REFAD improvement workshops from October to December 2013

Workshop 1) THE VIRTUAL BOOK: SHARING OPEN CONTENT
Offered by audio conference supported by Internet by Wendy Lowe (La Cité collégiale)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013 (12:00 PM TO 1:30 PM / EASTERN TIME)

Description:
The “flexbook” is starting to really take shape in the United States: a compilation of documents and media available through Open Source and Creative Commons. What does this mean for the course manual? What about copyright? Reprography? The La Cité collégiale team will present a workshop on this subject based on exchanges of opinions and experiences, especially in terms of documentation for online courses. The workshop will cover examples and possible formats, different views on the use and description of the flexbook, followed by a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of open resources.

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Workshop 2) THE NEW ACTORS OF ADF: LEARNERS "THESE CREATORS OF SIYB CONTENT" ...
Offered by audio conference supported by Internet by Monique-Katherine De Sève (TÉLUQ / La Cité collégiale)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013 (12:00 PM TO 1:30 PM / EASTERN TIME)

Description:
This workshop will focus on these new players in distance learning who are called “content creators”. Learners present themselves as these new actors in the creation of knowledge. They are producers of knowledge both in terms of content (course material) and procedures (exchange of rules and other instrumentation) for carrying out school work. We are thus witnessing a redefinition of the learner's relationship both to his own learning and to the pedagogy of distance education. This workshop will therefore highlight the limits and possibilities of learners as content creators. Their educational profile is very diverse; this simple observation is enough in itself to question their limits and possibilities as creators.

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Workshop 3) SENSE OF SOCIAL PRESENCE: THE KEY TO MAXIMIZING LEARNING DURING DISTANCE TEACHING
Offered by audio conference supported by Internet by Frédéric Banville (UQAR)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013 (12:00 PM TO 1:30 PM / EASTERN TIME)

Description:
Studies have shown that the retention rate in virtual classrooms is low compared to traditional classrooms. It is the lack of social interaction that would play a major role in the failure rate of certain courses offered at a distance. Improving the feeling of social presence would therefore be the basis of the success of distance education. But how can this feeling be improved in order to influence both the quality of student participation and the quality of their learning? This workshop therefore proposes to explore certain strategies by means of examples drawn from two distance learning situations: traditional videoconferencing in the classroom and videoconferencing on the web using platforms such as VIA or Adobe Connect. Communication strategies, interactions with the group, interactive learning activities will also be analyzed and commented on during this training.
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Workshop 4) USE AND UTILITY OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE TRAINING OF ADULTS: PEDAGOGICAL POSSIBILITIES
Offered by audio conference supported by Internet by François Dallaire
(Documentation Center on Adult Education and the Status of Women / CDÉACF)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2013 (12:00 PM TO 1:30 PM / EASTERN TIME)

Description:
Mobile technologies (tablets, smart phones, smart watches, etc.) are increasingly used at work, in our leisure time and for educational purposes. The omnipresence and evolution of these technological tools are opening up new perspectives for in-person and remote training. In this workshop, some mobile technology tools that the CDÉACF uses or has tested for the provision of training will be presented. We will give specific and concrete examples of the possibilities of using mobile technologies in a framework of training intended for adults. We will see the educational possibilities of these new technological tools.