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June News:
OAS News

José Miguel Insulza of Chile assumed the office of Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) on May 26 during a Special Session of the Permanent Council. In his inaugural speech, the new Secretary General indicated the need for renewed political resolve of the member states to make the OAS a more efficient organization, with a targeted agenda whose priorities are decided by consensus arrived at through a more participatory process that welcomes input from civil society and the private sector.

http://www.oas.org/secretarygeneral2005/english/default.asp

2005 INELAM Prize and Awards

After jury deliberation, the 2005 Prize will be awarded to the Universidad Nacional de la Plata of Argentina for its “Dissemination Service of Intellectual Creativity” (SEDICI), which is part of the Library Links Project (PREBI) of the same institution. The Jury also agreed to bestow Honorary Mentions to two other initiatives: Ibero-American and Caribbean Virtual Library “El Dorado” of the Universidad de Colima, Mexico and GNUteca of the Centro Universitario UNIVATES of Brazil. As in years past, special recognitions were also given. The 2005 Prize for Educational Quality will be shared by Dr. Guillermina Engelbrecht, Director of Latin American Education Programs of the University of New Mexico, and Dr. Pierre Cazalis, Director of the Institute of University Leadership and Management (IGLU), headquartered in Canada. The award for Social Responsibility is awarded to “A Portal for Digital Inclusion: Family School”, of the Ministry of Education of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The winners of the award for Corporate Social Responsibility are CampusRed of the Fundación Telefónica of Spain and “Corporate University” of Caixa Económica Federal of Brazil. In addition, the Jury agreed to bestow special mention to “Horizonte, Magazine de Informática Educativa” for its work in the field of Inter-American informatics.

http://educoas.org/portal/en/tema/editorial2005/jun05.aspx?culture=en&navid=36

HACU, 6th International Conference: Technology and Culture in Hispanic Higher Education

The 6th International Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was held May 22-24 in Santa Fé, New Mexico (USA) with calls for new partnerships to support the increasing technological needs of the global community. More than 250 international leaders from various parts of the world, representing the Hispanic higher education community, corporations, government agencies and philanthropic sectors, attended. “The Conference provided an exciting opportunity to bring together distinguished speakers from all over the world to explore the latest issues in international Hispanic education and technology. I’m sure that all the participants will be as busy as we at HACU will be in implementing the ideas from this extraordinarily fruitful gathering,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. At the Closing Plenary session on May 24, HACU and the Organization of American States (OAS) announced the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, whose purpose is to establish a relationship between HACU and OAS to coordinate activities that will strengthen education and training in the Americas through information technology and other types of initiatives. The OAS representative announced that 3000 scholarships would be awarded to help with HACU’s mission of capacity building for its member institutions.

http://www.hacu.net

14th Biennial Congress of IOHE

The 14th Biennial Congress of the IOHE will be held October 2-5, 2005 in Florianopolis, Brazil. Within the framework of said event, the OAS, IOHE and the International Association Virtual Educa will award the 2005 Prize for Educational Quality to Dr. Guillermina Engelbrecht, Director of Latin American Education Programs of the University of New Mexico, and Dr. Pierre Cazalis, Director of the Institute of University Leadership and Management (IGLU), headquartered in Canada. Additional details regarding the Congress will be announced later this month at the following website:

http://www.oui-iohe.qc.ca/ABOUT/en-index_congres.htm

Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL)

Within the framework of the agreement signed with the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), a visit was made recently to the campus of the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL) in Florianopolis, Brazil, to further develop INEAM’s proposed Regional Academic Center. The Center would be established jointly between UNESCO-Brazil and the IOHE, and have facilities for onsite meetings and conferences, host a mirror of the Portal and develop training activities within Brazil and the surrounding regions.

http://www.unisul.br/index.pfm?codpagina=0400

Online tutor training

A course announcement will be published in mid-June regarding the second edition of the online course for tutor training, set to begin during the second half of August. The purpose of the course is to develop the pedagogical skills and abilities required of an online teaching and learning environment, and to help guide and facilitate teaching and learning activities. Through this course, INEAM hopes to create a new group of tutors that can later support the services of the Portal in different thematic areas. Among other things, the course contemplates the study and analysis of the pedagogical model adopted by INEAM, the different characteristics of the online teaching and learning environment; time organization and other factors related to the use of virtual communication tools, such as efficient and effective communication.

Special Edition for Citizens of the Dominican Republic

A special edition of the Quality in Basic Education course (Spanish language only) is being offered to citizens and residents of the Dominican Republic. The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (FUNGLODE), with support from the Secretary of State of Education (SEE) and the Secretary of State of Higher Education, Science and Technology (SEESCYT) of that country, together with INEAM, is offering complete financial assistance to 300 citizens or residents of Dominican Republic that fulfill the course requirements. The 12-week course, which is scheduled to begin on September 6, offers an introduction to the philosophy of quality applied to education. Its goal is to offer teachers and administrators the conceptual and methodological tools needed for improving educational services.

http://www.educoas.org/Portal/ineam/cursos_2005/calidad_sep2005.aspx?culture=es&navid=197

TICEC05: Congress on Information and Communication Technology for the Teaching of Sciences

The Congress on Information and Communication Technology for the Teaching of Sciences will be held at the Universidad de La Plata (UNLP) on September 29-30. The Congress is being organized by the ALFA Project Ceaticec II-0221-F1 “Network of Euro-American Cooperation for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in the Teaching of Sciences” and the Faculties of Informatics and Engineering of UNLP. The event hopes to bring together scientific contributions related to the use of technology (particularly information technology) in the classroom at all educational levels. Particular attention will be given to the teaching of sciences from the primary to university levels. It will also try to establish a forum in which to exchange ideas and experiences regarding research and development in the area of ICTs applied to education, with participation from different educational and R&D groups of universities. Topics to be considered include: distance education, teaching environments for distance education, models and simulations in the teaching of science, impact of the use of technology in the classroom, impact of ICTs on the teaching and learning process, and specific experiences using ICTs in the teaching of science.

http://ticec05.info.unlp.edu.ar/

In Memoriam: Cecilia Braslavsky (1952-2005)

Our editorial offices received the sad news of the untimely passing of Dr. Cecilia Braslavsky, Director of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education. Her noteworthy academic background and professional career was recognized in hundreds of articles, reports and publications, awards and distinctions. Cecilia was a fervent collaborator of the Educational Portal of the Americas since its inauguration, and also served as a member of INEAM’s Honorary Committee, where she continually offered ideas, suggestions and recommendations. The actions and presence of this distinguished colleague and friend will remain with us always.

http://www.unesco.org/bpi/cecilia_braslavsky/index.html

INEAM News

Representatives of 20 countries of the region will participate in the first meeting of INEAM’s Governing Council on July 11-15 at the headquarters of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Participants will form part of a working group to cover the topics on the agenda and formulate recommendations on INEAM’s structure and methodology. The results of the working group session will be presented during the 14th Biennial Congress of IOHE on October 2-5, 2005 in Florianopolis, Brazil, where the university presidents will adopt the pertinent decisions.

ICDE: New Frontiers in Distance Education

The Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Council of Open and Distance Education (ICDE) is organizing the International Conference on Distance Education “The New Frontiers of Distance Education”. The event will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 4-6 at the Faculty of Education of the sponsoring institution -- the Center of Academic Excellence of the University of Puerto Rico, Recinto of Rio Piedras. The event is being organized so that experts in the area can reflect on the current issues affecting distance education with the goal of preparing proposals for researchers, educators and administrators. The 3-day program includes workshops, meetings with experts, discussions and critical reflections on the following issues: What are “Best Practices” in the international context?, How do we prepare students for a knowledge society?, Are the traditional theoretical bases of distance education still valid?, Does the prevalent focus on instructional design still apply?, What drives and challenges distance education in Latin America?, How can we develop a flexible infrastructure?

http://aulas.universia.pr/congresos/home.jsp

OAS-IOHE and Virtual Educa – Cooperation in Action 2006-2007

The 6th International Conference on Education, Professional Development and Information Technology, Virtual Educa will take place June 22-24 at the Palacio de Minería in Mexico City. The Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Dr. Brian Stevenson and the President of the IOHE and Secretary of Education of the State of Veracruz, Dr. Victor Arredondo, will participate. During the event, plans will be announced for the 7th edition of Virtual Educa, which will be held in Bilbao, Spain in June 2006. The OAS and the IOHE, aware of the strategic importance in collaborating in efforts related to higher education from an inter-American perspective, will also sponsor the biennial celebration of the Ibero-American Meeting of Higher Education that will be held jointly with Virtual Educa in Brazil in June 2007.

http://www.virtualeduca.org/es/proximasediciones.htm 


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