Time Magazine argued in 2006 that the person of the year truly was “You”. This was in deed a significant gesture to the fact that digital technologies change the way people interact and live their lives. What made “You” a candidate for “Person of the year”, was that the development of the Internet had made it possible for anyone to publish and express your personality on the Web; or rather of “Web 2.0”.
In 2007, the notion of “Web 2.0” has been on headlines for many conferences and conventions, articles and in the news. While some enthusiasts already prepare for the developments of “Web 3.0”, most people face the challenge of trying to grapple with how new technological changes affect their everyday life in the present tense. So, if “You” was the person of the year in 2006, Web 2.0 was the technology of the year in 2007. And then again, the notion of what consequences Web 2.0 might have for teaching and learning in the area of higher education, lifelong learning and adult education will be raised in numerous contexts.
In this article, Anne Karin Larsen, Grete Oline Hole and Morten Fahlvik explain the development of, and experiences with, educational resources based on a “Virtual Book” concept. Students from 11 European countries participated in the project. Based on theories of composite texts and community of inquiry, the article examines how the produced material contributed to the learning process, with a particular focus on the e-learning framework. The authors work at Bergen University College in Norway.
From the left: Anne Karin Larsen, Grete Oline Hole and Morten Fahlvik.
Insights into teaching practices using Virtual Learning Environments
Laurence Habib and Monica Johannesen raise a
pertinent question about how the introduction of a Virtual Learning
Environment affects students, administration and teachers. Their
analytical angle offer a framwork to see how critical and creative
users might push the limits of for what is possible. They apply
Actor-Network theory in understanding the organisational and
pedagogical effects of using the VLE, they offer us a dynamic
interpretations on how the various actors shape and shake assumptions
and limits of its use. Laurence Habib and Monica Johannesen work at
Oslo University College.
Insights into teaching and use of ICT in rural and remote Australian schools
In this article Neil
Anderson, Carolyn Timms and Lyn Courtney of James Cook University,
Australia, address the rural/urban distinction in a complex project,
investigated in several aspects. There is evidence for claiming that
students in rural areas take up ICT to a lesser degree than in
metropolitan areas. They found
that Rural/ Remote Takers were more likely to perceive ICT subjects as
boring than their metropolitan counterparts. They also found that
Rural/Remote Non takers were more likely to report that they did not
have access to a home computer. This is a significant set of findings
that should alarm policymakers and educational administrators. There
are good reasons to believe this will be the case in many other
countries.
From the left: Ms Lyn Courtney, Professor Neil Anderson, Professor Colin Lankshear (key researcher in the ARC study) and Ms Carolyn Timms.
There is a need to develop a broader view of knowledge for dealing with the way in which new digital trends influence the underlying conditions for schools, pedagogy and subjects. This short commentary article, based on my paper at the NVU-conference 2008, will therefore highlight whether a broader view of knowledge - situated learning, digital literacy and the digital revolution can generate new ways of how we perceive pedagogy within the new educational reform in Norway in particular and the digitized school in general. The focus is particularly angled towards the implications this may have for developing new practises for teachers and students.
The 37th Annual Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association will be held in Trondheim, Norway, 5 - 7 March 2009. Keynote speakers are Ruth Kagia (World Bank), irene Rizzini (University of Rio de janeiro), Roger Hart (University of New York), Jon Smidt (Sør-Trøndelag University College) and Anna-Lena Østern (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). Deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 November 2008, and deadline for registration 31 Januar 2009.
The Dream conference is titled Digital
Content Creation: Creativity, Competence, Critique and takes place in Odense, Denmark, 18-20 September 2008. Keynote speakers include professor David Buckingham, John Hartley, Angela McFarlane and Roger Säljö.
Reviewed by
Stephen Dobson
Professor
Lillehammer University College
Email: stephen.dobson@hil.no
Introduction
Two questions can be asked: firstly, not do we need another book on remediation, but why? And secondly, if this is the case, what kind of book should it be? This review spirals around these questions.
Rhetoric and reality by A. A. Carr-Chellman (Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2005
Reviewed by
Dr. J. Ola Lindberg
Department of Education, Mid Sweden University
Email: Ola.Lindberg@miun.se
Dr. Anders D. Olofsson
Department of Education, Umeå University
Email: Anders.D.Olofsson@educ.umu.se
It seems suitable to begin this review by giving a brief description of the context in which the texts of this book are produced. If it fails to be regarded as a description, then we hope at least it can be regarded as one possible understanding of the context. When contextualizing a book, a good idea seems to be to start with a few words about the editor, Alison A. Carr-Chellman.
by George Lakoff, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006
Reviewed by Geir Haugsbakk
Ph.D.-candidate in Education
Lillehammer University College
Email: Geir.Haugsbakk@hil.no
“To lose freedom is awful; to lose the idea of freedom is even worse.”
This statement by George Lakoff is at the core of his attention in his
last book. And his opinion is that the loss of the concept of freedom
is a tragic incident that has struck a large part of the American
people, not least since September 11, 2001.
Volume 3 - issue 3 - 2007 
This was in deed a significant gesture to the fact that digital technologies change the way people interact and live their lives. What made “You” a candidate for “Person of the year”, was that the development of the Internet had made it possible for anyone to publish and express your personality on the Web; or rather of “Web 2.0”.