lifelong learning
The EvoLLLution - Illuminating the lifelong learning movement
The EvoLLLution is a grassroots online newspaper about higher education. The content is driven by the interests of the members.
You can find detailed opinions, news and research about the impact of non-traditional programs on the higher education industry and society-at-large.
The EvoLLLution was crafted in recognition of the fact that there are innovators at every level of every institution. From the college dean, to the state system president to the professional student, individuals everywhere are retooling, reorganizing and rethinking their way into the 21st century. These are the people writing our articles and shaping the future of lifelong learning.
VIsit the website to find out how you can contribute.
eLearning Papers – Appel à contributions sur l'Apprentissage et vieillissement actif
Le numéro 29 aura pour thème central « Apprentissage et vieillissement actif » et portera plus particulièrement sur la façon dont le recours aux méthodes d’enseignement innovantes et aux nouveaux environnements d’apprentissage peut favoriser l’éducation et la formation tout au long de la vie pour les séniors en Europe.
The ageing of the European population raises issues in almost all aspects of life: the employment and housing markets, pension schemes, health and welfare systems, transport networks, goods and services which will have to adapt to new needs and new social and financial realities. The way European society as a whole addresses these challenges will condition our future, its capacity to create smart and inclusive growth, strengthening knowledge, creativity and innovation that will benefit citizens of all ages , while at the same time reinforcing solidarity between generations to reinvent a new way of living together.
Active ageing in Europe calls for a new vision of older people and their social roles that are more in line with the reality of the 21st century. Lifelong learning is a key component of active ageing, ensuring to develop up-to-date skills right to the end of one’s professional career and continuing post-retirement to improve an individual’s social functioning and well-being and increase the potential for older adults to contribute actively to society through paid employment, volunteering, active citizenship and self-help for independent living. The relationship between higher educational attainment and living longer with improved health has been established in many countries. Furthermore, the roles of older people in workplace, or as volunteers or informal caregivers, contribute to their personal health and the wellbeing of communities.
In order to foster active ageing, older citizens need to have access to quality employment, the means to participate fully in society and the ability to live independently a fulfilling old age. This presents a two-fold learning challenge that addresses the skills and training of this target group and also raises awareness within the greater community.
This issue of eLearning Papers explores what teaching methods and learning environments are being used effectively to promote lifelong learning among older people. Enrichment and skill building educational programmes for older people must be continuously supported, promoted and facilitated as part of the active ageing process. This issue will also consider ways in which civil society, governments and employers support learning and active ageing.
Environments can be made much more age-friendly by increasing the public's sensitivity to the needs of older citizens and fostering an awareness of what they can contribute and why we need to mobilise all the human capital they represent. Public campaigns like the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012 are giving rise to new initiatives that need to be shared and analysed.
eLearning Papers seeks submissions about learning and active ageing in the 21st century, for both sections: In-Depth and From the Field. We specifically invite contributions which address one or several of the following issues:
- Bridging the digital divide among older people paying due attention to specific challenges faced by older persons with impairments, ethnic minorities, low incomes, older women, etc.
- Open educational resources for non-traditional students
- Age-friendly environments, goods and services
- Fostering technical skills to create adept senior e-learners
- Learning environments for older learners
- Challenges for teachers and developers working with older students using ICT
- Policies and practice: institutional innovation supported by ICTs
The article submission closes on 20 April, 2012. The provisional date of publication is May, 2012.
For further information and to submit your article, please contact: jimena.marquez@elearningpapers.eu
Guest editor: Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary General, AGE Platform Europe.
- See the complete guidelines at: Instructions for writers
43rd EUCEN European Conference - Universities’ Engagement in and with Society. The ULLL contribution
The 43rd EUCEN European Conference takes up two major aspects of University Lifelong Learning (ULLL): its diversity (the "lifewide" dimension) and its potential for providing learning opportunities throughout one’s life (the "lifelong" dimension).
ULLL in all its diversity...
Universities all over Europe are at present intensively developing institutional strategies for Lifelong Learning, thus progressing to a Lifelong Learning University. All the individual strategic development processes and the results of European strategic projects supporting universities show clearly that there is no single definition or approach to University Lifelong Learning and that the concept covers a wide range of activities. Best and good practices also demonstrate that this diversity is positive because it allows institutions to find their own answer, at institutional and regional level embedded in an international university environment, to positioning themselves when it comes to ULLL. EUCEN developed a wide definition for ULLL which is more an encouragement for an institution’s development than a definition in the traditional sense:
"ULLL is the provision by higher education institutions of learning opportunities, services and research for: the personal and professional development of a wide range of individuals – lifelong and lifewide; and the social, cultural and economic development of communities and the region. It is at university level and research-based; it focuses primarily on the needs of the learners; and it is often developed and/or provided in collaboration with stakeholders and external actors." (EUCEN BeFlex Project)
With this 43rd EUCEN European Conference we would like to offer an open and stimulating forum for practitioners, policy makers and researchers. We will explore this wide spectrum of contributions University Lifelong Learning is making to societal development. We will look at the contribution ULLL is making to stimulate and accompany innovative processes in regional business and industry, in NGOs, and in the public sector. We will also look at the contribution ULLL is making to Civil Society in a more general sense, providing learning opportunities for individuals and groups for active citizenship and community development, aiming at a democratic development in our societies. Developing ULLL successfully means that more and more "new faces" are knocking at the doors of Higher Education – learners who were usually not considering Higher Education but pursuing other educational and professional paths. As institutions we need to look at how welcoming we really are – marketing is not enough. What do we do with these "new learners"? How can we support them efficiently and effectively?
Universities as "learning spaces" throughout one’s life...
2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity promoted by the European Commission and other stakeholders; it is intended to raise awareness, identify and disseminate good practice and to encourage policymakers and stakeholders at all levels to promote active ageing. Within the framework of this conference, we would like to look more closely into this topic by exploring the role of ULLL in individual wellbeing, civic engagement and second careers in later life. Here Higher Education Institutions need to act in a responsible way to include all groups of society and encourage older people to take an active part in society in all areas. However, it is our sincere opinion that the future challenge is "mainstreaming ageing" – learning in later life is not only referring to learning after retirement, but also to people still in employment who want to actively shape their career at a later stage. As ULLL institutions we need to develop new learning opportunities for this group. This is not only to support those wishing to pursue individual career paths, but it is a necessity in view of the decreasing labour force within the next decades in almost all our European countries.
ALADIN - Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network. Directory of Members 2012
Despite rapid expansion of knowledge and new media, many in the adult learning community have to contend with shortages of information and resources in their work. This is particularly the case in developing countries. But better access to relevant information will improve the linkages between research, documentation and policy-making that are vital in meeting the needs of adult learning. Given such improvements, we would all benefit from more efficient project planning and less duplication of effort, more fruitful relationships and, above all, better-informed policy decisions. In line with its own dedication to the cause of lifelong learning, UIL is looking forward to coordinating further interesting and inspiring projects that support ALADIN’s vision of working for a global learning society, where information and knowledge on adult learning is created, well-documented and made accessible to all.
ePIC 2012 - the 10th ePortfolio and Identity Conference
Should everybody have an ePortfolio? How do ePortfolios contribute to the identity construction process? How do ePortfolios support the acquisition of 21st century skills? How do ePortfolios support lifelong learning, orientation and employability? How can we make ePortfolios fully interoperable? To find the answers to these questions, and more, join us at ePIC 2012, the 10th ePortfolio and Identity Conference.
The worldwide emergence of ePortfolios is an indicator of the need to review our approach to education and lifelong learning, at the same time demonstrating that it is possible to make learning and assessment more authentic and integrated. ePortfolios are at the source of a new generation of tools dedicated to valuing and celebrating the achievements of the individual, from nursery school to lifelong and life-wide learning. It is also a technology reinforcing the link between individual, organisational and community learning.
Over the last ten years, considerable effort has been invested in the development of ePortfolio technologies and practice. To further developments in this field, the main goal of the 10th international ePortfolio and Identity Conference is to offer a forum where researchers and practitioners can discuss theoretical aspects, open issues, and innovative approaches and share the latest advances in the state of the art and practices in:
- development of lifelong learner / professional / citizen identity;
- individual / community ePortfolios and identities;
- recognition of informal, lifelong and life-wide learning;
- accreditation of prior experience and learning (APEL), curriculum design and assessment;
- integrative learning and holistic development;
- continuing professional development and sustainable employability;
- development of distributed ‘communities of practice’, community and organisational development.
Support for European cooperation in Education and Training (ECET): Selection results 2011
The Executive Agency has adopted the lists of selected projects on 14 December 2011
The general objectives of the call for proposals Support for European cooperation in Education and Training are to support the establishment and implementation of coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies and policies at national, regional and local level, covering and interlinking all types (formal, non-formal, informal) and levels of learning (preschool, primary, secondary, tertiary, adult, initial and continuing vocational education and training), including links to other relevant policy sectors (e.g. employment and social inclusion), through:
- Supporting awareness-raising and institutional commitment, coordination and partnership with all stakeholders to contribute to national implementation of the four strategic priorities of the ‘Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)’.
- Supporting European cooperation and exchange of experiences and good practice in the development and implementation of coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies and policies at both the national and regional level, covering all forms and levels of education and training.
- Supporting the identification of the main critical factors and through joint experimenting, testing and transferring innovation in relation to the successful implementation of lifelong learning strategies and policies.
Lists of successful projects:
ECET - Part A1: Selected projects : 
ECET - Part A2: Selected projects :
ECET - Part B : Selected projects :
EDEN 2012 Annual Conference: Open Learning Generations
The Annual Conference will approach the key questions of learning methodology and technology focusing on the “Open learning generations”, the contexts of socially significant target groups: junior and senior e-learners. We will explore their learning cultures, technology use patterns, and discuss new approaches in pedagogy and andragogy that respond to them.
The changing technology dimension: development of networking tools, new platforms and standards, and interoperability questions, will also be addressed from the perspective of different groups of users.
Pragmatic observers may state meanwhile that there is not that much novelty in new generations applying different tools and approaches to changing social and technology conditions. Thus there is space for interpretation by established distance learning professionals to consider the diverse practice and experience with young and adult learners in the open learning arena.
Conference Scope
Social and policy context
The European Year and movements for Active Ageing
The population in Europe is getting older. The EU Commission stressed in the Europe 2020 strategy the importance of healthy and active ageing. Values represented by mature citizens are becoming increasingly important in contemporary European societies. The year 2012 will be "The European Year of Active Ageing and the Solidarity Between Generations".
The European Year serves as framework for raising awareness, generating innovative approaches, disseminating good practice and encouraging stakeholders to participate. In a time of great challenges for Europe, all generations are called to act together and also to learn, to produce, share and preserve knowledge. In the digital knowledge society, technology and social media should not divide, rather they should foster cohesion amongst generations.
Generation Y
Another frequent question has been: how to deal with the new generation of learners who have grown up with the Internet and who are currently entering our schools and universities? The members of “Generation Y” or “Net Generation” are technology-immersed learners, easily adapting to technological developments, to the changing media and ubiquitous networks. They have developed critical thinking towards sourcing and judging information and even knowledge. Their expectations and behaviour are enormously different from the previous cohort.
Mature generation and e-learning
Promoting access of older persons to education and to information and communication technologies, and updating skills by providing access to lifelong learning, helps them to remain active and involved in the society. ICT enhanced learning has its place in the lifelong learning of the “silver age group”. Their electronic media use is more frequent and intensive. Media and the Internet makes it easier to reach them and they may gain ICT skills to maintain contact with relatives and friends.
There is a lot to do to avoid exclusion and marginalisation of older persons: lowering of access barriers to ICT enhanced learning; and remove cultural, technological, situational, educational obstacles. Provision of e-learning products and services including learning environments suitable for them is however a bottleneck. The few existing attempts have been predominantly "pilots" rather than being consolidated in character. There is poor knowledge only on the didactic level. It is important to care about the constructive social embedding of eLearning based on interests and ambitions.
Open learning for and amongst diverse generations
The movements aiming to enhance openness of educational resources encourage institutional policies which support innovative pedagogical models. Such models have been significant in empowering learners and their communities as co-producers in networked lifelong learning. Open resource attitude promotes democratic transformations in the information society. New media and technologies help to accelerate this process.
The development of an open climate and culture of learning enables educational institutions to better meet the demands of the public. Helping to spread educational resources as digitised content which accommodate different learning pathways, widening participation and promoting shared learning experiences between generations contributes to closing the technology gap.
EDEN 2012 Conference: “Open learning generations”. Call for Papers open!
In times of great challenges for Europe, all generations are called to act together, thus also to learn, to produce, share and preserve knowledge. The 2012 European Year of Active Ageing and the Solidarity Between Generations serves as framework for raising awareness, generating innovative approaches and disseminating good practice.
The EDEN Annual Conference will approach the key questions of learning methodology and technology focusing on the “Open learning generations”, the contexts of socially significant target groups: junior and senior e-learners. We will explore their learning cultures, technology use patterns and discuss new approaches in pedagogy and andragogy that respond to them.
Open learning for and amongst diverse generations
Innovative pedagogical models have been significant in empowering learners and their communities as co-producers in networked lifelong learning. Helping to spread educational resources as digitised content which accommodate different learning pathways, widening participation and promoting shared learning experiences between generations contributes to closing the technology gap.
Online and Social
The 2012 Annual Conference will be supported and accompanied intensively by social networking, sharing, online and virtual presence and involvement possibilities.
This will be strengthened by and implemented through the EDEN Members Portal: the NAP area on the web and its services.
Call for Contributions
All interested professionals are invited to take part and discover the conference themes by submitting their experience.
There will be opportunities for submitting and presenting papers, workshops, posters and demonstrations. At the Porto conference, virtual presentations, as a new form will be introduced. The conference allows openness in choosing the topics and in applying interactive formats and ways of presentations.
To learn more about the scope of the event and consult the themes, please visit the respective conference pages.
For details visit the Conference web-site and the Call for Contributions links.
Schedule and Deadlines
Paper Submissions - 10 February, 2012
Registration Open - Mid February
Notification of Authors - 31 March
2nd ESSIE Annual Convention 2012
The ESSIE Annual Convention 2012 is a definite mark on the calendar. Following last year’s success, this is already the 2nd Annual Convention that ESSIE organises in Leuven! It allows YOU to participate in shaping the Mission ESSIE has embarked on. The 2012 Annual Convention brings together all distinctive individuals from the ESSIE society from many different education sectors.
The Convention is a unique occasion for open interaction, learning and adoption, and provides the opportunity to explore new visions of the future, which ESSIE is determined to shape with YOU. The Annual Convention 2012 will be an energetic event, providing the stage for many terrific presenters to reflect on their research and practice, as well as on their struggles. Paper can be submitted. All accepted papers will be published under ISBN in the eBook: “ESSIE Annual Convention 2012: Change in Education”.
Join us at this event and help shape the workings of education. This year, a complementary capacity is maintained, to ensure a diversity in acceptance of papers. All residential in one location, there are plenary presentations and four flanking paper presentation sessions. Participation is open to universities, colleges, institutions, professional education, vocational education, primary and secondary education, as well as public and private organisations, networks and multipliers! Please note that ESSIE Members obtain a reduction on their registration fee.