Today everybody seems to be talking about the role of media in education. How can social software like weblogs, podcasts and wikis be utilized for learning in schools, universities and firms? Specialists in media education at the University of Bremen are now putting the finishing touches on preparations for “EduCamp Bremen 2011”, an upcoming conference on the latest trends in online learning in the German speaking realm. The theme this year is “Creating New Spaces of Learning”, and this will be the seventh time it is being held. What’s so special about this conference? The participants determine the proceedings and the content among themselves. Anyone and everyone who is interested in issues surrounding the role of media in education is invited to take part – students and teachers from high schools and universities, as well as representatives of corporations and public agencies. The meeting will take place between Friday 18th and Sunday 20th March in the cafeteria in building GW2 on the University campus. Admission is free. For more information and details of how to register go to www.educamp.mixxt.de.  

The idea for EduCamp in the German speaking realm goes back to an initiative on the part of a group of three students. One of them is the Bremen media educationalist Thomas Bernhardt, who is now one of the coordinators of EduCamp in Bremen. All three studied at the TU Ilmenau, which was later to host the first EduCamp in 2008. The idea was born while researching his Diplom thesis on the topic of E-Learning 2.0. Together with two fellow students, Steffen Büffel (Cologne) and Marcel Kirchner (Ilmenau), he came up with the idea of bringing media experts together with students to discuss new and emerging trends in online learning. This year’s meeting is being organized by the work group “Didactical Strategies for Multimedial Learning Environments” under the leadership of Professor Karsten D. Wolf.