Tools for lifelong learning: identity, movement and standards

Within the global information society, how realistic are claims that technology is being used to shift educational boundaries? What tools and practices are influencing learner flexibility and mobility? Key themes to be explored include: ongoing developments in tools for lifelong learning; the challenges for quality assurance posed by the rise of international degrees; and the tensions between standardisation and innovation.

BackgroundInformationLL

DiscussionServices

Policies of the national governments

VPL in Short. A Dutch/EU research from the Leonardo Project by Ruud Duvekot

Report from the Dutch government

http://www.edusite.nl/edusite/nieuws/14953

HEFCE strategy for e-learning. This document sets out our strategy and implementation plan for supporting higher education institutions to develop and embed e-learning over the next 10 years. It reflects responses to the consultation on our draft strategy, and has been developed jointly with the Higher Education Academy and the Joint Information Systems Committee.

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_12/

General reports about Lifelong Learning

Unesco As the world becomes more and more globalized, education is increasingly crossing borders--be they national, regional, sectoral or institutional. At the same time, educational systems must respond to other profound changes, such as the explosion of knowledge and the development of information and communication technology (ICT). The present volume deals with distance higher education systems – especially those designed for lifelong learners – in the context of these changes.

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=43858&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

The NMC's Emerging Technologies Initiative focuses on expanding the boundaries of teaching, learning and creative expression by creatively applying new tools in new contexts. The Horizon Project, the centerpiece of this initiative, charts the landscape of emerging technologies and produces the NMC’s annual Horizon Report.

http://www.nmc.org/horizon/

A study to identify whether and in what ways the content, structure, teaching modes ans assessment procedures of undergraduate degrees are designed to lead to the formation of attributes which both enable and encourage graduates to become lifelong learners.

http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/AF55BDE9-B90B-466C-A7C8-E938D1515C46/3933/94_21.pdf

Report from a European project about Lifelong Learning with Dutch, Belgian and Bulgarian participants. Finished in 2004.

http://www.uu.nl/content/FinalreportMalleproject.pdf

A recent report on funding for lifelong learning.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/reports/doc/lllfunding.pdf

TNO has written a report about e-learning some time ago (2002) but still very relevant to the discussions about lifelong learning and scenario's for lifelong learning.

http://www.onderwijsraad.nl/pdfdocs/eindversie_tno_rapport.PDF

The Observatory on borderless higher educationTracking developments in areas such as e-learning, growth in private and corporate education, developing markets and international collaboration.
http://www.obhe.ac.uk

Literature about specific tools for Lifelong Learning

e-Portfolio

Managed Environments for Portfolio-based Reflective Learning
http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/FDTL4
An FDTL4 ePortfolios project. This is a 3 year collaborative project involving the Universities of Newcastle (lead site), Leeds, Sheffield and Dundee.

Electronic portfolio in the Netherlands (pdf document)
http://www.surf.nl/en/download/Electronic_Portfolio_Netherlands.pdf
NL Portfolio presents in this brochure an up to date overview of e-portfolio developments in the Netherlands through a selection of papers in English written by Dutch portfolio specialists.

White paper from the ALT Spring Research Seminar 2004

http://www.surf.nl/publicaties/index2.php?oid=163

Collaboration tools

The Candle project . The objective of this European project is to use the Internet to improve the quality and reduce the cost of ICT teaching in Europe by using web and multimedia technology, and to enable co-operation between universities and industry in creating and reusing learning material and improving the quality of delivery.

http://www.candle.eu.org/

Information from different participants in the seminar

In DutchCollaboration tools only: De EU wil een gestandaardiseerde, vrij beschikbare infrastructuur ontwikkelen die de Europese ambities van competentiegericht, levenslang leren een sterke impuls moet geven. Het vierjarig R&D project TENCompetence moet deze infrastructuur technisch en organisatorisch realiseren. Meer informatie over dit project:

http://www.ou.nl/eCache/DEF/18/652.html

Weblog of one of the participants of the seminar, Lilia Efimova

http://blog.mathemagenic.com/

- Legitimised theft: distributed apprenticeship in weblog networks - https://doc.telin.nl/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-39424/

- Learning webs: Learning in weblog networks - https://doc.telin.nl/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-35344/

- Converging knowledge management, training and e-learning: scenarios to make it work - https://doc.telin.nl/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-30275/

Ruud Duvekot, participant in the seminar, is director of EVC, Knowledge Centre for Prior Learning. In Dutch only.

http://www.kenniscentrumevc.nl/evc_nl/evc_nl_homepage.php

Please feel free to add other resources