Web-based Information for Staff Development:
Options for staff development and teaching skill development are now available in printed form, conferences, and electronically on the Web. Already, publishers produce numerous books with advice about faculty development and change management – as do a number of professional associations and other groups. This overload of information and opportunity can be readily found in numerous Internet sites. A listing of a few of these is below.
United Kingdom:
The Staff and Educational Development
Association (SEDA) Environments
Networked
Lifelong Learning
Innovations
in Education and Teaching International Journal
Canada
Society
for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
NAWEB international conference
for Web-based teaching and learning
Office of Learning Technologies
(Federal Government)
Australia
Higher Education Research and Development
Society of Australasia (HERDSA)
University of New England
Style Guide of Online Teaching Materials
United States:
Educause publications
American Association of Higher Education
Teaching Learning and Technology
Group
Transformative Communication
Sherry and Wilson (1997) articulated several key indicators that transformative
communication is happening and that the learner support environment is
effective. These indicators are captured in the table below.
Community Name and URL
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Brief
Description
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This
extensive networking site was established in 1991 by the American Center
for the Study of Distance Education at Pennsylvania State University. The
symposium comprises DEOSNEWS, an electronic journal for practitioners and
managers, and DEOS-L, an electronic forum. The purpose of DEOS is to disseminate
information and to support international computer conferencing through
systems accessible to professionals and students in the field of distance
and technology-mediated education.
DEOSNEWS
publishes articles on topics such as distance education theory, the use
of audio and video communications, course design and development, and adult
education. It is accessed by over 4000 subscribers in 68 countries. DEOS-L,
the interactive list-serve component of DEOS, has over 1500 subscribers
who participate in online discussions in the areas of research, current
issues and professional networking. |
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The
NGFL initiative in the UK marks the most sustained and extensive commitment
to educational information and communications technology by any government
to date. The objectives of the NGFL include ensuring all of the 30,000
UK schools have access to the Internet by 2002, training over 500,000 teachers
in new technologies, developing an interconnected network of services for
teachers, and providing a variety of professional support through Virtual
Teacher Centers.
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The
International Center for Distance Learning (ICDL) is an international center
for research, teaching, consultancy, information and publishing activities
based in the Institute of Educational Technology.ICDL
promotes international research and collaboration by providing information
from its library and databases; other audiences are reached through publications.
An essential knowledge resource built up over 15 years is its distance
education library and databases.
ICDL
distance education databases contain information on over 31,000 distance
learning programs and courses mostly in the Commonwealth countries, over
1,000 institutions teaching at a distance worldwide, and over 12,000 abstracts
of books, journal articles, research reports, conference papers, dissertations
and other types of literature relating to all aspects of the theory and
practice of distance education. |
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A
knowledge guide to distance education designed to help clients of the World
Bank and others interested in using distance education for human development.
The Network consists of a core site located at the World Bank and regional
sites in all parts of the world. Topics include teaching and learning online,
technology descriptions, distance education management, and set/maintenance
of policies and programs.
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DODL
is a project granted within the European Commission programSOCRATES,
with eight partners in five different European countries: Finland, Greece,
The Netherlands, Norway and United Kingdom.
The
objectives of this group include defining models for collaboration between
European academic institutions, enhancing skills of teachers, trainers
and managers, and investigating tools to organize and enhance the online
learning environment. |
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An
intergovernmental organization created by Commonwealth Heads of Government
to encourage the development and sharing of distance education knowledge,
resources and technologies. The site contains a variety of resources around
collaboration, training, and capacity building.
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An
American consortium of about 50 universities and colleges providing distance
education programs and services, with a particular emphasis on electronic
delivery. The site includes information on the many courses available online
from participating institutions. It also includes papers on distance teaching
technologies, bibliographies, courseware tools and other online resources,
discussion papers, news on policy debates and new developments, and links
to international bodies. The site is frequently updated.
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Athabasca
University is a leading Canadian provider of open and distance learning.
RIDE is a very comprehensive resource of distance education information
and best practices. Sections include: Internet education - guides to searching
the Internet, online courses, navigation tools, relevant list-serves and
usenet groups (and links to the major ones); Searching the Web - search
engines, virtual libraries, subject indices, databases, selected catalogues
of online journals and magazines; Distance education and Web design; Educational
technology resources - delivery systems, theories of learning, and issues
such as quality, copyright, and social factors in learning.
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A
treasure house of comprehensive, up to date and archival material on all
aspects of distance and flexible learning and technology-mediated education.
The Distance Education Clearinghouse is managed by the University of Wisconsin-Extension,
and includes information from that University plus national and international
sources. It is easy to navigate through the many sections and material
is added regularly. Areas of particular interest include technology and
network options, design of effective technology-mediated programs, online
courses offered, a database of conferences of interest to distance educators,
policy and (American) legislative news, and a range of papers, bibliographies,
and links to sites around the world.
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Established
in 1995 by Australia's federal and state Ministers of Education and Training
as a national electronic network to facilitate coop-eration among all education
sectors. The site provides a directory of online education and training
information and services as a 'one-stop shop' of Australian resources and
material useful for education and training.
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TECFA
(Technologies de Formation et Apprentissage) is an academic unit of the
University of Geneva with teaching and research interests in educational
technology. The research section of the site includes material on collaborative
projects of traditional and distance universities in Europe on the use
of technology-mediated education to increase real and virtual mobility
of students. The Virtual Library is an easy to use database of material
under four broad themes of educational technology, educational software,
learning environments, and technologies for distance education. There is
a wealth of material on computer mediated communications, virtual reality,
and applications such as MUDs and MOOs.
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