ACM TechNews

Powering Up IT for Professional Learning

ICT Results (05/09/08)

The goal of the EU-funded PROLEARN project is to cross the gulf between research and education at universities and similar organizations, and training and continuing education that is supplied for and within companies. The resulting links provide network members with the ability to create a new class of educational tools and technologies that could be advantageous to learners in their professional fields and workplaces. PROLEARN project manager Dr. Eelco Herder says the initiative gathers key research groups, other organizations, and industrial collaborators into a "network of excellence" in professional learning and training. "Because academic institutions are where [technology-enhanced learning] is being researched, they become the first adopters of new technologies, but there are also implications for the corporate world," Herder says. To guarantee that TEL is more widely embraced, systems from different institutions must exchange data and communicate with one another, and the PROLEARN researchers encourage system compatibility through the use of an educationally focused Simple Query Interface that contains programming instructions and assumes the responsibility of sending and responding to user queries. PROLEARN researchers have established a new European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning, and the project is supporting companies with the setup of a Virtual Competence Center. The transference of research results into education and training programs, international conferences, and scientific journals is the goal of another PROLEARN-initiated network, the PROLEARN Academy.

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/
BrowsingType/Features/ID/89721

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