conference

298 people from all over the world participated in the Media & Learning Conference on 24 -25 November in the Flemish Ministry of Education in Brussels. This conference organised by ATiT and the Ministry brought together educational broadcasters, policy-makers, practitioners, educational media producers and researchers in a packed 2 day event that included screenings, discussions and demonstrations. Supported by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme and with the help of sponsors like Adobe, Liberty Global and Telenet this event combined presentations about existing media-rich teaching resources and experiences with debate and discussion about future trends, drivers and developments.

Networking was at the heart of Media & Learning and the size and nature of this conference meant that there were no shortage of opportunities for making new contacts and planning collaborations. Media & Learning also featured the MEDEA Awards and included the prize-giving ceremony for this annual competition now in its 4th year. Keep up to date with Media & Learning 2012 on the conference website.

The programme for this year's Media & Learning Conference is now available and features a host of engaging speakers, topical discussions and screenings of excellent examples of media supported learning. The conference has three main themes; future trends and developments in media-supported learning, digital and media production skills and competences including media literacy, and the use and re-use of existing media resources in education and training at all levels.

Highlights of the conference include keynote presentations by Belgian child psychiatrist Peter Adriaenssens who argues that creative education is essential for the development of the brain and personality of children and Richard Harper, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. Screenings showing excellent examples of media usage to support learning from Thomson Reuters in the UK, TV.Klasse in Belgium, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and finalists in the MEDEA Awards 2011 along with discussion sessions, workshops and demonstrations combine to create a packed programme of activities.

Registration is now open on the conference website http://www.media-and-learning.eu.

The MEDEA Awards were well represented at the 20th annual EDEN conference, held this week in Dublin which attracted about 450 people from all over the world. Philip Penny from IADT, Deborah Arnold from Videoscop and Sally Reynolds from ATiT shared information about the awards, the Media & Learning conference and the other activities associated with the awards including the community of practice and the resources database with participants during a conference session on Monday afternoon and also via the IADT stand which was open to participants throughout the conference.

Almost 2000 people are taking part in the Digital Agenda Assembly in Brussels organised by the European Commission on 16-17 June. Sally Reynolds from ATiT facilitated the workshop on 'Mainstreaming e-Learning in education and training' which took place on 16 June and which identified successful eLearning policies, drivers, opportunities and expectations.

Outputs from this workshop contribute to a set of priorities and actions encouraging Member States to innovate in their education and training through adopting and integrating e-Learning into teaching and training. They also include recommendations to the Commission on how to support the Member States in this endeavour. This workshop represents the "kick-off" of the Digital Agenda action 68.

The annual assembly and conference of the European Society for the Systemic Innovation of Education (ESSIE)  took place on 27 May in Leuven and attracted about 100 researchers from different parts of Europe. Peter Sloep from the Open University, the Netherlands set the tone for the day in his inspiring keynote presentation entitled 'Networked Learning, a Paradigm Shift'. A presentation from ATiT which elaborated on the role of educational media in general and video in particular in the new digital culture described ways in which video can contribute to innovative learning practices. This was also an opportunity to promote  various initiatives where educational media is nurtured and supported including the MEDEA Awards and the Media & Learning community.

The second Media & Learning 2011 Conference website is now online with more information about this year's event. The aim of this conference is to bring together people interested in the take up of media in support of learning across all sectors, to discuss future trends and developments in media-supported learning, to share experience in how best to promote digital and media production skills and competences including media literacy, and to debate the best way to use and re-use existing media resources in education and training at all levels.

If you would like to contribute to the conference programme with a presentation, workshop or demonstration, the deadline for receipt of contributions is 1 June 2011. Visit the website to find out more.

If you want to get a sense of what the conference offered in 2010, you can view the photographs, videos, programme and discussions of last year’s conference in a flashback of Media & Learning 2010.

The dates for the next Media & Learning Brussels 2011 Conference were announced today and this conference will take place on 24-25 November in the Flemish Ministry of Education & Training Headquarters in Brussels. The annual awards ceremony for the MEDEA Awards will take place during Media & Learning on 24 November.

Aimed at policy-makers and practitioners, Media & Learning 2011 will bring together people interested in the take up of media in support of learning across all sectors, media literacy and the re-use of media based resources in education and training as well as broader issues related to ICT skills and digital competence generally.

More information including the public call for input will be available from the Media & Learning website shortly. The deadline for receipt of ideas for the agenda is 1 June 2011.

Over 220 people from 31 countries are taking part this week in the Media & Learning conference organised in collaboration with the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training. This conference combines presentations, discussions, demonstrations and workshops and includes the MEDEA Awards Ceremony where the winners of this year's MEDEA competition will be announced.

Online discussions have already started and are open to the public and you can follow many of the presentation sessions live online from 09.30 on Thursday 25 November until 17.00 on Friday 26 November. Conference themes include the role media can play in supporting learning at all levels, media literacy and the use of media-based learning resources.

People who have registered are already using the online conference community to extend their network and to manage their participation in this event and its related community of practice.