Dr.N
Wednesday 9 December 2015
Tuesday 8 December 2015
OEB & The TVET eConvergence BRAND
Greetings/Salam PeL,
THIS FOR NOW IS MY FINAL POST FROM MY BERLIN EXPERIENCE.
THIS IS THE OEB - ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN. IT IS A HUGE EVENT THAT CATERS FOR ALL TYPES OF ORGANIZATION THAT IS ON TO LEARNING VIA TECHNOLOGY. SO WE HAVE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, INDUSTRIES, SCHOOLS etc COMING IN TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT. UNESCO UNIVOC WAS ALSO PART OF THIS CONFERENCE AS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION VIA ICT WAS A TOPIC BEING DISCUSSED. CLICK HERE FOR THE OEB2015 TRAILER
THERE WERE TWO OCCASIONS IN WHICH WE WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE AND PRESENT OUR IDEAS.
THE FIRST SESSION WAS AN INVITATION TO A SPECIAL WORKSHOP BY UNIVOC TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) WITH OTHER SELECTED TVET CENTERS REPRESENTATIVES FROM MEXICO, SRI LANKA, SAUDI ARABIA, JAMAICA, MALAWI, NIGERIA, SCOTLAND, AFRICA etc. HERE AGAIN THE TVET eCONVERGENCE WAS DISCUSSED AMONG THE TVET REPRESENTATIVES. THIS PARTICULAR WORKSHOP WAS LEAD BY MAX EHLERS FROM UNESCO UNIVOC.
THE SECOND SESSION WAS ON THE THE 3RD OF DECEMBER 2015. WE PRESENTED THE TVET eCONVERGENCE INITIATIVE AS AN OVERVIEW AS PART OF THE WORKSHOP TITLED, USING TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE THE LEARNING DIVIDE IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. THIS WORKSHOP WAS OPENED TO ANYONE WHO CAME FOR THE CONFERENCE. LEAD BY MODERATOR, MARK WEST FROM UNESCO PARIS. HERE WE WERE PART OF A PANEL OF FOUR. THE PANELIST WERE
· Shafika Isaacs (South Africa, ICT4D Professional)
· Donald Clark (UK, Plan B Learning)
· Dr. Zainal Azhar Zainal Abidin
(POLITEKNIK MALAYSIAN,MOHE, TVET eConvergence project)
· Elke Wemhoff (GIZ Germany/Indonesia)
THE FIRST SESSION ALLOWED ME TO MEET OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TVET CENTERS UNDER UNIVOC. WE LISTEN TO THEIR PRACTICES AND DISCUSSED ON COMMON ISSUES RANGING FROM ONLINE EDUCATION MANAGEMENT TO OER AGENDAS AND PRACTICES. THE TVET e CONVERGENCE WAS WELL RECEIVED AS A PRACTICED THAT COULD SOLVE MANY ISSUES, AMONG THEM FUNDING AND CONTENT CREATION. THE CONCEPT OF A COMPETITION TO CREATE CONTENT WAS HIGHLIGHTED. A BRANDING MARKETING APPROACHED TO OER WAS DISCUSSED AS A POSSIBILITY FOR MOVING FOWARD. THE CIDOS INSPIRING LEARNING AWARDS OR eDOLA2015, WAS SUCH A BRAND. WE HOPED THAT IT WILL BE CONSIDERED AS A BEST PRACTICE BY UNESCO UNIVOC FOR TWO REASONS, (1) AN ONLINE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE, AND (2) AN ONLINE eCONTENT COMPETITION PRACTICE.
THE SECOND SESSION WAS CONDUCTED IN A PANEL/SEMINAR MODE. I FOUND THIS VERY INTERESTING. THE MODERATOR WAS FROM UNESCO PARIS AND HIS APPROACH TO CONDUCTING THE SESSION ALLOWED IT TO BE INFORMATIVE. WE EACH PRESENTED OUR PRACTICES, ADDRESS THE THEME OF DISSCUSION AND THEN TOOK QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
LESSONS LEARN, ALL INSTITUTIONS FACED THE SAME CONCERNS; BUDGET CONSTRAINS, CHANGING OF THE MINDSET, STAFF SHORTAGE/OVERBURDEN, CONFLICTING POLICIES AND CULTURES, INSUFFIECIENT TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT etc., HENCE WE ARE NOT ALONE. WE WERE ALL LOOKING FOR ANSWERS BUT THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT APPROACH. GETTING TOGETHER, SHARING THOUGHTS AND PRACTICES MADE IT EASIER TO REFLECT AND REASSESSED OUR PRACTICES.
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WILL NOT CONVERT TO AN eLEARNING CULTURE EVENTHOUGH THE MANAGEMENT HAS PROVIDED RESOURCES AND BANDWIDTH. A CULTURE MUST BE CREATED, ESPECIALLY IN THE CREATION OF OERs. HENCE, MY MAIN THRUST TO THE OER via COMPETITION AND ITS USE BY EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS WAS SIMPLE, IT WAS BUILT ON A PROVERB AND A QUOTE:
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WILL NOT CONVERT TO AN eLEARNING CULTURE EVENTHOUGH THE MANAGEMENT HAS PROVIDED RESOURCES AND BANDWIDTH. A CULTURE MUST BE CREATED, ESPECIALLY IN THE CREATION OF OERs. HENCE, MY MAIN THRUST TO THE OER via COMPETITION AND ITS USE BY EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS WAS SIMPLE, IT WAS BUILT ON A PROVERB AND A QUOTE:
a) YOU CAN BRING A HORSE TO WATER BUT YOU CANT MAKE HIM DRINK (11TH CENTURY PROVERB),
b) A GOOD TEACHER WILL LEAD THE HORSE TO WATER, AN EXCELLENT TEACHER WILL MAKE THE HORSE THIRSTY FIRST (MARIO CORTES),
c) IN TODAYS CONSUMER CONTEXT, MAKING THE HORSE THIRSTY IS NOT ENOUGH, THE BRAND OF THE WATER SOURCE IS AS IMPORTANT! (CeLT'S APPROACH)
THEREFORE, eDOLA & THE TVET eConvergence INITIATIVE WITH THE ENDORSEMENT OF UNESCO UNIVOC IS SUCH A BRAND WE ARE LOOKING FOR.
Dr.N
MEET DONALD CLARK
GREETINGS/SALAM PeL,
I DEDICATE MY SECOND POST FROM BERLIN TO THIS INDIVIDUAL. I MET THIS MAN IN OEB (ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN). HE WAS IN THE GROUP I PRESENTED THE TVET eCONVERGENCE2015 INITIATIVE TOO. HE WAS ALSO A CO-PANEL SPEAKER FOR ONE OF THE MANY CONFERENCE TALKS.
I DEDICATE MY SECOND POST FROM BERLIN TO THIS INDIVIDUAL. I MET THIS MAN IN OEB (ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN). HE WAS IN THE GROUP I PRESENTED THE TVET eCONVERGENCE2015 INITIATIVE TOO. HE WAS ALSO A CO-PANEL SPEAKER FOR ONE OF THE MANY CONFERENCE TALKS.
THIS PEOPLE IS DONALD CLARK, A SELF PROCLAIMED MAN WITHOUT A JOB. OR AS I WOULD DEFINED IT AS A MAN WITHOUT A PERMANENT JOB UNLIKE MOST OF US HERE.
HE DOES MANY THINGS, FROM BUSINESS TO EDUCATION BUT IS BETTER KNOWN AS A MEDIA/eLEARNING PERSON WHO IS TOTALLY INTO ONLINE TOOLS FOR EDUCATION. THE IMAGE ABOVE IS FROM A TED TALK. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO HIS TED TALK IDEAS. YOU WILL FIND IT INTERESTING.
INTERESTING CHAP WHO IS INTO VR (VIRTUAL REALITY) FOR EDUCATION. HE STARTED WITH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO OF HIS SISTER EXPERIENCING A VR ENVIRONMENT. CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW HIS SISTER REACTS TO A VR.
HE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF VR AND PROOFS IT BY FACEBOOK'S RECENT PURCHASE OF OCULUS FOR 2 BILLION DOLLARS. DONALD PREDICTS TVET TO BE THE NEXT BIG THING AS ACADEMIC EDUCATION IS CAUSING SERIOUS EMPLOYMENT ISSUES. BELOW IS HIS BLOG, PLAN B WHICH CONTAINS VARIOUS WRITE UPS ABOUT THE WORLD OF ONLINE LEARNING.
WE LATER TRIED THE VR EXPERIENCE AND FOUND IT TOTALLY MIND BLOWING. YOUR MIND LOSES ITS SENSE OF REALITY AS THE VR TAKES OVER. YOUR SENSES AND LIMBS ARE FOOLED. TVET EDUCATION VIA THE VR WOULD DEFINITELY HELP WITH THE PRACTICAL TRAINING SESSIONS.
UNIVOC PRESENTED HIM AS AN ONLINE MEDIA EVANGELIST AS HE GOES ABOUT POUNDING AWAY THE POWER OF THE ONLINE TECH BUT STRANGELY REJECTS THE FOCUS OF DEVICES IN EDUCATION.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS MAN, WELL I GUESS ITS THROUGH HIS MANY QUOTES, AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM:
1) "BLENDED LEARNING IS ALL ABOUT LEARNING NOT TEACHING!"
2) "EVEN MEDIC STUDENTS ARE USING IT (WIKIPEDIA),... EVEN TEACHERS ARE USING IT BUT SOMEHOW THEY REFRAIN THEIR STUDENTS FROM DOING SO."
3) "THE GREATEST OPPOSITION TO ONLINE LEARNING ARE EDUCATORS THEMSELVES, NOW WHY IS THAT?"
4) "MOOCS ARE HERE TO STAY.".
HE ENDED WITH A GRAND MASTER QUOTE TO ALL NON BELIEVERS,
"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! .... YOU THINK THE INTERNET IS GOING AWAY, ARE YOU ALL MAD?!"
LADIES AND GENTS, MEET DONALD CLARK.
Dr.N
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS MAN, WELL I GUESS ITS THROUGH HIS MANY QUOTES, AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM:
1) "BLENDED LEARNING IS ALL ABOUT LEARNING NOT TEACHING!"
2) "EVEN MEDIC STUDENTS ARE USING IT (WIKIPEDIA),... EVEN TEACHERS ARE USING IT BUT SOMEHOW THEY REFRAIN THEIR STUDENTS FROM DOING SO."
3) "THE GREATEST OPPOSITION TO ONLINE LEARNING ARE EDUCATORS THEMSELVES, NOW WHY IS THAT?"
4) "MOOCS ARE HERE TO STAY.".
HE ENDED WITH A GRAND MASTER QUOTE TO ALL NON BELIEVERS,
"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! .... YOU THINK THE INTERNET IS GOING AWAY, ARE YOU ALL MAD?!"
LADIES AND GENTS, MEET DONALD CLARK.
Dr.N
Sunday 6 December 2015
BERLIN, ein Geist der Aufgeben Weigert!
GREETINGS/SALAM PeL,
I AM HOME AT LAST AND ITS NICE TO BE HOME.
MY BERLIN ADVENTURE HAS ENDED. I WAS THERE FOR AN eLEARNING CONFERENCE AND MANAGED TO SPENT A FEW HOURS SEEING BERLIN.
THIS IS A THREE PART POST, THIS ONE DEALS IN LESSONS LEARNT IN SEEING THIS CITY.
THEN AFTER THE WAR, IT SUFFERED ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT, THE BERLIN WALL WAS BUILT, A WALL THAT DIVIDED THE CITY INTO TWO SEPARATE COUNTRIES. DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE WHAT LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN AT THAT POINT IN TIME, FAMILIES WERE INSTANTLY BEING SEPARATED BY A WALL FROM 1961 - 1989. BELOW ARE THREE PIXS OF THE WALL, THE FIRST ONE SHOWS THE WALL IN ITS EARLY YEARS AND THE SECOND IMAGE, THE WALL OR WHAT IS LEFT OF IT TODAY. THE THIRD PIX IS WHAT IS LEFT OF THE FAMOUS CHECKPOINT BETWEEN WEST AND EAST GERMANY.
I AM HOME AT LAST AND ITS NICE TO BE HOME.
MY BERLIN ADVENTURE HAS ENDED. I WAS THERE FOR AN eLEARNING CONFERENCE AND MANAGED TO SPENT A FEW HOURS SEEING BERLIN.
THIS IS A THREE PART POST, THIS ONE DEALS IN LESSONS LEARNT IN SEEING THIS CITY.
WHAT AN EXPERIENCE IT WAS, TO SEE AN HISTORIC CITY AND TO BE PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. TRULY AN EYE OPENING EVENT. FAR AS WWII WAS CONCERNED, BERLIN WAS WHERE IT ALL ENDED. ACCORDING TO ITS STORY A HUGE SURFACE OF THE CITY WAS DEMOLISHED.
THEN AFTER THE WAR, IT SUFFERED ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT, THE BERLIN WALL WAS BUILT, A WALL THAT DIVIDED THE CITY INTO TWO SEPARATE COUNTRIES. DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE WHAT LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN AT THAT POINT IN TIME, FAMILIES WERE INSTANTLY BEING SEPARATED BY A WALL FROM 1961 - 1989. BELOW ARE THREE PIXS OF THE WALL, THE FIRST ONE SHOWS THE WALL IN ITS EARLY YEARS AND THE SECOND IMAGE, THE WALL OR WHAT IS LEFT OF IT TODAY. THE THIRD PIX IS WHAT IS LEFT OF THE FAMOUS CHECKPOINT BETWEEN WEST AND EAST GERMANY.
 |
| CHECKPOINT CHARLIE, A SENTRY POST THAT HAS BECOME A TOURIST ATTRACTION TODAY. |
WHAT WAS MOST INTERESTING TO ME WAS THE THOUGHT OF THE REUNIFICATION PROCESS. HOW CHALLENGING IT MUST HAVE BEEN TO REBUILD AND STITCH TOGETHER THE TWO TORN APART CITIES. THIS REALLY REQUIRES A SPIRIT OF WORKING TOGETHER, UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND PATIENCE.
I THINK WE CAN RELATE TO THIS IN A SMALL, MICRO WAY, HERE WE'RE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION WHICH IS TRYING TO ASSEMBLE AND UNITE ALL 33 POLYTECHNICS UNDER A COMMON UNDERSTANDING AND TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMON GOOD. WHEREAS, THEN IN BERLIN THIS CHALLENGE WAS BUILT ON A LARGER SCALE - HERE A NATION THAT WAS DEVASTATED BY WAR AND A CITY TORN APART BY A PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL WALL WAS TRYING TO REUNIFY.
AND THEY MADE IT!
FOR I THINK, DEEP WITHIN THEM THE GERMANS HAVE ONE VERY IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENT - A SPIRIT THAT REFUSES TO GIVE UP. KUDOS BERLIN AND I SINCERELY HOPE THAT WE WILL NEVER SEE OTHER WALLS BEING BUILT THAT WOULD SEPARATE HUMANITY ANYWHERE AGAIN.
I THINK WE CAN RELATE TO THIS IN A SMALL, MICRO WAY, HERE WE'RE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION WHICH IS TRYING TO ASSEMBLE AND UNITE ALL 33 POLYTECHNICS UNDER A COMMON UNDERSTANDING AND TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMON GOOD. WHEREAS, THEN IN BERLIN THIS CHALLENGE WAS BUILT ON A LARGER SCALE - HERE A NATION THAT WAS DEVASTATED BY WAR AND A CITY TORN APART BY A PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL WALL WAS TRYING TO REUNIFY.
AND THEY MADE IT!
FOR I THINK, DEEP WITHIN THEM THE GERMANS HAVE ONE VERY IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENT - A SPIRIT THAT REFUSES TO GIVE UP. KUDOS BERLIN AND I SINCERELY HOPE THAT WE WILL NEVER SEE OTHER WALLS BEING BUILT THAT WOULD SEPARATE HUMANITY ANYWHERE AGAIN.
GLÜCKWUNSCH BERLIN!
Dr.N
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