Boletín Informativo

Gender Equity in Education: A Renewed Commitment

For more than three decades, the term "gender" has circulated internationally in different areas. There is no one single definition and debates continue on its meaning and political implications. Those who use the concept of gender as a topic for analysis and/or view it as an ethical and political principal assume that the inequalities between men and women should be changed in order to create a democratic and just society. This belief has been the driving force behind the creation of many initiatives, establishment of institutions and transformation of rules and cultural values. No one doubts that education is the key to implementing profound and sustained change in the models, values and relationships that continue to produce gender inequalities. We invite you to reflect on this subject in our Topic of the Month.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/tema/tema.aspx?culture=en&tabindex=36&childindex=0

19th International Symposium of Computing in Education

The 19th International Symposium of Computing in Education was held October 25-29 in Aguas Calientes, Mexico. Organized by the Mexican Society for Computing in Education (SOMECE), the goal of the meeting was to bring together people interested in improving the quality and coverage of education to reflect upon and analyze the latest developments in education and technology. Within the framework of the meeting, a special session was dedicated to studying the services and achievements of the Educational Portal of the Americas.

http://www.somece.org.mx/

Successful Announcement of the Electronic Government Course

More than 400 students registered for the course "Basic Concepts for Formulating Electronic Government Strategies", which will be offered in November and December of this year. Candidates are currently being selected for INEAM financial assistance. The objective of the course is to introduce the basic concepts of electronic government, present the key elements needed for creating an electronic government strategy and provide an overview of the development and implementation of e-government projects, with particular focus on the analysis of best practices. Given the success of the course announcement in Spanish, and interest expressed from Brazil and the English-speaking Caribbean, the IACD has decided to begin preparation of the English and Portuguese versions of the course for 2004.

Digital Publications: Internet and Education

During the month of November, the Portal will publish Internet and Education: Learning and Teaching in the Virtual Space, by Jorge Rey Valzacchi. The book is intended for those interested in analyzing both the advantages and limitations of the Internet for education. The author seeks to increase knowledge and reflection on the advantages and disadvantages, contributions and tools of the Internet and other new technologies within the school setting. He argues that the value of these new and powerful tools depends greatly on the quality of the pedagogical project to which they are being applied. For the text of this publication, please click on the following link:

http://www.educoas.org/portal/bdigital/es/indice_valzacchi.aspx

Municipal Support for the Andean Region

The Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the IACD/OAS are organizing a seminar for training municipal workers in the area of cadastres and land titles, with particular emphasis on the best practices developed by other countries. The initiative is being coordinated together with institutions from Chile and Mexico, as well as with Stewart Title (ST) and ESRI. The municipalities participating in the seminar will receive information as well as solutions firsthand from key institutions in this field, including ST and ESRI. The seminar will review project proposals for implementing cadastre and land titles in each participating municipality. The Educational Portal of the Americas will host an online forum prior to the event so that participants may prepare their project profiles and review them with best practices institutions.

http://www.iacd.oas.org/template-spanish/Region_Andina.htm

21st World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education

The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and the Open University of Hong Kong have announced that the 21st World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education will take place in Hong Kong from February 18-21, 2004. The conference aims to document achievements and investigate the challenges facing those seeking to provide open and distance education for all learners in a world that is becoming increasingly networked. The main theme for the conference is "Lifelong Learning in the Networked World."

http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/hk2003/eng/2em_theme.html

INEAM News

The IACD is in the process of establishing strategic alliances with various universities and centers of excellence to identify online programs and courses at the undergraduate, graduate and professional training levels and promote them throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Educational offerings are currently being reviewed from the following universities:

Harvard (http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu/esp/home/index.cfm)
ITESM (http://www.itesm.mx/)
Loja (http://www.utpl.edu.ec/)
Maryland (http://www.umuc.edu/)
Ohio (http://www.osu.edu/index.php)
Penn State (http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/index.shtml)
Quilmes (http://www.cvq.edu.ar/default.htm)
Thunderbird (http://www.t-bird.edu/)

Once identified, the programs will be evaluated by the Inter-American Committee on Accreditation and Evaluation who will then recommend their certification at the regional level.

Open Doors or Isolation: The Role of International Education

The Florida Consortium for International Education held its 4th Annual Strategy Workshop in Orlando, Florida on October 2-3, 2003. The theme of the meeting was "Open Doors or Isolation - The Role of International Education in Florida". A presentation was made on the Educational Portal of the Americas that served to generate discussion on possible collaboration between the Portal and universities and community colleges from the state of Florida. The Florida Consortium for International Education was created in 1977 by leaders of several state community colleges and universities to promote international and intercultural education in Florida's institutions of higher education. The Consortium currently has about 30 institutional members and serves to organize workshops, seminars and other activities on many different international topics. It also acts as liaison between state and federal agencies. The participants of the workshop expressed interest in collaborating with the Portal in two particular areas: promoting their distance education programs to Latin America and the Caribbean through the Portal's database and news sections, as well as in the development and joint delivery of distance education courses.

Link: www.dbcc.cc.fl.us/fcie

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*
	November/December News: Gender Equity in Education: A Renewed Commitment 19th International Symposium of Computing in Education Successful Announcement of the Electronic Government Course Digital Publications: Internet and Education Municipal Support for the Andean Region 21st World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education INEAM News Open Doors or Isolation: The Role of International Education
	Gender Equity in Education: A Renewed Commitment For more than three decades, the term "gender" has circulated internationally in different areas. There is no one single definition and debates continue on its meaning and political implications. Those who use the concept of gender as a topic for analysis and/or view it as an ethical and political principal assume that the inequalities between men and women should be changed in order to create a democratic and just society. This belief has been the driving force behind the creation of many initiatives, establishment of institutions and transformation of rules and cultural values. No one doubts that education is the key to implementing profound and sustained change in the models, values and relationships that continue to produce gender inequalities. We invite you to reflect on this subject in our Topic of the Month. http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/tema/tema.aspx?culture=en&tabindex=36&childindex=0 19th International Symposium of Computing in Education The 19th International Symposium of Computing in Education was held October 25-29 in Aguas Calientes, Mexico. Organized by the Mexican Society for Computing in Education (SOMECE), the goal of the meeting was to bring together people interested in improving the quality and coverage of education to reflect upon and analyze the latest developments in education and technology. Within the framework of the meeting, a special session was dedicated to studying the services and achievements of the Educational Portal of the Americas. http://www.somece.org.mx/ Successful Announcement of the Electronic Government Course More than 400 students registered for the course "Basic Concepts for Formulating Electronic Government Strategies", which will be offered in November and December of this year. Candidates are currently being selected for INEAM financial assistance. The objective of the course is to introduce the basic concepts of electronic government, present the key elements needed for creating an electronic government strategy and provide an overview of the development and implementation of e-government projects, with particular focus on the analysis of best practices. Given the success of the course announcement in Spanish, and interest expressed from Brazil and the English-speaking Caribbean, the IACD has decided to begin preparation of the English and Portuguese versions of the course for 2004. Digital Publications: Internet and Education During the month of November, the Portal will publish Internet and Education: Learning and Teaching in the Virtual Space, by Jorge Rey Valzacchi. The book is intended for those interested in analyzing both the advantages and limitations of the Internet for education. The author seeks to increase knowledge and reflection on the advantages and disadvantages, contributions and tools of the Internet and other new technologies within the school setting. He argues that the value of these new and powerful tools depends greatly on the quality of the pedagogical project to which they are being applied. For the text of this publication, please click on the following link: http://www.educoas.org/portal/bdigital/es/indice_valzacchi.aspx Municipal Support for the Andean Region The Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the IACD/OAS are organizing a seminar for training municipal workers in the area of cadastres and land titles, with particular emphasis on the best practices developed by other countries. The initiative is being coordinated together with institutions from Chile and Mexico, as well as with Stewart Title (ST) and ESRI. The municipalities participating in the seminar will receive information as well as solutions firsthand from key institutions in this field, including ST and ESRI. The seminar will review project proposals for implementing cadastre and land titles in each participating municipality. The Educational Portal of the Americas will host an online forum prior to the event so that participants may prepare their project profiles and review them with best practices institutions. http://www.iacd.oas.org/template-spanish/Region_Andina.htm 21st World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and the Open University of Hong Kong have announced that the 21st World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education will take place in Hong Kong from February 18-21, 2004. The conference aims to document achievements and investigate the challenges facing those seeking to provide open and distance education for all learners in a world that is becoming increasingly networked. The main theme for the conference is "Lifelong Learning in the Networked World." http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/hk2003/eng/2em_theme.html INEAM News The IACD is in the process of establishing strategic alliances with various universities and centers of excellence to identify online programs and courses at the undergraduate, graduate and professional training levels and promote them throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Educational offerings are currently being reviewed from the following universities: Harvard (http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu/esp/home/index.cfm) ITESM (http://www.itesm.mx/) Loja (http://www.utpl.edu.ec/) Maryland (http://www.umuc.edu/) Ohio (http://www.osu.edu/index.php) Penn State (http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/index.shtml) Quilmes (http://www.cvq.edu.ar/default.htm) Thunderbird (http://www.t-bird.edu/) Once identified, the programs will be evaluated by the Inter-American Committee on Accreditation and Evaluation who will then recommend their certification at the regional level. Open Doors or Isolation: The Role of International Education The Florida Consortium for International Education held its 4th Annual Strategy Workshop in Orlando, Florida on October 2-3, 2003. The theme of the meeting was "Open Doors or Isolation - The Role of International Education in Florida". A presentation was made on the Educational Portal of the Americas that served to generate discussion on possible collaboration between the Portal and universities and community colleges from the state of Florida. The Florida Consortium for International Education was created in 1977 by leaders of several state community colleges and universities to promote international and intercultural education in Florida's institutions of higher education. The Consortium currently has about 30 institutional members and serves to organize workshops, seminars and other activities on many different international topics. It also acts as liaison between state and federal agencies. The participants of the workshop expressed interest in collaborating with the Portal in two particular areas: promoting their distance education programs to Latin America and the Caribbean through the Portal's database and news sections, as well as in the development and joint delivery of distance education courses. Link: www.dbcc.cc.fl.us/fcie 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.