Joseph Duart of UNESCO Chair E-Learning, Universitar Oberta de Catalunya (UOC- Spain), in his presentation “Students and professors facing a challenge in the use of IT in the University”, shared the experience obtained from research developed in Catalunya about the use of the internet in education.

The research results show that higher education cannot exist without the use of new technologies. Duart says that it is important to complement Web 2.0 tools and traditional classes which allow students to understand knowledge and to involve students in a globalized world.

The project

The project started five years ago with the participation of 60 researchers from Catalunya. Its aim is to understand the use of the internet in education.

The research has shown surprising results. 94% of the professors in Catalunya have their own computer with internet service. Most students and professors use the internet to send e-mails, search information, and download music and videos. Furthermore, just 4.8% upload information on the web. This is a problem which should be solved in this kind of meeting.

Moreover the use of the internet does not separate students and professors from the traditional library according to 70% of those surveyed.

60% of professors and 70% of students stated that the internet is helpful for learning.

Papers are an important part of the 2nd CREAD Andes Congress and 2nd Virtual Educa Summit Ecuador. Today during the afternoon, six conference tables were held by 36 people from Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, and Chile in which  the papers were presented to participants of the congress.

Víctor Sánchez Arias, Norma Hernández Galaviz and Jorge Contreras Paredes presented the theme: “Sitio de Apoyo Educativo. Plataforma Educativa Abierta” (Educational Support Site. Open Educational Platform”. He began from the idea that education is conceived as a process that relies on IT (Information Technology), which allows development of a pedagogy that gives answers to modern society.

In addition, they stated that an open educational technological innovation is necessary in order to build a supportive site for students, constituted in a virtual educational atmosphere where everybody can participate.

The proposed platform presented by Sanchez intends to innovate the learning process. The discussion should not be focused on educational method, but on the link of education with technology that gives quality results.

University and Knowledge Society
Jose Luis Granda, Professor Researcher of the UTPL, pointed out in his paper that the knowledge society proposes new changes in teaching and learning methods, which aim to reach the idealistic goal of the University, making technology accessible to all.

In addition, he stated that in order to reach this goal, it is important to adopt new paradigms, initiatives, tendencies and technology.

There were also presented topics such as: Copyright in Distance Education Universities. The use of Free Software in Open Distance Education, based on the model of Universidad de los Angeles de Chimbote, Peru; Technological framework for research organizations Europe-Latin-America: The key role of Social Software; and Educational Challenges of Social Web, among others.

In October, 2005 the 1st Congress of Quality and International Accreditation in Distance Higher Education was held by the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Virtual Educa and the Inter-American Distance Education Consortium, in which the Instituto Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Calidad en Educacion Superior a Distancia was created.

For this reason, in the 2nd CREAD Andes Congress and 2nd Virtual Educa Summit Ecuador, the “Circulo de Loja” will be established by a group of experts in distance education who will analyze problems in this field.
The “Circulo de Loja” reflections will aid to enrich the conclusions reached and the projects created in the congress.

These organizations are established beginning from the idea that Quality in Distance Education is still the key for our continent. It is also an essential element for the convergence in Higher Education among our countries and the future integration with the European Space of Higher Education.

During this time, new and interesting challenges for distance education have appeared. The Web 2.0 and the proliferation of open educational resources deserve profound analysis, which along with quality and convergence constitute the core elements for the perspective on Distance Higher Education.

Participants from 17 countries of America, Asia, Europe and Africa are in the congress.

Today at 07:00 in the Convention Center at UTPL, the 2nd CREAD Andes Congress and 2nd Virtual Educa Summit Ecuador began, organized by the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (CREAD) and Virtual Educa. The aim of this congress is to establish the future parameters for distance education, to determine the role of distance education in the convergence between Europe and Latin America and to know the Open educational resources and how they support education.

At the Opening Ceremony, there were presentations by Luis Miguel Romero, Rector-chancellor of the UTPL; José María Antón, General Secretary of Virtual Educa; John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning; and Patricia Gudiño, The Inter-American Organization for Higher Education; among others.

Distance Education joins four continents.
Patricia Avila, President of the Inter-American Distance Education Consortium, stated that she came to Loja, “motivated by the presentation of international and national, well known speakers, whose aim is to share experiences about distance education that allow improving  education”.

She also stated that “in order for distance education to work, it is necessary to make people aware of many tools that allow diffusion, like UNESCO, which promotes free resources, and Web 2.0, which encourages interaction and integral education”.

In addition, Jose Marian Anton, General Secretary of Virtual Educa, stated “what gathers us tonight is quality starting from the educational concept”.

Luis Miguel Romero, Rector Chancellor of the UTPL, said that “the aim of the congress is inclusion, which is understood as bringing distance education to the world, since the results in America are distant from the results in other places. So this inclusion will allow everybody to have Higher Education”.

Daniel Burgos, Vice-minister of Higher Education in Colombia, “Distance Education is not only limited to reaching distant places, but to reaching them with quality, that is why we are in this city”.

The congress is attended by 500 participants; however we hope to reach up to 700.

In the morning, many participants from Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Spain gathered in the Convention Center of the UTPL to register and participate in this international meeting which aims to analyze the future of distance education and quality assurance.
The congress, which will run until April 23, will gather about 700 participants. Participating in the event are international and national experts in the area of research, higher education, cooperation networks and e-learning, who will contribute with their experience to the debate in which professors, university authorities, students and professionals will participate.
This congress is organized by the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja and the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (CREAD) and Virtual Educa.
This International meeting will open today
The Opening Ceremony of this event will be today at 7h00 PM in the Convention Center of the UTPL. We will have the presentation of Dr. Stamenka Uvalc-Trumbic from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Patricia Gudino from the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (OUI); Lorenzo Garcia Areito, UNESCO Chair in Distance Education (CUED); Josep Duart, Cátedra UNESCO E-Learning, Universidad Oberta de Catalunya (España); Piet Henderikx, European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU); Manuel Moreno, Espacio Común de Educación Superior a Distancia (ECOESAD), among others.
For more information contact us at:  http://www.utpl.edu.ec/calidaded2/

The Higher Distance Education system in a bimodal university was the theme in one of the three workshops that were held today at the 2nd CREAD ANDES CONGRESS AND 2ND VIRTUAL EDUCA SUMMIT ECUADOR, which began this morning at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL).

The workshop was based on the UTPL distance education experience which is a pioneer in Latin America.

The university’s bimodal dimension allows teachers, whether teaching face-to-face, at a distance or even virtually, to have research and extension as a primary factor in their development.

In this respect, the vision of the Centers for Research, Technology Transfer, Extension and Services (CITTES) was explained, where professors-researchers work full time combining teaching and research respecting the vision and mission of the UTPL, which is oriented towards scientific development as well as social service.

Open UTPL is a concept that joins three elements: communication, resources and activities. These elements are characterized by the use of Web 2.0 generation tools, which empower the development of a culture of social and team work.

Open UTPL as its definition states it is open and aims to promote the initiative OPEN that encourages free and open production, distribution , use and re-use of educational resources, audiovisual production, presentations, research, etc.

This new university philosophy will be presented on April 22 in the 2nd Cread Andes Congress and 2nd Virtual Educa Summit Ecuador.

The Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja endorsed by Creative Commons International will present the Creative Commons Ecuador licenses on April 22.

The presentation of the licenses will take place in the 2nd CREAD Congress and the 2nd Virtual Educa Summit that will be held from April 21 to 23 at Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL).

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As the event is coming soon, we would like to communicate to all international participants that the organizers of the Congress can organize the purchase of air tickets Quito-Loja-Quito or Guayaquil-Loja-Guayaquil for anyone interested. Because the flights to Loja are sought-after, we advise you to register in order to avoid inconvenience.

The registration form should be completed at:
http://www.utpl.edu.ec/calidaded2/inscripcion.php

Registration fee

* In order to avoid further inconvenience in purchasing domestic flight tickets, registration should be completed by April 4 2008.

Workshop fees

DISCOUNT

Registration discount will be offered for groups of participants of the same institution.
• For 3 to 6 participants, there is a discount of US$ 50.00
• For 7 or more participants, there is a discount of US$ 100.00

PAYMENT

Payment can be made: 1) by credit card (online payment), 2) by bank transfer, 3) at the congress* before the event.

* If payment is made at the congress, which can be in cash or credit card, the organizers of the event will not be responsible for purchasing air tickets.

LOCATION
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – Ecuador
Av. Marcelino Champagnat. San Cayetano Alto
Fax: 593 7 2573158 Postal Code: 11-01-608
E-mail: calidaded2@utpl.edu.ec

The 2nd CREAD ANDES CONGRESS AND THE 2nd VIRTUAL EDUCA SUMMIT will be held from April 21 to 23, 2008 at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (Loja-Ecuador); it will consider “NEW CHALLENGES IN DISTANCE EDUCATION IN IBERO-AMERICA AND QUALITY ASSURANCE”

As background of this event, it is important to mention the congress that took place in October 2005 which was the first one about “International Quality Control an Accreditation in Higher Distance Education”, summoned by the same institutions stated above.

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