Learning, Information Technology & Communication Hub of the Indian Ocean
organised by the University of Mauritius in the context of WCCE 2005,
the 8th IFIP World Conference on Computers in Education,
hosted by the University of Stellenbosch - Cape Town (South Africa)
[4-7 July 2005]
WCCE 2005 is an IFIP event hosted by the Computer Society of South Africa, in
association with IFIP TC 3 (Technical Committee – Computers in Education)
IMPORTANT DATES
• Abstracts/intention to participate [1 December 2004]
• Full papers due [14 January 2005]
• Authors notified [31 March 2005]
• Camera ready papers due [29 April 2005]
THEMES
• Open Contents, Clustering & Interoperability of Educational Resources
• Community Development & Networking for Capacity Building
• Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities
• Advanced Networked Learning Environments
• Information & Communication Technologies for the Development of Education (ICT4DE)
• Innovative Educational Initiatives, Going from Pilot to Scale: How to Scale Up?
INVITATION to ICOOL 2005
Foreword
July 2001 was a noteworthy date in the calendar of higher educational events as key stakeholders met on a common platform to reflect on a matter of growing importance. In an effort to translate words into action, UNESCO, in association with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (WFHF) and the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), established the forum on The Impact of Open Educational Resources (OER) on Higher Education in Developing Countries.
Knowledge in its elementary form is seen as a collective social product, and so as a natural consequence, a societal property. This conjectural approach of viewing knowledge laid down the foundations for the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative. OER can be broadly referred to as the unrestrictive exploitation of educational resources for non-commercial purposes. OER, to boot the preceding definition, encompasses the application of technologies towards opening access to these educational resources, while ensuring their optimal utilisation. The Learning Objects Repository (LOR) is one such technology. Other initiatives would include architectures, tools and methods devised to maximise the efficiency, usefulness and interoperability of these technologies.
In line with the above, an International Conference on Open and Online Learning coined ‘ICOOL 2003’, was held in Mauritius in December 2003. This Conference, a first of its kind in the Indian Ocean Region, was organised jointly by the University of Mauritius and ‘Université de la Réunion’, under the auspices of the UNESCO, along with the support of the Hewlett Foundation.
ICOOL 2003 had the catalytic effect of propelling insular island Mauritius amongst international players in the field of Computer-Mediated Communication & Pedagogies (CMCP) and Technology-Enhanced Education (TEE). The active participation of the 150 researchers and practitioners from 19 countries at ICOOL 2003 have now projected Mauritius as a pioneering provider of new approaches and partnerships for CMCP and TEE in the indian ocean region.
ICOOL 2005, a LITCHI from Mauritius
The rationale for ICOOL 2003 was two-prong: ‘community development’, and ‘networking for capacity building’. These were adopted as the first steps for the development and promulgation of Computer-Mediated Communication & Pedagogies, and Technology-Enhanced Education (TEE) in the Region.
The 2005 edition of the International Conference on Open and Online Learning, ‘ICOOL 2005’, will be capitalising on the objectives set for ICOOL 2003, and building on the achievements thereof. From these perspectives ICOOL 2005 would be investigating in, and promoting the effective use of, clustering and interoperability of open educational resources, and innovative approaches of team/community building, which link learning, knowledge and innovation and precise methodologies to perpetuate and scale up the results of these efforts.
New advances that have already proven to be successful in small-scale experiments should now be translated into large-scale efforts, and further transformed into long-term sustainable enterprises. As a matter of fact, the present learning environment is being more and more defined by demand-pull approaches as against technology-push approaches. Consequently, innovative learning and knowledge communities, consider working, learning and innovation as complementary forces for ensuring the long-term sustainability of these enterprising efforts. In addition, technology is regarded as the livewire that links these triangular forces. Such innovative educational approaches are imperatives to bring about a shift in current mindsets, and to transform learners, from simple interactive customers-consumactors, into reflexive and creative practitioners.
Resource pooling will enhance capacity through the commitment towards meaningful projects and the building of communities to bring these projects to fruition.
Simply opening access to knowledge is not sufficient to ensure that institutions in developing countries, which are presently mere users of open shared resources and courseware materials, would eventually become producers and active players in this process. To attain this aim, there is an urgent need to place the individual at the core of the underlying objectives, and in parallel to formulate appropriate strategies. Therefore, besides the simple sharing of knowledge, it is necessary to define new ways that would pull together existing pool of human resources, and in the same vein synchronise the knowledge culture with the development process. Technology, in this context, is that vehicle through which value is added to existing resources, new knowledge is built and social link can be created or consolidated.
In the context of the 8th IFIP World Conference on Computers in Education (WCCE 2005), ICOOL 2005 will serve as a multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and reflection on activities and projects related to Computer-Mediated Pedagogies & Communication (CMCP), Information and Communication Technologies for the Development of Education (ICT4DE) and Innovation & Knowledge Creation in Education, with a particular emphasis on sustainability and mainstreaming of innovations from the pilot stage to a real life scale.
PARTNERS
Programme Committee
• Indur Fagoonee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius, Chairman of the National Committee
• Alain Senteni, Director, Virtual Centre for Innovative Technologies, University of Mauritius, Chairman of the Programme Committee
• Mireille Bétrancourt, TECFA, University of Geneva (Switzerland)
• René-Paul Cluzel, Information Society Division - UNESCO
• Noel Conruyt, IREMIA, Université de la Reunion(France)
• Remy Courdier, IREMIA, Université de la Reunion(France)
• Pierre Dillenbourg, CRAFT-EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Switzerland)
• Aude Dufresne, Dept of Communication, University of Montréal (Qc, Canada)
• Alfred H. Essa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
• Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, University of Mauritius (Mauritius)
• Alain Jaillet, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg (France)
• Sally Johnstone, WCET the Western Cooperative for Educational Technology (USA)
• Piet Kommers, University of Twente (The Netherlands)
• Kinshuk, IEEE-LTTF, Massey University (New Zealand)
• Zdena Lustigova, Charles University, Praga (Czech Republic)
• Carmel McNaught, Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
• Paul Nleya, University of Botswana, Gaborone (Botwswana)
• Gilbert Paquette, LORNET, CIRTA, Teluq, Montréal (Qc, Canada)
• Jean-Francois Perrot, Université Paris-6 (France)
• Charles-Andre Payet, Université de la Reunion(France)
• Mariana Patru, IT & Distance Education - UNESCO
• Roshan Ramessur, University of Mauritius (Mauritius)
• Claude R. Rigault, LICEF, CIRTA, Teluq, Montréal (Qc, Canada)
• Daniel Schneider, TECFA, University of Geneva (Switzerland)
• Matti Sinko, SADC-Finnish ICT Project (Botswana)
• Alain Taurisson, Pedagogies.net (France)
• Pierre Tchounikine, LIUM, Université du Maine (France)
• Vijaya Teelock , University of Mauritius (Mauritius)
MAILING ADDRESS
ICOOL 2005, a LITCHI from Mauritius
VCILT, University of Mauritius (Réduit, Republic of Mauritius)
tel. (230) 454 1041 [#1582]
fax. (230) 467 6744
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