Boletín Informativo

Interneting or Studying with the Other

Ancient cultures knew that everything in the World was interdependent. The modern era broke that view and only recently have we rediscovered Gaia – the close living relationship between living organisms and their environment. Now economic and political integrations implicitly recognize the need for collaboration. We must restructure and make our new and different interdependencies work. The newest technologies allow us to access almost any part of the world as if we were all living in a virtual town with diverse and different histories, cultures and languages. But this “techno” ability is misleading since inequalities in accessibility continue to exist and are even on the rise. Still, those who have the technological ability to know each other don’t have the need to do so. However, our hemispheric diversity demands that we form part of a symmetrical interdependent collaboration and a respectful dialogue. For this we need materials, resources, capability and will.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/es/tema/editorial2005/dic05.aspx?culture=es&navid=1

INELAM 2006: Educational Portals

Applications for the sixth edition of the Award for Innovative Education in the Americas (INELAM) will be accepted beginning December 12 through March 17, 2006. The Award will recognize educational portals in Latin America and the Caribbean that offer direct services for students, educators or parents at the preschool, primary, intermediate or secondary levels. The educational portals may be initiatives of either governmental, non-governmental or mixed entities, and must have been in continuous service through the Internet for at least three years prior to the close of this announcement. The Jury will review all candidates between March and April and will make their decision in early May.

As in previous editions, honorary mentions will be awarded in the fields of Educational Quality, Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility to recognize achievements in the field of socio-educational development.

The 2006 INELAM Award and honorary mentions will be sponsored by ASIVE (International Association Virtual Educa) and the Diputación Foral de Vizcaya. The prizes will be awarded during the VII International Conference of Virtual Educa that will take place June 19-23 in Bilbao, Spain.

School Attention for Gifted and Talented Students

In 1998 the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador) created the University Ibero-American Institute for the Development of the Gifted and Talented (I-UNITAC) as a center for research and advice regarding the development of intelligence, thought and creativity at all educational levels. In view of the importance of this area and considering that educators have not received recent training in this field, INEAM -- together with the above-mentioned institutions-- is working to prepare an online course “School Attention for Gifted and Talented Students” to be offered during the second half of 2006.

INEAM News

Nearing the close of 2005, the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Ameritas (INEAM), through the Educational Portal of the Americas, had offered more than 4,000 financial assistance packages for students throughout the region participating in more than 31 online professional development courses through the Virtual Classroom, including ““Strategies for Teaching Mathematics” (Spanish version); “Quality in Basic Education” (English and Spanish versions); “Introduction to Electronic Government Strategies” (English, Spanish and Portuguese versions); “Nutrition and Education” (Spanish version); “How to Teach Ethics, Social Capital and Development in Universities” (Spanish version); “Science, Technology and Society: Gender Focus” (Spanish version); “Environmental Economy and Tourism” (Spanish version); “Auditing Management” (Spanish version). Many of these courses were developed jointly with academic and strategic alliances such as: Universidad de Lujan en Argentina; UNISUL in Brazil; UNED of Costa Rica; the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development of the Dominican Republic, among others.

22nd ICDE World Conference

The 22nd ICDE World Conference will take place September 3-6, 2006 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be organized by the Brazilian Association for Distance Education (ABED) and have as its main theme "Promoting Quality in Distance, Flexible and ICT-Based Education". ICDE conferences are generally held every two years and bring together specialists, university presidents, and other university authorities of different levels from the global educational community. The event will provide an opportunity to establish and/or strengthen institutional relations, discover new alternatives for cooperative work, share new proposals and research that have been developed within the educational sphere, and exchange knowledge, experiences and opinions with various experts. As the title suggests, the main topic of the conference will deal primarily with those factors that influence the development of distance education. Those interested in participating in the event should send their proposals for consideration by a Special Receiving and Evaluating Committee, named by ICDE. The event’s organizers are: Marcos Telles, General Coordinator of the World Conference, ABED, marcostelles@giro.com and Nina Bagley, Chief Information and Membership Services, ICDE, bagley@icde.org

Virtual Educa Association Brazil (AVEB)

Over 450 professionals will be trained in the area of “Quality of Basic Education” as a result of a joint effort between the Municipal Secretariat of São José dos Campos, San Pablo (Brazil), and INEAM/OAS. This activity is part of an ongoing alliance with UNESCO to strengthen Brazilian initiatives for optimizing educational services.

Distance Learning for Union Leaders

The Social Foundation for Work (FUSAT), through its program with the Inter-American Development Bank-Multilateral Fund (IDB-FOMIN), and the University Foundation for Production and Work (FUNDAPRO), will present the results of their initiative “Distance Learning for Union Leaders” on December 14 in Argentina. The initiative was in its pilot stages during 2005 and will gradually be expanded to other countries of the region.

http://www.fusat.org/

RIAT: Inter-American Journal of Environment and Tourism

The Inter-American Journal of Environment and Tourism (RIAT) is a biennial publication co-edited by the Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad de Talca (Chile) and The College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado at Boulder (USA). The journal is interested in publishing high-quality papers that report original findings from research, teaching or outreach from all areas and sub-fields of environmental management and tourism-related disciplines, writing in English or Spanish. Submissions may include: research articles, recent publications, theoretical analyses, scientific notes and book reviews.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/docs/RIAT_12sept.pdf

Financing Offer for Academic Research in the Field of Digital Inclusion

Microsoft Research announced a $1.2 million Digital Inclusion funding opportunity that empowers academic researchers worldwide to tackle technological challenges to positively affect health, education and socioeconomic conditions. The potential impact is enormous given that 80% of the world’s population earns less than $4,000 per year and largely lives at the margin of the IT revolution. Microsoft Research is encouraging academic research that explores how technologies such as mobile devices, cellular phones and networking can unlock the potential of people everywhere by making computing affordable, accessible and relevant.

Digital Inclusion proposals will be accepted from Nov. 7, 2005 through Jan. 13, 2006. Funding recipients will be notified Feb. 10, 2006. Proposals should reflect a commitment to make all results stemming from a funded project, including the intellectual property within those results, broadly available in either the public domain or under a nonrestrictive license.

Particular focus will be on academic research projects that strive to achieve fundamental breakthroughs and leverage these areas: a) creative new infrastructures, form factors and applications of mobile devices; b) connectivity, particularly in environments without existing network infrastructures or intermittent availability to networking and power; c) appropriate user interfaces to address challenges in literacy and novice users of technology; and d) culturally relevant technology applications for computing.

Microsoft Research aims to develop the intellectual capital needed to help close the existing global technology gap.

Submission guidelines are available at http://research.microsoft.com/ur/us/fundingopps.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-20DigitalInclusionPR.mspx

Program for Initiatives on University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development

The Inter-American Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics and Development of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will launch this week - through its University Network on Ethics and Social Development - the “Support Program for Initiatives on University Social Responsibility”. This program seeks to provide technical assistance to Latin American universities in order to implement social responsibility, ethics and development initiatives. The program includes technical assistance, training for professors, production of instructive material, and capacity building. The program aspires to facilitate and provide advice on the implementation of initiatives regarding social responsibility, ethics and development in Latin American universities; prepare models, strategies and instruments to facilitate the creation and development of initiatives for University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development in the area of management, teaching, research and extension; and create greater synergy and communication between the university actors that promote University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development initiatives throughout the continent in order to strengthen the network and ensure the local sustainability and global impact of such activities. The deadline for presenting proposals is February 28, 2006.

http://www.iadb.org/etica/documentos/ConsultoriaRSU.pdf

We appreciate your interest and participation in the activities of the Educational Portal of the Americas. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Please send all messages to portal@oas.org. If you have received this message in error and would like to cancel your free subscription, please send a message to portal@oas.org and include "Cancel Newsletter Subscription" in the subject window.



	*Click here to see previous Newsletters*
	December 2005 / January 2006 News: Interneting or Studying with the Other INELAM 2006: Educational Portals School Attention for Gifted and Talented Students INEAM News 22nd ICDE World Conference Virtual Educa Association Brazil (AVEB) Distance Learning for Union Leaders RIAT: Inter-American Journal of Environment and Tourism Financing Offer for Academic Research in the Field of Digital Inclusion Program for Initiatives on University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development
	Interneting or Studying with the Other Ancient cultures knew that everything in the World was interdependent. The modern era broke that view and only recently have we rediscovered Gaia – the close living relationship between living organisms and their environment. Now economic and political integrations implicitly recognize the need for collaboration. We must restructure and make our new and different interdependencies work. The newest technologies allow us to access almost any part of the world as if we were all living in a virtual town with diverse and different histories, cultures and languages. But this “techno” ability is misleading since inequalities in accessibility continue to exist and are even on the rise. Still, those who have the technological ability to know each other don’t have the need to do so. However, our hemispheric diversity demands that we form part of a symmetrical interdependent collaboration and a respectful dialogue. For this we need materials, resources, capability and will. http://www.educoas.org/portal/es/tema/editorial2005/dic05.aspx?culture=es&navid=1 INELAM 2006: Educational Portals Applications for the sixth edition of the Award for Innovative Education in the Americas (INELAM) will be accepted beginning December 12 through March 17, 2006. The Award will recognize educational portals in Latin America and the Caribbean that offer direct services for students, educators or parents at the preschool, primary, intermediate or secondary levels. The educational portals may be initiatives of either governmental, non-governmental or mixed entities, and must have been in continuous service through the Internet for at least three years prior to the close of this announcement. The Jury will review all candidates between March and April and will make their decision in early May. As in previous editions, honorary mentions will be awarded in the fields of Educational Quality, Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility to recognize achievements in the field of socio-educational development. The 2006 INELAM Award and honorary mentions will be sponsored by ASIVE (International Association Virtual Educa) and the Diputación Foral de Vizcaya. The prizes will be awarded during the VII International Conference of Virtual Educa that will take place June 19-23 in Bilbao, Spain. School Attention for Gifted and Talented Students In 1998 the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador) created the University Ibero-American Institute for the Development of the Gifted and Talented (I-UNITAC) as a center for research and advice regarding the development of intelligence, thought and creativity at all educational levels. In view of the importance of this area and considering that educators have not received recent training in this field, INEAM -- together with the above-mentioned institutions-- is working to prepare an online course “School Attention for Gifted and Talented Students” to be offered during the second half of 2006. INEAM News Nearing the close of 2005, the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Ameritas (INEAM), through the Educational Portal of the Americas, had offered more than 4,000 financial assistance packages for students throughout the region participating in more than 31 online professional development courses through the Virtual Classroom, including ““Strategies for Teaching Mathematics” (Spanish version); “Quality in Basic Education” (English and Spanish versions); “Introduction to Electronic Government Strategies” (English, Spanish and Portuguese versions); “Nutrition and Education” (Spanish version); “How to Teach Ethics, Social Capital and Development in Universities” (Spanish version); “Science, Technology and Society: Gender Focus” (Spanish version); “Environmental Economy and Tourism” (Spanish version); “Auditing Management” (Spanish version). Many of these courses were developed jointly with academic and strategic alliances such as: Universidad de Lujan en Argentina; UNISUL in Brazil; UNED of Costa Rica; the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development of the Dominican Republic, among others. 22nd ICDE World Conference The 22nd ICDE World Conference will take place September 3-6, 2006 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be organized by the Brazilian Association for Distance Education (ABED) and have as its main theme "Promoting Quality in Distance, Flexible and ICT-Based Education". ICDE conferences are generally held every two years and bring together specialists, university presidents, and other university authorities of different levels from the global educational community. The event will provide an opportunity to establish and/or strengthen institutional relations, discover new alternatives for cooperative work, share new proposals and research that have been developed within the educational sphere, and exchange knowledge, experiences and opinions with various experts. As the title suggests, the main topic of the conference will deal primarily with those factors that influence the development of distance education. Those interested in participating in the event should send their proposals for consideration by a Special Receiving and Evaluating Committee, named by ICDE. The event’s organizers are: Marcos Telles, General Coordinator of the World Conference, ABED, marcostelles@giro.com and Nina Bagley, Chief Information and Membership Services, ICDE, bagley@icde.org Virtual Educa Association Brazil (AVEB) Over 450 professionals will be trained in the area of “Quality of Basic Education” as a result of a joint effort between the Municipal Secretariat of São José dos Campos, San Pablo (Brazil), and INEAM/OAS. This activity is part of an ongoing alliance with UNESCO to strengthen Brazilian initiatives for optimizing educational services. Distance Learning for Union Leaders The Social Foundation for Work (FUSAT), through its program with the Inter-American Development Bank-Multilateral Fund (IDB-FOMIN), and the University Foundation for Production and Work (FUNDAPRO), will present the results of their initiative “Distance Learning for Union Leaders” on December 14 in Argentina. The initiative was in its pilot stages during 2005 and will gradually be expanded to other countries of the region. http://www.fusat.org/ RIAT: Inter-American Journal of Environment and Tourism The Inter-American Journal of Environment and Tourism (RIAT) is a biennial publication co-edited by the Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad de Talca (Chile) and The College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado at Boulder (USA). The journal is interested in publishing high-quality papers that report original findings from research, teaching or outreach from all areas and sub-fields of environmental management and tourism-related disciplines, writing in English or Spanish. Submissions may include: research articles, recent publications, theoretical analyses, scientific notes and book reviews. http://www.educoas.org/portal/docs/RIAT_12sept.pdf Financing Offer for Academic Research in the Field of Digital Inclusion Microsoft Research announced a $1.2 million Digital Inclusion funding opportunity that empowers academic researchers worldwide to tackle technological challenges to positively affect health, education and socioeconomic conditions. The potential impact is enormous given that 80% of the world’s population earns less than $4,000 per year and largely lives at the margin of the IT revolution. Microsoft Research is encouraging academic research that explores how technologies such as mobile devices, cellular phones and networking can unlock the potential of people everywhere by making computing affordable, accessible and relevant. Digital Inclusion proposals will be accepted from Nov. 7, 2005 through Jan. 13, 2006. Funding recipients will be notified Feb. 10, 2006. Proposals should reflect a commitment to make all results stemming from a funded project, including the intellectual property within those results, broadly available in either the public domain or under a nonrestrictive license. Particular focus will be on academic research projects that strive to achieve fundamental breakthroughs and leverage these areas: a) creative new infrastructures, form factors and applications of mobile devices; b) connectivity, particularly in environments without existing network infrastructures or intermittent availability to networking and power; c) appropriate user interfaces to address challenges in literacy and novice users of technology; and d) culturally relevant technology applications for computing. Microsoft Research aims to develop the intellectual capital needed to help close the existing global technology gap. Submission guidelines are available at http://research.microsoft.com/ur/us/fundingopps. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-20DigitalInclusionPR.mspx Program for Initiatives on University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development The Inter-American Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics and Development of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will launch this week - through its University Network on Ethics and Social Development - the “Support Program for Initiatives on University Social Responsibility”. This program seeks to provide technical assistance to Latin American universities in order to implement social responsibility, ethics and development initiatives. The program includes technical assistance, training for professors, production of instructive material, and capacity building. The program aspires to facilitate and provide advice on the implementation of initiatives regarding social responsibility, ethics and development in Latin American universities; prepare models, strategies and instruments to facilitate the creation and development of initiatives for University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development in the area of management, teaching, research and extension; and create greater synergy and communication between the university actors that promote University Social Responsibility, Ethics and Development initiatives throughout the continent in order to strengthen the network and ensure the local sustainability and global impact of such activities. The deadline for presenting proposals is February 28, 2006. http://www.iadb.org/etica/documentos/ConsultoriaRSU.pdf We appreciate your interest and participation in the activities of the Educational Portal of the Americas. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Please send all messages to portal@oas.org. If you have received this message in error and would like to cancel your free subscription, please send a message to portal@oas.org and include "Cancel Newsletter Subscription" in the subject window.