Pontydysgu - Bridge to Learning Pontydysgu.org

No time to stop to look at this in any depth (am writing a new paper on Personal Learning Environments). But Brendan Barrett from the UN University reports that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has just endorsed a recommendation to promote e-learning including the following specific reference to Open Source software and Open educational Resources:

“E-learning can be a powerful means of creating open educational resources accessible to everybody thus counteracting a divided knowledge society. In this regard, the Assembly calls on member parliaments to support the so-called “open source” movement in software development and initiatives for open educational resources – freely accessible on the Internet, and to adopt measures to combat the digital divide in order to close the gap between those who have access to ICT and the acquisition of ICT skills and those who do not, thus ensuring digital literacy for all.”

This is good news! You can find out more here.

Photo: RSU: Some rights reserved

Caption: ‘IBM workers and friends protest at the IBM Business Center in virtual world Second Life, amidst concerns that IBM are outsourcing thousands of staff without proper consultation or securities.’

Protesters occupied the IBM Centre for two hours. It greatly heartens me to see such creative and socially constructive use of new technologies. For more about yesterdays demonstration see the IBM Virtual Protest Official Blog.

“Global decision from companies need Global action from employees, we saw that with the virtual strike and now we can do it with a virtual demonstration. The national unions, works councils and IWIS (IBM Workers International Solidarity) global network are organizing a global virtual demonstration against the outsourcing contract.

IBM is misusing outsourcing contracts to reduce his own workforce in a cheap way. In this kind of contract, IBM is selling not only services and machines but also persons. We can see that recently on the AT&T contract.” say the IBM Second Life Strike Organisation.

Tonight the unions are organising “a training course to learn how to:

• enter Second Life and to move around (for beginners),
• use the “IBM demonstration kit”
• and… get ready for the GLOBAL ACTION DAY against IBM’s FORCED-OUTSOURCED JOBS….that will take place TOMORROW.”

Th action starts tonight at 2100 hours at “Union Island” (search “Union Island” in the search menu once you’re in Second Life and click “Teleport”). Tomorrows demonstration takes place from 1800 - 2200 Central european Time. The meeting point is Commonwealth Island. The unions are asking for support from Second Life friends. I’ll be there. Hope to see you too.

I like this challenge passed on from Steve Wheeler. Steve says looks a little like a chain letter. It might look like it but it isn’t and it probably is (see my comment after this post). It is a creative way to use trackback to promote reflection and at the same time to produce a useful set of Open Educational resources. That is what social software should be for. What is more it is fun.

Steve blogs “Mike Hasley, of TechWarrior Blog, has laid down a challenge for me and 4 others to add to a collection of photos that represent our passion in teaching/learning. I have to tag it ‘Meme: Passion Quilt’ and post it on a blog, Flickr, FaceBook or some other social networking tool with a brief commentary of why it is a passion for me.”

I have cheated. I have managed to break to break or lose three digital cameras this year. And I am not that good at taking photos. On the other hand, my friend, Jenny Hughes is very good. Ages ago, I asked her if I could post the photos on the site. I put them on Flickr and then forgot to link to them. So, thanks Steve for reminding me.And the brief commentary. Does it need one? Learning technology is important. But it is not everything. To be able to learn children need peace, freedom from war, freedom from hunger. Bread not bombs. Teachers not soldiers. I love the potential that technology offers for communication, for sharing, for connections and understanding. But technology is not neutral. Technology is a double edged sword. In the hands of the wrong it can be misused. We have to control and shape technology to ensure that it is used for good and not evil.

End of rant. I think Easter is getting to me.

If you would like to see the rest of this collection by Jenny go the the Multimedia / Photos page.

Here are my nominations to add to this collection: Wolfgang Greller, Cristina Costa, Fabio Giglietto, Daniela Reimann