Autumn Winter RSC Newsletter now Available Online

The Autumn Winter edition of the regional RSC West Midlands newsletter is now available. Packed with hints and tips for helping you to get more out of e-learning this free newsletter is a great way to keep informed about issues that affect all sectors.

Kirsty Hill, our Information Officer has now done a great job in sharing this edition and several back copies for you to view in a readable format online and share with colleagues at your leisure. She has also put a link to our newsletters and Senior Management Breifings on our website.

Open publication - Free publishing - More west midlands

Of particular interest in this edition there’s:

1. Latest e-Learning Good Practice From Our Region
2. My StudyBar Saves Organisations £500,000
3. A Guide to Screencasting
4. LSIS Introduce Regional Development Managers
5. Save Yourself Time Online: RSS Feeds
6. Getting the Most From Moodle
7. RSC Launches Network-in-a-Box
8. Apple iPad is a Hit with the RSC
9. Green Tips From the Team
10. Regional Survey Results


If you’re a West Midlands based learning provider you should receive your own printed versions of our newsletters in the post, if for any reason you don’t please do get in touch.

If there is anything you would like to see covered in future editions of the newsletter please do let us know, we are always happy to receive feedback.

Happy reading!

To read more of Wobble click here.

Creating an Interactive Classroom

Last week saw the very first Interactive Classroom event run by RSC WM at the Science Park in Wolverhampton. This was a brand new taster event which introduced various pieces of technology and looked at ways these were being used in education.

Sessions in the morning covered two key brands of Interactive Whiteboards; Promethean and Smartboard and also offered a chance to try out the portable wireless mimeo whiteboard.

Later on, attendees were shown examples of some popular Learner Response Systems – these included Activote, Active expression, Turning point and Quizdom. Attendees also received a free DVD that helps to identify best practice in teaching and learning in terms of these systems. This lively session was followed by a demonstration of a text wall highlighting its uses for capturing learner voice and other possible uses.

The last session of the day highlighted the potential that Apple products such as the iPods, iPhones and the new iPad have for bringing additional interactivity to your classroom. Case studies based on these devices were shared and delegates were invited to try out the devices for themselves. Lots of ideas were generated for possible uses of these tools and particularly in the case of the iPad there were a lot of people saying they want one (this may be why!)


All in all the day was a lively one, with lots to see and try. It was the first we’ve done of these and it was certainly well received. Delegates commented:

“Gave me ideas on how I can incorporate some of the demonstrations into my everyday lesson to help learners progress and record their progress.”

“As a new teacher with very limited experience, I found the day invaluable.”

“Excellent look forward for more of these”

“Demonstrations on interactive board ... enabled me to identify how I could possibly use the tools and techniques available in my own lessons”

For those who couldn’t make this one, we hope to be running another of these days in the New Year so watch our events page for more. There is now a supporting wiki page available that now hosts many of the resources used and has lots of links and further information relating to the technologies covered.

If you would like any specific information on how you can incorporate interactive technologies in your own classroom please get in touch. As always, we are happy to discuss the needs of regional providers on an individual basis.

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Related Wobble links:

The new iPad
Using Interactive Whiteboards: A Video Case Study
Interactive Whiteboard Links and Resources
Using Voting Systems with Interactive Whiteboards
Using iPods for Teaching
Things Learners can do with a Mobile Phone


To read more of Wobble click here.

Create and Convert for Accessible Learning Resources

For those not yet familiar with the Equality Act, Matt Gallons recent blog post is an excellent starting point for understanding its implications for learning providers. If you are familiar with the Act, you may be aware that it now puts the onus on learning providers to take reasonable steps to ensure that their information is accessible.

Good news - Create&Convert has been designed specifically to help learning providers comply with this Act.

Create&Convert is a free tool that can take documents in common electronic formats (like MS Office, Open Office etc) and turn them into ‘epubs’ or talking books. In very simple terms it’s a suite of free software tools that learning providers can use to support learners who are print-impaired, experience difficulties with reading or who prefer to access content in a flexible and multi-sensory format.

How do I get Create&Convert?

There are two versions of Create&Convert - Microsoft Word 2003/2007 version and OpenWriter. Both versions are free to download and both work portably from a USB pendrive. The Word 2003/2007 version can also be run from the desktop.
Download your own copy from the RSC Scotland website here.

Other help for accessible resources

To learn more about ways that that you can make your own documents more accessible or understand the duties of the Equalities Act, West Midlands based providers can also contact our Regional Accessibility and Inclusion Adviser, Alison Wootton (E-mail a.wootton@rsc-wm.ac.uk or tel: 01902 518984) The posts below also highlights a number of resources supporting accessibility which you may find useful.

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Related Wobble links:


AccessApps - Free Portable Software on a Stick
Learning Technology Loan Initiative
Accessibility Overview
Portable Video Magnifier for Learners with Visual Impairments




To read more of Wobble click here.

FREE online courses for your Moodle (and training in how to use them)

TDM have created 10 free Moodle/Xerte courses that cover the ten business critical areas outlined below. They are now offering a number of training sessions that aim to demonstrate how these resources can be uploaded as courses into your own Moodle and adapted to your own organisational needs. (In addition these face to face sessions offer you the chance to ask more general questions about using Moodle and Xerte in your own organisation).

There are currently free resources available that cover the following areas:

* Business Improvement Techniques
* Business Systems / Processes
* Teamworking / Communication
* Customer Service
* Sales & Marketing
* IT User
* New Product Design
* Finance & Credit
* Cash-flow & Profit Management
* Risk Management

Available course dates for the training sessions in this region so far as follows:

1/2/5th November at Riverside Training (Hereford)
9/10/11th November at TDM (Bewdley)
16th November at BCTG (Oldbury)

Watch this space for more.

These resources were created using funding from the LSIS Flexibility and Innovation Fund that I shared details of previously. Its great to see the results of this funding now benefitting the wider work based learning sector.

For more information on these training sessions or the resources available contact Glenys Bradbury at TDM (glen@tdm.info, 01299 405 719)

To read more of Wobble click here.

Discovering and Sharing Freely Available Educational Resources

At the RSC we are increasingly being asked where training providers can obtain good quality electronic resources they can use for their delivery. Many also stipulate that resources must be no cost or low cost, not surprising in today’s economic climate.

Partly in response to this, and in conjunction with staff from RSC East Midlands, our Learning Resources Advisor will be facilitating a training day which focuses entirely on discovering and sharing freely available resources.

Delegates will be introduced to a range of useful tools for sharing, including Delicious and Slideshare as well as a review of the new functionality of the UK's Jorum repository. There are also sessions on Creative Commons licensing and Open Educational Resources and where to find them.

The full days training costs just £55 and bookings are limited to two per provider in the first instance.

To book your place or for more information see the event page on the RSC website.

Other Support...

For other general information on Learning Resources, our Learning Resources Adviser (Matt Gallon) is available to help with your queries on a one to one basis. Contact him if you'd like support in any of these areas:

· guidance on finding and using free and subscription e-resources
· advice on copyright and intellectual property matters
· help with designing and planning learning spaces
· guidance on the range of JISC services and help with accessing them.

Matt also maintains a useful blog which is worth subscribing to, or keeping an eye on for updates.

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Related wobble links:

Copyright Free Images for Resources
Intute - web resources for education
NLN learning resources, whats on the horizon?

To read more of Wobble click here.

Date for your Diary to get Online

Just six weeks to go for Get Online Week...!

Get online week is an annual campaign from UK online centres. Its runs from the 18th to 24th October 2010, the campaign aims to get tens of thousands of people that have never used computers and the internet before online.

This year UK online centres is teaming up with a range of external partners who will be generating huge amounts of publicity for Get online week. They include the BBC, BT, Three, Post Office and MLA amongst many others. Partners will be holding their own events or directing people to one of the 3,500 UK online centres which are situated around England.

To register your own event for Get online week 2010, simply complete the registration form on the website. As a learning provider you could be helping one of the 10 million+ people in the UK who still don’t use computers and the internet. Get online week is the biggest digital inclusion event to date and being a part of it is a great way to help more people in your community to get online and get to know you too.



To read more of Wobble click here.

Examples of how to use….

…SMS text messaging to capture learner voice:

Using a variety of methods, including text messaging, Northampton College successfully engaged with its learners to build a better relationship with them so that their views are heard and built into their learning experience. This recent case study looks at how a variety of technologies contributed to this:

Northampton College: Learner voice and technology


… hand held games consoles to improve health and wellbeing

ETEC Development Trust purchased various computer games consoles for learners at its drop-in centre in Sunderland. ETEC hopes the games will help to improve their learners' literacy and numeracy skills as well as their general health and wellbeing. One learner has already improved his vocabulary skills through the use of a Nintendo DS.
ETEC Development Trust: Game-based learning brings skills to life

…a virtual world for creating alternative learning environments

e-Learning staff at Barnfield College have created a revolutionary learning environment in Second Life. Barnfield College has been involved in a collaborative project with Museums Luton to create a virtual museum. This has helped drive a culture of innovative and engaging learning in the College and has helped to raise the profile of local museums in Luton.
Barnfield College: Informal learning through collaborative Second Life project

...screen-capture to create animated how to guides
North West Kent College is not alone in trying to solve the various challenges associated with IT-based staff development. Using Adobe Captivate to quickly and efficiently create a series of animated ‘How To' guides, this College has found a highly effective way of providing anytime, anywhere and on-demand IT support for both staff and students alike.
North West Kent College: ‘How to' raise IT skills



To read more of Wobble click here.

Getting WebWise and Staying Safe Online

BBC Learning has just announced the re-launch of WebWise, the BBC's free online guide to the internet for beginners. As well as two new courses - Internet Basics and Computer Basics - the new WebWise also has over 130 new articles from leading technology writers.

This relaunched version also has a really comprehensive section on Safety and Privacy which offers lots of hints and tips on how you and your learners can stay safe online. For learning providers thats certainly worth linking to or making learners aware of as part of the Safeguarding agenda.

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Related Wobble links:

Free Online Tutorials for Using Video and Audio
OpenOffice Online Tutorials


To read more of Wobble click here.

Flexibility and Innovation Fund, Fourth funding round: October 2010

Last week LSIS announced the opening of its fourth round of funding for Flexibility and Innovation Fund projects. This current round of funding closes on Friday 29 October 2010.

This time, bids for up to a maximum of £50,000 are invited from consortia of provider organisations for projects which have the potential to significantly enhance the practice and performance of the learning and skills sector. Bids from individual provider organisations cannot be accepted in this funding round.

For this funding round LSIS will particularly welcome consortia bids that address specific issues and problems in defined locations - based on the principles of Total Place. (Total Place is a government initiative that looks at how a ‘whole area’ approach to public services can lead to better services at less cost. It seeks to identify and avoid overlap and duplication between organisations – delivering a step change in both service improvement and efficiency at the local level.)

The following supporting documents for this funding round are available on the website:

· Guidance for submitting applications for the fourth round of funding
· The application form for the submission of bids
· Further information on the marking scheme for assessing bids
· Guidance on the qualities of successful bids in the first three rounds of funding

Further information about this fund is also available on the Excellence Gateway. This includes ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, ‘Qualities of Successful Bids’, further information about the judges’ marking scheme, and summary information about successful bids from the first three funding rounds.

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Related Wobble links:

Bid Writing Resources - resources which may help with the bid writing process.
Supporting resources page from a previous bid writing workshop.


To read more of Wobble click here.

How good are you at E-Learning?

As an organisation it can be hard to know how well you are performing with e-learning. How do you compare to other training providers? What 'could' you be doing with e-learning?

This is the reason the RSC's developed the free 'ILT Healthcheck' many years ago, a free service which involved us visiting learning providers, speaking to samples of their staff and learners and producing a free report which helped them to identify their e-learning strengths and weaknesses. This service also helped providers with action planning which could be mapped to any support, funding and initiatives that were available for e-learning.

We now have a very large number of training providers in this region and so we are unable to offer the same level of in-depth review, however we are able to help providers to assess their e-learning progress through a number of other e-progress review options. There are several options available for this and to make the current offering clearer we have produced a two page summary sheet with outlines the wealth of free services available to regional providers. Click image to download in pdf format.

We are happy to work with you using these review tools and to offer you free impartial advice and guidance throughout the process. This will not only help you to determine your current e-learning position but will also outline next steps that will help you to reach your desired goal.

To arrange your own free e-progress review or to discuss your needs in more detail, please contact us.

Hopefully when we next ask, how good you are at e-learning, you'll be able to say "much better!"

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Related Wobble links:

Safeguarding Learners – Tips for E-Safety
Leadership in Technology Grants


To read more of Wobble click here.