strategy and planning

Mathy Vanbuel described his experience in the provision of educational services to remote schools in Europe in a keynote presentation given on 15th May during an International Conference held in Athens. This conference called "Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Communities; Practical Solutions and Policies'' brought together project leaders of several pioneering projects many of which are using the latest developments in satellite technology to provide solutions for remote and rural school communities in Europe and elsewhere. Organised in the Ellinogermaniki School in Pallini, this event brought together policy makers, academics and field practitioners from Europe and beyond who share an interest in promoting the use of ICT by rural citizens of all ages. See the Conference web site for more information.

The LOGOFIND Project of the Department of Finance in the Philippines collaborates directly with the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) to set up and manage a distance learning service, the Distance Learning Network. The research and training arm of the LMP, the Mayors Development Centre, is charged with the effective management and operation of this DLN.
The aim of the network is firstly to maximise on previous investments in development of training materials by extending the reach of these training courses to more and other trainees within the LGUs (including their Technical and Administrative Staff), and secondly to further explore and develop new methods of training and learning, in order to evolve towards more effective, personalised, flexible and affordable learning, using innovative learning technologies and sound pedagogical approaches.
In this initial phase a small network of Distance Learning Sites is installed in hosting institutions across the Philippines (Mindanao, Visayas, Northern Luzon) in order to accommodate the courses. During the month of May 2008, Mathy Vanbuel worked with the LOGOFIND, the LMP and the World Bank Institute in order to further define the programme and to move this deployment forward.

Together with partners from 7 different European countries ATiT launches the Re.ViCA Lifelong Learning Project that will look at virtual campus experiences across Europe. This project, chaired by Europace, will conclude in September 2009 with the publication of the Virtual Campus Manual aimed at regional, national and European political decision makers, advisors, government and administration, education authorities, e-learning industry, research community and Virtual Campus management.

During a mission in the Philippines in June 2007, Mathy Vanbuel explored and designed together with the LOGOFIND project the possibilities to further develop the present training service into a multifunctional Distance Learning Network, aimed at training local governments. The envisaged network will expand from the traditional classroom by means of telepresence and videoconferencing using blended learning, to eventually self directed and flexible personal learning within a virtual network of independent learners.

Sally Reynolds and Mathy Vanbuel, ATiT, were both involved in the eLearning Africa Conference in Addis (Ethiopia) from 24 till 26 May 2006. The conference attracted over 800 experts and decision makers from over 80 countries (but with a large majority from African countries) and certainly sparked a lot of enthusiasm with the attendees. More information and conclusions on the ICWE eLearning Africa website.

ATiT has recently become a member of Kaleidoscope, the EU Network of Excellence which brings together European teams in technology-enhanced learning. Its goal is to integrate 76 research units from around Europe, covering a large range of expertise from technology to education, from academic to private research, ATiT will be supporting Kaleidoscope's dissemination efforts in the coming two years.

On Wednesday 22 September Mathy Vanbuel was invited by Flanders Multimedia Valley, the cluster organisation for the Flemish multimedia industry, to give a presentation on the topic 'e-learning in SME's' at one of their Whats'nHows evenings. Have a look at his presentation.

Mathy Vanbuel was part of a team from the Ghana Ministry of Education Teacher Education Division and Imfundo (DfID) visiting the Northern and Upper Regions in Ghana on a mission to explore the possibilities to enhance the training of untrained teachers by means of ICT enhanced Open and Distance Learning.