If you have any comments and/or contributions to make, please send them...

• ...using the Online Comment/Feedback Form or
• ...email the editor John Dalziel at support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
  

The Regional Support Centre eMagazine provides news of funding, current projects, initiatives and examples of good practice in eLearning, and offers ideas and support for the HE, FE, ACL, 6th Form and Specialist College Managers & Practitioners, that are supported by the RSC here in the Northwest.

"I've downloaded some excellent software from this site" (John Dalziel eLearning Adviser)

Apologies if you've already seen these, but I thought they could be quite useful for those who are just starting with Moodle.

The following is a post on the Moodle UK list from Tony Delahunty, E-Learning Development Co-ordinator or College of North West London 

We have developed a bunch of new Moodle themes, including various high-contrast (HC) combinations and large font, trying to replicate various accessibility needs as they are offered in the Techdis Toolbar.  This is intended to promote both the personalisation and accessibility benefits for our students. 

These themes have been implemented for Moodle 1.8.2, and haven't been tested with earlier versions, but may well work without too much adjustment.   We're making these freely available for use: see a preview at http://moodle.student.cnwl.ac.uk/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=11368 and download them at http://moodle.student.cnwl.ac.uk/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=11369

FREE Skillsheets on Windows Vista – what it means for Accessibility

AbilityNet has produced a series of Skillsheets for Windows Vista, through the RAPS project, which explain the accessibility options and how to make Windows Vista work best for you, your staff and your learners.

Windows Vista contains some exciting inbuilt accessibility options. If you are an old hand to Windows, or if you are completely new to PC's, there is some learning required! But these detailed skillsheets will point you in the right direction and help you get the very most out of your initial Vista set up.

As always, these skillsheets are FREE to download and can be found at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/raps .

 

There are five Skillsheets available:

• Windows Vista - Ease of Use Centre
• Windows Vista - Mouse Properties
• Windows Vista - Personalise the Display
• Windows Vista - Text or Visual Alternatives for Sounds
• Windows Vista - Tuning the Keyboard 

Socitm Insight has launched a DVD that explains the need for websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. The DVD's message is targeted at senior decision-makers in the 80-90% of organisations that have websites inaccessible to people with disabilities using adaptive or alternative technologies, as well as those with common visual impairments, reduced mobility or dexterity, dyslexia and other issues. The DVD, made in association with AbilityNet, assembles an impressive set of advocates for website accessibility, including Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, and James Corrigan, Web Manager at East Devon District Council.

Further details can be found at http://www.socitm.gov.uk/socitm/Library/A+world+denied.htm along with a trailer of the video. 

The 2008 Adult Learners' Week award nominations process is up and running.

The website has had a facelift and this year it should be easier to go straight to the preferred type of nomination...

• family,
  
• individual,
  
• project or
  
• group

Please visit http://www.niace.org.uk/ALW/nominations/default.htm to make your nomination.

The closing date for nominations is midday, 25 January2008

• Thursday 6th December 2007

Engaging with research: developing a new future

• NIACE: Thursday-Friday, 17 and 18 January 2008

  Building Family Capital

• Tuesday & Wednesday 29th & 30th January 2008

Expand your leadership and management skills

Learning and Skills Research Network (LSRN) Conference

Thursday 6 December 2007

Venue: Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, Bryanston Street, Marble Arch, London W1H 7EH

CONFERENCE ALERT
The Learning and Skills Research Network conference will bring together practitioners from...

• further and higher education,
  
• adult community learning,
  
• voluntary organisations and
  
• training providers who are interested in research and development in the Learning and Skills Sector.
  

The conference provides a unique opportunity to share interests and explore how research can help our understanding of the policy and practice of facilitating learning for young people and adults.

The conference re-launches the national LSRN network and welcomes both new participants and those who were regular attendees at the LSRN conferences between 1997 and 2003.

Conference themes

1. Engagement with research and development
2. Working collaboratively
3. Building research capacity
4. Increasing the influence of research findings
5. Action research and its role in improving practice

What Participants will get out of attending the event

• An update on national policy and current research in the sector
• An opportunity to meet with colleagues regionally and nationally
• An opportunity to disseminate research findings nationally
• An opportunity to meet members of regional networks
  

The conference will count towards the 30 hour CPD requirement for all FE staff

On returning to work, participants will be able to:

• draw upon the LSRN website which will contain papers and resources from the event
• join their regional LSRN
• identify appropriate opportunities within their own organisations and practice to engage with research
  

Conference Fee: £150 per person to include lunch, tea/coffee

Arrival and registration: 9.45am. The conference ends with tea at 4pm.

 

For further details and to reserve a place, look up: http://www.niace.org.uk/conferences/Conferences.htm

Enquiries to Gurjit Kaur on 0116 204 2833; e-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

Opening up the debate - work with parents, carers and families

Venue: Holiday Inn, 129 St. Nicholas Circle, Leicester LE1 5LX

Background

The family is centre stage of many current policy agendas and this is an exciting time to expand our understanding about the wider benefits of learning as a family and in a family and how we can capture and define these benefits in a meaningful way to influence policy, research and practice.

NIACE and the Family Learning Local Authority Group (FLLAG) are please to invite you to join us at the very first Building Family Capital conference where we will open the debate on what constitutes family capital in current policy, practice and research arenas.

This conference will bring together the unique range of skills and expertise of academics, policy makers and practitioners. It provides the opportunity to link and discuss the range of mechanisms, processes and interventions that create and sustain family capital. Our combined challenge is to share research and practice evidence to influence thinking across the departmental and agency boundaries.

The conference will cover the following themes:

• Building Family Capital- Intergenerational Learning
• Expanding research methodologies in work with parents and carers
• Rethinking engaging and involving parents and carers
• Diversity and home literacy practices
• Capturing the value of social confidence
• Developing Family Citizenship
• Challenges of linking theory and practice

The conference will be of particular interest to:

• Academics
• Family Learning research students
• Family Learning and parenting practitioners
• Councillors
• Policy makers

and staff from:

• Voluntary and Community Sector
• Learning and Skills Councils
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
• Department for Children, Schools and Families
• Lifelong Learning UK
• Extended Services
• Training and Development Agency
• National organisations e.g. Parenting UK, National Family and Parenting Institute
• Prisons
• Probation Services
• Youth Offending Institutions and Prisons

For further details and to reserve a place, look up: http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/familycapital.htm

Enquiries to Gurjit Kaur on 0116 204 2833; e-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk
 

Build your confidence

If you are a manager, team leader or considering moving into a leadership role don't miss this opportunity.

Healthy and balanced organisations are ones where leadership is courageous, the vision for the future is clear and everyone can contribute to improving results. We are pleased to announce one-day courses run by Trainer and Coach - Annette Zera, previously Principal of Tower Hamlets College, which will help expand your leadership and management skills and challenge the way you think about engaging staff.

Getting on Brilliantly 1

Getting the best out of groups and teams
Tuesday 29 January 2008
MAC Arts, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH

Participants on this course will:

• think about how to get the best out of groups and teams
• try out some different ways of running meetings
• get some practical ideas that make a difference
• think about how to encourage people to express their passion for what they do
• discuss key leadership and management issues and approaches
• reflect on how they might do things differently
• challenge some received wisdom.

Build your confidence

If you are a manager, team leader or considering moving into a leadership role don't miss this opportunity.

Healthy and balanced organisations are ones where leadership is courageous, the vision for the future is clear and everyone can contribute to improving results. We are pleased to announce one-day courses run by Trainer and Coach - Annette Zera, previously Principal of Tower Hamlets College, which will help expand your leadership and management skills and challenge the way you think about engaging staff.

Getting on Brilliantly 2

Getting the best out of line management - How do we get the best out of people and enjoy being a line manager?
Wednesday 30 January 2008
MAC Arts, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH

This one-day training session will expand your leadership and management skills and confidence. You will work on different ways of engaging with staff and learners; approaches that are efficient, effective and energising and used in the most innovative and successful of organisations.

Participants on this course will:

• think about how they choose people
• focus on how they use their time
• consider different ways of doing things
• reflect on how best to give and receive criticism
• consider how people in the wrong job can leave with dignity
• sharpen systems and procedures to expedite rather than protract difficulties
• challenge some received wisdom.

There are 40 places per course.
Fee: £245 pp per course includes tea/coffee, lunch and support materials

Arrival/Registration is at 9.30am for a 10.00am start. Sessions end at 4.00pm

If you would like to reserve a place on the above courses visit the NIACE website: http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/TrainingCourses.htm

Enquiries to: Gurjit Kaur on Tel: 0116 2042833
Email: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

...disability

Leonard Cheshire Disability campaigns to change the way people think about, and respond to, disability.

Creature Discomforts is one way they hope to do that. It's a series of animations based on the experiences of real disabled people. They're lovely characters and this is where you can find out all about them. 

Go to http://creaturediscomforts.org/ . 

• ikordo - organise your meetings
  
• Microsoft Office: Accounting Express 2008
• Sandy
• Simple Business Tools
  

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

The video on the home page of the ikordo site makes very clear what the application does.

It...

• negotiates an open meeting time for all proposed participants through automated e-mails,
  
• keeps track of responses to proposals,
  
• sends reminders in advance of a meeting (e-mails or text messages), and
  
• even tracks contacts from the various meetings you hold.
  

If you don't feel comfortable handing the whole meeting setup process over to an online application, you can always jump in and check on what stage of the process ikordo is in. It's free.

As an extension to Microsoft Office, Microsoft has recently released a free version of Accounting, which is called Accounting Express, described as an essential tool for managing your business finances.

• You only need to enter data once so you can save time managing everyday financial tasks.
  
• All of your customer and financial information is stored in one place so that you have a complete view of your business.
  
• You also have the tools you need to sell online through eBay and get paid faster.
  
• More information and download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bec4b496-c629-4d40-a5d0-9d65fd7574ec&DisplayLang=en
  

Note that although Microsoft Office Accounting Express is free, there are a number of additional features in the Professional version; more details on this at http://www.msofficeaccounting.co.uk/ .

 

This may be of greater use to your learners for planning but a virtual PA for your calendar/to do/contact/ entries? After a few test entries, it seems that it actually works!

Sandy is actually a very clever agenda recording system which operates via email...Using some basic and simple keywords (Remember this, Remind me of that, etc), events are triggered which range from calendar entries, reminders, to do notes, contacts and even bookmarks.

You can even tag your events for future referencing by simply adding '@'+label.

Here are few examples of emails that Sandy can process:

* Remind me to move my car in 10 minutes
* Remind me about my Rugby Training on Tuesday, 8-9am @weekly
* Remember Patricia Jenter, 503-555-1212 @playschool
* Remind us to call Mum on her birthday on 9/29/08 @yearly @birthday
* Remember to visit http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk tomorrow
* Remind John to take out the rubbish Wednesday evening @weekly

Find out more and/or sign-up at http://iwantsandy.com/ . 

...a good application to pop up and work with while you're planning a meeting, and during a meeting.

It walks you through steps to set up a meeting agenda, captures and circulates points to come out of a meeting, and prompts you to avoid time wasting.

Among other benefits, the application simply helps make sure that you don't forget to cover key points. It's free to try, but $39.95 if you like it.

Find out more at http://simplebusinesstools.com/sbt/em.asp .

Effective Meetings software is a simple tool for making your meetings more productive...

• Aids in the preparation, organisation and follow-up of meetings
• Captures and circulates all points to come out of the meeting
• Ensures everyone in a meeting has a clear agenda and a record to refer back to afterwards
• Reduces time wasting, ensuring productive meetings and a positive impact on your business

 

• eGuide Plus Workshops: 1st February 2008 and 3rd June 2008 (NIACE & RSC)
  
• eGuides Programme 2007 - 2008 (NIACE)
  3-Day event in Northwest - 19th, 20th February and 3rd April 2008 - Liverpool
  3-Day event in Northwest - 9th, 10th April and 13th May 2008 - Manchester
  eGuides National Event 13th March 2008 - The University of Manchester Conference Centre (NIACE)
  
• Functional skills for adults - events and training: 6th December 2007
• JISC INFONET: Effective e-Learning with Moodle 11th December
• JISC INFONET: e-Learning Design and Development 12th December
• JISC INFONET: Process Review 13th December
  

The Moodle learning environment is becoming increasingly popular in the UK education sector. It is free to use, having been developed through the Open Software model, and is designed using sound pedagogical principles. This workshop introduces Moodle, its main features and demonstrates why Moodle is different from other learning environments.

You will be given access to your own installation of Moodle for 4 weeks after this workshop.

Location: Manchester
Contact: http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/products/workshops/event/man-dec07-

As part of their regional workshop programme, Netskills are visiting Manchester University.

There are still places available, places can be booked via http://www.netskills.ac.uk

An innovative 2-day practical training course that will allow you to develop your own e-Learning solutions with support from our e-Learning specialists. The course fee also includes registration on the Netskills/BTEC Award in e-Learning - a professional qualification providing recognition for your new skills.

Location: Manchester
Contact: enquiries@netskills.ac.uk  Tel: 0191 222 5000
http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/products/workshops/region/index.html

 

9:30 - 16:00

JISC INFONET is pleased to invite you to this full day event

If you are thinking of...

re-structuring,
introducing change (perhaps by way of increasing use of ILT), or
implementing a new information system

...then it is important that you understand what really happens in your organisation. Incremental changes over the years may have left processes no longer matching the needs of modern learners. Previous re-structures may have left responsibility and authority dangerously apart. Don't just believe the Procedure Manual; find out what really happens - the JISC infoNet way.

The day is aimed at...

...senior and middle managers of cross-college and administrative functions in Further Education Colleges or Higher Education Institutions.

No prior knowledge is assumed although the event is suitable for staff with previous experience as well as beginners. Organisations often find it beneficial to send a range of staff from different departments and group discounts are available.

The workshop will be an interactive day aiming to give delegates an introduction to, or raised levels of knowledge of, a variety of process review considerations, techniques and tools. At the end of the workshop delegates will be able to use a variety of simple and rapid approaches to improve processes for the benefit of their learners.

The following areas will be covered:

• Why look at Processes? - Improving service, ensuring processes fit your organisational strategies
• Principles of Process Review - Client focus, cost benefits
• Fundamental Themes - Introspection, problem solving, creative and lateral thinking
• Possible Outputs - Re-structuring, challenging, continuous improvement and mastering change
• Obstacles to Process Restructuring - Achieving commitment, identifying and overcoming obstruction and cultural barriers
• Process Analysis - Process Mapping, IDEF0 and RAEW analysis, swim lanes
• Process Dysfunction - Identify the process anti-patterns
• Process Design & Implementation - Managing transition, evaluation and testing, Business Process Re-Engineering

The content will be flexible to enable the workshop to be matched to the needs of delegates.

The event will commence at 10am and with refreshments upon arrival and will finish at 16.00.

A lunch will be included and this event is £60.00 per delegate.

Please post the attached booking form (see top of this page) back to...

Rachel Wood, JISC RSC Northwest, Lancaster University, Bailrigg House, Lancaster LA1 4YW

or fax the completed booking form before the deadline date of 03/12/07 to 01524 593798.

1st February 2008 and 3rd June 2008; Liverpool.

This workshops are designed to offer you the chance to extend and refresh your skills, to provide more support with creating your own resources, discovering and repurposing existing resources, and with the delivery of your cascade training programme.

The aims of the workshops are to develop the skills and knowledge that the core programme introduced and, for those involved in early eGuide Training, to extend and refresh skills.

You can select one of four options as the main content of your workshop:

1. E-assessment: this option looks at different approaches to e-assessment including e-portfolios and will support participants in developing an outline for a basic e-portfolio.
2. Learning Platforms: this option will look at the features of a learning platform and participants will consider how to plan and implement the effective use of a learning environment.
3. Mobile Technologies: this option looks at the variety of mobile technologies available, and the potential for using them to enhance teaching and learning.
4. Online learning tools: this option looks at the variety of online learning tools available, including Web 2.0 technologies, and ways they can be used to enhance the learner journey.

Note: The materials and activities for these options are designed for self-study and/or work in small groups. There is also time to focus on creating or developing relevant and appropriate resources.

The workshops also offer an opportunity to share experiences and good practice with other E-Guides and consider how to incorporate new ideas into your cascade training.

Don't miss out: please complete the attached booking form stating your preferred option.

For maximum benefit from this training, you are advised to come to the workshops with ideas, and/or resources currently used, for schemes of work, lesson or session plans, learning tasks and activities which you would like to enhance with an ‘e' approach relevant to your chosen optional topic.

• The E-Guides Plus workshops are designed for participants who have previously undertaken some e-learning training.
• This may include staff who have been trained through the E-Guides cascade training programme within an organisation.

Candidates undertaking the Certificate in Educational Use of ICT qualification will be able to undertake the controlled assessment task (one hour) at the workshops.

Either Colin or John or both, eLearning Advisers from the RSC-Northwest will be present at the Northwest Workshops, offering both support and an opportunity for peer networking.

The day will start at 9:30 am and finish at 5:00 pm.

If the date above is not suitable you can attend other workshops across England...

2007

• 4th December London (RSC-London)
• 5th December Leeds (RSC Yorkshire & Humber)

2008

• 15th January Leicester (RSC East Midlands)
• 16th January St Neots (RSC Eastern)
• 5th February Birmingham (RSC West Midlands)
• 1st February (RSC-Northwest)
• 7th February Taunton (RSC-South West)
• 22nd April Newcastle (RSC Northern)
• 23rd May Leeds (RSC Yorkshire & Humber)
• 29th May Birmingham (RSC West Midlands)
• 3rd June Liverpool (RSC-Northwest)
• 6th June London (RSC-London)

Events begin from October 2nd in London. Maximum of 20 participants per event.

You can access the schedule at http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/TrainingCourses/eguides.htm#Schedule

• Materials have been updated
  - core remains the same. E-Guides are given contact details for RSCs and names of ACL and WBL Advisors (known at time of going to press).

• Action plans:
  E-Guides not currently likely to receive a grant, but nevertheless the cascade is expected and ongoing membership of the E-Guides mail list (managed by Becta) and E-Guides network area on Moodle is encouraged.

• Accreditation will be offered during this phase.
  Certificate in Educational Use of ICT - JEB Level 3.
  This requires assessment in controlled conditions as previously.
  There will be three ‘accreditation workshops' next year.
  
  
• E-Guides Plus:
  13 of these events are planned throughout the country.
  Funds are tight and we are hoping to recruit in greater numbers - maximum of 20 per event.
  E-Guides Plus will be open to
  
  • all trained E-Guides
    
  • and staff who have received some e-learning cascade training.
    

There are four E-Guides Plus topics to choose from:

• Online learning tools (incl. social networking)
• Mobile Technologies
• Learning Platforms
• E-assessment

Materials are currently being written for self-study at the workshops. However, it is planned that each topic will also include a focus on creating appropriate and relevant content, and a consideration of the topic in relation to cascade training.
Trainers will be seeking to encourage group interaction, even though participants will be able to follow their own choice of topic to study.

Attendance at the E-Guides core three days, and two E-Guides Plus would therefore add up to 30 hours CPD.

E-Guides materials have been (loosely) mapped to ePD framework.

E-Guides National Event 2008

Thursday March 13th in Manchester.
One-day event with focus on implementation of online and blended learning.
Details and programme will be released in November.
Further details available at http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/TrainingCourses/eguidesnatevent08.htm .

Note: There will be a substantial cost to this event, but a bursary programme will enable eligible participants to attend if their organisation cannot afford to send them.

QIA is offering a series of regional and in-house briefings to offer information and support for providers of adult (post-19) education and training.

Regional Briefings

These briefings will take 2 to 2 and a half hours, from 1 pm until 3.30 pm, and will provide information on all three functional skills.

The regional briefings will explore:

• general and current information on the place of functional skills
• why we need functional skills now
• functional skills in the larger skills agenda
• application and transfer of skills
• the functional skills (pilot) standards
• advice for transition from current provision to functional skills.

The meetings will be ideal for the following:

• work-based learning providers, employers and training organisations
• the secure estate
• Education Business Partnerships and Lifelong Learning Partnerships
• SfL advisers, providers and clusters
• Adult and Continuing Education, including Local Authority provision
• ESOL providers
• providers of family learning/literacy
• Higher Education
• professional development centres
• providers who offer support to post-19 adults with learning difficulties
• voluntary & community organisations, eg. Prince's Trust, YMCA, Skills Force
• Learn Direct
• Connexions and other careers, information advice or guidance centres.

The briefing date and location, here in the Northwest, are 6th December 2007 at Manchester.

Other briefing dates and locations are...

• East Midlands; Leicester; 5th December 2007.
• Northwest; Manchester; 6th December 2007.
• South East; London; 7th December 2007.
  
• East; Peterborough; 11th December 2007.
  
• West Midlands; Birmingham; 1th December 2007.
• London; London; 17th December 2007.
  
• South West; Bristol; 7th January 2008.

Please ensure that all bookings have been received at LSN at least one week prior to the briefing you wish to attend.

To book your place on a regional briefing, please go to http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/events/results.aspx?title=%25&Prog=Functional%20Skills&Region=%25 .
or you can make a telephone booking through LSN's Information and Customer Centre by calling: 0845 071 0800

To...

• address the needs of individual learning providers ; managers, eGuides, ILT Champions, Curriculum Leaders, Learning Resource Managers, Staff development Leaders, etc.
  
• provide appropriate guidance with eLearning
• know someone actually reads the eMagazine ☺.
  

Viewers who accessed the eMagazine... (Note: - names emboldened are new)

• as a menu driven website came from...
  
  • Accrington, Aston, Barrow-in-Furness, Belfast, Billericay, Birkenhead, Blackburn, Bolton, Boothstown, Bootle, Bury, Chester, Crewe, Derby, Huyton-with-Roby, Kendal, Kirklees, Lancaster, Lincoln,  Liverpool, London, Loughborough, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Oldham, Renfrew, Rochdale, St Helens, Sale, Salford, Stafford, Stalybridge, Stockport, Uttoxeter, Walton-le-Dale, Warrington, Wembley, Widnes, Wolverhampton, and Rochdale;
• as a Single webpage came from...
  • Aberdeen, Belfast, Billingham, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bristol, Bury, Chester, Crewe, Derby, Droitwich, Farnborough, Heywood, Irlam, Kempston, Lancaster, Lincoln, London, Loughborough, Macclesfield, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newport, Norwich, Poplar, Prenton, Rochdale, Sale, Shrewsbury, Slough, Stalybridge, Stockport, Southport, Sunderland, Walton-le-Dale, Wembley, Whitehaven, Woking and Wolverhampton;
• via the Archive came from...
  • Accrington, Barrow-in-Furness, Belfast, Billericay, Billingham, Bolton, Boothstown, Bootle, Bury, Chorley, Crewe, Darlington, Gateshead, Heywood, Hull, Huyton-with-Roby, Irlam, Kempston, Kirklees, Lancaster, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Loughborough, Maghull, Manchester, Oldham, St Helens, Slough, Stalybridge, Stockport, Swindon, Thames Ditton, Walton-le-Dale, Warrington, Wembley, Whitehaven, Widnes, Wolverhampton, and Wrexham;
  We also had viewers from...
  • Sydney Australia,
    
  • Changzhou China
    
  • Ahmedabad and New Delhi India,
    
  • Haifa Israel,
    Woerden Netherlands,
  • Batangas Philippines
  • Goteborg Sweeden
    
  • Ankara Turkey and
    
  • Florida, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee USA.
    

You can now take a guided tour of the new , improved RSC NorthWest Website via http://webtour.notlong.com/

• This link will take you on a step by step trail through various pages of the site, with...
  • an annotated summary of each page and
    
  • clear arrows allowing you to work through the tour at your own pace.
• You can also add your comments along the way.

The tour was created using the free toolbar from http://www.trailfire.com which allows you to create and share guided path through any number of websites.

Kevin Hickey
e-Learning Adviser
e: kh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk t: 01524593799 m: 0779 2037994

 

This initiative is led jointly by Becta and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and will lead to...

the creation of a national peer support network, by encouraging providers with a track record of successfully embedding technology into their learning and teaching to create a forum to share effective practice with other providers.

An invitation for these 'supporting exemplar' providers to submit bids was issued on 21 November 2007, with the selection process taking place during January 2008. A copy of the letter to eligible providers can be found under 'related links'.

The Technology Exemplar Network prospectus and the invitation to participate for supporting exemplar providers are now available at:

http://learningandskills.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=34345

The closing date for applications for exemplar status is 31 December 2007.

If after reading, you still have questions, please contact Meagan McKeaugue at exemplarnetwork@becta.org.uk

All participants will receive revenue grants of between £7,000 and £7,500 to support the costs of releasing staff to deliver the requirements of the Network.

Capital grants of up to £50,000 will also be available to support each provider's continuing journey towards e-maturity.

Jim Judges, e-learning Advisor (Teaching and Learning), JISC Regional Support Centre West Midlands, says...

"Following a consultation with our local Moodle users here in the Midlands a new "Moodle-UK" mailing list for Moodle users across the UK has been created, with users from other smaller mailing lists being invited to join this new larger list. The idea is that any non-region specific questions, queries and comments relating to the educational use, administration and installation of Moodle can be shared with over 180 (and rising) Moodle
users.

To join you can either:

(1) Subscribe manually at:http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/MOODLE-UK.html and select "Join or leave the list".

Or

(2) Send an email to listserv@jiscmail.ac.uk In the body of the email you need to insert the following line (add your own Forename and Surname): SUBSCRIBE MOODLE-UK FORENAME SURNAME

For any users who are worried about annoying levels of JISCmail email can I suggest that you login to your account http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk and through subscribers corner > select the list > and choose "digest" under subscription type. This will mean you will get a maximum of just one daily block of messages in one email for that particular chosen list."

 

• A year of progress and achievement...
• Business and colleges ask for MPs support
• IAW: Common File Format
• JANET txt
• Minister launches programme to help 200,000 into work
• 'Most graduates' in full-time job
• Ofsted News
  • Personalisation
  • Three FE/WBL seminars
  • Worksteps
    
• Typosquatters
  
• UK universities rise up rankings
• University plans 'global degrees'
• Women in IT...
  

JISC's annual review is published and is for the first time an entirely online publication. The review documents a year of achievement in the key areas of JISC's activities and includes podcast interviews with senior JISC figures, an image gallery and a Year in View giving the highlights of JISC's activities during the academic year 2006-2007.
Among the highlights of a busy and important year, outlined in the review,
are:

• the launch of SuperJANET5, the upgrade to the JANET network
• international activities, including the worldwide open access petition, the launch of the JISC/SURF 'Licence to Publish' and international repositories activities
• the start of the Users and Innovation programme
• the publication of the national e-infrastructure report
• the launch of the UK Access Management Federation
• new research and reports on Web 2.0, plagiarism, open source software and IPR
  

For the first time the JISC annual review includes podcast interviews, and in an introductory interview Professor Sir Ron Cooke, Chair of JISC, speaks about another highlight of the year, the publication of JISC's updated strategy, and its impact on some of the key challenges facing the sector:
'The updated strategy is helping us deal with a whole series of issues, such as continued and rapid technological change, the rise in staff and student expectations, the need to rationalise systems and ensure their compatibility, and the growing need to archive research data.'

In another podcast interview, Dr Malcolm Read, JISC's Executive Secretary, gives the foreword to the annual review, emphasising the role of partnership in JISC's work: 'It's difficult to think of anything that JISC does that doesn't involve working in partnership with another organisation. The Internet internationalises so much of higher education and research such that we do have to work closely with other countries. So we have very strong international partnerships, as this review indicates, to help ensure that we can maintain our position and so that in some areas - such as repositories, for example - we can influence other countries.'

Podcast interviews with the chairs of all JISC sub-committees offer first-hand accounts of JISC's work from senior figures in the education and research community, including analysis of the impact of ICT and discussions of some of the future challenges facing the sector as it seeks to integrate the use of ICT in learning, teaching, research and the management of institutions.

An introductory leaflet is being sent out to colleges, universities and partner organisations giving a summary of what's available in the online Annual Review.
To read the full online annual review, please go to: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/annualreview07

Employers and colleges have called on MPs to support a new initiative that for the first time unites the demand and supply of education and training.

“Unified to Deliver”, a new alliance between colleges and businesses will mean that workforce training can now be decided and delivered directly. The partnership between employers and college principals will truly demonstrate “demand-led” skills policy in action.

MPs attended the launch event at the House of Commons and were asked to support the coalition by backing partnership initiatives in their constituencies.

Read more at http://www.lifelonglearninguk.org/documents/pressreleases/231007.html or http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-789KE .

The lack of a common file format remains a major barrier to sharing interactive whiteboard resources. There has not been an open format available to allow a user to develop content on one platform and present it on another.

Read the Becta Report and make comments about the proposals at... http://industry.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=33890 . 

ja.net is delighted to announce the launch of ja.net txt, the new short message service (SMS) for the JANET community.

With their selected delivery partner, PageOne, they have created a service that will learning providers to deliver your integrated communication strategy at prices driven down through the combined buying power of the ja.net community.

There are no setup charges and the cost per message will be 4.2p + VAT.

To find out more about the numerous features and benefits of the exciting new service visit:

• http://www.pageone.co.uk/janettxt

or

• http://www.ja.net/services/janet-txt/index.html

A new European Social Fund (ESF) programme for England backed by £2 billion from the European Union, has been launched by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, James Plaskitt, and European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla.

Launching the ESF programme for 2007-2013, James Plaskitt said: “Our priority is to help those who face the biggest barriers to work. Over the next seven years the ESF programme will help 200,000 people into jobs, and enable at least 140,000 of the most disadvantaged people make positive progress toward the labour market. It will help 80,000 disadvantaged young people into learning or a job."

• Read the press release at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2007/oct/emp045-291007.asp .

Target groups for ESF funding include unemployed people, disabled people, lone parents, older workers, ethnic minorities, low skilled people, and young people not in education, employment or training.

Some 74% of UK graduates are in full time jobs three and a half years after finishing their degrees, research says.

Eight out of 10 of these were classed as being in graduate-level occupations, by the study for the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7079742.stm . 

The Workstep programme challenges training providers to widen opportunities for disabled people and where possible guide them into unsupported employment. Read more at http://ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/issue/22/adultlearning .

Or look at the "Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector 2006/07", which contains guarded praise of providers' performance in 2006/07.

Find out more about Workstep at http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Employers/Ourservices/Programmes/Disabilityserviceshelpforemployers/WORKSTEP/index.html .

Ofsted have hosted many seminars that shared the findings from thematic surveys about schools. This service was not previously offered to colleges, but that’s about to change.

From January 2008 good practice will be shared at seminars about land based, business, and engineering training. Colleges offering these courses have been invited, but a limited number of spaces are still available and admission is free of charge.

Find out more at http://ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/article/256 . 

If interested in attending these events you should contact our events managers by email: mathew@conferenceworld.org or by telephone: 07875 739685.

Personalisation in adult education is not a new idea. But current developments bring together a number of strands that will benefit learners and providers. Heather Barnett, HMI, explains how inspectors will be examining the extent to which providers are responding to initiatives in this area. 

Read more at http://ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/article/257 . 

Or look at the Learning and Skills Council document, Developing a Learner Involvement Strategy, at http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/National/nat-developingalearnerinvolvementstrategy-pu-feb2007.pdf .

Typosquatters - companies who set up websites that use common misspellings of popular brands - are increasingly targeting children, according to new research from McAfee. Read more at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/shopper/news/140271/typosquatters-targeting-childrens-websites.html

Britain's performance in a league table of the world's top universities has improved, but the US still dominates.

Four of the top 10 are British and the rest American. Harvard is top and Yale, Oxford and Cambridge joint second. Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7083292.stm .

A UK university is re-inventing itself as a "globalised" institution - with plans for degree courses in which units are taught in different countries. 

Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7079617.stm . 

A new initiative aims to target untapped resource of female IT workers not using their skills.

Read the full article at http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/134475/women-in-it-get-backtowork-training.html . 

Additional information at http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/content_static/home.asp .

• Naace: Social Networking Conference
• Using blogs with students

Stephen Carrick-Davies, Childnet
For many young people Social Networking websites are their world; an amazing, creative, constantly-changing space through which they can project their identities, communicate, explore, and engage with others, often with other children from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. However, we are also sadly seeing how many young people are using it to harass, bully and inflict pain on their peers. Indeed, according to research undertaken by the Anti Bullying Alliance in the UK an estimated 22% of children and young people now purport to have been cyber-bullied by others.
Find out more and listen to Stephen's presentation where he reflects on how we can all respond and prevent this growing trend at http://naaceevents.org/socialnet07/ .

See http://www.childnet.com for more details on Childnet's work.

Sandra Taylor from Ashton Sixth Form College talks about their experiences of using blogs with students.

Ashton Sixth Form have tried the use of blogs for students on work experience, IN this interview Sandra Taylor talks about how the blogs were used, how students and staff interacted via the blog an advice for anyone setting up a blog.

Click here to download the podcast interview

Alternatively use the player above to listen now!

• CEL: Publications (sustainability)
• Chips with everything
• Developing a Learner Involvement Strategy (LSC)
  
• e-gazing
• Green ICT?
• Top tools for learning

1. CEL's strategy document, "Towards leadership for sustainability", is available to download at:

http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/UsersDoc/LeadershipforSustainability.pdf

2. CEL's research report, "Leadership for sustainability: Making sustainable development a reality for leaders", is available to download at:

http:// www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/UsersDoc/SustainabilityResearch.pdf

3. "Leadership for sustainability: The sustainable development challenge for leaders in further education", CEL's report of the conference on 16 May 2007, is available to download at

http:// www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/UsersDoc/SustainabilityConference.pdf

 

The November edition of Chips with Everything and The NLN Materials Supplement are now available at:
http://aclearn.qia.org.uk/display.cfm?page=985

This issue includes:

• Regional Work Based Learning advisors in post,
  
• e-Assessment guide to effective practice in e-Assessment,
  
• useful resources,
  
• MyGuide,
  
• E-Guides and information on free Skills for Life workshops.
  
• The NLN Materials supplement focuses on the new service and how the NLN materials can be and are being used.

Back issues of 'Chips with Everything' can now be downloaded from the aclearn website. Either click on the Chips logo on the homepage or go directly to http://aclearn.qia.org.uk/chips

The Learning and Skills Council document, Developing a Learner Involvement Strategy, links to a number of key aspects of personalisation. It describes what a learner involvement strategy can be like, why it’s needed, what can be included and how it can be developed and monitored. It provides broad guidance that can be adapted to fit individual provider circumstances, based on existing good practice within the sector and illustrated with case studies.

During inspection, Ofsted will look for evidence that providers have a learner involvement strategy and can show how learners are influencing the improvement of provision. From January it is proposed further education college governing bodies will have to include at least two learner governors. Inspectors will also be looking for signs of more personalised services and their impact.

Download the pdf at http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/National/nat-developingalearnerinvolvementstrategy-pu-feb2007.pdf .

 

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has published a compilation of thinkpieces about the strategic significance of technology in the further education system.

"e-gazing: further horizons for leaders" is CEL's second publication about the e-gazing aspect of leadership and elearning, and includes contributions from seven sector representatives. An accompanying DVD features video clips of interviews with five of the thinkpiece contributors and twelve other leaders, experts and visionaries.

Download the pdf version at http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/UsersDoc/egazingFurtherHorizons.pdf .

A practical guide for councils on greening their ICT has been launched by the local government Society for IT Management (Socitm). The report examines the likely legislative drivers and audit requirements that will mean that, over the next few years, public sector IT directors will begin to have their project decisions examined and assessed according to their environmental impacts.

Topics covered include...

• ...managing the lifecycle of ICT equipment;
  
• ...reducing data centre energy use; and
  
• ...making the wider organisation greener through ICT.
  

Point by point action checklists round off the report which is available via the Socitm website: http://www.socitm.gov.uk/socitm/Library/Green+IT+report.htm .

Environmental legislation confirmed in the recent Queen's Speech means public bodies will soon be compelled to reduce their use of power and their carbon footprints - and ICT systems form a significant part of a modern public sector body's carbon footprint.

So sustainability is no longer optional: strategies must be drawn up by ICT managers and project managers to reduce ICT energy use and heat
emissions; reduce and manage ICT waste; embrace flexible and mobile working to cut transport requirements; and use technology systems to
reduce other emissions and waste.

The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies asked learning professionals to contribute their top tools for learning. This extensive pdf document gives a huge amount of information on 100 different technology tools, both free and priced that you can use for teaching and learning.  A comprehensive summary is FREE to download at: http://www.janeknight.com/downloads/top100tools.pdf

• Building the digital Age: Timeline
• Clipbank
• eAssessment
• Family Learning
• Google Guide
• Homeopathy: is it Science?
• ITQ ICT Skills
• Learn Listening Online
• MediaKnowAll
• My Guide
• New Build
• Picture Sandbox
• S-Cool
• SuTree
• Teachit
• TV Lesson
  
• Using English
• VerveEarth!

Silicon chips are everywhere. They are used in everything from planes and satellites to mobile phones and laptops, completely changing the way we live our lives. Use this BBC timeline, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7091190.stm , to trace the explosion of the silicon chip.

Or go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7090811.stm  to look at Transistor History.

Or watch the Computer dinosaurs video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7090000/newsid_7097200/7097294.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1 .

 

Nothing can engage learners like the moving image, and it is for this reason that Espresso Education's Channel 4 Learning has re-invented the acclaimed Clipbank digital video library.

Drawing on all the elements that make Espresso Primary so successful, the new Clipbank has been redeveloped from a DVD-based resource to a browser-based online service that is updated on a weekly basis - (currently 2,000+ clips and growing each week!). In addition to featuring high-quality video clips from Channel 4 Learning programmes, the new Clipbank service features a secondary version of Espresso's highly regarded weekly NewsBites. This dedicated news bulletin, developed in conjunction with ITN and presented by Alex Micklewhite, covers the week's most current and educationally relevant stories. .

Clipbank covers the eight subject areas of...

• Science,
  
• History,
  
• Geography,
  
• MFL (French, German and Spanish),
  
• Design and
  
• Technology and Business.
  

For more information visit the website at http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/clipbank

The four UK qualification authorities have just launched an e-Assessment guide to effective practice in e-Assessment. The guide provides practical advice to centres using electronic methods for accredited assessment. It covers the practical arrangements for providing e-testing and covers electronic assessment portfolios.

View online at http://www.efutures.org/graphics/index.html .

Download the pdf at http://www.efutures.org/docs/guide.pdf . 

Visit Essex Police's Young People site at http://www.essex.police.uk/offbeat/o_ki_01.php which includes resources on and about...

• Stranger Danger
• 999
• Radio Alphabet
• Mobile Phones
• Road Safety
• Bullying
• Chat Rooms
• Colouring
• Your Pages and
  
• Links
  

OR

Read advice from the Derbyshire police and find out what they do and play games at...

• http://www.derbyshire.police.uk/youngspace/
  

Gloucestershire Police's Kids Aware website has information about...

• Staying Safe
• Protecting Property and
• The police

View this site at http://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/kids_aware/ .

 

A fun and interactive website, dedicated to young people aged 10-17 years.

Merseyside Police have developed the site as part of the Force’s drive to further engage with young people in a positive way, and tackle issues of youth disorder and anti-social behaviour.

The site was created after consultation with a range of young people who highlighted the need for their own website that gave them specific, clear, police messages and important information but not in a typical corporate police style.

View at http://www.merseyside.police.uk/youthwise/ . 

Cheshire Police's 4Uth web pages aim to safeguard and improve the well being of children and young people; resources found at http://www.cheshire.police.uk/showcontent.php?pageid=565  

Nancy Blachman tells us...

"Google Guide is an online interactive tutorial and reference for experienced users, novices, and everyone in between. I developed Google Guide because I wanted more information about Google's capabilties, features, and services than I found on Google's website."

Go to http://www.googleguide.com/ to find out for yourself. 

...recently published an article warning universities not to offer 'science' degrees in homeopathy and accusing several alternative therapies of being gobbledygook.

In this activity, learners analyse information about homeopathy to decide whether it is based on scientific theory. They then choose the best arguments for and against homeopathy to decide whether they would use it, and whether it should be freely available to all.

Find out more at http://www.upd8.org.uk/activity.php?actid=255 . 

Supportive news links: -

• Sense about science - Clear and succint criticism of homeopathy - http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/108 .
  
• Society of homeopaths - Description of homeopathy - http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/about-homeopathy/what-is-homeopathy/ .
  
• Homeopathy site - An example of homeopathy's use in the treatment of Autism - http://homeoint.org/site/joshi/austism.htm .
  
• The Guardian - Report of the article in Nature - 'science' degrees in homeopathy are teaching gobbledygook - http://education.guardian.co.uk/chooseadegree/story/0,,2040111,00.html .
  
• Quack Watch - Criticism of homeopathy  - http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html .
  

ITQ is now an established IT user qualification and training package that was created to ensure staff are trained in exactly the IT skills they need to carry out their roles. It is primarily aimed at ICT users and not professional IT staff and allows different units to be taken at different levels.

Find out more at http://www.learningtechnologies.ac.uk/itq/index.htm . 

You may find the Teachers' Section particularly useful; visit http://www.learningtechnologies.ac.uk/itq/teachers/index.htm .

A great resource for pupils and teachers of Music put together under the auspices of Learning & Teaching Scotland. The A - Z Dictionary of concepts with audio samples is impressive. However, there is much more than I had realised on offer e.g. short essays (also with audio illustration) featuring concepts, photographs of composers, instruments etc. From the index you'll be able easily to navigate your way to the various areas. 

Visit http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/nq/resources/learnlisteningonline/index.asp to find out more. 

 

MEDIAKNOWALL, is a starting point for internet research for Media Studies students. A mixture of basic notes and links to other, relevant sites.

Designed specifically to help those following the WJEC GCSE, AS and A-level syllabus; learners may find useful information here whatever course or level they are studying. A general introduction to Media Studies can be found in the KS3 section.

Find out for yourself at http://www.mediaknowall.com/ . 

 

The myguide website offers free, easy-to-use email and web-search tools from a simple, banner-free website.

myguide allows people to...

...personalise and save settings,
...change colours, font size and
...even choose to use a built-in ‘hear it' function which reads the text on screen.

Because myguide is for absolute beginners, it's designed to be supported, so people's first steps onto the internet are supervised and so positive they'll want to keep on using it. 

It includes an online course for beginners, which will introduce learners to the internet and show them how to use myguide.

Find out more at http://www.myguide.gov.uk/myguide/MyguideHome.do .

 

The LSC, in association with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), has launched a website to advise the Further Education sector on the design of its colleges and offer guidance to those colleges embarking on major capital projects.

The website is also designed to guide the professional project teams that support colleges, such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors. It provides information on both the process and the design elements of a capital project and provides colleges with examples of best practice.

The website will contribute to the delivery of world class buildings for world class education.

Visit the website at: http://designguidance.lsc.gov.uk/

...the 'Sandbox!

• Type a search term and search across multiple stock photo collections at the same time.
• Click each tab to see the results for that collection.
• Click through on each result thumbnail to see more details.

go to http://picturesandbox.com/ .

A website dedicated to providing high quality A-level and GCSE revision material totally FREE.  

Find out more at http://www.s-cool.co.uk/default.asp . 

A site that lets people find video lessons and how-to videos from all over the web as well as to meet others with common interests. The site now has over 10,000 videos indexed across a broad field of interests

The people at SuTree have now launched an enhanced site with a set of new and enhanced features. These include a variety of widgets to find free video lessons & tutorials from all over the web.

Try it for yourself using the Widget below

Add a Widget, like the one above, by going to http://www.sutree.com/Widgets.aspx

 

Teachit is a tried and trusted education resource used by thousands of teachers UK-wide.

Specialising in...

• English, 
• Drama and 
• Media Studies
  

...from primary to post-16, the online Teachit library offers 9,888 pages of...

• classroom materials, 
• schemes of work, 
• lesson plans and 
• teaching tools,
  

...all created by working teachers and - their team of Teachit contributors.

Find out more at http://www.teachit.co.uk . 

TV Lesson presents a library of how-to video content online. A wide range of topics are covered. Find out at http://www.tvlesson.com/index.php .

I'm told that this is an excellent resource, particularly those Polish students working with webpages in English or in MFL who want an extra hand.

A large collection of English as a Second Language (ESL) tools & resources for students, teachers, learners and academics. Browse the grammar glossary and references of irregular verbs, phrasal verbs and idioms, ESL forums, articles, teacher handouts and printables, and find useful links and information on English. Topics cover the spectrum of ESL, EFL, ESOL, and EAP subject areas.

Find out for yourself at http://www.usingenglish.com/ . 

Note: Like many of these online resources, you have to register first before you get full access.

 

• Create your personalized internet world within minutes by adding favorites
• Subscribe to the content that is important to you; cut out the rest
• Surf the net geographically, check out what's hot in your city and the world
• Share cool content with friends

Destinations are available for a range of topics—everything from mainstream websites (e.g. YouTube), cities and countries, universities, sports teams and famous people.

Go to http://www.verveearth.com/landing/ to find out more. Have fun!

• Audio Notetaker
• Erudix: A collaborative website for teaching and learning
• Lingro
• Magic Studio
• Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000
• QlipBoard: Personal Communication Software
• Roundpic

Audio Notetaker is a new and unique software package to help with navigating, annotating and organising digital recordings.

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

The aim of the Audio Notetaker software is to introduce new techniques to make voice recordings far more accessible and, by doing so, enormously more productive.

* Write and share your lecture notes
* Create private working groups by using integrated wiki
* Edit your personal page and use privacy settings to control who sees your info
* Meet students from all over the world: more than 30 countries and 9 languages
* Improve your language skills by exchanging with foreign students

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

An online tool which allows you to 'read a webpage' in its original language but then click on individual words you don't know to both see and hear the word in a variety of other languages. It even remembers which words you've looked at to give you a words list to learn from.

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

Magic Studio is a web-based creative tool for teachers and students to build interactive content and resources without needing any specialist ICT skills.

It draws on many Web 2.0 principles to use the web as something to use productively, either as an individual or in collaboration and sharing with others.

A free version is available at http://www.magicstudio.co.uk check it out and build interactive images and timelines with existing content from museums, or your own personal media.

Files that Magic Studio supports:

• Image - JPG (not progressive JPG) or PNG up to 64mb - but preferably not over 4000 px wide
• Video - flv (flash video) only (up to 64mb)
• Audio - mp3 (up to 64mb)

 

The new Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 combines a cordless notebook mouse with a 1GB flash drive built into the USB transceiver.  This effectively conserves scarce USB ports on some laptops, though I imagine there will be perplexed users who unplug the drive and wonder why their mouse stops working.

Available in the UK for about £50. Carry up to 1GB of your 'learning objects'/presentations etc with the mouse that can facilitate learner participation. Find out more at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=098&active_tab=overview .

QlipBoard is fun and easy personal communication software that lets anyone use their computer to visually explain anything.

QlipBoard lets you naturally write and draw on pictures, documents or web pages while talking over them.

What you get is a Qlippit - a clear, authentic voice message containing your pictures, documents or web pages along
with your writing and drawing that you can share through email or the web.

To find out more or to download the Free software, go to http://www.qlipmedia.com/ .

 This online tool allows learners and teachers to add rounded corners to their images for use in ePortfolios, learning objects, etc.

Go to http://www.roundpic.com/index.php to find out more. 

• 25 Skills Every Man Should Know
• Christmas Card: How to...
• Death by Data Protection
• Dixons: top Xmas toys
• Star Trek
  
• Phobias
• Play Putty Face
• War of the Worlds Comic

These days, you can outsource almost any job-but some things you need to know how to do yourself. Study Popular Mechanics' Master List with step-by-step tips from the experts, and test your DIY aptitude each step of the way.

Go to http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/upgrade/4223337.html?page=1&all to find out more. 

Make your own Christmas tree pop-up card to send to those special colleagues, advisers and learners on your list! ☺

Go to http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Christmas-Tree-Pop-up-Card to find out how.

Data Death:

"Those who believe in the benefits of the online world must act rapidly and effectively to turn the current backlash against its perceived insecurity into well-informed votes of customer confidence in those who practice, not just preach, secure information sharing."

Such were the words of Philip Virgo, secretary-general of the joint Parliament and IT industry body Eurim , in his Computerweekly.com blog, as he surveyed the wreckage of public trust in government IT following the 'two disks in the post' debacle.

For the full text of his trenchant analysis, 'Death by data protection', see: http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/when-IT-meets-politics/2007/11/death-by-data-protection-1.html .

Toy robots top this year's tech toy wish-list in the run up to the UK Christmas shopping season, according to online and high street retailer Dixons. The company compiled the list based on its latest online pre-orders and sales data. Read more at http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2203370/dixons-names-top-christams-tech .

This month has seen the re-release of the original Star Trek series, this time on HD (and ordinary) DVD. To celebrate, Wired Magazine is running a poll on the cheesiest monsters. You can vote for the infamous Tribbles (I actually remember that programme), but the most dreaded must surely be the over-sized square of pepperoni pizza, called Horta, from the episode Devil in the Dark. See
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/multimedia/2007/11/gallery_star_trek_monsters 

I know HR can't say "don't apply if..." but if there is a vacancy here at the Regional Support Centre we would suggest that if you suffer from any of the following, this isn't the place for you (Please note: - this is not a serious article!)

• Ablutophobia - Fear of washing or bathing (for our benefit)
• Bibliophobia - An abnormal fear of books
• Cyberphobia - Irrational fear of computers or technology
• Decidophobia - Fear of making decisions
• Epistemophobia - Fear of knowledge
• Friggaphobia - Fear of Fridays
• Glossophobia Fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
• Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Fear of long words (sorry to all who suffer from this!)
• Ideophobia - Fear of ideas
• Kathisophobia - Fear of sitting down
• Logophobia - Fear of words (Question: if you suffer from this why are you looking at an eMagazine?)
• Metathesiophobia - Fear of changes
• Neophobia - Fear of anything new
• Ochophobia - Fear of vehicles
• Phronemophobia - Fear of thinking
• Quadrophobia - Fear of 4-way stops and not knowing who goes next
• Sociophobia - Fear of society or people in general
• Tropophobia - Fear of moving or making changes

You may want to look at other types of phobia; if so go to http://www.answers.com/library/Phobias

Again Please note: - this is not a serious article!

This was 'flagged' by the RSS feed I get from the magazine. Enjoy at http://seenthis.webuser.co.uk/2007/11/play-putty-face.html .

"I think the magazine is excellent value as well!" John Dalziel (eLearning Adviser ACL/PCDL)

While you are at it, take a look at http://seenthis.webuser.co.uk/2007/11/knitted-iphone.html . 

It was 77 years ago that Orson Welles terrified the world with his radio rendition of H.G. Wells’ sci-fi classic, The War of The Worlds. Well, here in the 21st century we’re not so limited in our choice of media, which is why writer Ben Edginton and artist D’Israeli have managed to adapt an online comic book version of War of the Worlds, which you can read for free at http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/wotw/wotw_popup.php?p= .

• No questions this month! 

Although every care has been taken in the preparation of this eMagazine, no warranty is given by the author or the Regional Support Centre-Northwest as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained within it and neither the authors nor the RSC-Northwest shall be responsible or liable for any errors or omissions.

Note:- you will find a separate menu of tips-n-tricks on the left, under the tips-n-tricks Main menu.

and we will attempt to answer them in future tips-n-tricks.

 

We currently have, running on Auto-pilot, the December 's storyboard' of 6 video clips (Looping approximately every 22:17 min) The clips are...

1. The Machine is Us/ing Us (04:33 min)
2. JISC InfoNET (05:42 min)
3. Blogs in Plain English (02:59 min)
4. eGuide Conference (03:15)
5. Literacy Africa (01:28 min)
6. Learner Expectations (04:20)
   

RSC-NW TV Channel, will aim...

...to provide news of...

funding,
current projects,
initiatives and examples of good practice in eLearning

...to offer ideas and support for the Higher Education, Further Education, Personal and Community Development Learning (ACL), 6th Form College, Work Based Learning and Specialist College Managers & Practitioners etc., that are supported by the RSC here in the Northwest.

...to produce videos of events and/or training and to show them...

...so that those who are unable to attend face-to-face events, will be able to experience martini learning (any time, any place...)

When you visit the TV Chanel, "Give it a little time to 'Fine Tune'"...

UK Viewers during November 2007

Good news, the number of viewers of RSC-NW TV is increasing; new viewers are in Bold Type. In the UK we have viewers from...

Barrow-in-Furness,
Basildon,
Bath,
Belfast,
Billingham,
Bolton,
Bootle,
Burtonwood,
Bury,
Chester,
Crewe,
Derby,
Evesham,
Huyton-with-Roby,
Kendal,
Lancaster,
Leeds, Liverpool, Loughborough, London, Macclesfield, Maidenhead, Manchester, Oldham, St Helens, Sailsbury, Sale, Salford, Sefton, Solihull, Stockport, Swindon, Walton-le-Dale, Warrington, Wembley and Widnes.

We also have viewers in India (New Delhi), Netherlands (Panningen), Sudan (Khartoum), Taiwan (San-Ch'Ung), Turkey (Istanbul) and the USA (New York, Virginia, Washington). Why not take a look yourself and go to http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/RSC_TV/index.html and watch the RSC-Northwest's TV channel

Manager...

Andrew Quarmby
Tel: 0152 493 802
aq@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

 

Administration...

Christine Hulme, Jackie Ainsworth and Rachel Wood
Tel: 0152 459 3797
Fax:0152 459 3798
admin@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

eLearning Advisers...

Benita Wiseman (Further Education/6^th Form Colleges)
Tel: 0152 459 3801
bw@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Chrissie Turkington (Learning Resources/Higher Education Colleges)
Tel: 0152 459 3801
ct@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Colin Gallacher (Work Based Learning)
Tel: 0152 459 3801
c.gallacher@lancaster.ac.uk

John Dalziel (Adult & Community Learning / Personal & Community Development Learning)
Tel: 0152 459 3801
jd@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Keith Wilson (Technical)
Tel: 0152 459 3799
kwil@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Kevin Hickey (Further Education/6^th Form Colleges)
Tel: 0152 459 3799
kh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Lisa Valentine (Specialist Colleges & Accessibility)
Tel: 0152 459 3799
lv@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Events Coordinator...

Helen Metcalfe
helen.metcalfe@lancaster.ac.uk

Support Desk...

Duty Adviser
Tel: 0152 459 3797
support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Address & Telephone/Fax Numbers...

Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
Regional Support Centre - Northwest
Lancaster University
Bailrigg House
Lancaster University Campus
Lancaster LA1 4YE

Tel: 01524 593 797
Fax: 01524 593 798

Web Address (URL)...

http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk