Learning4Content/Workshops/Online schedule/eL4C39/Introductions

Learning4Content
39th Online Workshop (May 10-21, 2010)

Basic Wiki Skills and Collaborative Learning

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Ramesh Sharma

Greetings to all of you. I am Dr. Ramesh Sharma, currently working as Director, Distance Education, Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, University of Guyana, Goergetown, Guyana (South America). I am on leave from Indira Gandhi National Open University, India where I was working as Regional Director. I believe that through WikiEducator we can contribute to the OER movement. I look forward to work and learn more through this online workshop. You can contact me through my email ramesh@oerfoundation.org. With best wishes, Ramesh

Valerie Taylor

Hello Everyone. I describe myself as - Early-adopter of technology for teaching and learning. Advocate for universal access to education. Open education contributor. Community college instructor. Faculty development workshop facilitator. MS Ed in Online Teaching and Learning completed online except for non-virtual graduation. WikiEducator Community Council member. Silicon Valley resident. Lifelong learner. That's me!

I am one of the facilitators and I am looking forward to working with you. These workshops are always informative and interesting. It is my great pleasure to welcome you to WikiEducator.org.
--Valerie Taylor 15:15, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Jitendra Shah

This is Jitendra from Bombay. I have been a teacher in engineering at VJTI from 1980 to 2008. I am an IITian ( 72 Aero Engineering and 73 Mech engineering .) I have been an advocate of FOSS and OER. Have been advocating localization of OER that are available in English.--Jitendra 10 May 2010

(: Hi Jitendra, Welcome aboard. It is nice to know about you. I hope you will enjoy this workshop. With best wishes --Ramesh 21:06, 10 May 2010)

Greeting Jitendra -- Always pleased to meet a fellow FOSS user :-) Welcome aboard! --Wayne Mackintosh 03:20, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Busisiwe Ngcebetsha

Hi Everyone, I am one of the participants. I work for the Media & Training Centre for Health as a Projects Manager. My main area of specialization is Radio Production and Training. We work on a number of different media projects.Our main focus is community media. My responsibilities include training community radio stations on producing quality programs that will have an impact on their target audience. Depending on the project we working on, I am also responsible for developing what we call Producer's Guides for their radio programs, this would have objectives, outcomes, relevant facts about the particular theme as well as suggested guests they might bring in for interviews. I believe this workshop will bring flavour to what I do.
(: Welcome to WikiEducator, Busisiwe. It is nice to know that your specialisation is in the area of Radio Production and Training. Radio is an excellent low cost medium for instruction and training. Looking forward to your contributions. With best wishes --Ramesh 21:10, 10 May 2010)

Very pleased to meet you Busisiwe :-). WikiEducator has a growing community node focusing on Community Media -- take a look. --Wayne Mackintosh 03:22, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Celine Armenta

Hello from Mexico; I am a faculty member at the School of Education, on sabbatical leave for the rest of this year (2010). Right now I am designing virtual courses for my undergraduate and my graduate students. My fields of expertise are Inclusive Education and Quantitative Research Methods for Social Sciences (actually, Quantitative Methods for bright students who are usually fear of Math). I am very enthusiastic of OER. I expect to gain some basic skills on tailoring wiki-based learning activities.
--Celine 06:30, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

(: Welcome Celine. You are indeed welcome to this group and we hope to provide the platform for mroe exploration of your academic interests. We all have a passion for this and we know you will too. Cheers! --Victor P. K. Mensah 10:54, 11 May 2010 (UTC))

Hi Celine -- Very pleased to meet another OER enthusiast. You've come to the right place, we are the fastest growing OER wiki in the formal education sector. Welcome to our family. --Wayne Mackintosh 03:24, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Wayne Mackintosh

I had the privilege of starting the WikiEducator project in February 2006 from a small desktop server based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Today WikiEducator is one of the world's fastest growing and most productive wikis in the formal education sector. It's great to see teachers around the world collaborating and sharing knowledge in this way. I have to say that WikiEducator has been the most rewarding project of my working life as a teacher. If you want to find out a little more about my work in WikiEducator, feel free to visit my userpage. Otago Daily Times has published a short summary of WikiEducator. I was born and raised in Africa and its a great privilege to join this African initiative in building capacity for OERs --Wayne Mackintosh 06:52, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Victor Mensah

Hello friends, I am very pleased to be in this group to assist facilitation and learn further from all of you. I am a Management Practitioner with a bias towards strategy and capacity building. That therefore got me into the field of educational (training) content development. I even diverted a little to take some programmes in education. I am a Ghanaian but currently live in Zambia and work primarily for the Commonwealth Secretariat. One of the accolades i am proudest of is being a wikieducator and for that matter a WikiArtisan. You can get more information on my user page about me. Please enjoy yourselves and have fun. --Victor P. K. Mensah 10:43, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi Victor -- always good to meet old OER friends in the Wiki. Without embarrasing Victor, he is a Featured Learning4Content Graduate and also an elected member of the WikiEducator community council. --Wayne Mackintosh 03:26, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Brian Sikute

Hi,my name is Brian Sikute and am delighted to be part of this workshop first as a background facilitator and as a learner too. I am IT Administrator at the Commonwealth Youth Programme Africa Centre in Lusaka, Zambia. I am a Zambian citizen with a vast knowledge in Computer Systems including networking, programming, server management and administration, system design, and more. I am also a WikiEducator and an advocate for online free content. --Brian.sikute 13:54, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Greetings Brian, great to see you again and a privilege to be co-facilitating with you :-) --Wayne Mackintosh 03:28, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Mutuzana Misheck

Dear ALL,
My name is Mutuzana Misheck. Iam an IT Teacher and one of the participants of the online WikiEducator and always interested in ICT's. At the moment iam involved with projects of creating visual contents for teachers on the Copperbelt here in Zambia. Apart form this i also teach computer studies, computer appreciation to both teachers and students on the Copperbelt.

I also organise ICT workshops for teachers on the Copperbelt under SchoolNET Zambia wher iam a coordinator for Mufulira Branch.

Iam very interested to learn more on how to use the Wikis.

(: You are very welcome Mutuzana. We hope to have more engagement with you during this course. Cheers! --Victor P. K. Mensah 11:03, 11 May 2010 (UTC))

Hi Mutuzana -- you've come to the right place to learn about wikis :-). Hopefully in the near future you will be facilitating your own training workshops in Zambia and possibly following the lead of setting up an OER portal project like Uganda! --Wayne Mackintosh 04:19, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Rwagasana Gerard

My name's Rwagasana Gerard, from Rwanda. I am an independent researcher / international consultant, specialist elearning/OERs. My present research topic is: the impact of "elearning combined with OERs" on the quality of teaching/learning in african higher education.

(: Hello Rwagasana. Your current research topic is very interesting. I am sure the findings will be useful not only for Africa but other regions too. Best wishes. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:04 UTC)

Greetings Rwagasana -- Great to see you in WikiEducator again -- I recall that you participated in an earlier workshop -- Is that correct? --Wayne Mackintosh 04:20, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Thank you Mackintosh and Ramesh -- Yes the topic is very interesting and I hope I will meet soon other researchers on the same topic and exchange with them at the eLearning Africa conference at Lusaka /Zambia.

Mackintosh you are right, I participated I think in two or three earlier workshops, but every time gave up before the end, because of bad connection or lack of time. Now I will go to the end of this one!--Rwagasana 20:21, 13 May 2010 (UTC)rwagasana

Kalpana Gupte

Hello everybody. I live in Pune, India. I am academic staff in one of the many Regional Centres of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). We are involved in admissions, pre-entry and post entry guidance and counselling and the delivery and implementation of the many different programmes that IGNOU offers. I am interested in Learner Support Services and activities.I am here with an open mind and wish to learn something new. I do not have a technical background but i wish to learn all that I can.Kalpana --Kalpana Gupte 14:49, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

(: Hello Kalpana. Your page is very impressive and hope that you will add more content on Learner Support on your pages. Best wishes. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:06 UTC)

Hi Kalpana, WikiEducator is very proud of India's participation -- an Inspiration for us all. You will be interested to know that two of our WikiEducator Community Council members are from IGNOU :-) --Wayne Mackintosh 04:23, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Ronald Munatsi

Hi Everyone! I am so delighted to be part of this community. I work for the Parliament of Zimbabwe as the Principal Librarian responsible mainly for managing the institution's electronic information resources. I also work part-time as a lecturer in ICT-related subjects at Harare Polytechnic Library School. My research interests lie in Open Access, FOSS, Web 2.0 (Library 2.0) technologies including other new media. I look forward to benefit a lot from this social networking platform, contribute where I can and of-course make friends!!!

(: Hello Ronald. Your experience and academic background is impressive. We all will learn from your research in Open Access and Web 2.0 for Libraries. Best wishes. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:09 UTC)

Glad to meet another FOSS advocate -- what is your favourite distro? With this level of interest in Zimbabwe, I've set up an OER portal page for Zimbabwe for you to start building community in Zim :-) Look at the OER Uganda page for inspiration. Perhaps we will see a little competition emerging between Southern Africa and East Africa? --Wayne Mackintosh 04:31, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Ashima Deshmukh

I am Ashima from Mumbai. I am a teacher Educator with great interest in use of ICT in Education. I am working on the preparation of OERs with the use of FLOSS for education. I am also working on softwares that use simulation for education and looking forward to great learning with you all.

(: Hi Ashima. Welcome aboard. Your work on simulation for education is interesting and do tell more about it on your pages. Best wishes. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:10 UTC)

Hi Ashima, you've come to the right place -- we're the leading OER wiki project in the formal education sector. Try and connect with colleagues in India -- we have an amazing team of WikiEducators in you country. --Wayne Mackintosh 04:33, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Bedilu Habte

I am Bedilu Habte from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. I am instructor in the civil engineering department. My interests and involvement in eLearning led me to this conference and this specific course. Hope it would be a fruitful course.
(: Dear Bedilu, you are most welcome in this workshop. Do share your experiences related to use of e-learning in Civil Engineering courses. Best wishes. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:13 UTC)

Hi Bedilu -- pleased to meet you. I must say that Addis is one of my favourite African cities :-). We won't tell the world who discovered coffee hey? --Wayne Mackintosh 04:35, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Yeba Judith Sama Mouokuio Meno

Hi everyone, i am called Yeba Judith Sama Mouokuio Meno. I am a Cameroonian.I am a high school guidance counsellor working in General Leclerc High School Yaoundé. I am also a researcher with Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) Cameroon. My specialties are ICTs, gender, citizenship. I am currently working as a researcher with the PanAf project on the pedagogical integration of ICTs in Africa, and presently i am working on gender differences in ICT use and access in Cameroon and Central Africa. I underwent a training at the training institute on women's rights and citizenship at the University of Witswatersrand. Amongst sevearal publications is the most recent on 'The pedagogical integration of ICTs in selected schools in Cameroon: Successes and Challenges'.

I will be so happy to know everyone and i want to thank the organisers of this online course. It is a wonderful initiative through which some of us will learn more about wiki.

(: Hi Yeba. Good to know about you. You are doing such a good work in ICT and pedagogy. Hopefully you will develop good content through your Wiki training. --Ramesh 11 May 2010 20:17 UTC)

Greetings Yeba. WikEducator is very proud of the Cameroon. Our French installation was started by Africa (notably the Cameroon) -- not France or Canda. Viva Africa, Viva! --Wayne Mackintosh 04:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Bhowa tg

Greetings colleagues' the name is Bhowa tg an Infoprenuer with zimisis a world class solution provider and advocate for FOSS and ISIS technologies in Zimbabwe and SADC region. I am also a part-time Tutor and module writer with Zimbabwe's largest University (Zimbabwe Open University),with my area of specialization being promotion of ICTs in LIS and RAM. My core business lies in integrated library systems (ABCD), digital systems (Greenstone), e-resources management, database hosting, e-learning platforms. i hope to benefit a lot as we move towards integration of social networks, especially wikis in our business, and importantly establish productive networks. see all at Mulungushi.

(: Hello Bhowa. Welcome aboard. Nice to know about your specialisation areas. Best wishes --Ramesh 12 May 2010 12:37 UTC)

Laraba Sam rikko

I am a lecturer with the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria. Iam involved with ICT team of the University that is charged with the responsibility of sensitizing and educating the university community on e-learning, e-teaching and research opportunities in the university. Iam very happy to meet you virtually on the online workshop. I must confess that iam a beginner myself in ICT and hope I will learn through the workshop as Iam already. Iam hopeful that the impact of this course will bring about improvement in elearning. teaching and research activities in our institutions.

(: Hello Laraba. Welcome to the eL4C39 online workshop. Hopefully you will enjoy this. Best --Ramesh 12 May 2010 13:24 UTC)

Jennifer Heath

I am a Deputy Principal in Auckland, New Zealand. I work in the areas of curriculum, assessment, professional learning, appraisal and data analysis. Learning about Wikis for classroom use, design and assessment. Aiming to get students to create wikis as evidence of their learning and to build better collaborative learning.
(: Dear Jennifer. Welcome to the eL4C39 online workshop. With best wishes --Ramesh 12 May 2010 13:27 UTC)

Jodi Lis

Greetings from Washington, DC. I work at the Academy of Education Development on projects in Africa that involve the introduction and integration of technology in teacher professional development. I am interested in user-created resources that teachers and students can develop themselves and with others for their own teaching and learning. I have had the pleasure of working with one of the other participants in this group, Mutuzana Misheck from Zambia, in one of the projects that I was involved with. Hi, Misheck! I will soon be working on a project in Kenya with primary teacher training colleges. I look forward to learning from all of you.

(: Dear Jodi. You are most welcome to this eL4C39 online workshop. You work on user-created resources is very interesting and would be useful to all of us. With best wishes --Ramesh 13 May 2010 12:22 UTC)

oscar omondi

Greetings all iam oscar from kenya and would be happy to join the online class
(: Hi Oscar. Welcome aboard. Hope you are enjoying and learning wiki skills. With best wishes --Ramesh 13 May 2010 12:27 UTC)

Racheal Ambani

I am Racheal Ambani from Kenya and this is the first time am hearing about Wiki. Antony Gioko invited me for the online Wiki training workshop. From your introductions, most of you know so much about Wiki and I would like to register my presence as a newcomer to your concept and learner. I am coming from a banking background from that of being a junior employee but worked my way up to officer grade by taking professional banking courses. Currently, no longer in the banking sector but now a fourth year adult student in Business Administration in one of our local universities here in Kenya. Besides this, I am a director of Mibok a local NGO that is geared towards bridging the knowledge gap in all areas of educational issues with a greater emphasis on the use ICT as a platform in achieving this. While at the same time creating employment opportunities for our grandaunts through outsourcing. I am therefore looking forward to a great time of learning, getting to know and interact with some of you if not all of you and hope to be more than inspired by the end of this workshop. I am already excited to participate and be part of a growing circle of educators from around the world, that are dedicated to the development of high quality learning resources that we can be shared, adapted and distributed.