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EDITORIAL

Dear IFIP friends,

This is the 1/2006 Newsletter of IFIP Technical Committee 3 ( Education).
TC3 Newsletter collects together the essence of IFIP TC3 activities and
we hope that it would serve you as a community tool. We are developing this channel of communications and also trying to keep it digested due to increasing information overload
problem. Newsletter is very functional with no bells and whistles, hope it helps you in IFIP TC3 activities
So we continue community entrepreneurship.

The contents of this number are related to news from Chair and information
about forthcoming events summer and fall 2006. In each number we also
introduce our backbone i.e. people and their activities while that is what
IFIP is, committed working professionals for joint objectives and
international collaboration. In this newsletter we have also our strategy presented by Vice Chair Tom van Weert. We have also sad news, a memorial of John Hughes.

Find more information from our third Newsletter about on-going TC3 activities and people
behind it. Feel free to contact, contribute and develop contents. Looking forward to
seeing you in the forthcoming events!

Enjoy Summer!

Professor Mikko Ruohonen
TC3 Newsletter Editor
mikko.ruohonen@uta.fi

NEWS FROM THE CHAIR

Dear readers of the TC3 Newsletter.

The Newsletter was sound asleep for many years. I was very pleased that Mikko agreed to be editor for a trial period. He has actually managed to deliver some numbers which I want to thank Mikko for. Let us discuss the fate of the Newsletter in the next TC3-meeting.

In this issue I will comment on the following issues:

• TC3 Journal: Education and Information Technologies (EAIT)

Deryn Watson has retired as editor for the Journal after so many years of hard work.
On behalf of TC3, I want to thank Deryn for the work she has done.
In Kluwer / Springer the Journal is considered very successful. This was last stated in the Council meeting in early March 2006.
Ian Selwood (vice-chair WG 3.7) has now signed a contract to be the new editor. We wish him good luck in the job.

• PC-Chair WCCE 2009:

John Hughes was IPC-chair for WCCE 2009 in Brazil. Because of his sudden death, we had to appoint a new chair and Raul wanted this to be done in good time before the next TC3-meeting. The reason for this is that the work can be started during the officers- and TC3-meeting
Sindre R. is now appointed as the new IPC-chair. He certainly has the expertice through nearly 6 years as chair of 3.5 and as IPC-chair for the TC3 conference at WCC 2006.

• IFIP Strategy:

TC 3 have a Strategy Plan since 2003. The work started at the Bengtskaer Island in the Baltic sea, and has been followed-up in the TC3 meetings and the work by Tom van Weert.

In IFIP, a new Strategy has been worked on in the last year. TC3 has contributed to this plan by a document produced by Raymond, Bernard and myself in a meeting in Paris in April.
The work on the IFIP Strategy plan which is called “The New IFIP” is administered by a Steering Committee which will have it’s next meeting in June. Since Raymond is member of this committee, we will have firsthand knowledge. Both the IFIP and the TC3 Strategy will be on the Agenda for the next TC3 meeting. The contribution from TC3 will be presented in the TC3-meeting. It is called “The AGORA IFIP Initiative for Lifelong Learning”

Some highlights from our suggestion for the way ahead:

First draft agenda for the AGORA activities:
1 2006, October 20-21: First AGORA meeting in Poitiers, France.
2 2007, end of June: 2nd AGORA Open Conference in Poitiers, France.
3 2008: 3rd AGORA Conference (in the framework of WCC 2008, Milan, Italy).
4 2009: 4th AGORA Open Conference in the framework of WCCE 2009, Florianapolis, Brazil.
5 2010: 5th AGORA Open Conference (during the IFIP 50th anniversary event).

Last, but not least. Welcome to the next TC3 meeting in Aalesund and the 3.1, 3.3 and 3.5 conference afterwards.

Jan Wibe

TC3 NEWS

• IFIP Congress and Working Conferences

The next IFIP Congress will be World Computer Congress 2006, Santiago, Chile, August 22-25.
WCC is the key event for IFIP. After China in 2000, Canada in 2002, and France in 2004,
it is now Latin american’s turn to welcome this prestigious event.

http://www.wcc-2006.org

TC3 organizes embedded conference 
"Education for the 21st Century - Impact of ICT and Digital Resources"
around the following streams:
- ICTEM II: Informatics Curricula, Teaching Methods and best practice
- Teaching and Learning with ICT: Theory, Policy and Practice -
From the world of research to classrooms and learning environments

http://santiago.eduhi.at

• The WG 3.1, 3.3 and 3.5 conference, Imagining the future for ICT and Education

    [26th – 30th June 2006 in Alesund, Norway]

http://ifip35.inf.elte.hu/alesund/

• The WG 3.7 conference ITEM 2006 Information Technology in Educational Management 2006, Information Technology and Educational Management in the Knowledge Society.

http://www-item2006.ai.is.uec.ac.jp/

TC3 STRATEGY
By Tom van Weert

IFIP (www.ifip.org) is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that organises its technical (scientific) work in Technical Committees with a specific domain, such as Foundations of Computer Science (TC1), Relationship between computers and Society (TC9) or Education (TC3). Within Technical Committees work is organised in Working Groups or Special Interest Groups. TC3 has 7 Working Groups and 1 Special Interest Group (Lifelong Learning). You will find an overview, including membership, on the IFIP website (www.ifip.org). More detailed information can be found at the TC3 website (www.ifip.org; select: TC-3 Education; select: TC 3; select: URL).
Since its meeting in Finland in 2003, Technical Committee 3 has a Strategic Plan. Below are highlighted some elements of this plan.

• TC3 in a changing environment

The current aims of TC3 are:

1. To provide an international forum for educators to discuss research and practice in:

•  teaching informatics    
• educational uses of communication and information technologies (ICT)

1. To establish models for informatics curricula, training programs, and teaching methodologies
2. To consider the relationship of informatics in other curriculum areas. 
3. To promote the ongoing education of ICT professionals and those in the workforce whose employment involves the use of information and communication technologies. 
4. To examine the impact of information and communication technologies on the whole educational environment:

• teaching and learning
• administration and management of the educational enterprise
• local, national and regional policy-making and collaboration. 

However, TC3 operates in the changing environment of the developing knowledge society. This change leads to reflection on the aims of TC3. New aims have been proposed and will be discussed at the 2006 TC3 meeting in Ålesund, Norway.

1. To engage with formal and informal learning environments, including homes, communities and the world of work, as characteristics of the knowledge society.
2. To support the engineering of a more equitable knowledge society.
   

• TC3 as a collective team

TC3 does not aim to be just a committee with specific functions, but - taking account of the developments around it - TC3 aims to work as a collective team, with specific characteristics:

1. A very international group;
2. Involved in networks;
3. With a wide field of expertise (Scientific; Educational;Political)
4. With capacity for reflection;
5. With capacity for action.
   

• Role of TC3 towards Working Groups

Central in the activities of TC3 are the Working Groups (WGs). TC3 aims to:

1. Support on-going activities of WGs;
2. Jointly develop themes and activities with WGs;
3. Coordinate and make coherent WG’s activities;
4. Promote results and outputs from WGs;
5. Help disseminate the outputs of WGs.
   

The TC3 vice-chair for Working Groups (currently Tom van Weert, NL) works to help Working Group Officers in their activities.

• Role of TC3 towards National Representatives

TC3 brings together National Representatives from computer societies who are member of IFIP. Through them TC3 aims to:

1. Collect and disseminate information about ICTs in Education in different countries and regions, state of the art, progresses in the knowledge and information society… (at the TC3 website each year a booklet is published with the National Reports of TC3 members);
2. Disseminate TC3 and Working Group outputs;
3. Influence education in countries and regions.
   

• Role of TC3 towards other partners

TC3 aims to work with other partners to:

1. Establish partnerships on a collective basis (not only individuals); establish agreements;
2. Provide expertise;
3. Contribute to and participate in the actions of various partners;
4. Provide consultancy;
5. Formulate of recommendations;
6. …
   

• Interactions with professionals in the field

Researchers and educators in less favoured regions have a disadvantage as a result of the way in which IFIP is organised. Although grants are available at times, attendance at IFIP events remains problematic and IFIP remains a voice with significant under-representation. New strategies need to be considered and promoted:

1. IFIP working groups could use communications technologies, including conference tools accessed via the Internet to mitigate this. However, recent attempts to plan to do so have not been well received. It appears that IFIP working groups do not know how or wish to use technology to enhance their work. This is of concern and serves discussion. Examples where other international organizations and projects have successfully used such tools to promote international collaboration are not difficult to find.
2. Third world countries can also be facilitated in the following ways:
   

• London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt are key hubs in Europe for the third world. Conferences in such hubs would help to keep travel costs down;
• Recognition to employer for recognition of any/major contribution is particularly important for those  working in challenging circumstances; 
• Push information via email because that can be collected despite unreliable Internet connections.
  

• More information

More information is available on the TC3 website that is currently being updated (www.ifip.org; select: TC-3 Education; select: TC 3; select: URL).
 

JOHN HUGHES IN MEMORIAM

John Hughes died on Friday, March 17 at his home in Sydney. He had been recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, and evidently a blood clot from the injury made its way to his lungs and caused a heart attack.

John was a long-time leader in TC-3 and WG3.2 activities. He chaired WCCE 1990 in Australia, and he was Chair of WG3.2 and Program Chair of WCCE 2009, to be held in Florianopolis, at the time of his death. During his many years at the University of Technology, Sydney, he held almost every senior post from Acting Vice Chancellor to Dean/Acting Dean of almost every faculty, which is an indication of the level of respect and appreciation in which he was held by his colleagues.

John’s sudden, unexpected, and untimely death was a shock to all who knew him. He was a wonderful person who quickly and easily won the respect and friendship of those who met and worked with him. We will remember him for his leadership and his wise counsel, but perhaps most of all we will remember his collegiality and friendship. We will miss him.

On behalf of the whole TC3 community
Joe Turner

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- TC3 Newsletter May 2006 -
See photos: http://www.plu.ntnu.no/ansatte/janwib/ifip/ifip-tc3/

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