Our News: The New Academic Council of the Chair

22 March, 2012

Council Member Photo

Last Wednesday, the 14th of March, UNESCO / UOC Chair in e-Learning held its 1st inaugural meeting of the Academic Council. The agenda of the meeting included the following issues, among others:

The convening and the opening were led by the President of the UOC, Dr. Imma Tubella, who will serve as the Chair of the Council. She pointed out the importance of the Chair not only as an academic chair, but also as a chair about “action”. She also marked the importance of new pedagogical approaches, not only technology, as the key to success in education. Dr. Tubella mentioned how the “e-learning” in the chair’s name has become a broader term in the last years, including  concepts such as m-learning, Open Education, Open Social learning, etc. and putting onto the table the practical issue of adjusting the Chair’s name’s to the reality.

The Executive director of the Chair, Emma Kiselyova, gave the Council members a snapshot of the chair’s history, evolution of activities and its state of the art, also pointing at the need to change the working name of the chair (UNESCO Chair in e-Learning), because, after 10 years of the Chair’s existence and in a new age of learning, teaching and education, the word e-learning does not reflect any longer the main subject area of the Chair.

After explaining practical aspects of the Chair’s funding and proposing some of the key activities and projects of the Chair during 2012, the Council discussed some issues related to the upcoming IX International Seminar of the Chair (for those who are waiting, put into your agenda October 4-5; details coming soon!). After that, as the final point of the meeting, the Council members focused on an intellectual debate to redefine the Chair’s name, in order to bring the issue to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The Council Members are (in alphabetical order):

Brenda GOURLEY, Former Vice-Chancelor, Open University, UK; Dr. Honoris Causa Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Emma KISELYOVA, Executive Director, UNESCO / UOC Chair in e-Learning

Sugata MITRA, Professor of Educational Technology, School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, UK; Visiting Professor, MIT Media Lab, USA.

Ferran RUIZ Tarragó, Expert on education and academic management, President of the Education Council of the Generalitat de Catalunya  

Albert SANGRÀ, Director of eLearn Center, UOC; expert in education & technology and quality & evaluation; Vice-president of EFQUEL

Carles SIGALÉS, Director of the Psychology and Educational Sciences Department, UOC; expert and director of the IN3 Study on ICTs and Schools in Spain

Imma TUBELLA, Chair of the Council, President of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

 

Additional information:

 

 

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