JISC RSC Northwest eLearning Focus
Supporting inclusion with Create&Convert - the latest addition to the free EduApps suite
The JISC RSC Scotland North & East has recently announced the launch of Create&Convert, a useful aid to inclusion as part of the popular EduApps suite of open source and freeware software packages. As with all the rest of the EduApps suite, Create&Convert is free – an important point for learning providers in the current economic climate. Create&Convert is designed specifically to help learning providers (of whatever sort) comply with the Equality Act 2010. The Act puts the onus on learning providers to take reasonable steps to ensure that their information is accessible. Continued on page 2...
Volume 10 Issue 1 November 2010 RSCs - stimulating and supporting innovation in learning
In this issue... Supporting inclusion with Create&Convert Welcome to the newsletter Shared Services Blitz on digital media advice More useful tools and resources Summary of JISC RSC Northwest Annual Event 2010 Kaplan Financial Ltd Excellence Gateway case study JISC Advance Services: Focus on JISCMail JISC RSC Northwest events news
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Equality Act 2010 On 1st October the Equality Act came into force, bringing together some existing pieces of legislation covering areas of discrimination. The Equality and Human Rights Commission publication ‘What equality law means for you as an education provider - Further and Higher education’, which clarifies the specifics of the Act, can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/ equact-fehe
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Create&Convert is a tool that can take documents in common electronic formats (like MS Office, OpenOffice.org etc.) and turn them into ‘epubs’ or talking books; it works similar to the DAISY Creation Process described at AltFormat - www. altformat.org/index.asp?pid=272. In so doing, it’s a tool that learning providers can use to support learners who are printimpaired or experience difficulties with reading and who prefer to access content in a flexible and multi-sensory format. Create&Convert also allows indexing and synchronising of text so that the learner can always be aware of where they are within a document (or epub), so that they can navigate within the different sections. The individual tools within Create&Convert are all outputs of the DAISY consortium, but the download mechanisms, the interface, the support mechanisms and tutorials have been designed at RSC Scotland North & East. The team at RSC Scotland North & East is hoping that Create&Convert will show that creating alternative formats need not be complicated or time consuming – or, indeed, costly. “We think Create&Convert will make a difference” says the team, “and, being free, we’re sure it’s in tune with the spirit of the times. Please feel free to include mention of it in your own literature and websites, or to pass news about Create&Convert (and the rest of the EduApps family) to any of your own contacts and customers who will find it useful...We’d be glad to receive any feedback, comments or questions.”
JISC TechDis has worked with JISC Legal to produce ‘Improve your 3 Rs’ (Recruitment, Retention and Results) a booklet on how inclusive practices can bring benefits as well as supporting compliance with the Equality Act. You can access this at http://tinyurl.com/ techdis3r 2
You can find out more about Create&Convert and download it at www.eduapps.org. You can contact the RSC Scotland North & East team with feedback, comments and questions at eduapps@rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk. You can access a wealth of information on accessibility and inclusion on the JISC TechDis website at www.jisctechdis.ac.uk. JISC RSC Northwest is running an event which focuses on Equality and Diversity on 7 December 2010 - you can find out more on page 15 of this newsletter.
Welcome to the November 2010 issue of the JISC RSC Northwest newsletter... ...from Andrew Quarmby, JISC RSC Northwest Manager
New member of the JISC RSC Northwest team...
At a time when belts and nights are drawing in and when employment and economic uncertainty cloud our thinking, it is good to keep one positive eye on the future. Capturing the enthusiasm of learners has never been more important than when job prospects are uncertain. The idea of learning for its own sake has largely disappeared (for some it was never an option) as vocational preparation has become the route to employment. However, when vocational routes themselves are not guaranteed routes to a career, developing the fascination of learners becomes far more than a learning strategy – it may well be the one secure and engaging thing which gives stability and hope during a fairly dark period. We all remember teachers who made a mark on us – part of this was personality, but part of it was that they made learning a pleasure and fascinated us with our own capacity for insight and leaping boundaries. They were also good with the then more limited technologies at their disposal.
A warm welcome to Administrator Sandra Harris, who joined the JISC RSC Northwest team early in September. Before joining RSC Northwest Sandra was in a temporary project administration post within Lancaster University.
The technologies we now have, and our increasingly wellequipped classrooms, give possibilities for engagement beyond the imagination of teachers of even fairly recent days. We need to grasp the opportunity provided by our rich resources to make our learning varied and interesting.
We have also bid a temporary farewell to Inclusion Adviser Lisa Valentine, who has taken up a year’s secondment with JISC TechDis.
Increasingly learners can ‘do’ things in the virtual and online world. When I was a passive learner I often ‘fell asleep’ with eyes wide open (I still do this if a presentation lasts more than 10 minutes) – an absent presence is no use at all; but when I was doing things, I tended to remember them later.
Responsibility for Inclusion over this period has been taken over by RSC Northwest Adviser Kevin Hickey.
We need to become clever at this level of engagement; using our Interactive Whiteboards to (as it says on the tin) interact, not just to present; if only learning were as engrossing as Facebook! Come on, then – let’s start using some of its techniques.
At the time of publication of this newsletter, we are in the process of recruiting to cover Kevin’s FE responsibilities. 3
Three new JISC Legal publications...
JISC Legal has released three guidance documents which focus on issues that have impact across the sector. 1. e-Safety Top Ten Tips These top tips serve as a quick reminder of the main areas to be addressed in meeting your e-safety duty. 2. Recording Lectures: Legal Considerations This guidance examines the legal implications of recording lectures at UK FE and HE institutions, focusing mainly on the issues of copyright and consent. 3. The Digital Economy Act 2010: Implications for UK Colleges and Universities This guidance document examines the Digital Economy Act 2010 and what it means for universities and colleges in the UK. All three documents can be accessed at www.jisclegal.ac.uk 4
Shared Services Since the start of the 2010/11 academic year, the JISC RSC Northwest has adopted an extended remit which includes support for, and the promotion of, shared services. Shared services involves centralising functions, such as finance and IT, within an organisation that were once performed in separate departments or locations. In relation to learning providers, the term ‘shared services’ is more likely to apply to partnerships formed between separate organisations; for example, a large provider hosting a VLE for several smaller providers. Shared services are also available on the Internet; for example, Application Service Providers (ASPs) offer numerous organisations access to online applications, enabling the organisations to avoid purchasing special systems and software. By agreeing to share through the convergence and streamlining of similar systems across organisations, it is possible to: • make more efficient use of IT infrastructure; • reduce overheads; • benefit from economies of scale; • increase value for money; • reduce administrative and troubleshooting tasks and the time taken to implement them; • streamline and improve business processes; • improve collaborative working; and • attract additional income. There are a number of examples of shared systems already in use within the region. To highlight the benefits, we have included two short case studies in this issue. CLEO - Providing Moodle to schools Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online (CLEO), based at Lancaster University, is one of 10 English Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) providing a high quality private broadband network for schools across the majority of Cumbria and
Lancashire. Funding for the service comes via the DCSF Harnessing Technology Grant, is match funded by the local authorities and supplemented by annual recurrent charges to participating schools. CLEO provides the Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as an additional shared service (amongst others) to participating schools at no additional charge. The Moodle sites are hosted, maintained and updated centrally on the CLEO network, and CLEO creates the Moodle installations, co-ordinates free training for participating schools, and arranges for any design work to be undertaken. Day-to-day administration is performed by each school’s ICT team, and technical support to ensure a reliable service is available from each county’s ICT support team.
Missed out on our previous newsletters?...
Each Moodle site is based on a common standard codebase, and is created through an automated system written by CLEO Moodle developers. This system creates the site, which is added as a subdomain on the school’s existing domain, and links the new Moodle into the school’s network directory services for authentication. The open source and collaborative nature of Moodle has resulted in CLEO contributing to the community through code fixes and, following recommendations and consultations with their users, new developments such as an MIS upload tool. The introduction of Moodle as a shared service is cost-effective and provides a standardised, scalable, flexible and fully managed service across both counties. It has created rapid growth in the use of Virtual Learning Environments across Lancashire and Cumbria, meeting government targets outlined in the Harnessing Technology strategy.
Current and previous JISC RSC Northwest newsletters can be accessed online in the Newsletter Archive section of our website at www.rsc-northwest. ac.uk/acl/eMagArchive/ newsletters.html.
As a measure of success, the service has grown from 40 schools when the service was first offered in 2006 to 941 Moodle sites with around 253,000 users. Approximately 1500 school staff have attended a CLEO Moodle training programme.
These can be viewed online or downloaded in pdf format.
To find out more about this shared service, contact: Alison Wilson, CLEO Learning Platform Consultant a.wilson@cleo.net.uk
In an effort to be more environmentally friendly we limit the number of newsletters that we print.
Talis Partnership at Trafford College The Library at the Altrincham site of Trafford College has been using the Trafford Council Library Management System for a number of years. The idea arose from a suggestion that the
If you have colleagues who don’t receive a printed copy, please pass the newsletter Archive URL on to them. 5
college and the council public libraries should look into jointly promoting their printed and electronic resources across the borough with a longer-term plan that a new college library development would be open to the public at weekends.
Check out our JISC RSC Northwest Twippets... On the JISC RSC Northwest Moodle you can now find a selection of recent snippets from the tweets - known as Twippets - of RSC Northwest Advisers. Twippet = tweet + snippet
We have unashamedly pinched the idea for Twippets from our colleagues in JISC RSC Wales! So, you can access the RSC Northwest Twippets at http://rscnwtwippets. notlong.com. We will be adding more Twippets into Moodle on a month by month basis. 6
The initiative started off with the compilation of a crossservice resource map identifying the services, facilities, printed and electronic resources available from Trafford Libraries and Trafford College. Following this, attention turned to the possibility of the college sharing the public library management system, Talis. Advantages: • The college has access to a more powerful system with greater functionality than it could have afforded as a single site • The college has no overheads for IT, maintenance or training; this is all done by the council • Having a common library management system across the borough of Trafford provides a greater pool of available staff with transferable skills • There is little user education required due to use of the same library system across the borough and within the local universities • Administrative tasks, such as for overdue loans, are completed centrally and passed to the college every day • Software developments are performed centrally Disadvantages: • The college currently has limited customisation options, but this may change in the new version • The college library team are reliant on Trafford Library staff to produce reports • The library management system and college MIS system do not synchronize with each other therefore updates must be done as a scheduled process The licence and administration costs in adding what was essentially a small branch library to the council system were insignificant and are recouped by an annual access fee equivalent to the fee the college paid for their previous system. At present the service is not fully shared or integrated between the college and the council. Longer term plans include the possibility of searching across the catalogues, allowing users to use both college and council libraries, implementing selfservice at the college using the system developed by the council and implementing Talis at all college sites.
Blitz on digital media advice In September and early October JISC Digital Media released ten new advice documents, which look at the role of digital media in teaching and learning, over a two week period. The list is as follows: 1. Introduction to e-Learning - www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/ crossmedia/advice/introduction-to-elearning 2. Designing Learning Experiences - www.jiscdigitalmedia. ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/designing-learning-experiences 3. Common Methods for Viewing, Using and Producing Digital Media Resources - www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/ crossmedia/advice/common-methods-for-viewing-usingand-producing-digital-media-resources 4. Considering Delivery of Digital Media Online - www. jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/consideringdelivery-of-digital-media-online 5. Organising Digital Media Content in a VLE - www. jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/organisingdigital-media-content-in-a-vle 6. Mobile Learning for Education - www.jiscdigitalmedia. ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/mobile-learning-for-education 7. Providing Live Support to your Community over the Web - www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/ providing-live-support-to-your-community-over-the-web 8. Audio Feedback - www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/audio/ advice/audio-feedback 9. Audio Feedback - A How-To Guide - www.jiscdigitalmedia. ac.uk/audio/advice/audio-feedback-a-how-to-guide 10. Using Multimedia in a PDF - www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/ crossmedia/advice/multimedia-in-pdfs These add to a growing list of advice documents covering issues relating to all digital media resources. You can access the full set of documents at www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia. The JISC Digital Media website at www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk.
ILT forums in the North West - it’s good to talk... The JISC RSC Northwest supports and facilitates, where required, subregional ILT forums.
The forums are freely available to colleagues employed within supported Learning Providers within the region. They offer opprtunities to: • •
discuss ILT and eLearning issues and developments; and see demonstrations and presentations of developments, technologies and good practice.
If you haven’t been to one of the forums before, but would be interested in attending or finding out more, please contact RSC Northwest eLearning Adviser Anita Holt at ah@rsc-northwest.ac.uk. 7
News, tools, resources, and much more... The JISC RSC Northwest eMagazine, produced on a monthly basis by eLearning Adviser John Dalziel, continues to provide a wealth of news, tools, resources and information.
More useful tools and resources JISC RSC Northwest eLearning Adviser John Dalziel is always finding useful tools and resources - here are two of his recent finds. Wagwire - voice mail on the web Wagwire provides a Mailbox that allows users to: • receive and listen to voice messages • send and reply to voice messages • download voice messages, and more... Widgets, called Wags, can be installed on any kind of web page, blog or VLE etc.
Wherever possible, John highlights tools and resources which are free to use. You can read about two resources which recently featured in the eMagazine, to the right on this page. You can access the current eMagazine, and link to the archive of old eMagazines, at www. rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/ eMagArchive/1_current_ emagazine.html. You can subscribe to the eMagazine, to receive an email when each new one is released, from within any issue of the eMagazine. 8
John says, “My colleagues and I are blown away with the potential educational uses for Wagwire. Learner and employer voice is an important part of the Common Inspection Framework, as is Inclusion. Wagwire could help in both these areas as well as saving time, reducing travel, and saving money in assessment of work-based learners etc.” You can find out more and/or try the 15 day free trial at www.wagwire.com. Printliminator John says, “If you and/or your learners have ever wanted to print an article from a blog or a website, but wish you could do it without printing all of the advertisements and widgets in the side columns, then take a look at Printliminator.” Printliminator: • allows users to highlight a webpage and select only the elements which they wish to print; and • can be installed in seconds by just clicking and dragging it onto your browser’s toolbar. You can access Printliminator and see a demo of it in use at http://css-tricks.com/examples/ThePrintliminator. Note that Printliminator is currently still in Beta development phase. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the tools and resources which John Dalziel finds, keep your eyes on the RSC Northwest website - www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk - John’s blog postings are fed into the site; alternatively, you can access his blog directly at http://acljohn.posterous.com.
Summary of JISC RSC Northwest Annual Event 2010 Although it now feels like our Annual Event at the Reebok Stadium took place a long time ago (it was towards the end of June), this is the first newsletter since that time. Attended by 264 delegates, this was our most well supported Annual Event to date. It featured: • • • • •
•
An enigmatic key presentation from Russell Prue followed by a radio workshop and broadcast Seminars from 5 educational specialists - relating to our event theme of Technology Enhanced Assessment 60 exhibitors - comprising North West learning providers, commercial organisations, and educational organisations Exhibitor showcases - presentations by exhibitors Pecha Kucha presentations - short, sharp presentations by North West learning providers, commercial organisations, educational organisations, and RSC Northwest staff Networking area - including organised networking slots for HE providers, and Specialist Colleges
The exhibition area featured some exciting and innovative stands, including: • •
•
The RSC Northwest Learning Corridor - where delegates were able to ‘See... Do...Use...’ technology VLE Street - where eight North West Learning Providers from a range of sectors demonstrated how they were using specific aspects of their VLEs System Training Mobile Classroom - a large truck containing a mobile classroom, which parked up outside the Annual Event area for delegates to climb aboard to take a look
You can still access presentations from the Annual Event as well as photographs, and ‘Tweets’ from the day via ‘Cover it Live’, at www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/event2010summary. 9
JISC RSC Northwest Excellence Gateway case studies... Other case studies featuring North West learning providers published since our last newsletter are: St Helens College New student ID system meets library needs and finds wider college application Asset Training and Consultancy A successful approach to introducing e-portfolios Stockport College Developing technologyrich classrooms through action research Preston College An Apple for the teacher (and student) – high quality resources on iTunes U The Manchester College Building on E-Guides to enable the use of technology in offender learning Riverside College Halton Student e-mentor scheme provides effective ILT support for tutors and peers 10
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Kaplan Financial Ltd: Live Online on a computer screen near you! An Excellence Gateway case study. This article is a summary; the full case study can be accessed at www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=295905. Work Based Learning provider Kaplan Financial Ltd has developed a facility for live and recorded lectures. This has enabled it to introduce a wholly online version of its AAT Accountancy programme, attracting students who are unable to undertake the classroom-based programme. Over time Kaplan had progressed from teaching classroom-based Accountancy programmes in its Centres in major cities to also delivering in Satellite Centre locations, meeting demand from students who cannot attend the City Centres. The next step for Kaplan was to deliver its AAT programme online as an alternative for students who weren’t able to attend classroom sessions or simply preferred to learn online. Nicola Harper, Head of AAT Live Online, was given responsibility for implementing the online programme. Kaplan’s ‘Live Online’ sessions are delivered using WebEx. The tutor allows students to see them via webcam when introducing sessions, then turns the webcam off and works directly onto a tablet screen, with students able to see what they are writing or presenting. During the live teaching session, students can ask questions via a text-based chat panel on their screens. Each live session involves two tutors; the first delivers the session, while the second assists by responding to student questions and feeding relevant questions through for the first tutor to answer. Sessions are recorded and made available online, allowing students to revisit them at any time. Students receive two important inductions before starting Live
Online. One covers the programme and qualification, whilst the other focuses on use of the technology. Overseen by Centre Manager James Hammill, Kaplan in Leeds has created two pods (effectively small, one-person offices) in which delivery of Live Online sessions take place. Tutors were invited to put themselves forward for Live Online; ‘technologically-savvy’ staff volunteered, and so training has been straightforward. Whilst these ‘technology-savvy’ tutors have also found the use of WebEx straightforward, they do spend time discussing how to adapt their teaching styles to suit the Live Online environment. Students’ responses to the Live Online programme have been very positive. 90% of the students participating in the pilot have rated it as Excellent or Good, with a 100% pass rate for funded students (95% if non-funded students are included). Kaplan is in talks with an international employer, with potential to train 800 staff from across the world via Live Online! All Kaplan’s City and Satellite Centres are still running, and a decrease in physical classroom space is not envisaged. Live Online is attracting students who would not previously have been able to access Kaplan’s AAT programme, or who simply have a preference for learning online, rather than taking students away from the classroom-based programme. For other organisations thinking about delivering programmes online in a similar way, Nicola and James recommend: • • •
using two tutors in the delivery of each live session – ensuring that the main tutor can concentrate on teaching; making sure that students understand what they are getting themselves into – the two inductions have been important in relation to this; and ensuring that tutors are ‘technology-savvy’ – in asking for volunteers, Kaplan attracted tutors who were familiar with technology and comfortable in using it.
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You can access these case studies (and those from the other eight English RSCs) via the ‘Case studies on good e-practice’ section of the Excellence Gateway at www.excellencegateway. org. uk/page.aspx? o=case-studies-all.
There are now over 270 ‘good e-practice’ case studies on the Excellence Gateway, so how do you find those case studies that are most relevant to you? Why not try our set of Delicious bookmarks, featuring all the case studies. You can narrow down your searches easily by using the tags on the bookmarks, which can be accessed at www.delicious.com/ elearningcasestudies. You can get updates on the RSC Northwest case studies, and other case study related information, through Information Officer John Davey’s Telling Stories blog. You can access Telling Stories at http://rscnwstories. wordpress.com/. 11
New JISC RSC Northwest ‘Access’ JISCMail list...
The JISC RSC Northwest has recently set up a new JISCMail group - Access North West for those from FE and Sixth Form colleges in the North West who have responsibility for accessibility, inclusion and assistive technology. Members of the group will receive the latest information on issues such as funding opportunities, developments in supporting technologies and support opportunities available from JISC. The group will also be able to support and discuss relevant issues with each other. If you, or a colleague at your college, would like to be part of this group, please email Kevin Hickey at kh@rsc-northwest. ac.uk. 12
JISC Advance Services: Focus on JISCMail
The National Academic Mailing List Service, known as ‘JISCMail’, is a service designed specifically for the further and higher education and research communities. JISCMail uses the web and e-mail to enable groups of staff (in academic, teaching and support roles) to talk to each other and to share information. JISCMail aims to support topical discussion, wide collaboration and rapid communications, providing a means to: • • • • • • • •
Share experiences Aid research Enhance collaboration Make new contacts Keep in touch with peers Announce events Send newsletters Keep up to date with advancements in your field
Why Use JISCMail? • • • • • •
JISCMail lists are free to the academic community and easy to set up via a vetted application process controlled by JISC criteria. JISCMail hosts nearly 8,000 groups, covering a huge variety of different subjects. JISCMail can be used either via email or web browser. The LISTSERV system which hosts JISCMail is highly configurable, providing a list owner with the means to control every aspect of the list. Excellent customer service which can be contacted via email or phone. Extensive help files, information and news via the JISCMail website.
JISCMail launched a new website in April which includes an improved search facility, easier navigation and a ‘Your Groups’ box.
Are you using the Amazon Kindle in your Library?.. A colleague asked JISC RSC Northwest Senior Adviser Chrissie Turkington about use of the Amazon Kindle eReader within academic libraries.
JISCMail is evolving – it is no longer just for plain text email discussions. There is a range of tools to use with JISCMail groups: • • • • •
Calendar - enabling you to schedule meetings or tasks with colleagues Newsletters - enabling the creation of newsletters for distribution to your JISCMail group Surveys - enabling the creation of professional online surveys via an intuitive survey building tool. Social Networking - share, store, organize, search, tag and manage JISCMail web pages and archives; share your group RSS feeds with Twitter or Facebook. Files Area - enabling files to be uploaded and shared across your JISCMail group
You can access the JISCMail website at www.jiscmail.ac.uk You can sign up to the JISCMail monthly newsletter at www. jiscmail.ac.uk/jiscmail-newsletter You can contact the JISCMail team by: • E-mail - helpline@jiscmail.ac.uk • Phone - 01235 446780
®
JISCMail is based on a LISTSERV system which is hosted and run by a dedicated team at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
They’d heard that there may be legal issues surrounding its use and the use of digital content purchased from Amazon.co.uk and the UK Kindle Store. So, Chrissie contacted Amazon Customer Services and discovered that, unless specified, Amazon are not selling you the digital content they are licensing it to you for personal and noncommercial use. This means that you do not have any ownership rights to the content.
However, as the situation is quite complex, it’s worth reading the full article which Chrissie posted on her blog, Chrissie’s Muses, at http://tinyurl.com/ kindle-in-library 13
Face-to-face events in Nov and Dec...
JISC RSC Northwest events news
Face-to-face events coming up in November and December include: 10 Nov Using Video Technology Bolton 09:30 – 16:00 07 Dec Technology & the CIF: Equality & Diversity Bolton 09:30 – 16:00 (see full details of this event on opposite page) 08 Dec Shared Services Event Manchester area 10:00 – 15:00
Making events sustainable some food for thought... As an example, if one person travels a return journey from Preston Railway Station to Deansgate Manchester for an event: By petrol car this would be approx. 70.2miles** - a cost of £28.08 (@ 40p per mile), and 20.73Kg in CO2 emissions* 14
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Reflecting on the last year Back in the July 2009 edition of this newsletter we announced our intention to make steps towards improving the sustainability or ‘greenness’ of our events. Over the last year we hosted over 70 events and forums attended by 1,361 delegates. We are now delighted to report that in relation to these events: • •
Over 33% (one third) took place online, eliminating the need for any travel. We have continued to significantly reduce the amount of paper materials produced for face-to-face events, and the amount of paper records produced within our own events administration process.
Looking forward As we move into the new year we will be looking at ways to further improve our sustainability, and our service to you. We will continue to host face-to-face events where it is the most appropriate way to do so. However, in response to feedback and our concerns for sustainability we aim to further expand our online events programme over the coming year. Online booking and full details of all forthcoming events are regularly updated on the events pages of our website, at www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/eventcalendar. As always, if you have any suggestions about content for events, improving event sustainability, or any other improvements to our events service, please email us at events@rsc-northwest.ac.uk.
Upcoming JISC RSC Northwest event Technology and the Common Inspection Framework: Equality and Diversity Tue 7th December 2010, 10:00 – 16:30 Venue: Ramada Hotel, Bolton FREE for RSC NW supported learning providers Following on from the success of the Technology and Common Inspection Framework (CIF) Safeguarding event, we are offering another in the Technology and CIF series. This event focuses on Equality and Diversity (E&D). E&D, like Safeguarding, is a limiting grade within the CIF. The event is aimed at those working within post-16 education and looks at how technology can support learning providers in this area. During the event, we will: • • • • • •
Demonstrate good practice and highlight the issues in evidencing E&D which may occur within learning providers. Look at resources which can be used to capture the learner voice, both on and off site. Look at how technology can be used as an alternative to face to face communications for areas such as induction, and information, advice and guidance. Present resources which are available, which can be used for tutorial and pastoral care sessions to make learners more aware of equality issues. Provide examples of technology which can be used to gather evidence for E&D. Demonstrate free resources and software which can be used to support learners with disabilities.
Also at the event: •
•
A representative from JISC TechDis will discuss the new ‘Single Equality Scheme’ area of their website - www. jisctechdis.ac.uk/sed - designed to help you make sense of the opportunities for technology to support the new obligations that come with the equality act. Contributions from Ofsted Inspector Judith Hamer, who will discuss inspection requirements and how the inspection of E&D maps into other key documents.
If you have any questions about the event or you would like to contribute ideas or share good practice regarding E&D, please contact Anita Holt - ah@rsc-northwest.ac.uk. We look forward to seeing you there.
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By train this would be a cost of £15.70 (anytime return) and 5.25Kg in CO2 emissions* In either case there would be a return journey travel time of at least 2 hours. If an event is face-toface, could you take the train, or share car travel with colleagues from the same area? And finally... ...if, over the coming year, we were to hold 40% of our events online (equating to approximately 544 delegate places), based on the journey above this could be a potential combined saving to you, our supported learning providers in the North West, of: • • •
Between £8,540.80 and £15,275.52 in travel costs; 1,088 hours in travelling time; and a reduction of between 2,856 and 11,277.12 in CO2 emissions!
*Based on figures provided with National Rail Service booking as at 18 Oct 2010 ** Based on mileage from AA Route Planner
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JISC RSC Northwest team... Manager Andrew Quarmby aq@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Administrators Christine Hulme Sandra Harris admin@rsc-northwest.ac.uk eLearning Advisers John Dalziel (Adult & Community Learning) jd@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Colin Gallacher (Work Based Learning) cg@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Kevin Hickey (Inclusion) kh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Anita Holt (Further Education) ah@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Hilary Thomas (Higher Education) ht@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
JISC Regional Support Centre Northwest 2nd Floor Bailrigg House, Lancaster University Lancaster. LA1 4YE
Chrissie Turkington (Senior Adviser) ct@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
Phone: 01524 593797 Fax: 01524 593798 Email: admin@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
Keith Wilson (Technology & MIS) kwil@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk
Events Co-ordinator Helen Metcalfe hm@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Information Officer John Davey jdavey@rsc-northwest.ac.uk
All JISC RSC Northwest staff contribute to the newsletter. Please send any comments and feedback about the newsletter to John Davey, Information Officer at jdavey@rsc-northwest.ac.uk This newsletter has been produced on 9lives 55 - certified as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mixed sources product.