This site offers "all children and adolescents, including the hard-to-reach, a safe and supportive global cyberspace within which they can explore, discuss and partner on issues related to human rights and social change." Includes guides and real life stories on topics such as child rights, education, HIV and AIDS, commercial sexual exploitation, and water, environment, and sanitation.
From UNICEF at http://www.unicef.org/voy/
Evaluating Internet Health Information
Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine
"This tutorial teaches you how to evaluate the health information that you find on the Web. It is about 16 minutes long."
It walks consumers through the process of determining who is behind a website (such as a physician or a drug company), separating noncommercial and commercial content (such as advertising), checking to make sure the site is current, and more.
From the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
"This tutorial teaches you how to evaluate the health information that you find on the Web. It is about 16 minutes long."
It walks consumers through the process of determining who is behind a website (such as a physician or a drug company), separating noncommercial and commercial content (such as advertising), checking to make sure the site is current, and more.
From the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Henry David Thoreau - Walden (extract)
What old people say
you cannot do
you try and find that you can...
I have yet to hear the first syllable
of valuable advice...
from my seniors.
you cannot do
you try and find that you can...
I have yet to hear the first syllable
of valuable advice...
from my seniors.
Free Our Data!
Government-funded and approved agencies such as the Ordnance Survey and UK Hydrographic Office and Highways Agency collect data using our funds, but then charge users and companies for access to it.
That restricts innovation and artificially restricts the number and variety of organisations that can offer services based on that most useful data - which our taxes have helped to collect. Making that data available for free - rather as commercial companies such as Amazon and Google do with their catalog and maps data - would vastly expand the range of services available. It cannot make any sense that Google, an American organisation, is presently more popular with people aiming to create new map applications.
This Guardian Technology campaign can be found at http://www.freeourdata.org.uk/.
OU Open Content Initiative
The Open University revolutionised assumptions about who could learn, and how they could learn.
Now they’re doing it again. The Open Content Initiative (OCI) will make educational resources freely available on the Internet, with state of the art learning support and collaboration tools to connect students and educators. The Open University is grateful to the Hewlett Foundation for their generous contribution to the OCI, as part of their Open Content programme promoting initiatives to release and reuse high-quality open educational resources.
"The philosophy of open access and sharing knowledge is a wonderful fit with the founding principles of The Open University and with the University's very strong commitment to opening up educational access and widening participation. The University will be developing forms of open content e-learning which will reach less experienced learners and, we hope, encourage an appetite for further learning. The Open University will be the first in the UK to offer Open Content materials under a Creative Commons licence. We are deeply grateful to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for its generous support."
Professor Brenda GourleyVice-Chancellor of The Open University.
The Open Content Initiative website is at http://oci.open.ac.uk/ .We'll keep you informed of developments. Meanwhile try the Hewlett Foundation Open Content programme for other materials.
Now they’re doing it again. The Open Content Initiative (OCI) will make educational resources freely available on the Internet, with state of the art learning support and collaboration tools to connect students and educators. The Open University is grateful to the Hewlett Foundation for their generous contribution to the OCI, as part of their Open Content programme promoting initiatives to release and reuse high-quality open educational resources.
"The philosophy of open access and sharing knowledge is a wonderful fit with the founding principles of The Open University and with the University's very strong commitment to opening up educational access and widening participation. The University will be developing forms of open content e-learning which will reach less experienced learners and, we hope, encourage an appetite for further learning. The Open University will be the first in the UK to offer Open Content materials under a Creative Commons licence. We are deeply grateful to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for its generous support."
Professor Brenda GourleyVice-Chancellor of The Open University.
The Open Content Initiative website is at http://oci.open.ac.uk/ .We'll keep you informed of developments. Meanwhile try the Hewlett Foundation Open Content programme for other materials.
Copyright & e-Learning webcast
The JISC Legal Copyright & e-Learning webcast on March 22nd (see previous posts) can be seen as a non-live streamed version at http://video.strath.ac.uk/06/002-06-02.wvx
Jason Campbell rules.
Jason Campbell rules.
Online reference services...by the back door
Unfortunately there is a limit to the number of online services to which the college library can subscribe. But...
Are you a member of your local council-run library? If the answer is yes then here are two more services you can access. All you need is the barcode number from your library card.
KnowUK is a unique online service developed to provide libraries with a complete collection of current, useful and UK-specific reference information from over 100 of the most widely used reference publications in the UK. Good public library fodder. KnowUK is at http://www.knowuk.co.uk/
NewsUK is an online service developed to provide national and regional news, combining the most popular British newspaper titles in one database. The list covers much of what is already available through InfoTrac Custom Newspapers with the extremely useful additions of The Guardian (from 1992-) & The Economist (1991). NewsUK is at http://www.newsuk.co.uk/.
Works for South Lanarkshire.
Are you a member of your local council-run library? If the answer is yes then here are two more services you can access. All you need is the barcode number from your library card.
KnowUK is a unique online service developed to provide libraries with a complete collection of current, useful and UK-specific reference information from over 100 of the most widely used reference publications in the UK. Good public library fodder. KnowUK is at http://www.knowuk.co.uk/
NewsUK is an online service developed to provide national and regional news, combining the most popular British newspaper titles in one database. The list covers much of what is already available through InfoTrac Custom Newspapers with the extremely useful additions of The Guardian (from 1992-) & The Economist (1991). NewsUK is at http://www.newsuk.co.uk/.
Works for South Lanarkshire.
Civitas in makeover bid...
Today the Civitas weblog, home of RKC Citizenship, changed its name to The Student Citizen. The location, with link to the right, remains the same.
Books From Scotland.com
Books from Scotland.com is a new information and bookselling site dedicated to Scottish books and writers.
The site offers the very latest info, extracts from interesting, topical books, interviews with authors, guides to book events across Scotland, a map of book locations, the inspiration behind the publishing, and much more...
Certainly worth a look. Find them at www.booksfromscotland.com
Drive on Driver Dan
Apologies for the late posting but the rest of our college info-systems seem to have ignored this too...
Friday saw the official launch of Alex Cathcart & Marianne Gill's meisterwerk Driver Dan. This is a customer care / core skills project aimed at the logistics industry. Further details to follow when we have an active intranet link to these materials.
Friday saw the official launch of Alex Cathcart & Marianne Gill's meisterwerk Driver Dan. This is a customer care / core skills project aimed at the logistics industry. Further details to follow when we have an active intranet link to these materials.
Sugar & spite
From FE News (www.fenews.co.uk )
Yesterday (March 21st) a storm erupted following ill advised comments that Sir Alan made on his show that disparaged the work of everyone associated with Further Education colleges, and by extension anyone involved with Further Education provision or learning of any sort. To be precise, he said that an FE College was “where dummkopfs come to learn where to make mistakes.”
From the BBC website:
Sir Alan Sugar is the self-made multi-millionaire behind Amstrad and Viglen, and he is also well known outside the business world thanks to his high profile involvement with Spurs FC.
So why do we buy his bloody computers?!
Yesterday (March 21st) a storm erupted following ill advised comments that Sir Alan made on his show that disparaged the work of everyone associated with Further Education colleges, and by extension anyone involved with Further Education provision or learning of any sort. To be precise, he said that an FE College was “where dummkopfs come to learn where to make mistakes.”
From the BBC website:
Sir Alan Sugar is the self-made multi-millionaire behind Amstrad and Viglen, and he is also well known outside the business world thanks to his high profile involvement with Spurs FC.
So why do we buy his bloody computers?!
Subscribe to ARKIVE updates
In the sidebar to the right of this page you'll find an invitation to subscribe to this site's newsfeed. Follow the instructions & you'll never miss another post!
NEW! Athens toolbar for Internet Explorer
This is crucial kit...
The MyAthens IE toolbar is a free Internet Explorer add-on designed to assist existing Athens users manage their accounts and navigate between Athens resources. It is currently a beta version.
You can't download it in the college because of WebMarshal but ask the ICT to install it on your PC. (Yeah, I know you're busy, Robert.)
Available at http://www.athensams.net/toolbars/download.html
The MyAthens IE toolbar is a free Internet Explorer add-on designed to assist existing Athens users manage their accounts and navigate between Athens resources. It is currently a beta version.
You can't download it in the college because of WebMarshal but ask the ICT to install it on your PC. (Yeah, I know you're busy, Robert.)
Available at http://www.athensams.net/toolbars/download.html
Know before you go
Members of staff travelling to foreign climes might be interested in the newly updated information from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office which is located here.
First we'll take Manhattan...
First we'll take Manhattan...
Something for the weekend?
This might be worth sticking onto your USB memory stick...
Restoration is an easy to use and straight forward tool to undelete files that were removed from the recycle bin or directly deleted from within Windows, and can also recover photos from a flash-memory card that has been formatted. Upon start, you can scan for all files that may be recovered and also limit the results by entering a search term or extension. In addition, it also provides the option to wipe the found files beyond simple recovery. The program is small and standalone, it does not require installation and can also run from a Floppy disk. Restoration works with FAT and NTFS as well as digital cameras cards.
Download (freeware) at http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html
Restoration is an easy to use and straight forward tool to undelete files that were removed from the recycle bin or directly deleted from within Windows, and can also recover photos from a flash-memory card that has been formatted. Upon start, you can scan for all files that may be recovered and also limit the results by entering a search term or extension. In addition, it also provides the option to wipe the found files beyond simple recovery. The program is small and standalone, it does not require installation and can also run from a Floppy disk. Restoration works with FAT and NTFS as well as digital cameras cards.
Download (freeware) at http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html
JISC FE exemplars
They've been around for 6 months now...
The JISC Exemplars of Online Resources for Further Education were developed to meet a series of clearly defined requirements. Each of the five Exemplars focuses on the use of JISC collections in a particular curriculum area, across at least three FE qualifications. Each Exemplar provides strategies and practical ideas for practitioners desirous of building quality learning resources using online resources made available by the JISC.
Follow the links for the Business, Hairdressing, History, Leisure & Skills for Life exemplars.
A little investment can go along way!
So I'm delusional...prove me wrong!
The JISC Exemplars of Online Resources for Further Education were developed to meet a series of clearly defined requirements. Each of the five Exemplars focuses on the use of JISC collections in a particular curriculum area, across at least three FE qualifications. Each Exemplar provides strategies and practical ideas for practitioners desirous of building quality learning resources using online resources made available by the JISC.
Follow the links for the Business, Hairdressing, History, Leisure & Skills for Life exemplars.
A little investment can go along way!
So I'm delusional...prove me wrong!
Worth a look?
This might be worth looking at if you're fed up of, whisper it, Google...
Explore XY is a Knowledge Discovery Vehicle. A KDV is a radical, patented desktop application that explores all the web’s pages to find any correlation between two subjects. It reads a URL/web page and reports back text and source links that are relevant to connecting the two subjects.
They say "This isn't searching for facts. It's exploring for knowledge."
Free download at http://www.explorexy.com/
Explore XY is a Knowledge Discovery Vehicle. A KDV is a radical, patented desktop application that explores all the web’s pages to find any correlation between two subjects. It reads a URL/web page and reports back text and source links that are relevant to connecting the two subjects.
They say "This isn't searching for facts. It's exploring for knowledge."
Free download at http://www.explorexy.com/
Google Page Creator
From the people who bring you Blogger & thus this...
Want to create your own web page, but don't know how to begin? The new Google Page Creator is a simple, free tool that allows you to publish to the web with ease.
Google Page Creator is a web based application that uses a basic what-you-see is what-you-get style of interface, designed to allow anyone to create and publish web pages, regardless of skill or knowledge level.
Google Page Creator allows you to arrange text, images or other types of web content and upload the web pages with a single click, without the need to know web programming languages such as HTML or Javascript, or how to configure and transfer pages to a web server.
Google Page Creator is a web-based application that runs on any computer or operating system. To use it, you must have a Google account and a Gmail address. Pages that you create are stored on Google servers using a URL convention of gmailname.googlepages.com.
There is a waiting list at present but you can sign up at http://pages.google.com/.
Want to create your own web page, but don't know how to begin? The new Google Page Creator is a simple, free tool that allows you to publish to the web with ease.
Google Page Creator is a web based application that uses a basic what-you-see is what-you-get style of interface, designed to allow anyone to create and publish web pages, regardless of skill or knowledge level.
Google Page Creator allows you to arrange text, images or other types of web content and upload the web pages with a single click, without the need to know web programming languages such as HTML or Javascript, or how to configure and transfer pages to a web server.
Google Page Creator is a web-based application that runs on any computer or operating system. To use it, you must have a Google account and a Gmail address. Pages that you create are stored on Google servers using a URL convention of gmailname.googlepages.com.
There is a waiting list at present but you can sign up at http://pages.google.com/.
The Poetry Archive
Poetry is language in orbit - Seamus Heaney
The Poetry Archive exists to help make poetry accessible, relevant and enjoyable to a wide audience. It came into being as a result of a meeting, in a recording studio, between Andrew Motion, soon after he became U.K. Poet Laureate in 1999, and the recording producer, Richard Carrington. They agreed about how enjoyable and illuminating it is to hear poets reading their work and about how regrettable it was that, even in the recent past, many important poets had not been properly recorded. Five George Mackay Brown poems & Hugh Macdiarmid reading The Watergaw. What other encouragement do you need?
http://www.poetryarchive.org/
The Poetry Archive exists to help make poetry accessible, relevant and enjoyable to a wide audience. It came into being as a result of a meeting, in a recording studio, between Andrew Motion, soon after he became U.K. Poet Laureate in 1999, and the recording producer, Richard Carrington. They agreed about how enjoyable and illuminating it is to hear poets reading their work and about how regrettable it was that, even in the recent past, many important poets had not been properly recorded. Five George Mackay Brown poems & Hugh Macdiarmid reading The Watergaw. What other encouragement do you need?
http://www.poetryarchive.org/
Creativity in the classroom
This microsite is a unique web resource compiled by Apple and the Guardian, with features, downloads and practical advice on ICT in education. It's largely aimed at the primary & secondary sectors but on first acquaintance contains a lot of materials relevant to 16+.
Yeah & win a video iPod by emailing your top ICT tips.
Site is at http://education.guardian.co.uk/appleeducation
Yeah & win a video iPod by emailing your top ICT tips.
Site is at http://education.guardian.co.uk/appleeducation
Forres Loon Done Good
Congratulations to Alan Dick on winning the World Book Day quiz. All correct! Runner-up was Brenda Carson - only one wrong. Prizes to follow. Correct answers on request.
Biomed Image Archive
The BioMed Image Archive is an online collection of about 8000 medical, dental, and veterinary images for use in learning, teaching and research. All the images have been donated by academics working in the biomedical fields in different countries.
Images can be used free of charge for non-profit educational purposes.
Visit the archive here.
Oxford Reference made simple
If you add the Search Oxford Reference button to your browser toolbar, you will be able to consult Oxford Reference Online from any web page. You could be looking at a French newspaper's website and be unsure of the translation for a word. All you do is highlight the word, click the Search Oxford Reference button on your browser toolbar and a new browser window will open with the results of a Quick Search having been performed in Oxford Reference Online on the selected text.
Please note that you need to have JavaScript enabled to add the Search Oxford Reference button on to your browser toolbar.
Enable this useful tool @ the Oxford Reference website (no need to log in) & follow the simple instructions.
Please note that you need to have JavaScript enabled to add the Search Oxford Reference button on to your browser toolbar.
Enable this useful tool @ the Oxford Reference website (no need to log in) & follow the simple instructions.
My Athens Toolbar for Firefox
Eduserv Athens have developed a browser toolbar which replicates the features of MyAthens and can be used to access Athens-authenticated resources.
Download the toolbar at the Athens website. At least you can use it home!
The toolbar includes the following features which are available on a drop down list labelled “Athens Options”:
- Go to MyAthens. If you are not logged in, clicking on this option will display the MyAthens front page. If you are logged in, the list of resources in MyAthens will be displayed.
- Account details. This option displays information created with the account.
- Change password. This option displays the page in MyAthens that allows users to change their Athens password.
- Help. This option displays the Help page available in MyAthens.
- Refresh resource list. A drop-down list of resources is available after logging in. There have been some intermittent cases of the resource list failing to display a complete list of resources; using this button will refresh the list. Selecting one of these resources will redirect you to the service URL for that resource.
Download the toolbar at the Athens website. At least you can use it home!
Spaces For Learning Report
In April 2005, the Scottish Funding Council commissioned Alexi Marmot Associates to produce a report on the relationship between effective learning and the design and use of space, and to ensure that estates and building decisions are linked appropriately with learning and teaching strategies. Their study comprised a review of the literature on physical space and effective learning, a survey of key trends in learning and teaching, interviews with national organisations, and case studies of campus developments at four Scottish further and higher education institutions.
The draft Spaces for Learning Report was presented at a conference at Glasgow Caledonian University on 28 October 2005. The conference was attended by 125 staff from Scotland's colleges and universities. Much of the conference involved group discussions about different types of learning spaces. The final report includes a summary of the conference discussions and is available here.
The draft Spaces for Learning Report was presented at a conference at Glasgow Caledonian University on 28 October 2005. The conference was attended by 125 staff from Scotland's colleges and universities. Much of the conference involved group discussions about different types of learning spaces. The final report includes a summary of the conference discussions and is available here.
Reminder - copyright & elearning webcast
JISC Legal are delivering a webcast on 22 March 2006 between 1-4pm. It is intended to be a drop-in, drop-out Copyright and e-Learning induction for UK FE and HE staff. The webcast will consist of a mixture of presentations, interviews and question and answer sessions. It will deal directly with the issues of copyright which arise in the development and delivery of e-learning materials and online content. It is proposed to include for viewers the ability to feedback and contribute to the discussion and training sessions as they are taking place.
Further details of the webcast are available on the JISC Legal website at www.jisclegal.ac.uk/events/webcastevent.htm
The flyer is available to download as a pdf at www.jisclegal.ac.uk/webcast
Further details of the webcast are available on the JISC Legal website at www.jisclegal.ac.uk/events/webcastevent.htm
The flyer is available to download as a pdf at www.jisclegal.ac.uk/webcast
MathTutor
This site has been strongly recommended by Andy Fogarty of Built Environment.
"To bridge the gap from school to university study, to revise or find the maths topic you missed, you will want to meet mathtutor. Video tutorials, with diagnostics, summary text and exercises, take you through more than eighty topics in the way you choose".
The material consists of a video streams but we'll get round that...
Other materials include texts & animations which can be loaded on to an iPod.
MathTutor is @ http://www.mathtutor.ac.uk/. MathCentre who produced this material can be found at http://www.mathcentre.ac.uk/ where there are further maths resources.
"To bridge the gap from school to university study, to revise or find the maths topic you missed, you will want to meet mathtutor. Video tutorials, with diagnostics, summary text and exercises, take you through more than eighty topics in the way you choose".
The material consists of a video streams but we'll get round that...
Other materials include texts & animations which can be loaded on to an iPod.
MathTutor is @ http://www.mathtutor.ac.uk/. MathCentre who produced this material can be found at http://www.mathcentre.ac.uk/ where there are further maths resources.
Free USB Memory Stick
I'm afraid that a lot of you thought that this was a scam...
In fact, if you look at the Learning & Skills Web "post" further down this page you'll find that the final paragraph reads "(The first 2,000 to complete and return a brief feedback form get a free 64 mb USB memory stick.)"
Any posts added after this one are naturally pushed down the page.
So, no scam. Bit of marketing, perhaps. But I think that BECTA offering a free Memory Stick for the first 2000 registrations is a bit of, er, marketing too. No? And the information should be useful to many of you. Don't shoot the messenger.
One apology. That I actually care / am stupid enough to be posting this at...what's the bloody time anyway?
In fact, if you look at the Learning & Skills Web "post" further down this page you'll find that the final paragraph reads "(The first 2,000 to complete and return a brief feedback form get a free 64 mb USB memory stick.)"
Any posts added after this one are naturally pushed down the page.
So, no scam. Bit of marketing, perhaps. But I think that BECTA offering a free Memory Stick for the first 2000 registrations is a bit of, er, marketing too. No? And the information should be useful to many of you. Don't shoot the messenger.
One apology. That I actually care / am stupid enough to be posting this at...what's the bloody time anyway?
Catalyst magazine
Issue two of Catalyst, published by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), is now available online.
Among the highlights are Nicholas Jones's interview with Conservative leader David Cameron, Brian Klug on defining anti-Semitism, and Rosemary Bechler talking to Dyab Abou Jahjah and Tariq Ramadan about European Muslim identity. Plus there are features on football, colour-blind casting, and selection in schools, as well as reviews, regular columns, and reader feedback on issue one.
Available at www.catalystmagazine.org
Among the highlights are Nicholas Jones's interview with Conservative leader David Cameron, Brian Klug on defining anti-Semitism, and Rosemary Bechler talking to Dyab Abou Jahjah and Tariq Ramadan about European Muslim identity. Plus there are features on football, colour-blind casting, and selection in schools, as well as reviews, regular columns, and reader feedback on issue one.
Available at www.catalystmagazine.org
Scottish Distributed Digital Library
My God! It's got library in the title. Must be the azimuth of ennui...
The Scottish Distributed Digital Library contains collections of texts, images, and sounds in digital format, distributed over the World Wide Web, with Scottish themes. All items in the collections are easy to access and do not require passwords. Items include:
The Scottish Distributed Digital Library contains collections of texts, images, and sounds in digital format, distributed over the World Wide Web, with Scottish themes. All items in the collections are easy to access and do not require passwords. Items include:
- Scanned images of pages, and digital transcriptions, of printed books;
- documents created on computers;
- Digital photographs and scanned images of photographs;
- Scanned images of paintings and drawings;
- Websites.
Access at http://scone.strath.ac.uk/sddl/index.htm
BBC Natural History Archive
Content from the BBC's Natural History Unit has been made available free of charge over the internet. The Open Earth Archive will include previously unseen clips from new wildlife series Planet Earth. Footage can be viewed, downloaded and edited into personal projects as part of the Creative Archive Licence. That scheme, which released the BBC's news archives earlier this year, allows the material to be used for non-profit programme-making in the UK.
Audio (.mp3) & video (Windows Media Player .wmv & Quicktime .mov) will be blocked by WebMarshal. Download the .mpeg file - not blocked yet & better quality!
For full information hack your way through the jungle to the Open Earth archive at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/calc/sn/
Audio (.mp3) & video (Windows Media Player .wmv & Quicktime .mov) will be blocked by WebMarshal. Download the .mpeg file - not blocked yet & better quality!
For full information hack your way through the jungle to the Open Earth archive at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/calc/sn/
Learning & Skills Web
The Learning and Skills Web is a unique service for busy education and training practitioners working in all areas of the learning and skills community. It offers a convenient point of access to existing online resources, information and news:
* easy access to e-learning resources
* quality education and training search results from trusted, reliable sources
* registered users can save search results select news feeds and much more
Register online at http://www.learningandskillsweb.org.uk
(The first 2,000 to complete and return a brief feedback form get a free 64 mb USB memory stick.)
* easy access to e-learning resources
* quality education and training search results from trusted, reliable sources
* registered users can save search results select news feeds and much more
Register online at http://www.learningandskillsweb.org.uk
(The first 2,000 to complete and return a brief feedback form get a free 64 mb USB memory stick.)
Newsfilm Online launch
Newsfilm Online is planned to be one of the most exciting resources to be offered to Higher and Further Education in the UK. Some 3,000 hours of television news and cinema newsreels, taken from the huge collection of the ITN/Reuters archive, is being made available online in high quality format for teaching, learning and research.
The BUFVC’s Newsfilm Online team has now launched a demonstrator website which makes some fifty news clips (approximately two hours of material) freely available for downloading to all users. These clips are arranged by theme and decade. More clips will be added to the site in due course.
The demonstrator website is @ http://www.bufvc.ac.uk/newsfilmonline/
The BUFVC’s Newsfilm Online team has now launched a demonstrator website which makes some fifty news clips (approximately two hours of material) freely available for downloading to all users. These clips are arranged by theme and decade. More clips will be added to the site in due course.
The demonstrator website is @ http://www.bufvc.ac.uk/newsfilmonline/
The Return of Curtis Bonk...
One man & his acronyms...Remember you heard it here first.Just added to stock is this doorstep.
"The Handbook of Blended Learning" (HOBLe) offers a comprehensive resource that highlights the most recent practices and trends in blended learning from a global perspective and provides targeted information for specific blended learning situations. The book provides examples of learning options that combine face-to-face instruction with online learning in both the workplace as well as more formal academic settings. Across these environments, "The HOBLe" focuses on real-world blended learning practices. The authors provide an important resource for the providers of adult learning to better understand the wide range of possibilities available when designing blended learning environments. "The Handbook of Blended Learning" provides direction where blended learning may find effective application in online environments within higher education as well as corporate and military training. To address the diversity of readers, "The HOBLe" includes contributors from a broad range of fields including trainers, consultants, professors, university presidents, distance-learning center directors, learning strategists and evangelists, general managers of learning, CEOs, chancellors, deans, and directors of global talent and organizational development
New Google service sells books online
Google has announced a new service by which it hopes to sell online access to copyrighted books on behalf of publishers, similar to a program announced last fall between Amazon.com and Random House.
With Google's new service, users would be able to buy electronic access to the full text of a book, based on terms determined by the publisher,but not allowed to make or save copies of the book. Currently, users of Google's Book Search service can see small bits of books but cannot access the full texts.
According to Google, the new program is intended to help publishers increase revenues. The announcement comes as Google's legal troubles continue over its Library Project, a program to scan millions of books, including copyrighted books and those in the public domain. Public domain materials would be available online in their entirety, while only selected portions of copyrighted books would be online. Publishers and other copyright holders have challenged Google in court, saying the company has no right to make digital copies of their books, regardless of how it limits access to those copies.
Google Books (beta) is @ http://books.google.com/
'Designing Spaces for Effective Learning'
The e-Learning and Innovation strand of the JISC e-Learning Programme launched the publication 'Designing Spaces for Effective Learning' at the JISC Conference on the 14th March 2006. The aim of the guide is to provide the post-16 sector with succinct but essential considerations when designing learning spaces to support effective learning.
'Designing Spaces for Effective Learning' highlights current thinking about the use of learning technologies and their impact on a range of physical spaces, using noteworthy examples from current new-build and refurbishment projects from further and higher education institutions across the UK. A richly illustrated publication, it also offers architect-designed examples of space usage with general guidance on maximising the effectiveness of learning through the design of physical spaces. The guide concludes with a checklist of key points to help senior managers embarking on space utilisation and refurbishment projects, with particular regard to the design and use of technology within those spaces.
Download a copy @ http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learning-space-design/design-high
Images & WebCT
TASI Resources on Image Use in VLEs
TASI's (Technical Advisory Service for Images) new publication outlines some copyright considerations for FE and HE when using images in VLEs. You can access the news story here: http://www.tasi.ac.uk/news.html
TASI's (Technical Advisory Service for Images) new publication outlines some copyright considerations for FE and HE when using images in VLEs. You can access the news story here: http://www.tasi.ac.uk/news.html
Sage advice for all academics
As the title suggests, a humorous and extremely practical guide for both trainees and practising teachers to coping with some of the more common classroom crises. Feeling at your wit's end after yet another lesson with your 'class from hell'? Wondering how you're going to survive the impending inspection? If so, then this is the book for you. Fred Sedgwick provides a range of invaluable tips and strategies to solve all kinds of classroom problems, from dealing with bad behaviour and keeping on top of paperwork, to ingratiating oneself with the head and - of course - teaching with a hangover. It is a must-read for worn-out teachers everywhere.Now in stock at a library near you!
LibriVox
LibriVox is a hope, an experiment, and a question: can the net harness a bunch of volunteers to help bring books in the public domain to life through podcasting?LibriVox wants all books in the public domain to be available, for free, in audio format, on the internet. They ask volunteers to record chapters of books in the public domain in digital format; all you need is a computer, some free recording software, and your own voice! This is a totally volunteer, open source, free content, public domain project.
Once they get the files, they catalogue them, and podcast the books, one at a time. Lend your voice to a good cause.
LibriVox is at http://librivox.org
Teachit - English teaching online
Teachit is a tried and trusted education resource used by thousands of teachers nationwide. Specialising in English, Drama and Media Studies from primary to post-16, the online Teachit library offers over 5,000 pages of classroom materials, schemes of work, lesson plans and teaching tools, all created by working teachers and constantly growing. Teachit is at http://www.teachit.co.uk/.
For our PE chums...
Growing Stronger: Strength Training For Older Adults. This presentation describes the benefits of strengthening exercises for older adults, and provides guidance in starting and maintaining a strength-training program. The "Exercises" section features step-by-step instructions and animated drawings for each of the exercises. Also includes a physical activity readiness questionnaire to help determine if you should check with your doctor before you start. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/
See How: Stretching and Strength-Training
Slide shows and video clips demonstrating stretching and strengthening exercises, such as balance exercises, core exercises with a fitness ball, abdominal crunches, bench press, and leg press. The slide shows present complete routines, and the videos demonstrate specific exercises. Also includes discussions by fitness experts on topics such as appropriate numbers of sets, resting, and comparison of free weights and machine weights. From the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/SM00103
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/
See How: Stretching and Strength-Training
Slide shows and video clips demonstrating stretching and strengthening exercises, such as balance exercises, core exercises with a fitness ball, abdominal crunches, bench press, and leg press. The slide shows present complete routines, and the videos demonstrate specific exercises. Also includes discussions by fitness experts on topics such as appropriate numbers of sets, resting, and comparison of free weights and machine weights. From the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/SM00103
Search engine news
Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) is a search engine that allows users to enter questions in plain English. Includes a helpful "narrow your search" feature. Ask.com has significantly improved and should be high on any information seeker's list of first places to find answers and websites. http://www.ask.com/
Google Scholar. Beta version of this Internet search tool that Google claims "provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations." http://scholar.google.com/
Google Scholar. Beta version of this Internet search tool that Google claims "provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations." http://scholar.google.com/
Britannica Online Academic Edition
The new interface of Britannica Online is now available via the regular link of http://search.eb.com/. This resource is now called Britannica Online Academic Edition. This name change reflects how the resource is now even more catered towards academic users.
The first edition of the Inside Britannica newsletter focuses on World Heritage sites. It contains direct links into Britannica Online Academic Edition to download articles, videos, and other selected material. This can be accessed at http://www.britannica.co.uk/ibol .
The updated Guided Tour presents a great way to learn how to get the most from Britannica Online Academic Edition. The guided tour is available as a download @ http://corporate.britannica.com/bol_tour.pdf
eLearning news
The e-Learning Centre provides independent e-learning advice and consultancy to businesses and education. They also maintain a large collection of links to e-learning resources in the Information section, which is freely accessible to all, and a (password-protected) Subscribers Area which contains resources that add value to the core materials at the website.
E-learning news can be accessed at their weblog.
E-learning news can be accessed at their weblog.
Designing Libraries
Designing Libraries has created a new gallery “Librarian’s Choice” aimed at showing off the work on improving any aspect of library buildings. The first gallery concentrated on good examples of signs and guiding in libraries; the new gallery is concentrating on how libraries have addressed accessibility issues for all their users, such as furniture heights and assistive technology, particularly in light of the recent Disability Discrimination Act.
See the website for more details... http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk/
See the website for more details... http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk/
Languages for international students
This year the BBC celebrated the Chinese New Year with a website for English Language learners in China. The site (http://www.bbcchina.com.cn/) provides bilingual content for Chinese users. It is designed for users aged 15 to 35 and includes quizzes, word games and information about the social and cultural background of the UK aimed at those planning to study or work here. Some of the content can be downloaded onto MP3 players.
A similar site for other languages (including Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and most Eastern European languages) can be found here.
A similar site for other languages (including Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and most Eastern European languages) can be found here.
World Book Day Quiz
Just 15 quick questions to celebrate World Book Day. Yes books.All based on the current bestseller lists. Usual crap prizes.
Format is: a clue; the title of the book; the author. Thus "young giraffe conned by devil in disguise" CATRNL JS = Carlo And The Really Nice Librarian by Jessica Spanyol.
Let us begin...
1. 3.14159265 TLOP YM
2. Mobile phones turn users into zombies C SK
3. Renaissance man wins lottery TDC DB
4. Dum blonde rites new booke? AWNW KP
5. Actually I’m chunky & short for my weight… ICMYT PM
6. Sainsbury’s pizza J’sI JO
7. The sheer bloody rudeness of everyday life. TTTH LT
8. This wasn’t written in a cafe in Auld Reekie. HPATHBP JKR
9. The answer is blowing in the wind… CV1 BD
10. Don't tell Randolph Scott or John Wayne. BM AP
11. What the Hospitality Department don’t tell you? HB IE-J
12. Insectovores? DAEW? NS
13. This only goes to show that crooks do prosper! FI JA
14. Chrono-Displacement Disorder. Aye. Right. TTTW AN
15. We’re all chip butties then? YAWYEC GM
Answers to the usual address by Friday 10th.
Format is: a clue; the title of the book; the author. Thus "young giraffe conned by devil in disguise" CATRNL JS = Carlo And The Really Nice Librarian by Jessica Spanyol.
Let us begin...
1. 3.14159265 TLOP YM
2. Mobile phones turn users into zombies C SK
3. Renaissance man wins lottery TDC DB
4. Dum blonde rites new booke? AWNW KP
5. Actually I’m chunky & short for my weight… ICMYT PM
6. Sainsbury’s pizza J’sI JO
7. The sheer bloody rudeness of everyday life. TTTH LT
8. This wasn’t written in a cafe in Auld Reekie. HPATHBP JKR
9. The answer is blowing in the wind… CV1 BD
10. Don't tell Randolph Scott or John Wayne. BM AP
11. What the Hospitality Department don’t tell you? HB IE-J
12. Insectovores? DAEW? NS
13. This only goes to show that crooks do prosper! FI JA
14. Chrono-Displacement Disorder. Aye. Right. TTTW AN
15. We’re all chip butties then? YAWYEC GM
Answers to the usual address by Friday 10th.
Kar2ouche
Kar2ouche is cross-curricular role-playing software for producing pictures, storyboards, animations, movies, comics, handouts, posters and magazines. Launched in October 2001, Kar2ouche is now in more than 7,000 UK schools and has won numerous awards. Kar2ouche now has titles for Key Stages 1-5 and is available for a wide range of subjects including Literature, Creative Writing, History, Languages, Music, Drama, PSHE, Citizenship, Numeracy and Science.
Kar2ouche helps students to develop contextual understanding, critical interpretation and individual expression through a wide range of cross-curricular creative activities.
At the core of Kar2ouche is a highly creative and interactive multimedia authoring tool called Kar2ouche Composer, which comes with a selection of step-by-step activities with accompanying teacher notes, and its own digital content selection of characters, props, backgrounds and audio.
The college has a cross-college licence for Kar2ouche. Further information from the librarian. Details here.
Kar2ouche helps students to develop contextual understanding, critical interpretation and individual expression through a wide range of cross-curricular creative activities.
At the core of Kar2ouche is a highly creative and interactive multimedia authoring tool called Kar2ouche Composer, which comes with a selection of step-by-step activities with accompanying teacher notes, and its own digital content selection of characters, props, backgrounds and audio.
The college has a cross-college licence for Kar2ouche. Further information from the librarian. Details here.
Physics simulations
The Physics Education Technology (PhET) project is an ongoing effort to provide an extensive suite of simulations for teaching and learning physics and to make these resources both freely available from the PhET website (http://phet.colorado.edu/ ) and easy to incorporate into classrooms. The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments in which students learn through exploration. In these sims, the connections between real life phenomena and the underlying science are emphasised and the visual and conceptual models of expert physicists are hopefully made accessible to students.
Interactive Tour of the Brain
From the Alzheimer's Association, this might be a useful resource for staff in social care or other health-related fields. http://www.alz.org/brain/overview.asp
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