Using iPods for Teaching

A colleague recently shared a link with me to a site that has a wealth of information about how iPods can be used for teaching/training - Learning in Hand. It’s a great site, with lots of uses, ideas, and applications for using an iPod touch or iPhone in education. It’s written by Tony Vincent, a technology specialist who uses the site to share his passion for new technologies (tied nicely into his own teaching experiences).

In the section on iPods and iPhones he offers advice on:

· Using audio and video
· Making use of photos and image sets
· Web apps (websites that are specifically designed for iPod touch and iPhone)
· Software applications
· Podcasting
· And more tips and tricks.


20 more ways...

Also focussed on the iPhone, Kevin Hickey from RSC North West has produced yet another very useful resource that shows 20 ways to use iPods for teaching. (See the video below). This is in the style of a Pecha-Kucha presentation; basically 20 slides/images, 20 seconds each. It contains some great ideas presented with the minimum of fuss.



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Related wobble links:

Mobile Learning in the Work Based Learning Sector
Things Learners can do with a Mobile Phone
Go Mobile - free publication

To read more of Wobble click here.

Greener Computing

One of our E-Learning Advisers (Jane Edwards) has recently been looking at ways that learning providers can both save money and work more efficiently by thinking more about sustainable computing; something also referred to as Green ICT. It is a large area and one that is currently attracting a lot of funding and is the subject of much research.

To help to make sense of all of the available information and to make it easier for regional providers to know where to start, Jane has set up a page on our wiki which brings together a number of key resources.

She notes: “...Whether you are a manager, or a lecturer..., there is no avoiding the fact that matters concerning the environment affect everyone.
The government wants to reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per year until 2020 and to help it achieve this, it has introduced the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) - a compulsory trading scheme to encourage large businesses and public sector organisations to reduce their CO2 emissions. In any case, it is obvious that by reducing energy use and using ICT more efficiently, you also reduce your energy bills; and you may also be genuinely interested in how carbon emissions affect the world we live in.

On this page you will find information on green agenda government papers, green ICT events and other useful links for the education sector.”

The wiki page is available here.

If you are keen to learn more about ways that your organisation can become greener in the ways it uses technology contact Jane by email or phone.



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Image “Don’t forget to recycle” courtesy of Pylon757

Joint E-Learning Forum – Summary of the day...

Last week we held our second joint e-learning forum which bought together staff from adult and community and work based learning organisations from across the region to hear about the latest developments in e-learning.

We have now set up a wiki page that has links to the presentations and many of the information sources that were mentioned on the day so if you missed the event you can still check there for information. Individual section summaries can be accessed via the links below or the whole event page can be viewed on our wiki.

This forum included an overview of Generator, the technology improvement leadership tool for further education and skills. We also had an update on the e-CPD programme form Dave Foord (LSIS), an overview of Accessibility and why that’s important to providers, as well as details on available funding for e-learning, a summary of regional projects and initiatives and more.

2 Generator - the Technology Improvement Leadership Tool for Further Education and Skills
3 Update on the eCPD Programme
4 Accessibility in Work Based Learning and Adult and Community Learning
5 Funding for E-Learning Projects
6 Regional Projects and Initiatives
7 Strategic Development
8 Upcoming RSC events
9 Other Upcoming events (External)

Great to see so many in attendance and we look forward to seeing you at the next one!


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Feedback on the Excellence Gateway

Several Work Based Learning providers are now using the Excellence Gateway for resources to support their teaching and learning, and for access to more than 150 case studies showing what other providers are doing with e-learning. (Finding best practise examples has now been made easier using filters that allow you to search on sectors or region).

NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education), are currently gathering instances of practice which demonstrate how Excellence Gateway resources are being used in Work Based Learning. These will again form useful examples which can be fed back into the sector.

If you are using the Excellence Gateway in any way within your teaching and learning practice and would like to share with others what you are doing, please email your contact details to gemma.hammond@niace.org.uk by Friday 30th October.

Short telephone interviews will be conducted in November.

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Related wobble links:

Examples of E-Learning in Work Based Learning
More E-Learning Case Studies
E-Learning Case Studies by Sector and Region

To read more of Wobble click here.

AccessApps - Free Portable Software on a Stick

We have been focussing quite a lot on accessibility recently, coinciding with the launch of a new initiate that is loaning e-learning technology to learning providers. As well as the loans we have given several staff a suite of portable software applications that they can keep, and use without the need to buy licences or install programmes – everything runs from the USB stick. This collection of programmes is called AccessApps and has been developed by RSC Scotland in conjunction with TechDis.

The AccessApps site has more information about the suite of programmes and the video below will tell you more about how it can benefit those involved in education or training.

Find more videos like this on RSC Access and Inclusion

Some of the applications contained on Access Apps are generic tools (word processing, spreadsheet and presentation alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite). Others cater for specific needs, such as a software to support dyslexic students or those with a disability. There are currently over 40 applications in the suite and the list is growing.

All of the software on Access Apps is also available to download directly from RSC Scotland’s site allowing you to pick and choose just those tools you might want to have. For example if you’re a tutor who think mind maps might make a useful addition to your lesson, there’s a free mind mapping tool. Or if you’d like an image editor, there’s one there too. A handy user guide also provides a useful training or reference manual to share with staff that have the usb sticks.

With accessibility being such a key issue at the moment, (it’s also been noted as a priority area for some funding applications) we have included a session on accessibility at our next e-learning forum. That should inform providers not only of why it is important but what support exists to measure and develop your levels of accessibility.

In the meantime, as AccessApps continues to go from strength to strength, why not get yourself a copy of it to use or to share? A USB stick chock full of productivity resources is useful to staff, and learners alike. And in this case it’s also free. :-)


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Related wobble links:

Accessibility Overview


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Funding for Creating e-Learning Resources

Independent work based learning providers will soon be able to bid for a share of £1 million capital funding in a new e-learning content creation (ECC) programme from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). This programme will be managed by the Association of Learning Providers and will complement the highly successful Learning Innovation Grant programme.

From the ALP website:

“ALP is delighted to announce in addition to the £3m LIG 5 fund, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), via the LSC, has released a further £1m grant fund to the ALP for providers in the sector to test how high quality e-learning content could be pump-primed to improve the cost effectiveness of delivery.

This exciting new e-learning content creation (ECC) programme aims to identify gaps in the e-learning content market, particularly to support new industries. It will focus on the development of e-learning content that will have a direct impact on improving the learning experience, the service provided to employers and business efficiencies.

ALP strongly encourages providers to form a consortium to bid for the large scale projects. Between 2 – 4 proposals will be successful with the bid value set from £250,000 - £500,000.

It is anticipated the ECC prospectus and application form will be available at the end of September.”

I’ll post more information about this initiative as they are released and will be happy to work with any providers who wish to explore options in this area.

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Image "Money" from Flickr (Kindly shared by coda)

Free Hairdressing Resources

Last week our Information Officer posted an article on our website about a new batch of hairdressing resources that are now freely available online. These are high quality videos that demonstrate popular hairdressing techniques, such as cutting, straightening, and also cover areas such as client consultation and health and safety. They have been developed by Worcester College and have now been shared on the web for others to use.

This is great if you deliver hairdressing training and have a virtual learning environment such a Moodle as they can be very easily linked to from within that. They can also simply be accessed and viewed directly from the webpage, there is no log in or registration required.

These videos were developed with staff from salons in the West Midlands region and it’s great to see such high quality resources for e-learning emerging locally. Having just watched one or two, I’ve learnt a few handy tips from the professionals myself!

For other web based resources (that also include hairdressing) see related wobble posts below.

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Related links:

Intute - web resources for education
NLN learning resources, whats on the horizon?

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Image "_MG_7162" from Flickr (Kindly shared by by NYCArthur)

Staff Development (with Funding Attached)

There are several staff development events coming up in this region not will only extend your knowledge of e-learning but also have Capital Grants attached that will help you to buy technology to help move your organisation along.

The table below shows dates of the programmes that have events coming up in the next few months. In case you’re unfamiliar with each programmes format or content I’ve also included summaries below.


It’s also worth noting that in the current round of Learner Innovation Grants, the scoring criteria asks “Has the organisation undertaken e-learning workforce training to develop their ECPD such as E-Guides, Connect, Realise or PDA?” That shows the value of these kind of staff development activities and how it can impact on your organisations attractiveness for funding.

Anyway there’s a lot coming up, as well as our own events which we run in response to your requests. To see the list in full screen, click on the button in the top right corner of the Scribd image below or click here to see these regional events in Google Calendar.

Hope you can make one or two of these dates and look forward to seeing you there!

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Summary of Programmes

Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) Leadership and Management Programme - All of the LSIS leadership & e-learning programmes are free. Capital grants of up to £2,100 per organisation funded by the National Learning and Skills Council (NLSC), are available to purchase equipment on completion of the leadership and e-learning programmes. Spaces are limited and early registration is advisable. This can be done online at www.lsis.org.uk/enrol

E-Guides eCPD – this is a free practical training programme covering what teachers, tutors and trainers need to know about using e-learning and technology. Advanced E-Guides are trained to deliver the E-Guide training within their organisations or to a cluster of organisations. The training is free so there is no cost to participate. Funding is also available. Click here for further information, including how to apply for training.

eCPD Professional Development Advisers (PDAs) – This training is for staff with responsibility for driving the use of technology in teaching and learning across their organisation. The programme includes two days of face-to-face training, complemented by personalised mentoring and coaching support. A Capital Grant of seven hundred pounds is available for successfully nominated PDA’s to purchase equipment that will support them in their role. More information is available online.

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Bid Writing Resources

It’s official, another £3miilion pounds has now been made available to support the development of e-learning in the work based learning sector. The Association of Learning Providers has now published documents for the fifth round of Learner Innovation Grants on their website.

I know a number of you are working away at bids (between £25,000 and £150,000 per project this time) so it seems appropriate to share some resources that might help with this process.

After a workshop last year we put together a wiki page that has a number of resources that help with bid writing. On this page:

· Terry Loane's Presentation entitled ‘Just four things’ noted that there are only four things you need to do in order to write a successful bid for project funding - work out what the funder wants, have a good idea, answer the questions and tell a clear story!

· In his presentation - “Why you? Making your Bid Credible" Professor Mark Stiles focused on the issues to address when considering why a funder should choose you over another bid proposing to do the same thing. In his Bidding Do and Don’ts (pdf format) he also offered top tips which outlined what to do and what not to do in a bid and provided a useful checklist.

· Lastly, my colleagues Colin Gallacher and John Dalziel from RSC Northwest, published an Online Guide to Bid Writing which includes contributions from trainers, practitioners, funders, advisors, managers, inspectors and others. You can also access that on the wiki page.

That’s just a couple of resources, highlighted to give you a flavour of the kind of resources that are on our bid-writing wiki page. I hope you find them useful. Please get in touch if you need any additional support advice or guidance. Good luck with your applications!

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Related links:

Previous Round of Learner Innovation Grants
New Report - ALP Evaluation of LIG Phase 4 - 2009
List of LIG Phase 4 Funding Allocations

To read more of Wobble click here.

£3m Workplace E-Learning Funding

Launch of more Learner Innovation Grants, just one week to go...!

"Work-based learning providers are being encouraged to bid for £3 million of funding, from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), to help the sector adopt new technology and explore innovative ways of applying ICT solutions.

The Association of Learning Providers (ALP), which is managing the Government's Learning Innovation Grant (LIG) project, is inviting applications from providers that have not bid before as well as consortia bids. Bidders will be able to apply for the new funding, the fifth tranche in a £13 million scheme, from Friday 4 September... " See here for more details.

This is an exciting opportunity for work based learning providers to get assistance with e-learning projects. A large number of providers have already benefited from the grants. Full details and a prospects will be available next week but it's worth thinking about this ahead of time as the deadlines are likely to be tight!

If you would like more information about this funding or help with preparing a bid please get in touch. I'll post more details as they become available.

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Related links:

Previous Round of Learner Innovation Grants
New Report - ALP Evaluation of LIG Phase 4 - 2009
List of LIG Phase 4 Funding Allocations

To read more of Wobble click here.