CKLN NEws Update - New banner
June 2013 Contents 
In this issue:
OER and ODL Workshop
Congratulations to RedCLARA
Learning Management Systems
What is eHealth?
CARICOM - 40th Anniversary
OECS - 32nd Anniversary
Earth & Atmospheric Science - Caribbean Urged to Apply for Fellowships
ACP Connect Programme
Virtual Library for the Caribbean
Health Communities Interested in C@ribNET
Caribbean-Europe: Boosting Research
New NREN Appointments
3rd Assembly announcement

Regional Workshop on 

OER & ODL - July 2013

 

The next major activity under the ACP Connect project is a regional workshop scheduled for July 8-10, 2013 in Jamaica.

 

The workshop  will focus on strengthening regional capacity for establishment of communities of interest and communities of practice, use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and adoption of policies for Open and Distance Learning (ODL). 

 

For more information, contact [email protected]

CKLN Congratulates RedCLARA on their 10th Anniversary!
RedCLARA Annivesary

CKLN is very pleased to congratulate our partner network, RedCLARA, on this significant milestone this month.

Ten years ago, as a result of the ALICE project, the representatives of 13 Latin American countries signed the RedCLARA Constitutive Act, which officially signed the founding of the Latin American Advanced Networking Corporation, a non for profit organization dedicated to scientific development through advanced telecommunications networking for research, innovation and education.


See more on RedCLARA

TTRENT logo

 

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - Are they really What Students Want? 

 

If you were to ask students whether their institutions' Learning Management Systems were meeting their needs, what do you think they might say? 

 

For one thing, not every student would be familiar with what you were talking about, so one immediate response would be ... "What are Learning Management Systems?"

 

Read More 

What are Learning Management Systems 

 


What is eHealth?
 

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, telemedicine or eHealth is defined as

 

"the cost-effective and secure use of information and communications technologies in support of health and health-related fields, including health-care services, health surveillance, health literature, and health education, knowledge and research"

 

Some components of eHealth are

: 

 

(a) Electronic medical records (or electronic health record): a real-time longitudinal electronic record of an individual patient's health information that can assist health professionals with decision-making and treatment.

 

(b) teleHealth (including telemedicine): this involves the delivery of health services using ICTs, specifically where distance is a barrier to health care.

 

(c) mHealth (or health through the use of mobile devices): a term for medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, and other wireless devices.

 

(d) eLearning (including distance education or learning): the use of ICTs for learning. It can be used to improve the quality of education, to increase access to education, and to make new and innovative forms of education available to more people.

 

(e) Continuing education in information and communication technologies: the provision of courses or programs (not necessarily formally accredited) for health professionals that helps them to develop information and communication technology skills for application in health. This includes current methods for sharing scientific knowledge, such as e-publication, open access, digital literacy, and the use of social networks.

 

(f) Standardization and interoperability: the term "interoperability" refers to communication between different technologies and software applications for the efficient, accurate, and sound sharing and use of data. This requires the use of standards−that is, rules, regulations, guidelines, or definitions with technical specification to make the integrated management of health systems viable at all levels.

 

 

 

See also WHO publications on the GLOBAL OBSERVATORY for eHEALTH

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 CARICOM 40 logo
CARICOM 40th Anniversary

 

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will celebrate 40 years of integration in 2013. The Caribbean Community came into being in 1973 when four regional Heads of Government, referred to as the founding fathers of CARICOM, affixed their signatures to the Treaty of Chaguaramas, thus creating the Community and Common Market.  The Caribbean Community was preceded by the West Indies Federation and the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The Community currently comprises 15 Member States and five Associate Members.

 

CARICOM looks forward to the celebrations being planned that will usher in what its current torchbearers are confident will lead us to the golden milestone and beyond as we build a Community for All.

 

CARICOM VIEW, December 2012 

OECS-32OECS - 32-year Anniversary

 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013, marked 32 years since the establishment of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The OECS was established on June 18, 1981. The member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.

 

A most defining moment in the history of the OECS to date has been the operationalization of the OECS economic union which followed the historic June 18, 2010, signing of the  Revised Treaty of Basseterre. This year the OECS region embraces two years since its independent member states commenced operation of the economic union; a new development designed to enhance the way of life for people of the region in the long term.

 

For more, see the OECS website.

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Earth & Atmospheric Science:

Graduate Students from Caribbean and LA Urged to Apply for COCONet Graduate Fellowship Awards 

 

Description

The Continuously Operating Caribbean Observational Network (COCONet) project funded by the National Science Foundation seeks applicants for two graduate research fellowships starting in August or September of 2013. 

  

The COCONet Graduate Fellowships will provide individual awards between $20,000 and $40,000 per year for a maximum of 2 years to suport solid Earth or atmospheric science graduate research projects conducted at a U.S. institution of higher education. The research projects must be within the COCONet footprint or directly use data from the COCONet GPS stations and/or meteorological sensors.

 

The deadline is July 15, 2013

  

For more information, see the COCONet Graduate Fellowship webpage

 

----------------------------

 

The PASI (Pan American Advanced Studies Institute) Short Course: Atmospheric Processes in Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Cartegna, Colombia, May 27 to 7 June 2013. Click here or the meeting presentations.

 
The course was supported by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation with additional support from COCONet and other partners.

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COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST and NREN DEVELOPMENT

From the CEO
As we reach mid-year, I'm pleased to say that since the launch of C@ribNET in
Ken Sylvester, CEO of CKLN
the first quarter, the second quarter of 2013 has not let up for a moment! In the past months, CKLN has begun implementing the ACP Connect initiative, with support from the European Union. Additionally, a number of communities of interest, both within and outside of the region, have approached CKLN regarding the use of C@ribNET to enhance their services and strengthen their collaboration and reach. These certainly bode well for the increase in traffic over C@ribNET, and for strengthening NREN development in the Caribbean.

This CKLN News Update gives insight to some of these activities.
ACP CONNECT INITIATIVE - Making Strides in the Caribbean
African, Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) countries are at different stages in the establishment of regional research and education networks. Through ACP Connect, the European Union is supporting the creation or the strengthening of regional networks with a view to having a more inclusive information society at ACP national and regional levels. 
ACP Connect in T&T
Participants in discussion during ACP Connect Consultation in Trinidad & Tobago
Lishan - ACP Connect T&T
Dr. Lishan Adam, ACP Connect Consultant sharing with country stakeholders.

 

The specific objectives of the ACP Connect consultancy with the CKLN are (i) the development of a sustainable business plans and (ii) the strengthening of the technical capacity building within national research and education networks, NRENs, in the Caribbean and (iii) the development of communities of interest to work on themes of common interest among NRENs/institutions.  

 

The ACP Connect consultants have already completed field visits to Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad, Suriname and Jamaica. For Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and Suriname they consulted with stakeholders to strengthen understanding of NRENs and C@ribNET. The primary output for these countries will be business plans and operational plans. For Trinidad, the consultants have given additional Technical Assistance to enable further 

development of TTRENT. 

 

The next round of country visits is expected to take place during the fourth quarter. These will be convened after preparation and circulation of the necessary documents and will ratify the outputs of the first and also  provide capacity strengthening for adoption and implementation. 

 

The ACP Connect programme addresses one of the Millennium Development Goals (Goal #8 - Develop a Global partnership for Development), - reducing the digital divide which is hampering the development of education and research in ACP countries. 

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INITIATING A VIRTUAL LIBRARY FOR THE CARIBBEAN Virtual Library

A number of persons at the 2nd C@ribNET Assembly of NRENs (Trinidad and Tobago, February 2013) volunteered to be part of the Working Group that will help move the process for developing a VIRTUAL LIBRARY FOR THE CARIBBEAN. This represents a first for the Caribbean and CKLN has committed its capacity and resources to support the formation of a community of practice that will organise and develop the framework to make this a reality.

 

The aim of the VLC is for the organisation and preservation of materials in collaboration with national and public library systems, archives, museums to provide information resources for Caribbean national research and education networks (NRENs)  and International  researchers. 

 

The VL will set the foundation for establishing a common virtual space for the Caribbean to share resources that will encourage the development of new knowledge and increase the region's contribution to the world market to include knowledge creation. 

 

Old Docs There are public and college libraries, Museums, and archives of specialised resources, in all of the CARICOM Member States. There are problems of ageing and deterioration of paper based information which could be lost to the region forever. The development of a Virtual Library will not only link all the libraries, museums and archives in the region through national and regional research and education networks, but will preserve the history and cultural heritage of Member States.  

This will contribute to:

  • Restoring the Caribbean identity
  • Recapturing the spirit of research and innovation
  • Creating an educated generation
  • Increasing the number and availability of Information professionals
  • Developing the publishing industries
  • Enhancing the Policy and regulatory environment
  • Maximising the use of C@ribNET

The ability to share the cost of resources as a result of the establishment of a regional research and education network, C@ribNET, the connectivity to all the tertiary institutions in the region, and the plans to connect public research and education agencies through the national networks, now makes the establishment of a Caribbean Virtual Library feasible. 

 

Currently, Ms. Karen Lequay of the Open Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Merle St. Clair, the leading librarian in the OECS Member States Colleges, Ms. Winsome Hudson of the National Library of Jamaica and Ms. Candia Alleyne of CKLN are developing a proposal to assess and outline the implementation process of the VLC. They caution that there are many elements and layers to consider, such as:

  • Establishing a Digital Content Consortium
  • Developing a roadmap of information /knowledge assets
  • Establishing digitally connected information producers
  • Preservation
  • Policies & Standards
  • Compilation of new knowledge products
  • Developing a regional search engine (in local languages)

The VLC Task Force intends to quickly formalise their community and finalise the specific purpose and goals that will inform their activities and ensure sustainability Both virtual and face-to-face meetings will be required initially in order to communicate, connect and conduct community activities.

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HWFMU
Colleen Wint, CKLN's Communications & International Relations Manager (l) is shown the new state of the art lab at the Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit
HEALTH COMMUNITIES INTERESTED in C@ribNET

Virtual Continuing Medical Training - Diabetes
Professor Errol Morrison, President of the University of Technology (UTech) in Jamaica, a globally recognized diabetes researcher, has agreed to use the web-conferencing application available on the network to lead a 12-week course titled "Quality of Care" for health professionals exploring the complex and profound challenges diabetes presents to this Region.

Additionally, the Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit (HWFMU) , Faculty of Medicine, at the University of the West Indies (UWI) is developing a project that will use tele-medicine to standardise clinical and non-clinical training of undergraduate and graduate students of all campuses of the University of the West Indies and other regional teaching hospitals, using the infrastructure of the regional research and education network, C@ribNET.

Lecture theatre - HWFMU
Jackie Cousins, CKLN NREN Coordinator (l) on a tour of the new interactive lecture theatre at the HWFM. by Prof. Joseph Frederick (r) and Dr. Pansy Hamilton (c).
According to Jackie Cousins, NREN Coordinator for Jamaica, "The big plus is that the regional outreach aspect of both of the proposed activities is assured. In the case of the Diabetes series, we will be going through to all health care providers throughout the region. The HWFMU audience is undergraduate or postgraduate students in as many countries as can be reached through the network. The planning for both projects is at an early stage but they will certainly involve engagement with all the NRENs in the receiving countries."

Both projects, in collaboration with the Jamaica Research and Education Network, JREN, other regional NRENs and CKLN, will support the continued development of an innovative research and education community in the Caribbean through the use of the sustainable dedicated, high-capacity Internet network and allied applications, portals, services, and human capacity. For more: JREN CONNECT #1 and JREN Connect #2

CARIBBEAN - EUROPE: Boosting Research Collaboration

 

EUCARINET LOGO With C@ribNET now implemented and as the European Union's FP7 funding programme nears completion, the CKLN is now strategically placed to facilitate the collaborative goals of Caribbean-European research.

The EUCARINET project is a four-year INCONET Coordination Action, supported by the European Commission, whose main goal is to strengthen bi-regional sustainable dialogue on Science and Technology between Europe and the Caribbean.

EUCARINET DATABASE
One of the important outputs of the EUCARINET project is the EUCARINET Database. Fulfilling one of the main goals of the project, the existing science and technology activities throughout the Caribbean region were mapped during an online survey in 2010. The resulting information helps build a directory of all scientific research institutions in the Caribbean region.

The EUCARINET Database provides up-to date information on Caribbean Research and Technological Development (RTD) institutions, as well as a search engine enabling Caribbean Science and Technology capacities towards European partners and others. 

Being part of this list will help to establish contacts for researchers all over Europe and the Caribbean and to engage more Caribbean researchers in meetings, workshops and events on specific topics that will be organized under the project.  

 

EUCARINET is funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research 7tgh Framework Programme (FP7) Grant Agreement

 

CLICK HERE => FOR THE EUCARINET DATABASE

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JAMAICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WELCOME NEW NREN HEADS
Jose Pedro Diaz Gonsalez - RADEI
Dr. Jos� Pedro D�az Gonz�lez
 
Dr. Jos� Pedro D�az Gonz�lez  was appointed Chief Executive Officer for Red Avanzada Dominicana para la Educaci�n y la Investigaci�n (RADEI), the NREN for the Dominican Republic, in November 2012. RADEI is the only registered national resen. 
 
He has been has been integrally involved in the field of software development for the telecommunications sector for most of his professional career. He initiated several commercial enterprises in the Dominican Republic, specialising in systems integration, and representing several important software and hardware manufacturers. In addition to his current role as Executive Director of RADEI, he is also General Manager of DIEXTRA International, S.R.L. 
 
His vision for RADEI is for it to become the developer and provider of new EduCloud services to universities and research institutions in the Dominican Republic. RADEI is currently the only registered national research and education network (NREN) in the Caribbean.
 
 
Prof. Archibald McDonald
Professor Archibald McDonald, Deputy Principal of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, was recently appointed by the Ministry of Education as the interim head of the Jamaica Research and Education Network, JREN.

  

He joined the Department of Surgery, University of the West Indies in 1987 and has informed national policies on injury prevention and management.  The impact of Professor McDonald's work in trauma, Hospital Emergency Services, University Administration and Medical Education has been felt throughout the Jamaican Community and the wider Caribbean. He was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the category, Outstanding Service to the University Community in 2008.

 

The Task Force of the Jamaica Research and Education Network, JREN, welcomes Prof. McDonald and have pledged their full support in steering the emerging NREN into a fully fledged organisation before year-end and to hosting the 3rd C@ribNET Assembly of NRENs in Jamaica. 
3rd Assembly announcement