:

insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/09/epsilen

Learn Music at a distance

A group congregated under the name Magister music has put together an interesting site, open to the world, for whoever wants to learn music. Authors, instruments and techniques are easy to find after registering as members of this learning community.

Resources

Distance education Conferences

Resources

Volunteers celebrate MLK - News

Volunteers celebrate MLK - News

Student leaders call for tolerance - News

Student leaders call for tolerance - News

InfoBits

News from NCU

UNESCO Portal on Distance Education

Resources

Complex systems

Concept map

Writing Guidelines

Profesor Name: Yolanda Gayol



Student Name:_____________________________   
Reviewer Name: ___________________________

Date: _________________


Project: Rubric for writing

CATEGORY

RESPONSIBILITIES
Ideas		I used brainstorming and a concept map or outline to create and organize my ideas.
		My report is clear and focused. I stay on topic.
		I can summarize my topic in just a few sentences.
		I understand my topic and could explain it to someone else easily.
		Details in my report give the reader important information.
		My ideas relate to one another.
		I have listened to suggestions from the teacher or peer writers.
		I have cited my sources correctly and included a References page.
Conventions		My paragraphs have more than one sentence.
		Each of my paragraphs has one main idea.
		I have used correct grammar.
		I have used correct punctuation.
		I have checked my spelling.
		Sylistic effects enhance the report. They do not distract the reader.
		My handwriting is legible.
		My printout contains no typographical errors.
Fluency		My sentences build logically upon the one(s) before.
		My sentences are different lengths.
		My sentences start in different ways.
		The meaning of each of my sentences is clear.
		My sentences flow easily from one to another.
		There are no run-on sentences.
		There are no incomplete sentences.
		I maintain one verb tense, especially in summaries.
		I express similar ideas using parallel construction.
Organization		Ideas are organized in a meaningful way.
		The sequence of ideas is logical.
		My introduction is interesting and inviting.
		My ideas flow from one to another.
		I used helpful transitions between main points, (e.g., "First of all," or "Similarly").
		I have a satisfying conclusion.
Punctuation		Commas surround parenthetical expressions and appositives.
		Commas separate the items in a series.
		A comma precedes "and" or "but" when introducing an independent clause.
		A comma follows an introductory word or phrase.
		A semicolon connects two sentences.
		Closing quotation marks always follow commas or periods.
		A question mark follows closing quotation marks unless part of quoted material.
		Apostrophes are used correctly to show possession or to create contractions.
		A colon is used for emphasis or to introduce a list.
		A period, question mark, or exclamation mark ends every sentence.
		Long quotations are set off (e.g., indented on both sides, single spaced, and/or italic font) from the text that is not a quote.
		Foreign words not in common use are italicized or enclosed in quotes.
		Citations use the prescribed format including correct capitalization, punctuation, and italicization.
Word Choice		My sentences begin in different ways.
		Every word seems just right.
		My words paint pictures in the reader's mind.
		I use my own words or enclose other's words in quotation marks.
		I use strong, active verbs.
		I use synonyms and different verbs to add variety.
		My pronouns match the nouns to which they refer.
		I omitted needless words from the first draft.

Source: Project Based Learning




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ALTEC © 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000. All Rights Reserved.

Education 2012

Competencies for the knowledge society

Modern Pillars of Distance Education. Michael G. Moore

Exclusive Interview with Dr. Michael G. Moore

YG: Yolanda Gayol
MGM: Michael Graham Moore.

YG: Today is the 28 of October of 2007, and we are in Barcelona, Spain, at the EDEN Conference (EDEN stands for European Distance Education Network).
YG: This is the mic.
MGM OK. Question number one
YG: Question one is: can you tell us something about you for the readers?
MGM: Something about me, meaning my biography?
YG: Yes.
MGM: Tell me when to stop. I began a life as an educator in Great Britain in After I graduate from the university and did a graduate study of education as long ago believe it or not in 1959-1960 and after áworking for three years in high school I went to Africa and worked for seven years and there is when I discovered radio and correspondence education which became my interest in what later became known as distance educacion. After seven years in Africa, having met some American academics I went to the United States I was fortunate enough to become acquainted with Charles Wedemeyer, the founding father of scholarship in distance education and after being at the University of Wisconsin for three years working with him I went to Canada and I after three years there in which time I completed my doctoral degree, I came back to Great Britain and worked for the British Open University for nine years and then left and I came back to the United States to work to Penn State University since 1986 until the present time and my main interests there are working with my graduate students and being the editor of the American Journal of Distance Education

YG: Based on this extensive experience that you have in distance education and being one of the three pillars in the theory of our field, can you tell us how do you envision the future of teaching in distance education?

MGM: The future of teaching in distance education. We have a problem at the present time. Perhaps we had the problem before but it is particularly acute at the present time. It is a problem of concept and definition. Large numbers of people who are involved in teaching with use of communication technologies in conventional environments incorrectly defined themselves as being involved in distance education and in fact they are involved in conventional education supplemented by technology. In true distance education, that is when the learners entirely or primarily are separated from the instructor. In the future it is obvious that the principle vehicle of communication will be online technology. But what is sadly missing at the moment in online technology is adequately produced audio and video materials in the presentation of programs and what is less, not as well developed as we would like is the competence of instructors to manage the distance learning experience because most of them are coming out of conventional environments. So, there is great need, whether we get it or not for better training of instructors there is great need for investment in more resources in the design of quality materials, particularly audio and video materials. I am not very optimistic that we are going to see it because so many people in decision making positions think of distance education is simply an extension of the teacher talking in the classroom. But that is what I would hope for anyway.

YG: And what about research? which are the trends that you are envisioning at this moment?

MGM: Well, the main area of interest in pedagogical research is the relationship of learners to learners in virtual groups and the managing of those relationships by instructors. I would like to see more research into appropriate management of financial and human resources and specially resarch into the development of appropriate policy at national and state and other levels. There is the most neglected policy and organization. Most of it in pedagogy although a lot of research is also needed in adragogy.

YG: An what about the literature in distance education?

MGM: Keeping in mind the caveat about definition within distance education itself, it’s been encouraging to see the expansion of research by doctoral students and others. The major journals have survived over the last 20 or more years and are doing well. There are more books, when I started teaching in the US I had to carry one or two books from Europe because there were no American tooks. So the general scene of distance education is, and apart from literature, research and everything else there has been a satisfactory expansion of quality work. The anxiety I have is that there has been also an expansion of other work. As an editor I get more good quality articles than I had 10 or 15 years ago but I get a lot of more bad articles than 10 or 15 years ago. And I may to discriminate but I worry about people who don’t know the field, who are not equipped to understand what is a good research and what is a bad research. Bad research is the one that is not grounded in theory and we do see a lot of that. So, you know, the picture is getting better in many ways but there is no reason to be complacent about it.

YG: If you had to launch a research project in an institution of distance education, which would be the components that you would consider to convert a distance teaching university into a more complete institution

MGM: That is a good question, I suppose I have to choose one thing above all otherd. Ant that would be to get the serious at the top administration to know about successful innovation adoption of distance education which means a study of leaders and leadership, the processes by which change has been brought about in other places. An the changes we need cannot be brought about except with top leadership. And I don’t find top leaders really understanding what is required. So any kind of research project that could inform and enlighthen the change process, specially for senior management would be my top priority. But that is almost asking more that I can hope for. But that is what I would like to see.

YG: I guess you refer to the transitioning of teaching institution into a research institution but which would be the research agenda?

MGM: I meant the transition of conventional institutions into better quality distance teaching and that can only come about if we have better understanding and leadership from top management and they need to. We need literature and research helping people better understand what is required to make the changes in their institutions that are required in order to have better distance education. Simply having conventional institutions as we do, and then to add on distance education to them usually does not work or does not very well. And that is what concerns me.

YG: Tell me about extension and outreach. The trends that you are observing in extension and outreach

MGM: That question does not make any sense to me. Outreach? distance education defined as a form of outreach?

YG: You know that Mexican institutions of higher education have three major concerns in their missions, one is teaching the second research and the last one extension. Since you travel all over the world, which are the trends that you observe in your international visits in this area of distance education?
MGM: Well, still find the questions a little hard. The idea of outreach is a United States concept. It is the land grant concept invented in the middle of the nineteen century. It was very very foreign in European countries until very recently and it has been inherited in some other parts of the world under the influence of people and institutions in the United States. But it has been always been part of the American practice, research, teaching and service. And distance teaching originally in form of correspondence is part of the outreach function of the university going back to the University of Wisconsin, Penn State University, at the turn of the XIX century it has always been there and being an important part of the American practitioners is being taken out in Asian countries. In many universities, African countries, and that is a large part of the mission of distance education. Using the communication technology and extending the resources to people not able to travel to the campus. It has been a remain of the components of outreach and any institutions that doesn’t having it today is behind the times. Like Penn State University when we set a Task Force 10 years ago to establish what we call theWorld Campus. The opening statement was for the XXI century: any university that expects to keep up with progress has to have distance education as part of its institutional mission. So it’s essential, it’s essential.

YG: Finally, from the set of questions designed for the three theoretical thinkers in our field, do you have something to add that your readers should be aware of?

MGM: Consistent with what I said about conceptual confusion, the most important thing is to read and study before thinking and read, study and thinking before acting. There are too many people acting without understanding what is all about and you can’t think through amnesia on an empty sheet. There is considerable literature as we have been discussing here. Theory. That does not mean for the future yory to follow and se that we did in the past in a thinking way and you need to find out what has happened, what is going on and don’t be … by careless use of terminology. Here

Resources in Distance Education

Conferences

Associations

Journals

AERA
ICDL

multimedia introduction to research

Research in education of complex systems

Research in education in complex systems

HISTORIC EVENT

Three Key Figures of Distance Education Together for the First Time

The three founding fathers of modern distance education, Michael G. Moore, Otto Peters and Borje Holmberg participated in the 4th workshop of the European Distance Education Network. EDEN made possible this extraordinary event that resulted in the crown jewel of the workshop on Research into Online Distance Education and E-learning: Making the Difference, held in 25-28 OCTOBER, 2006 in Barcelona-Castelldefels, Spain.

Dr. Moore, professor at the Pennsylvania State University, founder and editor of The American Journal of Distance Education, author of The Handbook of Distance Education and USDLA Hall of Fame, developed Transactional Distance Theory. He is the most cited author in the field.

Dr. Otto Peters, Emeritus professor of the German distance education institution "FernUniversitat" and awarded for his lifetime contributions to Distance Education by the International Council of Open Learning and Distance Education. Dr. Peters received four honorary doctor's degrees (Open University, England, Deakin University, Australia, University of New York, N.Y., and Open University of Hong Kong), and one of his major contributions to the field is the development of the Industrial Theory of Distance Education.

Dr. Borje Holmberg, also from FernUniversitat developed the Theory of Guided Didactic Conversation.

Exclusive interviews will be published soon in this blog. In the meantime, you can visit

http://www.eden-online.org/eden.php

Other distinguished distance educators, such as Dr. Tony Bates, Dr. Alan Tait, and Dr. Stephen Downes participated in the EDEN Workshop.

It's time for digital campuses, says panel

The Hindu. October 18, 2006

Original Web Site:

http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/19/stories/2006101910440100.htm

BANGALORE:

Identifying digital campuses as the way ahead to meet the challenges posed by the "age of networked intelligence," the Oversight Committee on Implementation of the New Reservation Policy in Higher Educational Institutions has shown a model to emulate: the national project for technology-enhanced learning (NP-TEL), being implemented jointly by the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc.).

Funded by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the programme is geared to enhance the quality of engineering education by developing over 300 curriculum-based video and web courses. These courses are available to engineering students across the country. The NP-TEL courses are offered under Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Electronics and Communication and Mechanical engineering streams. NP-TEL was launched on September 3.

In its final report, the Oversight Committee said the campuses had to be prepared with computing and communications infrastructure, ready for use by a "Net generation" of "plugged-in and digital savvy" students.

Interactive learning with computers, the report said, had literally changed the learning paradigm "from linear to hypermedia learning, from instruction to construction and discovery, teacher-centric to student-centric learning processes, from `while in school' to lifelong learning, `one size fits all' learning to customised learning, school as torture to school as fun and from teacher as transmitter to teacher as facilitator." The Oversight Committee report said there was a need for a "mindset change" and the laptop computer had to be seen as an entry device to get connected to the knowledge world in cyberspace. "Every student and every teacher should be given such a device on an ownership basis and the process should be facilitated by bank loans," the panel said.

Education mission

With Information and Communication Technology (ICT) emerging as a key tool for distance education, the report referred to the HRD Ministry's initiative to set up an ICT-enabled National Mission for Education in the distance mode.

IISc., Bangalore, along with all the IITs and some reputed universities are now busy with this project. Six anchor groups have been formed to address certain critical challenges to provide learning opportunities to every Indian using ICT. The anchor groups are focussing on standardisation and formatting of content, pedagogical research, development of very low-cost, low power-consuming access device, IPR issues, digital literacy and virtual labs. To cater for the "Net generation," the report emphasised the need for state-of-the-art information technology-enabled infrastructure. The idea was to connect students to the knowledge world in cyberspace and encourage them to become netizens and members of global cyber families. This, the report said, would help them embark on their own self-exploratory voyages and to enhance their self-learning skills.

Gyan Vahini project

The committee referred to the centrally planned and coordinated "Gyan Vahini" project to establish a "Knowledge Network" linking all major Central institutions. This network, connected by a fibre-optic cable backbone catering to 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps information traffic and with a 30 Tera-byte storage data centre, could be the backbone for countrywide classrooms with lectures retained in "store forward" mode and made available on demand.

Knowledge, Learning & Teaching

This is Diane's Blog
Knowledge, Learning & Teaching