[15/10/2007]
Between October 17 and 19, the UOC UNESCO Chair in E-Learning is organizing their Fourth International Seminar, with the title Web 2.0 and education. These conferences, addressed to academics and senior managers on university boards, have as their objective to debate and reflect on the changes that web 2.0 has introduced in the educational field. The opening session, entitled "Web 2.0 and education", will be led by the Vice-rector of Technology, Dr. Llorenç Valverde, and by the sub-director of the IN3, Julià Minguillón. The seminar will take place in the UOC support center for the Barcelona's region (Ave. Drassanes, 3-5).
UOC UNESCO Chair in E-Learning organizes a seminar on web 2.0 and education
The introduction of ICTs in the educational field has meant the opening of a wide range of opportunities for improvement and modification of educational paradigms in higher education. After several years of lethargy in internet, this process of change and improvement has undergone considerable progress due to the arrival of tools belonging to what is called web 2.0, concept that serves to frame a series of tools –wiki, blog, virtual reality environments, etc.– that can be labeled under the term multi-user virtual environments, which break the barrier between creators and consumers of information following the philosophy of open educational resources. This seminar has been organized around three axes:
- Platforms and tools: the possibilities of 2.0 tools and of multi-user virtual environments will be analyzed from the educational point of view, their limits, advantages and possible shortcomings.
- Users: will explore the changes that web 2.0 has and may introduce from the point of view of the different agents of the learning process, focusing on users.
- Educational paradigm changes: this will cover the role of Public Administration as catalyst of all these changes within educational systems.
The sessions are organized around case studies and successful experiences linked to university institutions.
UNESCO Chair of E-Learning
The objective of the UNESCO Chair in E-Learning of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya is to
promote an integrated system of research activities, learning, information and documentation on the
positive effects that use of information and communication technologies (ICT) represents for
universities. The promotion of equality of opportunities in access to ICTs constitutes the central
aim upon which the activity of the Chair is structured, becoming the integrating element that gives
coherence to its main activities. In this sense, the International Seminar has been conceived as a
framework for the dissemination and exchange of knowledge and experiences linked to the
relationship between university and virtual learning. Its aim is to look deeply into the knowledge
and analysis of the main elements and challenges faced by the university of the 21st century.
Information Society