"A new task force to ensure our universities become the first choice across the world for on-line distance learning was announced today by Higher Education Minister, David Lammy.The task force chaired by Lynne Brindley, the Chief Executive of the British Library will advise on a wider strategy to build on our past and present successes and ensure we do not lose pace on increased demand in expanding and new markets.It will be backed by a new Open Learning Innovation Fund aimed at helping universities build on their existing world class reputations to access and engage future markets that are expected to value around £15bn in the future. This is a competitive match funding initiative, with up to £10m from HEFCE and therefore worth up to £20m in total, aims to encourage universities to work collaboratively with each other and the private and third sectors, to bid for money to develop projects to help transform the way people can get a degree." Thanx to cris Sharing this! Awesome, seeing public investment in the right direction!

Weil es für die AG interessant sein wird, hier die URL zum Unterstützen der CALDAV Funktion in unserem Kalender. Im Anschliss ein Auszug aus der Einleitung von Googles Hilfe: "Google Calendar CalDAV - Welcome to our information center for Google Calendar CalDAV support. The tabs above contain information to help you start syncing events between Google Calendar and Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird. If you're interested in syncing your iPhone or iPod Touch with Google Calendar via CalDAV, visit this article for additional information. Introduction Find out the information you should know before getting started with CalDAV. Get Started If you're setting up CalDAV for the first time, you'll need to: Decide if CalDAV is right for you by checking out the current list of known issuesView the system requirements. Enable Google Calendar in Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.Troubleshooting Click here for assistance with common problems when using CalDAV with Google Calendar. Known Issues View the list of known issues.

Medienbildung Im Laufe der letzten Jahre taucht in der Diskussion um die Medienpädagogik immer häufiger auch das Wort "Medienbildung" auf. Während die Aufgaben der Medienpädagogik recht klar beschrieben sind, steht eine Definition der Medienbildung noch am Anfang. Medienbildung erschöpft sich nicht in der Vermittlung von Medienkompetenz, sondern weist über die reine Vermittlung von Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten hinaus. Der Begriff erfasst sowohl die mediale Gestaltung unseres Alltags als auch die Anforderung an Kommuniktionsfähigkeiten, die medienvermittelt an uns gestellt sind sowie kulturelle Aspekte.

"Als Blaise Pascal schrieb, dass "das ganze Unglück der Menschen allein daher rührt, dass sie nicht ruhig in einem Zimmer zu bleiben vermögen", muss es noch stille Zimmer gegeben haben. Heute hilft selbst das Einschließen im Arbeitszimmer nicht mehr gegen das Unglück, schließlich ist man auch in den eigenen Räumen, in tiefer Nacht, nicht alleine."

"Financial Literacy 101: Useful Tools for Recent College Grads June 23rd, 2009 For many just finishing college, the transition between school and the real world can be a tumultuous one. Many grads will be on their own for the first time paying bills, budgeting, and repaying those hefty college loans, not to mention learning to adjust to working a regular job and not having the easily accessible pool of friends nearby. Learning to effectively manage finances can be a process of trial and error but grads can stack the deck in their favor by taking advantage of great online resources that can help them learn and keep track of where every penny of their paychecks is going." Thanx to Felipe Morales

[eBook] Web 2.0 and e-Learning 2.0 Jun 23rd, 2009 von Martin. For our workshop "Quick Start to e-Learning 1.0 and e-Learning 2.0" at this year ED-Media Conference we prepared an eBook about Web 2.0 / e-Learning 2.0 and we make it free available. We hope it is useful and please contact me if there are any questions, remarks or whatever:

Yes they did it again! Awesome -- Twitter in plain english!

"The past week I spent some time in the virtual reality of Second Life, exploring the possibilities for learning activities arranging and for management of a learning process. Also, I read several research papers sharing the gained experience in teaching and learning in SL. It was found that this virtual world …" introduces Malinka Ivanova in her Blogpost

n open source development team in Portland, Oregon has released Blog Post from the RW-Web: "OpenConferenceWare, a sophisticated free package for processing event session proposals and displaying event schedules. Igal Koshevoy and Reid Beels built the system and put it on display as the scheduling system for the forthcoming Open Source Bridge conference, Portland's response to losing the popular O'Reilly event OSCON to San Jose, California."

Grom the Webpage: "About The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads.  The Free Music Archive is being directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America.  Radio has always offered the public free access to new music. The Free Music Archive is a continuation of that purpose, designed for the age of the internet." Thanx to @anitsirk to pointing us to this!

"The Bloggers' FAQ on Intellectual Property addresses issues that arise when you publish material created by others on your blog."

Another systematic list of web2.0 applications.

"Ten tried and tested internet tools for teachers Apr 25th 2009 18 Comments Over the past academic year, my students and I have been experimenting with the use of a number of web based applications (often known as Web 2.0 tools). My aim has been to enhance our schemes of work by providing our students with new and exciting learning opportunities." Summary. Collected Tips and Tricks for ten tools and their use in Education!

Eine nette Präsentation (in english) , welche die Veränderungen der Massenkommunikation durch die neuen netzbaierten Werkzeuge auf den Punkt bringt.

A presentation about influence and potential of the net! thanx to cristina pointing me to it!

Developing Better Presentations June 19th, 2009 If you've been reading this blog long you've likely noticed that I have an interest in designing and developing more effective presentations. Nancy Duarte shares some useful advice from her book Slide:ology.

So sollten wir an manch andere Probleme auch heran gehen. Mich erinnert das (angeregt durch den Hinweis bei René Scheppler) an den Startartikel in der Online-Zeitschrift CITE (Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education) von 2000, wo Thomas G. Carroll die Frage stellte: If we didn't have the schools we have today, would we create the schools we have today? Abgesehen von seiner Darstellung, wie schulisches Lernen heute schon aussehen und organisiert weden könnte, macht er auch darauf aufmerksam, dass andere Schulen zwingend eine andere Lehrerausbildung voraussetzen

Den Text habe ich nicht nur so aus Lust und Laune geschrieben, sondern weil ich mit den dort dargestellten Überlegungen auch praktisch experimentieren will. Von daher fand ich den letzten Satz eines Gutachters in seinem (sonst positiven) Votum lustig: "Allerdings erscheinen die konkreten Anwendungen des Ansatzes aus dieser Perspektive noch weit entfernt". Okay, das fordert mich jetzt heraus: Das werden wir ja sehen, ob das noch weit entfernt ist

Some Remarks about Argile PM of software!

when teachers and students connect outside school In my last entry, I made a comment about the value of "cool" teachers interacting with students on social network sites. I received some push-back from non-educators. Most of the concerns revolved around teachers' ethics and their responsibilities with respect to legal structures like the Federal Rights and Privacy Act. There were also concerns that teachers who would interact with students in these environments would be putting themselves at risk.

MindMapping Plattform with also an free account for collaborative mind mapping