Monthly eMagazine viewing figures from August 1st 2008

Note: A Learning provider will only appear as one viewer; in reality the identified IP Address may be one viewer or many!

The data below is cumulative, highlighting, from the initial tracking our viewers on 1st September 2007, their global distribution.

All the pictures and news shown on this eMagazine are the property of their respective owners. We don't hold any copyright about these pictures and news. These pictures have been collected from different public sources including different websites, considering to be in public domain. If any one has any objection to displaying of any picture and news, it may be brought to our notice by sending an email to support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk & the same will be be removed immediately,after verification of the claim.

Links that have been included in previous eMagazines...

To visit the shared links go to http://www.only2clicks.com/pages/acljohn/ or use the live pages below...

Flat-panel monitors offer numerous benefits, and quality (and prices) continue to improve. But you'll need to consider several factors when you begin to weigh the choices -- everything from resolution, latency, and power consumption to display controls and warranties. Here's a rundown of the key things to keep in mind.

Take a look at http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=459. 

"You are boring. No, not the person sitting next to you. You. I don’t care if you are the “cool” teacher, but you are going to be perceived as a total bore unless you do something to make sure those kids are paying attention to you and not daydreaming or becoming distracted by their newly found way to draw their own initials. Here are some tips to help you stay in control of the classroom, based on some of my own observations along with the help of some other great articles I’ve found:"

Read the full article at http://blogs.learnnc.org/instructify/2008/12/08/5-ways-keep-student-attention/.

As this eMagazine demonstrates, I find many interesting things each day that could be used by managers, administrators, practitioners and learners. I don't write about all of them, but some links I just have to include.

55 Great Websites to Download Free Sound Effects, a list compiled by Hongkiat.com, is a must-bookmark for any learning provider that teaches podcasting or video creation.

As podcasting and video creation becomes more accessible to practitioners and learners the need for sources of free sound effects continues to increase. This list of sources provides something for everyone.

Read the blog - visit the websites - enhance your vodcasts/podcasts at http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/55-great-websites-to-download-free-sound-effects/.

OR I've pulled them all into LinkBunch at http://linkbun.ch/5rys.

The Teaching Palette is a blog about teaching art.

The Teaching Palette is written by art teachers for art teachers. The Teaching Palette features ideas for incorporating technology into art instruction. Visitors to this blog will also find...

• ideas for lessons,
• tips on classroom management, and
• ideas for incorporating multiple subject areas into art instruction.

If you're an art teacher (or learner), you may wish to check out The Teaching Palette at http://theteachingpalette.com/.

At TechVivo, this month, there is a useful article titled Top 101 Freeware Apps.

The list puts together all the best free applications that you can download and use on your PC (some on your Mac and Linux machine too). They divide the applications into different categories including...

• Audio and Video,
• Automation,
• Compression, Backup & File Recovery
• Blogging
• CD and DVD Tools
• Cleanup, Tuning, Tweaking and Updating
• Desktop, System & UI (user Interface) Enhancements
• Developer Tools
• Download Managers
• Imaging
• Messaging and Chat
• Office and News
• Screen Recording/Screenshot Taking
• Security
• Torrents and others

Take a closer look at http://www.techvivo.com/freeware-apps/.

E-Guides updates

NIACE have just announced that there is some availability on the E-Guides training programme and have confirmed that capital grants of £2,500 are now also available for attendance on these.

Note: Max of 3 delegates from each learning provider

See below for dates in this region and details of how to book.

Take a look at the eGuide flyer about the Training Programme 2008-2009 844KB pdf.

More information and dates are available at http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/TrainingCourses/eguides.htm.

In the north west eGuide Training is being offered 3 times; the dates/schedule for each 3 days of training is...

1. 2nd and 3rd February 2009 and the 3rd day on 3rd March 2009 (Manchester)
2. 23rd and 24th April 2009 and the 3rd day on 22nd May 2009 (Liverpool)

JISC is sponsoring an event aimed at developers in UK Higher Education that will take place in London on 9-13 February 2009.

The event will span 4 days and will consist of a pre-event day focussing on developing skills, followed by a 2 day coding session, and will conclude with a final day focussing on bringing developers into communities based around software platforms. Entry to the event is free.

Find out more at http://dev8d.jiscinvolve.org/.

FLOSSIE (Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)) is the annual conference held by Schoolforge-UK to look at issues relating to free and open source software in the school sector. 

The next FLOSSIE is on the theme of "Sustainable ICT in Schools - Beyond the PC".

Venue: Birmingham on 12-13 February 2009. 

More details at http://www.schoolforge.org.uk/index.php/FLOSSIE_2009.  

To be held at...

The John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester
Wednesday, 1st April 2009,
9.30 - 16.30

Some comments from delegates attending this meeting in 2008:

"Fascinating insight into the world beyond Google " "One of the best workshops I've ever attended".. "A revelation! - enjoyed every minute"

Course Outline

With the major search engines claiming coverage of over 20 billion web pages in their databases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to locate relevant information. Most of us head straight for Google when we want to search the Internet but Google is not the only search tool. This workshop looks at recent developments at Google and the alternatives, especially the new kids on the block and Web 2.0 'stuff'. Karen Blakeman will take you through the best of the search engine world and highlight how they can be used to significantly improve your results.

By the end of the day, participants will have a vital toolkit to help them search more effectively, including key search tools, comparisons, top tips and essential search techniques.

Topics to be covered include:

• different types of search tools and how they work
• making the most of Google and new features
• alternatives to Google
• advanced search techniques to help you track down the so-called "hidden web"
• image, audio, video and news
• blogs, RSS, wikis and Web 2.0 resources
• setting up your customised search engine
• tracking down pages that have disappeared

Delegates will have ample opportunity to test out advanced search techniques and to compare different search engines. A significant part of the day will be taken up with practical sessions; exercises will be provided but delegates are free to try out searches of their own. This workshop is suitable for all levels of experience. The techniques and approaches covered can be applied to all subject areas.

N.B. Places on this course are strictly limited because of access to PCs so please book early to avoid disappointment

Course Presenter: Karen Blakeman

Karen Blakeman has worked in the information profession for over twenty years and has been a freelance consultant since 1989. Her company (RBA Information Services) provides training and consultancy on the use of the Internet, and on accessing and managing information resources. Karen writes for "Business Information Searcher". She also publishes a monthly, electronic newsletter called "Tales from the Terminal Room". Her publications include "Search Strategies for the Internet". She is a Fellow of CILIP and in 2002 received the Information World Review Information Professional of the Year award.

For more information or to book a place on this course, please visit www.ukeig.org.uk or email meetings@ukeig.org.uk

Costs (including lunch and refreshments):

• UKeiG members £160 + VAT (£188.00);
• others £190 + VAT (£223.25)

 

Please complete and return a booking form by 25th March 2009, to...

Christine Baker, Piglet Cottage, Redmire, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4EH.

Tel & Fax 01969 625751. Email: cabaker@ukeig.org.uk

 

 

Don't forget the UKeiG Conference 2009

UKeiG will be holding a residential forum that will provide opportunities for information and IT professionals to network, wine and dine in excellent social surroundings while catching up on the very latest developments in e-information.

Book now at www.ukeig.org.uk or by emailing conference@ukeig.org.uk to get your early bird discount!

UKeiG has the CILIP Seal of Recognition, which recognises high standards in the content and relevance of training courses. See http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/seal/ for details

UKeiG is a Special Interest Group of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. 7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1E 7AE. Registered Charity No. 313014

To be held at...

The Foresight Centre, University of Liverpool,
1 Brownlow Street, Liverpool
Tuesday, 21st April 2009,
09.30 - 16.30

Course Outline

Find out how 2.0 applications are being used in libraries and information centres, and what actually works. Blogs, wikis, RSS? YouTube, podcasts, Slideshare? Flickr, Connotea, LibraryThing? Facebook, Second Life, Twitter? This workshop will look at the reality of 2.0: what is useful and what is destined for Gartner's 'Trough of Disillusionment', never to be seen again.

The workshop will start with a brief overview of Web 2.0 and what it means. It will then look in more detail at how 'stuff' can be used as sources of information, as a means of enhancing services to users, and raising the profile of information services.

The areas covered will include:

• Blogs, wikis, RSS feeds
• Shared authoring tools
• Start pages e.g. iGoogle, PageFlakes, NetVibes
• Social bookmarking services
• Using YouTube and Flickr as information resources and to promote your group or organisation
• "Presentation" sites such as Slideshare and Authorstream
• Social networking sites e.g. Facebook
• To Twitter or not to Twitter

There will be a heavy practical element to the workshop so that participants can explore Web 2 and try out the technologies for themselves. There will be extensive notes and exercise sheets to guide participants through the day, and all the information and presentations will be available electronically.

Costs (including lunch and refreshments):

UKeiG members £160 + VAT (£188.00);
others £190 + VAT (£223.25)

Please complete and return a booking form by 15th April 2009, to...

Christine Baker, Piglet Cottage, Redmire, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4EH.
Tel & Fax 01969 625751. Email: cabaker@ukeig.org.uk

N.B. Places on this course are strictly limited because of access to PCs so please book early to avoid disappointment

Course Presenter: Karen Blakeman

Karen Blakeman has worked in the information profession for over twenty years and has been a freelance consultant since 1989. Her company (RBA Information Services) provides training and consultancy on the use of the Internet, and on accessing and managing information resources. Karen writes for "Business Information Searcher". She also publishes a monthly, electronic newsletter called "Tales from the Terminal Room". Her publications include "Search Strategies for the Internet". She was recently made an Honorary Fellow of CILIP and in 2002 she received the Information World Review Information Professional of the Year award

ThePlagiarismChecker is an online tool that allows users to check text for plagiarism.

An excellent resource for learners who can use it to check their papers for missing citations before submitting them.

Try it out at http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/.

P.S. Educators on the other hand may use it to check papers.

The presentation that follows, created by Jessica Coates, provides an excellent description of how to use Creative Commons in the classroom.

Because she has licensed the presentation with a CC-Attribution license, I'm able to include her presentation in this eMagazine (or distribute it anywhere else on the Internet) - without worrying about Fair Use or other copyright restrictions - given that I attribute her as the author of the presentation. These were the terms that she decided upon when she created her license.

If the embedded version fails to 'respond' go to http://www.slideshare.net/Jessicacoates/creative-commons-in-the-classroom-presentation?src=embed.

If you want to post something private on a blog or a forum or in a learning object etc., but don’t want search engines to index it, then take a look at Hidetext.

An online service that takes text and converts it into an image, making it impossible for search engine spiders or any bots to gather that information.

Hidetext is useful when users want to...

• post something controversial,
• discuss something private in a forum or
• just make it difficult to copy their work.

Hidetext supports up to 100,000 characters but formatting options is limited to just two fonts types and a couple of font sizes. Of course, you can get more formatting and styling options if you do that yourself – write it on a word processor and either take a screenshot or use Snippy. But Hidetext simplifies this task, albeit with lesser control.

The images are hosted on Hidetext’s own servers where you can...

• link to, or

• download the image and delete it from their servers (I recommend).

Shown below is a sample text, from one of my previous articles, converted into an image...

Hidetext can also be used to hide your email address from spammers by the same way. Like this

Try it out for yourself at http://www.hidetext.net/.

 

screedbot, the animated scrolling typewriter text generator. 

• Write some text and click Create Screed to make your own animated text.
• After you make your text you can save it to your computer, to Flickr, and/or put it in portfolios, learning objects etc.

Make your own at http://wigflip.com/screedbot/.

Here is one I made earlier...

A very-fast online application that lets users quickly generate HTML tables from Excel, Calc or other spreadsheet programs.

• Simply copy and paste cells from any spreadsheet,
• click on “Tableze it!” button

...and users are given an almost instantly generated HTML table that can then be posted in websites, blogs, learning objects, eXe etc.

Try it out yourself at http://tableizer.journalistopia.com/.

Here is one I made earlier...

January 2009

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Thumbizy is an online tool that lets you quickly generate thumbnail images of any website.

Just...

• type in the URL of the website,
• select the size you want, and
• click on “Go” button.

Thumbizy will then generate your image with the link where the thumbnail is permanently viewable. You can share the resulting image by forwarding the provided link to others.

Try it out at http://www.thumbizy.com/.

Here is one I made earlier...

Note: Snippy can be used to capture the thumbnail, for use in learning objects etc.

vloud provides an easy way for learners to 'amplify' audio evidence.

In their own words...

“It just makes everything sound better.”

Vloud is a new online tool that has a very specific appeal, yet it will no doubt be a welcome addition to the bookmark collection of many practitioners and learners. Broadly speaking, what this web-hosted tool does is to let users upload a MP3 file and have it automatically processed in order to bring up its volume.

Note: The uploaded files can amount to as much as 10 MB, and WAV files are supported alongside MP3s.

Granted, this tool won’t appeal to everybody, but both learners and practitioners can put it to good use.

Try it out for yourself at http://www.vloud.com/.

An online web tool that lets you protect your images by adding your mark to them. 

It allows you to add visible watermarks to any image you want.  The process is straight forward, simply...

• upload the image from your computer,
• style the watermark you want to add, and
• click on “Generate”  button. 
  WatermarkTool will  add watermark to the image and give you an option to download and save it to your computer.

Find out more and or try it out at http://www.watermarktool.com/.

The Web2Rights diagnostic tool is designed to help learning providers...

• Identify any potential problems any projects could have with copyright or other Intellectual Property Rights
• Navigate through the various resources that have been created as part of the IP Toolkit and apply the resources that are needed to address problems any project may have.

Find out more at http://www.web2rights.org.uk/diagnostic.html.

• ClassMarker
• Fluid Surveys
  

ClassMaker is a web application that lets you easily create online tests and quizzes, and then invite others to take them online.

Users can create...

• multiple choice,
• true false,
• free text,
• short answer,
• fill in the blank and
• punctuation quizzes.

There is no limit on the number of test you can create.

In addition to quiz and test creation, users can also create multiple number of classes for your test takers and track their progress in one place.

ClassMaker is versatile online application providing users with decent free account option...

Feature overview:

* Create online test and quizzes.

* Create multiple choice, true false, free text, short answer, fill in the blank and punctuation quizzes.

* Manage all your quiz results in one place

* Easily invite learners to join your classes and take your tests ( 1000 reusable learners places).

* Create unlimited number of classes and mange all from one place.

* Assign different quizzes to different classes.

* Instant results for you and your learners.

* Export quiz results.

* Upload and add images to quizzes.

* Set time limits on multiple-choice quizzes.

* Randomize multiple-choice questions and answers.

* Keep your quizzes private or share them with others.

* Copy and use other members shared quizzes

* Create quizzes in multiple languages.

* Premium account with more options also available - at time of going to press...

Education Subscription
Discounted for use in non-profit educational institutions and non-profit organizations only.
$24.95 USD per year / per instructor.

Business Subscription
For use in business/workplace environments and for-profit educational use.
$49.95 USD per year / per instructor.

 

Find out more at http://www.classmarker.com/.

Fluid Surveys is an online tool for quickly creating surveys that offer multiple response formats.

Fluid Surveys' drag and drop interface is so easy to use that users (it could be learners) can build a survey in less than a minute.

Fluid Surveys (and other online survey programs) is useful for "dipsticking" for knowledge in an anonymous form. By having learners anonymously answering questions in a survey, practitioners can get a sense of what their students know and what may need to be retaught.

Fluid Surveys could also be a good resource for conducting an end of course feedback survey. The option of combining multiple choice responses and text responses allows learners to share as much or as little as they want.

I'm sure you can all think of many more uses. Find out more at http://fluidsurveys.com/.

In their own words...

"This fine academic tool was designed to assist in the writing of reports, grant applications, and other documents related to public schools."

Try it out at http://www.sciencegeek.net/lingo.html.

P.S. Thanks to Lisa Valentine for this!

  Oh how things have changed!

This book is wonderful in so many ways. The illustrations are both delightful and creepy, the language is charmingly outdated, and the lessons in the book attempt to create a race of scrubbed-clean, milk-drinking super employees who spend their vacations at home...

'laying up a greater store of health and energy than the young people who come back tired and weary from having too good a time at the mountains and other regular summer resorts.'

The book should be interactive below, or go to http://www.archive.org/details/hygieneforworker00tolmuoft where it can be downloaded in many formats.

Exercising your brain regularly can help to keep it agile and improve memory and ability to learn.

This activity is designed to help improve visual memory.

The exercises are based on memorising groups of images and then trying to decide which image has been added.

This embedded game is also available at http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/game/mastermind/.

The Obsolete Technology Website has a gallery of 100+ obsolete computers.

The main worry for many of you who pluck up the 'courage' to visit is, "Will I see any pictures of Technology we still use?"

Be brave, take a look at http://oldcomputers.net/pics.html.

Click image to go to original source 

A Community of Tea Drinkers
Entitea is a place for people who love tea to come together, share their tea recipes, and discover tasty new tea recipes.

Users can...

• create groups of friends to discuss their favorite teas,
• bookmark their favorite teas to easily find the recipes later and
• find teas that help with different types of ailments (sore throat, the flu, etc)

Find out more at http://entitea.com/.

PS this just seemed right for the eBreak Section

Drew Buddie a.k.a Digital Maverick has produced some useful how to guides on using free Web 2.0 tools

Wordle,

Glogster

and Kerpoof

Or should it be Vodcasting?

If you would like to know how to make a podcast with Windows MovieMaker, this step by step tutorial will help you considerably. Learn how to create a multimedia presentation with text, sound, video and images from scratch and then find out how to convert it into an iPod friendly format so it can be viewed in iTunes.

If you wanted then to publish your clip so others could download it using RSS, you could use Blip.tv or Podomatic.

Visit the tutorial at http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1f912761ccc8d4e6fe36. 

 

Teacher Training Videos is produced by Russell Stannard. Russell produces videos demonstrating how to use a variety of Web 2.0 tools. Russell's videos start with the basics and finish with advanced features and ideas about using the tools in education.

If you are new to using technology in teaching, Teacher Training Videos is a website well worth a visit. And, if you're a teacher looking for videos to supplement the instruction you give to students, Teacher Training Videos is good resource for you to have.

Find out more and view the videos at http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/.

TutSearch is a Google powered search engine that lets you search and find webdesign and graphic related tutorials on over 100 popular websites. 

All websites are handpicked  and bundled together forming extensive tutorial resource.

Try it out at http://www.tutsearch.net/. 

• EFL/ESL/ESOL Games
• Games for the brain
  

Make learning English extra fun for your learners!

Try out some interactive games to improve their English language learning skills.

Users need to click on the pictures to load the games in their web browser

If it isn't on the PCs already, learning providers may need to download the free shockwave software from Macromedia to open the games.

As an added bonus, practitioners can download the games (exe files) to play on their PCs; click on the icon of a 'floppy disk' (whatever that is!).

Try out the games and/or download them at http://www.ctu.edu.vn/centers/cfl/learningresource/Games/Index.htm. 

Note: They work well on an interactive white board...

“A cool little website chok full of neat games that make your head hurt. (...) The best part is, after you waste a good part of an hour playing them you can reassure yourself that it was time well spent and that you're that much smarter for the playing.”

– Kotaku

 

 

• Cause and Effect on a Touch Screen or Interactive Whiteboard
• Deaf Blind Online
• 'Excellence In Inclusivity'

One for the Specialist Colleges we support - Koosh Generator, a little online program, could be fun for cause and effect and encouraging upper body range of motion at the same time on a touch screen or interactive whiteboard.

Try it out for yourself at http://www.donhopkins.com/openlaszlo/my-apps/kooshballs.lzx?debug=false&lzr=swf7.

And the one I made earlier...

DeafBlind Online offers some great FREE downloadable software.

It...

• ...rivals other software programs that come with a hefty price tag.
• ...is very user friendly, easy to install and offers a variety of options.

“This website provides free software for people who are deafblind or have learning disabilities. This software can be used to enable them to learn, explore their surroundings and become more independent.”

They offer six programs ...

1. Sense Factory
2. Everyday Skills
3. EdWord
4. Symbol Set Maker
5. EdWeb
6. Grid Maker

Explored this FREE site at http://www.deafblindonline.org.uk/index.html.

JISC RSC YH Excellence in Inclusivity portal has been developed to help promote best practice and share knowledge to support enhanced inclusivity.

The portal provides a simple route to accessing a range of case studies showing how inclusivity has been enhanced through the use of appropriate technology.

Find out more by going to http://inclusivity.rsc-yh.ac.uk/index.php?q=home.

Chris Swaine, Becta, thought we may be interested in following press release from DWP…

£27m support to improve skills and increase job opportunities

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS News Release (Reference EMP-115) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4 November 2008

£27 million of new European Social Fund (ESF) money will be invested in innovative projects to help people improve skills and stay in work, or develop new skills and find a new job.

Interested organisations are being called on to submit proposals to run regional projects which will develop, test and deliver new ways of extending employment opportunities and improving skills. Each project will work with at least one partner from another EU Member State.

This money is part of the Government's ongoing support to help people retrain and find work in tough global economic times. It is in addition to the £100m recently made available for skills training, particularly for those who are currently facing redundancy.

Welcoming the ESF investment, Tony McNulty, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform said:

"At a time when we are facing global economic challenges it is essential that we make sure everyone has the right skills for the vacancies which exist and that employers are looking to fill.

"This initiative will help break down barriers that prevent people achieving their potential, and tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our society. It will boost the support we offer to unemployed and disadvantaged people to improve their skills and return to work."

This new money will be targeted at projects helping people find jobs by:

• Helping people who may find it harder to get back into work, for example disabled people or lone parents
• Working with employers to ensure people have the right skills for the jobs available
• Offering training in computer skills
• Targeting help at older workers
• Training for "green jobs"
• Training and support to set up and manage not-for-profit enterprises.

Up to three projects will be supported in each English region, plus Cornwall, Merseyside and South Yorkshire. Regional ESF committees have selected which of the six themes will be available in their regions.

Further info: http://www.esf.gov.uk/innovation_transnationality/

Participants on CEL’s 2008-09 leadership of elearning programmes will be able to take advantage of a capital grant scheme for buying information and learning technology (ILT) equipment. The scheme, funded by the Learning and Skills Council, entitles LSC-funded organisations to claim a £2,500 capital grant for each staff member who has completed one of CEL’s elearning leadership programmes, up to a maximum of £7,500 per organisation.

Read and find out more at http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/?Page=nomenuReadProgNews&id=597.

1) If you would like take part in Realise...

...you should be able to attend one of the module 1 days listed below:

• Wednesday 21 January 2009 - Newcastle
• Tuesday 24 February 2009 - London

Commitment to undertake this programme will be about two days.

To participate in Realise, a member of the organisation’s leadership team who has a strategic responsibility for ILT development will attend a one-off training event to fulfil the requirements of module 1. Details on how to complete module 2 will be given during the training event. The time commitment to undertake this programme will be about two days.

More details at http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/Default.aspx?Page=Programmes&id=4E9870B8-7257-49E2-8A57-AF1CC8E0CED6&status=Live.

JISC invites institutions to submit funding proposals for projects to undertake work under the third round of its Learning and Teaching Innovation Grants Programme.

JISC wishes to fund one year projects and activities that fit with the vision, outcomes and principles of the JISC e-Learning programme and support innovative approaches to learning and teaching.

This is an open call, and projects dealing with any aspect of e-learning are welcomed.

To reduce the initial investment in time and resource needed to develop a traditional JISC proposal and to encourage speculative and innovative ideas from the community, bidders are invited to submit outline proposals online.

Funds of up to £75,000 for projects of one year duration are available.

The next deadline for submissions is 12 January 2009 12:00.

Please note: The lead institution may only submit one proposal per assessment point.

The full text of the Circular, guidance material and a bid template form for can be found at the following link: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2008/04/circular408.aspx

Bids should be submitted by email to ELEARNING-BIDS@JISC.AC.UK, using the template provided.

•  New guidelines boost web access

Article by By Geoff Adams-Spink, Age & disability correspondent, BBC News website

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced a new standard to make sites more accessible to older and disabled people.

Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) will apply to text, images, audio and video.

It also covers web applications and is said to give developers more flexibility than the old guidelines.

According to the consortium, WCAG 2.0 should also be easier to understand and use.

Read the full article, and watch the video clips at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7789622.stm. 

• NIACE: Volunteers to teach asylum seekers English

Niace to recruit unpaid teachers in reaction to government policy of dropping language learning for asylum seekers article by Peter Kingston

A campaign aimed at embarrassing the government into revoking its ban on free English lessons for asylum seekers by mobilising volunteers to teach them is being launched today (10th December 2008).

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) believes it is vital that people seeking refuge in the UK should be taught the language at the earliest possible opportunity because ability in English has a decisive bearing on their long-term ability to thrive.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/asylum-seekers-english-lessons. 

• Business education lessons need to be more ‘inspiring’ and ‘hands-on’, says Ofsted
  

Young people are eager to learn about business and economics, but their keenness is not always matched by the quality of teaching they receive, which too often is ‘thorough but uninspiring’ and fails to bring a real sense of excitement to learning.

These were the findings of a report, ‘Developing young people’s economic and business understanding’ published today (26th November 2008) by Ofsted - the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

It found that although there was much to celebrate in business education, around a third of lessons were thorough but uninspiring. There was too much ‘talking-at’ pupils, and an over-dependence on worksheets.

Read the full article at http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-7LREL5.

• No articles this issue

• Links with capital funding bolster carbon reduction plans
• Tackling Worklessness Review

Plans for cutting the higher education sector's carbon emissions are set out in a recent HEFCE report to the Secretary of State.

In his 2008 grant letter, John Denham asked HEFCE to make carbon reduction a factor in future capital allocations to higher education institutions. HEFCE has now outlined plans for working with the sector to achieve this, and how sector-level carbon reduction targets can be set.

To read this item in full visit http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2008/reduction.htm

Councils should be given greater responsibility for coordinating efforts to tackle rising unemployment in their local areas, an independent review has proposed.

In its interim report published today for consultation the review team, chaired by Cllr Stephen Houghton of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, recommends that upper tier councils be responsible for conducting analyses of the causes of worklessness in their local communities, as part of the Government's proposals for local authorities to undertake economic assessments.

Building on the priority given to worklessness in Local and Multi Area Agreements, councils and partnerships who want to go further on worklessness would be able to agree Work and Skills Plans with Government, outlining how worklessness would be addressed, and gaining additional freedoms and resources in return.

Read the full article at http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/168179.

See Publications to download the publication. 

FiTES - I'm inviting you to Find, Try, Evaluate and Share.
You are the experts in your field of work, management, administration, practitioners etc., and you know what works for you! By sharing not only will you raise the awareness of your colleagues but you should also benefit from their submissions.

Share your resources by completing the form available at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p6ZzsRcFe4Rh71c9ArHs2OQ&email=true. or use the embedded form below...

 

• Add - Name

Here’s what it looks like if you plant a camera in the same location for one year and snap photos throughout the changing seasons.

Images snapped at the same spot through one year. Showing the seasons change. The audio is actual recordings from the same spot. The images are from 2008.

This report evaluates the strengths and weaknesses in business education for 14-19-year-olds in schools and colleges, and in the provision of initial training of teachers to teach business education in schools. It explores current issues in business education, including the development of economic and business understanding and financial capability for all students at Key Stage 4.

Download the full publication and available documents at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Thematic-reports/Developing-young-people-s-economic-and-business-understanding/(language)/eng-GB.

Acas has produced a draft guide to go along with their draft Discipline and Grievance Code of Practice released earlier.

This draft Acas guide provides more detailed advice and guidance that employers and employees will often find helpful both in general terms and in individual cases. The guide has been approved by Acas Council and is also due to come into effect on 6 April 2009.

You can download a copy of the draft guide from http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2124.

The new e-guideline has recently been published. The e-guideline gives a good introduction to the topic of ‘Assessment for Learning’ and an outline of the range of tools that can be used at each stage of the ‘Assessment for Learning’ process. It also provides an in depth look at a few key areas of this subject: using quizzes, using tools to capture learning and using tools to help learners reflect on their learning.

Copies are available at £9.95 from the NIACE publications department http://www.niace.org.uk/publications/A/assessment-learning.asp

 

Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, writes...

Welcome to the fourth Bulletin from the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning. The Bulletin updates you on our progress with the ten major themes of the Inquiry, along with other research and discussions we have been pursuing over the autumn – exploring ways to capture the public value of lifelong learning and analysing the impact of lifelong learning on different sectors.  It reports on the Inquiry’s visit to Northern Ireland, and describes what we aim to produce by way of interim reports in the coming months in preparation for our final report in June 2009.  The Bulletin is  available on our website: http://www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry/docs/IFFLBulletin4.pdf

The Inquiry will be publishing a range of interim papers over the winter, based on the evidence we have received.  Please take a look at the papers and tell us about further evidence you think we should look at.  Please send your thoughts and comments to Hanya Gordon, the Inquiry Co-ordinator at hanya.gordon@niace.org.uk

Over the winter, the Inquiry is starting to identify some emerging conclusions and to formulate elements of a strategic framework for lifelong learning.  We’ll be testing our ideas with you via our website, future Bulletins and other events.  But if you haven’t already done so, please send us your ‘top propositions’ for lifelong learning – ie the really significant proposals which would do most to make lifelong learning a reality.

And finally, do take a look at my blog, ‘Inquiring Minds’ available at www.lifelonglearninginquiry.org.uk/blog and send me a comment.

View and or download at http://issuu.com/acljohn/docs/001office2007ebooka5.

The Serious Virtual Worlds report focuses on virtual worlds for educational uses, and explores the ‘serious’ – as opposed to leisure-based – uses of virtual worlds.

One of the problems with this area is that there is a plethora of virtual worlds available and practitioners do not always know which one to use and in which contexts. In order to help practitioners to identify the worlds that are the most relevant for their particular learning context, the report presents an overview of the available virtual worlds, describing in particular the serious virtual worlds that have educational potential or have been used in education and training settings.

Read the full article at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/seriousvirtualworldsreport.aspx. 

Download a pdf version of the report at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/seriousvirtualworldsv1.pdf. 

Tackling Worklessness: A Review of the contribution and role of local authorities and partnerships - Interim Report

The Interim Report of Stephen Houghton's Tackling Worklessness Review contains the Review team's current thinking on how successful multi-agency and cross-sector local partnerships can best tackle worklessness in their communities.

Download a pdf document and/or order a copy at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/tacklingworklessnessinterim.  

The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector 2007/08 draws on evidence since July 2007 and reflects the first full year of inspection and regulation by Ofsted across its expanded remit, including findings from childcare, children's social care, and education and skills provision for learners of all ages.

To read the report, please follow this link: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Annual-Report-2007-08

Adult learning and further education

Features

Annual Report Focus - summary of Ofsted's key findings in adult learning and skills, 2007/8.

Work-based learning - inspection makes good business.

Train to Gain in the spotlight – Ofsted's new report scrutinises the uptake of funding and provision.

James Boyle, a law professor at Duke University, has just published a new book called The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, and it basically tells readers what they need to know about intellectual property law to take meaningful part in our emerging information society.

The book clearly complements a lot of the work done by Lawrence Lessig.

You can snap up a FREE copy in two different formats (Free PDF copy, Free HTML copy)

This report explores the full cost to individuals of participating in further education in England and Wales – the nature and level of cost that individuals incur when they participate and the impact student financial support has on an individual’s learning experience.

Undertaken jointly by the Learning and Skills Network and the National Union of Students, it aims to investigate the extent to which financial hardship still presents a barrier to further education for many students.

This report is the beginning of a discussion that everybody in the sector needs to engage in. It is a discussion about the future of the FE sector and its students.

Download a free copy of this much anticipated report at https://www.lsneducation.org.uk/user/order.aspx?code=080132&src=XOWEB.

This new collection of essays reviews the impact of the actions taken by colleges, universities and government to widen participation and offers a series of perspectives from eminent HE researchers and Further Education (FE) practitioners on where we go from here.

The research has been published by LSN to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the independent educational charity, the Helena Kennedy Foundation, which was set up by FE leaders to take forward in a practical way the recommendations of Learning works.

Download a copy at https://www.lsneducation.org.uk/user/order.aspx?code=080140&src=XOWEB.

• Create your own YouTube RSS Feed
• Florida Virtual School Library
• Google Book Search starts indexing magazines
  
• IPooq: Play/Search YouTube Videos Continuously
• New Image Search Parameters for Google
• New York Public Library's photostream
• Nibipedia

If you regularly search YouTube with the same keywords such as gadget or technology, you may be interested to know that it is possible to create an individual RSS feed so the results appear in your reader automatically saving you time and keeping you updated on useful clips.

Simply paste the following feed into your browser and change the word example for the search term you are interested in.

e.g. http://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/example.rss

Then subscribe to the resulting feed or

Don’t be deterred by the terms-of-use warning on the front page, which cautions you to “surf at your own risk”. 

The Florida Virtual Library is ideal for those on Initial Teacher Training Courses or practitioners delivering Family Learning, Key Skills (Functional Skills), ESOL and much more; an excellent resource for learner exploration, research, and reference, compiling an abundance of links to support education.

The Florida Virtual Library mimics the experience of walking into a library building.  The quirky, colorful interface is engaging enough to appeal to learners.

The FVL is the library of the Florida Virtual School, an award-winning institution that, I've found out, been excelling in online education for more than ten years.  They’ve made the library accessible to the general public.

The site’s well-labeled collections of links cover every major curriculum area, and include things like collections of primary resources, entry points for learning about current events, a writing center, information about college and careers, and portals for teachers and parents.

A word about site navigation: It’s best to rely on the FVL’s internal navigation tabs and avoid using the back button on your browser.

Vist the library at http://www.flvs.net/FLVS_library/index.htm.

There are a handful of ways to get a digital copy of various magazines, most involve a cost. Now here is one free way to read many of them online – via Google Book Search.

Google has partnered with publishers to digitize back issues of thousands of popular magazines and make them searchable through their Book Search engine. You can find magazines from as early as 1970s.

Visit http://books.google.com/ to find out more. 

iPooq is a website that lets you search/play YouTube videos continuously on any topic you choose. 

Users can play videos...

• by category,
• by tag  and even
• by iTunes library.

Users can also enter a list of tags and convert them into a non stop YouTube video playlist.

Search for videos that may support your learners at http://www.ipooq.com/.

On 19th December 2008, Google announced that it has made it a little easier to refine image searches.

Until now, if you entered a search term in Google Images you would get all kinds of images including photographs, drawings, paintings, and clip art.

Now users can refine those results by selecting...

• "faces,"
• lip art,"
• "line drawings,"
• "photo content," or
• "news content"

...from a drop down menu.

• Search as normal, at http://images.google.com/, and
• then use the drop-down menu to refine the results...

The New York Public Library has joined the Flickr Commons (http://www.flickr.com/commons), uploading an initial contribution of 1300 images from its photographic collections. The NYPL is promising even more!

Collections include...

• Asia and the Pacific Rim in Early Prints and Photographs (2 sets)
• 19th-Century Middle East (2 sets)
• African-American Portraits, 1935 - 1944: Farm Security Administration Collection (1 set)
• History of the New York Public Library (2 sets)
• Production Photographs from the Early Cinema (2 sets)
• Western Landscapes 1860s - 1870s (2 sets)

Sets include...

• Early Modern Dance: The Denishawn Collection (68 photographs)
• Civil War Era Photographs and Drawings (132 Photographs)
• Farm Security Administration Collection: 1935-1944 (123 Photographs)
• Changing New York, 1935-1938 (160 Photographs)
• Japan / Kimbei Kusakabe (102 Photographs)
• Ellis Island Photographs (89 Photographs)
• The Statue of Liberty Under Construction (13 Photographs)
• NYPL: Work With Schools (64 Photographs)
• NYPL: Research Library (35 Photographs)
• Cyanotypes of British Algae by Anna Atkins (51 Photographs)
• Photographs and Prints of Egypt and Syria (83 Photographs)
• The Great West Illustrated (48 Photographs)
• Yosemite Views (31 Photographs)
• Egypt and Nubia by Beato and others (43 Photographs)
• Album of Photographs of Japan (43 Photographs)
• Cinema 1912-1914 (104 Photographs)
• Cinema 1915 (111 Photographs)

Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/ to take a look for yourself.

- Wikipedia Meets YouTube

Nibipedia is the result of matching Wikipedia entries to YouTube videos.

Here is how it works...

• search for a video
• while you're watching that video you will see links to related Wikipedia content as well as more related videos.

So far most of the matching of Wikipedia entries to videos has been done by a small group of people but now Nibipedia is looking for more teachers to try out a special teachers only beta.

Nibipedia could be a great research resource for learners. The matching of video to text can help to make difficult concepts more accessible to some learners. If your learners are struggling to choose a research topic that interests them, let them explore Nibipedia for a while and see if that sparks an interest.

Take a look yourself at http://nibipedia.com/.

Nibipedia allows viewers to enrich a video presentation by adding links to related information in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. The links, called "nibs," are stored in the software's database and presented to viewers in a timeline, or "nibstream," tied to the video. Nibipedia's unique approach to displaying web video was born from a desire on the part of the developers to allow web users to use new social media content to share their knowledge with other webizens interested in the same material.

The Nibipedia database contains metadata and links to more than 1000 educational videos and users have added more than 4000 nibs to related Wikipedia material.

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Art...

• Face Maker

A fun application that lets users create cartoon pictures of themself and others. Users can create as many cartoon faces as they like, print them out and share them with colleagues, friends etc., by forwarding by email.

Try it out at http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/t4/microsites/M/makingfaces/yourface_createMate.html.

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Business Courses...

• OPEN Forum
  

Openforum has lots of information about business and also lots of short video clips from very successful business people.

This site has a lot of other information, if you are interested in business, and even has business discussion forums that learners can read or if they become members they can join in the discussion.

Find out more at http://www.openforum.com/.

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Catering...

• Foodista
• Science of Cooking
• The Gingerbread Man with everything!
  

Foodista is a recipe website that can be regarded as aiming to be the Wikipedia for food.

Users can...

• search and find user contributed food recipes and, if registered
• edit, if you think that particular recipe is missing something, the recipes. 
  
  • For example, users can...
    ...add or remove certain ingredients and/or leave comments
    ...View the edit history.

Users can also submit one of their own recipes and let other users check it out.

Note: There is no registration required for searching on Foodista, however if users want to contribute and edit recipes registration is needed.

Find out more at http://www.foodista.com/. 

The Science of Cooking: covers six main topics...

• Candy provides users with all the inside information about candy chemistry and how candymakers transform matter from one state to another. This site is full of recipes and activities, as well as an in-depth look at the science of sugar...
• Bread is the most basic of foods, but it’s also one of the most complex. Each time you bake bread, you choreograph a complex dance between flour, water, and a leavener. This part provides information on how these elements interact to give us the loaves, rolls, and flatbreads we love...
• Eggs provides recipes and activities, the science of eggs and more...
• Pickles provides the inside information on the ancient culinary craft of preserving foods using salt brine or vinegar. As well as the familiar recipes and activities and the science of pickles their is historic and cultural information...
• Meat - "Humans have been eating meat for some 2.5 million years" - includes an inside look at fat, proteins, collagen and more, plus the molecular art of grilling (what happens to meat)...
• Seasoning - "Seasonings play a minimal nutritional role in our diet. They play to our senses." - includes among other things a tour of the world of spices and a close up about senses and how you experience the flavour of food.

Worth more than a quick glance at http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/index.html.

This resource is ideal for practicing mouse control, family learning without the mess, catering and just for fun. Excellent for use on an Interactive White Board.

As usual this is one I made before Christmas...

Try it out at http://sprintsweets.com/.

Warning:- when young learners click Start Over the gingerbread man is eaten! (Tears may result!)

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Design...

• 3 Deadly Sins...
• Cool Text Graphics Generator
• Lorem2: Get “Lorem Ipsum” Sample Text For Your Demos
  

We’ve all had the painful experience of being handed a brochure that was “designed” with Word Art (or the slightly less painful Pages). The “designer” (we’ll call him Larry) beams, happy to see that his arched, distorted, glowing type is burning holes in your hands.

You wouldn’t make those mistakes, would you?

Of course not! You are an experienced designer, right?

Read the full article at http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/3-deadly-sins-of-print-design/. 

Cool Text is a free graphics generator for web pages and anywhere else you need an impressive logo without a lot of design work. Simply choose what kind of image you would like. Then fill out a form and you'll have your own custom image created on the fly.

Vist http://cooltext.com/ and try it out.

Lorem2 is a website that can provide you with samples of “Lorem ipsum” text for your web project. Using Lorem2 you can get 4 different text samples: Short paragraphs, long paragraphs, short list items and long list items. This enables you to try out different layouts of dummy text on your demos or design.

To get the text simply...

• go to the website (http://lorem2.com/),
• click on the text sample that interest you and
• use the copy and paste functions to quickly get it.

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Economics...

• No new resources this month

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Engineering...

• SmartBolts change color when they're tight enough
• TuneyFish
  

Smartbolts have little discs in their heads that change color as the right amount of tension is applied to them.

Unfortunately, a torque-wrench does not measure bolt tension accurately, usually only about +/- 30%, because it does not take friction into account.

The friction depends on...

• bolt,
• nut,
• washer-material,
• plating,
• surface smoothness,
• machining accuracy,
• degree of lubrication and
• the number of times a bolt has been tightened.

Fastener manufacturers often provide information for determining torque requirements for tightening various bolts, accounting for friction and other effects. However, in field applications, this information is often not available, practical or administered poorly.

 

 

Find out more at http://www.smartbolts.com/.

Watch videos of auto part installs, auto repair, performance tips.

Watch, learn, then do it yourself with confidence.

Take a look at what is on offer at http://www.tuneyfish.com/index.php. 

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in English Language - Literature Teaching & Learning...

• Book-bot
• Learn English with Pictures

• Also take a look at VerbaLearn in the General Section

Book-bot is a web resource where users can search and read books online. It has  over 14000 copyright free items including books by Aristotle, Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, MarkTwain and many others.

Users can...

• search for books and 
• browse by...
  • title or
  • authors name. 

When users see a book they want to read...

• click on the title and
• start reading it on Book-bot’s reading interface which allows you go to the next and previous pages.

Note: no registration necessary,  however if you want to keep a track of which page of which book you were last reading registration is required.

Find out more at http://book-bot.com/bookbot/public/reader. 

Help your learners build up their vocabulary and pronunciation of new words.

Visit the Learning with Pictures and Audio website at http://www.my-english-dictionary.com/.

The site has a collection of 34 word lists and each of these has 16 words. You can find a complete index hereby going to http://www.my-english-dictionary.com/index2.htm.

Nik Peachey, in his blog (http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/2008/12/learn-english-with-pictures.html) suggests that EFL, ESL, ESOL and other Learners could...

• work through one list at a time, listening and pronouncing the words or
• use it as a dictionary resource when they find words that they don't know.
• look at one list each day and then go to the list again the next day and see if they can remember how the words are pronounced; Say the words to themselves and then listen to the words to see if their pronunciation is the same.
• start by going to the list of A words: http://www.my-english-dictionary.com/list1.htm
  • Listen to the A words and hear how the A at the beginning of each word is pronounced differently. Try to note down the words that have a similar pronunciation of A.

Try to do the same thing for all the other words. Looking for similarities and differences in pronunciation. This will help them to remember the words and pronounce them well.

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Family Learning...

• Frosted Flakes - The Science of Snowflakes
• Interactive Whiteboard Resources: Maths
• Kids Know It
• Simple Science
• Speakaboos
• Spelltube
• Teachers And Families
  
• The Colouring Spot
• The Rain Deer Orchestra.

• See also The Gingerbread Man with everything! in the Catering Section
  • and - Web Weather for Kids in the Geography Section

Frosted Flakes: The Science of Snowflakes is the result of a scientific and educational partnership between elementary and middle school students, Dr. Keith Andrew of Western Kentucky University, and Argonne National Laboratory studying snowflakes. 

Practitioners and learners can...

• view beautiful images of snowflakes,
• learn more about the project, and
• try their hand at cutting out a paper snowflake using an interactive online application (http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/index.html).

Find out more at http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cxtdm/met/snow/flakes.html.

Learning Clip is an online resource to support teachers, teaching assistants and parents implementing the renewed primary mathematics framework. Ideal for ITT and Family Learning Practitioners.

The resources are structured to follow precisely the learning objectives of the renewed framework. For ease of navigation the resources are also listed by topic.

Note: The clips are being offered free of charge to all schools during the development phase (Possibly a charge to come?). They aim to encourage feedback and make the material highly user driven, focusing especially on:

* reducing preparation time
* enhancing the learning experience for pupils
* providing opportunities for delegation
* resources that match precisely the requirements of the curriculum
* a standardised easy to use format
* ease of access and availability on demand

Well worth a look at http://www.learningclip.com/index.aspx. 

 

The Free Educational Movie section, from Kids-Know-It Network, have, at the time of going to 'press', 33 free movies covering several subjects and learning standards and they add to their list monthly. 

Each movie begins by introducing learners to the topics that they will be learning about, and ends with an online quiz. 

The movies are narrated by computer generated voices, which can be monotonous and sometimes difficult for some learners to understand.

Preview the resources at http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php.

The idea of SIMPLE SCIENCE is to have informative music/video presentations for use in the primary school classroom.

They are designed to be used as part of a lesson to reinforce learning objectives and scientific concepts and also as a useful revision tool for the SAT exams. However they could be used by Family Learning Practitioner to help Parent(s)/guardian(s) support their  child(ren) with Primary School Science.

Also ideal resource for Learners on Initial Teacher Training Courses.

Take a closer look at http://www.simplescience.net/index.html. 

Speakaboos is a website where children can listen to...

• fables,
• nursery rhymes,
• fairy tales,
• lullabies, and more.

Children can listen and watch animated versions of their favorite stories for free on the Speakaboos website.

Speakaboos provides...

• story guides,
• worksheets, and
• art projects

...that Family Learning Practitioners can use.

Family Learning Practitioners and their learners will soon be able to create your own Speakaboos recordings.

Check it out at http://www.speakaboos.com/.

What is Spelltube.co.uk?

Spelltube brings the weekly spelling list into the technological age.

Spelling videos have been created for each of the 3000+ words in the National Spelling Bank, from which teachers, or Family Learning Practitioners, can generate and assign a word list to their Key Stage 2 pupils (or parent(s)/guardian(s)). Memorable characters help to reinforce spelling concepts in an enjoyable way that will appeal to various learning styles.

Take a closer look at http://www.spelltube.co.uk/.

Letter Sentences offers practice of letter sounds with sentences.

Learners click on a letter, a new screen appears with a picture and sentence incorporating words that begin with the chosen letter. 

To listen to the sentence read they click on the image.  This works well on interactive white boards and is interactive in the sense that users need to touch items to take part.  Learners could rewrite the words that begin with the identified letter.

Try it out at http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/preschool/worksheets/ltr-sent-sel.cfm.

The Coloring(sic) site is excellent for printable coloring pages, with a lot of high-quality coloring pages in a number of themed categories. (http://thecoloringspot.com/categories.html)

For the younger learner, there is also an online coloring (click-to-color) webpage with images of animals (http://thecoloringspot.com/online-coloring/index.php).

Find out more by visiting http://thecoloringspot.com/. 

The Rain Deer Orchestra. It is a great motivating site for number recognition 1-10 because it incorporates music… Using and Interactive White Board learners simply touch the nose of the reindeer (a white glove squeezes the nose) and it elicits a musical note.

It does give you the option of following a pattern to play 3 Christmas songs or you can opt for free play and create your own beautiful music.

Play on the embedded site below or go to http://dingo.care2.com/cards/new/0422/Do-a-rain-deer.swf.

(Yes I know it's a bit late for Christmas or am I too early?) 

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be use in Creative Writing...

• No New Resources this month

Overview of Resources, in this month's eMagazine, that could be used in a number of curriculum areas...

• Animated Text: Textanim 2.0
• Free Educational Movies
• Hippo Campus
• Intute launches Critical Thinking Tutorials
• Lucid Chart
• muchobeets: flashcards
• Noodle -NLN Materials in Moodle.
• RadioBeta: Find Local & International Online Radio Stations
• Teacher LED
• UNESCO: Open Training Platform
• VerbaLearn
• WP Clipart
  

• Also take a look at the Nice Translator resource (in the Language part of the Resource Section)
• Also take a look at the- Hygiene for the Worker: c 1912 in the eBreak section of this eMagazine

TEXTANIM.com- just...

• type your text,
• pick the font,
• pick the size,
• pick your desired pattern (and there are several choices), etc.,
• click generate and

...voila your wonderful animated text will appear for you to simply copy and paste it into learning objects, websites, blogs etc.

Try it out at http://textanim.com/.

I've not mentioned Brain Pop before as it has a membership fee to view all of their movies, however, there is a free movies section which offers 21 free movies to view.

Visit http://www.brainpop.com/free_movies/ to view the free movies or use the embedded website below.

HippoCampus offers…

• ...multimedia lessons
• ...course materials

...to help users with their instruction, homework, and studies.  Users can browse multimedia lessons, or complete courses, and find help with the topics covered in popular textbooks.

HippoCampus targets...

• secondary learners and
• post-secondary learners. 

The range of subjects covered is extensive, and subjects are addressed systematically. 

Major subject headings include: 

• Algebra;
• American Government;
• Biology;
• Calculus;
• Environmental Science;
• Physics;
• Psycholgy;
• Religion;
• Statistics;
• US History.  

Take a look for yourself at http://www.hippocampus.org/.

Visitors to the Intute: Arts and Humanities web pages may have noticed a recent addition to the ‘Features’ menu on the left-hand side of the screen – ‘Critical Thinking‘.

Intute are creating a series of exercises that hone students’ analytical abilities when using the Web as a source of knowledge. With the Internet now ubiquitous as a tool for research, and a first point of reference for a majority of learners, it is more important than ever that people understand how best to use the information they can obtain online.

Intended primarily for classroom use, the two units launched so far deal with...

• obtaining high-quality factual information, and
• using the Web to gauge and understand popular opinion on issues of controversy.

Whilst the exercises are likely to be particularly relevant to learners in disciplines such as...

• philosophy,
• religion, or
• history,

...many aspects of coverage are applicable across humanities subjects.

There are teacher packs with lesson plans, learner worksheets, and presentation slides to download – everything you should need to rapidly get a class involved and thinking about how they can use what they find on the Web.

Take a closer look at http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/criticalthinking.html.

Those looking for learning modules relating to finding and assessing websites for particular subjects should take a look at Intute’s Virtual Training Suites at http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/.

LucidChart, an online collaborative flowcharting application developed by Ben Dilts as a result of his "headaches and disappointments with Gliffy".

Here are some of its features:

• Creating crisp, attractive flow charts for the web or print is fast and easy.
• Everyone works on a document at the same time. Collaborators get changes immediately when they save.
• Share flow charts as a web page, PDF, or image. Publish an always-updated image of your work.
• Any computer with Inte rnet Explorer 6+, FireFox, Safari, or Chrome works with LucidChartwithout requiring Flash

Sign up for free and/or try LucidChart out at http://www.lucidchart.com/.

Muchobeets (a very Web 2.0 name) is a free flashcard creator that looks like a useful tool to add to the Web 2.0 toolbox. 

Users can choose from three different types of flashcard:

• Regular - Topic related notes that should help you to remember facts and figures etc.
• Vocabulary - These are for recording and revising vocabulary using a word with an example and definition.
• Picture - These enable you to upload images, which the user then click on to find the word / sentence associated with the image. The students then see the images and click on them to find the word / text.

Note: - Make sure your images are not too large; using mypictr will help learners and practitioners resize their images.

The flashcards are very quick and easy to create (you do have to register first though) and once you've created a pack of flashcards you can either email them to yourself or your learners. 

Find out more at http://www.muchobeets.com/. 

Xtensis, the organisation supporting the NLN materials project, has developed a solution for allowing practitioners to use the NLN materials in Moodle.

Called “Noodle” it has been tested on Moodle 1.8 and 1.9.

Visiting the NLN Materials website you will find in the Support section, Using the NLN Materials in Moodle

This covers...

Methods to give Moodle users access to the NLN Materials

1. Using Learner URLs of Collections or individual Learning Objects
2. Using "Add SCORM" functionality
3. Using the "IMS Repository" functionality
4. Using "Mr Cute" functionality
5. Using "Noodle" functionality

Choosing a method

• Pros & Cons of the various methods 

Since, when opting for using "Noodle", the majority of the functionality still takes place within the NLN site, the actual installation is minimal, with no content to download, and no Moodle database changes are required.

Take a look at http://www.nln.ac.uk/?p=Moodle.

RadioBeta is a website that aggregates web based radio stations in one place.

Using it users can...

• Search and listen to local and international online radio stations.
• Search by keyword and sort by genre or location.
• Add radios they like to their favorites.
• Create play list and share with others.

A Nice and clean interface; listen at http://www.radiobeta.com/.

A useful resource for language or media or many other practitioners and/or learners,  

Spencer Riley has created an outstanding collection of resources perfect for an interactive whiteboard.

If you haven't seen it before, there are some great Flash resources, go take a look at http://www.teacherled.com/

Spencer has also created a overview document for his resources down loadable at http://www.teacherled.com/resources/overview/TeacherLEDOverview.pdf.

UNESCO have a brilliant platform for sharing course materials that is really worth looking at. It is called the Open Training Platform. (http://opentraining.unesco-ci.org/cgi-bin/page.cgi?d=1)

Categories included are...

• Adult Literacy
• Agriculture
• Community development
• Computer science & information management
• Culture
• Development aid
• Education
• employment
• Engineering
• Entrepreneurship, economy & sustainable development
• Environment
• Gender issues
• Government policy
• Health & Sanitation
• HIV AIDS
• Language
• Legal issues
• Life skills
• Management
• Media & communication and
• Social problems.

VerbaLearn is an online learning system that helps learners build their vocabulary. Learners can also learn improved word usage and pronunciation. 

A new way to improve language skills at no cost.

VerbaLearn is a web-based resource that empowers its users to broaden their vocabulary in a dynamic fashion.

The approach involves building up language lists that are then tested through quizzes. Whenever users answer a question incorrectly, the word itself will appear again as part of a new quizz.

Words are eventually replaced with new ones, and users can sit through a full review whenever they want. 

In addition to that, studylists can be listened to as MP3 files, either on a computer or using an MP3 player. 

If you think your learners could benefit from such an approach investigate it further by visiting http://www.verbalearn.com/.

WPClipart is a website that provides users with free clip art collections for use in word processors and other places.

The database has more then 23,872 images. Users can search, browse images by categories and easily download images they like on to their computer.

Take a closer look and/or find out more at http://www.wpclipart.com/.

Note: These images are public domain (PD), and that means they can be used and edited for whatever purpose you wish, personal or commercial. No attribution or linking is required, (although a link would be polite...)

Overview of Geography Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Web Weather for Kids

"Learn what makes weather wet and wild, do cool activities, and become hot at forecasting the weather on Web Weather for Kids!"

Web Weather for Kids, includes sections on...

• Clouds
• Hurricanes
• Thunderstorms/Tornadoes
• Blizzards/Winter Weather
• Predict the weather

...as well as Safety, Games, Stories, Activities, Weather Ingredients etc.

In the section on Blizzards and Winter Weather, for example, learners can...

• learn how blizzards and winter storms form,
• read a story about a winter storm,
• learn about winter storm safety, and
• find instructions for in-class science activities that allow them to...
  • experiment with air pressure,
  • build a barometer or
  • build an aneroid barometer.

Find out more at http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/.

Overview of Genealogy - History Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Civil Rights Digital Library
• Also see - Hygiene for the Worker: c 1912 in the eBreak section of this eMagazine
  

Practitioners and learners who are interested in the history of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s now have an outstanding resource at their disposal, The Civil Rights Digital Library. 

The site “promotes an enhanced understanding of the movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from...

• libraries,
• archives,
• museums,
• public broadcasters,

...and others on a national scale.” 

The bulk of the site’s content is divided into four categories:

1. events,
2. places,
3. people, and
4. topics. 

The information is also organized by media type, covering everything from pamphlets to slide shows. 

The educator resources section is extensive, and includes learning modules, lesson plans, slide shows, teaching guides, study guides, time lines, worksheets, and annotated bibliographies.

"The Civil Rights Digital Library boasts a collection of resources as numerous and remarkable as the massive list of people who have fought for racial equality."

Take a closer look at http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/home. 

Overview of Hair - Beauty Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Hair Styled
  

HairStyled is a social network that has been put together to allow hairstyle enthusiasts the world over connect and interact in a seamless way.  

It is full of features such as galleries and questions & answers sections, which along with the existing articles provide a thorough understanding on every connected issue.

As regards the hairstyle galleries, some of these include...

• “Prom Hairstyles”,
• “Wedding Hairstyles” and
• “Teen Hairstyles”.
• Of course, the “Celebrity Hairstyles” category is also present.

In addition to browsing through the available galleries, users can vote and rate the hairstyles on offer and arrive at a consensus regarding which ones are keepers and which ones are best left alone.

As an added bonus, the site also includes a tool for trying out virtual hairstyles...

• upload a picture,
• choose a style

...and you are on your way to causing a potential sensation.

Take a look yourself and/or try out a new hairstyle at http://www.hairstyled.com/.

Overview of Geography Resources included in this eMagazine...

• PicLits
• Wordle for short texts (Lesson Plan)

• Also take a look at VerbaLearn in the General Section
  

PicLits is an online application that facilitates combining a picture with a few words in order to express a thought.

The site’s tagline says it offers “inspired picture writing”, and that’s exactly what it does.

• Pick a picture,
• Add words to express a thought.
  Users can...
  • drag and drop words from listed words that are categorized according to parts of speech. Or,
  • compose their words “freestyle”, as illustrated below by my first attempt...

This online application has great potential within Key (Functional) Skills, ESL, EFL, ESOL, Communication Skills etc.

Try it out for yourself at http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx.

Terry Friedlander, the site’s creator, intentionally encourages the development of creative writing skills in a section of the website entitled “Learn It”. Find out more at http://www.piclits.com/learnit.aspx.

Excellent for language/ESOL/ESL/EFL/Functional(Key) Skills Practitioners; I do like the way in which Jamie has used both Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/) and a YouTube video in this lesson plan example.

Read the full blog entry at http://www.jamiekeddie.com/317.

Note:- the words do not have to be English!

Overview of Language Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Ma France (Now embeddable)
• Nice Translator

• Also take a look at Wordle for short texts (Lesson Plan) in the Key Skills Section.
• Also take a look at VerbaLearn in the General Section

The BBC has updated their mini French online video series Ma France by improving the audio quality and making each clip embeddable.

Check out all 24 episodes at http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/podcast/.

For example...

Nice Translator is just that, a nice translator of text.

To use Nice Translator simply...

• select the language that you want your text translated into
• then start typing.

As you type the translation of your text appears just below the text you're typing. Nice Translator will translate your text into your choice of 34 different languages.

Nice Translator could be a good, free web resource for learners whose first language isn't English, language learners as well as for ESL/EFL/ESOL students.

Take a look/try it out at http://www.nicetranslator.com/. 

Sample...

Overview of Mathematics Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Free Math Help
• Math-Videos-Online
• "When are we ever going to use this?"

Free Math Help offers learners free mathematics tutorials.

The tutorials are available as...

• text based lessons or
• narrated video lessons.

Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, and Statistics tutorials are available for free to learners.

Free Math Help is a good resource for both School and some Undergraduate learners to find mathematics help when practitioners are not available.

Find out more at http://www.freemathhelp.com/.

For practitioners looking for mathematics videos take a look at math-videos-online.com.  There are several videos explaining a variety of mathematics categories including...

• Money Math (Currency is USD not £)
• Algegra Videos
• Geometry Videos
• Probability Videos
• Algebra Calculator, online calculators
• Geometry Calculator
• Common Geometry Formulas
• Math for ESOL Students
• and more

Visit http://www.math-videos-online.com/index.html and try it out.

Anyone that has taught secondary school or high school mathematics for more than a week has probably heard a learner ask "when are we ever going to use this?"

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics has a resource that might be handy to have in your classroom.

SIAM has produced a twenty page brochure about the many jobs that someone could do with a mathematics background. The brochure is available as a PDF at http://www.siam.org/careers/thinking/pdf/brochure.pdf.

Visit http://www.siam.org/ to find out more.

Overview of Media Resources included in this eMagazine...

• A River of Images
• Food 4 Thought?
• YouTube: Symphony Orchestra

The latest online tool to exploit Flickr is Flickriver, an incredibly simple Flickr search tool that creates an endless webpage (just keep scrolling and the page keeps getting longer!) of Flickr images based around either a search term or whatever it finds interesting on the particular day you visit the site.

Take a look at http://www.flickriver.com/.

Piracy is a Big Issue within Media; perhaps these images are good 'food for thought' starters?

 

This project brings classical music into the world of Web 2.0.

It is felt that the initiative will produce a mashup of orchestral pieces contributed to by users.

It will also feature a contest (The deadline for all video submissions is January 28, 2009) in which musicians can upload samples of their work, and, like American Idol, winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and brought to perform at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony. (Get more from the YouTube Website.)

Take a look at http://uk.youtube.com/symphony.

Overview of Music Resources included in this eMagazine...

• High C: draw your music
• Muxicall

 

In their own words...

"HighC is a graphical music creation tool. It is a synthesizer, a sequencer and a mixer. Its goal is to make music composition as simple and direct as sketching."

In HighC, users use a paint brush or a pen to draw waveforms on a sheet. Add...

• peaks and valleys,
• straight lines,
• slopes,
• dots.

Users can pick different waveforms from the box on right and make more strokes on the sheet.

Finally, click the play button to hear the resulting music. My first efforts sounded like a werewolf howling and an old wireless tuning in between stations (showing my age again!), combined. There is a basic tutorial that provides an excellent introduction to the GUI.

After making strokes on the music canvas,users can select the waveforms and modify them or cut/copy/paste.

The tone of the music can be changed by selecting different waveforms and envelopes from the box on the right and applying it to the waveform through Edit>Apply Waveform or Edit>Apply Envelope.

• The entry-level version of HighC is free and targeted at educational uses, but the playback is limited to 22 KHz.

• The pro version, which comes at a price of 29.99 Euros, allows professionals to use higher quality playback rates and to export their production to standard file formats for editing and remixing using their tools of choice.

HighC is fun. Though I'm assured that with skill, users can compose beautiful music (at least according to the publisher).

Find out more and/or download at http://highc.org/. 

This resource is ideal for use on an interactive white board.

Muxicall is a basic but powerful flash tool designed to help teach music composition. Users simply click on the various musical signs to hear 'that sound'.  When you click on play it will give you a choice of instruments...

• piano,
• strings or
• drums.  

It also is coupled with corresponding colors which I understand can aid some learners. If users hold the shift key down, the mouse hovers and you can play the music continuously.  It works great with interactive white boards since you simply touch the music signs to hear the sound.

Give it a play at http://www.muxicall.com/.

Overview of Science Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Crayon Physics
• Free Science Videos and Lectures
• JoVE
• Learn.Genetics
• Owl pellet dissection made easy
• Periodic Table
• Science Up Close
• The Beautiful Mind
• The Nine (No 8) Planets
• Top 10 Modern Space Videos
  
• Also see - Hygiene for the Worker: c 1912 in the eBreak section of this eMagazine
  • and - Frosted Flakes - The Science of Snowflakes - in the Family Learning Section
  • and - Web Weather for Kids - in the Geography Section
    

Watch the video clip and I'm sure, like me, you will have to download the game...

Original Source from http://www.tinkernut.com/.

For science videos head over to Freesciencelectures.com where you will find a large selection of free science videos in a variety of categories including...

• Animals,
• Astronomy,
• Biology,
• Chemistry,
• Genetics,
• Physics,
• Technology,
• Water Life and
• Weather.

Take a look at http://www.freesciencelectures.com/.

Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is a peer reviewed, free access, online journal devoted to the publication of biological research in a video format.

It was established as a new tool in life science publication and communication, with participation of scientists from leading research institutions. JoVE takes advantage of video technology to capture and transmit the multiple facets and intricacies of life science research.

Take a closer look at http://jove.com/. 

The University of Utah has a marvelous page, Learn.Genetics, that every biology practitioner and/or learner may want to explore. 

There is a plethora of information using some very interesting and comprehensive animated lessons. These lessons present very well on interactive whiteboards.

Take a look and try them out for yourself at http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/. 

There also is a companion website called Teach Genetics  (http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/) that is “a wealth of resources and information aimed at helping educators bring genetics, bioscience and health, alive in the classroom.”

The print and go section is filled with several lessons and activities for teachers to use.

A perfect alternative to an actual owl pellet dissection, whether you’re lacking the resources or a learner has an aversion to handling animal excrement. (they don't make them like they used to!)

I remember dissecting (well pulling them apart) owl pellets, found in our barn, when I was a youngster. I was excited to find all those tiny bones and assemble them into the mouse they once were. But to be completely honest, if I were teaching or learning about owl pellets today, it would be probably a less hands-on approach.

KidWings — a site dedicated to teaching the wonders of birds — has created a Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection website. Your learners can remove the fur from their virtual pellet to uncover the bones inside. Then, each time they drag a bone to match the rodent skeleton, they get a new fun avian fact. When your learners complete the dissection, they receive a certificate in which they can fill in their names and print out for posterity!

Try it out for yourself at http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm#.

Theodore Gray has created an incredible (and very tastefully designed) photographic poster of the Periodic Table; "after four years of collecting and photographing samples of all the chemical elements and months of struggling to select the very best example of each one."

A much more effective way for young people or adults to memorize the table than symbols alone!

Take a look at the interactive Periodic Table at http://www.periodictable.com/.

Mr. Gray is also offering a custom banner service so you can print out a name (yours, that of your loved one, or your beloved blog, whatever) in photographic elements (Assuming the letters 'exist').

Visit http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/MSP/ElementBanners to try it out. Ours is below...

Sadly John can't be created but Dalziel can...

Science teachers/Family Learning Practitioners/ITT Learners etc., will love the interactive Science lessons found on Harcourt's Science Up Close site. The site has interactive explanations and demonstrations covering a variety of topics in Science for years 1 through 6. The graphics are excellent and the explanations are very clear and easy to follow.

The site is organized by grade level and contains multiple topics for each grade. For example, Grade 3 contains 16 interactive resources covering a wide-variety of topics including...

• photosynthesis,
• fossils,
• water cycle,
• lunar eclipse and even
• how a door knob works.

Teachers and learners can easily control all aspects of the demonstrations including turning on and off audio explanations and starting and stopping videos. Another great thing about the these activities is that you can zoom them to fit your entire screen which is extremely useful for using them with an Interactive White Board.

Find out more at http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/science/up_close_index.html. 

What does the brain look like? This online gallery will give you a sense. The images are from a European exhibition dedicated to raising public awareness of neuroscience.

All pictures were derived from real laboratory experiments and cutting edge research, so could provide an excellent resource for practitioners and learners alike.

Take a closer look at http://www.enception.org/.

Nine8 Planets is a large collection information and images designed to be used as a virtual tour of the solar system.

The information on Nine8 Planets is organized by planet working progressively away from the sun. Nine8 Planets also provides information and images on smaller bodies in the solar system.

It is best used as a reference resource as the content itself is excellent; practitioners may also find the lesson plan links quite useful.

Find out more at http://www.nineplanets.org/.

Weightlessness, dark matter, and mind-blowing telescope images are great reasons to be excited about space exploration. Wired Science has identified some of the best videos from our most recent decade of space travel.

View the videos at http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/top-10-modern-s.html.

iConvert is simple to use online tool that lets you convert images to Icon files ( ico, icns, and png ).

The application supports variety of image formats: .icns, .ico, .png, .jpg, .tif, .bmp, .svg, .tga and  .cur. 

To convert images, simply...

• upload your image and
• click on “Convert” button.

iConvert will convert your  images and  give you download links.

Try it out at http://www.eisbox.net/dev/iconvert/.

P.S. Ideal tool for Design Learners who wish to preview designs at smaller sizes.

Today, 4th December 2008, Google announced that the Google Earth browser plug-in is now available for use in Mac OS X. You can get the plug-in from the Google code page (http://code.google.com/apis/earth/). The new plug-in makes GIS laden websites like Earth Swoop (http://www.earthswoop.com/) more user friendly for Mac users. It also means that students now have more flexibility in the type of map content that they can create.

You can check out the introduction to the Google Earth browser plug-in in the video below and grab the plug-in at http://code.google.com/apis/earth/.

An online timer to use for counting down time, and adding just a little pressure (if there isn't enough already):

Try it out at http://www.fieryideas.com/flash/timer.swf.

Pixisnap is a web based photo editing tool which helps users convert pictures into primarily photo mosaics and polaroids.

The user interface is simple, easy to comprehend and you can get started right away after choosing the type of customization. Once users have completed sprucing up their photographs, they can use them as...

• desktop wallpaper,
• myspace backgrounds or
• a social network profile page.

Try it out for yourself at http://www.pixisnap.com/.

Want to edit a photograph to be more "informative", “funny” or “amusing”, PiZap is the way to go.

Using PiZap is very simple and quick since users don’t have to register. Just upload a photograph and start editing pictures for fun...

Here is one I made earlier...

Try it out yourself at http://www.pizap.com/index.htm.

Note: Using Snippy or Print Screen, the final images don't have to be saved; this avoids them being made public.

ResizeImage is a web tool that lets you quickly resize and crop photos online. The application is easy to use and no registration is needed. 

Simply...

• upload image from your computer and
• chose one of two resizing options: 
  • Basic resize - Lets you resize images by clicking on to one of default sizes ( Small, Medium or Large )
  • Advanced resize - Lets you resize images to any desired size

There is also nice image cropping feature that lets you easily crop out any part from image.

Try it out at http://resizeimage.org/.

Suppose you have a colleague or learner who is having problems using some application and needs your help. You can send them some screenshots with explanations or you can create a video recording of your desktop (using CamStudio or similar software), a process called screen cast, and send them the video.

Screen casts or video tutorials are the in-thing these days.

But how about this:

...invite them to join you on an instant messenger like Yahoo Messenger or Skype, and give them a real time streaming video of your desktop so that they can watch as you do it? Now isn't that is geeky? ☺

Screen casts are 'cool' because it’s like watching somebody use the computer over their shoulder. It is even cooler if it could be done in real time.

ScreenCamera is software that captures your desktop and turns it into a video which you can stream to anyone over a network that supports webcam.

ScreenCamera is like a webcam for your desktop, the difference is – a webcam points towards you whereas ScreenCamera points towards the screen, literally.

When the application is launched, it immediately starts capturing your screen and displays it on a small player window with the controls at the bottom.

Find out more and/or download at http://www.pcwinsoft.com/ScreenCamera/free.asp.

Note: The video does not capture the application’s own window, by default, so you can have it running on top without appearing it on the actual video. The video stream created behaves like a webcam stream and works with any instant messenger application like MSN, Skype, ICQ, Yahoo! etc. You can also share your screen as well as your webcam (upgrade only) on multiple instant messenger applications at the same time.

I have written about VoiceThread in the past. VoiceThread, like Animoto, is one of my favorite companies because it provides a very high quality product at no cost to learning providers. (Both services charge a non-educators).

Today, via email, I found out that VoiceThread has added some more free features.

Now...

• VoiceThread users can export their VoiceThreads to iTunes.
• Duplication of the VoiceThreads users create is now possible. That is a useful feature if users want to reuse a VoiceThread or save a back-up copy.

For those unfamiliar with VoiceThread...

...it provides a venue for creating a recorded conversation over the Internet about a visual topic. For example, if I could start a conversation about any topic by inserting appropriate pictures, then recording myself talking about the topic.

Take a look, or another look, at http://voicethread.com/#home.

Write With could be a good tool for practitioners that teach writing in an online environment.

The ability to communicate with a learner, while having the document in front of both of you, could make the editing and revising process more fluid than it would be if you had to toggle between two screens.

Write With takes the cloud computing functionality of Google Docs then adds, what seems to be, improved collaborator communication. It is the layout of the user interface and the communication features that makes Write With different from Google Docs. Write With does all of the things that an online word processor should, things like importing and exporting documents and being able to invite others to work with you.

Write With...

...allows a user to communicate with others without having to change screens or exit from their document.

...displays a users document on the right hand side of the screen and on the left side of the screen a list of people with whom they're collaborating is displayed.

This layout allows a user to send a message to their collaborators while editing the document.

Users can...

• send a task reminder,
• ask collaborators a question, and
• see the latest revisions all without ever closing their document.

The video below demonstrates Write With in action.

Find out more and/or register at http://www.writewith.com/.

Note: there appears to be problems when using IE7 as the browser; firefox is fine!

"Is there a way I can convert my Windows Media Audio (WMA) files to MP3? Most of my learners would prefer the audio files as mp3s so they can play them on their iPods and other mp3-players."

There are a number of ways this can be done; here’s how you can convert them into the MP3 format, for free, in three easy steps:

1. Download and install FormatFactory. (go to http://www.formatoz.com/download.html for the download)
2. After it’s installed,
   
   • open the application.
     
   • Click on Audio in the left column, and then
     
   • click on All to MP3.
3. Add the files you want to convert to MP3 (To the window that appears) and click OK.
   
   • Click Start on the main application window to convert your WMA file to MP3.

Depending on the file’s size, the process might take a few seconds.

When it’s done, you will find the MP3 file(s) in My Documents in a folder called FFOutput (unless you changed the output folder, of course).

You will have successfully changed your WMA file to MP3, for free.

"I find that is is often necessary to merge multiple sound files into one recording.

This need has arisen for various reasons:

• merge ePortfolio evidence tracks into one file,
  
• combine multiple chapters of an audio-book, etc.
  

There are many great programs to achieve this, but very few of them are actually free. I've discovered that while all of these programs perform the task well (like Audacity for example), they also contain lots of other features, making them too complicated for the tasks. What I need is a plain vanilla merging utility. Any ideas?"

I suggest you try Merge MP3. It’s free, small, and allows you to...

• drag-and-drop MP3 files,
  
• arrange them in a specific order,
  
• preview the files, and, of course,
  
• finally merge them into a single file.

Here’s how you can merge mp3 files in four easy steps, using Merge MP3:

Step: 1

Download Merge Mp3 (Go to http://www.komkon.org/~shchuka/software/mergemp3/). There’s no need for any installation and you can run it instantly (it can be carried on a memory stick and run on any PC that allows exe files to be run).

Step: 2

After you’ve downloaded and opened Merge Mp3, insert the files that you want to merge. To do this, either go to ‘File’ > ‘Add Files’ or just drag-and-drop them.

Step: 3

Now just put the files you inserted into the specific sequence you desire.

Step: 4

The last step is to merge them together. You can do this by going to ‘File’ > ‘Merge’. Optionally, before merging all the mp3 files together, you can also enter the ID3 tag information (such as Artist, Album, or Title) for your merged file.

And that’s how you can merge several mp3 files together using Merge MP3.

" I would like to be able to see more months in my Outlook To-Do Bar than the one I can see at present. Any suggestions?"

By default, Outlook’s To-Do Bar only displays the current month’s calendar.

It seems, like me, that while you find this is helpful, it does little for providing a quick reference for looking at future months.

You can configure the To-Do Bar to display multiple months (up to 9) and have a quick view of not only the current month, but the next few months as well.

1. Open Outlook.
2. Go to the Menu Ribbon.
3. Click View, mouseover To-Do Bar and select Options...
   
4. Beneath the Show Date Navigator checkbox, use the designated textbox to input the number of month rows you wish to display in your To-Do Bar (1-9, maximum viewable number will depend on your screen size). In this example I've selected two months (the current and the following month)..
   

5. Click OK.

One of the problems when I embed YouTube videos into resources, is that learners end up looking at the 'related videos' which appear at the end and in some cases are taken to an inappropriate clips; is there a workaround which will disable this feature and thus remove the possibility?

There is indeed, when pasting the embed code into your post, simply add &rel=0 at the appropriate point in the embed src tag. e.g.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YL3PtlxYkZ4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YL3PtlxYkZ4&rel=0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

To test the customised code has worked, play the clip at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3PtlxYkZ4 and then the one below to see the difference.

August 1st - Dec 31st 2008

The data below is cumulative, highlighting, from the initial tracking our TV viewers on 1st September 2007, their global distribution.