Go Mobile - free publication

I’ve just stumbled across an interesting looking publication on a colleague’s desk called “Go Mobile -Maximising the potential of mobile technologies for learners with disabilities”. This new publication has been developed jointly by the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) and JISC TechDis to showcase stories from the Molenet projects. It focuses on the use of mobile technologies for learners with learning difficulties, but also offer of examples of ways that mobile devices can be used more generally to engage all learners.

The case studies show how learning providers nationally are using mobile technologies and once again it’s great to see examples from this region included (good work New College Worcester! As I’ve noted before, us Midlanders really are keen on learning!)

The 60 page booklet also comes with an accompanying DVD ROM which enables everyone to get involved in mobile learning. Its title “Upwardly mobile – getting started in inclusive m-learning” highlights its role as a toolkit for those new to m-learning.

Over in Wales, Helen Hodges notes that the DVD….

“.. contains a huge amount of information with loads of really easy to follow guidance on how to create text, image, audio and video resources (from both the tutor and learner’s point of view) for the mobile devices, using a lot of things that are free or you are likely to have access too already. My favourites so far are:

* using Powerpoint and a free GIF animator (UnFreez) to make animated images for a mobile device … click here for a ‘walkthough’ of how to do this
* making use of a BT phone with the 1571 answerphone service enabled and access to the account online to create an audio mp3 recording … click here for more details...”

I have a few spare copies of the booklet with DVD to give away so if you would like a free copy for your own organisation, send me an email with your name and address and I’ll get one out to you.

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Related links:

Mobile Learning in the Work Based Learning Sector
Ten things learners can do with a mobile phone
Kineo's mobile learning guide (pdf)
Moleshare site for mobile learning resources

New Midlands E-Portfolio Group

With a growing number of e-portfolio users in the Midlands area, the East and West Midlands Regional Support Centres have jointly launched a new online forum to support the region.

The forum "Midlands E-Portfolio Group" or MEG for short, has been set up to offer support for people who are either using e-portfolios or thinking of using e-portfolios as part of their practice. The site should also prove useful as a point of reference and as a place to ask questions of other e-portfolio users.

The online group will also be supported by RSC organized face to face events, which provide opportunities for networking and show and tell sessions to share best practice amongst e-portfolio users.

You don't have to register to use the site, however its worth noting that by registering you will get to actively participate in discussions and ensure you are kept fully up to date on issues relating to e-portfolio usage. To join the group, post messages or register to receive the latest updates, you simply create an account using the 'join the group' link on the right of the main page.

To get started, learn more or read the current discussions simply visit the Midlands e-Portfolio Group page. We look forward to keeping you posted.

Digital Notepads and Their Uses

I’ve mentioned digital notepads on here previously as I was so impressed with how easy they were to use and how they saved me having to type up my handwritten notes. Im pleased to note there is now quite a bit of information available on the web that shows examples of their use and highlights just how flexible a tool they are for learning providers.

For example, here, a recent Excellence Gateway case study shows how Training for Travel (TFT) has been using a digital notepad to meet their training assessment needs.

“Training for Travel (TFT) has implemented the use of digital notepads, enabling their assessors to fill in written assessment report forms when out ‘in the field' with learners, at the same time generating a digital copy of the report which can be downloaded and delivered electronically. Production of the digital reports... has made TFT more efficient in the process.”

On this page, RSC North West hosts a video which gives a demonstration of what can be done with a digital notepad: http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/content/view/614/205/

In a podcast also accessible from their website, “Sarah Nelmes, of Training for Travel, talks about why they chose to use digital notepads, their experiences of using them, and how they plan to use them in the future. Sarah explains how the use of digital notepads has increased turnaround time. She goes on to explain who they chose digital notepads over similar technology... and how they would like to develop their use of these notepads for ePortfolio evidence”.

Relect on the use of Blogs and Wikis

In the latest issue of Reflect, Liz Boyden suggests some ways of using Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom. She covers blogs and wikis so if you haven’t used any of these tools yourself, want to know more or want some ideas of how they might be used by learners, then this is a good article to read.

I particularly like how Liz uses Tumblr, a blog that enables learners to put short multimedia posts on their own webspace, including photos, text, video clips and sound files. For work based learning, this could be particularly useful for also hosting the kinds of electronic information that currently goes into an e-portfolio.

Liz notes:

“….Tumblr was the most successful blog application used in the project. It has a visually attractive layout and potential for learners to create a professional-looking webspace … Learners could post photos from Google images and then make a text post explaining the image. A particularly successful use of Tumblr was as a daily online diary when learners were on work experience.”

As well as reading the article, you can also watch a short video on Liz’s own blog to hear more about their learners using their new Tumblogs.

In the article, Liz also gives some good hints and tips for using blogs and wikis, much of which also links in nicely with the advice JISC Legal gave last month regarding legal implications of using web 2.0 tools.

There’s clearly some good work going on at the Project Experimental Teaching (PET) project and I look forward to reading more about how it develops!

Funding Updates and ALP Showcasing Best Practice

Last week I attended the Provider of the Future event run by the Association of Learning Providers. This was a good event with a mix of presentations and opportunities to speak with providers who had done some pretty impressive things with e-learning.

My colleague Stan Unwin of the East Midlands Regional Support Centre has nicely summarised the events of the day in his blog post on Innovate so if you couldn’t make the event and were keen to find out what it covered please read his summary.

Key things to note:

· “Chris Swingler (ALP National Projects Development Officer) confirmed that the LIG 4 exercise had attracted bids to the value of £14 million against a funding pot of £4million. Great to see so much interest although as Stan notes it will mean some disappointment for some. (Results of this latest bidding round are being announced this week).

· Skills Capital Funding - Laurence Leader (LSC Capital Policy Director) announced details of new capital funding, aimed at non college providers and intended to “…give a wider range of training provider’s access to new investment which will enable them to develop and deliver specialised services, such as Apprenticeships and work-based learning.” More details on Innovate.

· 3 showcase presentations demonstrated what providers had achieved with previous rounds of LIG funding. Attendees got the chance to speak with other providers about what they were doing with e-learning.

· Lesley Price (BECTA, Head of Regeneration & Skills) spoke about the new BECTA initiative ‘Next Generation Learning at Work’ and made a plea for providers to get involved.

Thanks Stan for providing such a comprehensive outline of the day with supporting resources and links. I’m looking forward to learning which new LIG 4 projects will be funded this week, and the possibility of a ‘Provider of the Future 2009’.

Create your own Jigsaws Online

I just love tools that re easy to use and that’s staff can get up and running with minimum fuss and on that basis here’s another winner. Jigsaw Planet is “…a great little free online tool for creating online jigsaws from your own digital images. Ideal for using with interactive whiteboards or tablet PCs.”

This is a great free addition to a tutor’s e-learning toolbox. It allows you to very easily create jigsaws using your own images and host these for your learners to use. You can set the level of difficulty, set the cut-out shapes and learners can even get a ghost outline of the image to help them if they are having difficulty completing the puzzle.

To see how it looks here’s one I started earlier. Click the image below to see a larger screenshot or access the puzzle online.

The software is absolutely free and there no registration required. You just upload your image and go.

If you use it please do let me know how you get on and how your learners like it. Who knows your jigsaws might also come in useful to me when I have the odd coffee break to fill! :-)

(Thanks to Kirsty for the link).

How to Win Those Bids for E-learning Projects!

Last year, I did a survey with Learning Providers in the West Midlands region and asked ‘Does your organisation face any of the following barriers in embedding ILT?’ It was no surprise that funding and lack of finances came out very high, in second place in fact. (Number one was ‘lack of knowledge about e-learning, hence the setting up of this blog!)

With finances being such a key issue, and bid writing for project funding sometimes being a complex task, we have organised a regional one day event which we hope will demystify the area of bid writing, show what opportunities exist and outline what makes an effective bid.

The day will help learning providers understand what the funders are looking for and will also include elements of project planning, an often overlooked part of the process. For work based learning providers it’s also a great opportunity to learn more about the Learning Innovation Grants that I’ve mentioned so often, discover why certain applicants were successful in their bids, and what makes a good bid? Terry Loane of DawsonLoane will be on hand to answer these questions and more.

As with all our events there are more details on the website so please visit there for more info but it’s worth noting here that as an RSC event we have been able to subsidise the cost of this event for the region and are able to offer places at a reduced rate of £60. I’m sure I don’t need to suggest you book early!

Hope to see you there.

Legal Issues of E-Portfolios (and Web 2.0)

Last week a colleague and I presented at a regional event that looked the legal implications of using technology in education. (We we will upload the presentation slides to our RSC Wiki shortly).

The event was run by JISC Legal, a service that I’ve mentioned on here previously. (They are a useful organisation to note as they have a wide understanding of the complex legal issues associated with using technology in education and their website hosts a wealth of resources).

Their website has been updated with several new resources and it seems that some time ago they had also documented some of the legal issues to do with e-portfolios. In their usual spirit of sharing, they had produced two publications that included a consideration of the following areas:

· ePortfolios - what kind of legal issues might exist?

· Data protection, compliance with the law?

· Data in our ePortfolio system is owned by the institution, is this right?

· We have created this nifty way for learners to publish parts of their ePortfolio to one of our websites for public or restricted access viewing. Are there legal issues we ought to consider?

· We are planning to roll out an ePortfolio system for our learners, but are concerned that some disabled learners may not be able to access the full functionality of the system. Does this expose us to legal liability?

The publications are now new, they were published in 2004, but they do still raise a number of valid legal considerations for anyone thinking about implementing or currently using e-portfolios. The publications can be accessed via the links below.

1. Developing and Operating an ePortfolio System - Assessing the Legal Issues
2. Legal Aspects of ePortfolio Systems: A Short FAQ

(For a wider consideration of the issues relating to e-portfolios this post might also be useful as well as the Higher Education Academy’s publication “Supporting Student E-portfolios” a resource shared with me today).

Interactive Whiteboard Links and Resources

Last week Alison Nock ran another Interactive Whiteboard training session for us in which she demonstrated how they can be used effectively to enhance teaching and learning. To support this session I have now set up a new wiki page which has additional links and resources all supporting the use of Interactive Whiteboards. This includes links to resources covering:


· How to use your interactive whiteboard effectively
· Issues to Consider Before Buying a whiteboard
· Health advice on the use of interactive whiteboards
· SMART Two Minute Tutorials
· Alternatives to whiteboards
· ...the list goes on.

I’ll continue to update this wiki page which I expect might prove useful for future whiteboard training events and be a source of reference for those wanting support but unable to make the sessions.

It’s worth noting that for those that were unable to attend last week’s event, we will be running another one sometime in January 2009. To reserve an early place, keep and eye on our events page or email us with your details and we will add you to the waiting list.

Free Software for your Learners (or staff)

The award winning Open Education Disc has recently released another version which like previous versions is more free software, aimed directly at learners, giving them the necessary tools to help them complete their learning. The Open Education Disc was designed by teacher/trainers to help learners complete their study without the need for expensive software licenses, or having to resort to piracy.

The collection of software now includes (as part of its OpenOffice)…

· A word processor, Writer - for producing documents, reports, newsletters, and brochures.
· A spreadsheet called Calc.
· A presentation package, Impress.
· A Drawing package for producing diagrams or 3D illustrations.
and Database tools.

It also has a free…

· PDFCreator to generate PDF documents directly from any Windows program.
· GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) suitable for those wanting to manipulate digital photographs.
· software for video editing
· and screen recording software.

You can read more about each of the programs here. This site also offers a few tips on how to download your own copies for use or distribution (as well as links to more freebies).

It’s interesting that in an old blog post I referred to ways that a training centre based in West Sussex was using free software like this four years ago (when this software suite was called the OpenCD). Its clear that many have been using free software for a while now!

This more recent post also highlights the importance of free and Open Source Software, and explains why it is becoming increasingly important for the Work Based learning Sector.