Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

The consistent demand demonstrated by applicants concerning the 2nd European Conference on "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ) has encouraged the organizers at the University of Duisburg-Essen to extend the submission period for papers and project presentations until the 4th of March, 2013. LINQ, the leading annual European conference on learning innovations and learning quality, has already attracted submissions from throughout Europe, as well as Asia, America, and Africa. This year thus shows a continuation in the high level of interest which made LINQ 2012 such a successful conference in Brussels last year.

“We are pleasantly overwhelmed with the response to this year’s call for papers and call for projects,” says Christian M. Stracke, LINQ Conference Chair and international ISO Convener for learning quality from the University of Duisburg-Essen. “Through this extension we intend to even more greatly expand the diversity of both practical and theoretical approaches to the issue of digital repositories in lifelong learning, as well as learning innovations and quality.”

This year LINQ 2013 and its motto "Innovations and Quality: The Future of Digital Resources" addresses and invites experts active in the field of Innovations and Quality in Lifelong Learning (LLL). Potential points of access to this field include new learning methods and design, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), quality standards and certification, human resources development, competences and skills, digital resources, learning materials, and online collaboration and communities.

The LINQ 2013 call for papers invites all experts and practitioners to contribute to LINQ’s dialogue through the submission of high-quality papers describing fully-developed results, on-going work or innovative concepts related to the following topics:

•      Innovations and future trends in Learning, Education and Training (LET)

•      Quality improvement and learning outcome orientation in LET

•      Harmonization of innovations and quality development in LET

•      Digital resources, online repositories and metadata for online objects

•      Web 2.0, Social Media and Online Communities for LET

•      Open access, open educational resources and user-generated content

•      Technology‐Enhanced Learning for schools, universities and lifelong learning

•      Learning quality in vocational education and training and HR

•      Implementation of learning innovations and quality improvements

•      Knowledge, innovation and ideas management in LET contexts

•      Standardisation of LET design, production and services

•      Quality management, standards, and certification in LET

•      Competence and skills development in lifelong learning

•      Quality and standardization of learning assessment and evaluation

Submissions of papers related to the conference (max eight pages) must be sent by March 4th, 2013, using the official LINQ template. All papers will be reviewed by the international scientific LINQ Programme Committee through double-blind peer review. Submitters will be informed of their acceptance by the 20th of April 2013. All accepted papers can be presented at the LINQ conference, will be published in the official proceedings of the European conference (with ISBN) and distributed to all conference participants as well as throughout Europe. Specific guidelines and requirements can be found on the conference website at www.learning-innovations.eu.

Attendance at the European conference "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ 2013) is subject to a conference fee (early bird rate: 90 €, after 31 March: 150€) and requires registration through the LINQ website, as places are limited. The conference fee includes all provisions including a warm 3-course lunch, the coffee breaks, the conference bag, and the official conference proceedings. At least one author has to register for the publication of an accepted paper.

Overview of the important dates:

-          Paper submission deadline: 4th of March 2013

-          Notification of acceptance: 20th of April 2013

-          Camera-Ready copy due: 31st of April 2013

-          Conference date: 16th and 17th of May 2013

For the latest information on the conference, please visit and like the LINQ Conference Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LINQConference and follow the LINQ Conference Twitter account at www.twitter.com/LINQ_Conference. 

Please send full papers and direct enquiries to the LINQ Conference Manager Mrs Anne-Christin Tannhäuser, at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Germany, via e-Mail to: anne.tannhaeuser (at) icb.uni-due.de

The UOC-OLT has just published its 2011 Projects Report, outlining a sample of its latest projects, building on information and experiences that facilitate and improve the experience of an extremely diverse group of students and faculty. For instance, some cases aim at the integration of social networks and cloud services within the Campus, while progress is also made in the area of inclusion of people with a wide range of disabilities, making UOC a more inclusive University.

Many projects have been made in collaboration with other partners such as universities (University of California at Berkeley, Dublin City University, University of Yaoundé I), companies (Orange) and networks (IMS Global Learning Consortium, New Media Consortium).

Summary of projects' list:

·         Learning and Teaching Tools: class virtual DicWiki (generator of a dictionary for any field of knowledge), eAssessment, Google Apps (incorporating Google tools for virtual classes), PACPlagi (online tool to detect plagiarized studies of Internet), SimAula (simulation of a virtual classroom tool in teaching students who want to practice), SpeakApps (online platform for practicing speaking skills).

·         Community Tools: Geolocation for Learning (Learning Geolocation 4, gives information on the location of other students of the UOC-phase pilot, iLike (application where students can give opinion about the operation of a subject), Questions and Answers (knowledge provided by students on the functioning of the UOC by means of a system of questions and answers), Technipedia (platform to promote entrepreneurship for youth in Africa)

·         Mobile Tools: augmented reality (increases the vision of a landscape, a building, etc..; designed as a tourist application), content adaptation for iPad, Mobile Campus, MyUOC Mobile.

·         Management Tools: Learning Apps (space where teachers and students can build their place of learning), tools to support the reading and writing applications for the UOC (checker, translator, etc...), project SOC (virtual training Employment Service of Catalonia).

·         User-centered design and support projects: Cube-U (object connected to the Internet to communicate by changing color or visual icons, information on the campus, for example, when mail is received, how many students are connected, etc.), Laboratory Mobile Accessibility (to evaluate accessibility and usability of websites and mobile applications), Blogs Support (online spaces where teachers and students can answer questions about possible problems with class tools), and tools to support people with visual impairments.

About the Office of Learning Technologies:

The Office of Learning Technologies is headed by Llorenç Valverde (vice-rector for Technology, UOC) and Magi Almirall (OLT Director). The Office plays a main role in the application and creation of online learning design and development methodologies with the sole objective to help evolve online education, and ensure all learners have an engaging and effective experience.

Would like to receive a copy of the 2011 OLT Projects Report? Then, please, send your request at learningtechnologies@uoc.edu.

Steve Thorne is identified with the study of language use, communication dynamics and technology-mediated foreign, second, and plurilingual language learning, occurring within and outside of formal educational settings. His work draws on sociocultural and cultural-historical approaches to language development and he is particularly interested in multiplayer online gaming environments, the "cultures of use" of Internet communication tools, and intercultural communication. Professor Thorne is currently a faculty member in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Portland State University in the United States and the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The following interview took place in April 2011 on the occasion of the EUROCALL CMC & Teacher Education SIGs Annual Workshop in Barcelona, in which Professor Thorne was the keynote speaker.