More than 7 Things You Should Know About...

Some time ago I signposted a series of articles that covered ‘seven things you should know about' regarding e-learning. Now, some years later (and containing considerably more than seven tools) this series is still proving to be a useful resource for anyone who wants to stay up to date on what e-learning technologies or practices are becoming available.

Developed by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, the ‘seven things’ series is made up of easy to follow information sheets each of which provide concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology or practice, describing:

· What it is
· How it works
· Where it is going
· Why it matters to teaching and learning

These can be useful guides if you’re exploring ways that technology might be able to help you to develop your own teaching/recruitment/retention or if you have heard of various e-learning tools but would like to know more about how they can be applied.

* For example, if you want to know more about Flickr – the photo-sharing website where anyone can upload photos, browse others' photos, and add their comments, then click here (pdf format)

* For more about digital storytelling (which involves combining narrative with digital content to create a movie) click here (pdf format).

The remainder of the series contains a vast array of titles all in the same easy to use format. The list includes information on how you might use such things as e-books, online social networks, screen casting, podcasting, virtual meetings using videoconferencing, instant messaging and much more. Useful things to think about at a time where there is funding being made available to support providers using tools such as these.

(Worth noting also that should you need any more information on any of the tools noted, you can also refer to Innovate and join in the discussion of how many of these e-learning tools are used in practice. Or get in touch).