The LINCS conference had an overall attendance of some 80 participants. It
served its purpose of familiarizing our stakeholders with the NCE program,
other stakeholders and researchers. It also provided an opportunity for all
those submitting LOI's to meet - 6 were represented including all 4 who were
asked to submit full proposals.
After the LINCS conference, we met with Carl Cuneo of McMaster University to
discuss merging the
RITE
and
LINCS
proposals. This has been an ongoing discussion since before the submission of
Letters of Intent. LINCS and RITE have very similar objectives and
philosophies, and are complementary in terms of the participants involved.
We have agreed to merge the two proposals and submit one proposal that
synthetises both projects, combining the strengths of the two. The final
proposal will be submitted through McMaster.
LINCS and RITE have similar strengths in terms of research teams, stakeholders
and industry participation. They have a common emphasis on evaluation. They
differ primarily in their statements of research objectives, with those of RITE
being defined in terms of networks and products, and those of LINCS being
defined in terms of socio-economic impact. It is straightforward to combine
these objectives with those for LINCS becoming part of the evaluation framework
for RITE, and the research teams in LINCS becoming part of the RITE networks.
The LINCS and RITE teams at Calgary and McMaster will now work together to
prepare a strong final proposal. The RITE team has already prepared a set of
documents for their university, industry and government partners and these are
being sent to LINCS participants:
- 1 Information on the preparation of a detailed research proposal.
- 2 Information about a conference for RITE/LINCS participants to be held at
Toronto airport 2-3 December.
- 3 A draft letter of support for non-university participants.
- 4 A copy of the RITE proposal for those of you who have not seen
it.
Tom Calvert co-leader of the SFU proposal attended the LINCS
conference, and we had some discussion about the possibility of a single
combined proposal. This would be desirable in achieving the NCE objective of a
Canadian network incorporating all of those deeply involved in Technology-Based
Learning. The limited funding available currently makes it very difficult to
address this objective, and none of us are optimistic that a single project can
be achieved. However, the discussions will continue, with RITE and LINCS now
being a unified project, and we will report any significant progress to all our
partners. Currently, we are focused entirely on developing RITE/LINCS as a very
strong and competitive proposal.
RITE/LINCS is holding a 2-day conference at the Ramada Inn, Toronto Airport,
2/3 December. Contact Carl Cuneo (cuneo@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca) for information
on attendance.
LINCS is one of the
4
groups out of the
12
submitting letters of intent who have been invited to submit full proposals
by the deadline of January 13, 1994.
A
letter
has been received from the NCE inviting LINCS to submit a full proposal and
commenting on the LINCS LOI. The NCE/RCE guidelines for a full submission are
available in
English
et en
Français.
Details of the submission preparation process will be sent out to all LINCS all
current participants shortly. The coming LINCS Conference will facilitate
detailed project planning--please try and attend in Calgary or at the
video-conference sites in Toronto and Montreal.
LINCS also welcomes approaches by individuals and organizations who are
interested in participating in the LINCS research program. While the process of
application for NCE funds is competitive, the only meaningful outcome will be
collaborative - the mobilisation of resources across Canada in an open network
of cooperation targeted on national interests.
The LINCS network is open to all those who can contribute to, or benefit from,
its activities. It will remain open at every stage of its operation.
In particular, it would be inappropriate for the NCE competition to be seen as
resulting in `winners' or `losers' - the outcome has to be a network
encompassing all relevant centres of excellence. We have seen a number of the
other proposals submitted, and they have all been intellectually strong with
significant outcomes. We see it as important that the full proposals encompass
all those individuals and institutions who can contribute to the objectives of
the Technology-based Learning target area.
The LINCS project is accessible by email at LINCS@acs.ucalgary.ca.
LINCS is holding a one-day
conference
on November 10 at the University of Calgary. Videoconferencing links are being
set up for remote attendees. This date has been chosen because it is
immediately after the
Canadian
Multimedia Show at the Calgary Convention Centre and will make it easy to
attend both meetings.
LINCS is a network of research and application groups across Canada concerned
with the development and application of collaboration and simulation technology
for learning. LINCS supports Canada's transformation into a learning
society through a network for research and development on technology-based
lifelong learning. LINCS participants include a wide range of
industries, universities and government agencies with interests ranging from
high-technology skills training to enhanced cultural understanding.
TLRN (pronounced ToLearn!) is a network of researchers at the University of
Calgary who are concerned with technology-based learning. The University has a
wide range of activities concerned with teaching development, multimedia
applications in learning, computer-assisted learning, and so on. These
activities span virtually all disciplines and are managed and funded through
many different agencies. TLRN provides an informal forum for communication,
liaison, and the sharing of knowledge, experience and technology.
The most significant major activity of TLRN to date has been to initiate the
LINCS network as a basis for a research proposal to the Network Centres of
Excellence program. LINCS was built from the existing networks across Canada of
groups within TLRN who were concerned with the use of collaboration and
simulation technologies to provide computer-supported social and experiential
learning environments.
Click
here
to access the LINCS research proposal as outlined in the letter of intent.
Click
here
to access the terms of reference for Networks of Centres of Excellence
proposals.
The LINCS proposal was prepared by the executive committee of TLRN:
- Dr. Timothy Buell, Communication Studies (buell@acs.ucalgary.ca)
- Dr. Brian Gaines, Knowledge Science Institute (gaines@cpsc.ucalgary.ca)
- Ken Hewitt, CultureNet (19311@UCDASVM1.ADMIN.UCALGARY.CA)
- Dr. William Hunter, Education Technology Unit, Faculty of Education
(hunter@acs.ucalgary.ca)
- Dr. Larry Katz, Computerized Sports System Group, Faculty of Physical
Education (katz@acs.ucalgary.ca)
- Dr. Tom Keenan, Faculty of Continuing Education (keenan@acs.ucalgary.ca)
- Dr. Lauran Sandals, Learning Development Research and Computer
Applications Program, Department of Educational Psychology
(sandals@acs.ucalgary.ca)
- Dr. Robert Schulz, Faculty of Management & Teaching Development
Office
Please feel free to contact any member of the committee about LINCS,
or email LINCS@acs.ucalgary.ca.
Contact Tim Buell (buell@acs.ucalgary.ca) for information on attendance and
presentation facilities.
NCE
Page,
University
of Calgary Page,
KSI
Page
LINCS@acs.ucalgary.ca 27-Nov-94