Welcome to the latest issue of RSC Northwest's eMagazine.
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.

Ten Reminders for Usability web design to make Site Visitors adore you
Source: Cre8pc, 31 May 2007
No matter how hard you try, there is always something wrong with your website. This list is for repetitive web design practices that drive site visitors crazy because we keep driving them crazy.

More information at http://cre8pc.com/blog/archives/281

Are you always changing the text zoom level when you open a new browser window?

Do you find some sites you visit have impossibly small fonts and you are constantly changing your text zoom back and forth as you visit different sites?

This Firefox extension lets you save the size of text on a site-by-site basis. View the program's home page at : http://urandom.ca/nosquint/

Usability: Counting the Cost
By Caroline Pickering, Lead Designer, Sigmer Technologies.

"When potential clients ask me, “How much will it cost to build a usability study into my project?”, my answer invariably is, “How much will it cost you not to do it?”."

Google to make web applications work off-line
Google Gears technology will allow off-line access to web-based applications and services such as email, calendars and word processors.
Further details at http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/114384/google-to-make-web-apps-work-offline.html

Google unveils mobile calendar
The search giant has extended the reach of its calendar application to mobile users so that people can access and update event-related data regardless of where they're located. More details at: http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/114207/google-unveils-mobile-calendar.html

Details of all RSC Northwest's Events can be found at http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/Events/
Click on any of the events to get further information: -

To help readers locate courses, published in this section of the eMagazine, we have grouped them under the lead/host organisation(s)

CEL's role in helping leaders to understand and interact confidently with the technology agenda is supported through the offering of programmes and events specifically designed for leadership and elearning. Brief details on the CEL provision in this strategic area, during summer 2007, are given below.

• ConnecT - WBL providers
  The purpose of ConnecT is to help leaders and senior managers in the LSC-funded WBL sector to develop feasible and workable ILT strategies for their organisations.
  • Tuesday 3 July 2007 Leeds
  • Thursday 19 July 2007 Manchester
    

• eQuIP - Colleges and ACL providers
  The aim of the eQuIP facilitator training, is to familiarise college and ACL leaders and senior managers with the eQuIP process and supporting digital resources enabling them to deliver a customised eQuIP (elearning Quality Improvement Programme) in their organisation.
  • Wednesday 4 July 2007 Leeds

• e-gazing seminars - All sector providers
  These ½ day seminars with input from an ‘expert' speaker are for, strategic leaders across the whole LSC sector and aim to stimulate debate about aspects of elearning and technology to further inform their organisation's vision for the future.
  • Monday a.m. 9 July 2007 London

• Realise - WBL providers
  The aim of Realise is to ensure the effective implementation of ILT strategies across WBL organisations.
  • Tuesday 10 July 2007 Manchester
  • Tuesday 17 July 2007 Birmingham

If you would like further information on any of these activities

visit http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/default.aspx?Page=ProgrammeMap

or contact:

Lisa Noronha
Centre for Excellence in Leadership
10 Greycoat Place
SW1P 1SB

telephone: 0870 060 3278
facsimile: 0207 222 3081

email: lisa.noronha@centreforexcellence.org.uk

This years conference will be held on Oct 10-12th at the Central Hall Westminster and is supported by Becta.

Confirmed keynotes for this years event include Becta's Chief Executive, Stephen Crowne and visionary writer Marc Prensky. Included within your registration is access to the pre-conference workshops and Special Interest Groups that will be held on 10th October in the afternoon.

Go to http://www.handheldlearning2007.com/ for more information

Regional events for FE & Adult Learning this summer

UKERNA is organising five regional events this summer (May-September), entitled: "Business continuity and communications via JANET".

These free events will be focused on JANET services, in the context of keeping your organisation's IT running and new ways of communicating beyond email.

These events will be aimed at the Further Education and Adult Learning communities.

The dates/venues of the five events are as follows:

• Aston Business School, Birmingham Monday July 23rd
• Peter Chalk Centre, University of Exeter Wed July 25th
• Glasgow Menzies Hotel Fri Sept 14th

The morning theme will focus on resilience and which JANET services can help with improving business continuity.
The afternoon theme is concerned with communications technologies, and will focus on new JANET services such as JANET txt and JANET Talk.

These will be managerial events aimed at...

• IT Managers,
  
• Principals or Vice Principals,
• Head of Library Services,
• Head of Estates,
• Curriculum Managers,
• Head of Adult Learning,
• Head of Student Support Services,
• Head of Marketing/Communications

Online booking is available on: http://www.ja.net/services/events/calendar/2007/resilience-and-communications/index.html

JISC infoNet and the JISC Digital Libraries in the Classroom programme will be running a workshop entitled ‘Libraries in the Digital Age ... What if?’ in conjunction with this years ECDL conference 16-22 September 2007, Budapest, Hungary.

The workshop, based on both World Café and Scenario Planning concepts, will look at a range of emerging technologies and their impact on libraries both conceptually and as physical learning spaces.

The workshop will run on Friday 21^st September. Participants can register for this one-day workshop separately from the main conference at a cost of approx 100 euros (before 31^st July).

Find out more at: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/workshops/ecdl-2007/index.html

Colleagues may also be interested in the following workshop: Exchanging Experiences in Technology Enhanced Learning

WWWrong: What Went Wrong? What Went Right? To be held at EC-TEL 2007 2nd European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning

17 or 18 September 2007, Crete, Greece (http://www.ectel07.org/)

Call for Workshop Participation http://ariadne.cs.kuleuven.be/mediawiki/index.php/What_Went_Wrong07

The Learning & Skills Council have asked the LSN (Learning & Skills Network) to organise further ePD training events across the 9 regions of England. The funding is for a very short period, April to July. These events will follow a similar format to the 3 LSN events that we ran at the start of 2007 in London, Birmingham and Liverpool and the dates and locations are as follows:

Region: South West
Location: Bristol Date: 3rd July 2007

Region: London and Eastern Location: Enfield Date: 6th July 2007

Region: North West
Location: Liverpool Date: 11th July 2007

In addition LSn also plan to hold a gatekeepers event by invitation only in London on June 29th.

Watch this space for further details.

Engaging Black and Minority Ethnic adult learners in museum and gallery education

Thursday 20 September 2007

Venue: Merseyside Maritime Museum <http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/ >, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AQ

This partnership conference between NIACE and National Museums Liverpool will take place as part of the national commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade (200 years). It will:

• centre on good and effective practice and there will be opportunities for participants to take ideas and resources back to their places of work
• illustrate the power of museums as unique learning resources with artefacts and archival materials which can stimulate an interest in learning, particularly with regard to family history and the development of communities, towns and cities
• focus on including non-traditional learning in education programmes delivered from museums, libraries and archives
• focus on black history and how this can be used as a touchstone to encourage non-traditional learners to participate in education programmes delivered from museums, libraries and archives.

The conference aims:

• To explore the unique potential that museums and galleries have, and how this could be harnessed to attract more black and minority ethnic adult learners
• To take advantage of education programmes
• To examine some of the reasons why adults form certain minority groups do not take advantage of museums and galleries
• To commemorate 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade
• To share best practice and network
• To illustrate the importance and power of partnerships and how effectively working with community based organisations can be a good way to encourage and engage BME adults in museum and gallery education.
  

Participants will have the opportunity to network, share best practice and participate in workshops and have a guided tour around the new International Slavery Museum.

The event will be of particular interest to:

Museum, library and gallery educators, VCS, Local Authorities, MLA partnership staff, policy makers and various partnerships including those working with black and minority ethnic learners.

The conference will emphasis the importance of partnerships, particularly with the Voluntary Community Sector, Local Authorities, Colleges and universities, as such it will be appropriate for those engaged in adult education across all sectors. It will also be relevant for policy makers and those in organisations supporting adult education such as Connexions, Jobcentre Plus etc.

Arrival and Registration is at 9.15am. The conference ends at 3.45pm.

Conference Fee: £98 (The fee includes lunch, tea/coffee)

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; mailto:gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

QIA and ALT , with the support of Becta , JISC , LSC , LSN will be holding a conference in Nottingham on 11th October 2007 for practitioners and leaders in further, workplace, adult, and community learning. The conference follows on from one organised by ALT and LSDA in 2005, the output from which can be found at http://www.alt.ac.uk/fepc2005.html .

The 2007 conference is called "e-learning - making it work; from the preserve of enthusiasts to organisation-wide implementation".

The conference will showcase, in a systematic way, successful e-learning implementations; in a way which will help participants:

• learn from organisations who are presenting at the event;
• apply the lessons in their own organisation.

ALT and QIA's current priorities are:

1. for individuals to register their initial interest in attending the event, by joining the jiscmail list number 1 at: http://www.alt.ac.uk/lists.html .

The event programme will be issued during August, but we will begin taking bookings for the event in advance of this, towards the end of July.

• For the full text of the letter of invitation, see: http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/oct11call.pdf [52 kB PDF].
• For a one page flyer about the event, see: http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/oct11flyer.pdf [35 kB PDF].
  

There are no planned events for July 2007. Watch this space!

E-learning Capital Investment fund 2007-8 applications open Further details and related resources available on aclearn.net at http://www.aclearn.net/display.cfm?resID=33813

NIACE is pleased to announce two new Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding opportunities,

• 'Capital Investment' or
  
• 'Connectivity'.
  

You may submit a bid for between £5,000 to £20,000 - either for the Capital Investment fund or for the Connectivity fund but not for both.

These are available to local authorities that provide LSC funded adult learning and to the regions of the WEA.

Note: Alternative funding opportunities will be announced for voluntary and community organisations and FE colleges in July.

The new Mobile Learning NETwork (MoLeNET) Programme has been designed to help colleges to implement mobile learning via supported shared cost mobile learning projects.

LSC is making available £6 million of capital funding for equipment

An Information Day is planned for 9th July at the Lakeside Centre, Aston University, Birmingham.

More information available at: http://www.molenet.org.uk/index.aspx

Go to: http://ferl.qia.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=13434

Rather than following industry's lead, educators must help develop technology to suit students, according to a Futurelab report.

The report is available at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications_reports_articles/opening_education_reports/

Here are a few of the more recent releases:

• Video case studies - 21st century learning and teaching Five video case studies of innovative spaces for 21st century learning and teaching were released on CD-ROM at the JISC Conference 2007. You can download the videos from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning_innovation/eli_learningspaces.aspx
  

• Effective Practice with e-Assessment This review of systems, technologies and practice in e-assessment features up-to-the-minute case studies from FE and HE to help institutions assess how they should prepare for computer use in assessment.
  The publication is available online at
  http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/elearning/effprac_eassess.pdf
  

• Games-based Learning This briefing paper is aimed at policy makers, senior managers and practitioners who are interested in an overview of game-based learning and how it may be used to support effective learning and teaching practice.
  The briefing paper is available at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/pub_gamebasedlearningBP/pub_gamebasedlearningBP_content.aspx with the more detailed report available from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearning_innovation/gaming%20report_v3.3.pdf
  

• In Their Own Words - Exploring the learner's perspective on e-learning In Their Own Words explores the under-researched and imperfectly understood world of the learner in a digital age by synthesising outcomes from the first phase of the learner experiences of e-learning theme of the JISC e-Learning Programme. These outcomes include a literature review, a methodology report and two studies - LEX: The Learner Experience of e-Learning (Creanor et al., 2006) and LXP: Student Experiences of e-Learning (Conole et al., 2006), plus five video case studies of experiences of e-learning recounted by learners themselves.
  This publication will be released in September 2007 and to place a pre-order please email publications@jisc.ac.uk
  

All the publications can be ordered directly from publications@jisc.ac.uk.

Colleagues

I thought you might like to know that we have recently published the following:

• Q project series 4 DVD
• E-learning and technology newsletter issue 6: Summer 2007 – Celebrating the past and looking to the future
• A professional development framework for e-learning

Forthcoming publications:

• Putting the Q into Quality project management
• eCPD in action and self assessment
• Professional development framework for e-learning: a guide for advisers and practitioners

If you require any copies please...

Contact the Information and Customer Centre
Telephone: 0845 071 0800
Email: enquiries@LSNeducation.org.uk
or go to http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/pubs/howtoorder.aspx

Dr Geoff Foot (Programme manager e-learning and technology, Learning and Skills Network)

Five annoying e-mail habits (what we can do about them!).

1. Vague or nonexistent subject line
   Make it easy for recipients to know what your message is about. If you're like most people, you have an in-basket that summarizes your incoming messages, probably by date, sender, and subject. Isn't it wonderful when you can get the information you need simply from the subject line? The sender has made it easy for you and has saved you time.
   
   
2. Changing the topic without changing the subject
   E-mail users do this all too often, usually out of laziness.
   e.g. you send a note to a colleague about subject 1. That colleague later needs to send a note to you on subject 2. However, instead of creating a new email, labeling it "subject 2," he/she simply replies to you, discusses subject 2, but keeps the subject line as "subject 1."
   Annoying, isn't it?
   When you send e-mail, make sure the subject line matches the actual subject. If you're going to send a note via a reply, change the subject line to match the actual subject.
   
   
3. Including multiple subjects in one email
   Covering multiple topics in one email involves less sending and hence less e-mail traffic and volume. However, your recipient might overlook one or more of those topics. It's better to keep to one topic per message.
   
   
4. Sending before thinking
   When you were small, your mum probably told you to count to ten before responding to someone. Why did she say that? She knew that answering before thinking can lead to problems.
   Make sure you really mean to say what you've written. People can interpret your words differently from what you meant. A statement made in jest to someone via e-mail may have a greater chance of being misinterpreted than one made in person (you could consider WaxMail: http://www.waxmail.biz/ ). Also, be careful about reacting and replying too quickly to an e-mail that upsets you.
   Legal implications offer another reason to think before sending. E-mail can be subject to "discovery" ("The compulsory disclosure of pertinent facts or documents to the opposing party in a civil action, usually before a trial begins.") by lawyers for a party that might be suing your employer. That is, the things you write in your e-mail could end up in the hands of those lawyers and could be used as evidence against your company in a trial. So before you send an e-mail, imagine that you're on a witness stand having to explain it.
   
   
5. Inadvertent replying to all
   Before hitting Reply To All, make sure you really need to do so. Does everyone need to see your response? Does your response benefit everyone else? Or are you sending merely a private response or addressing a personal issue with the sender? In these situations, it's better just to do a simple Reply. Otherwise, a private disagreement becomes public (and embarrassing) knowledge.
   Be aware that if you receive a message because you're part of certain message groups (e.g., a JISCmail group), your reply might go to everyone in the group even if you just hit Reply.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these mistakes?

The good news is that once you recognize these issues, it's easy to address them.

New coastal geographic data for the UK has been released to the public for viewing with the free Google Earth application.

Based on surveys of the seabed by its Navigation Safety branch, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency hopes that citizens and other public bodies will provide feedback on new areas that should be considered for surveying, and how data can improve safety for the
mariner: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-press-releases?id=83EF31D4077E746E .

Vocational Education: How Do They Do It In Germany? examines the success of Germany's vocational education system, through which over two thirds of German young people enter apprenticeships.

More details and download at http://www.teachers.tv/video/20541

Some of you may find it useful to visit http://www.eep-edu.org/innservice/InnReports_start.htm ;European Education Partnership (E.E.P) Innovation Reports are very brief reports of new innovations in ICT for learning.

For example Report 208: -

"Content or context?"

'Content' for learning means very different things to different people. The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is derived from a particular view of digital content - that of a sequence of digital 'learning objects' that learners can independently interact with.

Content that a teacher might use on an interactive whiteboard, in blended multi-modal approaches to teaching/learning provides a different view of 'content', as does content used to stimulate creative activity.

Read the full report (it is brief) at http://www.eep-edu.org/innservice/InnReports_start.htm

Learning Light tells us they are non-profit organisation based in Sheffield- a growth area for e-Learning and game development businesses in the United Kingdom.

As a centre of excellence for the use of learning technologies within the workplace, and through their wide networks they can:-

• Provide access to world-class knowledge, research and learning

• Act as conduit between learning technology buyers and suppliers

• Work with learning providers to help them apply best practice knowledge to improve performance

Learning Light's team has extensive practitioner experience in learning & learning technology (e-learning) research, strategy and implementation. Their ‘Partnering for Success' approach means we can also draw upon resources from their extensive associate network.

Visit http://www.learninglight.com/Default.aspx for further details.

A professional development framework for e learning - Framework

The Learning and Skills Network (LSN) has carried forward the initial work of the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) to develop a professional development framework of competencies in the application of e-learning techniques, tools and associated guidance. The professional development framework and the associated topics for e-learning outlined in this document is intended to support the raising of e-learning capability within the teaching and learning environment at all levels.

More information on aclearn.net at http://www.aclearn.net/display.cfm?resID=32763 or for downloads https://www.lsneducation.org.uk/user/order.aspx?code=062716&cookie_test=true

Every two years the WorldSkills Championships brings together young people from around the globe to compete in vocational skills - this series follows the British hopefuls aiming for a place in the 2007 event.

More details at: http://www.teachers.tv/series/20644

This video is for those of you that haven't yet felt the power of our friend the RSS reader. We want to convert people and if you know someone who would love RSS and hasn't yet tried it, point them here for 3.5 minutes.

This video is for people who wonder why social networking web sites are so popular. One reason may be because they help solve a real-world problem. Let the video explain how it works.

Or view at http://youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc

This video was made video because wiki web sites are easy to use, but hard to describe. We hope to turn you on to a better way to plan a camping trip, or create the next Wikipedia.

About this Journal

Innovate is an open access, bimonthly, peer-reviewed online periodical (ISSN 1552-3233) published by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University. The journal focuses on the creative use of information technology (IT) to enhance educational processes in academic, commercial, and governmental settings. Our basic assumption is that innovative uses of technology in one sector can inform innovative uses of technology in each of the other sectors.

While debates about the Net Generation will continue, instructors are also addressing these questions through innovative forms of pedagogical practice. Helen Sword and Michelle Leggott discuss how their students used online tools to preserve literary texts from university archives while also exploring the potential of such tools to support new, collaborative forms of creative expression in cyberspace. (See

http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=389)

Note:- to read the full article you will have to sign up (ITS FREE!)

Reusable Learning Objects Through Peer Review:
The Expertiza Approach

Edward Gehringer, Luke Ehresman, Susan G. Conger, and Prasad Wagle offer an account of how a custom-designed software product was used in computer science courses to support the construction of peer-reviewed learning objects by the students themselves, which can in turn be assessed, modified, or supplemented by future students in the same course, thereby allowing students to take ownership of their learning to an entirely new level. (See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=365)

Pac-Man? Space Invaders? Frogger? The video games of the 1980s were played in arcades, pizza parlors and bars--and all you needed was 20p to join in the fun.

More information/full article at: - http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-3513_11-68962-1.html

Bill Pearson, from Reaseheath College, Nantwich, thought that I would enjoy this video clip. What do you think?

Life After Death by PowerPoint

I can see that. That's what holidays are there for, after all.

However I have yet to take a break (for a week or longer) that I didn't have to painstakingly work ahead of and frantically catch up on afterwards.

Where's the stress relief in that?

Dr. Cathy McCarty tells us "Vacations provide a break from everyday stressors. They allow us time away from work or home and help us release built-up tension."

Unless, of course, you're driving to your holiday destination with a wife/husband who feels she/he has to beat some personal trip-time record, and/or cranky children ('Are we there yet?') or chronologically enhanced relatives requiring hourly toilet breaks and/or repeating conversations (often held years ago!). Oh, was that out loud?

I'm just saying that...

• ...any holiday involving children and/or chronologically enhanced relatives is not going to be restful.
  
• ...having to take holidays at times when all families are taking their holidays is far from restful and more expensive as well! We are just substituting a different kind of stress.
  

Dr. McCarty also said this: "This study proves vacations are good for your mental health and may help you do a better job at work," McCarty said. "Employers should be supportive of time off because they benefit from having relaxed, happy employees." I love how the study throws out this recommendation, as if it's doable.

Obviously, the good doctor never worked in the Post-16 Learning provider sector. Call me cynical, but I really don't see a Head of Service/Principal/etc. having a clear preference when presented with the choice between a happy, relaxed employee and one who is skating along on one last frayed nerve, if the teaching & learning output is the same. And any kind of difference in teaching & learning outputs between the two would be nearly impossible to prove.

Since nearly everyone's work influences or depends on someone else's, I'm not sure how a learning provider could even go about "being supportive of employee time off." What are your suggestions?

Eventually, you get to a point of mastery where you can just walk into your local shops, market and/or super store, see what looks good and fresh, and build your menu on the spot.

Great cooks still investigate the latest recipes but they use them as inspiration and not as exact algorithms.

I look at the latest technology, hardware and software in the same way. If I get the opportunity I...

• search the internet
• read reviews,
  
• discover appropriate uses, for both learning and teaching,
• acquire, beg, borrow, download etc.,
  

so that I can...

• experiment, (like cooking, hands-on is important)
  
• work through tutorials,
  
• be creative

Master the basics, and like a great cook preparing an amazing meal with just the ingredients on hand, you can apply them appropriately, in teaching and learning with positive results.

At that stage you have reached eMaturity!

John Dalziel (eLearning Adviser)

"From Lily Allen to David Attenborough, they are all doing it. Social networking, that is. From MySpace, to Facebook to bebo, sites which allow users to conduct their social lives online are booming - and attracting feverish interest from investors and advertisers."

"But is this just a flash-in-the-pan, an internet fad that will soon go the way of CB radio in the 70s? And is it just for the under-25s?"

Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6690569.stm

The world we live in is increasingly dominated by technology and it's only going to get better or worse... depending on how you see it. Those choosing to ignore the advances in technology will be left in the wilderness unless they act now...

Take the TQ Quiz at : http://www.whatisyourtq.com/

A number of the articles, included in this eMagazine are from Becta's TechNews; TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at those in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues.

TechNews archive
An index of downloadable TechNews analysis pieces and back issues is now available on the TechNews web page: http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&rid=11280

TechNews can also be downloaded from the Becta website: http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&rid=11281

Transcribing short video clips has become possible using dotSUB; just...

1. Create a video
2. Save the video to the dotSUB site
   
3. Complete the transcription
4. Share the URL with others...
   

Go and view, at http://dotsub.com/films/addingsubtitles/, a set of narrated PowerPoint slides that describes the process involved in adding subtitles to videos using the dotSUB web site. or click play below...

Visit http://www.answers.com/main/answertips.jsp to find out...

• ...how to AnswerTips-enable your Organisations website
• ...how to AnswerTips-enable a blog and
  
• ...how to stop your visitors (Potential/existing Learners) from wandering
  

Three easy steps...

1. choose an icon (informing visitors that they can use this tool)
2. fill in your details
3. copy & paste the generated code into your page template.

• ...a pop-up window with a concise AnswerTip will appear!
  • ...if the concise Answer isn't enough, the full collection of sources on that topic is just a click away in the "More" button.

And finally...

...Answers.com is available for your mobile/pda at http://mobile.answers.com/ (not that you would dream of cheating in the pubquiz)

Ask.com launches a revamped Web search site that features new technology and an updated design.

View at: http://uk.ask.com/

Or read an article at http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-1035_11-68454.html?tag=nl.e101

Internet2 (the US networking consortium for the research and education community - akin to Janet in the UK) has just announced a Shibboleth collaboration project with Microsoft, to develop interoperability with the Windows CardSpace system.

Before we go any further, let's deal with the basics:

Visit http://blogs.msdn.com/ukfe/archive/2007/05/25/do-you-shibboleth.aspx for the complete article.

The video is well worth looking at <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/access_management/federation/animation >

Google adds FeedBurner to list of acquisitions Google's almighty shopping spree shows no sign of slowing down as the company snaps up FeedBurner.

More information at http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/114643/google-adds-feedburner-to-list-of-acquisitions.html or at http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home

9.0 is now available...

According to the company, the new-look Navigator 9 has more than a dozen new features, and it is arguably the first browser to directly tap into Web 2.0, albeit in limited fashion.

It is available for Linux, Mac, Unix and Windows

More details and downloads available at http://browser.netscape.com/

Swedish scientists are working on cost effective, recyclable digital paper that talks to users by responding to their touch.

More details at http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/115058/boffins-create-talking-paper.html

Right-click the following link to download a video: http://mkv.itm.miun.se/projekt/paperfour/paperfour.mp4

"They have already announced that the successor to Vista is expected to launch in 2009. With such a short shelf life, Windows Vista simply looks prettier than its predecessor and fills a sales gap much in the same way Windows ME did before the launch of Windows XP."

More details and full article at http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=254&tag=nl.e112

Note: You may have to register (FREE) to see this blog.

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.

Opens a new Tab

Close the current Tab

Reopen closed tab (not in IE7 or Flock)

Jump to the address bar (in IE7 the Open dialog box is launched)

The Find dialog box opens (helps you find specific words on current page)

Bookmark page; the Add a Favorite dialog box opens

Refresh or reload the current page (essential for 'live data' e.g. share prices; ship movements etc)

(Spacebar) moves the current page down, one page.

Moves the current page up, one page.

Will move to the Tab on the right of the tab currently selected.

Note: - If you continue to repeat Ctrl + Tab, when you get to the last tab, it will then start again at the first tab!

Will move to the Tab on the left of the Tab currently selected

Note: - If you continue to repeat Ctrl + Shift + Tab, when you get to the first tab, it will then start again at the last tab!

Will move to the selected 'numbered' tab (counting from the left) e.g. Ctrl + 3 will move you to the third tab; Ctrl + 1 to the first tab.

Note: - I think this is the most useful of the three shortcuts!

Open Notepad and type in the following text

[autorun]

icon = conference07.ico

label = eLearning Adviser's USB

NOTE: you can choose...

...the name of the icon you use (in my example I chose conference07.ico)

...the label for your USB drive (in my example I chose eLearning Adviser's USB)

Save this on your USB Drive with the name

autorun.inf

Choose an icon that you want to use (If you can't find one try http://www.iconarchive.com/ )

Save it on your USB Drive and rename it to match the icon name you used in Notepad (e.g. In my example I renamed it conference07.ico)

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
  
  
• Open Outlook
  
  
• Click on Contacts
  

• Double-click the contact you want to locate (in my example I'm clicking on my own details)
  

• If the contact has more than one address then go to the Addresses section and click the down arrow to select the type of address you want (Business, Home, or Other). (In this example I've selected Business)
  

• Go to the Actions menu, select Display Map of Address as shown

• Your web browser will open up and display a map of the contact's address using the Live Local maps web site; here you can zoom in/out, get directions to/from, plus much more...
  

• Click Start

• Click Run

• Type regedit and...
• hit ENTER

• In the registry editor go to the following key:
  

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache
  
  
• Double click on the following value:
  @C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll,-8964

• Change the value to whatever you wish. (In this example I've renamed it eLearning Rubbish)

• Click OK and close down regedit

• Right-Click on a blank area of the desktop and select Refresh from the menu that appears.

• After the screen refreshes, your recycle bin will be renamed to whatever you decided. (This is an image of my Bin!)

• Click Tools.
  
  
• Select Options.

• Select the Spelling tab.

• Check Always check spelling before sending. (there will be a green tick as shown)

• Click Apply
  

• Click OK

• When Filmstrip isn't available in the View drop-down menu...

• Select the View menu then...
• Customise This Folder...

• From the drop-down template list select either...
  • Pictures [best for many files] or
  • Photo Album [best for fewer files]

• ...in this example I've chosen Pictures (I find this is usually the better option)
  

• Click Apply then
• OK

• You will now find that Filmstrip is now available for selection in the View Drop-down

British sculptor Antony Gormley's official website has been remodelled <http://www.antonygormley.com/newsite/home.html>

It now provides...

• complete photographic guides to all his major projects
• a check on his current ventures in the 'Works in Progress' section

Although it is unlikely many of us will be able to visit Jason Taylor's steel and concrete figures, on the seabed in Grenada, we can read about the concept, access an image gallery and watch a video on the project! Isn't Technology wonderful!

Go to http://www.underwatersculpture.com/ ; I wont say anymore or it will spoil the hauntingly beautiful experience.

Just one question, will the natural elements enhance or spoil the sculptures? In the case of Antony Gormley (see the previous useful resource) I do visit his sculptures on Crosby Beach, quite often, and, in my opinion, nature has and continues to enhance the separate elements.

In a world obsessed with celebrities, many of us are influenced by their opinions on a wide range of subjects. But people in the public eye often promote theories and campaigns that make no scientific sense. Madonna, for example, wants to convince the nuclear industry that magic Kabbalah water can neutralise radioactive waste.

Through the context of radioactive waste disposal, this activity looks at why we should question the opinions of prominent personalities and gets students to consider whose opinions we should trust.

More information at: - http://www.upd8.org.uk/activity/214/Celeb-science.html

Fingerjig is a 6 minute game that tests your typing prowess. Words are randomly chosen from a dictionary of over 70,000. You must try to type them as quickly and accurately as you can!

The average score for Fingerjig is 476,983. If you can beat this then you're doing well!

An ideal exercise for Typing students perhaps?

Goto: http://www.jonmiles.co.uk/fingerjig.php

Chrissie Turkington thought that many of you may find this website useful for Information Skills Training. Go to http://www.snopes.com/ to find out more.

A Whole New Planet To Explore

Take a look at this website <http://lonelyplanet.tv/Default.aspx > a relatively new travel video channel. packed with stuff shot all over the world by Lonely Planet TV and independent travelers like you. Watch, enjoy and why not join in or get your, media/travel/journalist/etc., learners to contribute as part of their course?

Virtual Work Experience is a website dedicated to providing a detailed look at many different working environments allowing learners to make an educated decision on their work experience visits.

There are currently three Virtual Work Experiences...

• Contact Centre
• Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy and
• NHS Trauma

A series of six policy seminars recently hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) brought together an influential group of senior leaders from colleges, education and training providers, sector agencies and the DfES to discuss and debate key themes around leadership, the public sector and changes currently being faced by sector leaders.

More details at: - http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-73ND9F

The report, "Leading the FE system – shaping the world of tomorrow", authored by Caroline Mager, CEL’s director for strategic policy, may be downloaded from CEL’s website at http://www.wired-gov.net/javascript/FCKeditor/editor/www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/UsersDoc/LeadingtheFEsystem.pdf

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has signed up to the skills pledge, which was announced at a launch event hosted by the Department for Education and Skills in London on Thursday 14 June 2007.

More information at http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-747DMW or http://www.centreforexcellence.org.uk/?Page=nomenuReadNews&id=363

Funds to help parents get involved in their children's learning at home

Funds are to be targeted at a selection of local authorities in disadvantaged areas, to help parents get involved in their children's early learning, as part of the Government's drive to ensure that every child gets the best possible start in life.

More details at: http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/147528

Minister Moves Online To Seek Views Of Young People.

To help shape future policy on 13 to 19 year olds, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has launched an online campaign to seek the views of young people about their neighbourhoods and communities.

The campaign aims to attract young people to a blog and online discussion forum hosted by youth minister Parmjit Dhanda, while online polls and results will be published on a range of youth- orientated websites. The online campaign was discussed at a national Youth Summit, held on 25 June ( http://www.youthsummit.co.uk/ ), and will feed into future development of the Government's Youth Matters policy ( http://fastlink.headstar.com/youth1 ).

As well as learning more about issues that are important to young people, the campaign is an opportunity for the government to show young people that it values them, said Youth Minister Parmjit Dhanda in a prepared statement. "We don't just want to slap ASBOs on them - we want to give them a chance to release their potential and help them get involved in positive activities in their community. Overwhelmingly we find if you give young people the chance, they'll exceed your expectations," he said.

"It looks like a great step to try to use new technologies to reach out to young people," said Gez Smith, e-Democracy Consultant at Delib, an agency that develops products and strategies for consulting people online ( http://www.delib.co.uk/ ).
But it is important for the DfES campaign to avoid some common mistakes, said Smith. Chief among these is "thinking that just because it's on the web, young people will use it," said Smith. "What will they [DfES] be demonstrating will change as a result of this process and the feedback given? If nothing, then that's a real risk," he said.

The blog, hosted by Parmjit Dhanda, will be available through the Need2Know website ( http://www.need2know.co.uk/ ), while Dhanda's online discussion forum will be hosted by the Channel 4 Education website: http://www.4learning.co.uk/ .

Employers and colleges unite to drive up UK skills - New alliance set to deliver Leitch vision

A new alliance aimed at bringing employers and colleges closer together to deliver more economically valuable skills launches today.

The alliance brings together employers, college principals, and executives from the AoC, the Sector Skills Councils and the Sector Skills Development Agency, which supports and funds the SSCs. More details at: - http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-73RFAJ
Or visit http://www.lifelonglearninguk.org/home/home.html

Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) has become one of England’s first employers to sign up to the Employer Skills Pledge. LLUK is leading by example on the Pledge, which was announced at a launch event at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London on June 14th.

More details at:
http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-746F6D

Training 'hit by online problems'

Some 150 charities say problems with an online system mean they have missed out on government grants.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/education/6732249.stm >