http://www.cen-ltso.net/Learning Technology Standards Observatory http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/imagenes/cen_bottom2.gifhttp://www.cenorm.be/ http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6292009-06-242009-9-282009-10-2 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6302009-06-242009-10-282009-10-29 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6312009-06-242009-9-292009-10-2 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6262009-06-112009-7-162009-7-16 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6272009-06-112009-9-172009-9-18 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6282009-06-112009-8-192009-8-19 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6232009-05-312009-9-212009-9-23 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6242009-05-312009-10-62009-10-8 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6252009-05-312009-11-22009-11-6Digital RepositoriesMetadata http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6172009-05-212009-11-92009-11-12 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6182009-05-212009-10-52009-10-6 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6132009-05-072009-8-212009-8-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6112009-04-302009-10-122009-10-16 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6072009-04-112009-7-62009-7-10 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6052009-04-022009-12-22009-12-4 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6032009-03-292009-11-92009-11-12 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5972009-03-122009-9-152009-9-15Collaboration http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6002009-03-122009-7-142009-7-18 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=6012009-03-122009-10-262009-10-30 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5932009-02-202009-7-62009-7-8 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5882009-02-122009-9-152009-9-17 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5772009-01-292009-7-62009-7-8AccesibilityArchitectures & InterfacesInternationalisation http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5782009-01-292009-9-222009-9-25Architectures & Interfaces http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5722009-01-222009-9-232009-9-25 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5542008-12-162009-8-192009-8-21AccesibilityArchitectures & InterfacesAssessmentCollaborationCompetencyContent AggregationDigital RepositoriesEducational Modelling LanguagesGlossaryIntellectual PropertyInternationalisationLocalisationMedia FormatsMetadataRuntimeSecurityStudent AssessmentStudent ManagementUser InterfacesVocabularies http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5552008-12-162009-7-272009-7-31AccesibilityArchitectures & InterfacesAssessmentCollaborationCompetencyContent AggregationDigital RepositoriesEducational Modelling LanguagesGlossaryIntellectual PropertyInternationalisationLocalisationMedia FormatsMetadataRuntimeSecurityStudent AssessmentStudent ManagementUser InterfacesVocabularies http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5392008-12-032009-7-142009-7-18 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?event=5402008-12-032009-10-182009-10-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=567&Lang=engIEEE Region 8, in partnership with the IEEE Education Society, is beginning a new global engineering education conference, IEEE EDUCON, held each year in selected cities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for academic, government and industrial collaboration on teaching methods, practical experiences and research toward improving the future of global engineering education. University presidents, college deans, department chairpersons, faculty in engineering and engineering technology, graduate students preparing for academic careers, government representatives, and industry leaders from throughout IEEE Region 8 (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and the world are invited to submit papers for peer review and publication in the conference program. In 2010, the conference will be held on April 14-16 in Madrid, Spain on the campuses of UNED and UPM. The deadline to submit a one page abstract of your proposed conference paper, or a two-minute video abstract that proposes your paper and demonstrates your presentation skills, is September 7, 2009. Final one-page abstracts will be published in a program book distributed at the conference. Paper proceedings with an appropriate ISBN number will be distributed electronically on CD-ROM or memory USB. Papers will also be available through IEEE Xplore. There will be some selected award papers that will be recommended for publication in IEEE Transactions on Education and in the IEEE-RITA Electronic Journal. Examples topic areas for paper submission are: Area 1: Infrastructure and Technologies for Engineering Education Area 2: Innovative Materials, Teaching and Learning Experiences in Engineering Education Area 3: Knowledge and Competencies in Engineering Area 4: Educational Methods and Learning Mechanisms in Engineering Education Area 5: Attracting, Engaging and Retaining Human Talent to Engineering Important Dates: Submission of Abstract Deadline (1 page or 2 minutes video) 7 September 2009 Notification of Abstract Acceptance 7 October 2009 Submission of Accepted Complete Papers Deadline (Short: 2-4 pages / Full: 5-8 pages) 7 November 2009 Notification of Complete Papers Acceptance 15 December 2009 Camera-Ready Papers & One Page Abstract Deadline 15 January 2010 Author Registration Deadline (mandatory for inclusion on the conference) 15 January 2010 Registration Deadline (Advance reduced price) 15 January 2010 Hotel Reservation Deadline (Advance reservation reduced price) 15 January 2010 IEEE EDUCON 2010 Conference 14-16 April 20102009-06-24 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=566&Lang=engEducation has many unique challenges associated with integrating business and academic processes and technologies. This Recommended Practices for Education on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) from IMS Global Learning Consortium filters the information on the current state of SOA concepts, tools and practices and provides guidance on when adoption of SOA is appropriate in Education to overcome some of its core challenges. Based on both theoretical practice and real world expertise, the contributors to this white paper have worked to provide real world use cases where SOA adoption has proven to be beneficial. The outcome is a prescriptive approach to SOA concepts as exemplified through use cases with a descriptive approach to the potential tools and practices of SOA implementation. The intended outcome of SOA adoption as recommended in this white paper is to improve interoperability both internal and external to an institution, to realize cost savings over time by adopting reusable and open standard IT services, and to align IT services ever more closely with the services that the institution provides to its ecosystem. These outcomes can be achieved today in education through a phased service oriented approach.2009-06-24 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=565&Lang=engOne of the things that’s most exciting for me about going from a small organization to a bigger one is that there are certain areas where scale can have a really big, really clear impact. Standards, a topic I personally have a lot of passion for, is one of those areas. So in joining Blackboard, I saw and hoped for a big opportunity to do more. The fact is Blackboard’s long been involved on a number of standards fronts and has made some really important contributions. But I think it’s fair to characterize our involvement to date as more about participation than about leadership. I want to change that. So, as I shared with our client community in a letter today (included here), we’re going to ramp up our commitment to standards. Starting with a specific commitment to a standard I helped author and care a lot about, IMS’s Common Cartridge. Let me state it plainly here, we will fully support both the import and export of this format, working closely with Rob Abel, the IMS and its Board of Directors, of which I am a member. Why? eLearning Systems like Blackboard are an important part of educational delivery. But they’re a part, one that needs to easily interact with lots of other parts, including learning content, to provide their full benefit to educators. Publishers, institutions, instructional designers, faculty, all are creating great learning content, at no small investment in time and resource. They want to create content once, have it be able to play anywhere, and preserve their investment by making sure it’s not “locked in” to a particular vendor’s system due to proprietary formats. Common Cartridge emerged to address these goals. I’m thrilled to have us get more involved, and also to get more personally connected with our ongoing support of other important standards like LTI, SCORM, LIS and SIF. Once standards like these get implemented, creators of learning content and tools will of course still need to have formal partnerships (for example in our case participating in the Blackboard Building Blocks™ program or the Blackboard Content Provider network) with platform providers like us in order to connect their standards-compliant tool or content to eLearning platforms through supported interfaces. That’s the same as it is today and a key part of continuing to ensure stability and accountability once platforms are extended. But the power of these standards will be knowing that you can build a piece of content or tool once, then leverage existing partner relationships you have with various eLearning platform providers to have that content or tool serve teachers and learners through multiple supported systems. In closing, an invitation. This is important work for teaching and learning. Work that I hope more will join us in doing. I know many have been taking a wait and see approach before fully diving in. I think we need to change that. Collective inaction is delaying important benefits to educators worldwide. So I invite our publishing partners, our technology partners, our competitors and our community to engage with us to drive adoption of open standards. Specifically join us in working with the IMS Global education standards organization. Michael Chasen, our CEO at Blackboard, and I have both committed to participate. We’re going to bring some of our best technical minds to the dialog and hope to see you there. Ultimately the proof will be in shipped software, I understand that. But I hope you get a sense of the commitment you can expect from us in this important area for industry collaboration. Ray Henderson Letter In my introductory message to you a few weeks ago I shared a glimpse about my history of commitment to openness and standards for educational technology. I hinted that change would come to Blackboard and our policies soon. While an obvious industry leader on many fronts, Blackboard has not necessarily been a consistent standards leader. As an organization I feel we need to more proactively add our shoulder to the wheel of advancing standards. I’m pleased to announce new directions at Blackboard against this backdrop. First, I’m pledging to take our role in the open standards community from “participant” to “leader.” Second, I want to extend an invitation to other organizations in the eLearning community to join us in the standards dialog, specifically in the IMS Global standards organization. Let me provide more detail on both these directions. Implementing Standards As one of my first acts as President of Blackboard Learn I challenged our product development and strategy teams to figure out how we could do more to implement and lead the way on standards. Here’s what we came up with: Common Cartridge Support – eLearning systems like Blackboard are an important part of educational delivery. But they’re only part of the story – they require learning content to provide their full benefit to educators. The major publishers are investing more in this area. And institutions themselves are investing more as instructional design and online course authorship become commonplace. For traditional publishers or institutions that wish to create their own curricula there is a growing desire to create content once that can play anywhere. And as investments in content rise, institutions naturally wish to preserve their investment by making sure it’s not “locked in” to a particular vendors system due to proprietary formats. This recognition of these goals prompted the emergent industry standard known as the Common Cartridge. As our first new step towards leadership in standards, I’m excited to share that we are committing to fully support both the import and export of this format, striking the same level of activism in support of the standard as ANGEL Learning had previously. Learning Tools Interoperability – Online course authors are quick to acknowledge a need for more than just content – they need interactive “learning tools” that are integrated into the learner experience. An online chemistry course, for example, may provide text and videos on the topic of acids and bases. But it would be greatly enriched by a learning tool that simulates lab conditions and allows the student to conduct virtual titration exercises. I’m pleased to note that Blackboard has been a leader in defining this important standard and that we’ll sustain this effort as a key priority in the months ahead. SCORM – The US Department of Defense sponsored work to create what’s known as the SCORM standard to solve a related problem of interoperability. This standard has been widely adopted in government training applications and has also found a following in K-20 education internationally. This standard defines how content “objects” can be sequenced for learners and share information about learner interactions with an eLearning system that tracks student results. We remain committed to supporting this standard. Today we support SCORM 2004 v3 and are actively working to support later versions. Learning Information Services – We’re going to get involved in supporting the Learning Information Services specification. This specification provides a standards-based approach to integrating the LMS, SIS and other IT infrastructure pieces for easily sharing grades, enrollment, user, course and group information between systems using web services. School Interoperability Framework (SIF) – We know that SIF is an important standard in K-12 for the interoperability between back office administrative systems and eLearning systems. Both Blackboard and ANGEL support this standard today, but I want to bring additional focus to this standard to better support our K-12 customers. An Invitation to the Industry: Engage Along with us to Drive Adoption of Open Standards Before I arrived at Blackboard I spent considerable time trying to drive the adoption of open standards throughout the industry. I had a number of discussions with technology firms and content publishers in particular that concluded with inaction. Many confessed to taking a “wait-and-see” approach, suggesting that they couldn’t justify the investments in standards until others joined in first. This chicken and egg situation is delaying important benefits to educators worldwide. So to our publishing partners, our technology partners, our competitors, and our community: we invite you to join us in the standards dialog. The place we believe this will take place is in the halls of the IMS Global educational standards organization. Michael Chasen, the CEO of Blackboard, and I have both committed time to participate. We’re bringing some of our best technical minds to the dialog and are extending our investment effective immediately. If you’re not a member institution we encourage you to sign on. It requires investment of modest fees for IMS to provide technical stewardship, and it requires investment of some of your best minds to build industry standards that will support the needs of educators in the decades to come. We believe that what’s at issue is worth it—the growth of our industry and the pace of progress in delivering on the promise of technology to help personalize learning at scale. [More info on IMS at: www.imsglobal.org] In Summary With this new step forward in standards, creators of learning content, tools and other systems will be able to better leverage their partnerships with Blackboard through the Blackboard Building Blocks program or the Blackboard Content Provider network to write their interfaces once and then easily connect their standards-compliant tool or content to any other technology supporting the same standards. In closing, while we need to complement these words with the deeds of shipping software -- I hope this message provides a sense of direction that you may expect from Blackboard as we review our approach and commitment to this important area of industry collaboration. This is an area where I’m confident that Blackboard can play a very positive role in the industry, and indeed, in the improvement of education globally. But this is not something we can do alone – which is why I also look forward to working with many of you to bring this commitment to life. Sincerely, Ray Henderson President of Blackboard Learn Blackboard Inc.2009-06-24 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=564&Lang=engScope (and field of application): This standard states the principles, rules, and attributes for semantic data, for specifying language accessibility and human interface equivalents (HIEs) in e-learning applications. It is structured to be able to support the requirements of applicable jurisdictional domains.2009-06-11 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=563&Lang=engOver the next five years, the project, which also received funding from the Learning Skills Council (LSC), will enable all students in FE in the UK to access online course texts to support their studies. E-books will be made available from the start of the next academic year via the ebrary e-books platform. Subjects will range from Fashion Design to Software Engineering, Health and Social Care to Automobile Electronics, and Beauty Therapy to Practical Lambing. Access will be available whether students are studying in the college, at home or in an internet café. Colleges will also have the opportunity to buy additional e-books at specially discounted prices to add to the collection. This will enable each college to build a digital library of e-books tailored to meet the needs of all its students. A recent study carried out by JISC Collections, as part of its national e-book observatory project, indicated that e-books are popular with students because they are ‘more accessible than print books, meaning that users can get at them wherever they are and at whatever time they like’. JISC Collections’ national e-book observatory project is one of the largest studies of its kind in the UK. It observed the behaviours of students at 127 UK universities; how they accessed, used and downloaded e-books, and received more than 40,000 responses. Its results suggest that e-books, rather than detracting from the use of traditional textbooks, actually support their use, providing access to information in the student’s own time, enabling further reading on those subjects printed in the core text and potentially improving the way students learn by broadening their analytical and evaluation skills.2009-06-11 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=562&Lang=engMost content development in the ICOPER community institutions is still driven by ‘first use’ design, rather than by ‘reuse’ principles, a ICOPER study conducted by the UK Open University shows. The study is a deliverable coming out of the ICOPER work package on Content Development & Reuse led by the UK Open University. The report presents a qualitative survey of methodologies and systems which are used for “content-development for reuse” within the ICOPER best practice network community. It aims to outline the key topics represented in this community, that illustrate a small set of best practice issues for developing educational resources open for remixing and repurposing, tailored to the European dimension. The survey is structured by the existing view of quality standards in the area of e-learning such as ISO standard guidelines, and by a simple thematic analysis methodology. Each topic used in the survey is clearly thematically present in some parts of the ICOPER community, but not consistently for all of the issues that we would have expected to see. For example, whilst the standards theme is not well represented in the case studies of this community, the sub-topic of ‘rights and licensing’ is clearly very important. It is clearly that case that most content development in this community is still driven by ‘first use’ design, rather than by ‘reuse’ principles.2009-06-11Content AggregationMetadata http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=561&Lang=engEducation has many unique challenges associated with integrating business and academic processes and technologies. This Recommended Practices for Education on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) from IMS Global Learning Consortium filters the information on the current state of SOA concepts, tools and practices and provides guidance on when adoption of SOA is appropriate in Education to overcome some of its core challenges. Based on both theoretical practice and real world expertise, the contributors to this white paper have worked to provide real world use cases where SOA adoption has proven to be beneficial. The outcome is a prescriptive approach to SOA concepts as exemplified through use cases with a descriptive approach to the potential tools and practices of SOA implementation. The intended outcome of SOA adoption as recommended in this white paper is to improve interoperability both internal and external to an institution, to realize cost savings over time by adopting reusable and open standard IT services, and to align IT services ever more closely with the services that the institution provides to its ecosystem. These outcomes can be achieved today in education through a phased service oriented approach. Version 1.0 Public Draft available at http://www.imsglobal.org/soa/imsSOAWhitePaper_v1p0pd.html2009-06-11Architectures & Interfaces http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=560&Lang=engAuthor: Shailey Minocha The term ‘social software’ covers a range of software tools which allow users to interact and share data with other users, primarily via the web. Blogs, wikis, social networking websites, such as Facebook and Flickr, and social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious, are examples of some of the tools that are being used to share and collaborate in educational, social, and business contexts. The key aspect of a social software tool is that it involves wider participation in the creation of information which is shared. This study examined the use of social software in the UK further and higher education sectors to collect evidence of the effective use of social software in enhancing student learning and engagement. In this study, data from 26 initiatives, where social software tools have been employed, has been collected, analysed and synthesised. The cases chosen give a spread of tools, subject areas, contexts (part-time, full-time or distance learning), levels of study, and institutions (higher and further education). A case study methodology was followed and both educators and students were interviewed to find out what they had done, how well it had worked, and what they had learned from the experiences. This study provides insights about the: educational goals of using social software tools; enablers or drivers within the institution, or from external sources which positively influence the adoption of social software; benefits to the students, educators and institutions; challenges that may influence a social software initiative; and issues that need to be considered in a social software initiative. Our investigations have shown that social software tools support a variety of ways of learning: sharing of resources (eg bookmarks, photographs), collaborative learning, problem-based and inquiry-based learning, reflective learning, and peer-to-peer learning. Students gain transferable skills of team working, online collaboration, negotiation, and communication, individual and group reflection, and managing digital identities. Although these tools enhance a student’s sense of community, sharing and collaboration brings in additional responsibility and workload, which some students find inflexible and rather ‘forced’. The study found that students have concerns about privacy and the public nature of the tools for their academic activities. The educator’s role is changing from being a provider of information to a facilitator or moderator, which raises training needs, workload issues, and adjusting to a ‘new’ way of teaching. Institutions face the dilemma of adopting and recommending tools in the pubic domain over which they have no control. On the other hand, the institution’s VLE may not provide tools with as rich a functionality as is available in the tools which are in the public domain. The analysis in this report is presented as answers to questions which educators and policy makers may have about social software initiatives. It is hoped that the lessons and the recommendations, as captured in this report and the case studies will influence the learning and teaching strategies in higher and further education – specifically institutions which are considering the use of social software. The results highlight the different pedagogical roles of social software: communication, nurturing creativity and innovation, and collaborative learning.2009-06-04 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=559&Lang=engAuthors: Brian Gutterman, Shahreen Rahman, Jorge Supelano, Laura Thies, Mai Yang The Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID), an initiative approved by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2006, was created to approach and overcome ICT challenges. GAID uses an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach to tackle the various challenges in bringing ICT to the developing world, including ICTE. Under GAID’s supervision and in collaboration with their extensive network of experts in the ICTD field, this paper draws upon country case studies and their experiences with ICTE thus far.2009-06-04 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=558&Lang=engThe main purpose of this service contract will be: - to experiment how the Europass framework, more specifically the Europass Certificate Supplement and Europass Mobility, need to be adjusted to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by ECVET and EQF; - to assess the relevance and potential of Europass Mobility and Certificate Supplement for the purpose of documenting, validating and certifying learning outcomes with reference to ECVET and EQF. It should formulate concrete proposals to adapt accordingly the current templates of the Europass Certificate Supplement and Europass Mobility. This call has been published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities 2009/S 103-147713 of 30/05/2009. Deadline for submitting tenders: 09.07.2009 (17h00 local time for hand-delivered tenders). Requests for clarification concerning this call for tender, if any, will be published under this banner. Please visit Cedefop's website frequently for updates. If you are downloading the Tender Documents from our website, kindly send us an e-mail (c4t-services@cedefop.europa.eu) notifying us.2009-06-04 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=557&Lang=engThe ICOPER approach to modelling learning outcomes and connecting them to units of learning is published in a ICOPER Suitability Reports for Better Practice. The ultimate aim of this activity is to enable online finding and delivery of outcome-based learning. The report presents learning outcomes frameworks, models and standards. You will also find results of the analysis of the practices of ICOPER university partners have developed concerning learning outcomes curricula. In addition to that, analysis and results of learning outcome standards is given. The results of the university questionnaire revealed that there are multiple conventions considering learning outcomes and how they are applied in educational field. The results show that in many cases, knowledge, skills and competences are still rather loosely connected to curricula. Although, the concepts seemed to be problematic; there is no single common way to define learning outcomes in European higher education institutes, though EQF framework provides a common definition for knowledge, skills and competences. Some progress has been made regarding evidence assessment, i.e. many educational institutes align their curriculum qualification profiles with the labour market’s requirements. Although, European outcome-based education initiatives have made a good progress so far, it seems that a lot of work is still to be done towards a common practice of outcome-based curricula development.2009-06-04 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=556&Lang=engThis CEN Workshop Agreement has been drafted and approved by a Workshop of representatives of interested parties, the constitution of which is indicated in the foreword of this Workshop Agreement. The formal process followed by the Workshop in the development of this Workshop Agreement has been endorsed by the National Members of CEN but neither the National Members of CEN nor the CEN Management Centre can be held accountable for the technical content of this CEN Workshop Agreement or possible conflicts with standards or legislation. Comments shall be sent to the workshop secretariat (nikolaus.kovacs@din.de)2009-06-04 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=555&Lang=engAimed at a broad audience of application profile developers, the document walks through the process of creating a simple profile, using examples to illustrate key components and metadata design principles.2009-05-31Metadata http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=554&Lang=engThis newsletter includes articles on * A successful end to the MELT project! * MELT Final Evaluation Report * Social tagging in MELT2009-05-31Metadata http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=553&Lang=engThe primary purpose of the ISO/IEC 19788 multipart standard “Metadata for Learning Resources (MLR)” is to specify, in a rule-based manner, metadata elements and their attributes for the description of learning resources. This includes the rules governing the identification of metadata elements and the specification of metadata attributes. The purpose of Part-2 of the MLR standard is to ease the work of implementers and editors of the subsequent Parts by providing common properties, such as Title, Description and others. Subsequent Parts should include Part 2 in their Normative References section whenever common properties are used as such or within application profiles. This standard has been developed with full compatibility with ISO 15836 (Dublin Core) and optimal compatibility with IEEE 1484.12.1 (LOM), while also addressing user-driven requirements and uses not explicitly addressed in those two standards.2009-05-31Metadata http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=552&Lang=engJacques Dang and Tore Hoel presented the ICOPER project to the IMS Learning Impact Conference 2009 in Barcelona, 12 May, in e European Industry Learning Group led session on Creativity & Innovation in European Education. The presentation raised some debate on how standards should be developed in the Competency domain. The ICOPER Reference Model approach is not yet defined. However, there are reasons that we in a not well defined competency domain should move towards lightweight and smaller specifications, learning from the work done in the CEN/ISSS WS-LT context.2009-05-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=551&Lang=engThis conference takes place every two years in Syros and is organized by the Hellenic Association for the introduction of ICT in Education under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Education. This year, more than 600 participants (teachers, educators, researchers, policy makers etc) attended the conference and 230 papers were presented, focusing on the use of ICT in primary and secondary education.2009-05-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=550&Lang=engDavid Massart, European Schoolnet’s Senior Manager for IT Research & Development, welcomed the award and said, “European Schoolnet is delighted to receive this recognition from IMS for the work we have been doing in order to expose content in the LRE federation that ‘travels well’ and that can cross national and linguistic borders.” The LRE was officially launched as a publicly available service to schools by European Schoolnet and its supporting Ministries of Education in December 2008 http://lreforschools.eun.org. Currently it offers over 130,000 learning resources and assets including content from 17 Ministries of Education in Europe and a growing number of Associate Partners both in Europe and the US. At Learning Impact 2009, Jim Ayre, Senior Adviser delivered a presentation on how the LRE has been developed in a series of large-scale projects funded by the European Commission. This work is now being taken forward in the ASPECT project which is developing best practice concerning how standards and specifications can be applied to LRE content. During the IMS conference, Warwick Bailey, Director of Icodeon, a partner in the ASPECT project, also provided a presentation on the Icodeon Common Cartridge Platform and Player. Content using this new IMS specification will be tested with schools in the ASPECT project in order to determine whether Common Cartridge improves the usability and re-usability of LRE learning resources.2009-05-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=549&Lang=engThe IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS GLC) today announced, at its annual Learning Impact conference, that several of its member organizations have committed to funding the development of a shared Web Catalogue of learning resources. The Catalogue Web Tool will enable education institutions and school districts to easily find and connect to standards-based content and learning applications through their enterprise course management system or portal. The freely available, web-accessible catalogue will enable faculty, teachers, and students to easily find a wide variety of standards-based digital learning materials and applications, such as ancillary textbook assets, e-Books, study aids, and homework applications. The Digital Learning Connection is a new collaboration, announced last November, in which digital learning application and content providers are working together to enable access and installation of a wide variety of products and services using a common set of standards-based protocols and formats. This new program is designed to make it easier for faculty, professors, teachers, and IT staff to incorporate digital learning applications and content into course web sites. Institutions and school districts in the U.S. could begin piloting the approach as early as this coming Fall. The committed sponsors of the project, providing financial and technical resources are Pearson Education, Cengage Learning, ANGEL Learning, Desire2Learn, and Follett Corporation. The catalogue web tool will be developed and supported as a web service by Giunti Labs based on the HarvestRoad Digital Repository. The approach encompasses a variety of open standards for digital learning content and applications – including IMS Common Cartridge and Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI), and open application programming interfaces that allow any compliant learning system or portal to interact with the catalogue. “Follett has long served a critical role in the course materials distribution chain,” said Gary Shapiro, SVP, Intellectual Property, Follett Higher Education Group. “The DLC is an innovative effort to streamline that process. We believe we will add value to the initial design of the catalogue tool and that Follett’s own digital strategy will benefit from our active participation.” “We are pleased to be working with the IMS Global Learning Consortium and industry colleagues on the Digital Learning Connection Catalogue initiative,” said Bill Rieders, Executive Vice President of Global New Media, Cengage Learning. “Cengage Learning is committed to offering educational materials in a variety of formats and the DLC will help to make our digital learning applications and content more readily accessible to instructors, students and institutions.” “Penn State is pleased to be working with the IMS Global Learning Consortium to pilot the Digital Learning Connection Program,” said John Harwood, Senior Director, Teaching and Learning with Technology, Penn State. “The program will increase the incorporation of digital learning into our high enrollment courses by providing ease of use benefits to faculty, while simultaneously improving the technical support of digital content and applications from a variety of providers.”2009-05-21 http://www.cen-ltso.net/Users/main.aspx?noti=548&Lang=engThe IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS GLC) today announced the results of the world’s annual competition of high impact use of technology to support and enhance learning. The Learning Impact Awards (LIAs) recognize use of technology to improve learning across all education segments and in all regions of the world. The finalists were evaluated by an expert panel of judges and the attendees at the IMS annual Learning Impact conference and Summit on Global Learning Challenges. The Learning Impact conference brings together leaders from supplier, educational, and government organizations focused on improving access, affordability, and quality of education worldwide. This year’s conference featured record attendance of global leaders from 25 countries and six continents. The LIA awards are unique in that they recognize the use of technology in context. Nominations include not only information about the technology but how it is used by an education provider. In addition, the entries are evaluated according to eight criteria of impact, including improving access to learning, improving affordability of learning, and improving the quality of learning. The 2009 award winners are as follows: Platinum Awards (top three rankings): * MyMathLab at University of Alabama - USA * Glow - Scotland's National Intranet – Scotland * Leading the definition of quality online education with a Learning & Career Outcomes infrastructure at Capella University - USA Gold Awards: * SEDUC – Amazon – Supported by Hughes Network Systems - Brazil * LAMS and the LAMS Community – Australia * Building Cegos Management Skills Catalogue using Giunti Labs' Learn eXact LCMS – France Silver Awards: * iSHARE - Inter-cluster Sharing of Resources - Singapore * Agrega - Search, Find, Participate - Federated access to content in Spain education community - Spain * TELOS Learning Design Visual Scenario Editor and Player - Canada Bronze Awards: * Scootle – Schools Online Teaching and Learning Environment – Australia * LoneStar College - Online Faculty Orientation for Online Teaching – USA * DE (Distance Education) Oracle @ University of Maryland University College – USA The following “best in category” awards were also designated: * Best Learning System: LAMS and the LAMS Community – Australia * Best K-12 Learning Content: Scootle – Schools Online Teaching and Learning Environment – Australia * Best Mobile Learning Solution: QTImPlayer – New Zealand * Best K-12 Learning Network: Glow - Scotland's National Intranet – Scotland * Best Application of Gaming & Simulation to Learning: Racing Academy - UK * Best Institutional Repository: CURVE - Coventry University’s Institutional Repository - UK * Most Innovative New Publishing Solution: Realise-iT - Intelligent Adaptive Learning Paths - Ireland * Best Assistive Technology Network: LEXDIS – Assistive Technologies for e-Learning - UK * Best Scenario-based Learning Toolkit: PBL-Interactive in Tertiary Institutions in New Zealand – New Zealand * Best Learning Platform to Repository Integration: MrCute - Moodle Repository System - UK * Best Classroom Capture Solution: Tegrity Campus 2.0: Fostering Student Success at the University of Alabama - USA * Best Cross-National Solution: Learning Resource Exchange for Schools – Belgium * Most Innovative Learning Design Solution: TELOS Learning Design Visual Scenario Editor and Player - Canada * Best Accessibility Solution: AccessApps – Portable Assistive Technology - UK * Best Learning Portal: MyUOC – Online Learning Environment - Spain * Best Web 2.0 Teaching Community: Teaching Blog (Tlog) – Taiwan * Best Outcomes-based Learning Solution: Leading the definition of quality online education with a Learning & Career Outcomes infrastructure at Capella University – USA * Best Assessment Solution: MyMathLab at University of Alabama – USA * Best National Content Exchange: Agrega - Search, Find, Participate - Federated access to content in Spain education community - Spain * Best Open Source Learning Platform: OLAT - Online Learning And Training (Open Source LMS) – Switzerland * Best Personalized Learning Solution: A new standard passepartout: Implementing IMS AccessForAll and ISO FDIS 24751 Accessibility standards – Italy * Best Student Success Solution: SEDUC – Amazon – Supported by Hughes Network Systems - Brazil * Best Project-based Learning Solution: Managing Project Work with eUreka: Create- Discover-Innovate – Singapore * Most Innovative New Realization of Standards: The TENCompetence Learning Design Toolkit– UK * Best Corporate Training Solution: Interactive Distance Learning at JCPenney – USA * Best National Repository: iSHARE - Inter-cluster Sharing of Resources - Singapore * Best Association Training Solution: Online anti-doping training – Canada * Best Online Laboratory: On-line Hands-On Labs in Information Assurance at UMUC – USA * Best simulation Toolkit: SIMulated Professional Learning Environment (SIMPLE) – UK * Best Interoperability Innovation: Moodle Simple Learning Tools for Interoperability Consumer – Spain * Best Faculty Professional Development Solution: LoneStar College - Online Faculty Orientation for Online Teaching – USA * Best Integrated Learning Portal and Administration System: Jenzabar's LMS Implementation at Bank Street College – USA * Best Rich Media Solution: The Vet Tube. Using Harvestroad Hive DR for building a Digital Marketplace for Veterinary Education – France * Best Corporate Softskills and Blended Learning Solution: Building Cegos Management Skills Catalogue using Giunti Labs' Learn eXact LCMS – France * Best Faculty Development Network: DE (Distance Education) Oracle @ University of Maryland University College – USA * Best Language Learning Solution: Dalango – Video-based language training - Germany2009-05-21