This year EDEN was proudly hosting the third year of the European Distance Learning Week (EDLW) in cooperation with the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), which was holding its National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) in parallel with the EDEN event. During EDLW, daily online webinars and panel sessions of expert scholars and practitioners were presented with a variety of cutting-edge open and online learning topics, from innovations in design to open educational research. For NDLW events, see the USDLA web page: https://www.usdla.org/2018-ndlw-2018/

Each day during the EDLW, a webinar was presented with interesting themes and professional presenters. See the themes and the recordings as below. I myself hosted a webinar on the 8 November 2018 on Considerations for Quality Assurance of e-Learning Provision. In addition, I moderated and presented myself. The webinar was in three parts. 

Ebba Ossiannilsson, EDEN Executive Committee Member, EDEN Fellow Council Member, Chair of the EDEN Special Interest Group on Technology Enabled Learning and Quality Enhancement presented on EDEN Special Interest Group on Technology Enabled Learning and Quality Enhancement.

Esther Huertas Hidalgo, AQU Catalunya, Spain, The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) presented the ENQA Considerations for Quality Assurance of e-Learning Provision, and the TeSLA project on e-assessment.

The webinar had some 50 registered participants and it was a lively discussion on quality considerations and how EDEN can contribute both internal and external to the changing quality agenda in the changing learning landscape in the 21st century and how the use of TEL can facilitate and promote educational access, equity, and quality around the world, which are the Sustainability Goals related to education (SDG4). The ENQA Quality considerations are based on the ENQA European Standards and Guidelines and the European Association of Distance Teaching University (EADTU) Excellence Associates in Quality and the SEQUENT (Supporting Quality in E-learning European Networks) project.

More information here on the aim of the webinar

Description: The learning landscape looks completely different today than it did five years ago. The way that learners are learning is changing dramatically. Today learning is available anywhere, and everywhere, and through any kind of device. Mobile learning is the first choice for most people today. Within a context of globalization and the knowledge economy, the quality of higher education is increasingly regarded as strategically important for national economic development and competitiveness. High quality and relevant higher education equip students with the knowledge, skills and core transferable competencies they need to succeed after graduation, within a high-quality learning environment which recognizes and supports good learning and teaching. The recommendations in the occasional paper on Considerations for quality assurance of e-learning provision by ENQA are applicable to all forms of e-learning, i.e. learning which is facilitated through the use of ICT. Besides examining the applicability and relevance of the standards defined in the ESG 2015, this document is meant to initiate discussion and the thinking processes of stakeholders involved, e.g. HEIs, QA agencies, etc. Read more https://enqa.eu/indirme/papers-and-reports/occasional-papers/Considerations%20for%20QA%20of%20e-learning%20provision.pdf

Moreover, the TeSLA project will be discussed. The TeSLA system is a project funded by the European Commission. It will follow the interoperability standards for integration into the different learning environment and it will be developed to reduce the current restrictions of time and physical space in teaching and learning, which opens up new opportunities for learners with physical or mental disabilities as well as respecting social and cultural differences.https://tesla-project.eu

In addition, the EDEN SIG on TEL and quality enhancement will be presented, which aim is to advocate and work for renewing the quality agenda in education. Read more on EDEN SIG TE QE

The presentations during the week were the following themes. More information and the recording can e found here

5 November 2018 Distance Education: Past, Present, and Future – Overview and Foresight

6 November 2018 Line Between Non-formal and Formal Education – Recognition and Credentialing of Learning

7 November 2018 Innovative Education – Case Studies

8 November 2018 Considerations for Quality Assurance of e-Learning Provision

9 November 2018How EDEN Network can Support Ph.D. Students and Research?

In addition, some other contributions from European education organizations to European Distance Learning Week were organized by EDEN Community members  

5 November 2018 Open Education: What Now?

7 November 2018 Virtual Reality    

8 November 2018 New Learning Spaces to Support the EU 2020 Learning-Intensive Society