Academic e-learning organisations

academici

"Academici offers you the chance of extending networks and tapping into the know-how of your peers in and across disciplines, it offers a wide variety of academic services and acts as a key resource base for academic and academic-related work. The virtual academy is aimed specifically at the academic world."

Added: 16 May 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"academici. The Virtual Academy: Designed by academics for academics"

Australian Flexible Learning (AFL) Framework

"Australia seeks to participate in a world that is characterised by a rapidly developing, globalised and knowledge-based economy. The vocational education and training (VET) sector has developed this Framework to progress e-learning and practice."

Added: 19 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
The site houses the flexible learning projects of the AFL framework as well as other resources and products

Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency)

"Becta is the Government's key partner in the strategic development and delivery of its information and communications technology (ICT) and e-learning strategy for the schools and the learning and skills sectors.

Updated: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"Our purpose is to apply the power of ICT to support learning. We provide strategic leadership on ICT and learning, helping to develop a world-class education system."

CALT (The Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies)

"INSEAD's Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies (CALT) was officially launched in the 1995/96 academic year with the aim of: (i) studying new media and technologies in order to better understand their specific impact on management theory, practice, and on management and organisational learning; (ii) stimulating research, experimentation and innovative developments in the emerging fields identified in the CALT Research Agenda."

Updated: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"CALT has generated a large amount of learning for all those involved directly in the Centre's activities, and also an extensive output which is accessible through articles in academic journals and the business press, a series of working papers and technical reports, conference presentations, knowledge dissemination events and workshops, as well as conceptual and methodological contributions and innovative learning systems which have already started to be adopted by researchers and schools world-wide."

CD-LOR (Community Dimensions of Learning Object Repositories)

"The CD-LOR project aims at identifying and analysing the factors that influence practical uptake and implementation of learning object (LO) repositories within a range of different learning communities"

Added: 1 February 2006
Reviewer's Note:
The project findings will be made available in a range of ways for the benefit of UK higher and further education.

CEDEFOP (The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training)

"The European agency that helps policy-makers and practitioners of the European Commission, the Member States and social partner organisations across Europe make informed choices about vocational training policy." European Training Agency (ETV) is an interactive website where you can participate by sending news, taking part in virtual conferences, exchanging information, registering in mailing lists, if you are involved in any aspect of vocational training"

Added: 20 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
You will need to register to access this resource

Center for Interactive Digital Education in Radiology

This FSFB-CIDER Website is dedicated to Digital Lifelong Learning in Pulmonary Radiology. It includes an e-Book Section, a Digital Case File with prime examples of pulmonary pathology, a Case of The Month Section, and a Blog.

Updated: 13 November 2007
Reviewer's Note:

Commonwealth of Learning

"The Commonwealth of Learning is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. COL is helping developing nations improve access to quality education and training... Recognising KNOWLEDGE as key to cultural, social and economic development, The Commonwealth of Learning is committed to assisting Commonwealth member governments to take full advantage of open, distance and technology-mediated learning strategies to provide increased and equitable access to education and training for all their citizens."

Updated: 31 December 2001
Reviewer's Note:
In addition to finding out about the work of this organisation, you will also find some some excellent resources about open and distance learning in the Knowledge Resources section

EdNA

"EdNA Online is a service that aims to support and promote the benefits of the Internet for learning, education and training in Australia. It is organised around Australian curriculum, its tools are free to Australian educators, and it is funded by the bodies responsible for education provision in Australia - all Australian governments. education.au.ltd - a non-profit company limited by guarantee and owned by the Australian education and training Ministers manages EdNA Online."

Added: 3 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
An Australian-centric resource for online learning

EDUCAUSE

"EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology

Updated: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:

eLene-TT

This is a project funded by the European Commission e-learning programme and runs from January 2005 to December 2006.

Added: 18 July 2006
Reviewer's Note:
eLene-TT brings together a number of HE institutions who may be considered front-runners in the field, covering a wide range of ICT-based learning contexts from total distance e-learning to on-campus support and mobile solutions.

ELLEU - E-learning for European Languages and Literatures

"Online teaching of European languages and literatures. The project is coordinated by the ICoN Consortium in partnership with the Universities of Barcelona, Malta, Pécs,Warsaw, Bari, Catania, Perugia for Foreigners, Rome La Sapienza, Rome Tor Vergata, SCIENTER and the HIK Centre of Budapest."

Added: 28 September 2006
Reviewer's Note:
Website is in Italian

eLRC - eLearning Research Centre

"The eLRC is based across three locations - the HE Academy, the University of Manchester and the University of Southampton. The ethos of the centre is based around the notion that "research problems" should come directly out of "operational problems" and that the research results are fed back in good time to bring operational benefits to the higher education community as a whole."

Updated: 13 December 2005
Reviewer's Note:
The website provides details of publications, events, seminar programmes and other news items relating to the eLRC and of interest to the e-learning community generally.

EuropeanSchoolnet

"The European Schoolnet is a unique international partnership of 26 Ministries of Education developing learning for schools, teachers and pupils across Europe and beyond. We provide insight into the use of ICT (information and communications technology) in Europe for policy-makers and education professionals."

Updated: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
This goal is achieved through communication and information exchange at all levels of school education using innovative technologies, and by acting as a gateway to national and regional school networks.

European Consortium for the Learning Organisation

"Following almost two years of dialogue between universities, businesses and consultants, the European Consortium for the Learning Organisation was established in Belgium in 1993 as an international non profit making association. It consists of European organisations from the corporate and academic worlds as well as consultancies and the public sector. It is open to any organisation interested and committed to explore new directions for successful business and people development in a learning organisation perspective."

Added: 25 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
"ECLO provides an ideal opportunity for aspiring learning organisations to learn and share in a European context."

Eurydice

The Information Network on Europe. Eurodyce is part of the Community Programme on Education, European Commission, Education and Culture

Added: 4 December 2001
Reviewer's Note:

H2O

"The H2O project is building an interlocking collection of communities based on the free creation and exchange of ideas. The H2O system consists of two components -- the Idea Exchange and the Rotisserie. The Idea Exchange includes all features necessary to host a course entirely on H2O, including resource (readings, notes, videos, etc) uploads and traditional, adhoc discussion boards. More interestingly, the system now facilitates the collaborative development of course syllabi, allowing project leaders not only to upload course materials to the site but also easily to browse, search, and import the materials of other projects into their own projects."

Added: 20 May 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"Since all syllabi created on the Idea Exchange are covered by a Creative Commons license, project leaders are free to share their ideas with others and thereby to create a community around the free exchange of educational syllabi and content."

hefce

"The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) promotes and funds high-quality, cost-effective teaching and research in universities and colleges in England."

Updated: 23 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
The Learning and Teaching section is of particular interest

(The) Higher Education Academy

"The Higher Education Academy is concerned with every aspect of the student experience. It will provide coherence, added value, inclusivity and a powerful emphasis on the needs of stakeholders."

Added: 4 July 2004
Reviewer's Note:
The Academy will be fully operational in Summer 2004 and will be officially launched in Autumn 2004

Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

"The Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILT) is the professional body for all who teach and support learning in higher education in the UK. It exists to enhance the status of teaching, improve the experience of learning and support innovation. It also develops and maintains professional standards of practice. It is becoming the main source of professional recognition for all staff engaged in teaching and the support of learning.

Added: 20 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Produces a set of handbooks for practitioners - Effective Learning and Teaching

IT Network

"The Information Technology Network is a liaison group of associations in the UK which support the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Education."

Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:

JISC (The Joint Information Systems Committee)

"The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) supports further and higher education by providing strategic guidance, advice and opportunities to use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to support teaching, learning, research and administration. JISC is funded by all the UK post-16 and higher education funding councils."

Updated: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
JISCworks with further and higher education by providing strategic guidance, advice and opportunities to use ICT to support teaching, learning, research and administration.

JISC e-Learning Focus

"During the last ten years JISC has managed a number of programmes intended to facilitate the adoption and exploitation of e-learning technologies. All this work has culminated in its ambitious new e-Learning Programme, with strands addressing pedagogy, innovation, distributed e-learning and a strand devoted to the development and implementation of an e-learning framework. "

Updated 1 February 2005
Reviewer's Note:

LSDA (Learning and Skills Development Agency)

"The Learning and Skills Development Agency is a strategic national resource for the development of policy and practice in post-16 education and training. The Agency was previously known as the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA)."

Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:

Learning Federation

"A consortium to support research in life-long and distance learning based on New Technology."

Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:

Learning Lab

"The learning lab has been set up to provide a centre of excellence for all those involved in the design, development and use of the learning technologies." Professor Steve Molyneux is the Director of the Learning Lab

Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:

LearnLink

"Between 1996 and 2003, LearnLink implemented nearly twenty information, communication, and technology (ICT)-based activities globally to support socioeconomic development" UpdateD: 26 January 2005

Reviewer's Note: Activities spanned 17 countries in three continents and strengthened work in sectors ranging from basic education to teacher training, professional development, participant training, lifelong learning, economic development, municipal networking, health, and institutional and organizational strengthening.

Reviewer's Note:

LTDI (Learning Technology Dissemination Iniative)

"The Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative was funded between 1994 and 1999 by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to promote the use of learning technology and computer based learning materials in Scottish Higher Education. The LTDI web site will continue to provide free access to the resources and Publications that LTDI created."

Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:

Living Taxonomy Project

"The Living Taxonomy Project is a collaborative effort aimed at creating a global set of open source, standards-based taxonomies for education. The purpose of these taxonomies will be to provide a free cataloguing structure for the collection and sharing of education materials around the world."

Added: 18 June 2005
Reviewer's Note:
As of 18 June there are nine (9) taxonomies posted for review and editing.

Marchmont Observatory

"The Marchmont Observatory aims to improve evidence based policy and practice in the field of lifelong learning through analysis, good practice capture and dissemination, networking, learning programmes and research."

Added: 4 September 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"Marchmont is a unique UK-wide project established to encourage the spread of good practice in work-force development."

MIT Media Lab

"The Media Laboratory opened its doors in the Wiesner Building, designed by I.M. Pei, in 1985. In its first decade, much of the Laboratory's activity centered around abstracting electronic content from its traditional physical representations, helping to create now-familiar areas such as digital video and multimedia. The success of this agenda is now leading to a growing focus on how electronic information overlaps with the everyday physical world. The Laboratory pioneered collaboration between academia and industry, and provides a unique environment to explore basic research and applications, without regard to traditional divisions among disciplines."

Added: 3 February 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"The Media Laboratory provides a unique environment for exploring basic research and applications at the intersection of computation and the arts.

(The) Observatory on borderless higher education

"The Observatory offers a unique service: an environmental scanning facility owned by, and run for, higher education. The Observatory aims to be an efficient and cost-effective way for member institutions of the ACU and Universities UK to keep abreast of borderless developments globally."

Added: 17 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
For the first six months following the launch of the Observatory in January 2002, Observatory briefings and reports will be free to members of ACU and Universities UK and other interested parties. Beginning in July 2002, subscription charges will be introduced.

ODELUCE (Open and Distance Education and Learning through University Continuing Education)

"ODELUCE is funded by the Socrates Programme of the European Community as part of the Minerva Action. Minerva seeks to promote European co-operation in the field of Open and Distance Learning and the role of communication and information technology (C&IT) in Education. ODELUCE began in spring 2001 and is scheduled to last for three years."

Updated: 28 April 2005
Reviewer's Note:
Includes an Online Learning Community and a News Services amongst other things

Pew Learning and Technology Program

"The Pew Learning and Technology Program is an $8.8-million, four-year effort to place the national discussion about the impact that new technologies are having on the nation's campuses in the context of student learning and ways to achieve this learning cost-effectively." Center for Academic Transformation, Renssealer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Added: 20 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Some forward thinking documents have been released under this program, including the latest monograph: Innovations in Online Learning: Moving beyond no significant difference

ScotFEICT

"Online Leaning Centre of Excellence for ICT in Scottish Further Education. OLCE is part of the SFEFC's ICT Strategy. It is to provide a focus for the support and implementation of Online learning and the application of ICT in the curriculum."

Added: 6 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A useful site for those working in FE (particularly, of course, in Scotland).

Training for Life

"Training For Life is a registered charity in the UK. We provide training and support to help people get where they want to be, especially if that is into work. We help people to achieve the goals that they have set themselves."

Added: 20 March 2002
Reviewer's Note:
See also Site for Life, the portal that Training for Life is developing

Universities UK

"In December 2000, we changed our name from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) to Universities UK. Since 1922 we have represented the executive heads of Universities. However, with the change in legislation in 1992, which recognised the former Polytechnics as Universities our membership has doubled and diversified making the old name unrepresentative."

Added: 20 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
General information about UK HE

Web Based Education Commission

"The Commission was established by Congress to develop policy recommendations geared toward maximizing the educational promise of the Internet for pre-K, elementary, middle, secondary, and postsecondary education learners."

Added: March 2001
Reviewer's Note:

WestEd

"WestEd acts as a catalyst and mentor for improving schools. Working with the entire education community, WestEd offers the knowledge and support needed to equip all students, especially those most underserved, with the skills and capabilities to lead satisfying, productive lives.

Added: March 2001
Reviewer's Note: