Belgique. Quatre ans de blocage institutionnel

audience: professionalLe clivage entre les différentes nationalités est l’un des facteurs permettant d’expliquer l’évolution du pays, depuis la naissance en Belgique, en 1830, d’un nationalisme anti-hollandais, partagé par la bourgeoisie francophone du nord et du sud du pays, qui, par contrecoup, suscita des revendications quant au statut de la langue du nord, constituée d’un ensemble de dialectes flamands. Bien que la communauté flamande soit majoritaire sur le plan démographique, il fallut attendre 1967 pour que la Constitution soit enfin traduite dans sa langue. Les réformes de l’État, mises en œuvre de 1970 à 1993, portent la trace à la fois des exigences flamandes sur le plan linguistique et de celles des Wallons sur le plan économique. Après la dernière grande révision de la Constitution, intervenue en 1993 au terme d’un long travail en commission, cinq résolutions votées en 1999 par le Parlement flamand ont réclamé l’instauration d’un « confédéralisme », c’est-à-dire un transfert massif des compétences vers les communautés, avec pour conséquence de vider l’État fédéral de sa substance. Jusqu’à présent, les francophones ont rejeté pratiquement toutes les demandes flamandes, ce qui a eu pour effet de doper la montée électorale d’un parti séparatiste, lequel s’oppose ouvertement à toute négociation ne prenant pas en compte ses thèses nationalistes. Au nom d’un nationalisme belge et de la défense de l’État social, les francophones refusent que l’on procède à la moindre modification substantielle de la répartition des compétences. Le blocage est tel que la Belgique se trouve engagée dans la plus longue crise politique du monde à laquelle, en cette fin d’hiver 2011, aucune solution n’a encore été trouvée

Show small close comfort and listen - How to overcome barriers in the use of social media

During the past years, the speaker has used social media in a number of courses and projects with adult learners. He has also provided workshops and trainings for his colleagues. Based on these experiences, he will suggest a number of tips for overcoming barriers in implementing social media in lifelong learning situations. These tips will be discussed in an interactive session. Four suggestions are made: Firstly, show the benefits of social media by illustrating how you or others use it with learners. Secondly, start small, take small steps, one at a time. Thirdly, stay close to actual practice of trainers and learners. Fourthly, stay as close to an individual’s comfort zone as possible. Make sure not to lose your audience by suggesting very wild tools. Finally, listen to what your learners are saying, evaluate, and take the next step accordingly

D4.1. CEFcult Framework and Methodology

Verjans, S., & Rajagopal, K. (2010). D4.1. CEFcult Framework and Methodology. CEFcult project deliverables: CEFcult project.The CEFcult project addresses the observed need in European enterprise for increased foreign language proficiency for intercultural professional communication. In an increasingly globalised world, language skills need to be supplemented with intercultural competence in order to guarantee successful communication. This deilverable describes the theoretical framework that builds the backdrop to the project. It discusses intercultural competence, learning to become interculturally competent, assessing intercultural competence, combining language and intercultural competence, and scenarios for intercultural competence assessment.European Commission, Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency, under KA2 – Multilateral Projects of the Lifelong Learning Programm

République démocratique du Congo. Le système politique de la troisième république : Genèse d’une démocratie attendue

Les élections de 2006 en République démocratique du Congo sont la conséquence d'un long processus commencé par les accords de paix à l'issue de la guerre qui a déchiré le pays. Elles sont aussi le début d'un processus démocratique classique. Les résultats de ces élections méritent d'être analysés en terme politique mais aussi démographique.Peer reviewe

Does the phenomenon of Open Educational Resources lead to new didactic model? “It depends”

Didderen, W., & Verjans, S. (2012). Does the phenomenon of Open Educational Resources lead to new didactic model? “It depends”. In R. Jacobi, & N. van der Woert (Eds.), Trend Report Open Educational Resources 2012 (pp. 9-15). Utrecht: SURF Foundation - Special Interest Group Open Educational Resources. Retrieved from https://www.surfspace.nl/artikel/697-trendrapport-open-educational-resources/.This contribution starts with the question of whether there is a direct relationship between OER and didactics. Is there such a thing as “OER didactics”? In the same way as a decade ago the usefulness and need for specific digital didactics were questioned, one can also raise questions regarding specific didactics for OER. Simons (2003) defined digital didactics as “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of ICT to facilitate learning”. A parallel definition of OER didactics would therefore be: “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of OER to facilitate learning”. More generally, one might define specific didactic models as “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of X to facilitate learning”, with X then being replaced by specific tools or technologies, for example online video, virtual worlds, or serious games. The question is then: Is it in fact valuable to think of specific didactic theories, models, or practices specifically for Open Educational Resources? Are OER didactics a specific discipline within digital didactics, or within didactics in general?SURF Foundatio

Developing a sustainable, student centred VLE: the OUNL case

Hermans, H., & Verjans, S. (2009). Developing a sustainable, student centred VLE: the OUNL case. Paper presented at the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education including the 2009 EADTU Annual Conference (M-2009). June, 7-10, 2009, Maastricht, The Netherlands.The Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL) has adopted the concept of the personal learning and working environment (PLWE) as the future delivery platform of its educational services to students. This concept means that students should be able to shape their own personal virtual (learning) environment, based on individual tool and technology preferences . To support this concept the OUNL faces the challenge of setting up an architecture and investing in the development of a set of educational services that can be integrated not only in the institutional learning environment, but that can also be merged with personal environments. In this presentation we describe the first steps of a distance teaching university in its move towards this PLWE concept. This means reconsidering the role and position of the current, more traditional VLE, and developing new educational services that aim at getting students more committed and involved, inspired by the success of current web2.0 technology.Open University of the Netherlands - Instellingsbreed Programma Onderwijsinnovati