Web 2.0 and competence‐oriented design of learning—Potentials and implications for higher education

This paper discusses the potential of learning technologies to foster competence development of students. It aims to improve understanding of pedagogical conditions that have to be met to establish a competence orientation in e‐learning. We review the literature to summarise recent changes in e‐learning, identify attributes of web 2.0 technologies, revisit the concept of competence and specify implications for the competence‐oriented design of learning environments. By referring to Kolb's learning cycle, we illustrate this view with a case study on the use of Google Apps as collaborative learning environment and recommend how competence‐oriented e‐learning activities can be created. Our findings reinforce the position that web 2.0 tools enable a shift from a distributive to a more collaborative mode in e‐learning. In particular, the ease of use and intuition of web 2.0 technologies allow creating learning environments, which realise activity‐rich pedagogical models and facilitate competence development of students. The paper concludes that, despite the demand of firms for versatile graduates and the obvious potential of learning technologies to foster competence development of students, universities need to establish institutional strategies to make this pedagogical change happen.     

远程开放教育中形成性考核的思考

根据现代远程教育的特点,课程考核采取形成性考核和总结性考核相结合的方式。通过形成性考核,可加强对学生学习过程的引导、指导和管理,改善教与学相对分离的状态,培养学生养成自主学习的习惯,提高学生的综合素质。     

Deconstruction, Anti–Realism and Philosophy of Science—an interview with Christopher Norris

In this interview, Christopher Norris discusses a wide range of issues having to do with postmodernism, deconstruction and other controversial topics of debate within present–day philosophy and critical theory. More specifically he challenges the view of deconstruction as just another offshoot of the broader postmodernist trend in cultural studies and the social sciences. Norris puts the case for deconstruction as continuing the ‘unfinished project of modernity’ and—in particular—for Derrida’s work as sustaining the values of enlightened critical reason in various spheres of thought from epistemology to ethics, sociology and politics. Along the way he addresses a number of questions that have lately been raised with particular urgency for teachers and educationalists, among them the revival of creationist doctrine and the idea of scientific knowledge as a social, cultural, or discursive construct. In this context he addresses the ‘science wars’ or the debate between those who uphold the values of scientific reason, progress and truth, and those (like the ‘strong’ sociologists of knowledge) who would reject such values as merely the expression of a dominant ideological consensus. Norris also discusses the emergence of anti–realism as a strongly marked trend within recent analytic philosophy, one that denies the existence of objective (‘recognition–transcendent’) truths in mathematics, the physical sciences, history and other disciplines. Thus statements are thought of as possessing a truth–value just insofar as we possess some adequate proof–procedure or some means of finding them out through empirical or other methods of enquiry. Norris offers a range of arguments against this anti–realist position and brings out its convergence with various postmodernist lines of thought. Through a running commentary on Derrida’s work in relation to these developments he shows how deconstruction has been misconstrued by sociologists, cultural critics and educational theorists whose understanding has often been based on a limited acquaintance with the primary texts. Above all Norris calls for a renewed engagement with the philosophic discourse of modernity and a willingness to challenge postmodern scepticism and value–relativism in a spirit of open–minded critical debate.     

我梦到自己采访上帝

那么你真的要采访我吗?"上帝问道。"假如您有时间的话。"我说。上帝笑了:"我的时间是永恒的,……那么你有什么问题要问我呢?     

Activist for change: an interview with suzanne arms

Suzanne Arms's name is readily recognized by many in the field of perinatal education. For 30 years she has been a tireless advocate for childbearing women, a fighter for change in the traditional maternity care system, and a feminist with strong beliefs about the physical, emotional, and spiritual impact of birth. Arms's well-known books and frequent speaking engagements have allowed her to spread her message and her plea to humanize the childbirth experience. Talking with Arms is an energizing encounter. Her life path is a powerful and compelling story that is an inspiration to all who continue to work to make birth a positive event in the lives of women and their families.     

构建我国远程开放教育体系的思考

发展远程开放教育是我国高等教育改革和发展的必然趋势 :教育民主化、高等教育机会均等是世界潮流 ;我国现代化建设和社会公众旺盛的高等教育需求迫切要求开放高等教育资源 ;传统的校园式课堂教学难以满足社会教育要求 ,现代教育技术为高等教育大众化提供了条件保障。 2 .为各类高等学校准确定位是远程开放教育健康发展的前提 :研究型大学、专业型大学、社区型大学 ;对不同类型高校实行职能分工 ,使之各就各位 ,办出特色 ,形成优势 ;在开放教育中坚持同一标准和政策 ,组建中国远程开放大学。 3 .中国远程开放大学模式设想 :中央、省、地、县四级办学实体之间上下连通 ,层层衔接 ;既有系统内的统一管理和指导 ,又有各层次办学的自主权 ;统分结合 ,做到责权利划分明确 ,使各层次的办学积极性得到充分发挥     

The history of lamaze continues: an interview with sunnye strickland

Although the most publicized beginnings of the Lamaze method in this country took place in the New York City area in the 1950s and 1960s, change was taking place even earlier in other parts of the United States as well, for women everywhere were eager to be educated and awake for their birth experiences. One of the early leaders of the "natural childbirth movement" in Colorado, Wyoming, and Oklahoma from the late 1940s through the early 1960s was Sunnye Strickland. Strickland began her career as a labor and delivery nurse, became a devoted advocate of prepared childbirth as a result of her own birth experiences, and embraced the philosophy of the psychoprophylactic method after visiting Dr. Pierre Vellay in Paris. She then became a faculty member with the American Society of Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (ASPO/Lamaze, now Lamaze International, Inc.) and eventually a certified nurse-midwife. Her professional story spans five states, several countries, and 46 years, with a rich variety of experiences in which she was a change agent, educator, and active leader in the childbirth education movement.     

The history of lamaze continues: an interview with elisabeth bing

Elisabeth Bing-physiotherapist, childbirth educator, and cofounder of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (now Lamaze International)-is well known to most childbirth educators in the United States. She has been a true pioneer in the education of parents for pregnancy and birth. Her book, Six Practical Lessons for an Easier Childbirth, served to guide many parents and childbirth educators in the use of the Lamaze Method for labor and birth. She has prepared a countless number of parents for their birth experience in both her hospital classes in the 1950s and 1960s and in her private classes in the "studio" of her New York City apartment building, where she began teaching in the 1960s and continues to teach today. Elisabeth is beloved by all those who have had the opportunity to meet her or work with her. She has created a legacy that will continue for decades to come.