Taking Charge of Learning: Tips for Students: Syllabus

David G. Brown

"My recurring pedagogical theme is that each student is at the center of his or her learning. As teachers-professors we catalyze. We coach. We connect. In the end, however, each student must take personal responsibility for learning. Properly used, each student's computer is an efficient and very effective tool that enhances the pursuit of this responsibility. "

I could not agree more.

Paving the Way to Excellence in eLearning

A report produced by the National Learning Network, a national partnership programme designed to increase the uptake of Information and Learning Technology (ILT) across the learning and skills sector in England.

Stephen's Web ~

Online Conference Discussions

This article by Stephen Downes provides some interesting suggestions for adding online components to face-to-face conferences. However, there are so many variables to take into account that generalizations are very difficult.

Under what conditions will an online component add the most value to an event? How does the online component help to address the conference's objectives?

What do we mean by an online component? Are we just talking about a conference web site with key documents, presentations, etc.. or a discussion space where conference participants can communicate before, during and after the live event?

What about conferences that are entirely online, live or asynchronous...

Who should be invited to participate in online discussions associated with a conference and what is the exact purpose of such discussions? Are these really "discussions" where participants are expected to interact with each other or is the purpose primarily to allow participants to post questions/comments, without truly interacting with each other and/or with speakers.

Announcing the online discussions in conjunction with the announcement for the live event can be tricky because the target audiences can be different. Are the expected online participants people who will be attending the live event as well or are those people who cannot attend the live event at all? One more complication: What if the people participating online are able to see a webcast of the live event but are not able to interact directly with speakers in any other way than through the online discussion element?