innovation
Schoolfy - a classroom management system for educators
The Schoolfy classroom management system builds upon social-networking technology to facilitate teacher planning, support online grading and enhance educators' time management.
The Schoolfy platform has been in development for more than two years and caters to the diverse needs of educators of all kinds, from school teachers to university instructors and corporate trainers.
This new social network’s technology is integrated with a wide range of tools that save time and reduce paperwork. Tasks such as assigning students to small groups and collecting dues for field trips become streamlined and digitized. Educators can also make their worksheets interactive; students can complete worksheets online and receive feedback in digital form.
The technology will be made available to the public during the summer of 2013. Educators are now invited to register for Schoolfy during the pre-launch.
Pebblegogy
Bridging the gap between technology and learning, “Pebblegogy” is a book aiming to help tutors and learning designers who use the PebblePad online platform to create meaningful activities that will support their curricula.
“Pebblegogy” is addressed to those new to PebblePad who want practical guidance in making best use of this personal learning space. For those who are already experts, the book offers a rich source of inspiration for designing engaging and motivating learning experiences with PebblePad.
PebblePad has now been used for over eight years by over 100 organisations, and the second half of the book presents a rich collection of learning designs resulting from the contributions and collaborations of more than 40 practitioners from the UK and Australia.
A companion website provides a wealth of further information such as activities and presentations. Each of the activities described is accompanied by guidelines usage covering, for example, tutor complexity, student’s ability to use PebblePad, and recommended number of students participating.
Analysing Professional Discourse in Interactive Learning: Integrating Historical and Situational Perspectives
Written environments in online learning enable professional discourse to be analysed in depth and provide greater knowledge for improving learning and for planning and delivering courses aimed at professional development.
Until now, research into professional discourse has highlighted the importance of a) interaction in the development of professional discourse, b) the need to analyse professional discourse as much from a historical point of view as from a situational one and c) the influence the demands of the context have on this discourse.
Published by the “Journal of Interactive Learning Research” in 2010, this paper takes this triple result and delves further into the professional discourse verbalised by 21 educational psychologists taking an online practice development course, and incorporates an integrated historical and situational analysis.
Available for download from UOC's Institutional Repository.
“There is much more into the MOOCs than what we see”
Pierre Dillenbourg, Professor of Computer Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is co-author of the article MOOCs are More Social than You Believe, included in issue number 33 of eLearning Papers.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are indeed changing the educational landscape, says Mr Dillenbourg in a podcast interview with eLearningEuropa.info, but “in terms or technology and the kind of pedagogy involved, there is not a major revolution compared to what was done before.” The major changes, he points out, are on the social dimension.
“My goal is to show there is much more into the MOOCs than what we see”, he says. For instance, it is already being acknowledged by university teachers that on-campus students who follow MOOCs are better prepared when they take their exercises, “because they have time to digest” the information. This single fact, he says, justifies all the energy put into the design of these courses, as “being better prepared for an exercise is a key factor” for educators.
Professor Dillenbourg also stresses that “you need to be quite self motivated to follow a MOOC”, as these are usually tough and contents are highly demanding. This is for example something valuable that potential employers might want to know, and students should start adding MOOCs in their CVs because “they are an indicator of motivation.”
Researchers on learning technologies should analyse in-depth “the innovative practices that come around what seems a traditional medium”, he recommends.
Media & Learning 2013
Media & Learning 2013 is targeted at practitioners and policy makers interested in exploring and discussing media supported learning at all levels of education and training.
Media & Learning 2013 is for all those interested in the latest developments, services and uses of media in education and training. Aimed at both policy makers and practitioners, the purpose of this annual event is to identify policies and initiatives that promote digital and media competence at all levels of education and training as well as to promote best-practice in the take-up and application of media in education and training.
Net Texts: an app for the classroom
Net Texts is a free app which organises and delivers the wealth of Open Educational Resources available on the Internet.
Net Texts helps schools replace or supplement printed textbooks with customized multimedia courses delivered to students' iPads, Android tablets and laptops.
- Teachers use the app’s Content Management Website to select existing courses or to create new courses by mixing and matching items from the library with their own educational material.
- Students use the Next Texts iPad or Android or web app to download and view these courses, filled with videos, slideshows, e-books, PDFs, text, audiobooks and links.
ICERI2013 - Call for papers
ICERI2013, the 6th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, will be held in Seville (Spain) from 18 to 20 November 2013.
A platform to discuss the latest developments in the fields of teaching and learning methodologies, educational projects and new technologies applied to Education and Research, ICERI2013 is inviting authors to submit research papers based on a wide array of topics, which they may present in person during the event or virtually. The submission deadline is July 11th.
Two ISBN publications will be produced with all the accepted abstracts and papers, and all accepted contributions will be included in the IATED Digital Library to form part of its database of innovative projects in Education and Technology.
ICERI2013 Publications will be included in Google Scholar and sent to be reviewed for their inclusion in the ISI Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
More than 700 delegates from 75 different countries are expected to attend ICERI2013 in Seville.
eLearning Africa 2013 programme revealed
Sharing the best practices of sustainable classroom computing: join experts from Zambia, Lesotho and the UK in the eLearning Africa interactive session chaired by Dell's David Angwin http://bit.ly/10kBPJj.
To know the whole programme, please visit the following address: http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme_table.php
Notes for editors
eLearning Africa, 8th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
May 29 - 31, 2013
Safari Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia
Organisers: ICWE GmbH (www.icwe.net), Government of the Republic of Namibia
Contact
ICWE GmbH, Ms Rebecca Stromeyer
info@elearning-africa.com, www.eLearning-africa.com, Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0
The eLearning Africa Team
eLearning Africa 2013 - Innovation or Sustainability: the Choice for African Education
Four controversial experts will take part in "a bare-knuckle fight" about priorities for African education at this year's eLearning Africa Debate. Outspoken Scottish entrepreneur and blogger Donald Clark and Namibian teacher and eLearning expert Maggy Beukes-Amiss will square up to "mobile technology crusader" Adele Botha and Angelo Gitonga of the ICT for Education Unit of Kenya's Ministry for Education at the annual war of words. They'll be arguing about whether too much attention has been paid to innovation in education and not enough to sustainability.
"It's a big issue and there'll be a bare-knuckle fight," says Harold Elletson, who will chair the debate alongside Honourable Silvia Makgone, Deputy Minister of Education, Namibia. According to Dr Elletson, "Some people think that the focus on innovation and technology has just persuaded governments and consumers to invest in equipment that soon becomes redundant. They say that the priority should be to support projects that are sustainable. Other people argue that innovation is vital to Africa's competitiveness and future economic growth. They say that it should be at the heart of the education system."
The eLearning Africa Debate has become the highlight of the eLearning Africa conference, an annual gathering of experts and decision-makers from all over Africa and beyond. Traditionally one of the liveliest and best attended events at the conference, this year's debate is likely to stir up real controversy.
"It's an issue which affects everyone and on which everyone has an opinion," says Dr Elletson. "The debate is an opportunity for conference participants to say what they think about one of the most important issues for the future of education in Africa."
The motion for debate, which will be put to a vote, is "This house believes that sustainability is more important than innovation for education in Africa". The debate will be held at the Safari Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia. All conference participants are welcome to attend and to take part in what promises to be a tense and exciting climax to a fascinating conference.
Information on the debate can be found at http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme_debate.php, and the full conference programme can be found at http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme_table.php%20.
Notes for editors
eLearning Africa, 8th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
May 29 - 31, 2013
Safari Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia
Organisers: ICWE GmbH (www.icwe.net), Government of the Republic of Namibia
Contact
ICWE GmbH, Ms Rebecca Stromeyer
info@elearning-africa.com, www.eLearning-africa.com, Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0