Ground Control to Major Tom

Joe McDermott wrote in the Allentown Morning Call earlier this week that sixth-graders at Southern Lehigh Middle School had taken distance learning to the stars, participating in a 30-minute video conference with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

The question-and-answer session with flight engineer John Phillips was arranged by the family of his niece, Hannah Doell, who joined the sixth-grade class after her family moved to the district last summer.

Beyond the Electronic Portfolio: A Lifetime Personal Web Space

Found this post on Helen Barrett's blog.

Authors Ellen R. Cohn and Bernard J. Hibbitts write in their article Electronic Portfolio: A Lifetime Personal Web Space
"... new graduates ... use e-portfolios to showcase their creativity and accomplishments, notably to gain an edge in the job market. Not surprisingly, university career placement centers regard the e-portfolio movement as an opportunity to link academic outcomes to the workplace ... but is a technology-enhanced, show-and-tell, glorified resume [e-portfolio] truly the best result possible? Technologies surely exist to develop more innovative approaches...."

Cohn and Hibbitts say that instead of students generating template, one-size-fits-all e-portfolios, that everyone in the community (young, old, college educated or not) receive a cradle-to-grave, lifetime personal Web space enabling connections among personal, educational, social, and business systems. Read more.

Malaysia Welcomes Senior Citizens on its e-Campus

Earlier this week it was reported on Bernama.com that the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will continue to allow senior citizens to enroll in distance learning classes and be eligible for a tuition discount.

This is the second year seniors have been a part of the university's e-campus.

USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International Affairs, Prof Datuk Syed Ahmad Hussein said this was to promote a culture of lifelong learning and allow generations to interact. Speaking to reporters after the welcoming ceremony for new students of the distance learning programme he said of this year's 1,600 new students, 35 were senior citizens.

He said that all courses were opened to senior citizens, except certain professional courses such as on medicine, engineering and accounting which required on-campus training. "For the time being, the distance learning programme will only offer arts courses as it does not require them to be on campus all the time and this will enable them to work and study at the same time," he said.

He said a 50 per cent discount is given to the senior citizens to encourage them to take up degree courses.

Online e-Learning Training Certification

In a release on PRNEWSWIRE.COM, VNU Learning announced the company will partner with WebEx Communications, Inc. and offer an online e-learning training certification program. Delivered via WebEx Training Center, the six-week course will focus on how to design, conduct and manage effective, economical e-learning programs.

Beginning June 6, the e-Learning Design certification course will cover techniques for using various e-learning technologies and media to create engaging and effective training programs.

Click here for more information.