knowledge society
Knowledge Maturing in Europe
This study presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected from a broad range of organisations within the knowledge-intensive service sector for the MATURE Integrating Project. The research delves into the concept of Knowledge Maturing (KM), which is goal-oriented learning on a collective level, within and across organisations. This study is based on a total of 139 interviews conducted throughout Europe, and focuses on different aspects of KM.
The PLE Conference 2013 Personal Learning Environments: Learning and Diversity in the Cities of the Future
The 4th International PLE Conference 2013 will be held in Berlin, Germany together with a parallel event in Melbourne, Australia (#PLECONF) from the 10th to the 12th July 2013. The PLE Conference intends to create a space for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences and research around the development and implementation of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) – including the design of environments and the sociological and educational issues that they raise.
Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) are an approach to Technology- Enhanced Learning based on the principles of learner autonomy and empowerment. PLEs include methods, tools, communities, and services constituting individual learning infrastructures or ecosystems which learners use to direct their own learning and pursue their educational goals. This represents a shift away from the traditional model of learning based on knowledge transfer towards a model of learning based on knowledge construction where learners draw connections from a growing pool of online and offline resources to plan, organise, engage in, reflect on and evaluate their learning and development. By focusing on the enhancing learning of individual, yet interconnected learners, the PLE approach encompasses a diversity of learners, tools, perspectives and knowledge.
So far Personal Learning Environments have been designed and implemented in formal and informal learning contexts, such as school and higher education, work-based learning and in-company training, and in continuing education. The potential of Personal Learning Environments for crossing the boundaries of traditional learning contexts, connecting diverse communities and infrastructures has not been fully realised. Therefore, the 4th PLE Conference in 2013 aims at taking the discussion on Personal Learning Environments a step forward, providing a new impulse for PLE research and development.
The theme for the conference is learning and diversity in cities of the future. In view of the “Smart City” concept and the key priorities for research and innovation expressed in the EU Horizon 2020 framework, innovative, sustainable and inclusive solutions become crucial not only in terms of future and emerging technologies but first and foremost in terms of (i) human knowledge and skills, (ii) diverse and inclusive communities, as well as (iii) learning and knowledge networks. Hence, new forms of connected, interdisciplinary learning and cross-boundary cooperation are seen to play a critical role in the development of creative solutions and in the intelligent exploitation of networked urban infrastructures. In smart urban spaces, people, organisations and objects become interconnected by means of new technologies and media, forging new patterns of cooperation, production, research and innovation.
As smart cities we understand smart urban spaces sensu Michael de Certeau, i.e. “practiced places”, places which are transformed and constituted by dynamic and diverse elements (“a tour is different than a map”). From this perspective the following questions emerge:
What shapes can Personal Learning Environments take to support diversity, cross-boundary learning and interdisciplinary transformation of urban spaces? How can we design and implement Personal Learning Environments as part of highly interconnected social and technological infrastructures of smart cities? What technology-enhanced scenarios can be envisaged to enhance learning and diversity in cities of the future?
6th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education
Let’s build transformative knowledge to drive social change. Be knowledgesiastic!
The GUNi Conference is an international forum for debate on the challenges facing higher education. Each edition of the Conference deals with an emergent issue in higher education, which is the subject also chosen for the Report. Held in Barcelona and attended by renowned experts, researchers, university leaders, academics, policymakers and practitioners from all over the world, the Conference addresses innovative proposals and ideas, as well as the results of the latest research on each subject.
This edition will explore the critical dimensions in our understanding of the roles, and potential roles, of higher education institutions (HEIs) as active player in contributing to the creation of another possible world. Within this context the Conference looks to answer the call of the challenges of our time, while maintaining an eye towards the future regarding the role of knowledge and HEIs.
Learning Analytics
This paper was published by Erik Duval and Katrien Verbert at eLearning and Education, Vol. 8.
The article provides a brief introduction to the domain of ‘learning analytics’ by explaining the background and idea behind the concept, and providing a brief overview of current research and controversial issues.
The UOC presents the conclusions of the EUNoM project
European universities have to redefine their multilingual models to adapt to the challenges of globalization and make better use of the possibilities offered by ICT tools in e-learning environments
European universities have to make a greater commitment to multilingualism as it enhances student creativity and competitiveness. This means that not only must they make better use of existing ICT tools to aid learning and online work in different languages, but they should also consider developing these technologies. This is one of the principal conclusions of the European Union funded EUNoM project, which the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has been coordinating for three years and in which numerous European universities and acclaimed international experts have participated. The final recommendations were presented to the European Parliament last 18th October, which will mark the culmination of the project.
According to Miquel Strubell, director of the UOC Chair in Multilingualism and coordinator of EUNoM, the academic project also recommends that:
- Universities refocus on multilingualism and multiculturalism as strategic challenges and values.
- The agents of the so-called triple helix of university, industry and government be aware of the importance of multilingualism to improve their competitiveness in the present context of globalization and the knowledge economy, in contrast with the growing trend of establishing a uniform model with English as the dominant lingua franca.
- In order to create alternatives to this monolingual model, universities foster research into the different models of multilingualism that can act as a more efficient cornerstone for their syllabuses and online language learning.
- Universities make business and entrepreneurs understand that these multicultural learning models will help them attract more creative talent and, in particular, provide them with a greater ability to understand their respective national markets.
With regard to the need to develop the technologies required to be able to work in online multilingual work environments, underlined by these final recommendations, Miquel Strubell added that “it is a field in which the UOC could lead the research, given the knowledge that it has gained over 15 years of teaching with these types of ICT tools. The experience acquired in bilingual virtual classrooms should be extended to new language combinations and trilingual classrooms with the tools that we have been developing for computer-assisted translation.”
The conclusions to the EUNoM Project also highlighted the need to “bring together leading specialists” in order to refocus language learning and teaching in light of social and global changes and “to undertake in-depth research into the role of language in creativity and associated skills”.
With this in mind, the UOC Chair in Multilingualism plans to design an ambitious research project funded by the EU under the title ‘The multilingual challenge for the European citizen’, which will carry out a cross-disciplinary study of all the implications on all levels arising from this new sociocultural context and how best to respond to these implications.
25th October 2012
Related links:
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya: http://www.uoc.edu
Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism: http://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/catedra_multilinguisme/index.html
EUNoM - European Universities Network on Multilingualism: http://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/catedra_multilinguisme/recerca/projectes/eunom/index.html
ICTs and the transformation of education in the knowledge economy
Debates on Education is a forum organised by the Jaume Bofill Foundation and the UOC, with the collaboration of MACBA, with the aim of encouraging debate on current affairs and background events that we believe to be key to the challenges and problems that have to be faced in education in terms of the social, political and economic context in which we live.
This debate is organised in collaboration with the Catalan School Board as part of its conference on The Impact and Contribution of Digital Technologies in Education.
CHEPS 2012 International Conference New Perspectives in Higher Education and Regional Development
Dynamic processes of knowledge infrastructures, innovative businesses and regions
Why do universities choose to contribute to regional economic development? Universities have many assets and facilities that can help drive regional economic development, but that is for the majority of higher education institutions that have the university name not a central part of what they do.
Central to the idea of a university is of independent, abstract learning and knowledge creation in a global knowledge commons, so why would universities tie themselves and be limited by opportunities for co-operation within the particular territory in which they are located? As universities are increasingly strategically managed to achieve their core goals, understanding why universities might choose to work with regions is essential to understanding the contributions that they can potentially make to economic development in general and recovery from the current economic crisis.
i-KNOW 2012 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Technologies
As in previous years i-KNOW will offer its participants a unique platform either to present latest and leading edge developments or to catch up with the developments of most innovative IT technologies, content applications, knowledge management trends and emerging market opportunities.
2012 Special Eurobarometer 386
The new report on citizens' attitudes and behaviour towards multilingualism, foreign language learning and translation demonstrates that Europeans have very positive attitudes towards multilingualism.
According to the results, almost every European (98%) considers mastering foreign languages useful for their children's future and 88% think that knowing languages other than their mother tongue is useful for themselves.
Almost three quarters (72%) agree with the EU objective that everybody should learn at least two foreign languages and 77% think that improvement in language skills should be a policy priority. The trends regarding languages confirm that two thirds of Europeans (67%) consider English as one of the two most useful languages for themselves. The next most frequently mentioned languages include German (17%), French (16%), Spanish (14%) and Chinese (6%).
Izmantošanas, attieksmes, pieredzes un e-iekļaušanas pozitīvs noslēgts cikls
e-Apgūšana attiecas uz to, kā cilvēki mācās kļūt par IKT lietotājiem. Tomēr, „e-iekļaušana“ ir sarežģītāks jēdziens, jo tas attiecas uz cilvēku dalību kopienās un citās sabiedrības dimensijās, balstoties uz zināšanām. Tas attiecas uz tādām jomām kā sociālās attiecības, darbs, kultūra, politika u.c.
Šajā rakstā ir apskatīts, kā var novērtēt e-iekļaušanu, izmantojot analīzi, kas ņem vērā ne tikai individuālos faktorus, bet arī kopienas un sociālos faktorus, apskatot e-apgūšanu plašākā mērogā, nevis vienkārši fokusējoties uz prasmju līmeni.