Baillie Sarah, Kinnison Tierney, Forrest Neil, Dale Vicki H M, Ehlers Jan P, Koch Michael, Mándoki Mira, Ciobotaru Emilia, de Groot Esther, Boerboom Tobias B B, van Beukelen Peter
University of London, Herts, UK.
J Vet Med Educ. 2011 Winter;38(4):395-403. doi: 10.3138/jvme.38.4.395.
An online professional network for veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary educationalists, and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) educationalists is being developed under the EU (European Union) Lifelong Learning Programme. The network uses Web 2.0, a term used to describe the new, more interactive version of the Internet, and includes tools such as wikis, blogs, and discussion boards. Focus groups conducted with qualified and student veterinarians within the project's five founding countries (The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Romania) demonstrated that online professional communities can be valuable for accessing information and establishing contacts. Online networks have the potential to overcome common challenges to face-to-face communities-such as distance, cost, and timing-but they have their own drawbacks, such as security and professionalism issues. The Network Of Veterinary ICt in Education (NOVICE) was developed using Elgg, an open-source, free social networking platform, after several software options had been considered. NOVICE aims to promote the understanding of Web 2.0, confidence to use social software tools, and participation in an online community. Therefore, the Web site contains help sections, Frequently Asked Questions, and access to support from ICT experts. Five months after the network's launch (and just over one year into the project) 515 members from 28 countries had registered. Further research will include analysis of a core group's activities, which will inform ongoing support for and development of informal, lifelong learning in a veterinary context.
欧盟终身学习计划正在打造一个面向兽医、兽医专业学生、兽医教育工作者以及信息通信技术教育工作者的在线专业网络。该网络采用了Web 2.0（用于描述互联网新的、更具交互性版本的术语），并包含维基、博客和讨论板等工具。在该项目的五个创始国家（荷兰、德国、英国、匈牙利、罗马尼亚）对合格兽医和兽医专业学生进行的焦点小组调查表明，在线专业社区对于获取信息和建立联系可能很有价值。在线网络有潜力克服面对面社区面临的常见挑战，如距离、成本和时间问题，但它们也有自身的缺点，如安全和专业性问题。在考虑了多个软件选项后，教育领域兽医信息通信技术网络（NOVICE）是使用开源免费社交网络平台Elgg开发的。NOVICE旨在促进对Web 2.0的理解、使用社交软件工具的信心以及参与在线社区。因此，该网站包含帮助板块、常见问题解答以及获取信息通信技术专家支持的途径。该网络上线五个月后（项目开展刚一年多一点），来自28个国家的515名成员进行了注册。进一步的研究将包括对一个核心群体活动的分析，这将为兽医领域非正式终身学习的持续支持和发展提供参考。
