As part of the Higher Education Authority's (HEA) strategic initiative
to support greater collaboration in eLearning within the higher
education sector, the Universities of Ireland and the Institutes of
Technology have embarked on a collaborative project to initiate,
support and share eLearning resources (digital content, digital
teaching materials etc.). The development of quality digital learning
resources is an essential element in enhancing learning offerings in
the Irish University sector. Such resources are increasingly being
sought for use for eLearning courses, blended eLearning, or for use in
traditional forms of teaching. The National Digital Learning Repository
(NDLR) project has been set up to support access to, and support the
development of sharable digital learning resources,
www.learningcontent.edu.ie
The launch of the first such academic subject area of eLearning will
take place at the Aula Maxima, University College Cork (UCC) on
Tuesday, 21 February, 10.30am-4.00pm. Academic staff in
Universities and Institutes of Technology and eLearning practitioners
are invited to attend this one-day event which will explore
requirements, and opportunities establishing communities. This first
meeting will focus on academics and learning technologists who are
responsible for courses on any aspect of eLearning design, development,
deployment, assessment or valuation.
According to the Director of Centre for Learning Technology, Dr Vincent
Wade, Trinity College Dublin "Although there are
significant differences in structure, goals, pre-requisites,
instructional approach, ethos and content across university courses in
similar subject areas, nevertheless there remains considerable scope
for developing much greater sharing of learning resources and
exploiting the existing expertise across the entire Irish HE
sector." "If Ireland is to excel in the increasing globalised
Higher Education marketplace, its Universities need to investigate
processes, best practices and undertake evaluation of emerging and
established systems for digital repositories of shared learning
resources", he said.
Delegates will hear keynote speakers discuss areas of eLearning
resource reuse, digital learning copyright, as well as a workshop
sessions to identify key academic requirements and concerns in
supporting elearning resource sharing. See
www.learningcontent.edu.ie for detailed programme.
189MMcS
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