Research into Children’s Use of Mobile Internet Technology

source: netchildrengomobile.eu

As more and more children are accessing the internet with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, this raises various questions regarding the risks versus the benefits. Of course, access to useful educational information is of tremendous value, but there are potential dangers involved if children have access to everything that the internet offers. A new project called Net Children Go Mobile, a project supported by the London School of Economics and co-funded by the European Commision’s Safe Internet Programme, has been set up to study this subject in great detail, with the aim of more fully understanding children’s use of mobile technology and the impact it has on their lives.

Big Businesses Need to Do More to Support Education

Image source: BBC News

It is common sense that the key to bright and brilliant future generations is education. Yet a recent analysis of the top 500 global businesses revealed that only a small amount of their philanthropic and social investment budget was channelled into education. If these businesses were to provide extra funding, we could begin to tackle such severe global concerns as the fact that 58 million children in developing countries do not have access to primary schools.

You can read the full story on the BBC website…

What Happens When We Give Students More Freedom?

In her article on the guardian.com, journalist Eleanor Ross writes that many students struggle with the enforced structure of the traditional educational approach. Could it be that the way forward is fewer rules, more freedom, and more autonomy for the students? Atlantic College and Summerhill are just two examples of educational centres where this more liberal approach is working extremely well.

Charlotte von Bulow, Chief Executive of Crossfields Institute, says:

“Within our debates and conversations about more autonomy and freedom for students, we need to keep asking the bigger question about what freedom really means in an educational context. We need to look at notions like freedom from versus freedom to, and perhaps we even need to start thinking about what freedom in means. Initially, I believe we need to create educational contexts within which students feel free to ask questions and take initiative. In essence, we need to create educational processes that facilitate that students are free to be who they truly are and that they feel invited to pursue the realisation of their potential. This is a process of developing self-knowledge. When we begin to get to know ourselves we can also to begin to understand more fully what it means to take responsibility for our actions. This can then instigate an inquiry into what freedom in action may look like from the point of view of developing an ethical individualism.”

Crossfields Institute Achieves Awarding Organisation Status

We are very pleased to announce that as of Friday 16th January, Crossfields Institute has been recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England and vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland.
This means that the Institute is now both an approved awarding organisation and a higher education institute.

Click here to view the press release that has been issued today.

Crossfields Institute now has the same level of recognition as other awarding organisations, such as Pearson (Edexcel), CACHE, NOCN and more. We can now develop Ofqual regulated qualifications in a range of sectors, particularly in our sectors of interest including environment, health and social care, child development, education and professional development.

As an awarding organisation we are in a better position than ever to champion holistic and integrative education and support the unfolding potential of each individual.

This achievement is the culmination of seven years of hard work. We are grateful for the support we have received during that time from individuals, organisations, charities, centres and learners, who recognise the value of our vision and our work.

Upcoming Conference: The Role of Humanities, Arts and Transdisciplinary Practice in Higher Education

International conference, 29th and 30th May, 2015.
Venue: Alanus University of the Arts and Social Sciences, Alfter, Germany.

 

conferenceflyer-25-02-2015

Click here to view flyer

 

With career pathways and employability increasingly defining higher education, what is the role and importance of subjects such as literature, philosophy and the arts? And is there still a place in higher education for pursuing a love of learning for its own sake?

In this conference we will explore the possibility of higher education as a journey into the unknown, a place, perhaps, for finding an individual calling or life’s task, a place for self-discovery and selftransformation, a place for exploring questions of human experience and human existence. What is the relevance of this notion of higher education today, both at the individual level of spiritual meaning and fulfilment and at the more general level of social cohesion and resilience?

Our aim for this conference is to create an open space for collaborative dialogue, creative thinking and critical enquiry, with the hope that this will promote new insights for practical ways forward. The conference is for educators, practitioners, students, researchers and anyone interested in the future of higher education.

The conference will be held at the Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter, Germany, which is a short train journey from Bonn/Cologne airport.
The start and end times of the conference are: 15.30 on Friday 29th May to 17.00 on Saturday 30th May.

For further information please contact: fergus.anderson@alanus.edu

This conference is organised by the Institute for Philosophical and Aesthetic Education, Alanus University of Arts and Social Science, Crossfields Institute and Niederrhein University of Applied Science.