Guiding e-learning: introducing online informal learning to a global voluntary organisation

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is the umbrella organisation for Member Organisations from 145 countries around the world, with a total membership of ten million. While Member Organisations offer training and development within their own countries, WAGGGS offers international opportunities. This project seeks to explore how technology can be used to offer similar opportunities to those provided by the face-to-face courses to a much wider audience, while retaining the community and interactive learning aspects of the existing programmes.

E-learning opens the door to the global community. Novice users experiences of e-learning in a Somali University

E-learning has become one of the primary ways of delivering education around the globe. In Somalia, which is a country torn within and from the global community by a prolonged civil war, University of Hargeisa has in collaboration with Dalarna University in Sweden adopted, for the first time, e-learning. This study explores barriers and facilitators to e-learning usage, experienced by students in Somalia’s higher education, using the University of Hargeisa as case study. Interviews were conducted with students to explore how University of Hargeisa’s novice users perceived elearning, and what factors positively and negatively affected their e-learning experiences. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used as a framework for interpreting the results. The findings show that, in general, the students have a very positive attitude towards e-learning, and they perceived that e-learning enhanced their educational experience. The communication aspect was found to be especially important for Somali students, as it facilitated a feeling of belonging to the global community of students and scholars and alleviated the war-torn country’s isolation. However, some socio-cultural aspects of students’ communities negatively affected their e-learning experience. This study ends with recommendations based on the empirical findings to promote the use and enhance the experience of e-learning in post conflict Somali educational institutions

Educational partnerships on-line: global collaborative learning through an on-line student exchange programme

Deakin University and the University of Calgary have used the internet to provide workplace-based learners with the possibility of a student exchange programme which does not disrupt their careers, lives or families.  The programmes involved in this on-line exchange were both developed in response to the needs of workplace learners and are representative of the role of universities in the field of life-long learning.  This paper describes the first phase of the exchange and discusses the shared pedagogical philosophies and shared implementation of on-line groupware which provided a rationale for the exchange.  The paper will explore the cross-cultural implications of the educational experience and the possibilities such an exchange opens up for life-long learners.

Reflections on teaching and learning online: quality program design, delivery and support issues from a cross-global perspective

This reflective paper began with a discussion of the online program design and delivery experiences of three senior faculty members at the University of Calgary (Canada) and Deakin University (Australia), which was recorded at Deakin University. After drawing on this recording in their research and practice, one faculty member from each institution decided to review and expanded upon their intervening experiences in terms of issues of quality program design, delivery, and support issues when teaching, and learning in different cultural contexts. The authors discovered that these issues are as important today as they were when they met to record the interview, and have concluded their discussion here with thoughts about the teaching, student, and administrative supports that institutions engaged in online program delivery cross-culturally must address in order to successfully deliver quality online programs worldwide.

Just do it? Branding, fashion and globalisation. A teaching and learning unit in global citizenship for the middle years

Presents to teaching guide on global citizenship for the middle years in Australian schools. Position of young people in consumerism; Impact of advertising on young consumers; Attitudes of students toward global branding.

Futures for teachers? Unravelling global agencies development agendas in education and training and lifelong learning

This 20-page paper was presented in June 2001 at an invitational conference hosted by the Education Policy Research Group at Keele University. The theme of the conference was “travelling policy/local spaces: globalisation, identities and education policy in Europe“. Linked from the events page at http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ed/events/conf papers.htm, this document is one of 22 papers from the conference that are presented in full text. The paper is organised in three sections, firstly examining the local impact of the application of a global development agenda on educational practices in Victoria, Australia, then analysing policy texts issued by the OECD, Unesco, and the Word Bank, and finally interpreting the data in the light of interagency politics and the authors‘ reading of the global-local dynamics of the educational restructuring in Victoria.

The manifestation of varieties of blended learning pedagogy (BLP) : interplay between academic, institutional and global pedagogy

Despite the increased recognition of the potential use of online technologies to deliver flexible and student-centered learning environments in higher education, there are numerous critiques that its usage does not transform the daily practices of teaching and learning. This paper draws on some of the findings from three case studies that explored the manifestation of blended learning pedagogies (BLP). Six academics teaching at three different higher education contexts at two different countries, namely Australia and Malaysia were interviewed. The study aimed to interrogate the different manifestation of BLP at the different contexts of higher education, highlighting the complex interplay between the users (academics), technology and the specific socio-cultural contexts. Focusing on the academic identities that are shaped and reshaped within its socio-cultural context, this study demonstrated the complexity and fluidity of the manifestation of the different varieties of BLP. It contributes to further understanding the ways in which online technologies are used in teaching and learning within context of global knowledge economy that emphasizes flexibility and active co-production of knowledge.

Is this an ipad revolution or mobile learning revolution? A global perspective across countries : " iWorld, iLearn"

 This evolution of mobile technologies and application integration in education across the world has provided a shift to a new learning environment via various mobile platforms.Educational institutions globally are missing to identify specific mobile technologies initiatives and strategies as a method to evaluate these mobile technologies and to expose both students and teachers to the potential it engenders.This panel will undertake a cross country comparison among culturally diverse countries: Turkey,UAE,USA,Lebanon,Iceland,Israel,Japan,Germany.Questions will be raised such as:Why some countries are branding mobile learning and their integration of these technologies has been made device specific, app specific and operating system specific?Is this the right approach?The digital gap between countries will be discussed?Availability access, barriers and limitations for some countries are described.We will try to figure out similarities,differences and challenges among these countries.

The ipad global embrace! Are we branding mobile learning?

 Mobile computing is taking the educational institutions into a new era of instruction. Educational institutions globally are opting for new mobile devices to integrate, and it seems that the vast majority are integrating the iPad without even looking at other options, they are unintentionally branding mobile learning. We believe that mobile learning should not be branded, should not be restricted and should not be made device specific, operating system specific, controlled and brand specific. This paper is based on a global panel discussion entitled: Is this an iPad Revolution or Mobile Learning Revolution. Also this paper presents an argument as to why is the iPad dominating in education with a focus on the current iPad initiatives in the UAE, few possible assumptions on why educational institutions are opting for the iPad are discussed, and some suggested recommendations on what educational institutions should know before making the decision about this integration.

Internationalising the curriculum: student learning in the global experience program

Outcomes include critical analyses of student teacher learning from teaching practicum in Vanuatu; the intercultural sensitivity and competence; the notion of professional learning in the light of internationalisation of the curriculum, and the potentials and limitations of the GEP for achieving the goals of internationalisation of the curriculum

Managing Indian IT professionals for global competitiveness: the role of human resource practices in developing knowledge and learning capabilities for innovation

Little is known about how human resource practices contribute towards the competitiveness of people based-knowledge intensive organisations in developing countries. This paper examines the role of human resource practices in developing knowledge and learning capabilities for innovation in the Indian information technology services sector. The study draws from the experience of a sample of 11 of the largest information technology service providers (ITSPs) in India and is based on in-depth interviews. The main finding suggests that the talent management architecture of ITSPs that comprises human resource practices and the development of knowledge and learning capabilities is the main drivers of innovation. A conceptual framework showing the link between human resource practices, knowledge and learning capabilities and innovation of ITSPs is developed followed by the limitations of the study and avenues for future research.

Labour markets, worker protection and lifelong learning in a global economy: experiences and perspectives of Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Open regionalism, nation-states and the learning process of integrating into a global trading system

Includes bibliography