NewsFeed | RSCs Scotland
Fortnightly bulletin from the Scottish Regional Support Centres
6th March 07
Welcome once again to NewsFeed and to an edition which is packed full of information on what's new in online technologies, especially as they relate to teaching and learning. How far have we come and how far do we still have to go? The Scottish Funding Council would like your help in answering that question (and are prepared to reward the 'early responders' to a new online survey which we feature in this issue. Don’t delay!) Elsewhere you’ll find everything from medieval stained glass images to the ultra-modern murky depths of YouTube and how we might – or might not - be using it in universities and colleges. There’s even an eco-friendly version of the Da Vinci Code.
Finally, thanks are due to a couple of readers who contacted the RSC to recommend new resources or to report problems accessing ones we’d previously flagged up. Thanks for that and keep it coming. Greater reader participation is something that we’d like to develop at NewsFeed over the rest of 2007 and beyond. Watch this space…
As always, we welcome feedback on NewsFeed (or any RSC service you may have used) through the RSC website.
1. JISC News
JISC Online Conference
Last March, the JISC ran a highly successful online conference, Innovating e-Learning, whose 400 participants made over 2000 posts during the five days that it ran. Following on from that first conference, the JISC is running Innovating e-Learning 2007. This will take place from the 11th - 14th June, again online, with the twin themes of ‘Institutional Transformation’, and ‘Supporting Lifelong Learning’. Like last year, people are invited to respond to an open call for papers and presentations. More information on papers (and the conference generally).
Stained Glass Online
Stained glass has been the Cinderella of the medieaval arts, largely because the material is so little known. Yet during the Middle Ages it was a highly prestigious vehicle for a wide variety of images, brightly coloured and brilliantly lit, as the famous surviving examples in York Minster, Canterbury Cathedral or King’s College Chapel in Cambridge still show today. Following a major digitisation project, many of the surviving examples of medieval stained glass in Great Britain are now available to view online. Over 15,000 digitised photographs of stained glass masterpieces have been added to the AHDS Visual Arts image catalogue.
Art Museum Image Gallery: new JISC Collections agreement
A new JISC Collections agreement is available for the Art Museum Image Gallery, a rich digital resource of art images and related multimedia gathered from the collections of distinguished museums around the world. The materials are copyright cleared for educational use. Institutional access is available via a paid subscription – see:
JISC National e-Books Observatory Project
The JISC National e-Books Observatory Project aims to explore the use of online core reading materials in order to develop new models to stimulate the e-books market. This will be achieved by working with publishers to licence a collection of core materials relevant to UK Higher Education in the areas of Business and Management Studies, Engineering, Medicine and Media Studies. Usage will then be evaluated in order to assess the impact upon publishers, aggregators and libraries and to develop new ways in which to licence e-content.
2. Scottish Funding Council study of 'e-Activity'
The Scottish Funding Council has commissioned Sero Consulting to conduct a 'Baseline Study of e-Activity' in Scotland's colleges. The study concerns the elements necessary to bring e-enabled learning to maturity in mainstream college activity. The research is currently underway and you are requested to play your part through answering some straightforward questions. The questions apply to you if you are a lecturer, an online mentor, a content developer, a member of LRC staff, an IT services technician, a student records administrator... in fact anyone who has a practical involvement in making online learning happen.
The first 50 respondents will receive a £10 Amazon voucher from Sero direct to their email account – unless they request a charity donation of £10 be made to World Vision.
3. Resources
MIT OpenCourseWare
From its beginnings in 2001, this radical initiative from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) now has over 1800 courses freely available online forming a free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world. The eventual aim of the programme is to publish virtually all of MIT's undergraduate and graduate courses by the end of 2008. For more information and courses visit MIT Open Course Ware.
Free resources for biology, health and medicine
More free resources from the other side of the pond, this time focussing on the areas of biology, health and medicine. Not surprisingly, some of these materials come with a North American flavour, but taste them for yourself.
Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website
Back to Britain for a resource that really counts: The Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) collection provides online access to the complete population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937.
Intute User Survey
Intute was launched on 13th July 2006. It is a free online service providing you with access to the very best web resources for education and research. The service is created by a network of UK universities and partners.
Please help us to ensure that it meets your needs by completing this short online survey.
4. Web 2.0 Roundup
So what is Web 2.0?
Within 15 years the Web has grown into a global information space with more than a billion users. Currently, it's both returning to its roots as a read/write tool and also entering a new, more social and participatory phase. This new, '‘improved' Web phase is sometimes called 'Web 2.0'. But how justified is this perception? This TechWatch report was commissioned to investigate the facts behind the Web 2.0 hype. It reports on implications for FE and HE, with a special focus on collection and preservation activities within libraries and establishes that Web 2.0 has, at its heart, a set of powerful ideas that are changing the way many people interact. Visit the JISC site to download your copy of the report.
BBC strikes Google-YouTube deal
The BBC has struck a content deal with YouTube, the web's most popular video sharing website, owned by Google. Three YouTube channels - one news and two entertainment - will showcase short clips of BBC content. The BBC hopes that the deal will help it reach YouTube's monthly audience of more than 70 million users and drive extra traffic to its own website. The corporation will also get a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels.
The use of YouTube video in education
YouTube meanwhile is currently exciting controversy in Colleges and Universities around the country, so while the BBC is signing contracts to provide material, some institutions are blocking the site. However, there are signs of the recognition of the possible value of these resources. For example, BECTA has recently published a 'how to' guide designed to help you find video on YouTube and embed it as a resource in a Moodle course.
(Note: the last issue of NewsFeed which contained an item and a pointer to YouTube was blocked in certain colleges. Contrary, to what some readers thought, this is not a function carried out by the JANET network itself which as a matter of policy does not block sites, leaving such decisions to the individual institution. Thanks to all readers who contacted us over this issue.).
Blogs & Wikis: an advanced guide
The flood of simple to use Web 2.0 applications appearing in the last year allows information professionals to make information available more quickly and effectively than ever before. This course to be held in Birmingham on the 24th April, 2007, will examine many of these tools in a practical manner, allowing participants to explore ways in which shared search techniques, social bookmarking, saved data, wikis and other applications not only promote the information provider, but deliver a richness and depth of information to their users that has not been possible until now. For more details and booking go to the Clip website.
Trust in Web 2.0
One result of the increased use of Web 2.0 is a huge increase in the amount of user- generated content becoming available. A potential downside of this richness, however, is that it’s no longer enough for people to trust the content that you put on your site - they also need to know if they can trust contributions made by other users. Find out how trust on the Web is changing and what you need to do to improve the trustworthiness of your site by reading the Web credible article "You Who?" .
5. Mind Your Language(s)
Test Your Spanish Skills Online
Test your fluency in Spanish here. This new language assessment test by spanish-test.net has been created according to the European Framework of Reference for Languages and provides an online method of testing your Spanish skills.
Verbs Online
But why stop at one language? Improve your verb skills in a range of different languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese verbs by going to Verbes Online Allez vite!
MetaGlossary
MetaGlossary is an online dictionary designed to surpass traditional dictionaries, which grow more out of date with each passing day. MetaGlossary is as dynamic as the web, offering the most current information out there on the most contemporary topics. MetaGlossary is able to precisely extract the meanings of terms and phrases from the often frustratingly unmanageable mass of information on the web, supplying concise, direct explanations for terms and phrases.
Short for What?
The world of e-learning is infested with acronyms and abbreviations but now these can be explained instantly by reference to a new site which specialises in glossing even the most abstruse of acronyms. (IMHO). Abbrebiations.com.
6. Learner Focus
e-Portfolios and Personal Development Planning
Interested in e-Portfolios and Personal Development Planning (PDP)? If so, the Higher Education Academy has just published a new report which looks at the usage of both in UK HE and some FE. The report covers:
- mapping and identifying existing practice
- documenting the approaches taken
- establishing a directory of practice
- key contacts
Get a copy of the report at The Higher Education Academy website.
WebbIE
NewsFeed is grateful to Peter Falconer of Lauder College for drawing our attention to WebbIE, 'an amazingly useful piece of software for those with major visual impairment'. For anyone learning to use a computer using some form of screen reader this will make the journey well worth while. We’ve checked it out at the RSC and at first glance it seems very intuitive and easy to navigate (though some features, such as magnification are readily available in the latest version of Internet Explorer 7). Judge for yourself at WebbIE.
A computer by any other name
Many deaf students depend on BSL (British Sign Language) to support their learning, but the words that describe computers and new technology are constantly changing and growing. A new online dictionary of ICT terms in BSL may help. To access this resource go to QIA Information and Communication Technology.
Views from the other side: listening to learner voices
Date: 26th June, 2007
Time: 10:00
Venue: Glasgow Caledonian University
This workshop will explore learner views of technology enhanced learning based on the findings of The Learner Experience of E-Learning (LEX) study. LEX researchers spent a year listening to learners in HE and FE with the aim of drawing out their opinions of learning with technology and examining their coping strategies. Participants will have the opportunity to listen to learners’ voices, match learner profiles to attitudes and approaches, reflect on the main themes and discuss the wider implications. Full details and booking available online.
7. Tools & Skills
Picnik: The World's Best Online Photo Editor!
Picnik allows you to grab photos straight from your computer, or the web and edit them via an easy to use online interface. You can then save your edited photos, make a nifty slideshow, have them printed, email them or send them to your blog or photo sharing site. This free online tool incorporates sophisticated photo editing techniques: crop, rotate, resize, make colour adjustments, sharpen images, saturation and lots more. Things you would normally do in complicated photo editing software like Photoshop, you can now do online very easily. Get the picture at Picknik.com.
Deep Computer Skills
As computer software continually changes (noting the recent releases of Vista and Office 2007) it is better as teachers to focus on the underlying skills and trends within computing rather than the details of a specific application. These fundamentals are addressed here in an interesting article by accessibility expert Jacob Neilson.
8. Conferences
Copyright after the Gowers Review
BUFVC (The British Universities Film and Video Council) is hosting a Learning on Screen conference at the British Library Conference Centre Monday 2nd April 2007 Nearly 20 years after the last major revision of UK copyright law, significant changes are recommended by the recent Gowers Review which may be implemented by autumn 2008. The conference will consider:
- the likely effects of the Gowers Review on learning, teaching and research in the UK – especially relating to the copying and use of existing content
- planned licensing arrangements and developing technologies which will support the copying and extended use of formerly broadcast content by universities and colleges
www.bufvc.ac.uk/learningonscreen
REAP Project International Online Conference
You are invited to contribute to an innovative Online International Conference scheduled for the 29th-31st May 2007 exploring the interplay between the theory and practice of assessment and feedback in FE and HE in the digital age.
www.reap.ac.uk/eventsADLR.html
9. Snippets
FE people in the news
CHRISTINA POTTER, currently principal of Elmwood College in Fife, has been chosen as Dundee College's new principal. She succeeds Iain Ovens, who is retiring in October. Christina Potter, who has worked at Elmwood College for ten years, is also chairwoman of the Scottish Further Education Unit and a member of the Court of St Andrews University.
HOWARD McKENZIE, principal of Jewel & Esk Valley College, has been nominated as the public sector director of the year in this year's Institute of Directors Scotland director of the year awards. All nominations will be scrutinised by staff at Napier University's business school, who have indicated the competition will be hotly contested.
Why should Dan Brown have all the fun?
Check out these two links for an excellent spoof of the Da Vinci Code with a serious biodiversity purpose. Good for debate and discussion at various levels:
Broadband Britain 'speeding up'
A new survey shows broadband getting faster in the UK though some customers are not reaching the speeds that service providers have advertised. The average UK broadband download speed is now 2Mbps, up from 512Kbps three years ago, says thinkbroadband.com. The figures are based on more than a third of a million speed tests carried out by the website's users.
Fingers on the button = better fingers on the scalpel
Video gaming makes better surgeons. A new study from the Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York has shown that surgeons who play video games at least 3 hours a week made 37% less errors, were 27% faster and scored 42% higher than those who had never played these games. In fact there was a direct correlation between assessed skills in gaming and laparoscopic surgery. The very best game players made 47% fewer errors, were 39% faster and scored 41% better overall than those in the bottom third. More cutting edge information at.
New e-Paper as the Daily Mail goes online
The Daily Mail has recently launched an e-paper edition. The Mail eReader, developed with the help of Microsoft, is a downloadable version of the daily paper (including Sundays). Stories resize to fit the screen they are downloaded for, so the e-paper could theoretically be used on mobile phones, palmtops and other small devices. Read all about it.
Horizon Report 2007
The 2007 edition of the Horizon Report – issued by the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative – is a research-oriented collection of emerging technologies which seem set to have an impact on education in the near future. The report first identifies key trends in Higher Education and then relates them to key emerging technological developments. You can view the future, and decide if it might work, at elearning reviews.
10. Training from the Scottish RSCs
RSC North & East
- 22 - 23 March 07: Moray College e-Olympics
- 27 April 07: Information Skills and Staff Development: Are you doing enough?
- 11 May 07: Identifying and preventing plagiarism: Issues for HE tutors in FE colleges
- 11 May 07: Preventing and detecting plagiarism: Using the TurnitinUK plagiarism detection software
RSC South & West
- 7 March 07: Basic Networking (formerly titled Introduction to Networking)
- 8 March 07: Basic Router Configuration
- 20 March 07: e-Learning Design & Development
- 27 March 07: Blogs, Wikis and Social Networking
- 28 March 07: Information Skills & Staff Development: Are you doing enough?
- 19 April 07: Advanced Animation in PowerPoint
The full listing of all the workshops currently being run by both RSCs in Scotland is available at: