eBlog by Tore Hoel

The inadequacy of dissemination activities from European projects does never stop to surprise me. I simply refuse to take the blame myself, not being active enough to search and find relevant information. These projects seems to be set up with targets that make it easy for the researchers to tick boxes: Yes, we have produced a leaflet (never mind distribution); yes, we have written a report; yes, we have established a web site; yes, we have defined target groups - but nobody bothers to ask if people have read or seen the stuff.

I happened to stumble across the E-LEN project, where two Norwegian universities are partners. The trajectory was my interest in Pattern Language as one of the boundary objects that could be used to bridge the gap (ref. the theme of my research interest at the moment). The Learning patterns for the design and deployment of mathematical games (part of the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence) is doing a wonderful job here. There I found some references hosted at a Norwegian domain, and I download the leaflet of the project that has done a lot of work on design patterns and e-learning the last few years (the project finished in 2005). The leaflet states:

The aims of the project include (..) dissemination of design knowledge tailored to the needs of people who are professionally involved in e-learning, such as the staff of e-learning centres.

We use the term “e-learning centre” to describe a unit within a larger organisation (such as a university or a company) that has the role of helping the members of the organisation to create e-learning opportunities (courses, resources, learning communities, tools, etc.).

I work closely with a e-learning centre at a university. Have we heard about the E-LEN project? Don’t think so. How many universities are there in Norway? Less than 30, with two of them being part of the project consortium.

Well, in hindsight, it is my fault. I cannot blame anyone for not finding www2.tisip.no/E-LEN. I have found it now, and there are some good papers there that should reach a broader audience.