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March 2006:
New Technologies Finding their Space in the Family

Art, culture and new technologies form a complex family. Arguably, art and culture long ago created a lasting, if not always harmonious, marriage; however, their clear bond became increasingly complicated with the addition of new technologies. As we advocate preservation of art and culture in an increasingly global community dominated by commerce, rapid communication and mass media, new technologies, like the arrival of a demanding infant child, change the dynamics of partnership between art and culture.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/tema/2006/mar06.aspx?culture=en&navid=36

Correction: INELAM 2006

In February’s newsletter we erroneously published that the sixth edition of the Award for Educational Innovation in the Americas (INELAM) closes on March 17, 2006. The correct date is April 12. 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.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/es/premio/premio_2006.aspx

INEAM News

The National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC), together with the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Americas of the OAS (INEAM/OAS), is organizing an inter-American seminar on the role of new information and communications technology in the area of artistic and cultural education. The purpose of the event is to reflect on the use of current and future applications of new technologies in such areas as: cultural exchange, promotion of bilingualism, exchange of information and experiences among cultural institutions, artistic education, teacher training and social participation in cultural programs. The event will take place March 22-24 at NHCC headquarters located at 1701 4th, SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The following results are expected upon the close of the event: a) a proposal for innovative distance education programs; b) profiles for online programs for youth and educators; c) innovative ideas to facilitate and promote cultural exchange; d) proposals to plan and apply future technological development.

Higher Education: Evaluation, Accreditation and Certification

In a joint effort between the CAL-ED Institute, the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, ISTEC and INEAM/OAS, the 5th Edition of the Program on International Evaluation of Higher Education Programs is being offered. This program forms part of the “Engineers in America” project being developed within the framework of the GRANA-ISTEC work plan for 2005-2008. The program’s objective is to reduce the quality divide between Ibero-America and the countries of the first world in terms of scientific and technological development by establishing standards of international quality for educational programs, creating communities of learning and generating areas of research by focusing on the solution of common problems. The 16-week program, which is structured around four core areas: “Global Context”, “The World in the Curriculum”, “From Theory to Practice” and “GRANA-ISTEC Evaluation Instruments”, will be offered online with an onsite seminar upon its conclusion. The program will be available for up to 40 participants.

International Week of Distance Education in Dominican Republic

The International Week of Distance Education was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from February 13-17. One of the objectives of the event was to bring together a working group to organize and promote the first virtual university in that country. The event was organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development and the Secretary of Higher Education of the Dominican Republic. International specialists initiated an extensive debate on distance education so that professionals and specialists in the area could be aware of existing trends to reform the higher education systems.

http://www.globalfoundationdd.org

Second Ibero-American Forum

Under the sponsorship of various national and ibero-American organizations, the Second Ibero-American Forum will be held April 19-20 in the Casa de América, Madrid, Spain. Its focus will be “Virtual Training in Public Administration and Business: Innovation and Quality as strategic factors”. The general objective of the event will be to reflect on professional training and lifelong learning as critical elements in the fight against poverty and to promote sustainable development. Currently, both pubic administration and businesses face these challenges from a double perspective: on the one hand, the need to make available innovative mechanisms that allow staff to adjust to the reality of a rapidly changing world; and on the other, to avoid these joined elements.

Córdobalearning 2006

This event will take place at the Complejo Hotel de la Cañada in Córdoba, Argentina from April 4-9. Its objectives are to create the conditions so that organizations and institutions have the knowledge and experience to analyze alternatives, evaluate proposals and make better decisions regarding e-learning for education and training. In addition, the event proposes to present different cases and problems and share the different ways in which they can be faced and overcome, and in the process create a space for debate with interested actors from various different sectors. The event is being organized by Cluster Kairós with support from Virtual Educa Cono Sur, OAS, Microsoft and AEFOL, among others.

http://www.cordobalearning.com.ar

ITCs in Río Negro, Argentina

The First Meeting on Digital Government was held in Viedma, capital of the Province of Río Negro, Argentina this past February. The Secretary of Planning, Juan Francisco Correo, inaugurated the discussion by stating that the age of the Information Society implies “profound change” and “new interactions between the State and society”, and set forth the need for “new strategies to manage the services offered by the State as well as greater efficiency and transparency in its relationship with citizens”. To promote this important initiative, which uses new technologies as its guiding principle, Mónica Luque, Academic Director of INEAM, presented a paper on “Contributions of New Information and Communication Technologies for Human Development”. After Sergio Mordacci, specialists and consultant, gave a presentation on “Policies and Digital Government”.

22° World Conference of ICDE

The International Council of Open and Distance Education (ICDE) is organizing its 22nd World Conference under the topic “Promoting Quality in Distance, Flexible and ICT-based Education”. The event will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 3-6, 2006 under the sponsorship of Asociación Brasileña de Educación a Distancia (ABED). Participants wishing to make an oral presentation during the Conference must submit an abstract for consideration by the International Program Committee. Abstracts should be submitted no later than March 15th, 2006. Participants will be notified of their acceptance through April 30. To date, abstracts have been received from Botswana, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Uruguay and the United States. Additional information regarding participation in the event and/or submitting abstracts should consult the following links:

http://www.icde22.org.br/english/registration.htm
http://www.icde22.org.br/english/abstract.htm

10th CREAD Congress: Mercosur/South 2006

The Center for Distance Education of the Universidad Católica del Norte is organizing the “10th CREAD Mercosur/South Congress 2006: Quality, Learning and Technology: Challenges for Distance Education”, sponsored by the Ministry of Education of the Government of Chile MINEDUC (CPEIP), in Antofagasta, Chile from August 2-4, 2006. The Congress aspires to look at the experiences carried out in MERCOSUR countries, as well as in other countries of the Ibero-American region, regarding the importance of distance education as it relates to quality and learning, as well as offer a general overview of the use of new educational technologies and their strategic contribution to the development of people and institutions. It is hoped that participants from the national and international arenas will attend. The proposed thematic areas include: Management of Quality and Accreditation; Technologies: Perspectives, Development and Education; and Strategies for Teaching and Learning in the Information and Knowledge Age. For additional information, please contact: wsantand@ucn.cl

Who’s Who in Distance Education

The ICDE invites all those involved in distance education activities to submit their CVs for inclusion in this project (icde@econ.uba.ar). The Program “Who’s Who” (“Quién es Quién”) hopes to identify all of the specialists and experts in the area of open and distance education throughout Latin American and the Caribbean, who either have worked or are working in the research, development, implementation or evaluation of programs and/or courses at different educational levels and using the different modalities. This information, in addition to being circulated, will also be registered in a database of the Vice President of the ICDE for all those interested in identifying professionals available for technical cooperation activities in open and distance education.

http://www.econ.uba.ar/www/icde/quien.htm 


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