It's never too soon or too late for learning
Chasseneuil (FR) - 18/09/08 - 19/09/08
The JRC presents social computing to enhance lifelong learning
As part of tomorrow's French EU Presidency event "Lifelong learning in higher education: networked teaching and learning in a knowledge society", the JRC's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) will participate with a presentation entitled "Learning 2.0 – the use of social computing to enhance lifelong learning". IPTS is currently conducting a research project on the impact of web 2.0 innovations on education and training, in collaboration with the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC). This presentation is based on the intermediate results of the study, focusing on the usage, opportunities and challenges of web 2.0 approaches in higher education.
The event, organised as part of the annual conference of the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), is being hosted by the Centre National d’Éducation à Distance (CNED) at Futuroscope Chasseneuil, near Poitiers.
The objective of the JRC-IPTS study is to assess the impact of web 2.0 trends on the field of learning and education in Europe and to see where Europe stands in terms of using web 2.0 innovations in the domain of learning. Particular emphasis is given to analysing to what extent "Learning 2.0" supports inclusion and innovative learning practices, promotes lifelong learning and changes learning patterns and trajectories.
The JRC is also actively involved in Lifelong Learning through its Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning based on indicators and benchmarks (CRELL), established in 2005 as part of the JRC Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen in order to gather expertise in the field of indicator-based evaluation and monitoring of education and training systems. CRELL combines fields of economics, econometrics, education, social sciences and statistics in an interdisciplinary approach to research.
The conference as a whole will look at the difficulties faced by conventional universities in responding effectively to the lifelong learning paradigm. Experts suggest that new strategies are needed to reach the vast number of potential lifelong learners with different backgrounds, origins, education, professional training and experience.