E-Portfolio Certification at Reduced Rate

Here at the RSC we are about to launch an exciting new eportfolio project offering training, hands-on experience and official Mahara certification.

Our main objective is a very practical one; we want to help you begin to use eportfolios for teaching and learning. This project will focus on using just one system, Mahara, an increasingly popular open-source (free) eportfolio. Mahara can be used as a standalone tool or integrated very easily with Moodle VLE.

To remove any skill barriers at the outset, included in the project package will be accredited Mahara training by an approved provider. The Mahara Certificate course is aimed at beginners and will help you to fast track through all the skills you need to use Mahara effectively with your learners. Although there is a charge for the training it is offered at a special one–off rate available to the RSC for this project only, you will not be able to complete this training at this price anywhere else. The usual cost is £510 but we are offering this training at a one off cost of £168 (inclusive of VAT) offering you a huge saving of £348 for an accredited course! In addition you will be given ongoing support from the RSC during the life of the project.

If you are considering implementing eportfolios for your learners or wondering if they would be useful to you, this is a really good opportunity to learn how to use the software and implement that knowledge, while having support on hand during you first trials with students.

To take advantage of this offer you will need:

1. To be able be to complete both days of the training and participate in some online activities in the week between the two training dates (in order to qualify for the Mahara Certificate).
2. Identify a group of your learners who will create eportfolios
3. Make use of what you have learnt by using Mahara with your identified learners group for a minimum of 4 weeks
4. Use Mahara yourself to maintain a blog about your experiences throughout the project (maximum project span 3 months). This will allow you to share your experiences and findings with us and will replace the need for you to produce a final project report.

The four minute video below offers a quick demo of some of the capabilities of the Mahara e-portfolio platform on which this project is based. Certainly worth a look at what this e-portfolio option offers, for free.



To register your interest in this project or to find out more, please contact myself (theresa.welch@wlv.ac.uk) or Christa Appleton (C.Appleton@wlv.ac.uk) Places are limited to twelve providers (eleven now!) so to take advantage of this offer, don’t delay!

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Related wobble links:

E-Portfolios for Starters
E-Assessment Online Toolkit
Use Of E-Portfolios In Assessment

To read more of Wobble click here.

Super Book of Web Tools for Educators

Stumbled across this useful book today, "The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators", a comprehensive guide for using technology in the classroom. It’s American so uses American terms when referring to the sectors it covers, but it has loads of useful inks to tools which can be used by various types of learning providers.

Its introduction notes “There are teachers around the world who want to use technology in their classrooms, but they’re just not sure where to start. That’s why eleven prominent bloggers, teachers and administrators got together to create this free eBook.”

The book highlights loads of free web based resources that can be used for teaching and learning. You’ll find some fairly popular tools covered (wikispaces, skype, googledocs, facebook) as well as some more obscure tools that cover everything from uploading to shared webspaces (dropit to me) creating animated books (flipbook), editing web pages for printing (print what u like) and more. The list of tools referenced is certainly a long one.


To get the most from the book, I’d suggest you pay little attention to the headings they fall under as many of these tools can be used in a number of settings. All in all, a very good publication - I’ll certainly be saving my own copy and checking out a number of these resources myself.


To read more of Wobble click here.

Giving Learners the Best Support: Key Issues for Learner Support Staff

If you support students in a non-teaching role, you are invited to a briefing event run by RSCs West and East Midlands, taking place on 9th February. The event focuses on a range of key issues for support staff and introduces the following topics:

* E-safety
* Copyright
* Accessibility and inclusion
* Information skills

The event is designed to be a very interactive day and will be an opportunity for delegates to meet and share ideas with colleagues from both regions.

You can find out more or book a place using this link.

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Related Wobble links:

Safeguarding Learners – Tips for E-Safety
Finding Resources to Re-use in Teaching

Copyright Free Images for Resources

Accessibility Overview


To read more of Wobble click here.

Alternatives to the iPad

Ideal for anyone thinking of buying an iPad, this five minute video from the BBC Click team shows some good tablet device alternatives, listing the main features, drawbacks and prices of each. With Christmas almost upon us it’s a great time to consider what you can get for your money if you’re thinking of investing in one of these.

As part of a current mobile learning initiative, we now have a number of regional project teams that hope to evaluate the use of tablet devices in work based learning. These have the potential to offer some great feedback from a learning providers perspective so I’ll keep you posted with how some of these devices work out in practice, early in the New Year.

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Related Wobble links:

The new iPad
Creating an Interactive Classroom
Mobile Initiative - The Learning Journey Made Mobile


To read more of Wobble click here.

Calling all Aspiring Authors...!

I’ve been asked to share the information below regarding the information pages that make up the RSC wiki. Anyone interested in contributing their e-learning knowledge and earning a tidy twenty pounds in the process, please read on...

The RSC West Midlands Wiki has been developing for a few years and is an increasingly popular source of information on RSC events and projects, as well as articles covering different areas of the RSC remit. It currently receives over 4000 page hits per month.

Until now, the majority of articles have been produced by the RSC team, but we'd like to remind you that contributions are particularly welcome from the RSC West Midlands community - in any of these subject areas:

· E-learning technology
· Learning Resources
· Strategy and Management
· Accessibility
· Teaching and learning

Make Your Contribution
As an incentive to article authors, we are currently offering a £20 Amazon voucher to the authors of the next five articles published (maximum one per applicant). If you'd like to take part, have a think about an e-learning topic you'd like to write about (within the categories as above) and send your idea to Matt Gallon: m.gallon@rsc-wm.ac.uk From there Matt will be happy to contact you to discuss words counts, format etc.

The wiki this can be a great way to share knowledge especially if there is an area of e-learning that you are particularly conversant with. My colleagues, our learning providers and myself use this as as source of reference regularly. We look forward to reading your contributions..!

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Related Wobble links:

An Quick Introduction to Wikis



To read more of Wobble click here.

Nominate your Outstanding Learners for an Award

Do you know an outstanding adult learner or project that inspires you? If so why not nominate them now for the Adult Learners’ Week Awards 2011. The awards celebrate learning in all its forms, giving deserved recognition to inspirational learners who have changed their lives through learning and the organisations who have supported them.

Nominating for an Adult Learners' Week Award is simple, you can:

Nominate online;
Download the PDF or Word Nomination Forms and either print these off to complete by hand or email to alw@niace.org.uk; or
Order hard copies of the nomination form

Everyone nominated will receive a certificate of achievement. (What a nice idea). Winners will also receive a learning voucher, valued between £200 and £1,000, and will be invited to a ceremony during Adult Learners’ Week, 14 -20 May 2011.

Nominations submitted by 20 December 2010 will be entered for a FREE prize draw for the chance to win £200 worth of learning vouchers to spend on learning resources for your organisation.

Nominations close at 5pm on 28 January 2011.

There is more information about Adult Learners' Week Awards on the web here. You can also see some of our regional success stories on the 2009 winners page.


To read more of Wobble click here.

New eSafety JISC Mail List

Do you have concerns over e-safety or want to know more about safeguarding your learners in a digital world? If so, this new JISCMAIL list may be of interest to you. A new, national eSafety JISC Mail list has been established to support communications surrounding issues relating to eSafety within the post 16 education sector. Using email, list members can share best practice, ask for help and generally promote the safer use of technology within an educational and social context.

I personally like the JISCMail lists because if you don’t want to register you can still read the messages that are being posted through the archives on the web thus ensuring you’re still kept in the loop. The archive can also be a useful as a source of reference (or useful to link to on your own sites for keeping abreast of what’s topical).

The list is still very new but so far topics have included:

Facebook - is it a threat or not?
Clarification on parent taking photographs
Ofcom Media Literacy e-bulletin
Resources for e-safety
Some alternatives to Facebook

If you have your own e-safety questions, this is a good place to get them posted. You what they say, a problem shared is a problem halved and all that! I look forward to seeing the discussions develop and to adding my own bits along the way. Hope you find it useful.
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Related Wobble links:

Safeguarding Learners – Tips for E-Safety
Getting WebWise and Staying Safe Online


To read more of Wobble click here.

RSC TV Guide, What’s Online?

RSCtv is a series of 30 minute lunchtime online video presentations on recent developments and future trends. Each broadcast is scheduled around lunchtime; all you need to watch each video presentation is a network enabled PC or Mac running an up-to-date browser.

These broadcasts are a great way to not only to learn about e-learning issues but also to participate in live sessions that allow you to chat with the presenter and other attendees using web conferencing software. They are also a great way to see what can be achieved by web conferencing, it might inspire you to try some, after all some tools are still free.

Showing soon on RSCtv are the following two sessions which may be of interest to providers:

How to Google better - 30th November 2010 (12.30 – 1.00pm)
Venue: Online
Join this online session to find out how to search for resources more efficiently by refining your search criteria, using advanced tools and taking full advantage of Google functionality. In addition you'll find out how to find materials that you can copy and use without risk of breaching copyright law.

An Update from JISC TechDis - 7th December 2010 (12.30-1.00pm)
Venue: Online
JISC TechDis are an educational advisory service, working in the fields of accessibility and inclusion. They provide free guidance on creating accessible learning material, accessing information in alternative formats, and creating barrier free learning environments. Join this lunchtime session to meet one of the Senior Advisors and learn more about the JISC TechDis developments and initiatives.

You can access a full RSCtv schedule here, where you can register for future broadcasts, or view an archive of previous broadcasts.
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In a similar vein, RSC South West delivers its own series of webinars, which can be accessed from wherever you are, provided you have access to an internet connected PC.

Coming up:

Using Mobile Learning to engage, challenge and reinforce learning, 6th December 2010 (11.00am - 12am)
Venue: Online
This session will look at practical ways of using mobile technology, how Bloom’s taxonomy reinforces the upper echelons via mobile reinforcement; and the reality of mobile technology.

To register for this session book via RSC South West online booking facility.


To read more of Wobble click here.

E-Learning Technology - Try Before you Buy

For several months now we have been loaning e-learning technology to learning providers. We have been doing this to help providers to be able to evaluate the usefulness of devices which can be used for implementing e-learning and supporting learners with additional learning needs. More information about the project aims can be found in this previous post.

There has been quite a bit of positive feedback from this initiative so far and it has clearly helped providers to meet these aims. Here’s a snapshot of some of what has been reported so far:

Who has used the kit and in what context?

· ... used in a teacher training session on ILT to prompt discussion on the use of technology to improve access to education.
· Learners were encouraged to use the equipment, under staff supervision, in whatever way they saw fit.
· A range of contexts, in classroom lessons, in workshops, in one-to-one sessions with learning support tutors and within the access areas of the learning centre.

What kind of things has this kit been used for:

· To enhance recording of assessment, encourage learners to develop elearning skills, to support learning
· ...use in lessons to collect evidence of their work
· I scanned a piece of work the learner had produced using the Zpen (a detailed picture) and inserted into their PowerPoint Presentation

Do providers now have a particular preference for device that they would recommend to other practitioners?

· The Asus Eee PC was of particular use due to its portability, ease and speed of use, and extended battery life. I would recommend this piece of equipment to any learning provider experiencing IT access challenges due to lack of availability or spatial restrictions.
· ... the Zpen as it easy to use, has many uses, and is age appropriate.
· ...Flip video for assessment. Digital voice recorder for those not wishing to be filmed.

What actions have resulted from you trialling the hardware?

· Trialling the hardware has increased our awareness of what is out there and has lead to discussions with line managers about budget provision for accessibility equipment
· Have already purchased some of the kit after using the kit bag.

These bags of kit are still available for regional learning providers to borrow, at no charge, for a period of 2-4 weeks. A list of the hardware available can be found in this previous post which also outlines the project more fully.

To register your interest, please contact me by email (Theresa.welch@wlv.ac.uk).

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Related Wobble links:

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


To read more of Wobble click here.

Getting WebWise...in One Minute!

Following the recent re-launch of WebWise, the site now has a series of 16 one-minute films to support the website's resources. The video clips cover everything from search engines to social networking, which as well as being embedded in articles across the site, are also accessible from a single page.

Here are a couple of the videos that grabbed my attention and which might be useful for providers to share:

How do I make free phone calls and video calls online?
What is social networking?
What are podcasting and vodcasting?
How do I download files?
How do I stop getting spam?
How do I use a digital camera?
Preventing ID fraud

If you want to see all of the videos available, here is a link to the programmes page.

It’s worth noting that for slightly longer videos on aspects of using technology (three minutes or so each) these Commoncraft videos also offer some great no nonsense introductions that make complex subjects easy to understand.

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Related Wobble links:

Getting WebWise and Staying Safe Online
Blogs in Plain English
A Quick Introduction to Wikis

To read more of Wobble click here