28 mars 2013

Ecrire des articles sur Wikipédia pour obtenir sa licence

Par Raphaël Gibour. En Ukraine, les étudiants à polytechnique sont dispensés de devoirs, mais doivent publier des articles sur l’encyclopédie en ligne pour valider leurs diplômes.
«Au lieu de copier Wikipédia, c’est mieux de le créer!», fait remarquer un étudiant de polytechnique en Ukraine. Un accord a été signé entre la prestigieuse école et l’encyclopédie gratuite, le mois dernier. Plutôt que de rendre des devoirs à leurs professeurs, et de voir finir ces dissertations, exposés ou encore thèses, dans des classeurs, les étudiants pourront écrire des articles qui seront ensuite édités sur Wikipédia. Le recteur de l’université, le professeur Tovazhniansky s’est félicité de cet accord, qu’il considère comme la suite logique et réussie d’un projet, qui a déjà permis la publication d’une vingtaine d’articles rédigés par des étudiants sur l’encyclopédie libre. «Contribuer à Wikipédia augmente considérablement la motivation des étudiants, depuis que leurs articles peuvent être lus par le monde entier, et pas seulement leurs professeurs», a constaté Sergei Petrov, l’un des coordinateurs du projet, dans le Global Post. L’université espère faire des émules. Une initiative similaire serait en train de se créer dans l’université de Sumy et de la capitale, Kiev. Voir l'article entier...

By Raphael Gibour. In Ukraine, Polytechnic students are exempted from duties, but should publish articles on the online encyclopedia to validate their credentials. "Instead of copying Wikipedia is best to create!" Says a student of polytechnic in Ukraine. An agreement was signed between the prestigious school and the free encyclopedia, last month. More...

Difficile alternance pour les jeunes engagés dans l'enseignement supérieur

Les résultats de l'enquête "L'alternance dans le supérieur" de l'Association pour faciliter l'insertion professionnelle des jeunes diplômés (AFIJ), publiés le 18 mars 2013, montrent que 24% des jeunes engagés dans l'enseignement supérieur ont eu recours à un contrat d'alternance dans leur cursus, 30% ont cherché un contrat sans entrer en alternance et 46% n'ont jamais cherché un contrat d'alternance.
Parmi les jeunes ayant signé un contrat d'alternance, les contrats de professionnalisation (49%) et les contrats d'apprentissage (51%) font pratiquement jeu égal. Une fois le contrat achevé, 30% des jeunes sont embauchés dans l'entreprise (7%) ou dans une autre entreprise (23%).
Sur les 30% des jeunes qui déclarent avoir cherché un contrat d'alternance sans succès: certains n'ont pas eu de proposition de contrat d'alternance (66%). Pour ceux qui ont eu des propositions, les raisons de non concrétisation sont diverses.
Sur les 46% des jeunes engagées dans des études supérieures qui n'ont jamais cherché un contrat d'alternance: 64% ne se sont jamais posé la question, tandis que les 36% restant ont préféré la formation initiale de manière volontaire après avoir pesé le pour et le contre.

Tá torthaí an tsuirbhé "An mhalartaithe sa uachtair" Cumann chun comhtháthú ghairmiúil na céimithe óga (AFIJ), a foilsíodh ar an 18 Márta 2013, taispeáin go bhfuil 24% de dhaoine óga páirteach san ardoideachas a úsáidtear le conradh re ina gcuid staidéar, lorg 30% conradh gan dul isteach gach re seach agus nach bhfuil 46% á lorg conradh re seach. Níos mó...

Uma revolução no ensino superior?

Sobre Silvio Meira. Olhe para a imagem abaixo. à primeira vista, parece uma estação de TV, ou o centro de controle de streaming de vídeo de uma operação de web TV. até que seria isso mesmo se estivéssemos comentando uma foto de alguns anos atrás. mas não, é o centro de controle da nanyang technological university, em cingapura.
você acha que as pessoas que trabalham lá estão controlando o que? nem pense que são os acessos e portas dos laboratórios da universidade; este centro faz parte de um programa, na NTU, de gravar pelo menos 70% das aulas da universidade e deixá-las à disposição dos alunos para posterior visualização. o uso dos vídeos das aulas é monitorado pela universidade e os picos de audiência são… logo depois das aulas [vi, quero rever; perdi, quero ver] e… claro, à véspera dos exames....

New five year plan for Australia universities

By Ray Clancy. A new Ministerial Co-ordinating Council on International Education is to be set up in Australia as part of a five year plan to make sure the country continues to be attractive to students from overseas. It is a response to a report from the International Advisory Council which makes 35 recommendations addressing seven key issues identified as crucial for the future of international education in Australia.
The report says that Australia cannot be complacent about its relatively strong performance in international education to date and it is facing increased competition from other countries. A key issue is the student visa programme which needs to be competitive going forward. The report suggests the programme should be reviewed to make sure it is not deterring foreign students and streamlined for applicants considered to be a low immigration risk. It also suggests increasing the points available for foreign graduates of Australian universities in the skilled migration points test from five to 10. Read more...

Does Europe need its own Mooc?

Moocs offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a truly European university, says Alex Katsomitros – and might be the only means of survival for smaller universities.
While Moocs (massive open online courses) are on the rise in the US, little has happened in the rest of the world, with the exception of Futurelearn, the Open University partnership consisting of 17 UK universities, as well as the Berlin-based iversity. At European Union level, there have been reports about talks at the European Commission, but little action has been taken so far. In May 2012, WiredAcademic reported that the EU's Erasmus programme might soon go online – a good start if we want to see the equivalent of Coursera on this side of the Atlantic. But this does not go far enough.
Higher education is one of the few policy areas where European unification is seen positively by most stakeholders, despite the occasional problems caused by the Bologna process. The creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has benefited most institutions by enabling them to provide comparable and compatible qualifications and compete at an international level. The Erasmus programme also continues its success, with numbers of participating students steadily growing. Read more...

Are edutech startups plugging an innovation gap in our universities?

Does technological innovation have to come from within the sector? Claire Shaw hears from the current wave of edutech players with their roots firmly in higher education.
Universities should not depend on big vendors for technology solutions, but instead encourage their staff and students to engage and collaborate with startups to boost innovation in higher education, says Victor Henning, chief executive of one of the UK's leading edutech startups, Mendeley.
Traditionally, higher education has been served by big market leaders such as Blackboard and Desire2Learn which sell software solutions to universities at high cost, often on five year contracts that can make it difficult for campus-grown ventures to compete against them. Read more...

Open source in higher education: how far have we come?

Universities are ahead of the curve in adopting open source, says Scott Wilson – we should now lead the public sector in exploring its full potential. From your smartphone to your TV, open source software is present everywhere there's a computer. Over half of UK companies use it so it's surprising more people don't know what it is.
Open source is an approach to coding and creating software. It's free to use and, as the name suggests, denotes a code that is open to be used, adapted and distributed by anyone. You can examine it and learn from it, change the purpose of it and even share it. This approach can offer huge cost savings, but it's the ability to play with the software which offers the greatest benefits. Read more...

A European Commission call for Visionary Papers on the future of “Open Education” and the use of OER

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) --part of the Joint Research  Center of the European Commission- in a study for Directorate General Education and  Culture -- is now calling upon experts and practitioners to come up with visionary papers  and imaginative scenarios on how Open Education in 2030 in Europe might look with a major focus on Open Educational Resources and Practices.

Open Educational Resources (OER) and Practices (OEP) have recently become hot topics, not  only for educational researchers, but also for policy makers in Europe and abroad. There is a general agreement that openness has the potential to widen access to education and to  improve, amongst others, cost-efficiency and quality of teaching and learning. In its recent  Communication on Rethinking Education, the European Commission announced a new  initiative on "Opening-up Education" to be launched mid-2013. To this end, the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)--part of the Joint Research  Center of the European Commission- in a study for Directorate General Education and  Culture--is now calling upon experts and practitioners to come up with visionary papers and imaginative scenarios on how Open Education in 2030 in Europe might look with a major focus on Open Educational Resources and Practices, in each of the following education sectors:
(a) Lifelong Learning (Submission deadline: 31 March 2013)

(c) Higher Education (Submission deadline: 7 May 2013)
The foresight scenarios submitted can be normative or descriptive, idealistic or provocative, critical or imaginary, reflective or polemic, imaginative or concrete, comprehensive or selective, general or specific. They should be both inspiring and scientifically sound. Submissions are free to choose any angle, subject, approach, but the future vision and/or scenario should address the key question of how Open Education in 2030 in Europe might look, and include the role of OER. OEREU_Call final.pdf.