GFDD and FUNGLODE Launch International Week on Distance Education

Throughout the course of a week workshops and lectures will be offered in which educators from different countries share their experiences on distance education and their insights into the different ways of developing such educational programs.

Some of the key aspects covered at the "International Week on Distance Education" opening event, sponsored by Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo
(FUNGLODE) and Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) included the possibilities for Dominicans to update and expand their ways of acquiring knowledge and obtain a degree from a virtual university.

The Deputy Secretary of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Victor Hugo Delancer, participated in the event and stressed the advance distance education is making in the world.

He reaffirmed
the Secretary of Education’s commitment to the development of information and communication technologies and to all scientific and technological methods that serve as an integral part of the process.

The Deputy Director spoke of the broad consensus that has been reached in America , Europe and other parts of the world regarding the convenience
of the distance education platform. It is this reality, he said, which urges groups in the field not only to get involved in activities that strengthen this teaching method, but requires them to be on the cutting edge of its application methods.

On behalf of the office of Secretary of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Ligia Amada Melo de Cardona, greeted the crowd of distinguished distance education specialists.

Sitting along with Delancer on stage, the table of guests included Marta Mena, Vice-President of the World Counsil on Distance Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lorenzo García, Dean of the School of Education, National University of Distance Education in Spain, and Paul Goris, Technology and Education coordinator for FUNGLODE.

Goris underlined the opportunities distance education will provide Dominicans from all social levels by
developing their technological expertise.

He spoke of FUNGLODE and GFDD’s sustained interest in providing people with access to more educational opportunities through programs with technical support. He went on to call for strict diligence in the creation of the Dominican virtual university; which will be broadly discussed during this week of lectures and workshops that will last until Friday 17, 2006.

"We would like to learn about other places’ experiences with this new model; how did it occur and how it is gaining ground in different parts of the world," he said.

He emphasized the importance of learning the details of other countries’ distance education experiences in order to better prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.

The auditorium at FUNGLODE is serving as
headquarters for the event and hosting teachers from Argentina , Brazil , Chile , Spain , and the United States , among others.

The weeklong event is part of the " Virtual University of the Dominican Republic " project which is being developed by both foundations.

Throughout the five days of activities, professionals, students, educational planners and experts will receive theoretical and practical
training of the different aspects that make distance education and distance teaching. They will be given a general oversight of the models and educational designs used in distance education; the analysis of actions and decisions that comprise the design of a distance education program, and the development of methodolog