WikiEducator

 WikiEducator is an interesting new online collaborative development and resource sharing space launched by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) earlier this year. It is open to anyone to use who shares the vision of open content. 

WikiEducator is an evolving community focused on collaboration in: 

• planning of education projects linked with the development of free content
• development of free content on WikiEducator for eLearning
• building of open education resources (OERs) on how to create OERs, and
• networking on funding proposals developed as free content.

For distance education providers this is another worthwhile resource.

New eLearning Project Management e-Book

A new e-Book available free that will be useful for anyone in a distance ed./e-Learning management or coordinating role in their institution. Brought to my attention by Terry Anderson on the CIDER website, Plan to Learn is published by The Canadian eLearning Enterprise Alliance (CeLEA)

I’ve only had a quick flick through the 192 downloadable PDF document, but have already cound a number of references to models and frameworks that I think I’ll be following up on.

Plan to Learn: Case Studies in eLearning Project Management, edited by Beverley Pasian and Gary Woodill, provides 22 case studies by authors in eight countries, drawn from both the corporate and educational sectors. The case studies in this 180 page volume deal with a variety of elearning project management issues, including:

- Development of elearning project management skills;
- Importance of leadership;
- Change management;
- Managing risk in an elearning project; and,
- Dealing with cultural conflicts.

Latest “Innovate” Online

The latest edition of Innovate is now online – this edition the contributors explore, assess, and illustrate the potential of open source software and related trends to transform educational practice. David Wiley’s article provides a useful overview and background to the use of Open Source software in education, while the rest of the contributors focus on particular aspects of the use of open source software at both tertiary (higher ed) and school level.

There’s also a most interesting article by Stephen Downes that introduces readers to Intute, an open access Web site that represents a significant step forward in the evolution of learning object repositories. He writes:

Created by a network of British universities and the Joint Information Services Committee (JISC), a federal British initiative, Intute represents what learning object repositories were meant to be but never became.

INTED2007-International Technology, Education and Development Conference

INTED2007-International Technology, Education and Development Conference
7th to 9th March 2007, Valencia, Spain

INTED2007 will be an opportunity to present, demonstrate and discuss research, development, applications and the latest innovations in the field of Higher Education and Industry. All that in an such an attractive venue, Valencia.

The deadline for abstracts/proposals is 1st of December 2006.

Enquiries: inted2007@iated.org
Web address: http://www.iated.org
Sponsored by: IATED (International Association for Technology, Education and Development

ITPNZ eLF’s Open Discussion

The ITPNZ e-Learning Forum is about to start an online mini-conference on workload issues for online and blended teaching. The virtual mini-conference starts October 16 and will run for two weeks.

This online mini conference aims to bring together those who have done work in this area and those who are interested in the implications for themselves and their staff.

Presenters:

• Stephen Bright, Bethlehem Tertiary Institute
• Jon Paice (Australian Education Union)
• Oriel Kelly, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Lloyd Woods, Association of Staff in Tertiary Education (ASTE)

Facilitator:

• Amy Wilson, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic

To register for the event (held though a Moodle discussion forum) follow the instructions available from http://elf.ac.nz/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?r=180.

Facebook. Never heard of it? Read on…

Facebook: 7 Things You Should Know…

Facebook is a popular social networking site for college students. It provides an easy way for students to share information about themselves, but do they understand all of the implications? Review 7 Things You Should Know About Facebook to learn more about the pros and cons of this social networking phenomenon. To see all of ELI’s emerging technology briefs, visit the 7 Things You Should Know About… Web page.

Is the Net Gen “Net Savvy?”

Is the Net Gen “Net Savvy?”

The answer: Not necessarily. Read Ensuring the Net Generation Is Net Savvy and Getting Past Google: Perspectives on Information Literacy from the Millennial Mind, the first two white papers in a new four-part ELI series on “net savviness.” These resources explore the challenges students face as consumers and producers of information online and how higher education can help them overcome those challenges. Additional papers in the series will be posted soon—check the ELI Resources page for more.

Distance Education Research

If you’re looking for some good research into current practices in Distance Education then the University of Wisconsin site provides some excellent resources.

Of particular interest to many will be the paper titled Future Directions in e-Learning Research Report 2006 which is the second annual survey of eLearning Guild members, and presents data and commentary on e-learning programs, trends, and initiatives in their organizations.

Effective teacher education practice

Effective teacher education practice: the impact of written assessment feedback for distance learnersOutput from this 2005 TLRI project came across my desk today. The recomendations will not be a surprise but are pragmatic.

For more effective written feedback to students, we recommend:

• that written feedback be seen as an integral part of the teaching process;
• the use of justified comments and grades, so that students see what they could have done better or differently – justified feedback empowers and motivates students;
• robust criteria for marking, as consistency between markers helps students use feedback globally;
• timely turnaround;
• open lines of communication, so that the student can access support at need; and further consideration of ways of supporting and engaging with Maori students, and how assessment feedback can align with tikanga Maori.

For more information see http://www.tlri.org.nz/projects/2004/distancelearners.html

834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction

This free eBook from the eLearning Guild is a collection of tips from 336 contributors.