Now that the sun and sangria are but a faint memory and have been replaced by students and descriptors we hope you'll find a moment to read through this latest bumper edition of Newsfeed. Here you'll find courses and resources, conferences, materials and training events – something, we hope for everyone with an educational pulse. If there's nothing here for you, or if there is any other aspect of the RSC service you’d like to comment on then please let us know through the RSC contact form.
The Regional Support Centre Scotland North & East is pleased to welcome Jean Henderson to the staff team. Jean takes over from Mahendra Mahey as e-Learning Resources Advisor. Mahendra was a familiar face in many colleges throughout Scotland and while we wish him every success in his new job in the south of England, we also say a warm hello to Jean.
Jean is a library specialist, with experience gained in schools as well as colleges. She specialises too in instructional design for online learning, having project-managed the 'Virtual Learning Centre' through all phases of development at the Scottish Further Education Unit. Now as e-Learning Resources Advisor for the RSC, Jean can offer much useful ICT- related advice and support to library and information services staff.
To contact Jean, please go through the RSC helpdesk at 0131 315 7674 or mail support@rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk.
JISC would like to invite Learning Resource Centre and Library staff to join the JISC Collections Representatives list. Representatives will act as a point of contact within their institution, ensuring colleagues receive relevant and appropriate information from the JISC Collections team. Apply by completing the on-line form .
JISC is calling for proposals to develop a new Content Management System to manage its online content. This would be part of a wider project to rebuild the JISC website around a new information architecture and new design templates. The project would begin in November 2005 with an estimated completion date of summer 2006. Deadline for bids is 12:00 Friday 14 October 2005 and full tender documents are available online.
JISC has licensed the Stanford Encyclopaedia on behalf of UK FE and HE. Please note that as it is being provided on an open access basis, it is free of charge to institutions.
A new JISC agreement with publishers Elsevier brings a major science database to FE and HE. The special introductory agreement means institutions can evaluate Scopus, which contains abstracts and references from over 14,000 titles from 4,000 different publishers, for the next two years at discounted prices. The range of Scopus' coverage ensures that it has broad disciplinary use. To check how it might suit your institution go to JISC Scopus page.
By now you every College should have received 4 copies of the TechDis staff training packs. These are complete standalone training materials on CD with icebreakers, presentations, activities designed to provide pragmatic guidance on accessibility issues. However, you'll find that some (eg Benevolent Bill, Accessible e-learning and E- assessment) will also encourage practitioners with little experience of e- learning to see what can be done and how easily value can be added. The over-riding message? If you want to enhance accessibility in an institution then get into blended e-learning.
The JISC has commissioned a series of five exemplars which show how practitioners can use text and images from JISC resources to support classroom learning and home based study. Subjects covered are:
The exemplars are available online. Please note that you must be within an education institution to access the exemplars online. They can also be obtained on CD by completing the online order form.
Staff and students at FE institutions across the country have free access to highly detailed digital mapping from this month. The maps are available through the online service, Digimap, provided by EDINA – a datacentre based at the University of Edinburgh. Digimap allows users to view, print and download maps of any location in Great Britain at a series of pre-defined scales. The service is funded by JISC with contributions from subscribing institutions which must hold a current Ordnance Survey Education Copyright License. To get on the map go to the JISC digimap information page.
After a period of silence, recent activity has been spotted in the BBC's Creative Archive Project, designed to allow access to some of the vast store of resources held by the BBC and other organisations. General information on the project can be viewed at the The Creative Archive Licence Group web site.
At a recent meeting of the project's advisory panel the BBC, bfi, Channel 4 and Teachers TV all presented the collections they have made freely available so far. All use forms of the Creative Commons license which allows for free use under certain conditions. You can see these collections at the following websites.
Computer Tutor is a BBC resource for people who don't know how to use a keyboard, mouse or computer screen. Computer Tutor presenter Amani is on hand to take computer novices from start to finish step-by-step. Sit back and watch as Computer Tutor teaches all the skills needed to use a computer. To make things fun, the resource is set in 'Game Show World', a virtual TV theme park.
From time to time Newsfeed likes to highlight sources of copyright- free images. Yotophoto is a search engine for finding free-to-use stock photographs and images from a collection currently numbering over 100,000 items.
Google is the first place most people go to find information on the web - for some it's often the only place. But just how helpful is it to get several million hits? And how do you know if the sites Google finds are of good quality? New workshops from Netskills, the Internet training service partly funded by JISC, will answer these and other questions and show how critical use of search engines is vital to making the most of the Web. The workshops are one of a new programme of training sessions being run by Netskills to support staff in FE and HE during the coming academic year. Details on the NetSkill web site.
Last call for two Netskills workshops scheduled for the RSC North & East Curriculab in Edinburgh:
Further details of the courses and online booking on the NetSkills web site.
JISC RSC Learning Journey 2005, Wednesday 19th October (10am-3.45pm) Regent's College, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS. Take a voyage through an entire staff development cycle:
This RSC National Learning Journey is designed for Staff Development or ILT managers. It will enable you to create a staff development programme integrating the classroom with Information and Communication Technology. Expert speakers, practical case studies and top-quality resources will be showcased to help your institution achieve its strategic aims.
Fee for the event: £50. Book a seat online
29 September 2005, Kelvin Conference Centre. This UKERNA course provides an overview of computer network security from a managerial perspective. Topics covered include:
Further details on the RSC Scotland South & West web site.
The JISC-sponsored 2005 ALT Conference took place in Manchester from 6th -8th September and used the theme of 'exploring the frontiers of e- learning'. Over the next few weeks a large number of papers will be uploaded to the ALT- C web site by presenters, to go with the abstracts that ALT put on the site in advance of the conference. Presentations can be viewed at the ALT web site.
A new JISC publication - 'Innovative Practice with e- Learning' - from the e-Learning and Innovation strand of the JISC e- Learning Programme was launched at the ALT conference. Aimed at managers and practitioners in FE and HE the guide is based around ten case studies of current practice. Using three different perspectives - those of the learner, the practitioner and the institution – it examines the added value and challenges that a range of mobile and/or wireless technologies can bring to learning, teaching and management of learning. Get a free copy form the JISC web site.
ALT-C 2006, the 13th International Conference of the Association for Learning Technology, will be held next year in Edinburgh between 5 and 7 September 2006. ALT-C 2006 will feature four themes, capturing the main strands of development current in the field.
The prospect of the 2006 ALT Conference being hosted in Scotland is an exciting one for everyone interested in the future of e-learning in FE and HE in Scotland and far beyond. Newsfeed will be returning to the subject on a regular basis to make sure that you're well informed. Early information is available from ALT.
Two major conferences on FOI in Scotland will be taking place in Edinburgh in the coming months:
Mackay Hannah's Freedom of information act in Scotland: public organisations learning from the first year's experience. Monday 3rd October at the Calton Hotel in Edinburgh.
Holyrood Conference's Freedom of Information One Year On - 12 December at the Edinburgh Conference Centre at Heriot-Watt University.
A short leaflet is also available which provides information for staff about the Scottish Information Commissioner's role, investigation procedures and legal powers of enforcement. If you would like a copy or a stock of leaflets for training purposes, please call 01334 4646410 or email enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info.
Many of our readers will already have attended an e-Olympics event, either in their own College or as part of one of the National events organised in Edinburgh. E-Olympics events were offered as part of the eMerge staff development programme. Linked to this theme is the following resource, an excellent example of the potential of interactive, graphics-driven websites to deliver information and learning. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's interactive guide to the Olympics .
The full list of all workshops currently run by both RSCs in Scotland is available at:
Unsubscribe - email support@rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk
Regional Support Centre Scotland North and East
Helpdesk 0131 315 7674
www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk
Regional Support Centre Scotland South and West
Helpdesk 0141 558 4098
www.rsc-sw-scotand.ac.uk