In an effort to expand the services offered to its users, the Educational Portal of the Americas has created a database containing information on institutions and programs that develop and deliver content on subjects related to the education and development of societies. These materials can be used by managers of community learning centers (telecenters), or educational institutions, in search of relevant content. Additionally, this database offers useful information for teachers, students, researchers and the general public who are interested in obtaining information and knowledge in specific areas and using on-line resources and tools that have been developed and delivered by prestigious institutions.
In order to facilitate the search and use of this content, this database has been classified into the following areas: reference tools and software; e-documents and virtual libraries; virtual activities; and related sites. By using the search options of this database, one will be able to conduct a search of the large world of information and knowledge, and combine the type of resource with the thematic area of interest, including the country where the content was created and the language in which it has been created.
Cyberspace is a somewhat new reality through which we have begun to interact and exchange ideas. There is no doubt as to its advantages for communication, knowledge and training. There are questions, however, regarding the educational importance of new technology, its strengths and weaknesses in the teaching and learning processes, as well as the types of teaching projects for which it is best suited. We encourage you to reflect on these questions by sending us your comments in our Topic of the Month section.
Within the framework of the International Conference on Education, Training and New Technologies, Virtual Educa 2003, which will be held in Miami on June 18-20, the Educational Portal of the Americas of the IACD/OAS is pleased to announce an inter-American contest in recognition of the initiatives taking place throughout the region that contribute to the development of human potential through the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs).
The initiative will fill a void in inter-American efforts to recognize the work and quality of educational websites and content. It is expected that the first contest will take place from September 2003 through March 2004. A Jury will evaluate the candidates and select a winner during the months of April and May. The prize will be awarded during the V Meeting of Virtual Educa scheduled to take place during the middle of 2004.
Three categories will be created: general education portals, specific
websites, and online services and content. Participation will be free and
open to all Internet sites within the formal and non-formal education
sectors, and at all levels and disciplines. Sites may be in any of the
official languages of the OAS. The Jury will be composed of
socio-educational and cultural experts from the OAS member states,
including inter-American universities and businesses.
It is also expected that honorable mention will be given to the authors of
specific work that have been published during this period, as well as to
other initiatives that have helped to promote and disseminate educational
content in the Hemisphere.
The Institute for Advanced Studies of the Americas (INEAM) of the IACD/OAS, together with the UNED of Spain, is pleased to announce a new Doctorate in Curricular, Technological and Institutional Innovation, with emphasis in Distance Education and New Information and Communication Technologies (AICD/DBC/CIR.151/2003).
The general objective of the program is to train specialists in the design, development and evaluation of online teaching courses and programs using new information and communication technologies. Specifically, the program will deal with the: a) identification and consideration of theoretical approaches used in distance education; b) design and development of programs and courses using distance teaching methodologies; c) analysis of the role of ICTs in distance education; d) analysis of the development of virtual teaching; e) research the relationship between the models of virtual teaching and market society; f) use and application of ICTs, and g) train teachers in the use of ICTs in the classroom. For more information regarding the details of the program and the available scholarship, please click here.
Work, Employment
and Social Security
The Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) of the
OAS signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Work, Employment
and Social Security of Argentina. During a ceremony presided over by its
Minister, Graciela Camaño, and L. Ronald Scheman, Executive Secretary and
Director General of the IACD, an agreement was signed in order to
strengthen the formation and training of human resources in the Americas
through the use of distance education using ICTs, as well as other
strategies and actions to be mutually agreed upon.
The IACD will collaborate with the Ministry in the design and development
of initiatives to train the workforce through the use of new ICTs, as well
as other technologies that promote access to knowledge and socio-integral
development. The IACD will make available its Educational Portal of the
Americas, as well as other tools, to ensure that said initiatives will be
made available to all countries of the region. For its part, the Ministry
will advise the IACD on current and future challenges in the area of work,
employment and social security, as well as share successful experiences
that are developed within the sector.
International Conference Virtual Educa 2003
The Fourth International Conference on Education, Training and New
Technologies Virtual Educa 2003 will take place in the James L. Knight
Convention Center of Miami, Florida (United States) from June 16-20. An
inter-American Seminar on Information Technologies Applied to Education
will take place on June 16-17, and the Exposition Hall and various
workshops on the use of ICTs will open on the 18th. The conference itself
will take place on June 19-20. The event will bring together
representatives from government, academia (universities and centers of
excellence), the private sector and civil society. The King of Spain has
agreed to serve as the Honorary Chair of the Virtual Educa event. The
program can be found at:
http://www.educoea.org/virtualeduca/
Training Human
Resources in the English-speaking Caribbean
The Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development of the OAS (IACD/OAS)
recently celebrated the signing of an ambitious cooperation agreement with
the University of the West Indies (UWI) to strengthen the formation and
training of human resources in the English-speaking Caribbean through the
application of new information technologies (ICT), as well as other
mutually agreed upon activities.
The agreement, which was signed by R.M. Nettleford for the UWI and L.
Ronald Scheman for the IACD, emphasized that both institutions will
collaborate in socio-educational, economic and cultural initiatives that
promote access to knowledge through distance teaching and learning through
the use of new information technologies, particularly for those sectors
identified by the UWI. The IACD will make available several of its
resources, including the Educational Portal of the Americas and its
Virtual Classroom platform, the Institute for Advanced Studies of the
Americas (INEAM), the OAS Scholarship and Training program (for
conventional as well as distance and multimedia studies), and a
specialized network of information services regarding the offers and
demands of cooperation in the Caribbean, for the development of
initiatives between the two institutions.
Various activities are planned for the second half of 2003 – early 2004,
including: the training of UWI personnel in the use of the Virtual
Classroom technology of the Educational Portal; organization of a workshop
in the use of ICTs with emphasis on satellite communication; training of
UWI personnel and other English-speaking Caribbean educators as tutors for
online programs, including a course for improving the quality of
education; and development of other specific activities for external
financing.
ICTs for Human Development in Central America
The Inter-American Agency for Cooperation
and Development (IACD), in cooperation with the Institute for Connectivity
in the Americas (ICA), the Academy for Educational Development (AED), the
Development Gateway Foundation, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) organized the Workshop,
"Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Human Development in
Central America" from May 13-16, 2003 in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The Seminar brought together more than 70 key stakeholders representing ICT
projects from governments, civil society, the private sector, NGOs,
academia, and multi-laterals that have been leaders and innovators in the
application of technology in the areas of health, government, education, and
human and social development. Individuals of the following countries
participated in the Workshop: Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and
Venezuela.
The main objective of the seminar was to provide participants with a forum to facilitate opportunities for exchange and analysis in order to establish mechanisms for more coordinated, cooperative, and sustainable regional efforts in the application of ICTs for human and social development. This process included the identification of possible cooperative activities and initiatives, as well as the creation of networks for dialog and collaboration.
The added value of the Seminar, which was preceded by an on-line virtual discussion among the participants as well as a videoconference, was that the participants arrived at a more pragmatic interpretation of the possibilities in the area of cooperation in ICTs for human development. This analysis served as motivation for the consideration of mechanisms for establishing collaborative activities between the various programs, entities and social actors. Likewise, it led to the design of Action Plans that will include cooperative agreements and alliances that will then serve as the basis for joint proposals that can be presented to funding agencies and technical cooperation organizations. These proposals will be developed in the weeks and months following the workshop. Finally, aside from the creation of a network that allows for the participants to interact among themselves, other possible bilateral alliances among various actors in the region were established.
http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/ineam/cacademico_activ.aspx?culture=en&tabindex=37&childindex=41
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.