pirates are moving west!

rumour has is it that the pirates are moving into the bloor lansdowne neighbourhood. for my intercity and international readers, this really means nothing, but for those who live in toronto, it means knowledge transfer for a particular segment of lifestyle learning is moving westward. for those who don’t mind getting their hands drty, this means accessible bike repair.

bike pirates, formerly located on bathurst between college and dundas, is moving into an empty store on bloor w just east of lansdowne. it’s not a regular bike shop, instead their tools are available for anyone to use to fix their own bikes and staff are on hand to teach cylcists how to fix their bikes. empowering the cyclist with maintenance and repair knowledge puts them far beyond a simple self serve depot. it is a volunteer run non-profit organisation.

lifestyle learning, be it for fixing bikes, editing personal videos, baking, or home decorating, is life-long, life-wide learning.  why bring your bike to a bike shop and not learn how to take care of your own bike if there is a facility to teach you how to do it through essential project-based learning? it feels good to walk ride away with a sense of accomplishment.

canada moodle moot 2008 canceled

sadly, the upcoming canada moodle moot 2008 has been canceled. a message from one of the organisers:

We are sadly writing to let you know that, despite our best efforts, we are not able to provide an online Canada Moot as planned, nor will York University be offering an onsite Moodle conference during the August 20 – 23, 2008 dates as previously announced.

Canada Moot is cancelling this year’s Moot hosted by York University, as there were not sufficient registrations to support a Moodle Moot.  York plans to offer a more faculty-focused Moodle training event, however not during the August 20 – 23 dates.

We will be issuing full refunds of your registration fee this weekend.  We sincerely apologize for any disruption these changes cause you.  The Knowplace group will be refocusing our efforts on planning the next Canada Moot, most likely hosted by a western-based university again.  We will be pleased to offer presenters and delegates from this year’s event an additional discount.  Watch for more news from us later.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, or the folks at York.  Again, our sincere apologies for any disruption these changes have caused you.

goodbye textbooks, hello open-source learning

richard baraniuk gave a talk 2yrs ago on building the framework for a knowledge eco-system to create and share learning material. he relates open-source learning to the revolution of the music world, in terms of creating, ripping, mixing, and sharing. through connexions, individuals are encouraged to contribute modules that, under a creative commons licence, are free for everyone to use and reuse.

the benefits open-source learning is that the learner can benefit how he/she needs, rather than how a curriculum or a textbook is pre-determined, because the content can be customised to the student’s learning style, language, and interests, and in terms of making learning materal available to people in developing worlds, the content can be translated and customised with a local context to avoid cultural imperialism.

the talk:

a vision of students today

another look at the relevance of technology in traditional classrooms today.

a quote:
“i will read 8 books this year
2300 web pages and 1281 facebook profiles”

another:
“i will write 42 pages for class this semester and over 500 pages of e-mail.”

and another:
“when i graduate, i will probably have a job that doesn’t exist today”

upcoming industry conferences

below is a short list of some recently-announced education and training related industry conferences. previous listings can be found by clicking on the tag labeled industry conferences.

learning technologies africa
sep 8-10, 2008
abuja, nigeria

international conference on business and management education
nov 17-20, 2009
bangkok, thailand

6th conference on e-learning applications
jan 10-12, 2009
cairo, egypt

network centric learning for defence academies and colleges: towards authentic epractices
mar 25-27, 2009
stellenbosch, south africa

canada post community literacy awards finalists

canada post has announced the awards finalists (pdf) for the 2008 canada post community literacy awards.

the awards recognises the contribution to literacy by educators as well as the achievements of adult learners.

congratulations to all finalists and best of luck in the final winners list announcement in early sep.

palabea

palabea is an online community to learn languages and cultures from fellow people (palabeans?). through chat, audio/video lectures, writing, content sharing, virtual classrooms, podcats, language exchanges, and meetups, individuals can learn from over 130 languages from abkhazia to zulu.

there has been an onslaught of online learning comunities that as brought learning 2.0 to the forefront, communities where each person is both a student and a teacher, and i am pleased to see a learning network for language that is structured so well.

if you’d like to teach me norwegian, please send me a hello.  i’m ruyoung there too.

$5 for bike parts turns into teacher training

got five bucks to spare? someone in tajikistan could use a bike part.

i thought i’d collect $5 from as many people as possible in the next 2wks to see how much money i could raise to lend to kiva.org , where you could help rashid choriev raise money to purchase spare parts for bicycles to sell in his local market.

i looked through all of the entrepreneur profiles to choose one i thought was appropriate. i didn’t want to choose anything that involved food, general retail, perfumes, or plastics. instead i found rashid’s profile, who is helping to promote sustainable transportation.

the loan will be repaid through the international microloan fund with a repayment term of 12mos, repaid monthly. and what will i do with your money when it gets repaid to me? the funds that are repaid will be funnelled over to imagine1day.org to pay for teacher training, a charity that i mentioned back in apr.

your donation of $5 helps two organisations. would you consider giving today? here’s how:

cheques, money order, or well concealed cash to:
Rachel Young
2238 Dundas St W
PO Box 59072
Toronto, ON
M6R 3B5

paypal donation to:
ruyoung[at]gmail[dot]com

or catch me in person before aug 1.

corporate sponsored learning

while my focus is adult learning, an article in the palm springs desert sun announced funding for a coachella valley high school for a project-based learning curriculum. the funding wasn’t from the government as would usually be the case for a public school, but rather it was from ford motor company.

the ford partnership for advanced studies contributed approximately $150,000 in cash and resources to anagle students to work on projects that are more closely related to the world of work, such as designing a new product or examining financial constraints.

The assignments “really entice their (the students’) imagination,” said Veronica Moreno-Nicholas, a Cathedral City High teacher who uses the curriculum. “They take ownership of that project.”

an additional $50,000 has been donated to create a resource hub in partnership with the coachella valley economic partnership which will include options for train the trainer sessions.

is corporate-sponsored learning valuable for students? does real and tangible data help in the execution of the curriculum? i’d be interested to see the results of the projects these students work on and what metrics are employed to evaluate their effectiveness.

comparing adult learners in knowledge-based economies

a report from statistics canda contemplates the findings of a study of adult learners between canada, united states, norway, and switzerland.

each country reported nearly or more than 50% of the adult population enrolment in organised forms of adult learning during the year preceding the interview. most said it was for job-related reasons and a very small percentage had been engaged in adult learning for personal reasons.

“The dominance of work-related reasons for participating remains unchanged over a person’s entire working life. It is notable, for example, that close to 90% of Canadians with job tenure of more than 21 years who reported participating in an organized form of adult learning in 2002 did so for job-related reasons, a percentage that is similar to employees who had been in the job for between one and five years.

These results suggest that a large proportion of Canadians are active participants in what is now commonly referred to as the ‘knowledge-based economy’ and are ready to upgrade their skills in order to improve and/or maintain their prospects in the labour market. At the same time, it is becoming rare for Canadian adults to engage in organized learning activities primarily for personal reasons or study for the sake of study.”

it is also worth noting that more than 50% of interviewed learners from all four countries reported that they received financial support from their employer, however learners from the european countries were more still likely to engage in education and training even when unemployed compared to the north american learners interviewed.

the report also contemplates the impact of job and workplace characteristics on adult learning as well as skills match-mismatch and participation in adult learning, but concludes that “it is worth noting that employer support for training favours high-skill workers in jobs with high skill requirements. That raises the question, then, of how best to create education and training opportunities for those in need of skills upgrading.”

living and learning

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mahatma Gandhi

upcoming industry conferences

narrative and interactive learning environments
aug 5-8, 2008
edinburgh, uk

schools in a flat world
sep 10-13, 2008
helsinki, finland

innovations in learning
sep 24-26, 2008
san jose, usa

conference on re-thinking development studies in africa
nov 3-6, 2008
cape coast, ghana

uoc unesco chair in e-learning 5th international seminar: fighting against the digital divide through education
nov 12-14, 2008
barcelona, spain

iceri2008 international conference of education, research, and innovtion
nov 17-19, 2008
madrid, spain

national conference for academic disciplines
mar 23-26, 2009
las vegas, usa

canadian association for university continuing education 2009 annual conference
may 20-29, 2009
vancouver, canada

international conference on teaching and learning (ictl 2009)
nov 16-18, 2009
kuching, malaysia

upcoming industry conferences

e-learning africa
may 28-30
accra, ghana

managing e-learning
may 29-30
melbourne, australia

embracing innovative e-learning technologies
jun 2-4
sydney, australia

ed-media 2008 - world conference on educational multimedia, hypermedia, and telecommunications
jun 3-4
vienna, austria

4th annual e-learning for financial institutions
jun 5-6
rome, italy

cite research symposium 2008 - empowering communities and transforming learning
jun 5-7
hong kong

international conference on educational research and practice
jun 10-11
putrajaya, malaysia

the 2nd conference and exhibition of training managers
jun 10-11
tehran, iran

canadian e-learning conference
jun 17-20
calgary, canada

conference on european education
jun 21-29
riva san vitale, switzerland

celebrating innovative ict in education practices: from idea to impact
jun 24-26
bangkok, thailand

world education forum sa international conference
jun 26-28
adelaide, australia

into seminar on teaching and learning
jun 28
nilai, malaysia

ict and learning for net generation
jul 7-10
kuala lumpur, malaysia

e-learning asia 2008
sep 10-11
seoul, korea

international conference of education, research, and innovation
nov 17-19
madrid, spain

learning technologies 2008
nov 5-7
mooloolaba, australia

e-learn 2008 - world conference on e-learning in corporate, government, healthcare, and higher education
nov 17-21
las vegas, usa

if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

jane pointed me to coursefeed, a mashup of content on a school learning management system (lms) and facebook.

the folks at class top inc found a way to feed the addiction of facebook with a learning purpose. coursefeed allows students to participate in collaborative course work, view announcements and course materials, and network with other students, all without leaving facebook.

as the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

affordable spice for e-learning

instructional spice is driving down the cost of e-learning by offering fun activities that e-learning designers can customise themselves. three easy steps make it happen: creation with instructional spice, publish to flash, and insert into e-learning course. turn a multiple choice test into a scenario with graphics, or a series of multiple choice questions into a fun game.

the free version is packed with options to simplify the evaluation of this service.

i am curious to see how this plugs into an lms and if it is scorm compatible. if so, this could completely change the landscape of e-learning.

text2mindmap

though mindmaps are centuries old, they are becoming increasingly popular in the education industry as a way to visibly catagorise information for easier recall. arranged radially around the topic, the intuition to classify and distinguish based on what is useful for the user helps to strengthen eidetic memory muscles that some believe to dissipate as one ages.

text2mindmap is an open source web application that creates a mindmap out of the users list of words. the user can alter basic appearance options and even download it as a jpeg.

learn canada 2020

last week the council of ministers of education, canada (cmec) released the vision of learn canada 2020, a joint declaration from provincial and territorial ministers of education to address educational needs and aspirations of canadians.

Learn Canada 2020 is the framework the provincial and territorial ministers of education, through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, will use to enhance Canada’s education systems, learning opportunities, and overall education outcomes. The vision of Learn Canada 2020 is Quality Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All Canadians.

Learn Canada 2020 recognizes the direct link between a well-educated population and (1) a vibrant knowledge-based economy in the 21st Century, (2) a socially progressive, sustainable society, and (3) enhanced personal growth opportunities for all Canadians.

it encompasses the four pillars of lifelong learning (early childhood learning and development, elementary to high school systems, post-secondary education, and adult learning and skill development) and identifies specific activity areas and accompanying objectives:

• Literacy: Raise the literacy levels of Canadians.
• Aboriginal Education: Eliminate the gap in academic achievement and graduation rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students.
• Postsecondary Capacity: Enhance and stabilize the long-term capacity of postsecondary systems to meet the training and learning needs of all Canadians seeking higher education learning opportunities.
• Education for Sustainable Development: Raise students’ awareness and encourage them to become actively engaged in working for a sustainable society.
• International and National Representation: Speak effectively and consistently for education and learning in Canada in both pan-Canadian and international settings.
• Official Languages: Promote and implement support programs for minority-language education and second-language programs that are among the most comprehensive in the world.
• Learning Assessment Programs and Performance Indicators: Support the implementation of national and international learning assessment programs and performance indicators for education systems.
• Education Data and Research Strategy: Create comprehensive, long-term strategies to collect, analyze, and disseminate nationally and internationally comparable data and research.

[ the full declaration ]

“We are committed, each in our own jurisdiction and collectively through CMEC, to ensuring that Canada leads the world in learning,” said Raymond Théberge, Director General of CMEC. “Learn Canada 2020 provides us with a shared vision that can be realized according to the unique needs and situation of each province and territory.”

upcoming live webcasts from innovate

upcoming live e-learning webcats of interest:

Preparing e-Learning Designers Using Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning
Authors: Joni Dunlap, Jackie Dobrovolny & Dave Young
April 24, 2008
11:00 AM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=490&action=article

Moving from Theory to Real-World Experiences in an e-Learning Community
Author: Ana-Paula Correia
May 12, 2008
1:00 PM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=495&action=article

Game-Based Learning: A Different Perspective
Author: Karl Royle
May 14, 2008
11:00 AM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=433&action=article

literacy and policing in canada

a focus group was held in thunder bay last month about targeting crime with literacy. input from frontline officers, supervisors, and investigators contributed to establishing the roles the police play when dealing with civilians who may have literacy challenges. this literacy project from the canadian association of chiefs of police identifies:

A high percentage of people who are convicted of criminal offences have low literacy skills. Low literacy can prevent a person’s understanding of the criminal justice system and processes. The Literacy and Policing project is developing police training materials to increase police effectiveness in communicating with all those who come into contact with the law: victims of crime, suspects, witnesses and the general public. This fall, learning materials will be available online to all officers across the country.

canadian local police services can get involved by contacting the co-chair of the crime prevention committee:

dorothy ahlgren-franklin
(613) 725-1555
frankly@magma.ca

imagine1day - lowering the barriers to education

while my primary focus is adult education, once in a while something in other areas of education and learning catches my interest and i want to blog about it.

chip wilson, founder of lululemon athletica, a popular yoga clothing chain, and his wife have invested $10million from their ipo launch to start imagine1day.

imagine1day is a charitable organisation that helps to bring primary education to northern ethiopia. however, in a recent interview on the hour (warning: video autoplay), wilson explains that it isn’t just about building a school and supplying it with books and teachers. it’s about taking care of the community so that education is possible.

he explains that perhaps one family could have a father dying of aids, a mother who has to go out to work extra to support the family, but they live 20miles from where the school is built, so they need to take care of the community and the families, in addition to developing ways to incorporate a sewage system, a fresh water system, etc.

i think imagine1day is really making charitable work more accessible by the way they break down what they need, total quantity, and remaining quantity needed. donations start at as little as $10. other options are very affordable. some examples:

teacher training
- practical training for 4 teachers on active learning, student centre approach, monitoring and evaluation, as well as continuous assessment
- needed 4
- remaining 3
- $57.47 per person

formation and traing of school pta’s
- workshop to establish and provide training for the parent teacher association
- needed 5
- remaining 4
- $114.95 per person

community education on health care
- 20 community educators will receive 20 days of basic health care education, including disease prevention (malaria and hiv/aids)
- needed 20
- remaining 16
- $45.98 per person

i’m going to keep an eye on this charity and work that into a fundraisng opportunity soon. it is great to see a canadian success story making a difference in the world in an unrelated industry.