Boletín Informativo

Science and Technology: Dialogue with Civil Society

Civil society plays an important role in the consolidation of democracy and is one of the crucial elements for successful development policies. The experience of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has demonstrated a close relationship between the cultural and socio-economic development of countries and their advance in or use of science and technology to solve major development problems. Considering the strategic value of civil society organizations (in the area of science, technology, engineering and innovation) to the development of our societies, a virtual meeting room is being created on the Educational Portal of the Americas to facilitate dialogue and partnership among representative institutions and organizations. In addition, the upcoming meeting of Ministers and High Authorities in Science and Technology (Lima, Peru on November 11-12, 2004) will provide another key opportunity to hear the thoughts of those involved in this important sector of our countries.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/tema/editorial/sep04.aspx?culture=en&tabindex=36&childindex=0

English-Speaking Caribbean: Promoting ICTs In Education

The Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development of the Organization of American States (IACD/OAS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, recently organized a 5-day workshop in Trinidad and Tobago to help educational leaders from the Caribbean explore and value multimedia-based and Internet-based opportunities to enhance their teaching practices. Held August 2-6 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the workshop --"Enhancing Teacher Preparation with the use of Information and Communication Technologies"-- brought together 28 teacher educators interested in applying new information and communication technologies to their classrooms.

The workshop was part of a series of activities being developed by the Hemispheric Teacher Education initiative of the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago and the IACD to promote teacher development opportunities in the English-speaking Caribbean. "We are very pleased to collaborate with the OAS in introducing our teachers to the benefits of using the Internet and new technologies in the classroom," remarked Senator Hazel Manning, Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago at the inauguration of the workshop. She added, "This is just one of many joint efforts between our two organizations to provide our educators with the necessary tools to improve the quality of teaching at all levels."

In addition to hosting a second version of the workshop later this year, the Ministry will be collaborating with the IACD in another of its efforts to promote the formation of human resources in the region through Internet-based training. The IACD, together with the Unit for Social Development and Education of the OAS (USDE) will be launching a course to give primary and secondary school teachers and administrators of the Caribbean the conceptual and methodological tools necessary for improving educational services in their classrooms. The 12-week online course, entitled "Quality in Basic Education", will be offered through the Virtual Classroom of the Educational Portal of the Americas (www.educoas.org) later this year. It will be made available to 500 participants throughout the English-speaking region free of charge. Over 6,000 educators throughout Latin America have already been trained in the Portuguese and Spanish versions of the course.

Taking Advantage Of Solar Radiation

Together with the Study Group of Solar Radiation (GERSolar) of the Universidad Nacional de Luján, a course is being prepared on the possible uses of solar radiation, which is a source of non contaminable energy that is cost effective under certain conditions, particularly in rural areas. The course will focus on the basic elements required to become familiar with solar radiation with the goal of preparing a system –-either thermal or electric-- to exploit this natural resource. The course is being designed for university graduates, advanced students in the areas of engineering, physics, architecture and environment, employees of electric or oil companies, and State organizations with decision-making power.

www.gersol.unlu.edu.ar

FLACSO: Science, Technology And Society With A Gender Focus

Registration for the course “Science, Technology and Society with a Gender Focus” (Spanish version only) is open until September 24. The course aspires to train secondary school teachers and professors of science and technology, as well as other members of the educational community, on the implementation of innovative practices for teaching and learning based on the conceptual and methodological richness of the field of gender studies. Gloria Bonder prepared the content in collaboration with Nora Gómez, both of the Regional Chair of UNESCO, Women, Science and Technology in Latin America. Teachers of other levels and students of educational sciences who are interested in creating friendly, creative and stimulating teaching-learning environments and would like to appreciate the contributions of women in science to the development of their respective disciplines are also encouraged to register for the course.

http://www.educoas.org/portal/ineam/cursos/flacso_2004.aspx?culture=en

Social And Educational Organizations: Advanced Management Course

The IACD/OAS and the Universidad Nacional General San Martín will offer a graduate course in managing social and educational organizations (in Spanish only) beginning in 2005. The course, which will be offered via distance learning through INEAM, is intended for university graduates, directors, educators, staff of national and state Ministries, managers and personnel of social organizations (education, health, sport, social development, etc.). The one-year course will be composed of six (6) seminars: 1) Organizations in the contemporary world; 2) Management and development of human resources; 3) Negotiation and mediation as tools for managing organizational conflict; 4) Financial management; 5) Strategic planning, management and evaluation of programs and projects; and 6) Information and communication technologies for management. Upon satisfactory completion of the academic requirements of the course, participants will receive a Graduate Diploma in “Management of Social and Educational Organizations” of the Universidad Nacional de General San Martín and INEAM. The diploma can be applied towards the certificate program and Masters of Educational Management offered by the same university. This initiative is being sponsored by the Inter-American Organization of Higher Education (IOHE) and UNESCO.

Creation And Development Of Virtual Services For Digital Libraries

The Digital Library Linkages initiative is organizing a seminar-workshop at the University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida) in the creation and development of virtual services for digital libraries. The workshop will be held December 1-2 within the framework of the XIV General Assembly of ISTEC (Ibero-American Consortium for Education in Science and Technology). Among other topics the workshop will cover: Virtual Services and the Creation of Digital Libraries, Rapid Electronic Document Delivery, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, Digital Library Administration and Digitizing Information Processes. For additional information, please contact:

liblink@eece.unm.edu

Introduction To The Formulation Of Electronic Government Strategies

September 16 is the deadline to register for the English edition of the online course "Introduction to the Formulation of E-Government Strategies". The eight-week course is scheduled to begin on October 12 and has been specially designed for the Caribbean region. It includes best practices and successful E-Government implementations from several countries of the region. For more information please click on the following link:

http://www.educoea.org/portal/ineam/cursos/egov_eng.aspx

Training For Health Professionals

Through an agreement with the IACD/OAS, the Ministry of Health of the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, will train 300 medical professionals, nutritionists, social workers, nurses, psychologists and others through the Educational Portal of the Americas. The online course “Education and Nutrition” will present basic nutritional concepts to foster awareness and treat the problem of malnourishment in infants and youth as well as generate a growing group of specialists who can act as multipliers of change in their communities, introduce improvements in the system, and attend to the urgent nutritional needs of our societies, particularly the more vulnerable groups.

http://www.cba.gov.ar/nota.jsp?idNota=87380&idCanal=33

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*
	September News: Science and Technology: Dialogue with Civil Society English-Speaking Caribbean: Promoting ICTs In Education Taking Advantage Of Solar Radiation FLACSO: Science, Technology And Society With A Gender Focus Social And Educational Organizations: Advanced Management Course Creation And Development Of Virtual Services For Digital Libraries Introduction To The Formulation Of Electronic Government Strategies Training For Health Professionals
	Science and Technology: Dialogue with Civil Society Civil society plays an important role in the consolidation of democracy and is one of the crucial elements for successful development policies. The experience of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has demonstrated a close relationship between the cultural and socio-economic development of countries and their advance in or use of science and technology to solve major development problems. Considering the strategic value of civil society organizations (in the area of science, technology, engineering and innovation) to the development of our societies, a virtual meeting room is being created on the Educational Portal of the Americas to facilitate dialogue and partnership among representative institutions and organizations. In addition, the upcoming meeting of Ministers and High Authorities in Science and Technology (Lima, Peru on November 11-12, 2004) will provide another key opportunity to hear the thoughts of those involved in this important sector of our countries. http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/tema/editorial/sep04.aspx?culture=en&tabindex=36&childindex=0 English-Speaking Caribbean: Promoting ICTs In Education The Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development of the Organization of American States (IACD/OAS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, recently organized a 5-day workshop in Trinidad and Tobago to help educational leaders from the Caribbean explore and value multimedia-based and Internet-based opportunities to enhance their teaching practices. Held August 2-6 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the workshop --"Enhancing Teacher Preparation with the use of Information and Communication Technologies"-- brought together 28 teacher educators interested in applying new information and communication technologies to their classrooms. The workshop was part of a series of activities being developed by the Hemispheric Teacher Education initiative of the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago and the IACD to promote teacher development opportunities in the English-speaking Caribbean. "We are very pleased to collaborate with the OAS in introducing our teachers to the benefits of using the Internet and new technologies in the classroom," remarked Senator Hazel Manning, Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago at the inauguration of the workshop. She added, "This is just one of many joint efforts between our two organizations to provide our educators with the necessary tools to improve the quality of teaching at all levels." In addition to hosting a second version of the workshop later this year, the Ministry will be collaborating with the IACD in another of its efforts to promote the formation of human resources in the region through Internet-based training. The IACD, together with the Unit for Social Development and Education of the OAS (USDE) will be launching a course to give primary and secondary school teachers and administrators of the Caribbean the conceptual and methodological tools necessary for improving educational services in their classrooms. The 12-week online course, entitled "Quality in Basic Education", will be offered through the Virtual Classroom of the Educational Portal of the Americas (www.educoas.org) later this year. It will be made available to 500 participants throughout the English-speaking region free of charge. Over 6,000 educators throughout Latin America have already been trained in the Portuguese and Spanish versions of the course. Taking Advantage Of Solar Radiation Together with the Study Group of Solar Radiation (GERSolar) of the Universidad Nacional de Luján, a course is being prepared on the possible uses of solar radiation, which is a source of non contaminable energy that is cost effective under certain conditions, particularly in rural areas. The course will focus on the basic elements required to become familiar with solar radiation with the goal of preparing a system –-either thermal or electric-- to exploit this natural resource. The course is being designed for university graduates, advanced students in the areas of engineering, physics, architecture and environment, employees of electric or oil companies, and State organizations with decision-making power. www.gersol.unlu.edu.ar FLACSO: Science, Technology And Society With A Gender Focus Registration for the course “Science, Technology and Society with a Gender Focus” (Spanish version only) is open until September 24. The course aspires to train secondary school teachers and professors of science and technology, as well as other members of the educational community, on the implementation of innovative practices for teaching and learning based on the conceptual and methodological richness of the field of gender studies. Gloria Bonder prepared the content in collaboration with Nora Gómez, both of the Regional Chair of UNESCO, Women, Science and Technology in Latin America. Teachers of other levels and students of educational sciences who are interested in creating friendly, creative and stimulating teaching-learning environments and would like to appreciate the contributions of women in science to the development of their respective disciplines are also encouraged to register for the course. http://www.educoas.org/portal/ineam/cursos/flacso_2004.aspx?culture=en Social And Educational Organizations: Advanced Management Course The IACD/OAS and the Universidad Nacional General San Martín will offer a graduate course in managing social and educational organizations (in Spanish only) beginning in 2005. The course, which will be offered via distance learning through INEAM, is intended for university graduates, directors, educators, staff of national and state Ministries, managers and personnel of social organizations (education, health, sport, social development, etc.). The one-year course will be composed of six (6) seminars: 1) Organizations in the contemporary world; 2) Management and development of human resources; 3) Negotiation and mediation as tools for managing organizational conflict; 4) Financial management; 5) Strategic planning, management and evaluation of programs and projects; and 6) Information and communication technologies for management. Upon satisfactory completion of the academic requirements of the course, participants will receive a Graduate Diploma in “Management of Social and Educational Organizations” of the Universidad Nacional de General San Martín and INEAM. The diploma can be applied towards the certificate program and Masters of Educational Management offered by the same university. This initiative is being sponsored by the Inter-American Organization of Higher Education (IOHE) and UNESCO. Creation And Development Of Virtual Services For Digital Libraries The Digital Library Linkages initiative is organizing a seminar-workshop at the University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida) in the creation and development of virtual services for digital libraries. The workshop will be held December 1-2 within the framework of the XIV General Assembly of ISTEC (Ibero-American Consortium for Education in Science and Technology). Among other topics the workshop will cover: Virtual Services and the Creation of Digital Libraries, Rapid Electronic Document Delivery, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, Digital Library Administration and Digitizing Information Processes. For additional information, please contact: liblink@eece.unm.edu Introduction To The Formulation Of Electronic Government Strategies September 16 is the deadline to register for the English edition of the online course "Introduction to the Formulation of E-Government Strategies". The eight-week course is scheduled to begin on October 12 and has been specially designed for the Caribbean region. It includes best practices and successful E-Government implementations from several countries of the region. For more information please click on the following link: http://www.educoea.org/portal/ineam/cursos/egov_eng.aspx Training For Health Professionals Through an agreement with the IACD/OAS, the Ministry of Health of the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, will train 300 medical professionals, nutritionists, social workers, nurses, psychologists and others through the Educational Portal of the Americas. The online course “Education and Nutrition” will present basic nutritional concepts to foster awareness and treat the problem of malnourishment in infants and youth as well as generate a growing group of specialists who can act as multipliers of change in their communities, introduce improvements in the system, and attend to the urgent nutritional needs of our societies, particularly the more vulnerable groups. http://www.cba.gov.ar/nota.jsp?idNota=87380&idCanal=33 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.