Information about MESO

MESO: Observatory of Multimedia Educational Software

The MESO consortium has been contracted by the European Commission DG XXII to conduct a study on "Technological, legal, economic and strategic watch on the supply of multimedia educational software".

Two different cycles of services have to be provided in the framework of the MESO contract. Since the first meetings with the Commission's representatives, it has been commonly negotiated and agreed that alongside to the tasks scheduled by the project proposal, the MESO partnership should also provide the Commission with special "on demand" services.

The study shall focus especially on the following objectives:

1. To collect information on, multimedia/audio-visual technologies and suppliers in order to evaluate the market size of the home, education and training sectors, and estimate about market trends over the next five years;
2. To identify and to analyse the strategies of the suppliers and distributors and their respective competitive position on the European educational multimedia and audio-visual markets.
3. To establish an inventory of the best available and most promising multimedia and audio-visual technologies, products and services in the field of educational and training
4. To review and analyse the past and current policy initiatives for promoting the diffusion of multimedia and audio-visual, and evaluate their impact on the strategies of suppliers, distributors and users.
5. To review the legal and financial processes concerning universal service provision, copy right and access to the financial market in a future perspective, to foresee about the consequences of the production and the diffusion of multimedia and audio-visual for educational purposes.

The MESO Consortium
The basic criteria on which the Consortium was established are:

• sector-specific competence (all partners have significant experience in education and training innovation, multimedia ODL and telematic applications);
• task-specific direct experience of partners (key partners have performed with success similar tasks in the past).

This partnership consists of a group of European organisations with a significant experience in market observation and analysis. They join the project in order to create a strategic watch on the supply of educational software and multimedia, aimed to provide reliable data on market size and trends through on "incremental improvement" approach to the question of quantitative data availability.

Partners

Scienter (Project Co-ordinator)

Information Economy and New Media (Techno-z)

Lambrakis Research Foundation

RAI - Radio Televisione Italiana

Knowledge Connection Corporation

SCIENTER

SCIENTER the coordinating partner is a research centre and service provider organisation, active in the field of education and training. Created by the initiative of a group of professionals, SCIENTER was established in January 1988, as non-profit organisation, of which the University of Bologna is one of the shareholders, and is represented in the Board of Directors.

It is interested in innovation of training systems, with main reference to the field of open and distance learning, organisational learning.

It develops research projects at regional, national, and European level in the following areas: training needs analysis; design and development of open and flexible learning systems; organisational learning design and implementation; training of trainers for the use of new methodologies and new technologies; research and selection of learning materials; market analysis in education and training, particularly concerning the use of new technologies and ODL

EDEN

The European Distance Education Network is an association which aims to foster developments in distance education through co-operation and collaboration between institutions, individuals and networks throughout Europe. It is a network in which working groups, academic and professional staffs involved in distance education co-operate. It boasts a electronic and scientific journal informing on Distance Education and Educational Technologies and its activity is addressed to the whole of Europe, including Central and Eastern European countries. It is the "regional" federated association of the International Council for Distance Education (ICDE), through which a wonderwide perspective can easily be got.

EDRU

It is an operating unit of the Tavistock Institute. It was established to consolidate and extend the Institute’s on-going programmes of evaluation and to develop the theory, methodology and practice of evaluation. EDRU’s work in particular is a commitment to the utilisation and implementation of research findings. This is strengthened by Tavisock expertise in the area of organisational/programme design. It boasts a wide experience in quantitative and qualitative methods spanning ex-ante, concurrent and ex-post evaluations. EDRU was in charge of evaluation of important related European Programmes such as DELTA and FORCE.

FIM - Psychologie

FIM is a small research and development unit at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and is part of the Department of Psychology with a specialised mission for 'Development and Evaluation of Advanced Multimedia Open Learning Systems'. Since 1986 it started European collaborative projects, being chosen by DGXIII as the only German contractor within DELTA preliminary studies, in that frame carrying out the first European learning market survey. Since then FIM co-ordinated and participated under COMETT and DELTA, in various European projects. It provides technical assistance and advice to key German policy makers in the field.

GUILDFORD EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Guildford Educational Services LtdThe company works in the general field of vocational education and training. Its operates databases on vocational education and training and provides data collection, processing, editing and maintenance services for outside clients. GES can also provide consultancy on the operation of databases. It is involved in the provision of general education and training information.

Assignments have been in the UK, Europe, India, Pakistan and, more recently, Russia. It has the capability to work in a range of applications of information technology with particular expertise in hypertext. Such applications include system design, product design, user interface design, multimedia, preparation for CD mastering, electronic publishing.

IDATE

It is one of the leading research centres in Europe, specialising in the analysis of the telecommunications, audio-visual and computing sectors. It boasts a World Observatory of the Major Information Industry Sectors, regular investments in it’s information system enable IDATE to publish specialised multiclient studies that give key figures and information on players’ strategies and the main trends of the sectors studied. IDATE experience and skills as a research centre is increasingly being supported by industry and has access to the foremost European university research teams.

Information Economy and New Media (Techno-z)

Techno Z FH Forschung und Entwicklung is the research and development arm of the Salzburg Technology Centre Group and the Polytechnic University recently founded there. The university’s and the Techno Z FH F&E have their focus on the new information and communication technologies and are Austria’s only institutions dedicated solely to the development of the information society and multimedia communication. Its department of "Information Economy and New Media" (IENM) conducts research on and provides help in managing the transformations towards an information economy and knowledge based society with a disciplinary basis in economics, communication studies, law and political science.

Lambrakis Research Foundation

It is concerned with transmitting knowledge and information to promote an increased awareness of cultural, educational, environmental and of important social issues, as well as to create new and more rewarding opportunities for the young, always in close collaboration with the public administration. The LRF gives high priority to educational technology in various fields, such as the production of educational software and the application of multimedia, in Education, in teacher's training etc. Its ultimate scope is to contribute to each and every worthwhile attempt, in order to ensure better and more effective educational practices in both a Greek and international context.

ORAVEP

The ORAVEP Observatory assumes expertise, technology and strategic watch, gives advises and assistance to the French government and to different regions. It provides to every professional information about actors and products in this field of multimedia learning and training materials and open and distance learning. ORAVEP conduct surveys at a national and regional level about integration of multimedia learning material in the training centres: state of the art, types of practices, condition of integration. It is responsible for the evaluation of multimedia learning materials for the French ministries of work, labour and training. More than 200 products have been evaluated with 120 experts coming form various training bodies. A methodology has been established and a label has been created in 1995.

ORFEUS

The Organisation for the Promotion of Educational Software for Schools aims at developing new and better educational software, and to encourage its use. ORFEUS initiates many kinds of activities, promoting the use of ICT in education, and engaging teachers and teachers and teacher educators in relevant collaborative projects. It develops multimedia software and accompanying tutorial courseware, arranges national and international courses for teachers, and participates in telematics networks for communication, databases and tele-teaching. It is Denmark’s representative in the very extensive development and exchange of multimedia software between the five Nordic countries and was the contractor and co-ordinator of the parallel EU Task Force project EPES (European Pool of Educational Software) with the participation of twelve European countries.

RAI - Radio Televisione Italiana

RAI is the holder of a concession granted by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications for the Italian Public Radio and Television Service. It has been one of the pioneer European broadcaster in the field of education and is active in major European projects in the field of distance learning. It is now requested to study and put into operation all new broadcasting services, like DTH satellite digital TV, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), value added services (Datavideo), SNG, etc. RAI operates: 3 national TV networks; 3 national AM radio networks; 3 national FM radio networks. It has also carried out, or is involved in, several activities in digital television systems at European level and is an active member of European and World Association of Broadcasters.

Knowledge Connection Corporation

It is a partnership organisation of small and large corporations and educators devoted to foster the development of a Distance Learnware industry in Ontario, Canada. It encourages collaborative projects among telecommunications companies, developers of educational software, and educators with expertise in interactive learning techniques. It has experience in market watch activities and close links with the US market.In addition to the above mentioned operational partners, the group can also rely on the collaboration of two important associated partners, to which no budget share is allocated, but which confirmed their availability to involve their networks in MESO activities

AIE

AIE (The Italian Association of Publishers), which will give access to its membership for the study objectives, but will also establish links with its related Associations in other European countries;

AFPA

AFPA (French national Association for Adult Vocational Training), the most important French and European training organisation, which has expressed its interest and availability to collaborate with MESO activities.

ADDRESSES

EDEN Mr. Erling Ljoså c/o NKS - OMH Business School PO BOX 5853 - Visiting Address: Pilestredet 46 0308 MAJORSTUA - OSLO Ph.: 47 22 596116 Fax: 47 22 596090 erling.ljosa@nks.no	FIM-Psychologie Prof. Walter F. Kugemann UNIVERSITÄT ERLANGEN-NÜRNBERG Konrad-Zuse-Str. 3 91052 ERLANGEN - DEUTSCHLAND Ph.: 49 9131 854736 Fax: 49 9131 854738 walter.kugemann@fim.uni-erlangen.de
GUILDFORD EDUCATIONAL SERVICES Dr. John Twining 32 Castle Street SURREY GU1 3UW GUILDFORD - UNITED KINGDOM Ph.: 44 1483 579454 Fax: 44 1483 574277 gesvt@premier.co.uk	IDATE 1 rue de Turbugo 75001 PARIS - FRANCE Ph.: 33 1 40263434 Fax: 33 1 40262388 a.darnige@idate.fr
KNOWLEDGE CONNECTION CORPORATION Mr. James Rossiter Mrs. Anne Dychtenberg 80 Gould Street Suite V-230 M5B 2K3 TORONTO, ONTARIO - CANADA Ph.: 001 416 9792930 Fax: 001 416 9793080 Mr. Rossiter: knowledge@kcc.ca Mrs. Dychtenberg: eureka@astral.ca	LAMBRAKIS RESEARCH FOUNDATION Mr. Nikitas Kastis Mr. George Neophotistos Mr. Alexander Kostantinidis 3 Paparigopoulou Str. 10561 ATHENS - GREECE Ph.: 30 1 3311848 - 51 - 3237963 - 3237944 - 3230997 Fax: 30 1 3230668 Mr. Kastis: kastis@www.lrf.gr  Mr. Neophotistos: georgen@www.lrf.gr
ORAVEP Mr. Patrick Chevalier Mrs. Odile Quesnel 6 Bd. Saint-Denis 75010 PARIS - FRANCE Ph.: 33 1 44527800 centr. - 44527801 dir. Fax: 33 1 44527819 Mr. Chevalier: oravep@easynet.fr Mrs. Quesnel: oquesnel@easynet.fr	ORFEUS Mrs. Ulla Gjørling Gaaseagervej 12 DK-8250 Egaa DENMARK Ph.: 45 86 229955 Fax: 45 86 229956 ulla@orfeus.dk
TAVISTOCK INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RELATIONS Dr. Elliot Stern Dr. May Pettigrew Dep. Evaluation Development & Review Unit 30 Tabernacle Street LONDON EC2A 4DE - UNITED KINGDOM Ph.: 44 171 4170407 EXT. 1222 (Casa: +44 1462 683322) Fax: 44 171 4170567 Dr. Stern: e.stern@tavinstitute.org Dr. Pettigrew: m.pettigrew@tavinstitute.org	SCIENTER Centro di Ricerche e Servizi Avanzati per la Formazione Luigi Bellesi Via Val D’Aposa, 3 40123 BOLOGNA (Italy) Ph.: +39 51 230107 Fax: +39 51 235890pgs@bologna.nettuno.it