To live outside the law you must be honest...

Concerns about eCopyright? Then look no further.

JISC Collections have (has?) just announced the launch of an online interactive copyright training package for HE & FE lecturers.
The aim of the "Online Copyright Activity" is to inform and educate practitioners in the FE and HE sectors in the UK some of the key issues about using copyrighted material in a digital online environment and the role of JISC Collections (and the JISC Model licence) in the provision of solutions to these issues.
The activity is targeted at teachers and lecturers in FE and HE. It will also be useful for curriculum managers, learning technologists, learning resources staff and any staff who deal with digital resources.

Looks OK to this librarian. Wouldn't it be nice if the intended audience was to embrace the activity?
One proviso. I suspect that access is restricted to HE/FE IP addresses.

http://restricted.jisc.ac.uk/freearea/copyright/0000.html

I don't understand...

...I do understand.

Well, we can't offer enlightenment (we leave that to our teaching chums) but hopefully we can explain ourselves a wee bit more better. Or get somebody else to do it for us. It's called laziness. A couple of tools / widgets which may shed some light on this site. Alternatively, use them on your own.

AnswerTips

AnswerTips are small information bubbles that define any word when double-clicked. An AnswerTips-enabled site or blog means visitors get fast facts on 4 million topics provided by Answers.com when they double-click on any word, without opening a new browser or following outbound links. AnswerTips deliver instant definitions, explanations and facts including biographies, tech terms, geography, pop culture and much more.

This site is now officially AnswerTips-enabled. Tak tent - dinna gralloch in a bourach...

http://www.answers.com/topic/answertips

Google Translator widget

On the sidebar to the right there's now a widget which offers the option of translating this blog into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese & Korean.

Thanks to Todd Cullen @ Punctuated Equilibrium.

Sexy up your blog...

...or easy ways to make that dull blog or website look a wee bit more, er, 21st Century?

Blogmusic
Register. Log in. Find a piece of music (track) that your patrons might like. (Or better still indulge yourself with a few favourites - I always think that Guns of Brixton says something about a website). Click the Blog & Share button. Cut the resulting HTML into your website / blog. For your entertainment, this week we've already had Elvis Costello, Fun Lovin' Criminals & Billy Bragg with The Clash & Eminem still to come.
http://www.blogmusik.net/

Voki
Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone. Then hack the resulting code into your website / blog.
Say something to your punters!
http://www.voki.com/

Examples of both in the Blogroll on the right.

N.B. Requires SOUND! Requires Flash Player! Are we there yet, boys?

Coming of age : an introduction to the NEW world wide web

This is freely downloadable & distributable (?) publication from Terry Freedman (ICT in Education) on, you guessed it, using Web 2.0 technologies in education. Contents include: wikis, e-learning, podcasting, blogging, RSS feeds, video-blogging, social bookmarking, instant messaging, forums & polls. In fact the complete Web 2.0 menu du jour.

Worth a read, even by non-couchbound, flu-ridden librarians with nothing better to do. A copy will be available via the library catalogue & the ICLT Library page on the website in due course. In the meantime bag your own copy here.

Oxjam 2007

Calling all college-based musicians. Are you doing anything this October? No? Well, why not to try to arrange an Oxjam event?

Oxjam is Oxfam's most ambitious music event ever. They are asking musicians, promoters - in fact, everyone - to get together this October to make music, raise money and help end poverty.

From classical to club night, folk, funk and punk - it all adds up to one huge, UK-wide, Oxjam festival - raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to fight poverty. Whether you sing, scratch, or strum, you'll be joining some of the biggest names in music in the Oxjam line-up.

Given that the nearest event (to date) is an evening of space rock (yeah, another Hawkwind tribute band, all better than the original) in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, I'm hoping that Paisley can do a wee bit better!

Sign up at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam

To B gin at the B ginning...

Those of us old enough to recognise the beast on the left might be interested in the following sites:

BeebEm is a BBC Micro and Master 128 emulator. It enables you to run BBC Micro software on your PC. Runs on Windows 98 or later.

Only the Best BBC Micro Games is a BBC Games website dedicated to restoring the memories of time spent with the classic and wonderful BBC Microcomputer.

Stairway to Hell is another BBC & Electron games archive as is The BBC Games Archive (surprisingly enough).

...and you shouldn't have to look too far to find Wordwise & all the other ROMs that were where some of us started. Was there a better BASIC than BBC BASIC? Remember LISP? Or Repton, Frak or Elite? It should be mentioned that all of these are copyright their respective owners.
The BBC B (pictured) cost c. £500 in 1982. And we moved on...

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Mind-mapping (on the cheap)

To whom it does concern:
Did you get your mind-mapping software yet? Not FreeMind, the Open Source package which I recommended as an alternative but the (rather) expensive MindMapper. (I know. You get what you pay for.) Thought so. Order still lying on a desk waiting to be signed.

You might want to look at these. Free. Web 2.0 technologies. Think of the kudos!

Mindomo is a versatile Web-based mind mapping tool, delivering the capabilities of desktop mind mapping software in a Web browser - with no complex software to install or maintain. Create, edit mind maps, and share them with your colleagues or your friends. Mindomo gives you complete freedom to access your maps in your Web browser from home, school or work.

http://www.mindomo.com/

MindMeister supports all the standard features of a classic mind mapping tool - only online, and with as many simultaneous users as you like!

http://www.mindmeister.com/

A National Information Literacy Framework for Scotland

God knows we've been banging on about information skills / information literacy for, well, as long as I've been in the profession. So the (draft) national framework for Scotland published last month is to be welcomed. As its been developed with the SCQF its terms of reference & language are such that our teaching chums should recognise.

The development of a national overarching framework of information literacy skills and competencies which all sectors of education can recognise and develop or which can be applied to the world of work, equipping learners with skills needed for the 21 st century is seen as a key tool for the embedding of information literacy in schools, FE, HE, and lifelong learning and for life.

You can't really argue with that. Unless you're a teaching chum. Who thinks that "Athens is crap". Which is like saying that my bank card is crap because it doesn't allow me to access enough money. (Not a killer metaphor, I'm afraid).

Looks like we've still got some work to do. On the people who educate the aforesaid learners.

Venceremos!

The draft National Information Literacy Framework for Scotland can be downloaded here.

Ancient voices speak urban poetry

Just by way of a wee thank-you to Tawona Sitholé for donating books of his poetry to the library. (We're old. We like poetry.)

Ancient voices speak urban poetry: son of Moyo Chirandu is published by Seeds of Thought. ('Seeds of Thought' is a Glasgow-based creative writers/arts group which promotes free self-expression. It was formed in January 2006 by 3 individuals Tawona and Ernest Sitholé (Zimbabwe), and Tarneem al Mousawi (Bahrein)).

More about seeds of thought can be found at the Federation of Writers (Scotland) electronic newsletter.
Examples of Tawona's poetry can be here.

The Bottle Imp

New open-access online journal just published by the Association of Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS).

The Bottle Imp exists to promote and support the reading, teaching, discussion and study of Scottish literature. Inside we have articles, opinions, and arguments waiting to happen, along with information on new developments in Scottish literature and literary criticism. We’re sure you’ll find something to intrigue, inspire or annoy you!

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ScotLit/ASLS/SWE/TBI/index.html

Zamzar Revisited

We've mentioned Zamzar before as potential method of converting various file formats into something more convenient for your own PC set-up. Now they offer to convert the multiplicity of streaming videos into a variety of video formats (mpg, flv, mov, avi, etc.) which you can then download.

Ever been on a video sharing website and thought “If only I could convert that video into a format I could keep” ? Well look no further - We’ve just launched a whole host of new features to allow you to convert files from URLs, including all your favourite video websites. Zamzar now lets you:

• Convert files from a URL on the Internet;
• Integrate Zamzar into your web browser using the Zamzar browser button;
• Convert videos directly from sites such as YouTube, Google Video, Revver, etc.

And this is educational? Well, yes. Potentially. Take off the blinkers & go have a look at YouTube, TeacherTube or use Google Video to find other sites. Sure, there's a lot of crap out there. An awful, awful lot of crap. But gems too. Nuggets. I believe the BBC has a YouTube presence, yes?

www.zamzar.com/url

Blogger & Podcaster

I suppose that it's just a matter of time before one of the mega-purveyors of bottle & keg designer cat's names one of its pubs "The Blogger & Podcaster".
Until then we have the magazine. Choose your flavour. Print. Podcast. Flash.
Actually the Flash version is, er, very flash. A virtual magazine on your PC. Click to zoom in, click to zoom out. Turn the pages at the top right. Print all or any pages. Content looks like a decent introduction for newbies. Subscribe at the website. Only the print one ain't free.

April edition
http://mag1.olivesoftware.com/ActiveMagazine/welcome/BLG/Bloggers-04-2007.asp

Website
http://www.bloggerandpodcaster.com/

Source: Phil Bradley

Encyclpodia

No. Not a typo.

Encyclopodia is an Open Source software project that brings Wikipedia to the Apple iPod. Encyclopodia can be installed on iPod generations 1 through 4, plus on iPod Minis. The English version devours 1.7Gb+ of space, which may not be a lot if you've a 40Gb iPod stuffed to the gunwhales with the complete Billy Joel canon, but it's a hell of a lot to give up on a humble iPod mini.
Does it work? I don't know. I'd rather have 30 Bob Dylan albums, thank you.

http://encyclopodia.sourceforge.net/en/library.html

Source: Open Culture

My Maps

You'll all know about Google Maps, right?
Well, the My Maps facility allows you to customise the maps for, well, just about anything. Useful locations / directions for visitors to the college? A walk around Paisley's architectural gems? A good pub crawl? It's only limited by your imagination.

Three samples knocked out over a sad, lonely, wee lunch:

• A Paisley Guide.
• Real Ale Pubs around Inverness.
• Vegetarian Restaurants in Glasgow.

http://maps.google.co.uk/

Pay attention!

Mentioned TeacherTube earlier this week. Here's a video from it which, I hope, may illuminate what the hell we're trying to do here. [Mentioned in the JISC RSC newsfeed which threw a MailMarshal message at me and... the 3 other people in this college who subscribe to this feed. Not waving, but drowning... And certainly not happy about this!]


Since most of today's students can appropriately be labeled as "Digital Learners", why do so many teachers refuse to enter the digital age with their teaching practices?
This presentation was created in an effort to motivate teachers to more effectively use technology in their teaching.

Can't argue with that!

Source: JISC RSC Scotland S&W

Innovate

Sorry. I forgot to mention the new (April/May) edition of Innovate, the journal of online education. I know that I've been banging on about the "Net" generation for a while now, but...

Over the last twenty years, a new generation of students has started to appear, first in our K-12 schools and more recently in our colleges and universities. Known as the Net Generation, this is a generation that has grown up with video games, computers, and the Internet. The expectations, attitudes, and technological fluency of this new generation present both a challenge and an opportunity for educators. In this special issue of Innovate, we examine how educators and educational systems can respond to the challenge and leverage the opportunity.

Especially relevant are 2 articles: Teaching & learning with the Net Generation by Kassandra Barnes, et al & Is Education 1.0 ready for Web 2.0 students? by John Thompson.

http://innovateonline.info/index.php

Tubes

Two new sites for your consideration...

TeacherTube is essentially YouTube for teachers. Motto: Teach The World - which has unfortunate 70s resonances for this old-timer.
Anyway, they say:

TeacherTube officially launched on March 6, 2007. Our goal is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.
http://www.teachertube.com/

Authors @ Google is a collection of videos of authors talking about their (recent) work. The videos were derived from a series of informal lectures arranged by Google & as far as we can see, cover the literary waterfront with everyone from Martin Amis through Simon Schama & Hillary Clinton to Joseph Stiglitz & beyond. (Note that this is hosted by YouTube & is therefore considered dangerous by our IT chums).
http://youtube.com/atgoogletalks