Open Educational Practices

/ by /author/wambeke/

UNESCO,  EFQUEL and several other partners launched a new initiative, called Open Educational Quality Initiative and highlights the importance of Open Educational Practices. This concept moves beyond the usual term of Open Educational Resources that mainly focussed on making content accessible. The new term has a broader focus on  the quality of education and training and innovate educational practices on institutional, professional and individual level. DELTA participated recently in the European Consultative Group at the Innovation Forum in Lisbon, Portugal in order to give feedback to this interesting project.

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Motivation and Learning

, / by /author/wambeke/

Have a look at the following movie of Dan Pink on motivational research.  If autonomy, mastery and purpose are the key ingredients of motivation what kind of implications does this have for instructional design, learning and training?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded]

The growing importance of social media

, / by /author/wambeke/

Social media is becoming more and more important, also for learning and training institutions.  In the upcoming ITC-ILO WebforDev course a community of practicioners will evaluate the impact  of web 2.0 trends in the field of learning and training. Do we use social media in order to innovate the way we learn and train and where can it create a pedagogical added value ? Think about it and have a look at the revised version of the social media revolution.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng&feature=youtube_gdata]

On innovation and creativity

/ by /author/wambeke/

To innovate yourself you need to be able to see the same things through different eyes (perspectives). Last week an innovation workshop was held at ITC-ILO where we learned to apply some innovating techniques on our own courses. Some of the tools and techniques we would like to share:

Test yourself:

First of all take the creativity test to measure your creativity in 8 different areas. The result visualizes your profile, compared to others that took the test. You can do the test here.

Think in functions:

If you learn to think in functions you make abstractions from the immediate context. Do the exercise with : “How to get water out of a glass, without touching the glass“. Once you have the function right (cf. moving water) you can start to explore the knowledge database that will show you how many solutions were found related to the same function. In short: do not re-invent the wheel, take stock of what exists and choose new and innovative ways that will respond to your specific need (function).

More inspiration

In order to take stock of innovations in learning and training we invite the readers of this blog to contribute with their innovations. CREAX hosted a More Inspiration Catalogue with innovative samples. Maybe we can also host our own innovation museum in learning and training.

Innovate learning ideas welcome !

Some ideas ?

Speedreading/learning ? Subliminal learning & sleep learning? Augmented learning? Visual learning? Segmented learning? Under water learning?

Visualizing with Infographics

, / by /author/wambeke/

Information graphics are visual representations of information, data and knowledge. It is an ideal instrument to present or communicate complex information in a simple way. This makes it also a useful tool for learning and training. It quickly conveys knowledge and it engages viewers.

In comparison with the mindmapping technique the visual factor of infographics is more important. It includes usually visual elements such as signs, charts, maps, or diagrams that enhance comprehension of a given text-based content.

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Using backchannels in learning events

, , / by /author/wambeke/

DELTA is currently contributing to a learning event on South-South cooperation in Cartagena, Colombia. To explore new formats of organizing events we want to try out the backchannel. As the name suggests it’s an additional channel of communication which takes place in the background to the main channel which in the case of learning events is occupied by speakers or panels of experts  The backchannel is projected at a second screen next to the main screen where participants can send messages, comments, feedback or questions.

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Augmented reality

/ by /author/wambeke/

The first blogpost of 2010 wants to look into the already present future through exploring the potential of augmented reality. It consists in a mix of elements from the real physical world with elements from a virtual computer generated world. Through these virtual elements the reality is augmented in real-time. Tom Caudell, a Boeing researcher defines it as following: “Augmented reality is the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment that’s displayed in real-time.” For a lot of learning professionals this may sound quite technical. This is why we introduce the following movie which explains some practical learning applications based on augmented reality.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18SZuG1m7WM]

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Pecha Kucha

, / by /author/wambeke/

Pecha Kucha is an alternative presentation format that is based on a very simple idea : 20 images x 20 seconds,  a total time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The format makes presentations short and concise in order to stimulate audience attention.  Pecha Kucha originated in Tokyo in 2003 as an innovative way for young designers to meet, network and show their work in public. The upcoming Learning Link at the Centre is keen on integrating innovative presentation and facilitation methods. We hope to present some of the results of this upcoming event on this blog.

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UN microblogging. The rise of twitter.

, , / by /author/wambeke/

Twitter has been non-stop in the news lately. According to EDUCAUSE we could consider Twitter as an on-line application which is part blog, part social network application and part mobile phone/IM tool. Users update on a regular base their network in 140 charachters on their projects, ideas, experiences, thoughts, …  and it this way Twitter creates a interconnected network of users. People either access it through the internet or through their mobile phone.  Organizations start to pick up twitter as a tool for external communication, public relations and continuous dialogue with their stakeholders. Development organisations use it to promote their mission statement. A series of UN agencies (UNHCR, UNDP, FAO, IAEA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNODC, UNESCO, WFP, UN Staff College, UNITAR)  are already involved and other organizations do so too  (World Bank, OECD).  The Web2forDev site identifies microblogging as a useful tool for internal knowledge sharing.

twitter_love

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Shift happens

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8pmIr3a7k]

What does it all mean for ITC-ILO in the way we should design and deliver training?