Open learning and the Internet

A workshop on open learning and the Internet will be held in Belfast, United Kingdom, on 10 November 1998. It will be organised within the framework of the Distance Education in Rural Areas via Libraries (DERAL) project of the EU's Telematics Applications programme.

The DERAL project aims to encourage public libraries to play an increasingly important part in transferring information, knowledge and education to users who have difficulty in following traditional methods of study. This frequently applies to those living in rural areas as well as to the unemployed, and elderly and disabled people who cannot normally attend universities, colleges or schools. This will be achieved through the provision of a gateway to distance learning resources on the Internet.

The workshop will discuss progress made within the project, and will consist of two sessions on the following:

- Introduction to the Internet with an emphasis on resources that are of particular interest to librarians;
- Presentations from librarians from Ireland and Sweden who have used their public libraries as open learning centres and provided the opportunity for distance learning via the Internet.
For further information, please contact:

University of Ulster at Jordanstown
School of Information and Software Engineering
Ms C. M. Shapcott
Shore Road
Newtownabbey BT37 0QB
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
Tel. +44-1232-368886; Fax +44-1232-366068
E-mail: cm.shapcott@ulst.ac.uk