NewsFeed | RSCs Scotland
Fortnightly bulletin from the Scottish Regional Support Centres
26th June 07
Anyone still out there ………? This is our final NewsFeed for the 06/07 academic session and as always is packed full of items of interest brought together especially to keep those of you embarking on summer leave in touch with technology - don’t you just love it ! Our gadget section focuses on solar power and summer activities as we await the return of that big yellow thing (what’s it called again?). Make it to the end and you’ll be rewarded with a couple of great videos to keep you amused till we see you again in August.
Have a good one!
As always, we welcome feedback on NewsFeed (or any RSC service you may have used).
1. JISC News
Education network begins trials of 40Gbit/s bandwidth
Janet is to become the first network for education and research organisations in Europe to deliver 40Gbits per second of bandwidth on a single channel. The network has the ability to scale up according to traffic demand and has started trials of 40Gbit/s bandwidth because traffic on individual links is growing beyond the existing 10Gbit/s available. For more details follow this link.
New JISCPAS research reveals vast variations in penalties for plagiarism
Although some institutions have regulations with detailed penalty tariffs, almost a third of HEIs use guidelines that fail to advise academic staff which penalties are appropriate for particular cases. The report, which classifies the range and spread of penalties available for plagiarism, is the first in a series of upcoming studies from the JISC Plagiarism Advisory Service that aim to assess national plagiarism policy and practice in higher education.Click here to read the report.
2. Accessibility
Accessibility survey
The Scottish Regional Support Centres are committed to promoting access and inclusion in all areas of eLearning, and we’d like to identify specific areas where we can provide you with support to assist staff and students in maximising accessibility. To identify exactly where that help is needed most we’re currently conducting an online survey. Please take the time to complete this questionnaire and encourage as many of your colleagues as possible to do the same. Click here to open up the questionnaire which closes on Friday 29 June 2007.
ieSpell
ieSpell is a spell-checker for Internet Explorer that lets you find and correct spelling mistakes. It is also useful for anyone who regularly posts on a blog or a web forum, or has a webmail account. You can download ieSpell for free at www.iespell.com.
Opera Browser Text to Speech
A great feature of Opera web browser software is its ability read text out aloud on web pages, which is particularly useful for learners who require additional support with reading. By simply highlighting the text to be read and pressing ‘v’ on the keyboard or the Scroll Lock Key, Opera browser will read out the selected text. An additional feature of Opera is the ability to control the programme with voice commands, similar to speech recognition.
3. For your diary
Mr Moodle coming to town
Make a note in your diary to be at the University of Glasgow on October 26th to hear an inspirational talk by Martin Dougiamas. Martin is best known as the guy from Australia who started Moodle, the open source learning management system that is used by thousands of institutions around the world.
This event has been organised jointly by the Learning & Technology Unit at the Learning & Teaching Centre of the University of Glasgow and the two JISC Regional Support Centres in Scotland. It will appeal to Moodlers, elearners, educators and basically anyone interested in knowing why Martin Dougiamas loves his job so much that he jumps out of bed every morning! We are expecting a lot of interest in this event, so be sure to secure a place early by contacting your local JISC RSC!
4. Technology and Skills
Technology is a key route to education improvement – Becta Report
Equipping schools or colleges with high levels of technical infrastructure will dramatically improve performance, so long as there is the right support and enthusiasm to embrace it.
That's the key conclusion of a four-year study, ICT Test Bed Project, recently completed by BECTA (the British Educational Communication and Technology Agency) south of the border.
The final report from the evaluation of the ICT Test Bed project can be downloaded from the ICT Test Bed Evaluation website.
Colleges to play key Role in Skills Review
Scotland's colleges will play a key role in how the Scottish Executive responds to the UK- wide Leitch Review of Skills, according to Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, speaking at the annual Association of Scotland's Colleges Conference on 15th June. Ms Hyslop said: "We have already announced that we will be bringing forward our own Scottish Skills Strategy in response to the recommendations of the Review. It will be a Scottish Strategy for Scotland's distinctive needs. The evidence base of the Futureskills report published yesterday will inform our strategy but I know Scotland's colleges are ideally paced to play a central role in helping achieve our aims and ambitions of making Scotland's skills base truly world class.” Click here for the full press release from the Scottish Executive.
5. In the News
Father of WWW Honoured by Mother of Nation
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has been awarded the Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. The scientist, who first unveiled the prototype web in Switzerland 1991, was previously named as the Greatest Briton in a 2004 poll. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6750395.stm
Jings - Microsoft Dialect Dictionary Project Comes to an End
A Microsoft project to create downloadable dictionaries to reflect the UK's rich local dialect heritage is drawing to a close. Users around the UK have been asked to submit their favourite regional dialect words. The thousands of responses received will help to generate local dialect dictionaries - which will work with Microsoft Office – which will be available for free download in July. Gang till here fir mair.
Google offers email services to universities
Google is expanding its empire into universities - with entire campus e-mail networks switching over to using Google's e-mail service. This will give the internet company a "relationship for life" with students - who can carry on using these e-mail addresses after graduating. Trinity College Dublin has switched to Google's e-mail - with other universities considering such a switch. Google is also offering students online tools to use in their coursework.
New reports from FutureLab
- Bridging the Digital Divide:a Charter for Change. Given the central role of digital technology in contemporary society should we be concerned with enduring inequalities in individuals’ ICT use? Is the so-called ‘digital divide’ a 20th century problem set to soon disappear from all but the margins of society? Do governments have a part to play in ensuring that all members of society are able to access the opportunities ICT offers equally? Find the answers or a fair shot at providing them in this new report from FutureLab.
- 2020 and Beyond A report from the Future Lab, 2020 and Beyond looks into the future of education and how technology is set to alter it radically. Crystal ball gazing with 20/20 vision as part of the Future Lab 'Opening Education' series. Read the future by going to this site.
Pageflakes for Students and Teachers now Available
A new version of Pageflakes, the popular Internet Start Page (the first screen you view when you open your Internet browser) with tools specially designed for students and lecturers, is now available free.
Motherwell College signs up for Ravenscraig
LEGAL agreements have been signed confirming the commitment of Motherwell College to Ravenscraig following the purchase of 16 acres of land on the site of the former steelworks, which is set to become its new state-of-the-art campus. The new £70 million 280,000sq ft campus will replace the existing site at Dalzell Drive and is expected to open its doors to students by summer 2009.
6. Gadgets & Geeks
Geek Chic - those must have items for a high-tech holiday
- Solar beach tote charges your phone. The Juice Bag is a beach tote with an integrated solar panel that will charge your phone, camera, laptop and MP3 player.
- Be the greenest on the green – solar powered golf bag.
- Wow the kids – people might even throw you money when they see your prowess – practice with the Virtual sand castle builder.
Head em Up - but Don't Move 'em Out
It's the bane of a farmer's life. Someone leaves a gate open and half your cattle wander off. Now scientists in Australia have a solution: the virtual field. After three years of research, they have developed a prototype fencing system using global positioning satellite technology in a project nicknamed Bovines Without Borders. The system uses battery-powered collars that emit a sound to warn cattle when they are approaching a virtual boundary. If a cow wanders too near, the collar - which is fitted with a chip - emits a warning hum. If it continues, the cow gets a mild shock.
7. Late Extra
You Tube Specials
- A thing of beauty to end the session. This item will be of special interest to Art Lecturers and music specialists but should be enjoyed by all. It's a beautiful example of another new web trend bearing the ugly title of a 'Mashup'. More on that next session. Meanwhile, in 'Women in Art', classic portraits of women from the last 1000 years of Western art are 'morphed' together and set to the soundtrack of a Bach Cello piece. Treat yourself by clicking here. Sublime.
- Amazing Juggling Finale. Amazing Juggling Finale by Chris Bliss - Another amazing video to mark the close of session – not so relaxing but worth 4 minutes The background song is by the Beatles: "Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End".
What don't you know? A taste of tomorrow
A very fitting final item in the last NewsFeed of academic year 2006/7 - looking ahead as it does into the awesome depths of the technical future. Fasten your safety belts for a white knuckle ride as you click here for a glimpse of that future.....
8. Training from the Scottish RSCs
The full listing of all the workshops currently being run by both RSCs in Scotland is available at: