New Caledonia/OER

Overview

New Caledonia (French: officially: Nouvelle-Calédonie; colloquially: (la) Calédonie; popular nicknames: (la) Kanaky, (le) Caillou), is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island (Grande Terre), the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands. Approximately half the size of Taiwan, it has a land area of 18,575.5 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi). The population was estimated in January 2009 to be 249,000. The capital and largest city of the territory is Nouméa. The currency is the CFP franc - not the euro. French is the official language, though many people on New Caledonia Island (particularly the main centres) also speak English. There are also 28 local Polynesian and Melanesian dialects in use. Since 1986 the United Nations Committee on Decolonization has included New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. New Caledonia is set to decide whether to remain within the French Republic or become an independent state in a referendum to be held between 2014 and 2019. Nouméa, the capital, is also the seat of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (formerly the South Pacific Commission), an international organization

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:New Caledonia/OER.

Education in New Caledonia/OER

For a general description of education in New Caledonia/OER see Education:New Caledonia/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:New Caledonia/OER.

Since 2005, apprentices and higher education students in New Caledonia have been able to participate in the Micro-Portable Etudiant (MIPE) program. Under this program, students can select from a wide choice of wi-fi enabled laptops at reduced prices, typically 30% lower than the normal retail price. These computers cost between 30,000 and 240,000 francs and guaranteed 1 to 3 years. (2)

Internet in New Caledonia/OER

Internet hosts (2010) - 22,456

Internet users (2008) - 85,000 (2)

New Caledonia has relatively modern telecommunications by Pacific standards, with Government owned fixed line telephony, a GSM mobile network and internet access. The rapid expansion of telecommunications access is due to the Gondwana-1 undersea communications cable connecting New Caledonia and Australia enabling widespread internet access. Free internet wi-fi services are installed in a number of public areas, including high schools and institutes of higher learning. (1)

OER Initiatives in New Caledonia/OER

New Caledonia is largely a consumer of distance education courses from metropolitan France, rather than a source of home-grown programs. However, there are signs of a growing interest in the area of distance education. This interest is typified by the Académie en ligne (Academy Online) initiative, a free online educational resource site produced by the CNED and now available to students in New Caledonia. (1) The site is intended for the use of parents who wish to assist their children’s study and for students engaging in self-directed learning. Academy Online takes students from their first year in primary school up to the baccalauréat. Searchable by subject, level or keywords, the site provides multimedia learning resources in a wide variety of disciplines, including languages, materials science, economics and literature. (2)

References

2. ICDE Country Report on New Caledonia (http://www.icde.org/projects/regulatory_frameworks_for_distance_education/country_profiles/new_caledonia/)

Reports

1. ICDE Report: 'Regulatory frameworks for distance education: A pilot study in the Southwest Pacific/South East Asia region - Final report'. December 2011. Prepared by the Project Team (Team leader, Dr. Rosalind James) (accessed at http://www.icde.org/filestore/Regulatory_Framework/RegulatoryFrameworksforDEfinalreport2.pdf on Tuesday 10th July 2012)

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