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EUROPEAN

ASSOCIATION
OF TECHNOLOGY
ENHANCED
LEARNING
Issue 1, January 2009
http://ea-tel.eu

2009 and the new year of technology enhanced learning

in this edition:
A new View of European TEL Welcome 1
Report from a SIG 2
Welcome to a new year for the the ideas roll in!
Project announcements 3
european association of technology In subsequent issues, we will focus Event announcements 4
enhanced learning. In this ‘new on a range of reports from the new,
look’ newsletter, the EATEL as well as ongoing projects that are
community will be bringing together of interest to our communities; and
issues that are of interest to us all we aim to provide a useful highlight
through this coming year. on some important events. We will
also be presenting reports from
We are starting the 2009 news EATEL special interest groups.
process with just a couple of pages!
So, join us...
We have an announcement of talk to us...
two major events, and advance make us work!
news from one project and one
network of excellence which are
kicking-off next month.
With your help the news will
grow as the year progresses and

Announcing STELLAR
A New Network
for European TEL

starting 2009 http://stellarnet.eu


EATEL SIG Report
Berlin Expert Competency Symposium

On 3rd of December 2008, the European Experts The unique composition of this symposium, together with
Symposium took place in Berlin with the title “Competencies its pioneering methodology of synergy and interaction,
as the Common Currency 4 Learning Outcomes – Towards a provided and documented new ideas and concerns, which
needs requirements for competency based learning”. The were crystallized in a series of observations (table reports),
Symposium was organized by The ICOPER Best Practice important for future planning in this field as well as for a
Network, the EA-TEL SIGs Professional TEL and Foresight common European understanding and practice regarding
Studies, the EducaNext foundation and representatives from competencies.
standards organizations and European Projects in the area.
Amongst others, the dialogue resulted in the articulation
This Symposium intended to bring together European of the following interesting points:
Projects and Experts working in the Competency-Driven
Learning Design and Delivery area together with the • Different communities of practice have different
standardization community, in order to provide the definitions for competencies.
opportunity to all participants to have a direct impact on how • According to the European Qualification Framework
the gap on competency-based descriptions can be closed. (EQF), Competency means the proven ability to use
knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or
The symposium had a unique focus on the main methodological abilities, in work or study situations and
challenges facing the development and delivery of outcome- in professional and personal development. Therefore,
based learning, from a standards perspective. It was a full the concepts skills, knowledge and abilities are
day event involving 30 distinguished experts from Higher subcomponents of competency.
Education, industry, and standardisation bodies. Using a • Competencies are generic (like in SHL framework).
Learning Cafe format, the experts discussed the definition Those generic competencies can be contextualized for
and modeling of competencies in different sectors. In specific domains/subjects/situations. Examples:
addition, the Symposium explored current approaches and o Generic competency: applying knowledge and
initiatives towards the development and delivery of understanding.
competency based curricula and training within the European o Contextualized (subjective) competency: apply
projects. concepts taken from anthropology, economics,
geography and technology to an interdisciplinary
The two main themes of the Berlin Symposium were: study of international development
• One of the few European projects that dealt with
1) Competencies in Higher Education: Needs learning outcome-based curricula development is the HE-
Requirements for Universities? How to link Leo project. This project offer some guidelines and
Qualification frameworks to competency recommendations on implementing competency based
development in terms of outcome-based descriptions curricula. Nevertheless, it is not put in practice at online
of learning offerings and course outlines (concept courses yet.
definitions, requirements, scenarios, and indicators). • Teachers should define courses based on learning
outcomes. Institutions should design learning experience
2) Towards Common Semantics For Competencies & around outcomes.
Portfolios (Personal Profiles): Linking HEIs • Competency Frameworks should relate curricula,
educational offerings to life after University; Use of competencies, learning outcomes and the objectives of
Learning to increase employability in terms of the stakeholders.
acquiring competencies that can increase • Semantic Web technologies are suitable for describing
professional choices over the individual’s lifetime competency frameworks through the use of common
(lessons from the corporate sector, requirements, identifiers. Matching is different to selection: Matching
scenarios, indicators). can be automatic; selection is human controlled.
• In a learning outcome based education, assessment
should be relevant to learning outcomes. Different We use Web 2.0 means like the LinkedIn group (below)
competencies may use different assessment methods. to facilitate the communication and collaboration among the
• Portfolios and competencies are moving towards each diverse communities.
other. Competency in portfolio are MY definition of
competencies PLUS those definitions of OTHERS of the Join the ROLE Community Outreach Program now! Visit
SAME competency us at LinkedIn Group ROLE and become a member of our
• Collaboration and consistency is the key to ensure community:
portability of competencies across domains and sectors.
Liaison groups for competencies are an enabler for http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1590487
common semantics and production of portable
competency profiles.
• Collaborations between standard bodies like IMS, IEEE
LTSC RCD, ISO SC36, HR-XML and CEN ISSS is very New Network
important.
Going STELLAR
To get more information on the discussions during the
event; to view a number of position papers and background Also kicking off in February
notes; an overview of the many EU projects working with 2009, STELLAR represents the
Competency issues; and a very first draft for a proposes effort of the leading
reference model for Competency Data Management please institutions and projects in
visit the Symposium wiki at: European Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) to unify our
diverse community.
https://sites.google.com/site/competencydriven/Home
This new Network of Excellence is motivated by the
need for European research on TEL to build upon, synergize
New Project and extend the valuable work we have started by
significantly building capacity in TEL research within Europe,
Ready to ROLE which is required to allow the European Union to achieve its
goals via the Bologna Agreement and the execution of the
Responsive Open Learning Lisbon Agenda. The European TEL agenda has been set for
Environments is a new large- the last 4 years by the Kaleidoscope network – with a huge
scale integrating project in strength in pedagogy and scientific excellence, and the
‘Digital libraries and Prolearn network – with a complimentary strength in
technology-enhanced technical and professional excellence.
learning’ kicking off in
February 2009. The project focuses on supporting the Integrating this excellence and moving on to the higher
individual assembly of accessible learning services, tools and strategic formation of policy based in leading research is the
resources in responsive open learning environments. It will key challenge for the next stage for European TEL.
research and develop a psycho-pedagogically sound
framework for supporting the individual composition of STELLAR aims to sustain TEL at large scale via a series
learning services; and create a set of new engineering
methodologies from learner and developer communities.

ROLE implements an extensive community outreach


programme to involve as many researcher, developer and
user communities as possible world-wide. ROLE strives to
stimulate these communities to open up closed learning
environments by providing respective learning services, we
understand the programme as a cornerstone of the project. It
is therefore deeply anchored in the proposed R & D process.

In ROLE we target decentralized ways of learning, more


suited to a Web 2.0 point of view, in which each learner can
select her own learning tools, choose her own learning tasks of interlocking instruments focused around the ‘Grand
and explore different learning practices. ROLE facilitates Challenge for Technology Enhanced Learning’. Each
large communities which will be studied from a joint personal ‘instrument’ is focused on increasing capacity at a specific
learning and Web 2.0 point of view. level of researcher.

The overwhelming complexity of solutions to every http://stellarnet.eu


imaginable combination requires us to ask the ROLE
communities for help and support in designing, developing,
implementing, and evaluating upcoming ROLE solutions.
:: Announcing ::

Joint TEL Grad School

Terchova, Slovakia
May 30 to June 6, 2009
Night time for students in Terchova
The EATEL Association with
STELLAR and the EU ICT TEL
research projects: APOSDLE, Morning over ECTEL in Nice
MATURE, PROLIX, ROLE, ICOPER,
TENCompetence, GRAPPLE, LTfLL,
Organic.Edunet and the B-IT
Research School are pleased to
!
announce their Joint European
Summer School on Technology
Enhanced Learning.

Our ambition is to foster cross-


domain training and collaboration
opportunities among researchers
ECTEL 2009 - be there!
in Europe and beyond, working in
the disparate fields of expertise Synergy is the key word for the Forth European Conference on Technology Enhanced
Learning (ECTEL 2009): “Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines” which will take
which promote the advancement
place September 29th – October 2nd, 2009 in Cannes, France. (http://www.ectel09.org)
of TEL. The programme includes
lectures and working sessions from Currently, the face of learning is changing substantially. Formal learning is surrounded by
leading professors in the field, informal learning opportunities, classroom learning is complemented by workplace learning,
tutoring, mentoring, and joint and even the frontiers between teaching and learning are disappearing as people are
research opportunities. learning collaboratively and engaging in knowledge communities. These developments are
Additionally, the school will offer driven by technological advancements: large scale knowledge repositories provide learners
practical sessions in research with content and support them in an individualized and adaptive way; semantic technologies
methodology for Technology provide contextualized and task-specific information; the Web 2.0 enables people to actively
Enhanced Learning. Advanced take part in knowledge communication and knowledge construction. These new tools and
technical means need psychological and pedagogical models of learning which take into
PhD students will be identified to
account the vast diversity of situations where learning takes place, as well as the specific
present their research at the
needs of individuals, tutors and organisations.
Fourth European Conference on
Technology Enhanced Learning in ECTEL 2009 aims to bring together new technological developments and learning
Cannes, France, September, 2009. models. The conference will explore how the synergy of multiple disciplines, ranging from
Computer Science, Education, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Social Science, can provide
The deadline for submissions is new, more effective and more sustainable, technology-enhanced learning solutions. The
March 16th, 2009. conference welcomes researchers from European and Non-European countries and industries
to present recent advancements from technologies, applications, and learning models in all
http://jtelsummerschool.eu areas of technology enhanced learning.

A call for papers is currently being circulated for which abstracts are due April 6th and
EATEL is looking forward to seeing
full papers April 16th. ECTEL has already established itself as a premier venue for researchers
you at the summer school! in Technology Enhanced Learning, working in the framework of EU funded research projects
where they present results, provide inspiration, and engage other researchers in outreach
activities through workshops, demonstrations, symposia and poster sessions. It provides a
fertile environment for nurturing ongoing research and stimulating innovative ideas for new
projects and collaboration. We hope in the beginning of this New Year 2009 that many EU
projects will plan one of their general assemblies to be co-located during ECTEL 2009 and will
Contact us at: incorporate one or many of the forms of participation into their dissemination plan. It is
expected that ECTEL 2009 will host the annual general meeting of EATEL.
http://ea-tel.eu
We look forward to meeting you in Cannes.

EUROPEAN
ASSOCIATION
OF TECHNOLOGY
ENHANCED
LEARNING
http://ea-tel.eu

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