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)

Please feel free to pass the survey to your colleagues.

Salary: £18,165 - £21,050 pa
http://www.personnel.lancs.ac.uk/vacancydets.aspx?jobid=N568R

Closing date: 28/09/2007

Informal enquiries may be made during office hours to
Rachel Fligelstone, 01524 510424

RSC Manager

Salary: £42,791- £48,161 pa
http://www.personnel.lancs.ac.uk/vacancydets.aspx?jobid=A913

Closing date: 12/09/2007

Informal enquiries may be made during office hours to
Rachel Fligelstone, 01524 510424

Work Based Learning Adviser

Salary: £28,289 - £32,796 pa
http://www.personnel.lancs.ac.uk/vacancydets.aspx?jobid=A874R

Closing date: 12/09/2007

Informal enquiries may be made during office hours to
Rachel Fligelstone, 01524 510424

Venue: NIACE, Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP

Background: 

Parliament returns from its summer recess on Monday 8th October 2007 by which time Gordon Brown's ministerial team will have started to really make their mark within their departments. Already the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has injected a new tone to the public discourse on education and skills whilst the new Prime Minister has signalled those areas where he is setting a new agenda as well as those where he promises continuity.

This briefing follows the UK's three largest political parties' annual conferences during which NIACE staff will have been talking with national politicians and activists to assess the concerns, aspirations and challenges that will shape the education and training agenda for the year ahead.

The briefing will be led by Alastair Thomson, NIACE's Senior Policy Officer, who will offer an informed assessment of priorities for the coming period and other tips to help participants' organisations influence debate.

The briefing will focus on post -16 education and training - but Alastair will also consider how adult learning can contribute across a range of public policy arenas.

The event will seek to help all participants - whether learners, teachers, managers, policy-shapers or active citizens to better understand how to read and influence public debate.

It will be of special interest to:

• FE colleges
• Local Authorities
• Higher Education providers
• Sector Skills Councils
• Trades Unions
• Voluntary and community sector organisations
• Work based learning suppliers working with adults
• Employers
• Organisations and individuals considering future prospects for supplying adult learning or skills.

Building On The Briefing:

Participants who find this briefing of value can sign up to Alastair Thomson's e-mail newsletter about policy trends and developments in adult learning. They will receive advance notice of NIACE policy activities and intelligence from Whitehall and Westminster, drawing on our networks and activity nationally.

Participants will also be given priority attention for future NIACE policy Briefings.

Arrival and Registration is at 9.45am for a 10.15am start.
The seminar ends with lunch at 12.30pm.
The event fee is £50 per person.

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

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

Dear Colleague

Have you registered for a place at this years Handheld Learning 2007?

By registering before the 31st July you can save up to £100 per place.

Register at http://www.handheldlearning2007.com/pages/registration.php

This year's Handheld Learning Conference will be another exciting and stimulating event that brings together policy and decision makers, thought leaders, opinion formers, ICT directors, learning specialists, publishers, developers and leading practitioners. With pre-conference workshops and seminars on the afternoon of 10th October leading to the full conference from 11-12th, you are promised an event that will deliver insight, knowledge and experience as well as the opportunity to network with fellow leaders and practitioners.

"Becta are delighted to be supporting this important event. We would encourage anyone interested in the future of mobile computing in education to attend." Ian Adams, Executive Director, Becta

Keynotes will be presented by Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive, Becta and Marc Prenksy, writer (digital natives) followed by speakers who are leaders in their respective field from policy to practice. Review confirmed speakers here .

The event is supported by Becta with endorsements from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the e-Learning Foundation. Industry sponsors include Apple, Intel, Samsung, Seamless, Fujitsu-Siemens, Steljes and RedHalo. For the exhibition, in addition to the sponsors, you will find leading companies and organisations such as Nokia, PC World Education, Wildkey, Fourier Systems, Toshiba, Learn.co.uk (Guardian), ChildNet International and ConnectED.

"True personalised learning would require personalised devices and technologies. Handheld Learning shows the routes that learners are already taking and provides some of the debates required" Merlin John, Journalist

However the event isn't only about seminars, workshops and plenary sessions, extended refreshment breaks and an evening social reception means that serious connections are made.

"There's something new for everybody - whether you are taking your first step in the path to personalise learning, or you want to build your existing expertise. The ultimate networking experience!"
Valerie Thompson, e-Learning Foundation

If you're interested in the future of personalised learning then please register now. If you believe that a colleague will also be interested then please forward this email to a colleague.

We look forward to seeing you!

e-learning - making it work; from the preserve of enthusiasts to organisation-wide implementation

A major national conference on embedding e-learning for practitioners and leaders in further, workplace, adult and community learning, organised by QIA and ALT with the support of CEL, LSC, JISC, LSN and Becta.

This is a conference with a difference - run by practitioners and leaders for practitioners and leaders. It will give you an opportunity to explore and discuss how to embed e-learning successfully - with those that have done it.

How can e-learning be made to work for you?

What are the most effective and efficient ways to embed e-learning successfully?

Hear more about barriers to embedding e-learning successfully - and how to overcome them; business rationale for successful projects - and the business benefits and establishing criteria for success based on real measures of impact, including:

• Learner achievement;
• Learner retention;
• Improved efficiency or effectiveness;
• Improving the learner experience;
• Leadership in managing the culture change;
• Improvements in levels of staff skills and their capacity to deliver through e-learning.

Programme for the day
A provisional programme for the event is available and online bookings are now being taken (see below).

Costs to attend
Member's rate to attend: £95;
Non-member's rate to attend: £135.

The above costs include all event materials, lunch and refreshments on the day. Accommodation and dinner the night before is in addition and can be booked online.

Accommodation at the NCSL: £75 per night per room;
Accommodation and dinner at the NCSL: £95 including per night per room cost.

Register your interest
To register your interest for the event and to be kept informed about arrangements you can also join a low volume email announcement list .

Book online

Venue: Britannia Hotel, Fairfax Street, Coventry CV1 5RP

Public Value is an emerging conceptual framework, which applied to the learning and skills sector, attempts to encapsulate a broader recognition of the value of adult learning. In the UK, Public Value is currently being explored by people working in a number of public policy fields including

• health,
  
• policing,
  
• culture and sustainable communities, as well as
  
• learning and skills.
  

• engage with their stakeholders
• understand the needs and preferences of the public they serve
• plan, deliver and evaluate the impact of services through on-going involvement with users and stakeholders.

The relationship between economic competitiveness and social inclusion is complex. The argument that a strong economy can support social goals should not disguise the fact that there may be different ways of prioritising investment in learning and skills. For many adult learners the motivation to learn stems from:

• a desire to help their families
• get involved in cultural activities
• improve their confidence
• develop broad-based employability skills
• help out in their communities.

Participants at this joint WEA /NIACE conference will have the opportunity to:

• find out more about and contribute to the on-going campaign to promote the Public Value of adult learning
• learn from a selection of case studies of good practice about what works in securing public value in adult learning
• learn about the findings from the Wider Benefits of Learning Research Centre
• find out about how leaders in the adult learning sector can help to create public value;
• consider the role of learners as 'social innovators' for adult learning.

The conference workshops will offer an opportunity to explore dimensions of public value in adult learning through case study examples that illustrate:

• wider benefits of learning, for example, in relation to health and wellbeing, community safety, civic engagement and social cohesion, and economic regeneration
• the impact of learning on individuals, families, and communities;
• what Public Value means for learners, and its implications for leadership, partnership working, and curriculum development.

• Adult Learners
• Awarding Bodies
• Employers
• FE Colleges
• Government Offices
• Higher Education Institutions
• Information, Advice and Guidance Providers
• Jobcentre Plus
• Learning and Skills Council
• Learning Partnerships
• Local Authorities
• Local Strategic Partnerships
• National, regional and local policy makers
• Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
• Not-for-profit organisations
• Regional Development Agencies
• Regional Skills Partnerships
• Sector Skills Councils
• Trades Unions
• Unionlearn
• Voluntary and Community Sector organisations
• WEA members

Arrival and Registration is at 9.45am. The conference ends at 3.30pm.

Conference Fee: £215 (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; e-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

Venue: East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham

Event information:

• Arrival and registration is at 9:30am for a 10:00am start. The event will end at 4:00pm.
• Event fee per person: £225 £198 - NIACE Members (includes lunch, tea/coffee)
• Only application forms with the payments section completed will be processed Please note that if you wish us to invoice your employer we require a copy of the Purchase Order before the form is processed 
• Places will be allocated in order of receipt of completed application forms
• Completed and signed application forms must be faxed or posted to NIACE by the closing date. Reservations by telephone cannot be accepted
• Application forms are individually acknowledged by e-mail. Joining instructions, including map and directions, will be posted out one week before the event
• Participants should be prepared to take their own notes as there will not be handouts for all sessions.
• If you have not received an e-mail confirming your attendance and joining instructions 4 working days before the event please contact:
  Gurjit Kaur
  Tel: 0116 204 2833
  Fax: 0116 254 8368
  Minicom: 0116 255 6049
  E-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk  

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

This workshop introduces a project management methodology that can be adapted for any size of project and is specifically tailored to the needs of the education sector. The day is interactive, providing a structured approach to project management and investigating a number of examples. It is provided in conjunction with JISC infoNet, the advisory service for managers in the post-compulsory education sector promoting effective planning, implementation and management of information and learning technology.

Engage your learners in...

• active,
  
• dynamic,
  
• enquiry based e-learning
  

by developing realistic problem solving activities that encourage the application of analytical, creative and critical thinking skills.

Through the use of templates and the Dreamweaver CourseBuilder Extension this workshop will guide participants through the design and development of dynamic, interactive, and high order e-learning.

Email: enquiries@netskills.ac.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

URL: http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/products/workshops/event/man-sep07-elearnd-r1/index.html

• The biggest ever European exhibition on access to the information society by people with disabilities
  
  
• Free entry for all, pre-registration now open
  
  
• Runs 4-5 October 2007 at award-winning London venue: Novotel West

Claire Clinton, Marketing Executive Headstar Publishing and Events, tells us...

"Techshare Expo 2007 is a new showcase for products and services helping people with disabilities participate fully in the information age. From the internet to home computers, educational technologies, video games, digital TV and mobile phones - Techshare Expo 2007 will be a showcase for products, services, tips and techniques."

"Entrance is absolutely free and open to all. If you are an organisation with communication channels to the public and people with disabilities who are your service users, please do promote the exhibition widely - everyone is welcome."

Pre-register today at: http://www.techshare-expo.com/

PLEASE NOTE: this exhibition is running alongside the revamped, comprehensive Techshare conference, hosted by the RNIB for professionals in the field, which does have an admittance charge: for more information and a full speaker programme for the conference see http://www.techshare.org.uk

If you are attending the Techshare 2007 conference, there is no need to separately pre-register for the free ‘Techshare Expo 2007' exhibition.

This workshop is aimed at anyone who wishes to find out more about Web 2.0 tools to help manage information overload and make life easier.

Topics covered include: -

• Personalised sites and search tools, including sites for sharing information -
  
• Tools to keep up to date, including RSS, alerting services and page trackers -
  
• Customising web browsers, including Firefox and Firefox extensions -
  
• Personal life management tools, such as calendars and scheduling tools
  

This workshop will be held at the University of Manchester

Email: enquiries@netskills.ac.uk
URL: http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/products/workshops/event/man-oct07-survive-r1/index.html  

This will be the second meeting of the Manchester Circle of College Librarians.

The meeting provides a forum for members of College libraries around Manchester to discuss current developments and share good practice.
This meeting will be held at the Talbot Road Campus of Trafford College.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Chrissie Turkington at the RSC.

Contact Info: Chrissie Turkington. Tel: 01524 593801 Email: ct@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Circuit and Router Support

There has been a change in arrangements for router support which have come into effect.

Each connected site has received a letter from JANET(UK) explaining the arrangements for that site. The JISC RSC technical staff had a briefing at the recent RSC-JANET(UK) Liaision event.

Faults are either

• circuit related e.g. the circuit has been inadvertently severed by some construction work
  or
  
• router related – eg a setting may need to be amended or the router has gone faulty and needs to be replaced.

In summary

The Regional Networks (RNO’s) were asked if they wished to provide this support.
Four are doing so –

• C&NLMAN,
  
• NNW,
  
• EMMAN and
  
• YHMAN.
  

That results in about 300 routers being managed by RNO’s and 300 or so being managed by JANET(UK).

For Institutions supported by an RNO

Report all faults to the RNO.

The RNO will diagnose the problem and circuit faults, reported to the telco.

Router problems reported to BTiNET by the RNO. (BTiNET have a contract to fix router faults).

The RNO owns and manages the fault until fixed.

For Institutions supported by JaNET(UK)

Report all faults to the RNO.

Non urgent support requests to JANET Service Desk (JSD).

The RNO will diagnose the problem and circuit faults reported to the telco.

Router problems reported to JSD by the RNO.

The RNO owns and manages the fault until fixed.

JISC RSC Role

Organisations should not report faults to the RSC’s, but if they do the RSC will direct them to the RNO in all cases. Requests for router support should likewise be redirected to either the RNO or JSD as appropriate.

The podcast above was produced, from one of my 'Maghull Meanders' Blog entries, by odiogo; you can...

• subscribe to the odiogo podcast feed or listen/download other podcasts from my blog at http://podcasts.odiogo.com/maghull-meanders/podcasts-html.php or
• visit my blog at http://maghullmeanders.blogspot.com/ where you can read or listen to my blog entries.

Turn you readers/learners/colleagues into listeners, and transform your (teaching and Learning) blog into a high quality, ad-supporting broadcast that can vastly expand your audience reach and/or audience engagement!

• Automatic podcast generation
• “Near-human” quality text-to-speech
• Drag-and-drop integration on your blog
• Detailed download statistics
• Make money from embedded ads
• Leverages RSS feeds of all blogging platforms such as Typepad and Blogger

To find out more go to http://www.odiogo.com/

It's FREE!

SummitSkills, http://www.summitskills.org.uk/ , is responsible for the development of the sector's frameworks and works in consultation with partners to ensure that the framework content is relevant to industry and employer needs.

The following apprenticeship frameworks are available as PDF documents, please visit their Documents section to download the PDFs.

• Electrotechnical Advanced Apprenticeship Framework
  
• Plumbing Apprenticeship Framework
• Plumbing Advanced Apprenticeship Framework
• HVACR Apprenticeship Framework
• HVACR Advanced Apprenticeship Framework
• Building Services Engineering Technician Framework
• Electrical & Electronic Servicing Apprenticeship and Advanced Apprenticeship Framework

"The latest issue of 'Chips with Everything' can now be downloaded from the aclearn.net website.

Either...

• click on the Chips logo on the homepage
  or
  
• go directly to http://aclearn.qia.org.uk/display.cfm?page=985 ."

Audio Description Included As Standard For Sony TVs

Sony has begun shipping its Bravia range of integrated digital TVs with audio description included as a standard function. The first of the new Bravia models were launched in June, and the company aims to equip the entire Bravia range with audio description by the end of September 2007.

Earlier this year rival TV manufacturer Panasonic made a similar move, enabling consumers to access audio described broadcast content without buying extra equipment such as a set-top box. At present, the audio description facilities provided by both Sony and Panasonic are restricted to programme content only, and so do not include an accessible electronic programme guide.

Click the following link to download or view Smashing Magazine's 200+ Hotkeys To Boost Your Productivity (0.9 Mb)
This publication covers the most useful keyboard shortcuts for essential software applications users and web-developers can/should use on a daily basis - OS, Browsers, Music Players, Communication Tools, File Management and Coding. You will also find references to related resources - there you’ll find more specific shortcuts for your needs.

Click the following link to download or view Smashing Magazine's Copyright Explained: I May Copy It, Right? (0.5 Mb)
Copyright in Web is often considered as the grey area; as such it’s often misunderstood and violated - mostly simply because bloggers don’t know, what laws they have to abide and what issues they have to consider. We’ve collected the most important facts, articles and resources related to copyright issues, law and blogging. We’ve also put together most useful tools and references you can use dealing with plagiarism.

A device is under development that combines a scanner and labeller with voice output, radio, mp3 player, talking clock, voice recorder and audio book player, for the first time in a single unit.

Read more at http://www.headstar.com/eablive/ or

visit GaiShan Technology at http://www.gaishantech.com/ the makers of TellMate

Tell – because it tells and gives the user the required information.
Mate – because it is a constant companion to the user.

Students and other young people who have not established a career direction should consider going into IT, the British Computer Society (BCS) said today.

The membership organisation for IT professionals hopes to encourage young people, and young women in particular, who have not taken the traditional route of science-based A Levels and technical university degrees to investigate a career in the industry.

Read more at http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2196742/bcs-urges-students-consider  

...which has trained over 1500 practitioners since 2004, is holding events throughout the country for the adult and community learning sector (PCDL) and the work-based learning sector (WBL).

Current training events are almost fully recruited, but a further phase of events is planned for the autumn.

The three planned training events (each event runs for 3 days) for the northwest are...

For more details, see http://www.niace.org.uk/eguides or contact mary.moss@niace.org.uk

Nobody really knows! In part...

• ...it is because we can’t even agree on definitions, and
  
• ...it is because innovation is moving so fast.
  

But Simple Spark, an online catalog of web applications, recently provided one data point.

Their list of every browser-based application they can find recently crossed the 5,000 mark - and they celebrated by combining all 5,000 of those logos into a single five-minute-plus video.

Here it is:

 

 

Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator. Treemaps are traditionally space-constrained visualizations of information. Newsmap's objective takes that goal a step further and provides a tool to divide information into quickly recognizable bands which, when presented together, reveal underlying patterns in news reporting across cultures and within news segments in constant change around the globe.
Newsmap does not pretend to replace the googlenews aggregator. Its objective is to simply demonstrate visually the relationships between data and the unseen patterns in news media. It is not thought to display an unbiased view of the news; on the contrary, it is thought to ironically accentuate the bias of it.

See for yourself at http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm  

Note: at the top of the screen you can select UK news (or others from the list and/or remove US news) and at the bottom of the screen one or more categories of news can be selected.

MPs are telling universities in the UK they need to collaborate more with others overseas if they are to continue to attract foreign students.

The Commons education select committee said the key to continued success was to maintain high standards.

But they could lose their appeal to students from India and China as their own higher education systems grow. Read More at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6929955.stm

As I'm sure many of you are aware, the RSC Northwest has recently launched a brand new website at www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk Take a look and let us know what you think.

The most popular sections of the "old website", as we now affectionately call it, were the web link collections. We had over 500 live web links to resources, technology, strategies, etc... over two systems and therefore we needed to ensure these links were not lost and we're combined in an organized manner.

We wanted a system that would allow us to easily add links under categories or keywords that would allow for easy searching and allow us to embed it into the new site. Ideally, with the Web2.0 world we now live in, we wanted something that was freely available online with no installation and no web server. We found what we needed with Furl. www.furl.net

The RSC's Furl archive is available at: http://www.furl.net/members/rscnw There are over 600 links on the archive covering subjects as diverse as Animal Care, eAssessment, Information Skills and VOIP. The RSC team are adding more every week, so if you would like to recommend a link to us, then please do. Just email support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk If you find the link useful, then it's highly likely others will too.

Subscribe to the Furl Archive

If you would like to receive an email update when links have been added to either the whole archive, or just certain categories/subject areas, then you can either complete the registration at: http://www.furl.net/subscribe?id=1301069&search=true or just email the RSC (support@rsc-northwest.ac.uk) with your email address and whether you'd like to be subscribed to all categories or only certain ones. Don't worry; you won't be inundated with emails.

Alternatively, if you use an RSS Reader, subscribe to the RSS feed. http://rss.furl.net/members/rscnw/rss.xml If you're not sure what this is, then just ask. We'll happily explain how you can use RSS.

Recommend to a friend

Please recommend our Furl archive to colleagues within your organization. The more the merrier!

• E.g. If you know a Media Studies lecturer that is always on the lookout for more resources, ask them to subscribe to our Media Studies collection.
• E.g. If you need information about Interactive Whiteboards, then take a look at the Interactive Whiteboards category

Website Integration

All our subject resources links are now available through Furl on the bottom right of our new website homepage. Just click on the subject of interest. Plus you can also search the website for more links, try searching for podcasting.

Chrissie Turkington
August 2007

As part of the developing JISC/Academy Collaboration, examples of collaborations involving JISC and the Academy working together (past and present) are now available at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/partnerships/he_academy/collaborations.aspx.  

As this is a developing list, we’re keen to expand this collection to feature more examples involving JISC Exec, JISC Services and the RSCs.  So, if you are aware of examples not included here then please let me have details to enable these to be added to the growing list.  We want to add graphics to supplement the text on each example so any pictorial materials would be most welcome.

Further information on the JISC/Academy Collaboration is available at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/partnerships/he_academy.aspx . 

...is now available at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/partnerships/he_academy/jiscacademysearch.aspx.  This offers access to e-learning resources in various themes and topics across JISC, JISC Services, Regional Support Centres, the Academy and its Subject Centres through guided pathways.  As the collaboration initiative progresses, this search facility will develop further.

More young people would take science degrees if they were given a financial incentive, claim industry experts.

It stems from an emerging UK-wide skills shortage because young people are shying away from science subjects. Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6939189.stm

A total of 465 eligible complaints were made to the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education in 2006 - up 44% on the previous year, the watchdog says.

Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6948332.stm  

LONDON (Reuters) - While young people embrace the Web with real or virtual friends and their cell phone is never far away, relatively few like technology and those that do tend to be in Brazil, India and China, according to a survey.

Read more at http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL236796320070724?pageNumber=2&sp=true  

The study of the official training agency profiles is compiled annually by Buckingham University's Centre for Education and Employment Research .

Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6928375.stm  

JISC infoNet is pleased to host the UK Higher Education Europe Unit 2007 survey on the sector's involvement in the Bologna Process and European higher education issues.

This survey follows the Europe Unit survey in 2005 and will collect further information on European activity and engagement with the Bologna Process. The survey covers the implementation of the Diploma Supplement, credit, joint degrees, Masters' degrees and their recognition, and institutional strategies.

Outcomes will inform the Europe Unit's future activity and enable the Unit to continue supporting the UK HE sector in implementing Bologna recommendations and responding to European developments as effectively as possible.  Further background from the Unit including a link to previous results can be found in Europe Note E/07/05, available from http://www.europeunit.ac.uk/news/europe_note_archive/2007.cfm.

Responses will also further inform the JISC infoNet project 'Building Capacity: Preparing for Bologna' currently under development with a range of project partners (for more information visit: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/bologna ).

The survey is available at http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/bologna/survey.

You are invited to submit your response by 30 September 2007.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to assist the Europe Unit and JISC infoNet in helping the sector move forward.

Every now and again designers stumble upon the very same problem: the choice of a unique and beautiful typeface which manages to fulfill three basic tasks.

• Support the corporate identity,
  
• enrich the visual appearance and
  
• is compatible with the overall design.

Bringing libraries and adult literacy together through reading for pleasure

"The students said that they now intended to use their local library to develop their reading skills and to find information connected with their own interests." - Adult literacy tutor

To see more go to http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/vitallink/skillsindex.html  

"I've just come across a great toolkit for young people to plan their career with the qualifications they have. It's called i-Portfolio and contains tests to indicate what might be your ideal job, your type of intelligence, job fit and personality preferences and it's free. I've only gone so far on it (pretending to be my youngest daughter!) and it seems to be really easy to use. It helps search for courses, and advises on possible career paths and even builds a Curriculum Vitae for you. Actually I might just go back and add my details and see if I'm doing the right job. Perhaps I should have been a fish farmer?"

Why not take a look for yourself at http://signposter.i-portfolio.co.uk/iportfolio/landing-decision/initialise

"I've just had an excellent website pointed out to me. It is designed for people with learning difficulties and is highly accessible in terms of language level, audio and visual support etc but it also has excellent potential for adult basic skills teaching at a range of levels."

"A good starting point is http://www.cklearn.org.uk/ but if you wanted to skip the learning difficulties designation and go straight to the activities you could start at http://www.cklearn.org.uk/index.html?s=learning&m=cms&c_name=learning1&c"

Become your own interior designer with the help of the IKEA Planner Tools. Thanks to their easy-to-use software, you can choose furniture to fit the exact measurements of the rooms in your home. Experiment with different combinations, swap things around and try different styles until you're satisfied with the result. You can view and print out the best options, with all the measurements, just like an architect. Visit http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/rooms_ideas/splashplanners.html to find out more or download the planners.

Ideal for DIY courses in Key Skills perhaps and/or numeracy and/or...

A project that puts teaching and learning at the centre of designing your own laboratory or prep room.

Planet Science , the Royal Society and the Association for Science Education have combined to provide you with:

• an easy-to-use design tool
• a way of visualising design ideas in 2-D and in 3-D
• a way of sharing ideas between science departments, architects and designers
• easy access to guidance documents from the DfES , CLEAPSS and the ASE
  

Visit the all new home of History Podcast (at the time of going to press there are 95 podcasts). History Podcast is a podcast devoted to learning about historical figures, events and places. Go to http://www.historyonair.com/

Archives can be viewed at http://www.historyonair.com/archive.php

A Search Engine for icons released under the Creative Commons license, GPL or LGPL-License.

Go to http://www.iconfinder.net/  

Andrew has created a spreadsheet which can be completed by staff on a desktop and which provides some instant feedback as to what training they may need. It is still being developed but the latest draft is available for download or use on-line at http://ahi2000.com/studyzone/ictskills.htm

This site contains health and safety and quality information related to the delivery of Government funded programmes for the principle contractor and other organisations supporting the learner or learning process. Its aim is to improve standards of health and safety for all learners. Where the LSC has set standards or entitlements the guidance on compliance and documentation required is all here. The guidance from other organisations or enforcing authorities is signposted and accessed through hyperlinks to that organisation's own website. The website relies on contributions from everyone involved with learning. The aim is to continually seek to improve the website.

Go to http://www.safelearner.info/home.htm  

SmartScreen.co.uk provides dedicated, unit-specific support for tutors, assessors and learners of City & Guilds qualifications. The high quality teaching support is designed to save tutors and assessors time, and to provide a pool of resources for teaching.

Run by City & Guilds, the site offers around 26,500 pages of support for their qualifications.  The site is constantly being updated, so if the qualification you're searching for is not currently featured, keep revisiting.

For more information go to http://www.smartscreen.co.uk/index.html Note: there is a subscription charge

...a social networking website aimed at vision impaired people has been launched.

The Zone BBS from J-Squared Access Solutions, does not use captchas and is fully accessible with a screen reader.

The site contains...

• online games,
  
• a discussion forum,
  
• audio profile and
  
• voice chat features:

...provides an exciting resource to help raise performance in business and industry.

Occupational standards describe the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to undertake a particular task or job to a nationally recognised level of competence. Find out more at http://www.ukstandards.org.uk/

• Agriculture, Horticulture and animal care
• Business, Administration and Law
• Information and Communication Technology
• Arts, Media and Publishing
• Science and Mathematics
• Engineering and manufacturing technologies
• Construction, planning and the built environment
• Retail and commercial enterprise
• Leisure, travel and tourism
• History, philosophy and theology
• Social sciences
• Language, literature and culture
• Education and training and
• Preparation for life and work

• Professional Occupations
• Managers and Senior Officials
• Associate Professionals and Technical Occupations
• Administration and Secretarial Occupations
• Skilled Trades Occupations
• Personal Service Occupations
• Sales and Customer Services Occupations
• Process, Plant and Machine Operatives and
  
• Elementary Occupations

From Kevin Hickey (eLearning Adviser RSC-Northwest)...

"I thought I'd pass on the details of a really interesting interview I found via 'The Infinite thinking machine' which is a Google sponsored website about eLearning."

"Its an interview with Kristian Still who teaches sports at Southampton's Taunton College and has used a wide range of web 2.0 technologies for teaching."

"The interview is available as an mp3 file (be warned its a long interview) and you can follow the sites he talks about by clicking through a 'trail' he has set up using a site called TrailFire."

"All the details can be found here: http://www.infinitethinking.org/2007/07/pe-geek-boys-sports-and-wikis.html

Below is a list of some of the resources he uses (compiled by Kevin)...

• Trailfire - Use trails to guide others to what’s important on the web. Place comments on web pages. Link them together to form a trail.
  
  
• Wikispaces – Wikispaces lets you create simple web pages that groups, friends, and families can edit together.
  
  
• Slide - Slide makes widgets that help people express themselves and tell emotionally engaging stories through personalized photos and videos created on Slide.com and viewed anywhere on the web or their desktop.
  
  
• Ning Networks
  
  
• NextGen Teachers –Educators connecting to explore the next generation of teaching and learning.
  
  
• Classroom 2.0 –the social networking site for those interested in the practical application of computer technology (especially Web 2.0) in the classroom and in their own professional development
  
  
• Bubbl.us -Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online. Collaborative online mind map.
  
  
• Quiz Busters -Quiz-Busters is an interactive plenary quiz for two teams based on the popular television quiz program Blockbusters. The resource is designed to be used on an interactive whiteboard as a teacher led activity but can be played by individual students. Hopefully you and your students will find this a fun alternative to traditional question and answer plenary and can actively contribute to Assessment for Learning (AFL).
  
  
• PurposeGames -A site dedicated to learning new things, or brushing up on things forgotten, in an innovative and hopefully more fun manner than what's offered elsewhere. Having to learn new things, especially when told to do so, like memorizing and knowing the capitals of Europe for a test in school, can be real hard and teadious. Most of the people who's tried the games hosted here has found that there's actually a way to learn what they need to learn, and have fun while doing so.
  
  So in short, PurposeGames host games to play for a purpose. Hopefully, it's fun as well!
  
  
• Quizlet -A lightning fast way to memorize vocabulary lists. It's like flashcards, but much more fun and interactive.
  
  
• Googledocs -Colaborative, online word processing and spreadsheets
  
  
• VoiceThread -A VoiceThread is an online media album that allows people to make comments, either audio or text, and share them with anyone they wish. A VoiceThread allows an entire group's story to be told and collected in one place.

Audacity Portable is the popular Audacity audio editor packaged as a portable application, so you can take your audio files along with everything you need to edit and record on the go.

You can place it on your

• USB flash drive,
  
• iPod,
  
• portable hard drive or a
  
• CD
  

and use it on any computer, without leaving any personal information behind.

For Download and more information go to... http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/audacity_portable

This is the software publisher's description.

Free PDF converter for both personal and commercial use.

• Using doPDF you can create searchable PDF files by selecting the "Print" command from virtually any application.
  
• With one click you can convert your
  
  • Microsoft Excel,
    
  • Word or
    
  • PowerPoint documents or
    
  • your emails and
    
  • favourite web sites to PDF files.
    
• doPDF installs itself as a virtual printer driver so after a successful installation will appear in your Printers and Faxes list.
  
• To create PDF files, you just have to print your documents to the doPDF pdf converter.
  
  • Open a document (with Microsoft Word, WordPad, NotePad or any other software),
    
  • choose Print and
    
  • select doPDF.
    
  • It will ask you where to save the PDF file and when finished, the PDF file will be automatically opened in your default PDF viewer.
    

Note that this free PDF tool

• does not use Ghostscript.
  
• The license will also enable you to produce PDFs for both personal and commercial use.
  
• The latest v5.2 contains a few new features, including support for 64Bit operating systems and the facility to create a .pdf extension automatically, when saving your PDF documents.

To find out more and/or download go to http://www.dopdf.com/index.php

The video below shows how to create a PDF file from Microsoft Word using doPDF converter...

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a freely distributed program for such tasks as

• photo retouching,
  
• image composition and
  
• image authoring.
  

It has many capabilities. It can be used as

• a simple paint program,
  
• an expert quality photo retouching program,
  
• an online batch processing system,
  
• a mass production image renderer,
  
• an image format converter, etc.

• Diagramming in your web browser without downloading additional software
• Desktop application feel in a web-based diagramming solution 
• Add collaborators to your work and watch it grow 
• Link to published Gliffy drawings from your blog or wiki 
• Create many types of diagrams such as
  
  • Flowcharts,
    
  • UI wireframes,
    
  • Floor plans,
    
  • Network diagrams,
    
  • UML diagrams, or
    
  • any other simple drawing or diagram

Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind.

The Portable Apps Suite^TM is free.

For more information and download go to... http://portableapps.com/

Ideal perhaps if, as learning providers, your learners meet at various venues, using different hardware etc. and sustainability is also an issue.

Despite the first glance impression and neither are they a photo-hosting site. What they are is a place to talk, capture and then save the voices that surround any images, a new kind of web forum. The tool they've developed to do this is called a VoiceThread.

They tell us that...

"VoiceThreads are a bit like the proverbial elephant being described by the sight-impaired, what they are depends on what part you happen to be using. So to help you understand everything that a VoiceThread is, our marketing department has developed the following diagram..."

To find out more go to http://voicethread.com/  

A maximum end game score of 433 could be achieved if a player started the second phase with all three lives intact and correctly answered all 40 questions.

The Fifteen to One: 433 challenge shows all of the 43 questions answered correctly by contestant Bill McKaig.
Go to http://www.quizplayers.com/w/QP:Fifteen-to-One_-_433_Challenge to see how you fare.

The Fifteen to One: 432 challenge shows all of the 46 questions answered correctly by contestant Daphne Fowler when she made the score of 432 on Fifteen to One; just one point short of the record maximum held by Bill.
Go to http://www.quizplayers.com/w/QP:Fifteen-to-One_-_432_Challenge to see how you fare.

In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment.

Find out "What Each Blogger Will Do" at http://blogactionday.org/

This game involves little more than helping a deer to jump a forest stream. The soothing background music may be another reason that the simple game-play becomes hypnotic.

Players are given a generous five-lives, so don't worry too much when "bambi" plummets to his/her death. Try to beat my score...

This could be an excellent introduction to using the mouse for beginners!

Go to http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/crossing.htm to have a play.

The Yellow Pages industry dropped 540 million printed directories this year. That's more than one per person. With the Internet available literally in our hands, is this acceptable?

Read more at http://www.paperlesspetition.org/

Why not use http://www.yell.com/ucs/HomePageAction.do  or http://www.google.com/mobile/index.html instead!

Take the What Dinosaur Are You? test at the Natural History Museum's website to find out.

Go to http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/fun-games/
what-dinosaur-are-you/question-01.html

"Current research suggests that Tyrannosaurus was a large, slow moving, independant, carnivorous creature's...according to my answers so am I!"

"The T.rex was one of the fiercest and most powerful of the meat eaters. It wasn't the largest, but when it opened its mouth, you wouldn't argue with its metre-wide bite."

"Unlike most plant-eating dinosaurs, its eyes faced forward not sideways. This allowed it to judge distances and focus on single objects better. Handy skills for a deadly predator."

A nice quiz for Family Learning Perhaps?

I'm sure most of you know the Bold, Italic, and Underline shortcuts as well as you know your own name. (I’ve included them because someone will take me to task if I leave them out.) The rest of these shortcuts are less well known, even though you might actually need to apply, say, the Currency format to data more often than Underline or Italic.

These are standard, practical shortcuts that can save you time in earlier versions of Excel — but they’re especially useful in Excel 2007. The formats are accessible from the Home tab in Excel 2007, but it could be years, possibly decades, before you develop the habit of locating them quickly. If you’re working in a different tab, you don’t want to have to keep switching back to the Home tab just to format the data you’re working on.

To address a new E-mail message I click the To button to display all my contacts. By default, Outlook 2007 displays the names in alphabetical order, by first name. I have many contacts and would prefer to see the list in last name order. Can you help?

Fortunately, it isn’t that difficult to make the switch. To display contacts in family name order, do the following:

1. In Mail View, Choose Account Settings... from the Tools menu...
   
   ...this will launch the Account Settings Dialog box Wizard.
   
   
2. Select the Address Books Tab...
   
   
   
3. Click Change...
   
   
   
4. Select the Contacts lists one by one. Most of you will have just one item-Contacts: Personal Folders.
   Click the File As (Smith, John) option/radio button in the Show names by section for the Contacts list that you want to sort by their last names.
   
   
   
5. Click Close and then Finish.
   
   

Note: You may have to close and reopen Outlook to see the change.

The seven tips listed here are very easy to learn. They work in most versions of Word, and under Windows or on a Mac:

• Where Was I? I get up and walk around frequently when I'm writing-gets the blood flowing. Sometimes I close a document I am editing, and when I come back to it and open it up, I just hit Shift + F5 to return to the exact place in the document where I was editing.
  
  
• Serial Saves. If you're like me, you often have many documents open at once. For safety's sake, I like to frequently save all of them at once. To do this, hold down the Shift key when you go to the File menu. This changes Save to Save All.
  
  
  
• Paragraph Hopping. You can circumvent the multi-step process of cutting, pasting and deleting to move paragraphs with an easy paragraph hopping feature. Often when I'm writing/proof-reading, I decide that a given paragraph would work better above or below another one.
  Do this:
  
  • Go into a document with several paragraphs and
    
  • put your cursor at the beginning of one of the middle paragraphs.
    
  • Hold down the Shift and Alt keys in unison, then
    
  • use the up and down arrow keys to "hop" the paragraph to new positions in the document.
    
    
• One Fell Swoop Word Deletion. You can delete entire words with your keyboard.
  Just
  
  • put your cursor at the beginning of the word and
    
  • press Ctrl and Del together. This is very useful when editing.
    
    
• Customize Line Spacing and Alignment. The Ctrl key is your best buddy when you want to experiment with line spacing and alignment variations.
  
  • Ctrl + 1 provides single spacing,
    
    
    
  • Ctrl + 2 provides double spacing
    
    and
    
  • Ctrl + 5 provides 1.5 line spacing.
    
    
    
  • Ctrl + R right aligns a paragraph,
    
    
    
  • Ctrl + L left aligns a paragraph,
    
    and
    
  • Ctrl + E centers a paragraph.
    
    
    
• Quick Selecting. You can select all text between the current location of your cursor and the end of the current paragraph by hitting Ctrl + Shift and the down arrow.
  
  
  
• Serial Undo. Many Word users are familiar with using Ctrl + Z to undo the last change that was made to a document, but did you know you can serially undo the last several changes you made? Just keep hitting Ctrl + Z to do so.
  
  

You may find that there isn't anything worth watching on TV tonight! If so why not go to http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/RSC_TV/index.html and watch the RSC-Northwest's TV channel

We currently have, running on Auto-pilot, the September 'storyboard' of 7 video clips (Looping approximately every 23:17 min) The clips are...

1. Filleting Flat Fish (03:35 min)
2. Social Networking in Plain English (01:48 min) 
3. All about the RSC-Northwest (08:03 min) 
4. Filleting Round Fish (Salmon) (03:18 min) 
5. Social Bookmarking in Plain English (03:25 min) 
6. Not a Computer Mouse (Humour) (0:15 min)
7. 3-D Insects (02:53 min)
   

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'"...

This video was made by Common Craft - Video Production and Consulting - because they want others to feel the power of social bookmarking and how it works to make web pages easier to remember, organize and share.

The video is focused on Del.icio.us, but you could also try social bookmarking sites like Magnolia or Furl .

Manager...

Rachel Fligelstone

Administration...

Jackie Ainsworth and Christine Hulme
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

John Dalziel (Adult & Community Learning/Personal & Community Development Learning/Work Based 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...

To be appointed (watch this space!)
support@rsc-northwest.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