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.

The maps below cumulative reader/viewer statistics...

 

 

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...

My posterous Blog provides a 'drip-feed' of eMagazine items, throughout the month.

Either subscribe to the RSS feed or visit http://acljohn.posterous.com/ for your daily update.

We all know that Microsoft Word does a lot for the business world, but there are some features that work great for educators.

Whether creating a test or worksheet, or helping learners format a formal paper, these tricks should make things easier.

Go to http://mrssmoke.onsugar.com/3033315 to read the full blog... 

Many people who choose to enroll in an online course over a traditional course do so because they work full-time, and the time saved by attending classes at home allows them to juggle work and course responsibilities. But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy task to balance. This blog provides some tips on how you can make the most of your job-course shuffle.

Read the blog entry at http://aceonlineschools.com/how-to-balance-online-classes-with-working-full-time/.

James Yeang, of Kuala Lumpur, calls his blog Friedbeef’s Tech: Solving everyday problems with simple technology. 

James focus is on...

• freeware,
• all things Firefox, and
• general “useful tips”.

Take a look at FriedBeef’s Tech – 7 Awesome and Free Image Editors. 

In today’s world, of ePortfolios and multimedia evidence, practitioners and learners need to develop effective image editing skills. 

This blog entry shares a set of free image editing tools for a variety of purposes and that are appropriate for a broad range of skill sets.  Check out James’ post and learn how to…

• edit images using advanced tools
• touch up photos in your web browser
• do fast, one-click, photo-enhancing tasks
• do heavy image editing in your web browser
• edit, combine, view, or animate images
• do intermediate photo enhancing
• manipulate images with layers

Visit http://www.friedbeef.com/7-awesome-and-free-image-editors/ for the 7 Awesome and Free Image Editors
or

http://www.friedbeef.com/ for the blogs' Home Page. 

Before I forget, the delegate booking is now open, for…

Optimize a web page for printing.

Have you or your learners ever printed a web page only to find the printout is full of adverts, empty space and other junk you don’t want?

PrintWhatYouLike is a free web page editor that gives you control of how web pages look when printed (I know I've included PrintWhatYouLike in a past issue of the eMagazine but, for those of you who don't know me, I do have this thing about dead-tree documents). 

All users need to do is:

• Enter the url of any page they wish to print
• Edit the page until it contains only what they want to print
• Print It! Only the modified page will be printed

There is nothing to download- everything runs in a browser, and it takes just a few clicks to remove the backgrounds or images.  Users can even combine multiple web pages together - edit and print them as one document!

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

Just think how much paper and ink could be saved! 

 

I've just signed up for a free account and investigated JotForm; it looks like a very useful tool.

JotForm is a simple online tool for creating online forms of various kinds.

There are a number of pre-configured forms that managers/administrators/practitioners/learners can create and customize or they can create a blank one and add what ever features required from the Toolbox, just by dragging them onto the workspace.

Once all the required features are on the form, users can edit the properties by clicking on them in turn. I found it quite intuitive.

JotForm can be used for a whole range of things and has some very powerful features.

As well as adding images, password fields and captcha from the 'Power Tools' section, users can also add payment features (via PayPal for example), to enable users to charge for services.

The blank form creation, I would suggest, is great for creating eLearning materials and/or eAssessments.

Users can...

• add images,
  
• text
  
• by dragging in an html element from the Power Tools, even paste in code so that YouTube videos and/or other rich media can be embedded and
• add a few questions, or a text box for learners to write in

When the forms are completed, those filling in the forms just click on the submit button, and their answers will be sent to the email address (used to set up the account) or stored online.

Apart from creating e-learning activities, JotForm could be used to get feedback and/or to do a range of research tasks.

The resulting forms can also be embedded into websites, blogs, eXe documents, emails etc.

JotForm has a free option which allows for up to 3 forms a month and 100 responses, which should be enough for the average practitioner/learner.

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

Tutorials found at http://www.jotform.com/tutorials.

 

Go to http://www.jotform.com/form/91111125057 to see/complete an end product; one I made earlier!

 

I haven't had investigated this in great depth as yet but first impressions are, what a terrific tool for recording, organizing, and sharing information.

Loose Stitch is a user-friendly outlining tool that can be used in a multitude of ways to support learning.

Practitioners/learners/administrators/etc., can use Loose Stitch to...

• record and organize researched information.
• keep track of scheduled events or assigned tasks on a project.
• share recorded information.

Designed to be used collaboratively by people working on the same project/plan.

When using Loose Stitch ...

• Outlines can be embedded in wikis or blogs or eXe documents.
• When outlines are changed, changes are automatically reflected in embedded versions.
• Outlines can be shared via unique URLs.

As far as inclusion is concerned I've found that CLiCk Speak's text-to-speech can be used, by selecting any text in an outline, and so have the outlines read aloud in Firefox.

Note: Registration is not required to use the fully functional free version of Loose Stitch, but a "Pro" version is available with additional features.

Take a closer look and watch a demo at http://loosestitch.com/.

Many practitioners and learners use Slideshare as a place to...

• put their presentations
• store their presentations
• show their presentations

...online.

However, because Slideshare used Flash, presentations did not work on mobile devices such as the iPod touch or the iPhone.

Slideshare have now produced a mobile version of their website.

Impress colleagues and/or inspectors and/or learners and/or..., that you bump into by running a quick presentation using your phone!

Thanks to Slideshare it is now much easier to put presentations on mobile devices.

Take a look (online or on your internet enabled phone) at http://m.slideshare.com/.

Note: Users may be prompted to download Opera Mini onto their phone

My AwardMaker is a free, quick and easy site to print out certificates for all types of activities:

• Sports,
• School,
• Special Occasion,
• Business,
• Blank Certificates and
• Relationships

Why Free?

In their own words...

"It’s quite simple really. We love good design. We think good design should be, like air and water, “FAE” - Freely Available Everywhere!"

Go to http://www.myawardmaker.com/ to find out more and/or to download free templates.

Oneeko is one of the most intuitive screen sharing platform I've found! - Thanks to Jane Hart <http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/>

• A Two click approach to screen sharing.
• No download for the guest(s), as Oneeko runs in Flash 9+
• Share your screen with up to 8 guests at one time (Free version only 1-to-1)
• Fully integrated with Skype
• A unique sharing area, allowing you to control what you share
• Full web cam support (host and guest(s))
• A Unique "See-What-They-See" feature 

And so much more. Did I mention the whiteboard?

For a Free download, and get free trial of Pro version for 15 days, go to http://www.oneeko.com/index.html.

Today I've been playing with WallWisher a handy tool for creating online noticeboards that you can add sticky notes to.

• You can see a wall that I created here with some links to online resources <http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/acljohn>.

To create your own noticeboard...

• click where it says 'Build a Wall' and you'll see a new wall with some options on it that you need to complete. Basically these are...
  • Uploading an image
  • Choosing background colours
  • Adding a title and subtitle
  • Creating your password
  • Deciding who can see and add to your wall
• Once you have done this you just click the big 'Done' button and you are almost ready to start adding content to your wall. Before you start to add content you'll need to check your email account where you should find your password. Then you just log in to your wall and double click on the wall to start adding the sticky notes.
  • The sticky notes are quite simple...
    • add some text and
    • either link to an image, a video or a web page.

The nice thing about this is that when users click on the link it opens in a pop up browser over the wall. This means that you can use your wall to focus learners access to sites like flickr or Youtube etc., and stop them drifting into other content (WILFing). It also means that you can use the wall to set up specific activities and get learners to post their responses on the wall (as long as you have selected 'Everyone' to allow others to post to the wall)

Note: You can post to my wall - feel free to add resources and or experiences of using technology in teaching & learning.

A 'LIVE' version is embedded below... 

John Dalziel sent you a message. This is the message ID 29948477.

Click Here to see/hear the message

Note: If using a microphone make sure you allow the site access it, then just click on record.

Users can...

• record,
• listen and
• re-record

...as many times as required until, it is right! Once users have finished recording, simply email the link to the end product (to yourself or get learners to email the links to practitioners)

Make your own at http://host-d.oddcast.com/php/workshop_UI/door=237&cl=86&AID=0.

Someecards is a place for making personalised eCards.

Learning providers, managers, administrators, practitioners etc. may choose to do this to improve and/or personalise communications with each other and/or learners.

Features:

• Make eCards for free
• Create personalised eCards, each with a picture and your own text
• Create a bank of eCards that can be used for specific communication/feedback/appointments/deadlines/etc.

Visit http://www.someecards.com/ to find out more.

Here is one I made earlier...

• CLOZE TEST

Although I like the simple Cloze Passage iDevice in eXe, this CLOSE TEST, an online tool, offers a wider range of choices especially for English/Key Skills (Functional Skills) Practitioners and/or Learners.

The text used is very much up to the user! It could be text...

• that is currently being studied or that has been studied before
• about personal interests - from a website like BBC news perhaps.

To use...

Open the Cloze Test creator <http://l.georges.online.fr/tools/cloze.html>

• Copy and paste the text chosen, into the text field. Users don't need to use the whole text, a couple of paragraphs, at a time, should be enough.
• Below the pasted text select the 'Interactive' and 'No clues' radio buttons; (These choices make it more fun for the user)
• Either
  • from the list of options on the right, select which feature to test/assess on and click the 'Submit Query'
• OR
  • make it random and click on 'Submit Query' without choosing an option.

The website will, having followed the instructions above, produce an interactive activity.

Users can then type the missing words into the text. If they get the words right they score points, if wrong they will be red.

This tool can convert any text into a cloze test activity like this. An excellent way to test and improve English skills.

Use the link above to try it out.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUT0tweX1M if the embedded version above fails to load

Taking personality tests can be good fun and it can be a great way for learners to find out a bit more about themself, improve their vocabulary and learn some new questions.

One personality test worth a visit, includes 41 questions. At the end of the test users get some information about their personality and the types of job that will suit them.

• Go to: http://www.41q.com/ where the first question and choice of two answers will be found.
• Select one of the answers to get the next question.
• Work through the questions
• At the end information about personality type will be provided.

Apparently I'm...

"Practical, traditional and organized. Likely to be athletic. Not interested in theory or abstraction unless they see the practical application. Have clear visions of the way things should be. Loyal and hard-working. Like to be in charge. Exceptionally capable in organizing and running activities. 'Good citizens' who value security and peaceful living." 

and as far as a job...

"Military, business administrators, managers, police/detective work, judges, financial officers, teachers, sales representatives, government workers, insurance agents, underwriters, nursing administrators, trade and technical teachers." 

If you used to get the 'Rupert Annual' as a child (Showing my age again) then, chances are you like paper folding art of Origami!

Relive your childhood and learn how to make cool paper models, by heading to Origami.com. It is a website providing an extensive origami diagram database. There are hundreds of detailed diagrams which also includes simple models for beginners.

All diagrams can be viewed online and printed out.

Search for diagrams and filter them by...

• difficulty (simple, intermediate, complex),
• author and
• date.

Get folding at http://www.origami.com/diagram.html.

If, after watching this video, you want to see it played backwards, don't bother. You already did!

In their words...

"This sketch is a palindrome - i.e., it's the same backwards as it is forwards. It's arguably not the funniest sketch on Youtube, but it's almost certainly one of the only ones that was written using a spreadsheet."

It can also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWI1aHpzy0. 

StretchYourFace is a fun website which lets users make comic pictures by distorting them with a stretch effect.

• Upload a pic ( maximum size - 2 MB )
• Use your mouse to stretch it (click-n-pull or click-n-push).
• Once done,
  
  • share it with friends on social networks or
  • embed it in a blog, website, eXe page etc...

Here is one I made earlier...

Try it out for yourself at http://www.stretchyourface.com/index.aspx.

OR use the embedded tool below...

I'm sure there are many uses for this tool but 'fun' is good enough reason to use it!

Or view at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROYzrm5SBM.

These three guides...

• spreadsheets,
• documents, and
• presentations

...cover the basics about Google Docs and have tidbits of information on features you may not know too much about.

If you already use Google Docs spreadsheets, but aren't so familiar with presentations, you can read this guide to learn, for example, how to embed an online presentation in your blog.

Read the full article at http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/04/for-beginners-3-getting-started-guides.html. 

ICT for the non-specialist is a new series from Teachers TV which features some great examples of schools around the country integrating technologies such as...

• podcasting,
  
• blogs,
  
• wikis,
  
• mobile devices and
  
• virtual worlds across the curriculum.
  

Ideal for Initial Teacher Training and for those who want to see what is happening in schools.

For example, the programme on podcasting demonstrates the practicalities of preparing and recording a podcasts as well as the benefits of doing so in literacy and French lessons.

Take a look yourself at http://www.teachers.tv/search/node/ICT+for+the+Non-Specialist.

If you are an existing or new Moodle-user, Moodle Tutorials provides a great 'reference resource'.

Watch what you want, when you want!

Moodle Tutorials provides a free place for users to share the video tutorials that they create.

As long as your video is about Moodle, you can contribute to Moodle Tutorials. Every video on the Moodle Tutorials website is accompanied by an embed code and a download option (if you sign up).

Watch the introductory video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1xjWpYLZzk or the embedded clip below...

Go to http://www.moodletutorials.org/index.php to find out more and/or to sign up.

If you are someone, like me, who works at the computer for long hours, you may agree that using the mouse as little as possible is one of the most productive ways to work on the computer.

Keyboard shortcuts are always great but the problem is different applications have different keyboard shortcuts and hence we find it difficult to remember.

ShortcutWorld is a website which aims to address that problem by providing a keyboard shortcut lists for some of the most important tools we use everyday.

shortcut world provides keyboard shortcut lists for the following applications...

• Firefox
• Winamp
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Powerpoint
• Google Chrome
• Photoshop
• Windows XP
• Fireworks
• Outlook 2007

A site worth visiting at http://www.shortcutworld.com/.

If you and/or your learners can afford Photoshop, it is an amazing image editing software that lets you do unthinkable effects with images and photos.

Tutzor lists collection of high quality photoshop tutorials that show how to achieve concrete effects with step-by-step illustrated instructions.

For example, learn how to design your own war movie poster or how to get a Star Wars text effect, apply water effect on the image and more.

Each tutorial includes high quality images with step-by-step illustrations. Browse tutorials by type (Design, Drawing, Text Effects, Interface etc) or search by keywords.

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

Mastering Audacity in simple steps

AudacityMaster has published a number of useful screencasts which offer some practical tips and techniques for using free sound-editing tool Audacity to create mp3 files on your computer.

The 16 part guide is a sound introduction to audio production basics. Beginners should find these video clips useful, they include:

• Audiobook intro
• Podcast intro
• Install Audacity
• Download Lame
• Download Lame2
• The cut tool
• Trim outside tool
• Fade in and out
• Manual fade
• Silence selection tool
• Change speed effect
• Adding music
• Mixing your podcast
• Audiobook example
• Adding ID3 tags for audiobooks
• Adding ID3 tags for podcasts
• Exporting your audiobook
• Exporting your podcast

The clips can be found at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AudacityMaster&view=videos.

Another 'bank of video clips' for CPD/Learner support.

Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/westcheshirecollege to find out more.

Do any of your organisations have their own YouTube Channel? If so do let us know. 

• Fun 4 the Brain
• Hit the Button
• Mad Libs
• Novel Games
• Parade of Games in PowerPoint
• Stop Disasters!
  
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Educational Games

Fun 4 The Brain offers maths, science, and English games.

The design of the games makes it easy to understand how to play without having to read a lot of instructions. 

Overall, the Fun 4 The Brain games are great games for family learning and key skills.

Why not have a play at http://www.fun4thebrain.com/index.html.

Available from http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/851/Hitthebuttonv7.swf.

Mad Libs, a classic creative word game, can be played online.

Currently there are two games to choose from - Mad Libs for President & American Idol.

Users select...

• adjectives,
• nouns, and
• verbs etc., from randomly generated lists.

Note: Users also have an option of typing in their own word choices.

When the Mad Lib has been completed users can print the resulting text.

Mad Libs offer a widget that can be installed in a blog, website, eXe resource etc., allowing visitors to play Mad Libs.

I can see this being used...

• on an interactive white board where ESOL/EFL/ESL/Key (Functional) Skills etc., learners could collaborate/interact/discuss if selected words are adjectives/nouns/verbs/etc. and/or suggest words of their own.
• by practitioners to create texts that, because the words 'added' are highlighted in blue, learners could identify each word as an adjectives/nouns/verbs/etc.

Have a play at http://www.madlibs.com/category/funstuff/?g=madlibs.

Or use this embedded widget...

Novel Games offers more than 200 games that can be embedded into blogs, wikis, websites, VLEs, eXe etc., for free.

Most of the games are...

• simple logic games,
• basic mathematics games, and
• spelling games like hangman.

Novel Games also offer Sudoku and Mah-jong games.

A few fun mathematics games and/or spelling games can keep key skills (Functional Skills) learners coming back to practice and develop those respective skills. There are enough Novel Games that practitioners can rotate them in and out of a VLE to give learners variety or to match the topic currently being taught.

Find out more at http://www.novelgames.com/gamelicense/link.php.

Example...

Parade of Games in PowerPoint provides practitioners and/or learners with games and game templates for educational use. The games and game templates are available for download in PowerPoint format.

Some of the games included are...

• Bingo,
• Correct Order
• Diagram It
• eMail Game
• Flash Cards
• Idea Map
• Jeopardy
• Multiple Choice
• Scavenger hunt
• What is the truth?
• Triples
• Trivia
• What am I?
• Word Jumble
• Word search
• Who wants to be a...

If learning providers are looking to create review-style games to use as group activities, the templates on Parade of Games in PowerPoint may be a good resource for them.

Go to http://facstaff.uww.edu/jonesd/games/index.html to find out more. 

Note: The Parade of Games in PowerPoint was developed by faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.

Stop Disasters could be a great game for geography and Earth science practitioners to use in their teaching.

Stop Disasters is a game designed for learners to learn about...

• natural disasters,
  
• disaster prevention, and
  
• city design.

There are five game scenarios that learners can play. They can plan to prepare for...

• hurricanes,
• floods,
• earthquakes,
• wildfires, and
• tsunamis.

Note: The scenarios are set in geographically accurate contexts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean.

For practitioners, Stop Disasters provides...

• fact sheets to distribute to learners about each type of natural disaster.
• teaching guides,
• lesson plan ideas, and
• links to additional reference materials.

Find out more by visiting http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/playgame.html.

Note: We are informed that "In order to be successful in this game students have to have knowledge of geography concepts and Earth science concepts"; now there is a challenge!

 

 

• Going for an eye test
• Newham Easy Read
• Positive Behaviour Support
• Resources for inclusive teaching
• Trans-active
• Wicked! BSL TV
  
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

The Look Up website provides information on eye care and vision for people with learning disabilities.

One of the features is a DVD - You and Eye for adults with a learning disability. It's about the importance of eye care and vision. The video clips can be watched online and are available in 5 chapters/video-clips.

Transition and beyond...

Newham Easy Read website is about the issues that face young people with a learning disability when they leave school or college.

As you would expect, some of the information is geared towards London and the Newham area but there is lots of information which could be used by anyone in the UK.

There are sections on...

• relationships,
  
• travel training,
  
• leisure,
  
• work,
• money,
• support,
  
• day services,
• living on your own,
• safety and
  
• education

Why reinvent the wheel? Use these resources as inspiration to produce a similar resource for your location and/or direct learners to appropriate sections/pages/resources.

Find out more at http://newhameasyread.org/. 

Icon Talk are a company dedicated to visual teaching strategies and support for persons with autism and other special learning challenges. Their primary goal is to promote independent functioning across developmental areas, including academic, vocational, communication, daily living, and play and leisure.

I came across this Positive Behaviour Support in the Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs Blog. It is from the Icon Talk website. Called a "Fold Up" it has visual cues, first/next, tokens, and more all in one support.

Check it out at http://www.icontalk.com/downloads.html.

Additional Information:

Positive behavior support strives to use a system to understand what maintains an individual’s challenging behavior. Learners’ inappropriate behaviors are difficult to change because they are functional; they serve a purpose for the learner. These behaviors are supported by reinforcement in the environment. Functional assessment clearly describes a behaviour; identifies the contexts (events, times, and situation) that predict when behaviour will and will not occur, and identifies consequences that maintain the behaviour. It also summarizes and creates a hypothesis about the behaviour, and directly observes the behaviour and takes data to get a baseline. The positive behaviour support process involves goal identification, information gathering, hypothesis development, support plan design, implementation and monitoring.

Find out even more at http://www.answers.com/Positive+behavior+support?gwp=11&ver=2.4.0.651&method=3.

A suite of new learning resources is now available online thanks to JISC TechDis, courtesy of the successful JISC/ Higher Education Academy Collaboration initiative.

Each module shows how resources and methods can be adapted with technology, to deliver teaching more inclusively to the widest possible audience.

The modules, in the JISC TechDis ‘Teaching Inclusively Using Technology’ series, have five constituent elements. These are:

• Preparing Your Learning;
• Delivering Learning (Lecture/ Classroom);
• Delivering Learning (Practical/ Fieldwork/ Placement);
• Delivering Learning (Online); and
• Assessing Learning.

Find out more and access the resources at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/03/hea.aspx.

Visit the Teaching Inclusively project homepage in order to access all these high-quality online resources at http://www.techdis.ac.uk/getTeachingInclusively. 

Trans-active is a project from Mencap for teenagers with and without severe learning disabilities working together.

Visit http://www.trans-active.org.uk/index.htm to find out more and/or visit Teenzone which is the fun and games side of the website at http://www.trans-active.org.uk/teenz/index.htm where you will find things like Face Maker...

Wicked! <http://www.bslbt.co.uk/wicked/> is a brand-new TV series presented in British Sign Language, which sees the Wicked Campervan travelling around the UK in search of stories in the Deaf Community.

In each episode, there is plenty to see - from film reviews to local profiles, films from deaf filmmakers and an exciting main story - in a different part of the country every week!The first episode can be viewed on the website <http://www.bslbt.co.uk/wicked/programmes/episode_one/episode_one/>

• Portable Windows Movie Maker
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

A portable Windows Movie Maker has surfaced which apart from being portable, adds a few dozen extra features to the movie editing tool. It’s still version 2.1.4026.0, the version that comes with Windows XP+SP2, but with news effects making it slightly better than the installed one.

It has...

• 147 transitions effects and
  
• 76 video effects,
  
• more than double than what the original edition has.
  

The portability is an added advantage.

What’s more? We are informed that "It works on Windows XP, Vista and Seven".

Go to http://devrexster.googlepages.com/mmk to download and/or to find out more.

Thanks to Instant Fundas <http://www.instantfundas.com/> for this link.

• No Articles this month
  

• BBC News Globe
• Tough times for untrained young

The BBC Learning Open Lab has released the prototype of a new news display, the BBC News Globe.

The BBC News Globe is a continuously rotating globe that displays news from two RSS feeds published by the BBC. As the globe rotates a new placemarker appears for each new story in the RSS feeds.

BBC News Globe provides learners with way to find news stories by location, providing a bit of geographic context for learners reading the news. 

Find out more at http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/openlab/prototype-newsglobe.php.

Campaigners are calling for extra help for vulnerable young people who are suffering most from unemployment in the downturn.

Unemployment among those aged 18 to 24 is going up twice as fast as the average rate and teenagers leaving school at 16 for work are having an especially tough time - almost one in three cannot get jobs.

Read the full article, by Kim Catcheside, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7948857.stm. 

• A cut and paste affair
• A new collection of College Voices
• Can you teach an old dog with young tricks?
• 'It's the capital programme all over again'
  
• Only a third of students expect a good job offer
• Record numbers of young not in work or education
• Teens can get parenting qualifications
• You don't need academics to tell you that phonics work

Thanks to the internet, it's easier than ever to plagiarise - but as those who have been copied or caught copying will testify, it is still far from acceptable practice - article by Huma Qureshi.

Shakespeare did it (well, sort of). Martin Luther King did it (allegedly, in his doctoral thesis). Even some journalists do it. Last year, Adam Smith of the Birmingham Mail infamously admitted to it in a drunken video on YouTube. His public confession made national headlines.

With examples like these, what's so wrong with a bit of plagiarism?

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/18/university-life-academic-cheating.

Out of the ordinary

A new collection of College Voices reveals the power of lifelong learning to transform people's lives

-article by Janet Murray

"I've always been fascinated by people. Not the famous faces plastered across our newspapers and TV screens, but the "ordinary" people I met in day-to-day life: the mechanic who services my car, the salon owner who cuts my hair, the accountant who patiently manages my finances. So when I was asked to take on College Voices in early 2007, a weekly slot based on interviews with people who work or study at colleges, I jumped at the chance."

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/31/college-voices-janet-murray.

Is phonics suitable only for teaching children to read? A new study proposes to show it can help adults too - article by Peter Kingston

The phonics argument appears to have been cut and dried, at least so far as the teaching of children in primary schools is concerned. In the world of adult literacy, however, the battle continues. Opinions remain divided on the effectiveness for older learners of this method, which connects the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/14/literacy-adult-education-phonics.

Colleges face another fiasco as they are told there isn't enough money to fund the Train to Gain programme

Another flagship government policy administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is heading for major cash problems because of surging demand.

As Sir Andrew Foster was presenting his devastating report last week on what went wrong with the national college building programme, the LSC was sending out warning letters about Train to Gain.

Read Peter Kingston's article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/07/colleges-train-to-gain-programme. 

Only one in three of this year's university graduates expect to get a job for which they are qualified after three years of study, according to a large survey of the class of 2009.

Confidence in the job market has hit an all-time low, with more than half of university leavers describing their prospects as "very limited".

Read the full article, by Polly Curtis, at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/29/graduates-work-and-careers.

Figures published by Tories show record number of young are not in work or education - article by Anthea Lipsett

Record numbers of young people are not in any form of education, employment or training (Neets), according to figures published 20th April 2009 by the Conservatives.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/20/neets-young-people-education.

Courses taken at approved training centres, which feature nutrition and citizenship, now roughly equivalent to a GCSE

Pregnant teenagers and young parents in the UK are to have the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications in parenting for the first time, it was announced this week (April 15th 2009).

The qualifications, which are roughly equivalent to a GCSE, will be offered at approved training centres around the country from September this year after being accredited nationally by the Edexcel exam board.

Read the full article, by Ali Ahmad, at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/15/young-people-parenting-qualifications.

If ever an academic exercise threatened to be long-winded and expensive, it was the one flagged up in last week's Education Guardian, in a piece about the merits - or otherwise - of teaching illiterate adults to read by phonic methods. A proposal to "carry out a substantial, randomly controlled trial comparing phonics with other mainstream methods of teaching adult literacy has been put to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) by a team of academics from London University's Institute of Education and the University of York".

Read the full article, by Eric Allison, at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/21/prisons-and-probation.

• Subject Learning Coach (SLC) and STEM Programmes: Subject coaching networks

An open letter to Learning Providers...

Building on the strengths of last autumn's events and looking to a bright and challenging year ahead, the Teaching and Learning Programme (TLP) brings you the next phase of our subject coaching networks.

These have taken place this March with a summer series to follow later in June. These events are for:-

• SLCs from the 12 priority subject areas
• Advanced Learning Coaches
• Colleagues considering becoming an ALC or SLC
• Managers
• Anyone else interested in joining the Programme.

The subject coaching networks are a valuable opportunity for ALCs and SLCs to explore our exciting and innovative approaches to teaching and learning in their own subject and across a range of generic themes.

At the spring networks, there will be an opportunity to obtain a copy of the new Rethinking induction resource and to have time during the day to explore and practise the approaches and techniques contained within. You can also find out about how this useful resource can support learners as they begin their learning journey. The resource provides advice and ideas on planning a learner's induction programme, whether it lasts a few days, or where a longer period is used to establish a solid foundation on which future learning can be built.

The networks will include facilitation by our new SLC network facilitators who are practitioners working alongside our subject specialists and mentors, preparing to take a much greater role in network planning and delivery in the future.

All activities at these subject coaching networks support the Institute for Learning (IfL) CPD requirement.

We expect demand for these events to be high so places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. You can book your place online by visiting the SLC website.

Please visit: www.subjectlearningcoach.net or call our helpline: 0845 6029154.

When and where will the subject coaching networks be held?

There will be separate subject coaching networks for...

• Science,
• Engineering and
• Mathematics in each of the regions led by the STEM consortium.

They are advertised separately on www.subjectlearningcoach.net

To find out further details and book any of these events please visit www.subjectlearningcoach.net If you have any questions, please contact us on 0845 602 9154.

OTHER DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Subject Learning Coach Professional Training Programme

We continue to offer the Subject Learning Coach training and the dates for training are listed below.

• COVENTRY, WARWICK UNIVERSITY: Thursday 4th June 2009

• No articles this month
  

• One less open source licence to worry about
• Procuring Software is not (even) as simple as buying a car
  

On the 16th April 2009  it was announced that the number of licences has been reduced from nine to eight...

Read the full blog entry at http://osswatch.jiscinvolve.org/2009/04/16/one-less-open-source-licence-to-worry-about/.

Here at OSS Watch we often get asked things like “which is the best open source twitter alternative?” or “which is the best open source financial managment tool?”

We don’t answer these questions, and for good reason. Instead we focus on helping people understand how to find and evaluate open source software solutions. In this blog I’m going to try and explain why we take this approach.

Read the full blog at http://osswatch.jiscinvolve.org/2009/04/15/procuring-software-is-not-even-as-simple-as-buying-a-car/.

• No articles this month
  

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...

 

• Hyperwords - Lisa

John

this was probably in the emagazine in 1963 but I've only just found it and think it's fab!

http://www.hyperwords.net/

Lisa

"No Lisa, you found it first!" I have to agree with you, it is indeed an excellent add-in for FireFox and Flock Browsers. A must for learners and for many practitioners." aclJohn

I've found a radio station that plays nothing but recorded bird songs. I like it very much, I hope some of you will as well...

Visit http://birdsongradio.com/. 

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), funded by the UK HE and FE funding bodies to provide world-class leadership in the innovative use of ICT to support education and research, has its own YouTube Channel.

There are currently 17 video clips available; they include...

• Designing Spaces
• In their own words
• Web 2.0 Rights
• Flourish PCD ePortfolios
• World War 1 Poets
• News Film online
• The John Johnson Collection
• British Cartoon Archive (My personal Favourite)
  
• The Cabinet Papers 1915 - 1977

Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/JISCmedia to access these clips.

If you are a member of the Microblogging service Twitter, you can now receive updates from the JISC RSC-Northwest by following us at http://twitter.com/JISCRSCNW

The April issue of the Spotlight science magazine is now available. Written for Intute by science writer David Bradley, Spotlight contains topical science articles and news features.

This issue has articles on...

• the synthesis of a new material with a complicated pore structure,
• the potential use of graphene in computer chips, and
• the possible relationship between certain volcanoes and global warming.

Available at http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/spotlight/.

Could you be working smarter? Could your staff/learners be more mobile? How can technology help?

I've had an email from Microsoft UK that I think a number of you may find interesting.

Many Learning Providers already have technologies in place that enable them to work in new ways. For example, finding ways to achieve more on the move is one cost-effective and positive way to adapt during the downturn. In fact small businessess with fully 'mobile' workforces, supported by Adult and Community Learning Providers, and Work Based Learning Providers, are more likely to forecast growth in 2009 compared to businesses without remote working (Source: Crimson Business Ltd 'Mobile working linked with growth' Feb 2009 ).

The latest technology isn't just for big business/learning providers; it's for smaller companies/learning providers to take advantage of too.

To make your 'business' more agile, ensure you are staying up to date with the latest technology. Take advantage of the solutions out there - many are effective, affordable and very easy to use, some are even free...

I know that an increasing number of learning providers are using Google Docs, Open Office, Protopage, and other tools to save money and/or work smarter or more collaboratively.

To add to the increasing list of possible solutions download the free publication from Microsoft by clicking the link below.

Click here to download the How to adapt and succeed... pdf document.

Apparently Twitter can be 'work relevant'- I'm sceptical - it seems very much a Marmite application - you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it - to be fair many practitioners said that about blogs or even the Internet not so long ago!

Intute features a number of experimental Twitter channels: which may be 'work relevant' for you i.e.

Intute... 

• Economics - http://twitter.com/intuteeconomics;
• Psychology - http://twitter.com/IntutePsychUK;
• Business - http://twitter.com/intutebusiness;
• Politics - http://twitter.com/intutepolitics;
• Education - http://twitter.com/intuteeducation;
• EuroStudies - http://twitter.com/intuteeuro;
• HLST (Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism) - http://twitter.com/intutehlst and
• Visual Arts - http://twitter.com/intutevisualart.

• Australian Screen
• Non Fiction Videos
• Podcast Lectures: Better Than the Real Deal?
• Wikipedia in less than six minutes
• World Digital Library
  

• Also take a look at Google News Timeline in the Genealogy - History Section
• compfight in the General Section.
  

The Australian National Film and Sound Archive provides free and worldwide access to over 1,000 film and television titles – a treasury of down-under video 100 years in the making.

More details... 

• australianscreen is one of the access and outreach programs operated by the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). The NFSA is the national audiovisual archive, collecting, preserving and sharing the nation’s moving image and recorded sound heritage.
• It is a promotional and educational resource providing worldwide online access to information about the Australian film and television industry.
• It contains information about and excerpts from a wide selection of Australian feature films, documentaries, television programs, newsreels, short films, animations, and home-movies produced over the last 100 years.
• It also includes teachers’ notes that identify and describe the educational values of many of the film clips. These resources are developed in partnership with the NFSA by Curriculum Corporation through The Le@rning Federation.
• The site brings together material from the vast collections of the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Archives of Australia, the ABC, SBS, and AIATSIS in a unique collaboration. All material is made available with the permission of the copyright holders.
• The site is curated by experts, specially commissioned for australianscreen.
• The site is freely available.

Access this resource at http://australianscreen.com.au/.

NonFiction Videos is a new website featuring documentary-style videos.

NonFiction Videos currently has 125 films in its collection and more films are being added regularly.

Note: - Some of the videos contain material that you may not want learners to view.

NonFiction Videos makes it possible to embed high-quality documentary films into a course blog or website or eXe Document or VLE for learners to watch outside the learning environment.

Take a look yourself at http://www.nonfictionvideos.com/.

'iTunes university' better than the real thing

Here’s an interesting 'fact' reported by The New Scientist… A study coming out of The State University of New York ”measured the performance of 64 students, half of whom watched a lecture via podcast and the other half who attended the live lecture.

Read the full article at http://www.oculture.com/2009/03/podcast_lectures_better_than_the_real_deal.html. 

This tutorial from North Carolina State University Libraries is worth checking out.

In under 6 minutes “Wikipedia: Beneath the Surface” offers up a great overview on this collaborative community.

Take a look yourself at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/wikipedia/.

The World Digital Library makes available, for free, nearly 1200 primary documents and images from collections around the world.

Sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the mission of the World Digital Library is to promote the study and understanding of cultures.

The World Digital Library can be searched by

• date,
• era,
• country,
• continent,
• topic, and
• type of resource.

The World Digital Library aims to be accessible to as many people as possible by providing search tools and content descriptions in seven languages. The World Digital Library can also be searched by clicking the map on the homepage.

The wealth of image based resources along with the document based resources makes the World Digital Library a great resource especially for practitioners & learners of history or cultural studies.

Go to http://www.wdl.org/en/ to find out more.

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

• Art BABBLE
• Art Inspired Poetry
  • Also see The Art of Penguin Science Fiction in the Design Section
    
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section.

ArtBabble, a new video website for the museum & art world, has opened its virtual doors.

Created by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, ArtBabble brings together videos from various arts institutions (MoMA, SFMOMA, PBS, the New Public Library, etc) and presents them to users in a clean, organized way. The footage, often produced in high definition, features...

• interviews with...
  • artists and
  • curators,
• documentaries and
• art installation videos.

Collectively, they give learners a more direct way to “experience the life of museums.”  

Go take a look yourself at http://www.artbabble.org/. 

For art and poetry lovers:

“Each month, TATE ETC. publishes new poetry by leading poets such as John Burnside, Moniza Alvi, Adam Thorpe, Alice Oswald and David Harsent who respond to works from the Tate Collection."

In March Roger McGough presented his poem, Cadeau, based on Man Ray’s work of the same name.

Visit the art and poetry at http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue15/poemmarch09.htm.

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

• Business Spotlight
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

A website for both Practitioners & Learners of business English.

Visitors will find a wide range of resources including the Business with Bob video clips that currently cover...

• Leading Meetings
• Starting Effectively
• Ending the conversation
• Building rapport and
• Getting Started

The clips can be found at http://www.business-spotlight.de/language-skills/videos/meetings/leading-meetings.

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

• Bright Settings
• Food Life Skills
  
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section
  

If your learners do not know how to set up a table for formal dinner and are not sure where to place forks, spoons wineglasses… etc, direct them to Setup-Tableware. A simple web tool which can show users how to do it.

• Check the items that will be served and
• click “Set the table” button, 

Setup-Tableware presents an image showing what to place where.

Find out if this tool will be useful to learners by visiting http://www.wholesale-table-linens.com/setup-tableware.html. 

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Food Life Skills course.

A set of resources produced to enable practitioners to develop their own structured food skills/cooking course with young learners - a practitioners' guide is provided.

The BNF Food Life Skills course provides opportunities for learners to:

• have hands-on experiences with food, i.e. cook;
• learn about and gain confidence in basic food hygiene and preparation skills;
• learn about healthier eating through practical food work;
• apply simple budgeting skills to food choices they make;
• work independently and in small groups to develop understanding of wider needs;
• become a better informed consumer.

Practiotioners are encouraged to download and use the free materials in schools, colleges or community groups. 

Take a closer look at http://www.nutrition.org.uk/home.asp?siteId=43&sectionId=1130&parentSection=300&which=2.

New and improved! 22 videos of food skills and recipes being demonstrated on the Food - a fact of life website

Go to http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/.

For example...

 

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

• "A Cunning Plan!"
• Augmented Reality Solution - MagicSymbol 2008 by Inition
• Dekaf: Generate Abstract Art Compositions
  
• Little Red Riding Hood For Engineers
• The Art of Penguin Science Fiction
  
  • See "Another Cunning Plan!"in the Land-based Studies Section.
    
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

SmallBluePrinter is a simple plan creator that lets users quickly and easily draw plans online.

The application is straight forward and no designing skills are required, simply grab walls, doors and windows from the menu and arrange them the way you want.

Once a plan is ready, users can...

• view it in isometric view from above,
• take 3D walk through and
• print it out.

The only negative side is, when using the online version, the plans apparently can't be saved; however using Snippy and/or CamStudio screens can be captured at any stage.

Take a look at http://www.smallblueprinter.com/sbp.html. 

The SmallBluePrinter software can be downloaded at http://www.smallblueprinter.com/download.html (this will allow saving of plans). 

MagicSymbol is a versatile interactive technology developed by Inition Ltd, London.

Decaf is an online mashup application (of Degrapha <http://www.degrafa.org/> and Adobe Kuler <http://kuler.adobe.com/#>) that lets users generate abstract art compositions.

A web tool that can be used by designers to generate original patterns and abstract art compositions or by others to create computer wallpapers and printouts.

To start simply...

• type in a keyword,
• choose a background color
• Choose a shape and
• click the search button.

Dekaf will then bring a set of color palletes, clicking on one will generate full screen abstract picture made of colors that were on that pallet.

Users can...

• generate as many abstract illustrations as they need,
• print them out or
• save onto a computer using print screen button, snippy or other screen capture tools.

Oh yes and it's is Free - no sign up.

Try it out at http://visualrinse.com/dekaf/. 

Produced as part of an assignment by graphic design student Tomas Nilsson, this video is meant to be a blueprint to the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood rather than the actual story. View at http://vimeo.com/3514904 or watch the embedded clip below.

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

WOW!

This website explores the history and cover art of science fiction published by Penguin Books from 1935 to 1977.

Three questions... Why Penguin? Why science fiction? Why in the Design Section?

These simple yet striking covers gave the books a refreshing, modern look and remained in use for many years, acquiring iconic status along the way as examples of classic twentieth-century design.

This status was reaffirmed as recently as January 2009, when the UK's Royal Mail issued a commemorative set of ten stamps celebrating British Design Classics. Among the ten designs chosen to appear on the stamps were a double-decker bus, a red telephone box, the London Underground map, and the orange-and-white cover of a Penguin book. 

Visit http://www.penguinsciencefiction.org/index.html to find out more and the answers to the 3 questions.

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

• No Articles this month
  
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

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

• Car Bibles
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

CarBibles is a comprehensive auto maintenance guide, aimed at DIY car enthusiasts and ordinary vehicle owners.

There are animations and other elements that are useful resources for practitioners and/or learners. The website explains in detail how different car parts work...

• suspension,
• brakes,
• engine,
• transmission,
• steering etc.

...includes useful car maintenance tips, product reviews and general advice for car owners.

Go to http://www.carbibles.com/ to find out more.

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

• DickensURL
• Poems out Loud
• Reading for Pleasure
• Visual Dictionary
• Word Ahead
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

• Take a look at Art Inspired Poetry in the Art Section and
  • Essay Map in the Key Skills Section
  • Mad Libs in the eGames Section
  • Business Spotlight in the Business Section (Business English Resources)
    

DickensURL converts any URL to Charles Dickens' quote

URL shortening services are supposed to shorten long winded web addresses into small, easy to share and remember URLs; but not DickensURL.

DickensURL has a weird purpose as it converts URLs into passages from the works of the 19th century novelist Charles Dickens.

Just...

• enter the URL,
• hit Convert, and
• get a link made out of an inspiring quote from Dickens.

John Davey said...

"Shouldn't it be called TinyTimURL?"

Our RSC NW URL is...

http://dickensurl.com/775d/The_serjeant_was_describing_a_military_life_It_was_all_drinking_he_said_except_that_there_were_frequent_intervals_of_eating_and_lovemaking

or visit http://dickensurl.com/775d.

Try making your own DickensURL at http://dickensurl.com/.

I'm sure that English practitioners could make use of this site to provide links to course resources and include a "Who will be the first to tell me where this quote can be found?" - before you answer ours is from Barnaby Rudge.

Poems out Loud is a project by ex-laureate Robert Pinsky.

At poemsoutloud practitioners and learners will find...

• audio recordings of well-regarded contemporary poets reading their own and others’ work.

Pinsky has always postulated that love for a poem has to come before analysis, and the commentary and interviews on the website’s blog seem to be driven by that theory — focusing on the emotions surrounding reading (or writing) certain poems.

To find out more and/or to listen to Poems Out Loud go to http://poemsoutloud.net/.

Reading for Pleasure has just been launched by NIACE.

Primarily a Skills for Life resource but may be relevant for practitioners who are working with Adult Entry level groups on developing reading and story writing skills.

Reading for Pleasure has a section on Story telling which has...

• lesson plans
• ideas
• a Professional Development Unit which can be used towards the Institute of Learning CPD requirement.

The CPD story telling objectives are to develop:

• an appreciation of the importance of stories for adult learners.
• skills in locating stories with relevant themes
• an appreciation of the value of visiting storytellers and ways of using them effectively in the classroom.
• an understanding of the value of storytelling as an empathetic approach.
• an appreciation of using community resources...

...and to gain practical advice on how to get support from local libraries, the arts council and the local community.

Find out more by visiting http://www.readingforpleasure.org.uk/index.php.

The Visual Dictionary is divided into fifteen thematic categories containing more than 6,000 words defined and accompanied by images. Users can find words and definitions by browsing through the categorized images or by using the text search bar.

The Merriam Webster Visual Dictionary could be a great resource for ESOL/ESL/ EFL/Key (Functional) Skills learners and practitioners. Even if your learners are struggling to identify correct words for things, as long as they select the appropriate thematic category they can find the word by looking at the pictures.

For all learners the images can help them understand difficult definitions.

Take a look at http://visual.merriam-webster.com/.

Word Ahead is a new service offering more than 500 videos designed to help learners learn vocabulary words.

Each video consists of an American narrator pronouncing the word, reading the definition, and then reading a sentence or two using the selected word.

An animated drawing accompanies each sentence to illustrate the meaning of each word and sentence. Learners can watch the Word Ahead videos individually or as a continuous stream.

All of the Word Ahead videos can be viewed directly on the website or they can be embedded as a widget into a blog or website or eXe object etc. or even as vocabulary of the day on a learning provider's VLE

Take a closer look at http://wordahead.com/Default.aspx.

Here is the widget...

The code can be obtained from http://wordahead.com/Widget/tabid/105/Default.aspx. 

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

• Ancient Civilizations
• Kiddie Records Weekly
• Math and Reading Help
• One Minute Wonders

• Take a look at Going for an eye test in the eInclusion section

• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

Ancient Civilization from the British Museum is an interactive site looking at different civilizations from China to America, and everything in between.

The material is presented as six themes covering...

• religion,
• technology,
• trade,
• writing,
• building and
• cities.

Each section has an overview, learners can see examples by picking a highlighted area from the map. Sub-sections include illustrations and examples so when they talk about pyramids, for example, they can a explore an interactive model of a pyramid, with a more detailed map of Ancient Egypt to provide background.

It may be helpful to familiarize learners with the following points about using the site before they get started:

1. You can access the Theme Page by clicking on the museum icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. You can access all content on a particular civilization by clicking the globe icon, which takes you to an A-Z of Cultures page.
3. You can open the timeline by clicking the pocket watch icon.
4. You can get a definition of an underlined word by clicking on the word.
5. A picture or image is clickable if the cursor turns into a hand when you roll over the picture or image.
6. Close glossary and photograph windows after you have looked at them, otherwise they will remain open. If there are too many windows open at one time, you will not be able to open any new windows.

A really robust website with great information in nice manageable bites for kids and/or adults who want something more engaging than a dead-tree resource (book) to learn from!

Visit http://www.ancientcivilizations.co.uk/home_set.html to find out more.

Kiddie Records Weekly plays vintage music for children from the golden age of children’s music.

These 'records' can be downloaded (as mp3s), or listened to as streaming audio.

When originally released, several of these records came with a read-along storybook.

Kiddie Records Weekly provides digital versions of these books, allowing families to follow along just as I did in the 1950's.

The album covers are an added bonus, featuring colourful illustrations, classic childhood characters, and the long-lost art of cursive writing.

A possible resource of Family Learning, just go to http://www.kiddierecords.com/ and enjoy.

Math and Reading Help has a small collection of problem solving and logic games that could be good for learners engaged in Initial Teacher Training and/or Family Learning and/or Key Skills (Functional Skills).

Math and Reading Help has articles about and tutorials for helping children learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. The website also has some articles for parents/guardians about helping their children at home.

Take a closer look at http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org/index.html.
 

One Minute Wonders from the BBC are short videos that explore all of the amazing things that happen in one minute.

There are thirteen episodes of One Minute Wonders. Each episode consists of twenty short videos. Every episode has a corresponding quiz. Each quiz has five questions that continue to loop until the player gets all of the answers correct or time expires.

One Minute Wonders are great, short videos for Family Learning. The quizzes give children the chance to test the knowledge they acquire through the videos. These videos could be used by children individually or could be shown to a class on a whiteboard or by using a data projector.

View the video clips, quizzes etc., at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/oneminutewonders/#/home.

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

• Lightning Bug
• Take a look at The Breathing Earth - Interactive Map in the Geography section of this eMagazine
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

Lightning Bug is an online web resource to help writers of all 'types'.

Lightning Bug provides an array of tips, tricks and hints all designed to help practitioners and their learners find, develop and finish a story.

The first step...

...check out the kind of writer users are: are they...

• the active,
• private,
• linguistic,
• musical or
• artistic type of writer?

and then find out more about what the identified writing type entails.
e.g. if they are identified as...

1. linguistic writers, they might want to research and read a lot before they put pen to paper.
2. a “private” writer, they might want to keep a journal of their personal thoughts before they get into writing.

After identifying the writing type, Lightning Bug offers up all sorts of writing exercises and outside resources to help ideas off the ground. If practitioners want to get learners writing, this site is a good starting place to get them thinking.

Lightning Bug is the type of resource that could assist users in getting those creative juices flowing.

Visit http://www.lightningbug.com.au/ to investigate the type of writer you are. 

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

• compfight
• E-Books Directory
• Helping learners to succeed
• How to study
• iRuler: Displays A Ruler On Your Computer Screen
• Searching Twitter
• The Relativity of Size
  • Also see - The Breathing Earth - Interactive Map in the Geography section of this eMagazine
• Why don't you suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

Compfight is an image search engine that allows users to search Flickr for Creative Commons licensed images that can be used in documents and digital presentations.

Compfight gives users the choice of searching by...

• keyword or
• Flickr tag word.

Compfight could be a great resource for practitioners and/or learners to find images they can use in digital presentations.

Note: If Family Learning practitioners do have young learners using Compfight to find images, remember to turn on the safe search option.

Go to http://compfight.com/ to try it out.

E-Books Directory is a daily growing list of freely downloadable eBooks, documents and lecture notes found all over the internet. You can submit and promote your own eBooks, add comments on already posted books or just browse through the directory and download anything you need.

Categories include...

• Arts & Photography
• Biographies & Memoirs
• Business & Investing
• Children's Books
• Comics & Graphic Novels
• Computers & Internet
• Cooking, Food & Wine
• Engineering
• Entertainment
• Health, Mind & Body
• History
• Humanities
• Law
• Literature & Fiction
• Medicine
• Nonfiction
• Outdoors & Nature
• Religion & Spirituality
• Science
• Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Travel

Find out more at http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/.

The Study Guides and Strategies web site has been researched, authored, maintained and supported by Joe Landsberger as an international, learner-centric, educational public service.

Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, and distribute individual Study Guides in print format in non-commercial educational settings that benefit learners.

I've found some very useful resources that, with a little adaption, could be made more interactive and engaging for learners. The fact that they are in many different languages allows them to be resources that can be used in MFL or just to allow learners to work in their 'mother tongue'.

Find out more at http://www.studygs.net/index.htm. 

"Do your learners need to study more?" or, more importantly "Do you have learners who need to learn how to study?"

Some learners are better at studying than others. By imparting study skills, practitioners can teach learners more effective ways to learn.

Where to start?

At How-to-Study.com users can find strategies for overcoming the most tricky subjects learners face, including...

• word problems in mathematics,
• long spelling words,
• writing research papers,
• abstract skills like setting goals,
• time management,
• good listening skills, and
• much more...

All the study strategies are thorough and free.

Visit How-to-Study.com at http://www.how-to-study.com/.

iRuler is a web page that simply displays a ruler on your computer screen. Just go to the site and it will automatically detects you monitor resolution and show the ruler (in inches and centimeters).

Note: No need to hunt for a ruler just "Print it out to use it".

iRuler can be found at http://www.iruler.net/.

A colleague of mine was discussing the use of Twitter  in our supported learning provider libraries, and educationally I wondered what I could find; the quick research undertaken came up with the following...

• 21 Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8;
  
• 25 Interesting ways to use Wordle in the Classroom http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_157dpbsg9c5;
• 38 Interesting Ways to use your Interactive Whiteboard http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_106c9fm8j;
• 22 Interesting Ways to use Google Earth in the Classroom http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_175fp5qg9d3;
• 17 Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in the Classroom http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_8323t58h3ft;
• 39 Interesting Ways to use your Pocket Video Camera in the Classroom http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_6tv55j7g9;

Note: you may have to have a Google Docs Account to view these Resources

A captivating interactive website from Nikon called Universcale, which is made for an interactive whiteboard!

Today, using the electron microscope and astronomical telescope, we can see the objects which we have not been aware of its existence before. Are you and/or your learners able to fathom, or even roughly grasp, these sizes? I can't!

Visit Universcale and experience the sizes of various objects at http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/universcale/index.htm.

Overview of Geography Resources included in this eMagazine...

• The Breathing Earth - Interactive Map
• Outline Maps
  • Also take a look at Stop Disasters! in the eGames Section
  • Flowing Data in the Mathematics Section
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

Breathing Earth is an interactive map demonstrating...

• CO2 emissions,
• birth rates, and
• death rates globally and by individual countries.

From the moment that you first visit Breathing Earth it starts counting the number of births occurring worldwide.

Placing your cursor over any country on the map reveals information about...

• birthrate,
• death rate, and rate of
• CO2 emissions.

One of the additional resources linked to Breathing Earth is an ecological footprint calculator.
Using this calculator learners can...

• calculate their personal footprints,
• take quizzes, and
• learn about the ecological footprints of various businesses.

Take a look at http://www.breathingearth.net/.

Sometimes Geography practitioners and learners just need a good old-fashioned paper outline maps.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt offers these for free on their Education Place website.

At the Education Place both practitioners and learnerss can find labeled and unlabeled physical and political maps. All of the maps open as PDF files for convenient printing and photocopying.

Take a closer look at http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/.

If learners want to quickly find out an average weather temperature for a particular location on the globe they should head to ClimateMap.

It is an online resource in which users can view average temperature and rainfall data for thousands of global locations presented in the easy to read charts.

The application provides a map where locations are marked with dots. Hovering over any of the dots gives users the location name, and clicking brings up a detailed report showing ...

• average temperature,
• rainfall and
• daylight charts.

Head to http://www.climate-charts.com/World-Climate-Index-Map.html it's Free and no sign up.

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

• Academic Picture Book
• Google News Timeline
  
• Life

• Also take a look at Ancient Civilizations in the Family Learning Section,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created and developed an interesting project called Visualizing Cultures.

Visualizing Cultures...

• consists of thirteen visual narratives accompanied by essays.
  
• combines visual narratives and essays to tell "the history of Japan in the modern world".
  

The essays...

• can be read on the website or
  
• downloaded as PDF's for printing.
  

Each visual narrative consists of several sections, each section consists of ten to fifteen images with captions.

Visualizing Cultures could be used as a model for learners to use so they can create visual narratives of their own.

Take a closer look at http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/home/index.html.

Note: According to the MIT website, Visualizing Cultures has plans to add visual narratives about China.

A resource for practitioners and/or learners involved with current events and or 20th - 21st Century history

The Google News Timeline allows you to search for news stories by...

• event,
  
• a person's name, or
  
• date (mm/dd/yyyy).

Search results include links to...

• stories,
• images, and
• videos.

In some cases a search will yield results from archived magazines and newspapers.

I've found that...

• searches for more recent events yield more results than searches for older events;
• as a research tool, the best feature of the Google News Timeline is the ease with which you can find related results by dragging the timeline forward or backward with your mouse.

Note: Google News Timeline is still in development in the Google Lab; what has been made available thus far is a promising research tool for history and current events practitioners and learners. Through the use of the timeline, learners will be able to...

• choose an event
• read about the lead-up
• read about the event
• read about the aftermath of the event.

Try it out at http://newstimeline.googlelabs.com/.

The LIFE website offers great visual resources appropriate for wide variety of classroom uses.

The LIFE pictures website is a the result of a combined effort by LIFE and Getty Images to create a collection of nearly seven million high quality images. There are five categories and many subcategories of images. The five main categories are...

• News, (offers images of current news as well as "this day in history" images)
• Celebrity,
• Travel,
• Animals, and
• Sports.

The homepage of LIFE offers slideshows of popular photographs from each of these five categories.

The LIFE collection of images is a great resource for anyone that teaches history and or culture of the 20th century. The images could also be used as story starters for a Creative writing assignment.

View what is on offer at http://www.life.com/.

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

• Mop Shots
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

MopShots is the online hairstyle lookbook from Citysearch where users can submit photos to show off their ‘dos, and the professionals can boast about those of their customers’, too.

Submissions to MopShots are reviewed by a team of established experts (USA) — The MopShots Dictators — they also provide advice and select which shots get featured on the site. There’s no charge: MopShots are chosen solely on the basis of how much The Dictators like a look.

In their words...

"MopShots is the online lookbook for hairstyle inspiration and local salon/stylist recommendations. We’re always on the prowl looking for the hottest, latest and greatest in hair..."

It seems that you need to live in the USA to become involved by taking and submitting Photographs and...

• Submissions must be at least 245 pixels wide and tall.
• Each submission must have 4 pictures of the haircut:
  
  • a front,
  • back,
  • left side and
  • right side shot for that (almost) 360° view.
• MopShots will crop each shot: especially for long hair, make sure the entire cut fits into a square frame.
• The submission form is found at http://mopshots.com/submit. (t may be worth a go to see if the UK can submit)

A resource worth investigating, if only for examples/inspiration, at http://mopshots.com/.

Overview of Key Skills Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Blink It On
• Essay Map
• In Pictures
• Maths Worksheet Creator
• My Guide
• Skills for Life Core Curriculum
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

• Take a look at Word Ahead and Visual Dictionary in the English Language - Literature Section and
  • Math and Reading Help in the Family Learning Section
  • Mad Libs in the eGames Section
  • PhotoFace in the eAdministration section

For those practitioners who have learners at Entry 3/ Level 1 who are "reluctant learners" this interactive resource may be for you.

Bling it on develops literacy, language and numeracy skills.

The game was designed to hook reluctant offender learners and their families into a ‘first step to learning’ The subject matter of driving cars was chosen to appeal to male learners and has been piloted in prisons .Developers claim initial feedback is promising!

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

Step by Step Help with Constructing Essays

Essay Map is a handy tool from Read Write Think.

Essay Map provides learners with step by step guidance in the construction of an informational essay. It is particularly good for helping learners visualise the steps needed to construct good introductory and conclusion paragraphs.

After users complete all of the steps in the Essay Map, the essay outline can be printed.

Essay Map is a convenient tool for anyone that teaches key skills - writing informational essays.

Take a closer look at http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/essaymap/.

Finding engaging 'Adult Reading Material', for Key (Functional) Skills learners, can be difficult; the same applies to learners in ESOL/ESL/EFL etc. 

The BBC News website called In Pictures shows visitors interesting pictures that have a sentence about each one describing what is happening.

Reading the descriptive sentence, making a note of any new words, could be a key way to improve learner vocabulary and understanding of grammar and word order. With wonderful images to help learners understand the text, they can keep informed about the world, develop their vocabulary and become a better conversationalist.

Most of the pictures are in sequences, so visitors, to the website, can read about a topic or just select the pictures of the day each day. 

Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/default.stm to access the BBC 'In Pictures'

Just think how much time this tool will save you on...

• producing worksheets
• marking worksheets

Noetic Learning's mathematics worksheet creation tool has a free section and a premium members only section.

The free section provides seven six easy-to-use templates (six useful ones in the UK as the money section is in $) for creating math worksheets on the topics of...

• addition,
• subtraction,
• multiplication,
• division,
• fractions,
• number lines, and
• money.

I've tried a number of these 'templates' and found it very easy to quickly create the interactive, self marking, timed worksheets.

There is no doubt in my mind that Noetic Learning's math worksheet creator is an excellent tool for mathematics/key (functional) skills practitioners that need to quickly create mathematics practice activities that are both timed and self marking!

Try it out at http://www.noetic-learning.com/mathdrill/index.jsp.

Note: there are some free samples of those topics available to premium members; and Membership is US$9.95/year.

Myguide is a free, engaging introduction to computer and Internet skills.

It can be used by individuals and by any organisation, including FE colleges, training providers and adult learning providers.

Users can learn alone and at their own pace or as part of a formal course, getting help with...

• emails,
• the internet,
• ‘e-safety’,
• online shopping and
• online public services.

myguide is designed to help learners and those who are excluded from the benefits of digital technologies, including disadvantaged groups.

Visit http://www.myguide.gov.uk/myguide/MyguideHome.do.

Thanks to Kev Brace, RSC West Midlands, for this link.

The Pre entry Curriculum framework is available on the Excellence Gateway

Visitors will be asked to register to access the information.

The Pre entry Curriculum framework at the Excellence Gateway is worth exploring.

It is fully interactive and provides examples of how to integrate...

• numeracy,
• literacy and
• communication.

There is an example...

• Scheme of work,
• Individual Learning Plan,
• Individual targets and
• Lesson plan available at the Holistic overview <http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/curriculum_preentry/>

Each element of the curriculum also has example activities and there are a wide range of supporting documents.

Visit http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=sflcurriculum to find out more.

This online resource was created in order to provide users with resources to help them learn English.

Wijng.com is originally from Germany, providing learners with a number of videos and other resources so they can practice and improve the way they speak and think in English.

With this site learners are able to revise the most important grammar topics and use the practice exercises to improve their skills.

Visit http://english.wijng.com/ to find out more.

Overview of Land-based Studies Resources included in this eMagazine...

• "Another Cunning Plan!"
• Land-based or media?

Garden Planner is an online planning tool.

Arrange...

• plants,
• trees,
• buildings and
• objects using an easy to use 'drag and drop' interface.

Use tools to quickly create...

• paving,
• paths and
• fences.

Then produce a high quality color print out of your design.

Note: the online FREE Version does not allow users to save their plans. However using Snippy and/or CamStudio screens can be captured at any stage.

Find out more at http://www.smallblueprinter.com/garden/index.html where a downloadable version, which allows saving (at a cost-approx US$19.95) is available.

This may have been inspired by ‘one man and his dog’ but is it a resource for land-based studies or media? You decide…

Overview of Language Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Languages ICT
  • Also see PhotoFace in the eAdministration section
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

The Languages ICT website is the result of collaboration between CILT, the National Centre for Language Teaching, and ALL, the Association for Language Learning.

An excellent resource for languages practitioners aspiring to make better, more effective use of ICT in teaching and learning, offering...

• a wealth of resources,
• case studies and
• tried and tested ideas for lessons

...involving the effective use of ICT in education.

The main website also contains the ICT Outlook section, the aim of which is to keep readers up to date with key developments and events in the field of ICT and MFL during the current year, as well as to throw a spotlight on major initiatives, developments and events that have taken place during the previous year.

Find out more at http://languages-ict.org.uk/default.htm. 

Overview of Mathematics Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Flowing Data
• Interactivate
• What's Special about this number?
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section
  • See also Make tunes and learn about maths in the Music Section

FlowingData explores how designers, statisticians, and computer scientists are using data to understand ourselves better - mainly through data visualization.

Money spent, reps at the gym, time you waste, and personal information you enter online are all forms of data.

How can we understand these data flows?

Data visualization lets non-experts make sense of it all. 

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

In their words...

"The goals of Interactivate are the creation, collection, evaulation, and dissemination of interactive Java-based courseware for exploration in science and mathematics." 

Interactivate provides...

• a variety of tools and activities to help teach mathematics.
• lesson plans. All the tools you need to follow the plans are on the site.

Interactivate’s Lesson Plans and Discussions resources can be great resources for those engaged in Initial Teacher Training.

Interactivate is free on the web at http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/.

What's Special About This Number? is an interesting list of facts about numbers.

Every number on the list is accompanied by a description of what makes that number unique. In most cases the description contains a link to a further explanation of the terms used in the description.

Find out more by visiting http://www.stetson.edu/%7Eefriedma/numbers.html.

Overview of Media Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Icon Pot
• In Pictures
• Link TV
• Live News Cameras
• Preloaders
• YouCube
  
• Take a look at Land-based or Media? in the Land-based Studies Section and
  • Augmented Reality Solution - MagicSymbol 2008 by Inition in the Design Section
  • Little Red Riding Hood For Engineers in the Design Section
  • Google News Timeline in the Genealogy - History Section.
    
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

IconPot lists free icon collections for web developers and designers.

The icons are all on one page and sorted by type

• Social Media icons,
• Twitter icon,
• Ecommerce icons etc.

Icons listed on this site are free to download both for personal and commercial purposes, with no required backlinks/credit to the author.

• Browse icon sets,
• view number of icons included in each package,
• see specific package restrictions (if any) and
• click the green “Download” button to download the icons set from the author’s website.

What more does anybody need? Find out more at http://www.iconpot.com/.

The BBC News website called In Pictures shows visitors interesting pictures that have a sentence about each one describing what is happening.

Most of the pictures are in sequences, so visitors, to the website, can read about a topic or just select the pictures of the day each day. The website provides many examples, for practitioners and learners, of how multimedia can be used effectively to communicate.

Many learners, who are on media/photographic courses, may also like to see their photographs on the BBC website; there is some information at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/7746391.stm about where to send them.

Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/default.stm to access the BBC 'In Pictures'

Link TV, a news video resource that allows users to create news video remixes...

Link TV's video editing tool allows users to create their own mix of news stories in one video. Link TV's video editing tool is called Know the News. <http://www.linktv.org/knowthenews>

Using Know the News learners can...

• grab news clips from Link TV's library of news
• mix selected clips together to create a unique news show.

Link TV's news library contains segments from major news outlets around the world.

The process of creating a news video is fairly straight-forward...

• Watch and select video clips to place on a timeline,
• organize the clips through a drag and drop feature, then
• add text narrations using the video text editor.
• After previewing the video it can be published on the Know the News network <http://www.linktv.org/knowthenews/remix>.

To see examples of academic uses of the Know the News video editor, visit the Know the News wiki. <http://wiki.knowthenews.tv/>

Videos published on the Know the News network can be rated by viewers. The rating system asks viewers to rate videos on fairness, accuracy, presentation, and trustworthiness.

Go to http://www.linktv.org/ to find out more.

Note: Link TV is looking for educators to help them create learning guides. Link TV is interested in having teachers contribute learning guides for their One Nation Many Voices project. Link TV is offering teachers an honorarium for creating and piloting the learning guides in their classrooms. If you are interested in participating visit the educators' page on Link TV.

LiveNewsCameras.com’s motto: all the news.

LiveNewsCameras features live streaming video feeds from TV stations all over the globe. I particularly like the clickable map — An ideal resource for those studying languages perhaps? Note: the map is made with Google Maps, so it should be a familiar interface, click on any one of the markers to watch the news delivered.

LiveNewsCameras can help practitioners and learners keep track of current events, as well as accessing different points of view from around the world.

Take a closer look at http://www.livenewscameras.com/ or my favourite, the interactive map at http://www.livenewscameras.com/map.html. 

Preloaders is an online preloader maker which lets you generate animated gif preloaders out of available presets.

These preloaders are used for displaying next to ‘Now Loading’ message, however "It isn't the software, it is how you use it"; use the gifs anywhere you want.

• Select the type of preloader you want,
• pick background/foreground colour,
• set the size, speed and then
• Press “Generate preloader” button.
• Wait for your preloader to be generated and then download it on to your computer.

Here is one I generated earlier

Make and download your own at http://preloaders.net/.

YouTube Videos On a 3D Cube 

YouCube is a new application which provides with original way to share YouTube videos.

It lets users map YouTube videos onto the sides of a 3D cube, and then share it with others. The sound level of the videos fades in and out as you spin the cube around -

• Either click-n-drag the cube or
• run your mouse over the tabs on the left.

Clicking the tab allows users to access the URL of individual clips

Keep in mind that the application is new and still being worked on.

Here is one I made earlier  http://www.universaloscillation.com/youcube/?248.

Build one for yourself at http://www.universaloscillation.com/youcube/. 

Overview of Music Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Make Tunes and Learn about Mathematics
• Virtual Keyboard
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

Practitioners of music and mathematics will be aware of the link between math and music. How musical patterns, can help explain mathematical patterns.

Phil Tulga is a musician who has taken this connection and, using flash, made a happy combination of fractions and rhythm to help learners make tunes and learn about mathematics.

Learners...

• are shown fractions in 'pie' form, and the 'beats' they stand for are explained.
• can listen to songs that range from Revolutionary War drum calls, to the theme from The Simpsons (near the bottom; click on the songs button)
• can make up their own using everything from Taiko drums to water, with a nice snare drum in the middle. This makes a great activity for music, maths etc.

Try it out at http://www.philtulga.com/pie.html.

Here is one I made earlier...

To hear it:

1) Go to http://www.philtulga.com/pie.html.
2) Click on the "Email It!" button near the bottom of the page.
3) Copy this code (include both number signs): #FP300157,256777-0#
4) Paste it into the box entitled "Paste a code for a new rhythm."
5) Press the "Done" button and you can hear the song!  

A Virtual Interactive keyboard from the Birmingham Grid for Learning that can...

• simulate nine different instruments
  
  • Piano
  • Organ
  • Saxophone
  • Flute
  • Pan Pipes
  • Strings
  • Guitar
  • Steel Drums and
  • Double Bass
• can play back chords.

Perfect companion for an interactive whiteboard.

A simple design but a powerful tool to aid teaching and learning.

I'm informed that...

• "the piano keyboard goes from ‘Middle C’ to ‘Upper F’ – one and a half octaves (18 different notes)"
• "the double bass is pitched lower but still tuned to C"

Try it out at http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm.

Overview of Science Resources included in this eMagazine...

• 3D Virtual Trip Into a Growing Tumor
• 60 Symbols
• Amazing Space
• Hubble space telescope images
• Physics Classroom
• Planets
• Swimming with a Blue Whale
  • Also take a look at Stop Disasters! in the eGames Section
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section
• Also see - The Breathing Earth - Interactive Map in the Geography section of this eMagazine
  • Flowing Data in the Mathematics Section
    

Take a virtual trip inside the human body at a cellular level to see how blood vessels grow to feed tumours. Stopping this growth is one of the primary lines of attack scientists take in trying to defeat diseases, cancer in particular.

Amgen's new website, launched 15th April 2009, aims to explain blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis, and how it relates to cancer. There are 15 video clips produced by Amgen that explore various aspects of angiogenesis and potential ways to control it in, what I found to be beautiful, lifelike videos.

Angiogenesis is critical for tumours to grow beyond a few millimetres, and for cancer to metastasize to other parts of the body. Cancer cells can use the blood vessels as conduits to other areas of the body, where a single cell can set up camp and begin forming a new tumour. Stop angiogenesis, and you stop cancer.

Take a look at http://angiogenesis.amgen.com/ to find out more.

Sixty Symbols features short YouTube videos of physicists and astronomers just chatting about the meaning behind various symbols.

It provides sound background information on what certain symbols mean what they do. It's always a pleasure watching people talk about something that interests them.

Physics learners may enjoy learning about a few of the symbols and terms that show up in their coursework, too.

Go to http://www.sixtysymbols.com/ to find out more.

Amazing Space provides high-quality simulations and lesson plans for teaching Space Science.

In the Online explorations visitors will find eleven good interactive activities developed by Amazing Space.

The activities are appropriate for use in Family Learning, Initial Teacher Training and some Science Courses. Amazing Space furnishes suggested lesson plans with each interactive activity.

The eleven are...

• Telescopes From the Ground Up
• Planet Impact!
• Mission Mastermind
• Galaxy Hunter
• Comets
• Comet Facts, Myths & Legends
• Galaxies Galore, Games & More
• No Escape: The Truth About Black Holes
• Solar System Trading Cards
• Star Light, Star Bright
• Hubble Deep Field Academy

Planet Impact!, one of the interactive activities I've looked at, lets learners launch comets at Jupiter to study the effects of...

• speed,
• mass, and
• gravity

...on the trajectory of a comet. Learners can...

• change each of these variables,
• launch the comet, then
• read about the effects of changing each variable.

Find out more at http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/.

In April 1990, The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space and has since sent beautiful images back to earth.

The Telegraph has gathered together some of the most spectacular ones.

Go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/scienceandtechnologypicturegall/5055210/Hubbles-greatest-hits-Hubble-space-telescope-images.html to see some of the best.

(Look to the top right of the browser window for the “Next” button to see more.)

The Physics Classroom is a resource for both practitioners and Physics learners.

Developed by Tom Henderson, a high school physics teacher, The Physics Classroom offers...

• detailed tutorials on thirteen different physics topics including...
  • waves,
  • static electricity,
  • Newton's laws, and
  • vectors.
• more than 50 animations and
• 6 videos demonstrating physics concepts

The Physics Classroom could be a good resource for Initial Teacher Training,  physics practitioners and learners. The animations in particular could be very helpful to visual learners.

Take a closer look at http://www.physicsclassroom.com/.

Most people are familiar with the solar system and the orbit of planets around the sun. However, from the viewpoint of Earth the motion of the planets look entirely different.

Planets is a great tool to visualize how the planets move around on the sky. Users can view the motion of planets from the viewpoint of any selected planet.

Perhaps you need to try it out to understand what I'm saying;

Go to http://www.gunn.co.nz/astrotour/ to take your own astro-tour and/or find out more.

Practitioners and learners can watch the largest animal in the world float by on their screen and/or, more effectively, on an interactive whiteboard. Just visit the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's interactive website that let's users see what it feels like to swim with a life size blue whale.

On an interactive whiteboard, Learners can touch and drag the whale to move it or they can move the small viewfinder in the top-right of the screen to move directly to different parts of the whale. Family Learning and/or Science springs to mind but I'm sure there are many other uses.

Go to http://www.wdcs.co.uk/media/flash/whalebanner/content_pub_en.html for an incredible experience.

I've embedded it below for those who can't wait...

Overview of Thoughts-Beliefs Resources included in this eMagazine...

• TrueTube
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential,
  in our Over2U section

The research and development stage of TrueTube was launched at BETT 09

TrueTube is a free, website which uses real-life stories and issues to encourage learners to explore and debate the world of morality, ethics, politics and religion.

TrueTube brings to life the subjects at the heart of Education using short-form web-based video and multimedia technology. The site encourages learners to find their voice as they explore their own value systems and those of their peers around the corner and across the world.

Practitioners can use the site as a catalyst to encourage discussion and as a tool to aid learning through audio-visual media.

TrueTube also offer a range of teaching resource packs which include lesson plans and activities. Most of the films on TrueTube are downloadable as MPEG-4’s.

Find out more by visiting http://www.truetube.co.uk/index.php. 

Users can actually make any picture "talk." It could be a picture of a person, animal or an object. It could even be a drawing. They could report about something or someone or tell a story; provide evidence even!

It is important to follow copyright laws when choosing pictures. Pictures that are Public Domain can be used. Be sure to cite where the picture was found. You will need an account to do this. Resulting 'talking images' can be embedded on webpages, blogs, VLEs, eXe documents etc.

Go to http://blabberize.com/ to make one of your own...

Here is my first effort... 

Or go to http://blabberize.com/view?id=73813.

Caption Tube is a new service designed to make the captioning of YouTube videos an easier and more accurate process.

Using Caption Tube users can create captions for their own videos or for any other video that they find on YouTube. The editing tools for Caption Tube includes a timeline to help users match the video's images to the captions created. Users can choose the duration of time for which each caption is displayed.

There are three video clips to support new users of Caption Tube...

1. Getting started - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3pO-Cz_YZM;
2. Creating Captions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFbP82cYcs;and
3. Exporting Captions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pRPdnaUgFU.

Visit http://captiontube.appspot.com/ to login with your Google Account Login. Yes you will need a Google account!

P.S. Caption Tube could be a great tool for practitioners and learners involved in ESOL/ ESL/ EFL, and practitioners with learners with hearing impairments.

TKexe Kalender is software that enables users to design and print calendars. Unlike many calendar making software, TKexe Kalender gives you complete freedom in designing your calendar.

The software provides a number of templates but, as they are editable, users can modify them.

Note: It doesn’t let you build a calendar from scratch, but as the templates are editable it is as good as creating your own designs. Elements, on the templates, can be...

• added,

• deleted and

• positioned by simply dragging them and placing them on wherever you like.

Users can create...

• monthly calendars with up to two images per month,
  
• weekly calendars, or
  
• a planner type of calendar with a little space beside each date to write notes, birthdays etc.
  

Calendars can be portrait or landscape, the dates can be laid out in a single line or broken down into weeks.

Everything from font size and colors to transparency can be adjusted. There are also a few handy special effects and masks that can be applied over images. It is also possible to design each page of a calendar differently.

At the time of writing this, the software supports 21 languages; calendars can be created in any of these supported languages. The software also has a database of national holidays from 12 countries which can be applied to the calendar. Users can mark your own holidays, deadlines etc. There are plenty of other settings that lets users customise calendars.

Download the free software at http://www.tkexe.de/downloads/index.htm.

Or a pdf Sample I made earlier

Fotonea is yet another web based collage creator that is capable of making eye-catching photo collages from images on a PC.

No software installation or registration, just follow the three simple steps listed above.

Once the collage is created users can download it onto a PC or share with others online.

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

Most learning providers still block YouTube and other video sharing sites, despite the fact that they provide a fantastic source of educational material. I personally disagree with this stance, but that is the subject of another post.

Many practitioners resort to downloading YouTube videos at home and then bringing them to their place of work, but this can put off some people because they either have to install third party applications or convert the video files so they are in a suitable format for Windows Media player.

KickYouTube does away with all this, since it allows you to search for any YouTube video and then download it in the format of your choice.

There are two ways of accessing and downloading video clips:

1.- The simple way - Find the video in YouTube and then simply type in the word kick after the www. in your browser’s url bar (see below), this will take you KickYouTube’s own page. e.g.

• Select the format you wish to download
• Click GO
• Right-click the download button and select Save As...

 

2.- Simply go directly to KickYouTube’s own page and search for the video there (then do as for Number 1 above.

Although there are alternative sites for downloading YouTube videos, such as Zamzar and YouConvertIt, etc,. KickYouTube simplifies the process considerably: simply type in kick and that’s it.

Go on try it out, you know you want to! 

LiteType is a virtual keyboard that allows users type and search the web in their choice of 53 different languages.

To use LiteType...

• Select a language
• Lite Type displays a keyboard that shows you what each key on your computer's keyboard will generate.
• The keyboard key is displayed directly below the box in which your typed text appears.
• Begin typing.

LiteType has some other convenient features like integrated search for...

• images,
• videos, and
• websites. Lite

Type also has an integrated multilingual dictionary.

Note: - Lite Type displays a lot of advertising around the virtual keyboard and text box.  Click the "remove ads" link and all of that advertising disappears.

LiteType...

• could be a great resource for those who like to work in a preferred language
• could be a great resource for foreign language practitioners and learners. 
• removes the struggle of trying to figure out which keys do what when trying to type in a foreign language.
• could be a godsend when on holiday and you are confronted with a different keyboard than you are used to.

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

Most people don't have a clue what the colours Lavender and Mauve look like; they can be shown Indigo and not know if it's more like Violet or Purple.

This application allows users to

• create a color on the screen (or copy-paste CSS hex# colour) and
• find out the name of the closest matching color.

Users can also select from the drop-down list of 1500+ colours experiment.

Note: The colour names used in the drop-down list were found via Wikipedia, Crayola, and Color-Name Dictionaries like Resene Resene < http://www.resene.co.nz/>.

This is a "simply for fun and personal use" tool. Don't send off marketing brochures to printers based on this.

Go to http://chir.ag/projects/name-that-color/ to try out the online tool.

and

Barcode Label Printer it is a free online barcode generator that can create printable barcodes. (see above)

Barcode labels can be printed out and read by...

• a cellphone camera with a built-in barcode reader or
• a typical barcode scanner you see in almost any grocery store.

To generate a barcode...

• select symbology,
• enter the information (URL, text, anything) into the “value” field and
• click on the “Make me a barcode!” button.
• Save and print out the generated image.

I need to find a reader for my phone now!

Make your own Barcode at  http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php.

Osalt is a website that lists open source alternatives to commercial software products. 

To find alternatives users can search and browse site by categories such as...

• business,
• communications,
• databases,
• multimedia,
• development,
• graphic applications… etc.

When a category is selected, the OSalt will list open source applications and also show you the top commercial applications with their open source counterparts.

To summarise...

• Lists free open source alternative to commercial software.
• Search and browse by categories.
• Shows top commercial software and the open source counterpart for each category.

Find some alternatives to that expensive software by visiting http://www.osalt.com/.

Thanks Dave (Dave Sugden that is!) in his words...

"Free MP3 recording via telephone is back"

Phonecasting has lots of applications such as:

• phone blogging ('phlogging'),
• live commentary,
• interviewing people (just conference someone in),
• collecting audio data/evidence, or simply
• letting your all learners/colleagues/staff/etc. know what 'you're doing'/they need to do/etc. "in one go".

Once registered with ipadio users will receive an email with instructions on to make their first phonecast.

Users can then begin broadcasting from their registered phone to the whole internet - right then - live! (it is called a 'phonecast').

So what is involved? It is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 as shown in the 3 steps below:

1. CALL IN: Call 08455083974 or 02033842843 from your registered phone
2. ENTER YOUR PIN: You will hear a welcome message and be asked to enter your personal pin code
3. PHONECAST!! Start talking (Don't wait as I did, to be told to start recording, just talk...)

When finished press the hash(#) key on your phone keypad.

After the first call users will get another email with a link to listen to their phonecast on their own 'channel'.

Apart from the long pause at the start of my recording here is my first effort (I start talking at 19 seconds; ooops!)...

Another big plus is that the resulting mp3 can be downloaded!

Try it out by visiting http://www.ipadio.com/. 

I have included a number of free online image editing tools in past eMagazines. Some are good for basic tasks like adding text, effects, shapes etc., and some have more advanced functions geared towards heavy users.

ResizeYourImage is a simple picture cropper which lets users easily crop images online.

• Upload an image,
  
  • Supported image formats: JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF.
• select the area using the arrow controls (click-n-drag to change the width/height)
  • Width and height of the cropped area is instantly shown on the buttons.
• click “resize your image” button.
• Once cropped users can download it to the computer.

Note: It is Free with no sign up.

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

The resulting images will have a smaller file sizes. 

Sneffel (Doodle) is an instant and easy to use whiteboard application which can be used to...

• collaboratively draw,
• brainstorm/blue sky or
• just have fun with others online.

When users visit the site they are given a unique URL that can be used to invite others to a live white-board session.

Each user can easily...

• draw
• customize colours used,
• erase, and
• redo/undo their entries.

Additionally you can easily embed the white-board on a blog or webpage, in eXe, on a VLE etc., and let learners/colleagues/visitors draw on it as well.

e.g.

Go to http://doodle.gegn.net/index.html to open up a new, blank whiteboard with a unique URL.

XMPlay, has everything users want in an audio player.

XMPlay...

• requires no installation,
• is portable
• supports all major audio formats,
  
• is capable of playing and recording streaming Internet radio,
  
• supports playlists,
  
• has a library,
  
• supports tagging of files,
  
• has dozens of skins and hundreds of plugins and
• is a massive … 300KB!

In the beginning users might find the interface a bit confusing, because the buttons are unfamiliar and they have crammed so many features into such a tiny GUI.

Help is at hand in an online Beginners' Guide - http://support.xmplay.com/article.php?id=1.

It isn't sensible to download every audio player you read about, but give XMPlay a try. It’s only 300 KB and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Go to http://www.un4seen.com/ to find out more. 

"In my job...

• I'm often asked for documents by managers, colleagues, learners, administrators, awarding bodies etc. or
• I come across some text I'd like to share with one or more of the above.

Using Outlook 2007, is there a quick way that I can Insert Attachments and/or copied Text into a New Message"

Like you, everyone who uses email has found themselves attaching files to email, or needing to send a copied text to others. Outlook makes it ultra simple to send either in no time flat.

To attach files:

1. Copy the file(s) from your Desktop, Documents folder, etc. (select the files and press CTRL+C).
2. Go to Outlook, make sure it is displaying your Inbox.
3. Press CTRL+V.
4. A New Message will appear, with the file(s) attached to it.
   A single attachment will have the file's name as the Subject -
   Multiple attachments will leave the Subject line blank.
5. Address the message and add any necessary text.
6. Send the message.

To insert copied text:

1. Copy the desired text from a document, webpage, etc. (select the text and press CTRL+C).
2. Go to Outlook, make sure it is displaying your Inbox.
3. Press CTRL+V.
4. A New Message will appear, with the copied text inserted into the body of the message.
5. Address the message, input a Subject and add any necessary text.
6. Send the message.

Note: Before a number of you email, another quick way is use a simple drag and drop in Outlook.

"There are many videos, on YouTube, that I use in teaching and learning. However the part of the clip I want to use is often part way through. Is there an easy way to start a clip where I want it to start?"

There are 2 options... by making a small change in the YouTube video URL, you can actually link to a specific point of that video.

1. To the end of the video URL, just add #t=5m29s, where ‘m’ is minutes and 's' is seconds and you get to the part of the video which is 5 minutes and 29 seconds from the start. Just change the minutes and seconds to start the video where you want it to start.
   
   So, for example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3PtlxYkZ4 becomes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3PtlxYkZ4#t=5m29s
   
   It’s a simple change to be a made but for those who don’t know or have to make changes to multiple videos and don’t want to do it manually, they can...
   .
2. visit YouTubeTime, a free online application which does the code change for you. Note: The video can be previewed before sharing it with someone.
   Go to http://youtubetime.com/.

Convert MP3s Into Any Format - Tekzilla Daily Tip<http://revision3.com/tekzilla/>

August 1st - Mar 30th 2009

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