Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal (KM&EL)

As Editors-in-Chief of Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal (KM&EL), we are very pleased to announce the release of the special issue "E-Health: Accessing Knowledge for Global Health". Please see below for a detailed description of the contents.

A FREE copy of this Issue can be downloaded at Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An Int. Journal (KM&EL)

http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication

KM&EL Lab
http://kmel-lab.org/website/index.html

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The contents of the special issue
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Editorial: E-Health: Accessing Knowledge for Global Health
By Patricia Abbott

The Relevance of Telehealth across the Digital Divide: The transfer of knowledge over distance
By Ton AM Spil, Roel W Schuring, Margreet B Michel-Verkerke, Reuben Mugisha, Peter JB Lagendijk

Knowledge Networking for Family Planning: The Potential for Virtual Communities of Practice to Move Forward the Global Reproductive Health Agenda
By Megan O'Brien, Catherine Richey

Developing Nursing and Midwifery Communities of Practice for Making Pregnancy Safer
By Jody Rae Lori, Debbie Diaz Ortiz, Sandra Oyarzo, Patricia Abbott, Sandra Land

Managing knowledge across boundaries in healthcare when innovation is desired
By Mats Edenius, Christina Keller, Staffan Lindblad

The use of synchronous video-conference teaching to increase access to specialist nurse education in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
By Jennifer Chipps

Learning AIDS in Singapore: Examining the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS efficacy messages for adolescents using ICTs
By Arul Indrasen Chib, May O. Lwin, Zhuomin Lee, Victoria W. Ng, Priscilla H. P. Wong

Development of an online sleep diary for physician and patient use
By Jacqueline Blake, Don Kerr

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Forthcoming Issue Vol.2, No.3, Sep 2010
Special Issue on "Advanced Learning and Performance Technologies, Open Contents, and Standards" - Best Papers Selected from the Conference ICCE C3 2009

Table of Contents

Editoral: Advanced Learning and Performance Technologies, Open Contents, and Standards
By Kiyoshi Nakabayashi, Fanny Klett (IEEE Fellow), Stephen J.H. Yang

Automatic Generation System of Multiple-choice Cloze Questions and its Evaluation
By Takuya GOTO, Tomoko KOJIRI, Toyohide WATANABE, Tomoharu IWATA, Takeshi YAMADA

The Effects of Blended Instruction on Oral Reading Performance and their Relationships to Five-Factor Model of Personality
By Noritake Fujishiro, Isao Miyaji

Design and Implementation of Extensible Learner-adaptive Environment
By Kiyoshi Nakabayashi, Yosuke Morimoto, Yoshiaki Hada

Specifying Cases for TEL in an SME
By Vladan Devedžić, Sonja Radenković, Jelena Jovanović, Viktor Pocajt

The Design of a Sustainable Competency-Based Human Resources Management : A Holistic Approach
By Fanny Klett (IEEE Fellow)

Building Virtual Collaborative Research Community Using Knowledge Management Approach
By Ju-Ling Shih, Jussi Nuutinen, Gwo-Jen Hwang, Nian-Shing Chen

Situational Language Teaching in Ubiquitous Learning Environments
By Angus F.M. Huang, Stephen J.H. Yang, Gwo-Jen Hwang, Chin-Chung Tsai

Understanding Retailers' Acceptance of Virtual Stores
By Irene Y.L. Chen

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Call for Papers:
http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication/announcement
*******************************

Editors-in-Chief
Maggie M. Wang (magwang at hku.hk)
Stephen Yang (jhyang at csie.ncu.edu.tw)

Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal (KM&EL)
http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication

My source: GANM (Global Alliance for Nursing and Midwifery) list

Wageningen MultiMedia Research Centre

I am away for a week and will be e-free. Amongst reading materials I'm packing Learning Drupal 6 Module Development. Last evening I came across Wageningen MultiMedia Research Centre (WMMRC) a treat to explore for when I return. Rather than a more complete educational Drupal distribution there are some specific modules that might work as a plug-in:

• ClosedQuestion
• Proteus
• LinearCase

The publications are extensive and of relevance too.

(Bye for now ... There's a post scheduled for 1st June on Proteus)

Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning - CfP for 2nd and 3rd issues

Dear colleagues,

As you may already be aware, the inaugural issue of Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning has now been published online at http://journal.elnet.com.au/impact/, and is available for viewing for free upon registration on the site. The journal is now accepting manuscript submissions for its second issue (Vol. 2, No. 1), which will be a regular issue, and its third issue (Vol. 2, No. 2), which will be a special issue on the topic of evaluation* and transfer of workplace e-learning. Both of these issues are scheduled for publication later this year.

Impact is an online publication of the E-learning Network of Australasia (ElNet at http://www.elnet.com.au), a not-for-profit organisation and Australia's only national e-learning association. The journal has been established to address the paucity of research publication avenues that provide a particular emphasis on e-learning in organisational, corporate and workplace settings, and which seek to bridge academic and business communities. Focusing on stimulating and generating dialogue, as well as promoting the development and sharing of evidence-based best practice, the journal publishes both refereed and non-refereed contributions from authors worldwide relating to the design, implementation, evaluation and management of workplace e-learning across a range of sectors and industries.

The Editorial Policies section of the Web site houses information on the journal's focus and scope, including topics of interest and types of articles accepted. For specific style guidelines and advice on preparing a manuscript for submission, please consult the Submissions section of the site (http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php?journal=impact&page=about&op=submission).

Enquiries and expressions of interest can be directed to impactjournal AT elnet.com.au.

Kind regards,

Mark J.W. Lee
Editor-in-Chief
Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning
A publication of the E-learning Network of Australasia (ElNet)
WWW: http://journal.elnet.com.au/impact/

My source:
Instructional Technology Forum (with some editing)

<->

E-learning is another potential area for collaboration in writing and e-projects for Hodges' model. I will also post a few old, but still relevant MCQs on W2tQ in coming months and other items relating to Drupal and the new site.... ;-)
*Evaluation in health and education is also central to h2cm. I am very grateful to the Canadian Evaluation Society for maintaining a link to Hodges' model for many years. The other topic for Impact, Vol. 2, No. 2 which Mark highlights on transfer of workplace e-learning prompts consideration of e-learning within the past six years within the NHS:

http://www.nhselearningdatabase.org.uk/

http://www.esrsolution.co.uk/projects/nlms/

http://www.nhselearning.org/

Inaugural issue of Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning

Dear colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that I write to you to announce that the long awaited and much anticipated inaugural issue of Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning has now been published at http://journal.elnet.com.au/impact. A copy of the issue's Table of Contents is included at the end of this message.

The inaugural issue, the theme of which is "Current issues and future directions in workplace e-learning: Mapping the research landscape", is a 'bumper' issue containing no less than 14 refereed articles written by authors from France, the UK, Ireland, the USA and Australia.

The full text of all 14 articles is available to all those who register for a free account at - http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php/impact/user/register.

The publication frequency of Impact will increase to bi-annual in 2010, followed by quarterly in 2011 and subsequent years. Manuscript submissions are now being accepted via the online submission system for the first regular issue of the journal (Vol 2, No 1 - to be published in July 2010) - Please see the "About" section of the journal's Web site for information about the journal's focus and scope as well as detailed guidelines for authors.

The second issue of Impact in 2010 (Vol 2, No 2), which will be published in December, is intended to be a special, themed issue on the topic of e-learning evaluation and transfer. More details, including a formal Call for Papers, will be made available in early 2010. Meanwhile, expressions of interest can be sent to impactjournal at elnet.com.au.

Best wishes to all for the festive season!

Kind regards,

Mark J.W. Lee
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Charles Sturt University
Editor-in-Chief, Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning
Email: impactjournal at elnet.com.au

********************

Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning
Vol 1, No 1 (2009): Inaugural issue "Current issues and future directions in workplace e-learning: Mapping the research landscape"

Table of Contents
http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php/impact/issue/view/1

Editorial
--------
Vol 1, No 1 (inaugural issue) (pp. 1-4)
Mark J.W. Lee

Refereed articles
--------
Knowledge work in a connected world: is workplace learning the next big thing? (pp. 5-11)
Richard Straub

Learning and technology - what have we learnt? (pp. 12-26)
Martyn Sloman

Whose context is it anyway? Workplace e-learning as a synthesis of
designer- and learner-generated contexts (pp. 27-42)
Andrew Whitworth

Heutagogy and e-learning in the workplace: some challenges and opportunities (pp. 43-52)
Stewart Hase

Connectivism: a theory for learning in a world of growing complexity (pp. 53-67)
Kay Strong, Holly Hutchins

Exploring corporate e-learning research: what are the opportunities? (pp. 68-79)
Consuelo Waight, Barbara Stewart

Enhancing the experience of e-learning among working students: a systematic
review with thematic analysis (pp. 80-96)
Christopher Carroll, Andrew Booth, Diana Papaioannou, Anthea Sutton, Ruth Wong

The use of e-learning in the workplace: a systematic literature review (pp. 97-112)
Miguel Nunes, Maggie McPherson, Fenio Annansingh, Irfan Bashir, David Patterson

E-learning maturity in the workplace - the benefits and practices (pp. 113-136)
Laura Overton, Howard Hills

Optimising work-based e-learning in small and medium-sized enterprises:
contemporary challenges (pp. 137-153)
Ian Roffe

The Learn@Work Socrates-Minerva Research Project 2005-2007: what did it
do and what has happened with it since? (pp. 154-168)
Anne Murphy, Kevin O'Rourke, Pauline Rooney

Workers researching the workplace using a work-based learning framework:
towards an agenda for improving supervisory practice (pp. 169-182)
Jon Talbot

How do executives evaluate e-learning? A grounded theory study (pp. 183-204)
Paul Hardt

Case studies (Refereed)
--------
The evolution of the business case for e-learning at St George Bank
(pp. 205-219)
Colin Pitt, Andrew Heys

********************

My source: ITFORUM web site:
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/

Conceptual heavy lifting ...

Whether you are teacher, lecturer or a student we are all lifelong learners.

As the new academic year starts in the Northern hemisphere, students will have new concepts to learn. They must also integrate these concepts with previous learning and experiences. Remember that while concepts are:

floaty, airy, light, abstract

collect enough of them and they become weighty and a confused delight of several degrees of significance.

Then health and safety dictates three things:

1. No heavy lifting
2. Do not omit vital concepts
3. Those concepts you do have - weigh them - carefully.

So, how do you manage your conceptual loads?


Original image source:
Scrap grab http://www.lifting-world.co.uk/equipment.htm

Medinfo 2010 South Africa 12-15th September

Cape Town, South Africa will host the 13th International Congress on Medical Informatics from the 12 - 15 of September 2010.

This will be the first time MEDINFO is held in Africa. It promises to boost exposure to grassroots healthcare delivery and the underpinning health information systems. This will open the door to new academic partnerships into the future and help to nurture a new breed of health informaticians.*

Conference Theme

Partnerships for effective e-Health solutions

Innovative collaborations promote solutions to health challenges

The theme for the International Medical Informatics Association’s (IMIA) 13th World Congress on Medical Informatics, Medinfo 2010 is Partnerships for effective e-Health solutions with a particular focus on how innovative collaborations can promote sustainable solutions to health challenges. It is well recognised that information and communication technologies have enormous potential for improving the health and lives of individuals. Innovative and effective change using such technologies is reliant upon people working together in partnerships to create innovative and effective solutions to problems with particular regard to contextual and environmental factors.

As Medinfo 2010 brings together the health informatics community from across the globe we are seeking to focus on how we can work together and share our experiences and knowledge to promote sustainable solutions to the challenges presenting to us all. This will be an historical event as Medinfo 2010 is hosted in Africa for the first time.

My sources:

Implementing Best Practices (IBP) Knowledge Gateway GANM
& The Conference Company and the Medinfo2010 website.

Africa! While I have linked to many, I have never attended an International informatics event. This one sounds really special being in Africa.
*I would love to pass over the baton that is Hodges' model and also discover what other conceptual frameworks may be out there....

'X', 'Y', 'Z'... Based Learning

As a student or lifelong learner starting a course you expect that you will and are being exposed to the latest learning and educational methods and techniques*. The non-exhaustive list that follows is ... what shall we call it? ... non-trivial in its extent:

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
case-based learning
SOLUTION-BASED LEARNING
person-based learning
BLENDED LEARNING
e-learning
DISTANCE LEARNING
self-directed learning
ASSIGNMENT-BASED LEARNING
work-based learning
PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING
enquiry-based learning
GARDEN-BASED LEARNING
game-based learning
COMPUTER-BASED LEARNING
project-based learning
INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING
resource-based learning
CAMPUS-BASED LEARNING
movement-based learning
ADVENTURE-BASED LEARNING
classroom-based learning
SKILLS-BASED LEARNING
action-based learning
COGNITIVE LEARNING
team-based learning, ...

Hodges' model is person-centered, situated and capable of taking in multiple contexts.

So perhaps the most important word above is based ...?

*One of the original roles for Hodges' model was curriculum development, posts to follow on this topic....

Additional links:

Learning with 'e's

Book review: Drupal for Education and E-Learning

This is the third Drupal book I have reviewed [1] [2]. I've some experience of creating computer aided learning (CAL) programs back in the 1980s on the BBC microcomputer which were used in nurse education within the UK:

• CAPA - Computer Aided Patient Assessment
• The Nursing Process
• Blood Groups
• Shades of Grey

So I wondered how this review would run? In particular I pondered on the extent that Drupal provides not only educational resources, but data structures and means that lend themselves to creating interactive presentations and exercises. The presentations and exercises bit is important because back in the 80s (and earlier) many CAL efforts were nothing more than 'page turners'. Yes, back then I wanted to present text, but I also want to create exercises to make students reflect and think. Multimedia and the rise of i-Media which is both internet media and interactive media has changed all this. I am aware of Moodle, Blackboard plus others.... and need to understand where Drupal fits in to this educational armoury. There do seem to be moves to conjoin Drupal and Moodle in some way, but these seem stalled if not currently works in progress. If the first two books helped me learn the nuts and bolts of Drupal, then what would Bill Fitzgerald's book teach me about the nuts and bolts of Drupal in education and e-learning?

Chapter 1-3 are provide an easy to follow introduction to Drupal, installation, with more than sixty pages devoted to getting started. As with other Packt titles there are plenty of screenshots to support the text. In my copy one on page 30 is a bit dark as are a few others, but it still helps to get the gist across of what the user should be seeing. You can become blasé about introductions (and instruction manuals!), but Bill Fitzgerald does a great job. It is obvious that he has an instructor's flair for communicating, revealing details and perspectives with aplomb. One point I appreciated on page 52 'create new revision' and the default option which:

"... allows you to create wiki-like functionality; each time a piece of content is edited and saved, it creates a revision, and users with sufficient priviledges can view and revert older revisions."

There is an explanation on downloading, decompressing, uploading and installing themes and modules. There are (at least) two pivotal modules 'in' Drupal - CCK the Content Construction Kit and Views. Fitzgerald gives these the attention they deserve, introducing CCK on p. 54 (and to meet his plans the Links module). Bill runs through creating roles, and content types in the form of bookmark (chapter 3), a teacher blog and assignment (chapter 4). These are explained in four stages through pages 48-64:

1. create the content type
2. add fields
3. assign taxonomy
4. assign permissions

There is a non-trivial element to creating usable sites with Drupal and that is inclusion of a text editor. Bill uses the FCKeditor, the merits of various text editing solutions is much debated in Drupal circles. Pages 65 - 89 covers the creation of views:

1. add a view
2. set the defaults
3. add a display type

The Views module is described with instructions on view creation over pages 65-89. I had heard how important these modules are to the Drupal community (and the users!) and it's obvious reading Bill's account just why these modules are a Drupaller's best friend. That is - once mastered. If not tamed completely the screenshots and notes here certainly make Views less of a challenge. As I write up the first half of this review and peek ahead I wonder if Bill can do the same for Organic Groups (OG)? Listening to a session at Drupalcon Szeged last summer OG seems a head full at least initially, or was that Panels?

The Views admin screenshot p.66 provides a helpful overview. The 'set the defaults' screenshot reveals the potential power of Views and its complexity for novices on first encounter. Bill Fitzgerald's readers will expect some labour so this is a reward rather than a problem. As educators know it is always a problem showing the mechanics of a computer-based process in a book, but this is very clear.

This is were my expectations of the book were not so much shattered as a realisation that I need to catch up with educational technology and the available forms of technical and social media. Students are tech-savvy, many come to courses prepared being users of mobile devices, social media and office applications. The book does focus on Drupal's ability to deliver the staple ingredients of interaction today:

• student blogs
• teacher blogs
• comments
• assignments with due dates
• uploading various forms of media

Some modules become so ubiquitous to the Drupal community with their established functionality, reliability, stability and user base that if not already they can be elevated to 'core' in future releases; that is, they are included in the initial Drupal download. This is where the power and flexibility of Drupal comes in with the development and integration of additional modules and this can include educational and e-learning components. With this book I did get an early helpful sense of signposting, direction regards things I really need to address above and beyond fluency in Drupal.

On page 115 the need for sample content is raised. Content! This is what it is all about. On page 116 the create assignment figure refers to high level reflection - which made me reconsider content types and what you can achieve by keeping things simple. There is a tip on p. 118 about using node: title field for troubleshooting.

At this point in the book once again I wondered about 'instructional technology', Drupal, Moodle and Computer Aided Learning... I've created (but not deployed) a 12 item multiple choice test using HotPotatoes. In Drupal this could be a module so there is scope, the book is about Drupal's existing capacity for education and e-learning which can be extended through the core and additional modules. Specific user communities adopting Drupal have produced their own 'distribution'. Examples include the Drupal Education Group and Science Collaboration Framework.

Cloning Views is a good way to learn CCK too p.123. Naming conventions in Drupal can be confusing as with the "Content: datetime: Due date (field_due_date)" example on page 128.

Chapter 5 on Enrolling Students advises you to create specific roles rather than use the authenticated user. This "provides additional level of security and flexibility" (p. 134) a key governance point, even though many academic applications may be operating within an educational establishment. In health we are increasingly 'involving patients, carers and the public' so in education parents can be invited to get involved, hence the flexibility of additional roles with the bonus of security. If admin seems a chore to you then this short chapter reveals the efficiency of Drupal which helps you to concentrate on the the essentials of a user centered site, content and experience.

On experience Fitzgerald cuations about accessibility that if students cannot publish quickly a site could be under used. The point about educational sites frequently being on-campus clearly helps with security concerns, for example e-mail confirmation of a new account may not be necessary p.138. There is reference to LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and other modules to assist with roles (p. 144); so it is well worth really thinking through your objectives and in this way I must doff my hat to Bill and other Drupal authors I have read.

In chapter 6 we clone the Teacher Blog to create a Student Blog. Views is used cloning the backlinks view as a means to see 'who is discussing what' p.149. This view isn't just repetition it extends the readers understanding of that encountered in chapters 3 and 4. There are some key points regards the subsequent updating of views as additional content types are added; and around differences in page display behaviour and that of blocks. On page 153 I struggled to find the checkbox for the illustration.

In chapter 7 Bookmarks Bill opts to use CCK to add bookmarks to the site. There are other ways and means - through the Bookmarks and Weblinks modules. My previous thoughts about Drupal in education and e-learning is illustrated by the example of Bookmarks to extend classroom activities. Again - keep things simple! A lesson here for me - which I've realised for quite some time is that there is little educational value in a collection of links for links sake as per the four links resources at Hodges' model. Links (bookmarks) are a tool and it is how they are used - the context of use that is important p.164. It is interesting how an educational interaction can quickly be established between an assigment and links. Here there is no need for complex programming or elaborated data structures.

Perhaps a little more could have been made of 'Learning Goals' p.166 even a separate chapter, but looking at the mounting page count and scope of Drupal this is for another book and the future. The Drupal community undoubtedly see Drupal as a key player so watch this space. There is a very full agenda that invites exploration and Drupal development.

Chapter 8 brings us to those content elements at the center of learners and student day-to-day learning and lives - podcasts and images p.169. On podcast production place the emphasis on content, don't get bogged down with the technical, hardware and software p.183. Accessibility and learning disability is acknowledged and project based learning. On imaging, Bill explains the relationship between Imagefield, Image API, Imagecache and Thickbox or Lightbox 2 is a gift. Detail is paid to to the Image module which is usually sufficient to meet most needs p.186. It is a subtle change but the differences between Image Module settings and admin/setting/image and Creating Gallaries p.189 admin/content/image is well worth noting.

Video in chapter 9 (pp. 195-213) is an area I know little about. This chapter made me want to learn more, and consider the possible student projects p.211 especially video bookends. Bill refers us to the work of Dan Meyer - a maths teacher - and the creation of video for specific educational goals. Drupal can also act asa hosting and processing platform for video p.212.

Chapter 10 Forums and Blogs is real bread and butter stuff. There is an informative explanation about forums and containers, and in structuring a forum the need to ensure it looks busy as soon as possible p.216. Chapter 11 is pivotal for community building - 'social networks and extending the user profile'. Firstly using the Core Profile module. There is something of a module managerie here as the Content Profile Module includes Content Profile User Registration module.

Unless I've missed a trick the illustration referred to on page 244 is three pages out being on 235 not page 238. The Content Profile User User Registration module adds the USer Registration fieldset. Once I found the correct screenshot to compare all was light and bright. Other modules for social networking and user profile are listed, with a customary closing summary for a chapter central to community building. As Bill states you want users to have a personal investment in the site p.245.

Chapter 12 brings us to 'Supporting Multiple Classes' with resort to Organic Groups and Organic Groups Vocabulary modules p.247. Attention is drawn to OG working closely with other modules particularly Panels and Notifications. Five pages in here and the utility of OG to the education and other communities is wholly apparent. It really is powerful. I could have done with reading this chapter indeed this book before attending Drupalcon. It would have served me better (rather obviously given my status) than reading Pro Drupal! Given the plethora of modules in Drupal there is a tip about duplicate functionality between OG and the core Tracker module.

For newbies to Drupal the heading "Adjusting your site to work with OG" could be read as "Adjusting your mindset to work with OG" The key as ever is content:

1. Content types that can be used to create group;
2. Content types that can be posted into groups;
3. Content types that are never posted into groups.

OG therefore prompts Bill to create the content types a Class and a Club. It is interesting that the OG fieldset refers to 'Wiki group post' with Wikis often posited as an educational tool. 'Instructor' and 'Teacher' refer to one role which threw me at first on page 256. Having content types and groups of course requires the creation of custom menus with some good insights on differentiation of navigation from other menus p.256-7. Strangely there is no mention of 'Wiki' in the otherwise comprehensive index. I believe the screenshot referred to on page 262 is that on page 260 and 261.

Views is so ubiquitous in Drupal that it is revisited in chapter 13, tracking student responses to assignments. Another module 'Coherent Access' may have a role to play in your site as Bill applies it to furnish private communication with students p.291. This mix of public and private communications bears due deliberation and is raised elsewhere in the book. Cross functionality recurs again with OG and the Coherent Access module, with work ongoing to resolve the issue in Drupal 7 (p. 293).

Beginning on page 297 chapter 14 on Themeing and User Interface Design was never going to be long. Beginners in turn are often flumoxed with primary and secondary menus in Drupal. Here Bill stresses the two principles for site design and the menus out of the box. Other modules e.g. Menu Block are discussed as a means of extending the primary menu options. Here you will learn about creating custom menus and the close relationship between menus and blocks - with the critical workflow of leaving a new menu empty initially - a key take home lesson. The explanation here on populating the primary links are a gift in their simplicity and yet their significance to a learner.

Chapter 15 covers cron, backup and maintenance with a recommended list of initial user names and passwords to document and store safely and separately. You think Bill might be tired on the final leg, but the explanation of backing up the codebase, contributed modules, files and use of the DB Maintenance module and database optimization is quite thorough. Awareness of the 'admin' side surely helps early on, and for Bill this includes knowing the status and efficiency of your database through the use of log files. Here you run full circle revisiting the structure of a Drupal site and the parts you need to backup, using PHPMyAdmin or the command line. Both PC, Mac and Linux variations are discussed p.342. Backup of a server site leads Fitzgerald to the creation and use of a test site for experiments with new modules and update procedures. No backup is complete without demonstrating the ability to recover your site. This chapter closes with short and detailed version of how to upgrade Drupal p.361.

The final chapter concerns a resource that is far from 'last' - How to work effectively in the Drupal community. Drupal.org is featured, the handbooks, becoming familiar with the issue queue, support forums and mailing lists. Drupal comes home so to speak with the groups, since there may be one near you.

I have really enjoyed this book and the sense of Drupal being established in education and keen to strengthen and extend its roots. Unfortunately, my reading has been rather broken, but this is a book I hope to use over the next few months. Those new to Drupal and not necessarily with an education or e-learning application in mind will also find much here to speed and ease their learning. As to my own learning the 80's was one thing the teenies will be another...

Additional links:

Drupal in Education Group

Drupal.org search 'education'

LAMP University

Open Academic

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Packt Publishing for the book copy.

UK NHS Connecting for Health: Services and Systems

It is surprising what you can find behind an interface 'tab'. In doing some homework around e-Health, I came across this listing of 'Systems and Services' on the Connecting for Health website. It is a great springboard for exploration. Although public sector ICT is frequently the subject of media ire this listing brings home the complexity, diversity and scope of the ground breaking work that has and is being done. Add to this listing the 'research and development' effort also being undertaken elsewhere and despite the current economic climate there are some things to smile about.

Alphabetical: A to I	Alphabetical: J to Z
Addressing Blood safety tracking pilot Capability & Capacity Choose and Book Clinical Dashboards Data Services Demographics Deployment support Education, Training and Development (ETD) Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) ePrescribing GP Support Health and Social Care Integration Programme HealthSpace Implementation Independent Sector Healthcare Programme Information Governance (IG)	N3 - The National Network NHS Care Records Service (NHS CRS) NHS Gateway NHSmail NHS Number NHS Strategic Tracing Service (NSTS) Pathology Messaging Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) Professionalising Health Informatics (PHI) Registration Authorities and Smartcards Research Capability Programme Spine Secondary Uses Service (SUS) Systems & Service Delivery

My source: Connecting for Health http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices

I will also share that homework in due course.

e-Learning Africa 2009: Learn, Share, Network

Hi Peter,

I just wanted to touch base with you and make sure you received the press release I sent Tuesday about eLearning Africa. The eLa event helps educators in Africa learn about a variety of distance learning tools they can use to help expand their educational systems at home. This year, the event will take place in Dakar. eLa is one of the largest educational events on the African continent.

eLa has is working on collecting donations to sponsor men and women from remote regions who would not otherwise be able to attend. If you think there might be any interest in doing a story on eLa, it would be wonderful. The attention you could bring to this program could really help out people from these countries who are striving to learn. Many people say an educated world will make a more peaceful world!

I look forward to hearing from you to see if you are interested.

To view a video from the conference last year, visit
http://www.elearning-africa.com/press_gallery_video_film_2008.php

Take care,
Sarah Ray - Hayes
Public Relations Consultant at eLearning Africa

Hi Sarah,

Sorry for the delay and many thanks for these details which as you can see I am helping to publicise here. I will also post to twitter. Should you and your colleagues wish to feature an item on W2tQ then I would be pleased to assist - especially something on e-learning and health in Africa.

Whilst not absolutely necessary if there is some way you can link back this would be greatly appreciated. Hodges model is an ideal resource in helping to integrate concepts and engage stakeholders across socio-technical realms, global health and new forms of media and learning.

Whilst I am being very selective about links (seeking sponsorship myself) given that the conference is annual I will add and maintain a link on the main website and blog. As the h2cm website and blog are personal initiatives I need plenty of notice 6 months and more ideally...

Best wishes to all the team there with your plans and efforts.

Peter Jones
Lancashire
UK

"EU: 50 years of rights and opportunities" a sort of "Encyclopaedia of European programmes"

Happy New Year to one and all....

How time flies! 2007 was a 50th anniversary for the EU, here are details about a valuable free resource about EU programmes....

If printed it would be like a book of 5,000 pages...

It is the multimedia Guide "50 years of rights and opportunities" a sort of "Encyclopaedia of European programmes" published by a network of social organization, as part of a project run in the frame of the Europe for citizens programme of the European Union.

The guide, available online at www.together50years.eu and also on a Cd-rom distributed for free, contains information on initiative and programmes in the fields of citizenship, culture, training, participation and job opportunities promoted by European institutions (not only the European Union but also the Council of Europe).

In the guide there's also a list of about 150 international institutions and offices offering training, internship and job opportunities to young people, graduated or not.

A NON-EXHAUSTIVE list of the programmes, initiatives and services included in the Guide, contains:

- Youth in Action
- Longlife learning (Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates, Comenius, etc)
- Culture 2007
- Tempus III
- Media
- Progress
- Executive Training Programme
- European Social Fund
- Junior Professional Officer
- UE-Canada Co-operation
- UE-USA Co-operation
- UE-Australia Co-operation
- Ue-Japan Co-operation
- Erasmus Mundus
- Aschberg-Unesco Bursaries
- Atlantis
- Eures
- Cedefop
- Epso
- Eqf
- Europass
- Eurodesk
- SALTO

...and many more...

On the website you'll also find how to acquire the Cd-Rom.

For further information do not hesitate to contact us at info@together50years.eu

My source: received from together50years.eu