Please take the time to respond and/or ask a question of the eMagazine Community...

Results of this and other polls produced by John Dalziel will be available at http://urtak.com/u/530.

The goal of the Urtak project is to put the tools of public opinion research in the people's hands.

Urtak is our word for the new collaborative poll, where every participant can ask and answer questions.

An Urtak consists of the questions asked by a community and the responses that have been contributed.

Polls are useful not only because they keep readers and visitors engaged but also because they allow users to improve their site by adding more relevant content.

A poll doesn’t need to be as complex as a theory written by Albert Einstein in order to be effective. In reality, the simpler the poll is then the more effective it will turn out to be for both sides. Users get results immediately, and those who have to complete the poll can offer their opinion in an equally effortless way.

Urtak adheres to the simplicity ethos. Using it, as I have here, users can create a poll with three possible answers...

• “Yes”;
• “No”; and
• “Don’t Care”.

Find out more about Urtak at http://www.urtak.com/.

P.S. In Icelandic, Urtak means statistical sample.

All people on the eMagazine, and other RSC-Northwest mailing lists will have had an invite to this Q & A Website. (Sadly some email set-ups will have sent the invite to spam) I hope that this will be used by the wider community to communicate with each other.

Don't forget to make it one of your favourites... http://acljohn.qhub.com/.

All the pictures and news shown on this eMagazine are the property of their respective owners.

• We don't hold any copyright about these pictures and news.
• These pictures have been collected from different public sources including different websites, considering to be in public domain.

If any one has any objection to displaying of any picture and news, it may be brought to our notice by sending an email to support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk & the same will be be removed immediately, after verification of the claim.

Links that have been included in previous eMagazines...

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

This blog has been recommended by Martin Sepion, from RSC London, who thinks that those of you engaged in  ESOL, EFL and Literacy will find it a useful blog to follow.

Find out/read more at http://e-blahblah.com/.

This blog entry provides a quick tutorial on lesson planning with Google Calendar.

Read the full article at http://electriceducator.blogspot.com/2010/02/using-google-calendar-for-lesson.html or

watch the video below or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-6vM61LaI.

New training and awareness raising events are being added regularly - for the most up-to-date listing, visit our website at:

www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/events/eventlist

The National Science and Engineering Week takes place this year from 12-21 March.

A nationwide celebration of...

• science,
• engineering and
• technology

...involving people of all ages in thousands of events across the country.

More information and free resources, can be found at the British Science Association site at http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/NSEW/index.htm.

MeetWithAgenda is a powerful yet easy to use meeting scheduling and management tool.

It provides all functionality to...

• schedule meetings,
• agree on a meeting date and/or location,
• create a meeting agenda and
• send invitations.

Your participants can confirm and view the meeting agenda online, wherever they are.

This tool may well help Learning providers, especially those engaged with WBL and ACL/PCDL practitioners and/or learners, to improve communication between all stakeholders. For example...

• Scheduling assessment meetings- allowing greater engagement with employers - learners and assessors
• Scheduling staff meetings/conference calls/video conferencing etc.- especially when staff are spread far and wide; in some cases across the UK

The Recognition of Prior Learning Outcomes (RPLO) project aims to improve the attractiveness and effectiveness of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Teachers and Trainers profession in the UK and partner countries.

The project intends to demonstrate how Credit-based qualifications will make the transition from being RPLO-neutral to being RPLO-friendly, using best practice from UK and EU projects and research, including the Cedefop⁽¹⁾ study on the Recognition and Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning for VET Teachers and Trainers.

The outcomes in England and Wales and across the partner countries will be:

• a validated methodology of RPLO;
• comprehensive assessment guidance, including reference to rules of combination;
• relevant requirements for assessment and verification;
• demonstrations of the ways in which quality assurance can enhance the reliability and validity of RPLO;
• new tools and methods for RPLO;
• units of assessment which relate to National Standards;
• support materials for relevant professional development.

Find out more and or access publications at http://www.rplo.eu/index.php.

⁽¹⁾ 'Cedefop' is the French acronym of the organisation's official title, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Centre Européen pour le Développement de la Formation Professionnelle).

Synchtube is a new web-service for watching video clips and chatting about them at the same time.

Just...

• find the url of an appropriate YouTube video,
• copy that url into Synchtube, and
• begin chatting with your colleagues/learners/etc., while the video is playing.

Users can comment on the video and share thoughts inspired by the video while watching. At the moment Synchtube is in beta and currently only four people can chat at once; hopefully that limit will be increased in the future.

Find out more for yourself at http://www.synchtube.com/.

Team Maker is a simple application that lets users enter a list of names and break them up randomly into teams/groups.

Team Maker randomly generates teams/groups for, among other things, group projects.

All users have to do is...

• enter the names of delegates, learners, colleagues, etc.;
• pick how many teams needed;
• choose the format for output then...

Team Maker generates random team lists.

Try it out at http://chir.ag/projects/team-maker/.

Timetable Online is a relatively new and free tool which allows learning providers to book resources online.

The TimeTable Online website has very clear tutorials for those of you who are interested in seeing how it works; I imagine many learning providers will request a free sign-up via their online form.

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

If your learners are in the habit of emailing...

• essays;
• slideshows;
• digital evidence (audio, video and/or photographs) and other creations to their assessors/tutors/trainers etc., you will know how quickly inboxes can get crowded.

Drop.io offers a simple upload widget that can be embedded into course blogs or course websites etc.

Place the Drop.io upload widget into the blog/VLE/Website etc., and learners can upload their work directly to you. Learners' work can then be viewed on the Drop.io page; keeping email inboxes clutter free. To help you get started, embedded below are directions for installing the Drop.io upload widget on Blogger blogs and Edublogs blogs.

Another tool to empower your learners to provide assessment evidence in an appropriate format.

Vidinotes is a web based tool that helps users create a printable summary of a video

Vidinotes does this by allowing users to...

• take several 'snapshots' from the video
• add a title and description to each snapshot
• print out or downloaded the summary as a PDF file.

Downside: Videos must be FLV video format only (That is Oxelon Media Converter where comes in to its own: mentioned in an earlier blog/eMagazine and podcast) and there is a 25 MEG limit.

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

• QuizMaker: A Simple Online Quiz Generator

For the times when practitioners want to create a simple online quiz, they should check out QuizMaker.

QuizMaker is a simple online quiz generator based on JavaScript that lets users create a quiz online without writing any code.

They can begin by entering...

• a question;
• up to 5 possible answers; and
• a feedback for each answer.

The application lets users add as many questions as they want and to insert a link or an image into a question.

Users can also give their quiz a title and select if it is for practice or if it is actually graded.

Note: If the quiz is graded, users will be prompted to add an email address where all the responses will be sent.

Visit http://www.attotron.com/pub/Quizmake.htm to try it out and or access further help.

Tom once got five gold runs on 'Blockbusters' and if that doesn't impress you take a look at his Star Wars Weather Report.

This can be found at http://www.tomscott.com/weather/starwars/.

Take a look below or at http://www.flickr.com/photos/friedtoast/sets/72157594224722117/. 

DU (University of Denva) innovation Class

I wonder how many of you will appreciate this video. It's a bit like The Office but for Learning Providers; like the Office many managers, practitioners and learners will notice that unfortunately too much of the video is an accurate reflection of what goes on in a lot of classrooms today... (it can also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6svk_R_rVhA)

John R Sowash has posted in his "The Electric Educator" Blog two video clips that Ive embedded below.

1. Creating forms in Google Docs; and
2. Uses for Google forms

They can also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ckBztgX40 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3dSLJ22FLc.

What do you do if you start a new job and find yourself in a technology rich culture, with so many IT systems around, and so many different software resources, that your head ends up buzzing?

Many managers, administrators, subject learning coaches, eGuides, practitioners, learners etc., have never used...

• internet telephony,
• encryption,
• instant messaging,
• live meeting,
• SharePoint or
• Groove before.

Meanwhile, those around them seem to be metaphorically whizzing along as they...

• collaborate;
• share;
• publish; and
• distribute information.

Work Smart Guides may be the godsends such people are looking for.

This set of documents walk readers through the basics of some of the new technology they may encounter.

Work Smart Guides...

• bridge the gap between technology and users;
• provide employees with scenario-based, best-use productivity aids on Microsoft products and technologies.

The subjects covered in these step-by-step guides include:

• Environmental sustainability (hints like using Balanced power settings on your laptop)
• Protecting data with BitLocker
• Getting started with email
• Transfer files and settings to a new computer
• Collaborating with SharePoint
• An overview of collaboration tools
• Customising SharePoint sites
• Integrating Outlook with SharePoint
• Basics of managing email (Are you a stacker or a filer?)
• Office tips
• Outlook email signatures
• New features for users in Windows 7

Download the customisable versions of Work Smart materials from TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb687781.aspx.

Bonus: Also take a look at the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder, described by Long Zheng as a miracle tool. It does what it says on the tin, and the best bit is that the document it creates is brilliant for creating user guides, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions. Just stick “problem steps” into the search box of your Windows 7 Start menu.

• Play brain games, free puzzle games and create your own game!
  • Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

ProProfs Brain Games lets practitioners create simple online games for their learners without expending too much time or effort. The game varieties include...

• crosswords;
• word searches;
• jigsaw puzzles; and so on.

ProProfs does the hard work of configuring the puzzles themselves, meaning practitioners just have to come up with questions and answers.

These games provide the means to make formative assessment a little more interactive.

Find out more at http://www.proprofs.com/games/create-game/.

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

I've often asked the question, what will you do if a Learner asks for notes as an audio file? I've suggested that one solution is to use Audacity to record an audio version, when you proof read text. By reading it out loud I know you will spot errors and, as a bonus you then have an audio version for all learners.

CarryoutText, like the example I've just given, allows those who...

• find reading difficult or, in some cases, impossible;
• can understand spoken but not written English; or
• prefer to listen while doing other things

...to use their commute time or their time at the gym etc., more productively.

It empowers these people to convert blogs, wikis, news articles and any other text to an audio file that can be played on their iPod or their favourite mp3 player.

Let CarryoutText help you multitask and get more done in less time by visiting http://www.carryouttext.com/ and trying it out.

MyStudyBar is a comprehensive set of open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties.

This short video clip provides an introductory overview of its main features (can also be watched at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8yBchrTRgQ)...

Although MyStudyBar is designed to work with Windows Vista and Windows 7, mainly because of the improved SAPI 5 voice (Anna) and of course the excellent Windows Speech Recognition, it will also run on Windows XP, but the speech recognition will not be available.

Visit http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.org.uk/e-inclusion/?page_id=6 to find out more...

• Explore. Wonder. Learn.
• UNEP Geo Data Posters

This find is an absolute joy.

Conservation International’s Team Earth digital magazine is completely interactive and absolutely paperless – an innovative way of sharing the best of their work with you.

Visit http://magazine.conservation.org/online/06/index.html to see what I mean!

If like me you are hooked, visit http://magazine.conservation.org/ to view/download the other five.

The United Nations Environment Programme has developed a series of free posters based on data from the UNEP's Geo Data Portal.

These posters visually and graphically display information about environmental data. Some of the topics covered in these posters include...

• electricity production and consumption;
• CO2 emissions;
• ecosystems management; and
• hazardous materials.

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...

• Media Player Classic - David Sugden

David Sugden brought this open source software to my attention at the eGuides training event in Manchester.

The Media Player Classic, plays all the media, that I have tried, that Windows Media player couldn't; it supports all common video, audio and image file formats available as well as video playback.

Find out more and/or download it at http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/. 

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

Below is a live feed using Scoopler <http://www.scoopler.com/>

The COI (Central Office of Information) for the Government have produced an excellent, and easy-to-read, set of usability guidelines for creating usable website in the public sector.

The COI Usability Toolkit includes technical and design advice, as well as some very good pointers towards writing effective web content.

If you are involved in a Learning Provider Website Project – whether it’s external for the public, or just internal for learners and staff, it is a very worthwhile read. Useful too if anybody is planning a new SharePoint 2010 project.

Visit http://usability.coi.gov.uk/ to find out more or http://usability.coi.gov.uk/assets/pdf/COI_Usability_Toolkit.pdf to download the pdf.

After many false starts, the universe of digital books is poised to expand dramatically.

An expansion that should perhaps be viewed with both excitement and wariness.

Excitement because digital books could...

• revolutionize reading;
• make more books...
  • findable; and
  • more accessible...
    to more people in more ways than ever before.

Wariness because the various entities that will help make this digital book revolution possible may not always respect the rights and expectations that...

• readers;
• authors;
• booksellers; and
• librarians...

...have built up, and defended, over generations of experience with physical books.

Hugh, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says...

"EFF has released a white paper to help readers of digital books answer questions about privacy, book licenses, DRM and other issues."

Read the full article and/or download the pdf publication at https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-books-and-your-rights.

Silvia Tolisano has published a free eBook about digital storytelling.

Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators is a 120 page guide to using digital storytelling tools in teaching and learning.

The guide offers clear directions for using tools like...

• Audacity;
• Google Maps;
• Photo Story;
• VoiceThread; and
• other digital media creation tools.

Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators also provides a good explanation of digital storytelling in general and the benefits of using digital storytelling in Teaching & Learning.

The eBook can be downloaded for free on Lulu at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/digital-storytelling-tools-for-educators/4758345.

Note: It does take a little time to download.

Ex Curricula is the final report of a year-long Demos research project on children and young people’s disengagement from education.

The work was funded by the Private Equity Foundation.

The report is based on research including...

• desk-based literature review;
• conversations with charities and organisations working with children and young people on the issues covered in this paper;
• a panel of practitioners working with children and young people who discussed with us the symptoms and causes of educational disengagement;
• quantitative analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study;
• qualitative research with 75 young people at risk of disengagement in schools and PRUs undertaken in association with the charity BeatBullying; and
• a roundtable with headteachers from the National Association of Head Teachers.

With Inquiry in Action, practitioners can teach physical science and chemistry concepts using an inquiry-based approach that supports national content standards. 

Inquiry in Action is a compilation of...

• lesson plans;
• activities; and
• labs

...all focusing on an inquiry-based approach to learning chemistry and physical science concepts.

Find out more by visiting the website at http://www.inquiryinaction.org/ or download the publication at http://www.inquiryinaction.org/pdf/InquiryinAction.pdf.

The Digital Storytelling Teacher Guide is a free twenty-eight page eBook produced by Microsoft.

The guide...

• outlines the basics of digital storytelling;
• offers ideas for digital storytelling projects for all grade levels; and
• provides examples of digital storytelling projects.

Microsoft's Digital Storytelling Teacher Guide also offers instruction for using Windows Movie Maker and Photo Story in the classroom.

Even if Windows Movie Maker or Photo Story are not used, much of this Guide can still be applied to teaching and learning.

Visit http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/digital_storytelling.aspx to find out more and/or download the publication. 

• Take a look at TinyPad in the General Section

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

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

If you haven't done so yet, take a look at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, USA) interactive online Art Zone you should take some time to do so!   

There are currently sixteen applications that allow learners to create beautiful artwork that can then be printed or even animated!

Note: Adobe Shockwave Player is needed to use these applications. 

I recommend that if you can, take the time to investigate the creative options for each application (I've spent more time than perhaps I should have done already!).  For example in the Faces and Places application, once the items in your painting have been added, they can be arranged within the portrait by click-n-drag.

To take a closer look visit http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/zone.htm.

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

• Book-keeping just got easier!
  • Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Brightbook has the potential to be used as a teaching tool for those who need hands-on book-keeping experience and/or for Informal Adult Learning for "Community Group/self-employed Book Keeping" courses.

The aims of Brightbook are to provide an easy way for small business owners to keep their monthly accounts in shape. The whole premise is providing users with an application that is free from specialised accountancy jargon, and its list of features is aimed directly at such individuals.

The basic operations are all covered...

• creating invoices;
• printing & emailing customer statements;
• registering customer payments; and
• managing company expenses on the whole.

A nice touch is that this solution is also accessible on a users smartphone. The mobile version sticks to the same philosophy - nothing unnecessarily fancy or over-complicated.

The one thing that will surprise many is that this service is provided at no cost, and it is meant to remain like that.

Signing up takes just a couple of minutes, so that if you like the whole approach and philosophy you will be able to test it out in person easily.

The one drawback is the lego-like images used on the home and other pages.

Find out more, including terms and privacy, at http://www.brightbook.co.uk/.

Brightbook is for bookkeeping. It's not a full accounting package. It won't do a tax return for users, but it will get everything together that they or their accountant need to do it.

Brightbook is for ordinary people to do their regular accounting. For people that basically just need to create invoices and get paid. 

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

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

EggWatchers is an online egg timer that helps to prepare a perfect boiled egg and entertains you by showing videos from YouTube while you wait for your egg to be cooked.

The site even lets you specify the type of egg you want to cook.

To use EggWatcher's timer...

• go to the site; and
• choose what size of egg is to be cooked; then
• specify if the egg is refrigerated; and
• specify how you want it to be cooked (runny, squidgy, or firm).

After starting the timer, the website will play a random video from YouTube while showing you an indicator of the cooking egg's progress. By the time the video is done the egg timer goes off and you will be asked if you want to make another egg.

Yes the idea seems silly, however with Egg Watchers, users won't have the dilemma of whether you have to check on your cooking or finish watching the video - really a win-win situation.

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

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

StoryJumper is a site that gives parents, guardians, children, and authors a set of intuitive tools for writing and illustrating childrens stories.

The goal of StoryJumper is to inspire anyone that's ever wanted to write a story for children to get started.

Visit http://www.storyjumper.com/ to find out more and/or http://www.storyjumper.com/main/starter for online CPD/tutorials.

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

• Look at Book-keeping just got easier! in the Business Section
  • 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 English Language - Literature Teaching & Learning...

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

Brian Cox is known for his roles in Hollywood films like MANHUNTER.

Brian develops his Shakespeare suzuki method, with a toddler soliloquy from 30 month old Theo in these video clips; they can also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loDMRzPiCic and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV1ZEU2CzHA.

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

• 2010 Update: Maths Dictionary 4 Kids
• Storyline Online

• Take a look at StoryJumper in the Creative Writing Section and
  
• Explore. Wonder. Learn.  in the Green Team Section
  

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

A Maths Dictionary for Kids has been updated for 2010 to include...

• more terms;
• definitions; and
• visual aids than ever before. 

A Maths Dictionary for Kids provides simple, clear definitions of math terms. Each definition includes a small diagram or simple activity to illustrate the term's definition.

A Maths Dictionary for Kids is a great resource for learners for homework assignments and/or individual course assignments. The visual clues provided by in the dictionary are useful for those learners who struggle to visualize the meaning of maths terms.

Go to http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/ to try it out.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Foundation has produced Storyline Online, a streaming video site where SAG members read a wide selection of children’s books.

Children can...

• follow along in their own books; or
• just watch the video, which includes the illustrations.
• Toggle closed-captioning; or
• to make it even more book-like, turn off the sound as well; this kind of defeats the purpose of watching the videos, but, I suppose, it’s nice to know users could do this.

There are additional activities such as discussion questions and research prompts for each story.

Storyline Online could be used when practitioners have lost their voice. It’s also a nice place to steer parents, guardians and children toward when they’re surfing the web at home.

Visit http://www.storylineonline.net/ to find out more and/or to try it out.

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

• Go Figure
• Time for Time
  • Take a look at Book-keeping just got easier! in the Business Section
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Go Figure is an interactive site that reinforces and allows learners to practice their...

• addition;
• subtraction;
• multiplication; and
• division skills. 

There are four difficulty levels. 

Basically a learner is given an equation and has to choose which operation(s) are needed to arrive at the correct answer.

There are very explicit directions on the site. 

Note: the audio may annoy some people (it did me)!

This would work very well on any Interactive White Board or as a review using laptops/computers etc.

Visit http://www.cdmproductions.com/go_figure/goFigure.swf to try it out.

Time for Time is a website for anyone that teaches learners how to tell time.

The online games are easy for learners to access. And, if there are not enough computers for all learners to play the games at once, users can take advantage of the offline game suggestions in the teacher section of Time for Time.

Visit http://www.time-for-time.com/ to find out more.

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

• AdOut
• Memory4Teachers
• NeatChat
  
• TinyPad
  • Why don't you suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

If you are one of those people who are annoyed by advertisements while browsing, you will love this tool.

AdOut is a simple web application that lets users browse all kinds of websites without the clutter of adverts.

Just enter the URL of a website and press enter.

AdOut blocks all sorts of advertisements including...

• text;
• banner; and
• flash adverts

...but lets users browse the rest of the website in a regular way.

It is also a great application to let learners (especially children) surf the internet without them accidentally clicking on inappropriate adverts.

If at anytime, users wish to exit the application and start browsing regularly, they just need to click the x button at the top right corner.

Note: AdOut is better than installing any software or browser plugins since it can work on any browser and any system.

Visit http://adout.org/ to try it out.

Memory4Teachers is a major ICT initiative that I've written about before. It involves the FREE provision of USB memory sticks for all...

• Head Teachers,
  
• Teachers,
  
• School Business Managers and
  
• all support staff.

The memory sticks feature...

• full password security,
• virus protection and
• encryption software.

In addition the revolutionary memory sticks feature a bespoke user interface specifically designed to support teachers and schools on a daily basis. The user interface provides access to various software applications including...

• a diary,
• timetable,
• lesson planner,
• calculator and even
• an MP3 music player.

Furthermore the interface is pre programmed with educational content and resources that support all of the national curriculum subject areas. Memory4Teachers refer to this technology as a Portable Learning Environment as it enables teachers to conveniently carry a vast amount of educational content that can be used effectively in lessons on any...

• PC,
• laptop or
• interactive whiteboard.

In addition to providing their portable technology for FREE to the education sector Memory4Teachers also provide FREE online storage space for all of their users so that they can "back up" their memory sticks and store additional data securely online.

On the Memory4Teachers website visitors will also find a huge array of educational content and resources that can be downloaded to the memory sticks royalty free.

I opted to register online to download resources and have access to the 50MB FREE online storage area, so I can't comment on the Portable Learning Environment. The resources, labelled as Primary/Secondary, could be used with other learners especially in Functional Skills; probably the most useful section is the wide range of links to other resources.

Find out more and/or register at http://www.memory4teachers.co.uk/.

If managers, administrators, mentors, practitioners, assessors etc., ever need a quick way to chat with someone without registering or giving away any personal information, then NeatChat offers a solution.

Neat Chat is a free browser-based chat website that lets users create chat rooms quickly.

Neat Chat is the easiest and fastest way to have an online conversation with a group of friends or colleagues. No signups or software installs are required. You simply use a web browser to communicate via Neat Chat.

What is so appealing about Neat Chat? The process of starting a chat session and inviting people is dead easy!

To start a chat session...

• go to the homepage - http://www.neatchat.com/;
• enter a nickname; and
• click the Start Group button.

Once users do that, their chat session is started, and their browser loads the session's chat room.

They then...

• invite people by sending them the URL of the chat room by email or sms etc.

Neat Chat provides users with a clean, fast, and robust chat room.

Users can...

• share files;
• send private messages; and
• change their status through the intuitive interface.
• if they are late to a chat session, access all the conversations that took place in their absence.

This must make it a potential tool for learning providers especially assessors. By the way, did I mention Neat Chat is FREE?

Welcome to what may well become the home of the most popular note-taking helper!

Isn't it annoying when you want to take some notes and you have to...

• open Word/notepad/other 'word processors' before you can start; and/or if already open
• keep clicking backward and forwards as Word/notepad/other 'word processors' don't float above the web page(s)? or
• tile windows so you and do research and take notes at the same time.

Do you and or your learners find that Window’s Word and NotePad are OK but not as useful as perhaps they could be?

If so, the next item in your busy agenda should be to give TinyPad a trial...

TinyPad...

• comes complete with a tabbed system for giving everything more clarity and accessibility.
• has, for those who want it, a true social bent since users can upload the notes you have taken and share them with a community that interacts at http://www.sharednote.com. Note: the process of uploading the files in order to share them also doubles as a backup process.
  This strengthened by the fact that Twitter is already integrated.
• can retrieve user tweets and use them as part of their text, and in that way save the hassle of looking them up manually.

These enhancements can, with planning, be useful and TinyPad is something that more than one user will welcome.

Visit http://www.itinypad.com/ to find out more and/or to download TinyPad. 

Overview of Health & Safety Resources included in this eMagazine...

• A Thin Line
• Click Clever, Click Safe, Click CEOP
• Golden Rules for Keeping Safe on Social Networks
• HSE: Shattered Lives
• Online Safety Planner
  
  • Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

A Thin Line is a digital safety education resource produced by MTV in collaboration with other media partners.

The purpose of the site is to educate teenagers and young adults about the possible repercussions of their digital activities. 

A Thin Line offers a series of fact sheets about topics like...

• sexting;
• digital spying; and
• excessive text messaging and instant messaging.

A Thin Line gives students advice on...

• how to recognize those behaviors;
• the dangers of those behaviors; and
• how to protect your digital identity.

Learners can also take a short quiz to practice identifying risky digital behaviors.

A Thin Line could be a great resource for anyone responsible for teaching digital safeguarding. The quiz for practicing identifying risky digital behaviors can be embedded into blogs, VLEs or websites etc.

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

Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, in association with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), has launched a new version of IE8 targeted towards young surfers.

This young person-friendly browser makes it easy for children to browse the Internet safely, protect their online identities and keeps them away from inappropriate websites.

The special version of IE8 has a CEOP Button; when users click on it, they're shown a mini CEOP webpage (see image above) with links that gives them information and advice on a given topic -

• cyberbullying;
• viruses;
• harmful content;
• hacking;
• mobile problems; and
• sexual behavior.

At the bottom, there are more links to help users get started based on the type of user.

More importantly, the CEOP button also allows parents to flag inappropriate websites and report to the authorities.

I personally have added the CEOP tools that are available as add-ons for Internet Explorer. Those who don’t have IE8 installed can download the CEOP pre-installed IE8 installer.

Go to http://www.ceop.police.uk/ie8/ to find out more and/or to download the CEOP button for IE8.

This is a must, for Family Learning Practitioners, to highlight to parents, guardians, etc.

The huge potential of mobile social networks lets us imagine the enormous benefits that everyone could get from...

• the integration of mobility;
• always-on connectivity; and
• social networking services.

Such realities could be a great advantage for...

• lifelong learning;
• community living; and
• knowledge-sharing but...

...as boundaries between public and private spaces will blur, new risk scenarios will emerge.

Companies should assure that their staff members understand and explicitly accept the security and privacy requirements of the organization they work for.

Employees should be educated to understand that the information placed in web profiles or in twitter streams may be misused by others looking for important facts and figures and may cause damage to the organisation’s reputation and to them.

Awareness raising and information security empowerment is the first line of defence and the first security measure related to private and working environment.

ENISA hopes that their published paper, "Online as soon as it happens...", will provide social mobile users with a valuable tool to understand the risks and threats scenario arising from the usage of social mobile and the related privacy issues, also providing a set of recommendations for raising awareness of users. 

More information about "Online as soon as it happens (EN)" can be found at http://www.enisa.europa.eu/act/ar/deliverables/2010/onlineasithappens.

 The publication can also be downloaded from the same link.

The Health and Safety Executive has been running a campaign to reduce slips, trips and falls in the workplace.

Throughout 2008-2009, across the Education sector in the UK, there were...

• 0948 major injuries and a further
• 1865 that resulted in workers having to take more than three days off work as a result of slips, trips and falls

In response, the HSE has launched a new phase of its Shattered Lives campaign. As part of this, you can visit the Shattered Lives website for practical advice and guidance.

On the Shattered Lives website, visitors can find information on how they can easily reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls in the classroom and see what other organisations have done.  Advice ranges from how to deal with spills and other slip risks, to the importance of using ladders correctly to reduce the risk of falling from height.

The Slips and Trips eLearning Package (or STEP for short) is a great introduction to slips and trips, how they are caused, why preventing them is important and how to tackle them.

Visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives/index.htm for the Shattered Lives website, http://www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives/tools.htm for the eLearning & Tools and http://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/step/start.htm for the Slips & Trips eLearning Package.

A big thank you to Malcolm Bodley, E-Learning Advisor, JISC Regional Support Centre - Eastern, for bringing this resource to our attention.

The SWGfL eSafety Self Review Framework enables learning providers, or indeed any organisation that work with children/learners, to challenge their own eSafety provision. It provides the ability to track and monitor progress, highlighting aspirational eSafety levels.

How do you compare?

The eSafety Self Review Framework is available as an electronic copy at https://www.swgfl.org.uk/Staying-Safe/Content/News-Articles/SWGfL-marks-Safer-Internet-Day-2009-by-launching-t.

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

• The map as history
• What happened in my birth year?

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

This website claims to be the largest on-line collection of animated historical maps

• for students: a learning tool to increase comprehension and retention
• for practitioners: a ready-made teaching tool to add visual impact in the learning environment
• for history geeks: a new technology to add new perspectives

The on-line maps use animation, colour and narration to bring history to life.

Find out more at http://www.the-map-as-history.com/. 

What happened in my birth year? is a new website by Philipp Lenssen that tells you what events took place globally on a particular year, in an elegant manner.

Simply type in a year and watch as a reverse countdown from 2010 begins. The screen slowly dims to black as the number starts dropping giving you the impression of going back in time.
 
Then the information starts appearing, one character at a time as if someone is typing it out for you. It looks good. If you want it to appear quickly, refresh the page and select cancel from the dialog box that appears. All the data will then be available.

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

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

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

On the GardenPuzzle website users can easily design their dream garden using a plants database created specifically to match local conditions. You can also ask the GardenPuzzle Community for advice about anything related to gardening.

This website is one for those engaged with land-based studies.

On GardenPuzzle visitors can do two things...

• design a dream garden from scratch; and
• take current gardens and enhance them.

In either case, users can...

• upload a picture; and then proceed to
• add plants to it.

Beforehand, users are required to define...

• the climate; and
• soil conditions.

...otherwise adding plants to it would be a little pointless.

The best plants are recommended by the site, and users can get a visualization for all four seasons.

GardenPuzzle is easy to use, entertaining and, the fact that the site has a social element to it makes it all the more engaging. Users are able to share their designs.

Find out more and/or give it a go at http://gardenpuzzle.com/.

Overview of Language Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Take a look at StoryJumper in the Creative Writing Section.
  • Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Overview of Media Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Save the Newspaper Video...
  • Take a look at Explore. Wonder. Learn. in the Green Team Section.
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Jesse Brown brings a sarcastic view on the need to save newspapers from the Internet.

"How will mankind survive if we let the Internet kill newspapers? Classifieds, crosswords, comics and ads MUST be delivered to our doors each day or society will collapse." 

Overview of Music Resources included in this eMagazine...

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

The Drumbot wesbite hosts several disparate services and tools into one, but they have one thing in common: they are all geared towards musicians.

The tools include...

• metronomes;
• guitar tuners;
• pattern sequencers; and
• a drumbot that can sit in as a drummer to jam with.

There is also a fifth tool called “Tap BPM” which enables users to tap the keyboard in order to find the beat of any song.

Find out more and/or use the tools at http://www.drumbot.com/.

Note: All of these tools can be used online, and/or downloaded and used on any Mac or PC; most tools session musicians could ever need are provided here, and absolutely free of charge as well!

Overview of Science Resources included in this eMagazine...

• Rader Resources
  • Take a look at Explore. Wonder. Learn. in the Green Team Section and
    
  • Inquiry in Action: Science Publication in the Publication Section.
    
• Why not suggest a resource, that you use or feel has potential, in our Over2U section

Learner directed tours, like the five collections of science resources offered by Rader, are great tools for differentiating activities within the classroom.

Rader has been producing useful self-study lessons and quizzes for younger learners for quite a while. 

The five websites to visit are...

http://www.biology4kids.com/

http://www.cosmos4kids.com/

http://www.geography4kids.com/

http://www.physics4kids.com/index.html

They are good resources for science and/or Family Learning Practitioners to link to a class/course web page or blog so that learners, with their guardians and parents can study and test themselves outside of the learning environment.

Need help figuring out what Google Buzz is? Maybe these two video clips can help!

One from Google at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi50KlsCBio&hl=en.

And one from DemoGirl at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdSky2bkwvc.

With meetog, simple mini blogging, users can share...

• photos,
  
• thoughts,
  
• videos
  

...with people they choose.

Users can stay anonymous or they can create a profile that will allow them to edit or delete their content or to follow others.

Apparently users can also sign in with Twitter and post their articles directly to it. Do let me know if you try it.

This could be an excellent tool for learners to use as ePDP Portfolios (Personal Development & Planning)

Visit http://www.meetog.com/ to find out more and/or to login with your Twitter Login or sign up for an account.

I've embedded my meetog below but it can also be accessed at http://meetog.com/acljohn.

This selector, from triptico, allows practitioners to keep learners engaged; they can input up to 32 names and make a random selection at the push of a button.

I like the way that this selector adds a little extra tension - the selector will choose five names – then four – then three… until only one name remains.

Another simple Interactive White Board tool from triptico and one which, I'm sure will be of use to many practitioners.

Try it out at http://www.triptico.co.uk/flashFiles/newSelector/newSelector.html.

P.S. I know how triptico feel, their site receives many thousands of visitors from all around the world and yet very few people contact them with feedback about current content, ideas for future 'tools' etc. It is easy to get in touch – simply use the contact form on their website. It would be nice if I had some feedback as well!

Wordle is something I've used many times before and often use to help me and others understand, for example, the gist of Government documents.

Well Word It Out is an alternative to Wordle.

The way it all works is quite simple by just entering text users can have it transformed into a cloud of tags that can be pasted on a blog or website or VLE to show visitors what it is content truly revolves about.

Word It Out can also be employed as a way to extract the key concepts of any portion of text and make clearer notes.

Educators, especially those who are bloggers, along with webmasters are going to be the ones who will probably make the most use of Word It Out. As an alternative to Wordle this looks quite professional, so that's another point scored in its favour.

Visit http://worditout.com/ to try it out.

"Taking a quick look around, I can't find a way to print multiple copies of individual pages. For instance, what if I want two copies of page 1 and 2, but only 1 copy of the remaining pages?"

"Is there an easy way to do this?"

Word has a built-in feature to handle such a unique printing tasks – even if it isn’t obvious.

To print multiple copies of an individual page or pages, use the Pages control in the Page Range section.

I guess that many users already use this feature to print specific pages when you don’t want to print the entire document. It can also be used to print multiple pages.

For example, let’s suppose you want to print, as you suggested, two copies of page 1, two copies of page 2, and then 1 copy of the remaining pages in a six page document.

Using the Pages control, as follows, you can easily meet this requirement:

• From the File menu, choose Print. (In Word 2007, click the Office button and choose Print).
• In the Page Range section...
  • enter the following into the Pages control: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3-6.
    
• Click OK.

By repeating the appropriate page numbers in this way, users can control the number of copies printed for individual pages. Specifically, enter the page number for each copy that you need. The component 3-6 will print one copy of pages 3, 4, 5, and 6.

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.

N.B. Notification of publication also via Twitter (search for #wdlih or go to http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23wdlih)

Latest Blog...

The first audio blog in March was, in part, produced by delegates attending an eGuide Workshop; the were, among other things, learning to use Audacity.