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From the Director’s Desk

This issue contains an interesting article on Digital Learning

Objects Repository for Special Education from the Universiti

Sains Malaysia, and a report on the Teleconferencing

Presentation Skills and Low Cost - IP Based Teleconferencing

using Skype from the Wawasan Open University, Malaysia. It

almost appears as if, Educomm Asia is receiving article

contributions only from Malaysia. May I, in the capacity of

Editor-in-Chief, of the Educomm Asia, as well as Director,

Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, request

all our readers to send in their stories from the other member

states of Commonwealth Asia.

Both the Commonwealth Of Learning (COL) and its regional

Office the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia

(CEMCA) have been actively engaged in encouraging the use

of ICT enabled learning. CEMCA had conducted a second/

Advanced Multimedia Training for the Haryana Open School

in the last quarter of the year and has also been busy with

imparting Quality Governance skills to ODL practitioners other

than Academics in the School of Open Learning, University of

Delhi. CEMCA has initiated a series of workshops/capacity

building programmes in collaboration with the National

Institute of Open Schooling, (NIOS) for the Assam State Open

School, Guwahati, Assam. Apart from that, CEMCA is occupied

with organizing the Regional Consultations for propagating

awareness on the Community Radio on behalf of the Ministry

of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. CEMCA

has organized four Regional Consultations on Community

Radio Awareness for the Ministry of Information and Broad-

casting, Government of India, in this quarter - 3 Regional

Consultations in Guwahati, Assam, Solan, Himachal Pradesh,

and Raipur, Chhattisgarh. There were no Community Radio

Stations in these places at the time of planning the

Vol. 14 No. 3 March 2009

Regional Consultations. Very senior officials of the Ministry of

Information & Broadcasting, such as Sh. Uday Kumar Varma,

Additional Secretary, MIB, Ms. Asha Swaroop, Chief Secretary,

Government of Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Bajendra Kumar,

Secretary to Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, have all participated

in these consultations. Mr. Tarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister,

Government of Assam, inaugurated the Guwahati Regional

Consultation.

CEMCA has been able to mentor close to a 1000 institutions -

educational, agricultural, and civil society organizations

during the 8 Regional Consultations that have been organized

since November 2007. The climax was the attendance of

approximately 100 civil society organizations in Raipur. We

estimate that more than 100 of them have applied for

Community Radio License.

In the Quality Assessment for Multimedia Learning Material

front we had the 4th Round Table in Kuala Lumpur in

October 2008 and the 5th RTM is scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd

of April 2009. Our Assessment indicators are being filed tested

across several institutions in India and Malaysia.

CEMCA and the Indira Gandhi National Open University have

also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in January

2009. This MOU will facilitate the learners of the Indira Gandhi

National Open University enrolled in the Certificate Programme

on Community Radio Management, a six month academic

programme offered by IGNOU in collaboration with CEMCA.

CEMCA is also offering full scholarship covering the entire

programme as well as registration fee for 75 learners from

India and 75 learners from across Commonwealth Asia. The

Certificate Programme on Community Radio Management has

been offered since January 2009 by the Indira Gandhi National

Open University. We hope our readers from across the region

will apply for this programme.

Inside

Guest Column.............................3

Case Study................................6

CEMCA Bulletin Board...............10

Technology Tips.......................16

Regional News...........................18

Technology Watch.....................20

News from COL.........................23

Forthcoming Events..................24

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Another timely intervention by our Head Office in the area of

education is the venture between UNICEF and COL for Child -

Friendly Schools (CFS). UNICEF (The United Nations Children's

Based on the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC),

key principles of the CFS can be used to generate desired

features/characteristics for CFS in particular settings. These

in turn can be reviewed against the reality of available

resources over a given time frame, to arrive at a set of

feasible standards for the design and implementation of

CFS in a given country.

The key principles that drive the CFS process are so inter-

related that efforts to interpret and implement any one of

these principles invariable sets off a "chain reaction" that

leads to other related principles coming into play.

Fund) is collaborating with COL (the Commonwealth Of

Learning) to help promote its Child Friendly Schools

programme. The Child - Friendly School Model is the major

means through which UNICEF advocates for and promotes

quality in basic and primary education. Child - Friendly Schools

go beyond good teaching practices and learning outcomes.

A short excerpt from the CFS framework will give us an idea

of what CFS constitutes. While COL will work with partner

institutions in 9 countries in Africa - Botswana, Lesotho,

Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland and South

Africa, CEMCA on behalf of COL will work with partner

institutions in Sri Lanka, the only Commonwealth Asian

country in the 10 countries agreed upon so far.

We hope you enjoy going through this issue. Happy Reading!

Best regards,R. Sreedher

News Flash

CEMCA catalyzed the award of grant to 17 CR Stations, by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of

India, Rashtriya Vigyan Avam Prodyogiki Parishad, for two projects: Science for Women's Health and Nutrition and

Planet Earth. The fol lowing CR Stations are the recipients for the Science for Women's Health and

Nutrition Project:

1. Kongu Engineering College, Community Radio Station, Erode, Tamil Nadu

2. Aditanar College of Arts And Science, Community Radio Station, Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu

3. Sri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, Community Radio Station, Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh

4. University of Pune, Community Radio Station, Pune, Maharashtra

The recipients of the Planet Earth Project are:

1. Apno Radio, Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Tonk, Rajasthan

2. Anna University, Community Radio Station, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

3. CMS Lucknow, Community Radio Station, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

4. University of Delhi, Community Radio Station, Delhi

5. GNGC, Community Radio Station, Ludhiana, Punjab

6. Holy Cross College, Community Radio Station, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu

7. Kongu Engineering College, Community Radio Station, Erode, Tamil Nadu

8. M O P Vaishnav College, Community Radio Station, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

9. Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Community Radio Station, Puducherry

10. PSG College of Technology, Community Radio Station, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

11. Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Community Radio Station, Bangalore, Karnataka

12. University of Agricultural Sciences, Community Radio Station, Dharwad, Karnataka

13. Vasundhara Vahini, Vidya Pratisthan Institute of Information Technology, Community Radio Station, Baramati, Maharashtra

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l wah@usm.my 2 rich@usm.my 3 osl@usm.my

Introducing ePKhas: A Digital Learning Objects Repository for Special Education

Abstract

This article introduces ePKhas, the first digital learning objectsrepository for special educators in Malaysia. This repository aimsat harnessing the power of technology for the advancement oftheory and practice in special education. The digital learningobjects in ePKhas include digital-based lesson plans, multime-dia learning objects and digital-based articles which are seman-tically linked. These digital learning objects are stored in an onlinerepository which serves four main functions: management andretrieval, construction (Lesson Builder), research and evaluation,and collaborative sharing and learning. ePKhas is located athttp://epkhas.ses.usm.my. ePKhas serves as a virtual place wherespecial educators in Malaysia can go to search and downloadresources, get teaching ideas and create resources to be sharedwith other special educators.

Introduction

Technology is currently one of the most important growingareas in special education. Its role to 'minimise deterioration infunctioning, to maintain a level of functioning, or to achieve agreater level of functioning in any major life activity" is providedin the Assistive Technology Act (AT Act, 2004). The focus ofthis article is on instructional technology to enhance teachingand learning in special education through the development ofdigital learning objects.

Current Scenario in Malaysia

Special education in Malaysia is currently provided by three mainorganizations, namely the Ministry of Education, the Ministry ofNational Unityand Social Devel-opment [Depart-ment of SocialWelfare] andvar-ious non-government or-ganizations. Most students with disabilities in Malaysia are edu-cated in either specialised or integrated settings rather than ininclusive settings. Those in special educational settings usuallyfollow a specialized curriculum that is taught by special educa-tion teachers. Organisations serving students with disabilitieshave on their own invested in technology as a means to supportthe teaching and learning process. Now that the hardware tech-nology is made available, there is however, a dearth of suitable

Lay Wah Lee1, Abdul Rashid Mohamed2, Saw Lan Ong3,School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800 USM, Penang

Guest Column...Guest Column...

software resources for students with special needs that arerelevant to the Malaysian context (Lee, 2007).

The Solution: ePKhasThe solution advocated to solve the current problem of lack oftechnology-based instructional resources for special educationis to create digital learning objects that are relevant for theMalaysian language and context. The creation of the digital learn-ing objects should take into consideration the learning charac-teristics of students with special needs, principles of good in-struction for students with special needs, the special educationcurriculum and the local language and situational context. Thecreation of these digital learning objects inevitably led to thequestion of dissemination and management of these digital learn-ing objects. As the current trend is towards online retrieval ofknowledge, the development of an online digital learning ob-jects repository to disseminate and manage resources wasdeemed the best solution. The combined product of both thedigital learning objects and the learning objects repository iscalled ePKhas, which is an acronym for sumber e-pengajaran danpembelajaran multimedia untuk pendidikan khas (multimediae-resources for teaching and learning in special education).ePKhas is the only digital learning objects repository forspecial education in Malaysia and can be assessed throughhttp://epkhas.ses.usm.my.

The Rationale for ePKhasePKhas was developed based on the rationale of harnessing thepower of technology to advance theory and practice of instruc-tion in special education (Lee, 2008). Through encouraging thedevelopment of multimedia learning resources that correspondto the cognitive capability of students with special needs andthat are relevant for our Malaysian context and language, it ishoped that sustainable sharing of knowledge and skills via mul-timedia learning objects across different organizations servingstudents with special needs throughout Malaysia can be achieved(Lee, 2008).

Defining Digital Learning Objects in ePKhasThe last few years have seen the growth of digital learningobjects for online teaching and learning. Learning objects aredescribed as 'any digital resources that can be reused to sup-port learning' (Wiley, 2000). It generally applies to educationalmaterials that are designed and created in small chunks so thatthese resources can be maximized and utilized in a number oflearning situations.

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Most digital learning objects on the Internet are intended forindependent online student learning. This form of independ-ent learning however are not necessarily appropriate for stu-dents with disabilities particularly students with intellectualdisabilities who might benefit more from scaffolding activitiesprovided by adults. Based on this justification, the digital learn-ing objects in ePKhas are developed for the purpose of increas-ing the teaching and learning repertoire of special educationteachers. As special educational services in Malaysia are cur-rently provided mostly in special educational and integratedsettings rather than in inclusive settings, the digital learningobjects are therefore created to fulfil the needs of teachers insuch settings. Even though the digital learning objects are notcreated for the purpose of catering to diversity in inclusive set-tings, as is the current trend, it is developed to encourage con-tent presentation in multiple media and multiple format. Thisis the interpretation of universal design in ePKhas. The use ofmultiple media has been shown to encourage learning amongchildren with disabilities (Lee, 2007). Three types of digitallearning objects are created for ePKhas. These are digital-basedlesson plans, multimedia-based learning objects and digital-based articles. Figure 1 illustrates the digital learning objectsand their semantic linkages.

Figure 1: Digital learning objects in ePKhas

i. Lesson plans in ePKhas

Effective instruction begins with good instructional design andplanning. Each lesson plan in ePKhas is structured into six stages:preplanning tasks, lesson introduction, lesson body, lesson as-sessment, lesson closing and lesson generalization. Each of thesestages is subdivided into instructional events. For example, thelesson introduction stage consists of three instructional events:set induction, recall of prior knowledge and introduction of thelesson objective. Multimedia learning objects (refer to next sec-tion) are developed to support particular instructional events.A digital lesson plan can be aggregated to multiple multimedialearning objects in multiple instructional sequences based onpedagogical needs. However, not all instructional events mayrequire a multimedia learning object and some instructionalevents may be supported with more than one multimedia learn-ing object. The deliberate and explicit linkages made betweenthe multimedia learning objects and instructional events in a les-son plan is intended to provide the special education teacherswith a more comprehensive idea of how multimedia learning

objects can be incorporated effectively into their daily instruc-tions. The aggregation and linking of multimedia learning ob-jects to lesson plans create a pedagogically sound semantic net-work of the available resources to teaching instructions.

ii. Multimedia learning objects

As was described above, multimedia learning objects may beused to support instructional events such as introduction of alesson, teaching of a particular skill or concept or for assessmentpurposes. These multimedia learning objects are modular, stand-alone objects which can function on its own, or which can beaggregated to instructional events in various digital lesson plans.This encourages reusability as well as adaptability of the learn-ing objects. The multimedia learning objects in ePKhas includeaudio, video, pdf, PowerPoint presentations, word documents,animations, and interactive Flash files. The current phase of de-velopment focuses on multimedia learning objects for intel-lectual disabilities. These multimedia learning objects are de-veloped based on the learning objectives in the Special Educa-tion Curriculum for Primary and Secondary Students with Learn-ing Disabilities (Special Education Unit, 2003). The content isdesigned based on the categories and taxonomies found in thesaid curriculum which include learning objectives from differ-ent developmental domains namely the adaptive, cognitive, com-municative, physical and social-emotional domains. To conformto the international standards of multimedia learning objects,the multimedia learning objects in ePKhas is tagged with metadata based on the IEEE LOM standard (LTSC, 2002). The multi-media learning objects and lesson plans that are created is storedin the ePKhas repository management system.

iii. Articles

Articles in ePKhas are short and concise for the purpose of ex-plaining a particular concept or idea related to the teaching andlearning processes in special education. These articles are meantfor practical and functional purposes; helping teachers to un-derstand the underlying theories and concepts of the strategiesand activities found in the lesson plans and in the multimedialearning objects.

The ePKhas Repository

The ePKhas repository is developed to serve five main functions:management and retrieval of digital resources, creation and shar-ing of digital resources, registration and management of users,research and evaluation, and collaborative discussion amongmembers. The repository is developed using Drupal, a popularopen source content management framework and runs on aLAMP platform, i.e. Linux (OS), Apache (webserver), MySQL(database) and PHP (scripting language) which are all opensource projects.

i. Management and retrieval of digital learning objects

The repository is used to store, manage and retrieve the digitallearning objects. The search function can be accessed througheither keywords and/or choice of fields. Each of the learningobjects are indexed to different field categories: subject content,

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developmental domains, disability categories, ability levels,digital learning objects and multimedia types. This allows for amore rapid, and precise search based on the users' query. Thesearch results can be previewed using the iPaper documentviewer from Scribd. iPaper is fully integrated into the ePKhaswebsite in order to offer users a fluid browsing experience.

ii. Construction of digital learning objects (Lesson Builder)

To encourage collaborative sharing of resources, a lessonbuilder section is added to ePKhas. This allows contributingmembers to create their own lesson plans and compile theirown multimedia learning objects which can then be submittedto the site administrators for publication on ePKhas. Thisfeature is to encourage special education teachers to be activeknowledge creators.

iii. Registration and management of users

The repository is non-commercial and is open to all registeredmembers. A fully-automated database system is developed tohandle subscription and registration of users. There are twokinds of membership in ePKhas. Ordinary members have fullaccess to published pedagogical content and multimedia learn-ing objects in the repository. Ordinary members can apply toupgrade their membership to become contributing members.Contributing members are allowed access to the lesson builderto develop their lesson plans and to compile their multimedialearning objects.

iv. Research and evaluation

An evaluation and feedback system is also built into the webportal to enable online data collection for the purpose ofimproving the repository. Users of the multimedia repositoryare encouraged to rate and provide comments on the digitallearning resources. In addition to that, online survey forms willbe developed in the future to provide feedback and evaluationof digital resources and repository usage.

v. Collaborative sharing and learning

Collaborative sharing and learning is encouraged on ePKhas too.Features such as addition of comments and rating of digital learn-ing objects will provide other users with more informationregarding the specific digital learning objects. A forum is alsobuilt into the repository web site to encourage collaborativediscussion among members.

In order to serve these five main functions, a multi-level admin-istrative system is set up. At the highest level, a super adminis-trator who has full control of the repository is responsible forthe appointment of other administrators in this system. At thenext level are repository managers who are responsible for themanagement of learning objects, the user database and thefeedback system. Below the repository managers are thecontent administrators responsible for the management of thedigital learning objects. It is hoped that ePKhas can grow to be acollaborative project across different special education organi-zations in Malaysia, hence the creation of a multi-level adminis-trative system.

Conclusion

The development of the repository has been completed and ispresently undergoing trial testing. It is anticipated to be fullyfunctional by end of January 2009. The digital learning objects aredeveloped by special education student teachers and experiencedspecial educators under the guidance of special educationlecturers to ensure they are pedagogically sound and respon-sive to the learning needs of students with disabilities.

AcknowledgementePKhas is supported by the USM Research University Grant "Design,development and evaluation of an online multimedia objects-repository forspecial education" 1001/PGURU/817005.

BibliographyThe Assistive Technology Act 2004. Retrieved 22 December, 2008, from theWorld Wide Web: http://69.89.27.238/~resnaorg/taproject/library/laws/pl108-364.pdf

Lee Lay Wah. (2007). Development of multimedia learning resources for childrenwith learning disabilities in an undergraduate special education technologycourse. Malaysian Education Dean's Council Journal, 1, 29-36.

Lee Lay Wah. (2008). e-Pkhas: A multimedia learning objects repository for specialeducation. Paper presented at the 2nd Malaysian Conference on Rehabilitation.Nov. 7-9 2008. Kajang, Selangor.

Special Education Unit. (2003). Special Education Curriculum for Primary andSecondary Students with Learning Disabilities. KL: Ministry of Education.

Wiley, D. A. (2000). Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory:A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy. In D. A. Wiley (Ed.), The InstructionalUse of Learning Objects: Online Version. Retrieved 12 October, 2008, from theWorld Wide Web: http://reusability.org/read/chapters/wiley.doc

Website: IEEE Learning Technology Standard Committee (LTSC). http://www.ieeeltsc.org/

News Flash

QAMLM Version 1.0 Ready for Release

The Quality Assurance in Multimedia Learning Material document prepared by CEMCA with the active support and

participation of educational institutions, stakeholders and the industry, by two Core Groups one in Malaysia and the

other in India, is ready for release. QAMLM Version 1.0 is now available on www.cemca.org <http://www.cemca.org/> and

on Wiki Educator.

We invite suggestions for Phase II of this project.

6

Distance Learners are Active Learners

Introduction

Case Study...

Broadcasting is scattering of seeds widely but through tele-conferencing we are not just sowing seeds of learning, butnurturing and ensuring harvesting by support to the end user.

– Ms. Jai Chandiram

A Report on the Wawasan Open University Workshopconducted by CEMCA

few additional features and built it into the available infrastruc-ture of WOU. The new configuration would enable WOU toreach the learner through the internet at home on the computer.

In his opening address, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorT M Wong thanked CEMCA for sponsoring the workshop whichaimed to provide staff development in presentation skills intutorials and lectures using the IP based video conferencing.He also appreciated Professor Madhulika Kaushik for her effortin initiating this workshop.

Professor Wong recalled that CEMCA has been associated withWOU from the beginning and he looked forward to strengthen-ing the bond of friendship and networking at the institutionaland individual level with this activity.

Wawasan Open University, (WOU), he said, was a very younginstitution and will be celebrating its 2nd anniversary tomorrowwith festivities and dinner. He looked forward to the collectiveexperiences of the consultants in ironing out the bugs in thetechnology and developing effective presentation skills.

Participants

Fourteen participants attended the workshop and the strengthvaried from 7 -10 as many of the participants had meetings andother responsibilities scheduled during the workshop. The par-ticipants represented various disciplines, Management, Scienceand Mathematics, Liberal Studies and Educational Technology.

Workshop ContentThe workshop broadly introduced the participants to the proc-ess of selection of topics for multimedia presentation using theteleconference system. It analysed the strengths and weaknessesof each medium for teaching and learning, teaching functions ofthe media, basics of program formats.

There are many experiences and systems designs using appro-priate media for the distant learner and WOU is exploring thevarious options to integrate media using appropriate technolo-gies and delivery systems in a phased manner. It was discussedthat the need to provide choices, print, face-to-face and

WOU requested CEMCA for a workshop on:

� Presentation Skills for teleconferencing for CourseCoordinators and Tutors.

� In addition, WOU also sought assistance in developing aninexpensive technology to increase its outreach to its students.CEMCA suggested the IP based Teleconferencing model.

CEMCA addressed the challenge in developing WEB 2inexpensive Skype based teleconference technology with a

"I learned about myself"

"I learned from and about my colleagues"

"I am aware of the diverse nature and learning needs of theWOU students"

"I am more familiar with the skills required for teleconferencing"

"I learned how to make teaching- learning interesting"

"Media integration is very important in DL"

"I wasn't planning to come to the workshop as I had too manycommitments, but once I came, I enjoyed and learned a lot"

- Expressions by participants during and at the endof the workshop

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technology support combinations should be learner centred.The options for presentations of tutorials ranged from simpletextual presentations to multimedia. The system design shouldbe both, synchronous learning or asynchronous depending onthe media mix and server. The main approach and design of theworkshop was essentially lecture presentations, hands on,interactive, group and, individual activities providing ademonstration of various teaching and learning strategies.

The participants had an opportunity to research their ideas ingroup meetings develop their presentations in a team mode.

Background

For over ten days CEMCA - IGNOU had been in constant touchwith WOU in working out a WEB 2 interactive system. Theinnovative collection of bits of equipment and software was beingtested to connect Delhi with Penang. Connections were made, voiceclarity was improved with high quality microphones, picturequality improved with a high quality PAL card and Osprey card.

We had picture and sound but sometimes the pictures fractureddue to various reasons. It was felt that the system should besmooth and easy to use. Testing was done with many countriesand the connections were clear. Given the success at home itwas felt that Penang with its good internet connections wouldbe cinch. Very upbeat, the technical group found that the con-struction of the new computers in Malaysia do not permit theplacement of the Osprey card. There was no slot for this crucialbit of equipment. The search began for an old computer… nonewas available in the market. Desperate, the team suggestedflying out a computer from Delhi and other frantic solutions.A computer was located and the system tried out … no signalcould be received in the WOU building as the firewall set upand security system did not permit this. A server was locatedand tried and two days later we were visible and connected.Regional Director WOU, Ipoh was guided to connect throughSkype with Penang and we had a clear voice and picture!

This high drama formed the background to the workshop onpresentation skills we, were on call to perform at short notice forthe demo. We carried on the lecture/presentations bravely abovethe Skype calls and hums from the server, distress phone callsand consultations in the background. It was an amazing situationand called for remarkable concentration and skills in teacher per-formance and discipline and interest on behalf of the participants.As the workshop was built with a lot of activities, practical andviewing we were able to hold the interest of the group.

The consultants were able to view a teleconference session onthe day of their arrival. The consultants viewed the conferencefrom the studio end and also from the learner end. The expertmade his power point presentation giving the key areas of con-cern in "Grievances" and procedures for redress and punishment.The presentation also included gender issues of and sexualharassment in the workplace and the rights of the worker. Heillustrated his presentation with case studies and response ofthe law in cases he was dealing with. These anecdotes were toldtowards the end of the session and created a visible interest

among the women learners who sought the experts advice on acase of sexual harassment in her office, bringing the discussioninto the realm of reality applications. An exit feedback poll fromthe local participants revealed that the definitions and notes wereadequate, and presentation of the textbook material in thebeginning was tedious.

The next day the workshop session opened with one of the par-ticipant's own work "created for pleasure" and also for explor-ing the technology. The presentation was enjoyed by the partici-pants as they tapped their feet and sang along with the old fa-vourite song of Louis Armstrong… It's a Wonderful World. Inthe discussion that followed the group raised the question aboutthe purpose of the presentation. It was a pleasurable piece withshadow puppets creating the image of the singer. Many issueswere raised, the need for clarity and precision in the openingand how it could be used for language teaching and creativearts .Technical questions raised related to the of matching soundand text, time taken to prepare the CD etc.

Later, in the afternoon the group looked at the excerpts from theWOU transmission on "Grievances" in industrial practices foranalysis. As the expert was not "one of them", the discussionwas more open and frank, leading to insights in how to catchattention, presentation of information, pacing etc.

The discussion also revealed that many participants were deeplyconcerned with the diversity of the students, their study habitsand how they could motivate and engage the students better.The session concluded with that learners are of different types,motivation levels were varied and some have limited approachesto learning and studying. It was felt that features of coursedesign and presentation could effectively guide the learner andin turn improve their awareness in study skills .The session on'Criteria for Selection of Topics" started with the shared experi-ences of the participants and concluded that though one cannotbe prescriptive, one should take into account the needs of thelearner and the strengths of the multimedia to enhance learn-ing. Participants next day presented their topics which rangedfrom Agreements with Minors, Writing Skills, Organisation andInformation Technologies, Strategic Behaviour, etc. The partici-pants justified their selection and introduced elements of story-telling, games, film excerpts and visuals to get attention. Theseopening ideas were further refined by introducing elementsof interactivity.

The interview techniques focused on art of framing questions toelicit the desired response and information. The practical sessionanalysed the performance of the participants in terms of framingquestions, follow up questions, eye contact and interest.

The group was very open to voice and body exercises and par-ticipated with seriousness. Role play further help in furtheringtheir communicative and performance skills. These exerciseswere reflected in the preparation of the interactivity in the pres-entations, engaging the students to participate, through sharingexperiences, observation and multiple choice questions rather

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than dumping definitions and information readily available inthe textbook and study materials. The visualization and graphicsessions was enriching as the various examples showed howhumour, and visuals can be used to generate interest andconcretize concepts. Overall the workshop had 60% practical and40% lectures and demonstration.

Sidelights

The anniversary festivities and dinner provided fun and was agreat opportunity to meet the participants. The talent in the groupwas admirable and should be harnessed to greater educational use.

Consultants Recommendations

� Need for assistance in developing multimedia materials toadd to the textual PPTs.

� A 2-3 day workshop for participants who need to add to theirskills in using the software tools to develop their presenta-tion and training materials.

� Create a feedback system on presentations from students whocome to the centres for tutorials.

� Many participants felt that they miss teaching and wouldlike to have the opportunity to be tutors in their subject areas

Production Notes

� Additional lights are required in the teleconference studio asthe present level of lighting is low. The new lights shouldhave the same colour temperature as the existing lights andshould not spill into the background otherwise it will blankout the projection of the PPTs material.

� The tutors should be advised on choice of font size, style andcolours for textual presentation. Editing of text can also helpin legibility and comprehension

� Investment should be made immediately into converting aroom into a studio to enable students to also participate as ina classroom situation, if required.

� All cables and connections should be labelled. The configu-ration and processes of setting up the system can be displayed.If required, a half day training can be mounted and multi-skilling done so that more staff can operate the system.

� Need to add an on-air monitor to show what is on air. Thiswill help the teacher to match and pace the presentation tothe visuals.

� For better communication when the teacher is 'teaching' theteacher can be composed full frame for better impact and notcluttered with visuals of the learning centres. The pictures ofthe learning centre can be keyed in when the session is readyto take questions and comments from the learners.

In summing up the various discussion sessions the consultantreiterated that the tutors must constantly look for good ideas,

select the topic carefully, and identify difficult areas and treatthe ideas creatively using different formats and not be afraid toget outside the classroom. A multi-disciplinary approach to de-veloping ideas will enrich the learning. Identify problems oflearners and tutors to make the programs relevant to the targetgroup. Enrich the content by adding field experiences of experts/professionals and add depth to the programs.

She cautioned the group to select the central idea through care-ful analysis and not lock the idea too early with information thatis easily available and does not provide a challenge. There isneed for adequate exploration on treatment and make the pres-entation engaging and valuable to the learner. Match contentstrategy with ways people learn.

She reminded the group that it was important to check tech-niques in getting the attention of the learner at the beginningand approaches to stimulate curiosity. Add humour and makepresentation lively, add new information, simplify complex con-cepts and concretize through visualization and when possibleadd actuality to generates interest. This was the start of gettingtheir checklist for presentation and structuring content. Use theattributes of media to provide multiple representations of real-ity and focus on construction of knowledge and not reproduc-tion of information. Develop communication protocols to reducecommunication anxiety in the learner. The final presentation byparticipants on writing skills on "Expressing your Ideas" on thelast day in the teleconference mode provided ample opportu-nity for participation and discussion on techniques learnt.

The UNESCO heritage city of Penang symbolizes the coexist-ence of traditions and contemporary aspirations, so well blendedin the Wawasan buildings articulating the philosophy ofProfessor Dhanarajan, "Higher education maybe rooted in traditionbut if it wishes to serve the modern citizen, it has to adapt and use thetools of the 21st century".

The consultant passed a seed to each participant and said ifyou open it, you will find it empty, but you should recognizeits potential. So search within your own potential and share itwith each other. At this point the participants exchanged theirseed with their partners. The consultants thank the host fortheir hospitality and guidance in making this an enrichingexperience for all.

Expectations from the Workshop

1. Fourteen forms were received. Not all participants filled allthe questions as possibly some of the questions were eithernot applicable or they did not feel it was necessary to fill inthe details.

2. The participants' disciplines covered Business Management(3), Educational Technology (2), Science (4), Foundation andLiberal Studies (4), Publishing (1).

3. Face to face teaching experience ranged from one to 30plus years.

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Eight had face to face teaching experience of thirty years andabove. Only one had experience in distance learning forfive years.

Three had teaching experience for less than twenty years, fourhad teaching experience of less than ten years.

4. In response to the question, purpose of teleconference, par-ticipants listed the following:

a) to support tutorial classes at the learning centres

b) to extend tutorial support to small classes and save costs

c) to select topics require DL support

5. Identifying the skills required for teleconferencing theparticipants listed: presentation skills, voice development,content development, use of images, attention getters,knowledge of software for multimedia support.

6 The organizational issues were hardware required foreffective teleconferencing, and infrastructure includingbetter broadband connectivity.

7. Responding to media experience in audio, video and multi-media only one participant articulated that the experience inmedia was self taught, four stated that their experience rangesfrom 2 to 10 years in audio and television. Nine stated thattheir experience in media was "nil".

8 All the participants responded positively to the objectives ofthe workshop:

improve presentation skills, make content more interesting,improve content visualization for more impact, applyinginteractivity techniques and evaluate participants presentations.

9. Expressing their requirements for skills development, twoparticipants listed better language and voice skills, technol-ogy skills and five did not respond but endorsed the objec-tives of the workshop, making presentations multimedia rich.

10. Time taken for preparation of lectures/presentationsvaried from half an hour to 3 hours. Eight participants didnot answer the question as it was not applicable to theircurrent work.

11. "Yes". Participant felt they had adequate time to prepare theirpresentations/lectures.

12. For better output the participants need additional hours forpreparation ranging from 2-4 hours.

13. Six participants drew their content from textbooks and all listedinternet as their source of content information. One stated, "offcampus module writing", would enrich the output.

14. Responding to the question, need for additional assistance:One listed more assistance in the preparation of theirpresentation

Need assistance in measuring the effectiveness of lectures/presentations

Others stated, 'use of multimedia in presentations, applyinteractivity techniques, develop teaching aids, needadditional technical support

"I like developing my own teaching materials"

15 As course coordinators, "we rely on tutors who lose 50% ofthe input, there is lack of interactivity to meet learners needs,need assistance in development of audio-video materials toenhance learning, develop language skills in learners.

16. Need support in educational technology, prepare supple-mentary interactive learning materials, multi-skilling intechnologies, synergise students learning skills as they arefirst time distance learners, change mindset required tobetter use this technology.

The present workshop is timely and good opportunity.

Feedback on Workshop

Out of fourteen only six forms were received and these werepartially filled.

1. Unanimously the participants agreed that the objectives ofthe workshop were met and wanted more practical sessions.

Overall, the workshop was rated excellent

2. The workshop focused on the fundamental needs of coursecoordinators and presenters. One commented that thereshould have been more active involvement of participants.

(This comment reflects that many participants had to attendvarious meeting and deadlines and were not consistence onattendance)

3. Developed presentation and knowledge of teleconferencingand PPT presentation

4. Need more practical on teleconferencing

5. Participants requested more practice on teleconferencing andfound the workshop 'great training' and 'useful'.

6. Four participants rated the workshop as useful' and relevantto their work and three found it 'informative'

7. The workshop provided understanding of presentation tech-niques for teleconferencing, five said 'very much' and tworated as 'somewhat'. The workshop provided adequateopportunity for creating an understanding of multimediainputs in IP based teleconferencing. Four agreed and rated itas 'very much' and one: 'somewhat'.

8. Participants found relevant the practical, awareness of learn-ers needs, method of content creation and interactivity.

9. Participants articulated need for more practice in tele-conferencing, presentation and delivery techniques, devel-opment of visualization and graphics and greater understand-ing of tools for development of audio visual materials.

10. The participants unanimously voted that they would recom-mend the workshop top their colleagues.

10

CEMCA Bulletin Board

December 20th - 24th, 2008: 2nd Capacity BuildingWorkshop in Advanced Multimedia for HaryanaOpen School

CEMCA conducted a five day advanced training programmefor the Course Writers of Haryana Open School on creatingmultimedia self learning packages. Four participants were amongthose trained earlier while 6 participants were new. They weretrained in ODL Methodology, ICT and Media for ODL, Integrat-ing Media in Self Learning Materials, in planning and designingaudio/video programmes, in EasyNow - a multiple deliverymode for ODL and in Wikieducator.

January 28th and 29th, 2009: 6th RegionalConsultation on Community Radio Awarenessat Guwahati, Assam

CEMCA conducted the 6th Regional Consultation on Commu-nity Radio Awareness (North East Region) at the AdministrativeStaff College, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam. It was inauguratedby Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Government ofAssam. It was attended by 129 participants from AgriculturalUniversities, Universities, and civil society organizations. ShriTarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Government of Assam madean announcement that the Government of Assam would fund thesetting up of 10 Community Radio Stations in the state of Assam.

11

the Valedictory Session. The Valedictory Session was presidedover by Professor Medhi and Shri M C Pant, Chairman NationalInstitute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and a COL Fellow deliveredthe Valedictory Address.

The field trip to a neighbouring Bodo village demonstrated alive broadcast session from the studios of the All India Radio,Guwahati Station. The temporary SACFA for the Krishna KantaHandique State Open University Community Radio Station, andthe transmitter supplied by West Bengal Electronics (WEBEL)was used to broadcast the signature tune of the KKHSOUduring the inaugural session.

There were participants from the neighbouring states of Manipur,Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura apart from participants fromAssam. Professor Srinath Baruaha, Vice Chancellor, Krishna KanatHandique State Open University, Guwahati and Shri Rajat KumarMahanta, Registrar, KKHSOU, were the main pillars of strengthduring the two day Regional Consultation and the KrishnaKanta Handique State Open University was the local organizingpartner for CEMCA during this two day consultation.

Participants presented their expressions of interest in setting upCommunity Radio Stations in the North East Region and sub-mitted the token of expression to the Ministry of Informationand Broadcasting Officials of the Government of India, during

12

Chancellor, Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University,Assam and Professor Md. Mohsin Ali, Chairman, Assam HigherSecondary Education Council. Dr. Pema Eden Samdup,Programme Officer, CEMCA, offered the official Vote of Thanksduring the Valedictory Session.

January 29th and 30th, 2009: Capacity Building andInduction Programme on SLM Development forAssam State Open School, Guwahati, Assam

CEMCA organized a two day capacity building cum InductionProgramme on Self Learning Material Development for the CourseWriters of the Assam State Open School at Bamuni Maidan,Guwahati on the 29th and 30th of January 2009. The workshop sawthe active participation of 24 academics from across the state. Theworkshop was inaugurated by Shri M C Pant, Chairman,National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and Dr. R Sreedher,Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia(CEMCA) and the inaugural address was delivered by Shri M CPant, a Commonwealth Of Learning (COL) Fellow and theChairman of the National Institute of Open Schooling.

Dr. Pema Eden Samdup, the Programme Officer and Coordina-tor of this capacity building workshop introduced the initiativewhile Dr. R Sreedher briefed the participants about COL andCEMCA. Dr. Ucharan Deka, Secretary, Assam Higher Second-ary Education Council and Secretary, Assam State Open School,Guwahati delivered the Welcome Address. The Vote of thankswas offered by Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Regional Director, NIOS,Guwahati, a resource person at the SLM Development CapacityBuilding Workshop and Induction Programme.

The two day Capacity Building and Induction Programme alsohad a session devoted to brainstorming strategies for the AssamState Open School. A lot of issues related to the credibility of theOpen Learning System be it in the tertiary education sector orthe open schooling sector were raised. The issues were addressedby the experts present during the two day meet and a series ofinteractive sessions on various aspects of ODL and Self Learn-ing Material Development were dealt with. The participants wereenthusiastic about future workshops in Course Development andthe two day meet was closed by Professor Srinath Baruaha, Vice

February 10th - 11th, 2009: 2nd Capacity BuildingWorkshop for Managers of Functional CommunityRadio Station Managers

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Govern-ment of India (GOI), jointly with Commonwealth EducationalMedia Centre for Asia (CEMCA) and Anna University, wherefirst Community radio station (CRS) in the country was set upfive years ago, held the second Capacity Building Workshop for

CEMCA - IGNOU MOU for Scholarship forLearners of the Community Radio ManagementCertificate Programme Launched by the IndiraGandhi National Open University, New Delhi,22nd January 2009.

13

February 18th - 21st, 2009: Quality GovernanceWorkshop for SOL, University of Delhi

CEMCA conducted a four day workshop on Quality Govern-ance for ODL 36 Practitioners of the School of Open Learning,Campus of Open Learning, the University of Delhi.

February 28th, 2009: 20th IGNOU Convocation

Ms. Namita Bajaj, recipient of the CEMCA Cash Award for BestGirl Student in ICT with Dr. R Sreedher, Director, CEMCA

managers of functional community radio stations in the countryon February 10 -11, 2009 at Anna University campus in Chennai.The first such workshop, facilitated by CEMCA was held exactlya year ago at New Delhi in February 2008. The objectives of theWorkshop were to help MIB focus attention on the CRS that havealready been set up and are functioning to understand the extentto which CRS were catering to the needs of the community aswell as to provide an opportunity to all the CRS to interact witheach other and share the experiences. This year, in addition tothe functioning CRS, applicants, who had received their SACFAclearances and were on the brink of setting up, were also invitedto facilitate their understanding of CRS functioning.

Workshop Highlights

Over seventy five participants from 46 functioning and SACFAcleared CRS applicants attended the two day workshop. Partici-pants came from literally all over the country, from North West -Dharamshala, East - Kolkata, Bihar, Jharkhand, West - Rajasthan,Maharashtra, Central India - Madhya Pradesh, South - Kerala,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Ms. Esther Kar,Additional director General, Press Information Bureau,attended the event as a special nominee of Secretary, Ministryof Information & Broadcasting (I & B).

Shri R B Prasad, Joint Wireless Advisor, Government of Indiaand Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Indira GandhiNational Open University (IGNOU) were special invitees.Professor Dr. Mannar Jawahar, Vice Chancellor, Anna Univer-sity, presided over the Inaugural Function and delivered thepresidential address. Er Anuj Sinha, Head RVPSP, Advisor,Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, deliveredthe Valedictory Address. All the Community Radio StationsManagers provided a detailed report of the functioning of theirCRS on a pre-designed format developed by CEMCA. In theopen house sessions, participants had ample opportunity todiscuss various issues relating to technical issues like transmis-sion, reach, advertisements and other policy provisions with theconcerned officials.

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February 28th, 2009: Meeting of CEMCA Staffwith the Ministerial Delegation from Maldives

March 4th, 2009: 14th All India Children'sEducational Audio-Video Festival and Releasingthe Audio Album Produced by CIET: Director,CEMCA, Chair, Audio Jury

March 13th and 14th, 2009: 7th RegionalConsultation on Community Radio Awareness

The 7th Regional Consultation on Community Radio Awareness(North West Zone) was organized at the M S Pawar Institute ofCommunication and Management at Solan, Himachal Pradeshfor the North West Zone and included the states of Punjab,Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. It saw 80 participants fromvarious Agriculture Universities, Universities, Colleges and CivilSociety Organizations. The M S Pawar Institute of Communica-tion and Management, Solan was the local partner that extendedlogistical support to CEMCA during the organization of thistwo-day meet.

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March 16th - 19th, 2009: Roll Out of the ChildFriendly School Global Capacity BuildingWorkshop at Kathmandu, Nepal

Dr. Abdurrahman Umar, Education Specialist, Teacher Educa-tion, COL and Dr. Pema Eden Samdup, Programme Officer,CEMCA attended the four day workshop on MainstreamingChild Friendly Schools in the Himalayan country of Nepal. TheCommonwealth Of Learning (COL), Vancouver, Canada and theUNICEF New York HQs have signed a Memorandum of Agree-ment to mainstream Child Friendly Schools in 10 countries byproviding Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher training. The COLteam made a presentation on the Areas of Cooperation betweenthe two organizations and the plan of action that may be fol-lowed while implementing the CFS Pre-Service and In-Service

Training Programme. While COL (Dr. Abdurrahman Umar) willimplement the Areas of Cooperation in the 9 selected countriesof Africa such as, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Rwanda,Malawi to name a few, CEMCA (Dr. Pema Eden Samdup) willimplement the Areas of Cooperation in Sri Lanka, the only Asiancountry to be selected, in collaboration with the UNICEFCountry Office, Sri Lanka and COL.

March 24th and 25th, 2009: 8th RegionalConsultation on Community Radio Awareness(Central Zone) at Raipur, Chhattisgarh

The 8th Regional Consultation on Community Radio Awarenesswas held at Raipur on the 24th and 25th of March 2009 at theIndira Gandhi Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Raipur. It was attendedby 100 odd participants from the states of Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

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Technology Tips

Mini-Notebook Mania

James A. Martin, PCWorld

A look at the pros and cons of mini-notebooks, plus recommendationsfor who should consider buying one-and who should steer clear.

Why Mini-Notebooks Are Worth Considering

They're extremely easy to tote. Mini-notebooks only weigh 2 to3 pounds, and they're small. For example, the Acer Aspire Onemeasures 9.8 by 6.7 by 1.14 inches, about the size of a standardhardcover book.

Because they're petite, mini-notebooks can travel with you moreoften and go more places than a conventional laptop. In SanFrancisco, I sometimes carry a small Tumi tote around town.The Acer Aspire One I've been testing fits easily into the bagalong with car keys, wallet, sunglasses, pens, notepad, and myApple iPhone. I barely notice I'm carrying a computer. Yet in afew otherwise idle moments away from the office, I can tap outa quick e-mail or get some work done.

They're fully functioning computers. Though not designed tobe powerful computers, most mini-notebooks offer standardfeatures found in conventional laptops, such as multiple USB2.0 ports, a Secure Digital card slot, a VGA-out port, Ethernet,Wi-Fi, and a Webcam. They're the first affordable, ultra-compact devices to offer a fully functional PC complete withphysical keyboard in a form factor that's easy for most peopleto afford, carry, and use.

By comparison, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, IBM, and other makerssold devices during the late 90s that were similar in size totoday's mini-notebooks. But those systems ran a version of theWindows CE operating system, making them, in essence,oversized PDAs. You couldn't load standard Windows programson them. Also, the Windows CE laptops were quite expensive,usually around $1000.

More recently, Ultramobile PCs (UMPCs) from Samsung andothers offer super-light and portable designs. But they typicallyonly offer on-screen keyboards.

A few ultra-ultra-small computers, such as handheld PCs fromOQO, are extremely tiny. While these are fully functioningWindows machines, their keyboards are closer to what you'dfind on a BlackBerry than on a laptop. And compared tomini-notebooks, handheld PCs can be quite expensive. TheOQO Model 02 was recently available online for $1785 and up.

They're (mostly) inexpensive. Some mini-notebooks don't costmuch, as laptops go. The 2 GB version of the Linux-based AsusEee PC was recently selling for as little as $250 (Shop for AsusEee PC at PCWorld.ca.), the majority of mini-notebooks fallsomewhere between $350 and $500. But, be aware that

high-end models can cost a good deal more, while prices forthe top of HP's 2133 line, a model with Windows Vista, recentlystarted at $719 online.

Also, consider what else your money could buy. For example,$449 gets you a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with Intel Atom processorN270 at 1.6GHz; Windows XP Home Edition; a bright, glossy8.9-inch LED-backlit display; 1 GB of memory; and a 16 GB solid-state drive. For just $50 more, you can buy Dell's low-endInspiron 1525, a full-size laptop with a 2-GHz Intel Celeron 550processor; Windows Vista Home Basic Edition; a glossy,widescreen 15.4-inch display; an integrated CD burner/DVDplayer; 1 GB memory; and a 120 GB hard drive. The Inspiron1525 earned a PCW Rating of 81 (Very Good) and delivered goodperformance and battery life.

The catch: the Inspiron 1525 weighs 6 pounds, compared tothe Inspiron Mini 9's 2.28 pounds. As always, portability comeswith a price.

Why They Aren't?Their usefulness is limited. Unlike a general-purpose laptop, amini-notebook comes with compromises. For example, YouTubevideo playback can be frustratingly stop-and-go as the low-levelprocessor and modest system memory struggle to meet stream-ing video's demands. Because mini-notebooks lack optical drives,watching a DVD movie on a long plane ride is out of the ques-tion. Depending on the model, a mini-notebook's keyboard maybe too small for big-fingered touch typists. And their smallscreens (7 to 10 inches) can tire your eyes after an hour or so.

The battery life can be disappointing. You'd think such a small,unambitious computer could go forever before its batteryexpired. Unfortunately, that's not the case. PCWorld testershave gotten about 2.5 to 3.5 hours on a charge, depending onthe model. In my informal tests, the Acer Aspire One's stand-ard three-cell battery lasted only 1 hour and 45 minutes (withthe screen's brightness level at 100 percent and Wi-Fi turnedon). Some mini-notebooks such as HP's 2133 and the AspireOne offer optional, higher-capacity batteries that reportedly last4 to 6 hours.

Who Are They For?

I doubt that anyone, except perhaps a child, would want a mini-notebook as their only computer. They weren't designed for thatrole, nor can they fill it. That said, I believe mini-notebooks areworth considering if you fit into one of these categories:

Mobile professionals who need an ultra-compact computer fornote taking, e-mail, and basic Web searches during meetings.Realtors and other professionals who often travel to nearbylocations for meetings are also good candidates.

Students who want a small computer for taking notes in class orcarrying around campus, anyone who'd enjoy having a petitelaptop around the house for quick Web searches while watch-ing TV, looking up recipes or grocery shopping online in thekitchen, or quickly checking e-mail and news headlines at thebreakfast table.

17

Anyone who wants a low-priced laptop to take to the park on asunny day. Some mini-notebook screens are LED-backlit andglossy, which makes them reasonably viewable in bright sun-light (especially when the sun is at your back). So if you'd loveto take your work outdoors, without worrying about carryingan expensive laptop, a mini-notebook could be just the ticket.

Who Should Avoid Them?People with big hands and fingers. Mini-notebook keyboardsare smaller than those on conventional laptops. At a minimum,you should go to Best Buy or other electronics retailer and trytyping on a floor model before you buy one.

Frequent fliers who work for hours on a laptop. If you frequentlytravel internationally or cross-country, a mini-notebook prob-ably isn't your best choice. Their smallish screens andkeyboards would become tiresome after a few hours. Also, asmentioned, their standard batteries typically don't last muchbeyond 2 or 3 hours.

Buying TipsIf you decide to buy a mini-notebook, I have some suggestions:

Set your expectations low. Understand from the get-go you won'tbe using your mini-notebook to watch movies or YouTubevideos, edit videos or images, or perform anything other thanbasic Web surfing, e-mail, spreadsheet work, and word process-ing. If you start with that attitude, you won't be disappointed.

Go with Windows XP. On these underpowered notebooks,Windows Vista is overkill and should be avoided. Some

mini-notebooks are based on Linux, which is great for thosefamiliar with Linux and love to hack and tweak their systems.But the majority of mainstream users, I suspect, don't know Linuxand don't want to deal with another operating system. If youmatch that description, go with a Windows XP mini-notebook.

Sync your files with FolderShare. I'm still amazed by how manypeople don't know or use Microsoft's FolderShare, a free peer-to-peer file synchronization service. By downloading FolderShareon your mini-notebook as well as on your primary computer,your selected folders are always in sync between the two, aslong as both are connected to the Internet. With FolderShare,you don't have to worry about copying files from one system toanother. I reviewed FolderShare nearly two years ago, but itsbasic tools and usability haven't changed much since then. Myconclusion then still stands today: "Because FolderShare is soeasy to use, unobtrusive, and free, I can't see why you wouldn'twant to use it." Worth noting: Like Gmail, FolderShare has been"in beta' for years. But FolderShare is reliable, so don't beconcerned about the "beta' tag.

Related ContentThe best 10 all-purpose laptopsIntel Canada and PCWorld.ca Student Laptop ReviewReview: The Acer Aspire One NotebookThe Mini-Laptops of SummerWorkhorse LaptopsHow to buy a laptophttp://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/351609aec0a80006013828975c9026b5/pg1.htm

News Flash

National Mission on Education through ICT

The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of India, has launched a multimillion dollar exercise

to provide connectivity to all the Universities, colleges, and higher education institutions.

Excerpt from the D.O. No. F. 16-3/2009-DL dated 9th January 2009 of Mr. N K Sinha, IAS, Joint Secretary [DL/T], Ministry of

Human Resource and Development, Government of India

... The Mission has two major components viz., (a) content generation and (b) connectivity along the provision for access

devices for institutions and learners. It seeks to bridge the digital divide, i.e., the gap in the skills to use computing devices

for the purpose of teaching and learning among urban and rural teachers/learners in Higher Education domain and empower

those, who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the

knowledge economy. It plans to focus on appropriate pedagogy for e-learning, providing facility of performing experiments

through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners,

utilization of available Educational Satellite (EduSAT) and Direct to Home (DTH) platforms, training and empowerment of

teachers to effectively use the new methods of teaching learning etc.

On the one hand, the Mission would create high quality e-content for the target groups and on the other, it would simultane-

ously seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18000 colleges in the country including each of the

departments of nearly 400 Universities/deemed universities and institutions of national importance...

http://education.nic.in/dl <http://education.nic.in/dl>

18

Regional News...

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Open University, Dhaka

Dr. Rafiqul Islam Muhammad Aminur Rashid,Vice Chancellor, Bangladesh Open University,Dhaka, Bangladesh

India

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Education Times, Times of India, Monday, March 30th 2009,New Delhi, Surbhi Bhatia/TNN

In order to spread awareness about is-sues related to special needs, the IndiraGandhi National Open University(IGNOU) decided to start a course on'Disability Studies'. "There are many pro-grammes that talk about special needsrelated themes in medical terms. EvenIGNOU has a Diploma for 'Disability Management' for medi-cal doctors. But there is a need to spread awareness about theissues related to various kinds of special needs. So we havedecided to develop a programme on 'Disability Studies',informed Hemlata, Director-In-Charge, National Centre forDisability Studies, IGNOU.

The programme will be developed as an elective course witheight credits. Any student pursuing a Bachelor's degree fromIGNOU can opt for the Course. "We are also planning to launchshort-term specialized programmes on a range of special needs,"she said. And to discuss the course content the Universityrecently organized a national seminar in Delhi and a workshopin Chennai. "We will create the course on the basis of recom-mendations gathered from both the events. If the Delhi Seminartalked about the need for social awareness, the Chennai confer-ence discussed the emerging role of local NGOs and the needfor capacity building programmes," she further added.

While explaining the need to develop such a programme, V NRajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, said, "Thespecial needs population constitutes 10% of the total popula-tion in our country. This field of studies is still a grey andunexplored area. We need to work on and develop social theorywith India as the context."

The Seminar also highlighted larger intervention from thedistance and open learning system. "There is also a need to makeinnovative efforts and adopt an inclusive approach so thatspecial needs people can participate effectively in educational,economic, vocational and social activities" said Hemlata.

The main recommendations proposed in the Seminars werebased on the UN Convention for persons with disabilities, roleof distance education to empower them for HR needs, how tocreate a barrier free environment, technological development inrehabilitating the disabled, community-based rehabilitation,rehabilitation administration and ICT applications.

Eminent scientist, research scholar, educationist ProfessorDr. Rafiqul Islam Muhammad Aminur Rashid took up hisappointment as the 6th Vice-Chancellor ofthe Bangladesh Open University (BOU) onthe 25th January, 2009.

He is the Professor of the Physics Depart-ment, University of Dhaka and graduatedin science with Honours in Physics and MScin Physics from the University of Dhaka.In 1967 he joined as Lecturer in the PhysicsDepartment, University of Dhaka and later awarded a UNESCOfellowship in 1968 to pursue his doctoral studies at the Univer-sity of Kent at Canterbury, England and obtained PhD degree inTheoretical Physics in 1972.

In more than 40 years of teaching and research, Professor Rashidheld many important positions. In 1987 he was appointed as aProfessor of the University of Dhaka and continued his teach-ing career there till his joining at the BOU. In his long career hehad been Chairman of the Physics Department (2005-2008), Prov-ost of the Salimullah Hall (1998-2001) and Dean of the Faculty ofScience (2003-2006) of the University of Dhaka. During his aca-demic career he was bestowed with a number of Fellowships,Scholarships, Prizes and Honours. In 1975-1976 he was at theInstitute of Theoretical Physics, Chalmers University, Goteborg,Sweden on a SIDA Fellowship. As a Commonwealth AcademicStaff Fellow he worked at the University of Oxford, Englandduring 1984-85. He has attended a number of International Con-ferences, Summer Schools and Workshops at home and abroad.He also has visited the International Centre for Theoretical Phys-ics, Trieste, Italy several times as Associate Member, SeniorAssociate Member and Senior Research Fellow of the AbdusSalam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy.

During his long professional career he had specialized in thefields of solid and liquid state physics and published more thanfifty original articles in the international and national journals.His work on the Superfluid Bose system now a days is well-known as the "Evans-Rashid Transition" in the literature.

19

UNESCO

Declaration on Higher Education Follows IndianSub-regional Conference

March 11, 2009

Participants in the New Delhi Preparatory Conference on HigherEducation have issued a declaration reiterating the link betweenhigher education, nation-building and sustainable development.

The conference, Facing Global and Local Challenges: The NewDynamics for Higher Education, was organized by India'sMinistry of Human Resource Development and the NationalUniversity of Educational Planning and Administration, incollaboration with UNESCO was held in New Delhi on Febru-ary 25 to 26. The event was one of the preparatory meetings tobe held in the lead up to the 2009 World Conference on the NewDynamics of Higher Education taking place in Paris in July 2009.

Contact: c.barbieri@unesco.org

UNICEF

Statement by UNICEF Executive DirectorAnn M. Veneman on the Situation in Sri Lanka

March 17, 2009

"Hundreds of children have been killed and many more injuredas a result of the conflict in Sri Lanka. Thousands are now at riskbecause of a critical lack of food, water and medicines."

"Children and their families caught in the conflict zone are atrisk of dying from disease and malnutrition."

"Regular, safe access for humanitarian agencies is urgentlyrequired, so that lifesaving supplies can be provided, and civil-ians must be allowed to move to safe areas where essentialhumanitarian support is more readily available."

"The rights of children caught in the conflict must be fullyrespected and every effort should be taken to prevent civiliancasualties."

"UNICEF, together with other UN agencies and partners, is providing emergency water and sanitation, health, nutrition,protection and education support for many of the 40,000 peoplewho have been able to leave the conflict zone."

"Children are the innocent victims of Sri Lanka's conflict. Theydesperately need assistance and extraordinary efforts must betaken to protect them."

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_48749.html

WOU Collaborates with Symbiosis OpenEducation Society

January 29, 2009

PUNE: This date will go into the annals of Symbiosis Centre forDistance Learning (SCDL) as a very important day. An MoUhas been entered into between Symbiosis Open EducationSociety, Pune, India, a Society under the aegis of which SCDLoperates, and Wawasan Open University. Dr. S.B. Mujumdar,founder of the prestigious Symbiosis family of educationalinstitutions, and Tan Sri Emeritus Prof. G. Dhanarajan, Founder,Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Wawasan OpenUniversity, signed the MoU in the presence of senior office-bear-ers and academics of the Symbiosis group of educationalinstitutions. Ms. Swati Mujumdar is the Director of SymbiosisCentre for Distance Learning.

The MoU entered into by the two institutions is mainly foracademic collaboration in areas such as preparation and shar-ing of course materials and services for lifelong learning; researchactivities; development of course curricula, co-sponsoring semi-nars, training workshops and meetings of mutual interest andbenefit, offering joint academic programmes especially at thepostgraduate level, supporting postgraduate research in eachother's institution; and developing a credit transfer arrangementamong the institutions. There is no doubt that these areas of aca-demic collaboration will be significantly beneficial for the learn-ers of both the institutions, and the academic community as awhole will also stand to benefit by understanding and using in-novative methods used and/or developed by either institution.The postgraduate research activities may generate new knowl-edge useful in the open and distance activities. Both the institu-tions have agreed to undertake regular review and follow-upaction on the items of collaboration listed in the MoU

http://www.wou.edu.my/news_release_29January2009.aspx

News Flash

Orientation Programme for Academic CounsellorsMarch 18th - 20th 2009

CEMCA organized an orientation programme for the Academic Counsellors of the Certificate in Community

Radio Management Programme of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

The Programme was supported by the Staff Training Institute, Prasar Bharati and One World South Asia, a Civil

Society Organization. Professor Latha Pillai, Pro - Vice - Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University

visited CEMCA on this occasion.

20

Technology Watch

Digital Photo Frame Based Educational Deliveries

Introduction

Computer prices have come down to almost less than one sixthin the last decade, and cheap reliable storage media in the formof flash drives at affordable price, are creating a revolution inthe computer storage media.

The computer storage media literally follows the technologicalprogress of music distribution that was in the form of tapes, EP,LP records, cassettes and then CDs. In the case of computers,storage media probably began with punched cards, paper tapes,magnetic tapes, then cassettes, large sized Disk drives (so calledmass storage devices of by gone days), followed by hard diskdrives, floppy disks or diskettes of various shapes and sizes, thenCDs, and now flash drives. The software and data distributionsystems migrated from floppies to CDs as the file sizes of soft-ware increased. CDs have become industrial distribution stand-ard. Now, high capacity flash drives with its compactness andcost advantage, are threatening to replace the place of CD modeof distribution.

Flash memory devices combine a number of older technolo-gies. The recent advances in microprocessor technology havemade possible – low cost, low power consumption and smallsize USB devices.

Non-mechanical Audio/Video Players

Many low cost non-mechanical devices such as, MP3 playerssimply add extra software to a standard flash memory controlmicroprocessor so as to enable it to also serve as a music play-back decoder. Most of these players can be used as conventional

Krishna Moorthy V, Consultant

"Why should I reinvent the wheel?" My response is, "Becausewith online learning, we are trying to fly."

- Patrick McCormick, Unknown, April 18, 2005

flash drives, for storing data. Apart from this, processor based,stand-alone devices such as, digital Photo Frames have becomepopular. The luxurious demands of technology savvy mobilephone users' have promoted the use of many multiple mediaelectronic devices. Today, there are several such devicesavailable in markets across the globe.

The cheaper devices without moving parts for picture display,Audio and Video playing combined with storage devices suchas flash drives opens up the possibility of their use in technol-ogy enabled learning, Educational Video, Audio, text and othereducational deliveries. It is now possible to create a device baseddelivery of multiple media contents, using the EasyNowapproach with the aid of these devices. A digital picture framestudy has been carried out to monitor the effects of internetquality educational material viewing through these devices.The digital photo frame delivery was tested by remappingreadily available educational material using EasyNow fileoptimisation techniques with great success in file size, qualityand clarity of delivery.

Digital Photo Frame Features

Digital photo frames are designed primarily to showcase dig-ital photos in slideshow mode. Due to consumer demand andcompetition to win over customers and the readily availabletechnological advantage, sophisticated technology is beingadded to digital photo frames. Now Digital frames support anumber of advanced functions such as, touch screens, WiFiconnectivity, Blue tooth capability, MPEG video files, audiofiles, FM Radios and the ability to print pictures directly fromthe frame to printing devices.

Digital frame sizes begin from less than an inch key chaindevice to 15 inches kitchen devices. Popular Video playingdevices are around 7 inches and above.

Display Features forEducational Deliveries

The high-resolution (800 x 480),7-inch wide screen TFT panel and 2GB of internal memory, is a perfectdevice to showcase educationalmaterial with astonishing clarity anddetail. The compact dimensions andclean, simple styling of desk basedmounting is the right choice foreducational material delivery.

These devices support the morepopular digital camera JPG and BMP

21

formats, and users may choose to view photos in slideshowmode, or in a convenient tiled thumbnail view. A unique func-tion allows selecting multiple photos to create one's owncustom slideshows with background sound. Another advancednew feature is AOS (Automatic Orientation Sensor), whichdetects when the device is rotated horizontally or vertically andautomatically adjusts image placement on the screen for opti-mal viewing. To further enhance display performance, these de-vices are equipped with advanced new natural tone intelligentskin colour processing that analyses the makeup of each imageand enhances colours for a more natural, lifelike appearance.

Designed from the ground up as a true multimedia device thatdoes more than simply display photos, the device is fullyequipped to play back movies and videos, with support for AVI,MOV, MPG, MP4 3GP and Motion JPEG video formats. Userscan select video files to view from a convenient thumbnailpreview interface and set multiple repeat modes for seamlessvideo playback - no external media players required.

Besides playing movies and video clips, the device also func-tions as a full-featured MP3 player and an FM radio with stationpresets, which allows users, listen to their favourite educationalMP3 course audio material or educational radio stations whileviewing slideshows at the same time. Audio is delivered throughthe device high output, front-firing internal speakers and astandard 3.5mm jack connects external headphones.

The device is equipped with a versatile card reader that acceptsvirtually every type of digital camera memory card available.Additionally, a special new Mobile Card slot has been includedin these devices for direct adapter-free input of M2 and microSD cards, which makes it easier than ever to view cell phonepictures or video clips. On top of that, the device built-in USBhost connector also allows users to plug-in USB flash drives, pro-viding a quick and easy platform for showing multimedia filesto others. Once connected, the device will automatically find andplayback all music, pictures, and video clips available on theflash drive without having to press buttons.

Clock and Calendar

With its appealing design and flexible placement options, thedevice can also be used as an attractive desktop clock/calendar,clock/radio, or alarm clock. The Calendar mode displays a photoor slideshow of ones choice on left-hand side of the screen, whileshowing an easy-to-read digital clock and monthly calendar onthe right. The calendar allows users to mark important days withalarm reminders, such as a birthday. The device also lets usersset custom MP3 or FM radio daily alarms for waking up to onesfavourite song or radio station in the morning.

To allow convenient operation from a distance, these devicesprovide an easy-to-use remote control, which gives users theoption to enjoy audio and video files without having to get upand press buttons on the frame itself. More than just a pictureframe, the devices' simple, classic styling makes it perfect foradding a bit of fashion to the living room, bedroom, or officeand provides an easy way to show off your photo collection atthe same time.

Features

Most of the Digital picture frames come with the followingfeatures:

� Bright 7" high-resolution widescreen colour TFT LCD panel

� Built-in stereo speakers and headphone jack

� Viewing photos with background music from MP3s orthe radio

� Supports USB flash drives and micro SD/SD/SDHC/MMC/MS/M2/CF memory cards

� 2 GB of internal memory

� Built-in FM radio with programmable station presets

� Full Motion video playback (support for AVI, MOV, MPG,MP4 3GP and Motion JPEG video formats)

� Automatic rotation sensor for easy Landscape or Portrait setup

� Fully compliant with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and backwardscompatible with USB 1.1

� Direct USB connection to the PC for easy file transfers

� Multiple photos selection for convenient one-step transfer tointernal memory

� Slideshow, thumbnail, still picture, and zoom-in viewingoptions

� Attractive frame themes to accent your pictures with

� Important date/event reminder

� Clock, alarm and calendar functions

� Automatic Power-ON/OFF and Sleep timers

� Custom alarm clock settings - wake up to your favouriteFM radio station or MP3 song

22

Cost of Digital Photo Frames

The standard digital photo frames have already hit consumer-friendly price points. Wi-Fi enabled frames cost around 8,000 -12,000 INR. A 7-inch device in which videos can be played, costaround 4000 - 5500 INR, with 2 GB on board supports, and USBexternal supports, A 10" devices cost around 10,000 INR. Theprice variation is due to the quality of the product, decorativefrills attached and additional features such as, calendar, FMradio supports etc. The prices of these Digital Photo Frames mayreduce once the demand for it rises. As new models come intothe market with better features the prices of existing models mayalso go down further. A device in the range of 4000 - 5000 INRappears to be the right choice currently. The devices are of 7"frames with video playing capability, FM radio and MP3supports, as well as a calendar, and a clock.

Flash Memory Costs in India

1 GB flash drives, a couple of years ago were expensive today,the cost is as low as 99 INR. The demand and trend these days isfor 8 GB drives and standard brands sell between 700 - 750 INR.

With the compression technology of EasyNow, Video lessons of150 hrs. can be distributed on one 8 GB flash drive that can beviewed through a digital photo frame.

R & D Tried Out

We tried playing videos of several Open Universities such as,Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) Chennai, Dr. B RAmbedkar Open University (BRAOU), Hyderabad, YashwantraoChavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nasik, OpenUniversity, Sri Lanka (OUSL), Open University, Malaysia(OUM), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) NOIDA,Central Institute of Information Technology (CIET) New Delhiand the National Programme on Technology Enabled Learning(NPTEL), Government of India, programmes after mapping theminto required formats. The Videos play smoothly and deliveriesare with good picture clarity and sound. 15 Hours of programmeswere created in a 1 GB drive for testing. We also experimentedwith a 4 GB flash drive.

Smart TipsWhen you are looking for a specific Educational material fromvarious sources, Internet based storage and dissemination is theright approach in information delivery. But if students have torefer to the entire material for a specific course say 'Electronicsand Communication Engineering', that would mean attending/reading up on almost 650 Hours of classroom lectures, by thebest teachers in the country, hence, the need to choose betweenNet deliveries and flash drive based deliveries. Looking at thecost of broad-band based viewing and infra structural supportsrequired, Flash drive based deliveries and the Digital frame basedsupports appears to be the better solution as of today. Digitalphoto frames, prices may decrease to well below 3000 INRwithin the next six months. With this approach there is a costadvantage and viewing comfort.

Digital photo frame based slide shows (teacher's voice andsubject matter on the board) of 150 hours class room lectures ofa single subject can be delivered in a 2 GB flash drive that can beviewed through Digital photo frames. Digital photo frames areoperated with very low power, so one can think of solar andbattery backups to power the units.

News Flash

CEMCA’s Presence at the Launch of the National Mission on Education

The Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, utilized the services and expertise of

Mr. V Krishna Moorthy, Consultant, CEMCA, in achieving extreme reasonable video compression of the Video

Lectures of the 6 Indian Institutes of Technology. More than 640 hours of Video Lectures were compressed into

a pen drive and was released by Shri Arjun Singh, Hon'ble Minister for Human Resource Development, Govern-

ment of India, as a shining example of ICT intervention in popularizing quality technical education. This was

released on February 3rd 2009 at a mammoth function attended by more than 300 Vice Chancellors, Directors

of Technical Institutions, Indian Institute of Technologies, Chairman, University Grants Commission, India, and

Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

Capacity Price in Indian Rupees, INR

1 GB 99 to 150

2 GB 200 to 250

4 GB 350 to 450

8 GB 600 to 800

16 GB 1000 to 1500

32 GB 2500 to 3000

64 GB 6500 to 7000

23

ISSN 0972-284X

is published quarterly byCommonwealth Educational Media

Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

CEMCA, a centre ofCommonwealth of Learning

(COL) Vancouver, Canada, is aninternational agency.

CEMCA’s mission is to promote theapplication of media and technology in

education in Asian Commonwealthcountries. For more information,

visit us at:8/4, Sarvpriya Vihar,

New Delhi 110016, INDIA

call us at:+91 (0) 11 2653 7146+91 (0) 11 2653 7148

Our Fax No. is+91 (0)11 2653 7147

or visit our website:http://www.cemca.org

email: admin@cemca.org

Editor-in-ChiefR. Sreedher

RSreedher@col.org

EditorPema Eden Samdup

psamdup@col.org

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You are welcome to reproduce or translateany material in this newsletter. Please credit

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The views expressed in the articles are thoseof the authors and not necessarily that of the

publisher. Products mentioned in thenewsletter are only for information and do

not mean endorsement by CEMCA or COL.

News from COL

Luck turns for hard working scholarship winner30/03/2009 8:51:00 AM

A Young Armidale accountant has won anational award and a $9000 scholarship.

Josie Bieber, 24, was awarded the CGU-Austral-ian Mutual Institute (AMI) young achieversscholarship at a function in Canberra. Ms. Bieberwas nominated by her employer, the ArmidaleBuilding Society (ABS), where she is the chieffinancial officer.

The scholarship will fund a Master of Business Administration (MBA) course, whichshe will study through distance education at the University of South Australia.Miss Bieber was one of seven state winners before being named winner of theAustralia-wide award, which was open to entrants under 35 who had demonstratedoutstanding leadership in the industry.

ABS chief executive, Roger Cracknell, said that, among the award winners, she repre-sented the smallest organisation. "We nominated her as a young achiever, so it's a caseof the mouse that roared," he said.

"Josie came to us as an 18-year-old and while working with us she completed herCommerce Degree, majoring in accounting, and flew through with distinctions andhigh distinctions. "Now she is halfway through a Law Degree."

Ms. Bieber's study has not all been smooth sailing.

In Year 12 she had a bout of glandular fever and two years ago was hit by Ross Riverfever. Four years ago her father was injured in a car crash in Queensland and wasdiagnosed with a brain tumour. "Josie brought her father back to Armidale and nursedhim for three months before he died," Mr. Cracknell said. "So to cope with that whilecontinuing to work, study and pass exams is a remarkable achievement. "And Josie isnot just a book worm - she is an accomplished sportsperson, having won State title intennis as a schoolgirl."

Ms. Bieber has been with ABS for five and a half years. She seems to have confirmedArmidale as home after purchasing a house in town.

http://www.col.org/resources/knowServices/newsfeeds/Pages/learnDev_NF.aspx

The Open Schools Handbook: As Resource Guide for Managers

The latest in a developing series of COL handbooks about open schooling, this bookhas been developed for practitioners who seek to provide primary, secondary andvocational education for out-of-school learners using open and distance learning (ODL).It will be of particular interest to chief executive officers, managers and other seniorstaff who work in existing open schools or colleges, are establishing an ODL institu-tion or are transforming a unit in a government structure into an autonomous openschool. Touching on all the important issues - from strategic planning and staffing tosupporting learners and study materials - it provides practical advice, insight andexamples of best practices to guide the management of open schools. By Ed Du Vivier.

www.col.org/OpenSchoolsHandbookwww.col.org/OpenSchoolinghttp://www.col.org/news/Pages/default.aspx

24

Community Engagement and Service: The Third Mission ofUniversities, 18 to 20 May 2009, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Website: http://www.chet.educ.ubc.ca/Conferences1.html

Contact name: Joanne O'Connor

This conference will bring together academics as well as practi-tioners and professionals in order to explore and showcaseresearch and practice of Service to the Community, the thirdmission of universities, alongside teaching & research.

Organized by: PASCAL INTERNATIONAL and the Universityof British Columbia http://www.conferencealerts.com/seeconf.mv?q=ca1x8h86

LIHE 09 - 2nd International Symposium: Improving StudentsLearning Outcomes in Higher Education, 31 May 2009 to 4 June2009, Aghia Marina, Aegina Island, Greece

Website: http://www.lihe.wordpress.com

Contact name: Dr. Professor Claus Nygaar

Conference Announcement/Call for papers

LIHE '09 - Improving Students' Learning Outcomes in HigherEducation

LIHE '09 is not a traditional conference but an international sym-posium where max. 25 academics from all over the world arebrought together for 5 inspiring days in Greece to write an an-thology on IMPROVING STUDENTS' LEARNING OUTCOMES.

Enquiries: academicevent@gmail.com

Web address: http://www.lihe.wordpress.com

Sponsored by: LIHE - International Academic Association for theEnhancement of Learning in Higher Education

5th International CDIO Conference, 7 to 10 June 2009, Singapore

Website: http://www.sp.edu.sg/cdio2009

Contact name: Crystal Anne Lim

The Conference provides a platform for universities throughoutthe world that are collaborating in the CDIO Initiative, andothers interested in transforming engineering education, toexchange ideas and experiences, and review developments.

Organized by: CDIO Initiative

elearn2009, 8 to 11 June 2009, Port of Spain, n/a, Trinidadand Tobago

Website: http://elearn2009.com

Contact name: Anna-May Edwards-Henry

A forum for the exchange of ideas and information on thedevelopment of the creative use of technology in educationtowards professional growth and discovery.

Organized by: The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

EDULEARN09 International Conference on Education andNew Learning Technologies, 6 to 8 July 2009, Barcelona,Catalonia, Spain

Website: http://www.iated.org/edulearn09

Contact name: Technical Staff

Conference Announcement/Call for papers

EDULEARN09 (International Conference on Education andNew Learning Technologies) 6th, 7th and 8th of July, 2009Barcelona (Spain)

Website: http://www.iated.org/edulearn09

Abstract Submission Deadline: 1st April 2009

You can submit your abstract at http://www.iated.org/edulearn09/submit

EDULEARN09 will be an interesting forum for those who wishto present their projects and results in the Methodologiesapplied to Education and Research, New Learning Technolo-gies in Education and E-learning.

It will be help at international level, counting with the participa-tion of attendants from all parts and continents of the world.The presence of delegates from more than 65 countries inthe world is expected. You can participate in any of the 3presentation modalities:

– Oral

– Poster

– or Virtual (if you cannot attend the conference in-person).

EDULEARN09 Technical Secretariat

Email: edulearn09@iated.org

5th eINDIA 2009, 4 to 6 August 2009, Greater Noida, UttarPradesh, India

Website: http://www.eindia.net.in

Contact name: Sukanya Kashyap

Organized by: CSDMS and Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd.

The 23rd AAOU Annual Conference, 3 to 5 November 2009,Tehran, Iran

Website: http://www.aaou2009.pnu.ac.ir

Contact name: Dr. Ghassem Farajollahi

When we consider Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as aninnovative approach to education it is necessary to evaluatewhether its goals and aims have actually been achieved andwhether our expectations have been met.

Organized by: Payame Noor University and Asian Associationof Open Universities

Forthcoming Conferences & Seminars...