Rapid prototyping as a faculty-wide activity: An innovative approach to the redesign of courses and instructional medthods at the University of Twente

At the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology (Toegepaste Onderwijskunde, T.O.) of the University of Twente a revolutionary process of institutional change is occurring. Under the banner of C@MPUS+, we have made a commitment to blend the best of our old values of good teaching and an attractive campus life with new didactics and advanced technologies so that we can extend our already unique curriculum and instructional practice over distance and time, as well as enrich it

Applying Recommendations to Align Competences, Methodology, and Assessment in Telematics, Computing, and Electronic Engineering Courses

The alignment between competences, teachinglearning methodologies, and assessment is a key element of European higher education. This paper presents the efforts carried out by six telematics, computer science and electronic engineering education teachers toward achieving this alignment in their subjects. In a joint work with pedagogues, a set of recommended actions are identified. A selection of these actions are applied and evaluated in the six subjects. The cross analysis of the results indicates that the actions allow students to better understand the methodologies and assessments planned for the subjects, facilitate (self-) regulation, and increase students’ involvement in the subjects

Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A toolkit for educators and planners

Everyone remembers a good teacher. Good teachers are the key to educational expansion and improvement. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to expand the number of primary and secondary teachers. In all African countries, there is an equally important need to improve the quality of teaching. To achieve this, it is clear that new approaches to teacher education are essential. Existing institutions of teacher education will continue to play an important role, but, alone, they will not meet the goals of Education for All (EFA) by 2015. It is fortunate that, just as the twin needs to improve the quantity and quality of teachers become imperative, so new forms of education and training are becoming available. The world is witnessing a revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs), which can offer training and support of a type and at a cost hitherto impossible to consider, and thus, must be fully explored given the scale and urgency of demand. In doing so, however, it will be necessary to build on existing and well-tested strategies, including the best models of open and distance learning. This toolkit is the third in a series of recent publications by the Africa Region Human Development Department of the World Bank to share knowledge and experience on how distance education and ICTs can support education in Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasizes the rigorous process by which new forms of distance-education programs for teacher education can be planned and implemented. The best models of established programs are considered along with the potential for incorporating, as the means become available, new modes of communication. Most forms of teacher education, particularly those concerned with qualification upgrading and ongoing professional development, will have to be based in schools. The authors demonstrate how school-based programs, appropriately resourced and supported, have the potential not only to raise significantly the number and quality of teachers, but also to improve classroom practice and school organization, generally. The guidance and advice, which is drawn from many years of experience in design and implementation, and embraces a range of case studies from across the region, will be of considerable value to those preparing new policies and programs of teacher education and to those seeking to improve existing programs

A didactical design perspective on teacher presence in an international online learning community

This paper is based on a study of the student learning experience in a particular module of an international Masters programme that included a large element of online learning. It builds on earlier work which highlighted the importance of design and development of social infrastructure for supporting the development of an online learning community by revisiting the data from the perspective of a didactical design framework. The overall aims of this study are to consider how, as teachers, we designed and developed teacher presence and how this was achieved in practice from the design of teaching-studying-learning processes through development to interaction in the online learning community

New possibilities for the professionalization of UK VET professionals

Analyses the present condition of, and future possibilities for, the professionalization of those who work in vocational education and training in the UK. Argues that for the UK, as for other European countries, a high quality system of vocational education and training (VET) is a precondition for both a competitive economy and democratic society. Begins with a description of the current state and status of VET in the UK, and charts the legacy of 18 years of neo-liberal conservative government and its implications for the position of VET professionals. Identifies the new demands being made on VET professionals by changes in the global economy and develops a model of the VET professional as a connective specialist for responding to these demands. Explores two aspects of the model - pedagogy and the role of new technologies (telematics in particular) - in some detail. Finally, considers some of the political and economic policies needed for such a model to be implemented. © 1997, MCB UP Limite

The Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Vocational and Technical Students’ Learning

The wider rise and proliferation of the computer is interwoven with the broader transition from the modern era to post-modernity. In these ICT-enabled post-modern conditions, knowledge becomes a commodity in the global economy, and such commodity exchanges are mirrored in the relationship between teacher and learner. This is judged in relation to an efficiency view of the cost/benefit equation, with an emphasis on measurable outputs from the system. The incorporation of ICT into the vocational and technical education or education system in general has multifaceted implications for teaching and learning. This study therefore focuses the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on teaching of Vocational and Technical Education students and how this integration can support or aid their learning. Keywords: Computer Aided Instruction (CAI), Computer Aided Learning (CAL), Education Management Information System (EMIS), Interactive Information System, Constructivist Model of Learning, Technical and Vocational Education (TVE)

Collaborative Learning Environments. A Response to the New Challenges of Colombian Education

EAFIT, a Colombian University, with financial support from Colciencias, the Infodev Program and other organizations, has been working on the Conexiones project since 1992. Conexiones developed an innovative model (now used in the classrooms of more than one hundred urban and rural schools), integrating pedagogical methodology, a computer literacy program (for teachers, students and community leaders), a technical support methodology (involving university students and more advanced trainees), a low-tech networking technology (using dial-up solutions to interconnect remote schools), computer interfaces and locally developed educational contents.EAFIT, a Colombian University, with financial support from Colciencias, the Infodev Program and other organizations, has been working on the Conexiones project since 1992. Conexiones developed an innovative model (now used in the classrooms of more than one hundred urban and rural schools), integrating pedagogical methodology, a computer literacy program (for teachers, students and community leaders), a technical support methodology (involving university students and more advanced trainees), a low-tech networking technology (using dial-up solutions to interconnect remote schools), computer interfaces and locally developed educational contents

Real‐time interactive social environments: A review of BT's generic learning platform

Online learning in particular and lifelong learning in general require a learning platform that makes sense both pedagogically and commercially. This paper sets out to describe what we mean by generic, learning and platform. The technical requirements are described, and various trials that test the technical, educational and commercial nature of the platform are described Finally, the future developments planned for the Real‐time Interactive Social Environments (RISE) are discusse