Newsbytes 31

newsbytes Issue 31- Spring/Summer 2010

Stimulating and supporting innovation in learning

e-Fair 2010: e-asy Learning

Contents 1

- e-Fair 2010: e-asy Learning

2

- JISC Digital Media: Drop-in surgery

3

- New Media Center - New Website

4

- Huntingdonshire Regional College: The teacher/ learner switch - Case studies

5

- Barnfield: A Beacon of success -Tools

6

On 1st July 2010, JISC RSC Eastern will be hosting the annual e-Fair at Hertford Regional College.

catering kitchens, a licensed training restaurant, a conference • suite and Learning Resource Centre.

Following the success of last year’s fair at Epping Forest College, we have been kindly invited to host the event at the New Broxbourne campus.

Each classroom is equipped with a 72-inch interactive SMART Board with built-in speaker and remote-free projector. They allow tutors to easily and rapidly create customised learning objects by combining new and existing digital material and adapting it to the needs of the class in real time.

The slides created with learners in class can be captured as a digital file and distributed via Moodle (the Virtual Learning Environment) or StudyNet (the HE equivalent) for access 24/7.

About the new campus at Broxbourne Hertford Regional College’s (HRC) redevelopment project has transformed the College into a dynamic blend of social and work areas that enables tutors and learners to teach and learn in a variety of different ways.

The new main building at Broxbourne houses teaching areas and facilities across a number of Departments and includes: an 18 seat air cabin, dance studios, music production studios, a 140 seat theatre, science laboratories,

This initiative is helping to develop a culture that promotes easy access to digital resources, greater collaboration between tutors and increased support beyond the classroom.

-Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service -BBC Motion Gallery relaunch

7

-JISC TechDis Toolbar -QR codes

8

-JISC Advance on Sustainability -Design Studio

9

-Resources

10

-Forum round-up -Events for your diary

11

-JISC Netskills training events

12

-AT kit

JISC Digital Media: Dropin surgery At the e-Fair this year, you will have the opportunity to meet the JISC Digital Media team. They will be running a drop-in surgery for those who are interested in using video in teaching and learning.

Whether you are a ‘newbie’ to video production or have been actively using it to support curriculum delivery, our colleagues from JISC Digital Media will be on hand to provide you with the advice and support you need.

They offer advice on: • • • • •

Digitising analogue media Creating new media Shooting video, using the right equipment, video technique and screencasting Managing digital media e.g. transcoding, tagging and hosting.

Finding and using web-based video resources

HRC have also worked with IBM, Cisco and Microsoft to make HRC’s network one of the fastest educational user networks in Europe.

•

Event summary

•

• •

Implementing an e-portfolio within health and social care Sharing Moodle resources for PTLLS i-Communicate – using i-Pods for communications ‘geton2geton’ learning bus.

In the rapidly changing world of learning and teaching, the e-Fair has been designed to help with keeping up with the latest developments and sources of advice and resources.

The programme is packed with thought provoking workshops, ‘show and tell’ sessions and all starting off with a keynote presentation by James Clay of Gloucestershire College.

James is known for being passionate about the use of learning technologies to enhance and enrich learning and teaching.

He has extensive experience of mobile learning and has a vision that goes beyond mobile technologies and focuses on the mobility of the learner, blurring the demarcation between formal and informal learning.

If you are unable to come on the day, you can still send your enquiries directly to their helpdesk via:

You can also pre-book onto some of our workshops that demonstrate e-Learning good practice. The list of contributors include: • • • •

info@jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk

•

Embedding Business and Community Engagement (JISC infoNet) Using Scran’s rights-cleared images in teaching and learning (SCRAN) Virtual Museum (Barnfield College) RUGroom (City College Norwich/Cleveratom) Engaging Learners (Hertford Regional College)

JISC Advance and other services on hand to give you advice and support. JISC Digital Media, JISC Legal and JISC TechDis are in the ‘show and tell’ area.

Following on from the keynote, delegates will have the opportunity to wander around the ‘Show and Tell’ area. This is where you can meet a variety of colleagues from around the eastern region who are showcasing their latest innovative triumphs, such as:

For more information and to book onto the event, please visit our website via: http://tinyurl.com/efair2010

New Media Centre

New website Over the past six months, there have been a number of improvements to the RSC Eastern website.

In 2009, we adopted Microsoft Sharepoint, firstly as a means of sharing documents and collaborative working but it also serves brilliantly as a content management system.

Sharepoint has an intuitive back-end interface which enables the RSC Eastern team to easily update pages on a regular basis, which means that web pages are more dynamic and can provide you with timely information, news and updates.

We have also improved the navigation of the website, with new feature links and bookmarking facilities.

Over the past six months, RSC Eastern has been developing a new platform to deliver new videos, podcasts and other media to the Eastern region.

Previously, we were relied on using an external service to publish videos and using our website server to host audio. However, this was not a perfect solution. In 2009 we began exploring ways in which we could deliver content-rich material more effectively. Through working closely with streaming media specialists, we now have a bespoke media centre which offers a blend of interactivity, accessibility and sharing of good practice.

Look out for this symbol

Features The new media centre has a selection of features including: • • • • • • •

Font size and colour adjustments Rating system (stars) Share URL function Comprehensive search functionality Flash-based video browser RSS Feeds Social networking share buttons including Facebook, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Diggit and Delicious

The new media centre is designed to act as a central point for sharing good practice. Therefore, if you have any videos or audio files that you feel would be useful for other colleagues in the region, then please send them to b.hutchens@rsc-eastern.ac.uk and we will upload and publicise them on your behalf.

To visit the Media Centre please follow: http://tinyurl.com/RSCMediaCentre

There is a new search facility that will enable you to find information and resources across a variety of educational websites.

To log in to our website please visit: www.rsc-eastern.ac.uk

Case studies Here is the latest list of case studies to be published for the Eastern Region on the Excellence Gateway:

Huntingdonshire Regional College: The teacher/learner switch

The College at Braintree: Integrating interactivity to enrich study skills The Learning Resources team from The College at Braintree has developed a series of resources using Xerte and CamStudio to help enrich the induction process so that students are well equipped with the study skills required to achieve success.

British Racing School: Interactive revision tools British Racing School primarily offers equestrian and racing based qualifications, and is one of the top jockey training centres in the UK. Along with the help of developers, it has produced a collection of interactive materials that are designed to be more engaging than traditional materials used and to help students retain fundamental information easily.

North Hertfordshire College: Improving the learner’s journey through the use of technology North Hertfordshire College has taken a college-wide approach to integrating a web portal that provides direction, clarity and support for students who are in the induction stages of their learning journey right through to others who are approaching their final assessments.

To read the full case studies please visit: http://tinyurl.com/yc72rbo If you would like to participate in a case study of good e-practice then please contact us at: b.hutchens@rsc-eastern.ac.uk

Ken McKerral -engaging learners through activity switching They say the best ideas are often the simplest ones. At Huntingdonshire Regional College, Ken McKerral, an Advanced Practitioner in E-Learning has developed a very simple idea to engage students and improve teaching and learning. Ken has named his method as the Teacher/ Learner Switch and this is how it works. The whole process uses a colour code system.

Ken has been using this method and has had fantastic feedback from the learners as they look forward to ‘their slides’. The beauty of the system is it encompasses several pedagogical methods in that it helps prevent a tutor from over-delivering (too much talking!); the learners get their time; you can integrate differentiated activities within the yellow slides and lastly it encourages peer co-operation and of course e-learning.

Using an electronic presentation (e.g. PowerPoint), keep the slides simple with a white or light pastel background. The slide colour changes to yellow when the tutor wants the learners to engage in a bite-sized activity or paired/group work. The yellow slide informs the tutor to stop delivering and allows the learners to complete the yellow slide activity. The title and rules of the activity are also displayed on the yellow slide. This becomes the Teacher/Learner Switch’. Once the activity is over, the white/pastel slides are used again.

Naturally, you could use any colour scheme you see as suitable to meet the needs of your learners.

.

If you would like to learn more on how Ken’s innovative approach has had a positive impact on learning, please read the full case study, which will be live soon on the Excellence Gateway at: http://tinyurl.com/yc72rbo Ken McKerral, Huntingdonshire Regional College

Barnfield: A beacon of success

Tools

Studio School project

Barnfield College is celebrating after being named as an Association of Colleges Beacon Award winner.

Barnfield College won the Learning and Skills Council Award for 14-19 Collaboration. The Award recognises exemplary initiatives in 14-19 collaborative arrangements.

The College won the Award for its sponsorship of two underperforming 11-16 secondary schools to form Academies in 2007 in federation with the College.

Barnfield’s Chief Executive and Principal Pete Birkett, as sponsor of the Academies, sits as Chairman for both institutions.

“We are very proud to have won this prestigious award which recognises the hard work of all the staff and students at both academies and the college. As a federation, we will continue to strive for excellence in all that we do, keeping the student centre stage at all times. It was always our vision to inject Barnfield’s winning DNA into the Academies and this award has shown us we have done just that. Barnfield has made history with this groundbreaking approach, and we are pleased to see that now many other colleges are now following our lead” said Pete Birkett.

These outstanding results have been achieved through new senior appointments, the involvement of students, staff and parents in the community, robust partnerships with employers, investment in Information Learning Technology and personalised support for students.

The Barnfield Studio School is the first of its kind in the world and will cater for 14-19 year olds from a range of abilities. It builds upon Barnfield College’s national pilot of the Studio Schools concept which saw eighteen young people from Barnfield Federation participate in key elements of the model.

The field trial was a success with students gaining an average of nine GCSEs at A* to C. The school has been informed by extensive research and best practice from Britain and around the world. It has been designed to better suit the needs of local young people who might not otherwise reach their full potential in traditional school environments.

Students will participate in a range of enterprise activities, learning the majority of the curriculum through practical multi-disciplinary activities and participating in paid work. On leaving their Studio School, students will have a range of progression routes available to them including the potential to go to university.

JISC TechDis Xerte Sandpit There is now a sandpit for developing learning objects with Xerte.

To try it out for yourself, please visit: http://techdisplayxerte.info/

MAXOS 151 For those who just want to try out the XERTE environment, particularly if you are using Moodle, the RSC is providing a USB development implementation in which Xerte Toolkits is coupled with Moodle and, with version MAXOS_150, with Mahara. This enables designers to develop learning materials and to plan their Moodle-based coursework alongside this and to review it in context. Students may also use the software to construct e-portofilos using Mahara and, possibly, to use Xerte to develop their own notes or learning materials. No internet connection is required for this, as long as no external links are required for the coursework.

To download MAXOS please visit: http://tinyurl.com/yevzs34

Regional examples available (Kelvin Hopkins, MP for Luton North (right), visiting the studio school accompanied by Pete Birkett, Chief Executive - printed with permission from Barnfield College) (Source:www.barnfield.ac.uk)

We are building up a collection of learning objects created in the eastern region using Xerte. These can be found on the RSC Eastern Moodle VLE . http://moodle.rsc-eastern.ac.uk

New BBC Motion Gallery re-launch

Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service

The site hosts a repository of clips from the BBC archives for use within Further and Higher Educational establishments.

The material is taken from across all genres within the BBC’s collections, from the world-famous Natural History programming to News and Current Affairs, from Locations to Science and Technology.

The clips can be searched, viewed and downloaded in both Windows Media and QuickTime files and, once downloaded, can be edited, shared, uploaded to a VLE or project area, and shared amongst students or staff.

To find out more and to subscribe please visit: http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/

Back in January 2009, staff from nearly 100 UK Learning Providers from FE & Skills and HE took part in a series of facilitated online workshops to evaluate their practice and benchmark their progress in accessibility and inclusion against that of their peers. The demand for further workshops was so great that JISC TechDis decided to create a standalone resource that staff from Learning Providers could undertake at a time and place suitable to them….and so OASES (the Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service) was conceived.

The OASES explanatory video on the JISC TechDis website leads users through to an online role-based questionnaire that assesses practices and compares them to anonymised data and widely accepted ‘reasonable adjustment’ recommendations.

The results then highlight to each institution ways in which improvements can be made.

It’s become clear over the last year that people like to have a reality check; they like to put into context their current performance, past performance and even their plans for the future and OASES can map to the core business of teaching and learning in a realistic way.

What people say about OASES: “I was unaware of JISC Techdis until I completed the questionnaire.

I found many of their publications useful and am definitely more aware of the technologies that can assist learners with disabilities.

I have changed my working practices to reflect what I have discovered from JISC TechDis information.”

“This kind of survey, allowing a service to compare its provision with other libraries sounds very useful in convincing my own institution to take accessibility seriously.”

The resource can also be used for guidance on risk reduction for strategies on how to meet the demands of the legislation under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Equality Duty, providing advice on ways in which effective strategies can be adopted.

Another reason for its success is the fact that OASES will signpost users to a range of freely available resources to help them on their way to implementing more accessible practices.

Find more information on OASES and the surveys at; www.techdis.ac.uk/getoases Andrew Chandler, JISC TechDis

JISC TechDis Toolbar

Since JISC TechDis launched its new internet browser tool, information on the web has become a lot more accessible, especially to disabled users and staff in the education sector.

In fact, despite still only being available as a beta version, with more testing scheduled during the summer.

The JISC TechDis Toolbar was created in partnership with the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science. The free application provides a range of editing and speech tools to enable anyone in education, training and the world of work, to better access information and interact with web pages on the internet. This is vital to enable them to complete research and gather information for their studies.

Features such as the text to speech function, where users can have either the whole page or highlighted text read out loud, have been designed to support partially sighted users to enable quicker and easier access to information.

The toolbar also provides a simple way to adjust the magnification or font used on web pages in order to make it easier to read.

The Toolbar has been designed to offer features that will be of particular benefit to disabled users, making access and use of information on the internet more efficient within colleges and universities. Users can now browse a web page or search to gather information and references without having to read through the entire text. This can then be

collated and exported to a word document or notepad. Editing tools such as spell check, dictionary, and font and style formatting can also be selected and applied when working within an interactive web page such as a blog or social media site.

Sal Cooke, Director at JISC TechDis said: “Being able to access, use, share and interact with information on the internet is an important part of today’s culture and key to successful research and study. However, the traditional tools offered by internet browsers do not go far enough to address user needs. For someone who is partially sighted, having a tool that relays information from a given website is vital for research and knowledge gathering purposes. Likewise, the editing facilities with which we are familiar in programs such as Microsoft Word™, are lacking when it comes to working with the internet. The JISC TechDis Toolbar, however, combines the ease and flexibility of word processing programs with the range of knowledge and information available on the internet to enable users to gather and process information with ease.”

To read the full article please visit: http://tinyurl.com/y475w95 To find out more about the JISC TechDis Toolbar go to; www.techdis.ac.uk/gettoolbar

Andrew Chandler, JISC TechDis

QR codes A QR (Quick Response) Code is a two dimensional barcode, which, when scanned on a mobile phone will enable you to complete a task.

The most common tasks include accessing a web resource, sending a pre-written SMS or accessing more text information. The unique selling point is that they enable the mobile learner to effectively and efficiently connect to an electronic resource or activity from a physical object.

To read (scan) a QR code you will need a piece of software, called a QR Code reader. Once you have installed this on your device you then launch the application, focus on the QR code and it will decode it.

There are a large number of QR code readers available on a wide number of devices. A Google search using the key terms (qr code reader) and the name and model of your device should help you to find the appropriate software. The staff at RSCe use i-nigma. There are others dependent upon the type of mobile phone.

How to get the i-nigma reader there are 2 easy ways On the mobile web - Go to www.inigma.mobi on your mobile.

I-nigma will automatically identify your handset type, download and install i-nigma.

By SMS - Text the word i-nigma to:+44 7797 882325. You will receive an SMS containing a link to the i-nigma software download site.

Give it a try below...

The Design Studio

JISC Advance on Sustainability

The Design Studio is a dynamic web-based toolkit which draws together a range of existing and developing resources around curriculum design and delivery and the role technology plays in supporting these processes and practices.

The studio will provide access to project outcomes and outputs as they are developed and will continue to be sustained as a community resource after the programmes end.

A curriculum lifecycle concept provides a structure for this wikibased resource and the primary portal to materials whilst tagging will provide flexible entry levels to information based on e.g. themes, technologies and subject areas.

The resource will initially offer a blend of publicly-accessible resources as well as private spaces to allow projects to work in a developmental and collaborative environment. As project resources are refined, they will be released to the public space. Potential users from the wider further and higher education community will be members of curriculum teams and the managers/support staff of the enabling systems that support their work.

For more info visit the JISC infoNet website at: www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk

Government is looking to colleges and universities to be exemplars of environmental sustainability and social responsibility. In the future both funding and reputation will depend on how well we rise to this challenge and our use of technology has a vital role to play in shaping a sustainable future.

What are the issues?

The Climate Change Act imposes legal obligations, rising energy costs put pressure on already tight budgets and capital funding is increasingly linked to performance in reducing carbon emissions.

Our own missions drive us to be inclusive partners in local and global communities and a government action plan requires that all learners develop the ‘skills, knowledge and value base to be active citizens in creating a more sustainable society’.

In 2009 there were an estimated 1.5 million computers in the sector that cost us £116 million in energy bills and generated half a million tonnes of CO2.

The environmental impact is not limited to the lifetime usage of this equipment - manufacturing, transport and disposal all play their part. We need to make our technology procurement and operations greener and apply technology to reduce our need to travel and our use of other consumables. Technology can also help us to be more socially inclusive by making our resources available at different times and in different formats and by helping us to engage with a more diverse set of stakeholders.

How can JISC Advance help?

We can keep you up-to-date with the latest thinking on technology and sustainability and bring you examples of what others are doing. Our experts in the areas of procurement, legal issues, digital resources and accessibility are there to give free and impartial guidance and we offer a range of tools to help you monitor your own performance.

Our expertise doesn’t stop with the technology - we can provide guidance on developing environmentally-friendly learning

spaces and delivering effective learning experiences using technology, as well as helping you digitise important collections so that users do not have to travel to access the resources. We can help you with remote working and collaboration via our mailing list services and our expertise in using collaborative technologies.

We can help you develop strategic approaches to social inclusivity and engagement with local communities and we will guide you through putting the strategy into practice.

Resources to help you

Green IT Whilst information technology can help us be more environmentally sustainable in many ways, it still accounts for a significant percentage of the education sector’s carbon footprint so procuring the greenest solutions and reducing in-life energy consumption are vital. We offer good practice guidance based on the latest developments in projects throughout the sector, looking both at the hardware itself and at how technology is being applied to create ‘smart’ environmentally friendly buildings.

Carbon footprint

Corporate social responsibility

Take your first steps towards reducing your carbon footprint by finding out how a range of technologies can reduce your need for travel. We offer an introduction to a range of collaborative tools that can help you work effectively with remote learners and external partners. We can help you select the tool that’s right for you and provide guidance on good practice and examples of what others are doing. We also offer comprehensive guidance on digitising important research and cultural collections from setting up your digitisation project to managing your growing collection so that users can access the resources from anywhere in the world.

Reducing our direct environmental impact is only one aspect of meeting our obligations to our local communities and to society as a whole. Our extensive resources on accessibility and social inclusion are part of a much wider commitment to corporate social responsibility. We have resources for senior managers wanting to assess the strategic importance of inclusion, for tutors to help them develop more inclusive practice and we offer a range of assistive technologies and downloadable tools for end users. As part of our external engagement theme, we also run a number of projects to help the sector engage with voluntary organisations and local communities.

JISC Advance Organisational Efficiency http://tinyurl.com/yc72rbo Enhancing Learning and Teaching http://tinyurl.com/2dj9n3r External engagement http://tinyurl.com/2bcf4tn Sustainability http://tinyurl.com/26qleo3 Research http://tinyurl.com/28tgmwj

JISCmail website launch New and intuitive with improved design and navigation http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/

JorumOpen An online resource made available by members of the learing and teaching community under the Creative Commons License. http://tinyurl.com/yk7pd54

Browse 3D Browse 3D offers users a visual advantage in finding and using web information more productive http://www.browse3d.com/

Sustainable procurement Our tools and resources help you take a whole lifecycle approach to the items you purchase and consume. Our tender evaluation model allows you to evaluate the sustainability of a range of procurement options and our guidance takes you right through to good practice in terms of final disposal. We work with key bodies to ensure that our guidance is always authoritative and up-to-date.

Websites

For more information please visit their website: www.jiscadvance.ac.uk Or contact them directly: info@jiscadvance.ac.uk

Joopz This service enables “web texting” - 2 way communications from the web to any mobile phone http://www.joopz.com/

JISC Conference Resources http://tinyurl.com/goodybag10

MoodleMoot UK 2010 Videos http://moodlemootuk2010.org.uk/ videos/

Events for your diary

Forum round-up

June 1

Xerte Training, FREE event, Great Yarmouth College

8

Getting to Grips with Web 2.0, £90, SmartLIFE Centre, Cambs

16

Eastern Region Technical Managers Forum, FREE event, Hertford Regional College

17

ACL/WBL e-Learning Forum, FREE event, ACL Essex, Brentwoord

18

Learning Resources Conference 2010, £50, SmartLife Centre, Cambridge

18

Technology Exemplar Network Open Day, FREE event, The College of West Anglia, Cambs

July 1

e-asy Learning: e-Fair 2010, FREE event, Hertford Regional College, Broxbourne

All Events http://tinyurl.com/allevents10

e-Learning Forum, 29 February, Hertford Regional College This forum was extremely well attended and both the Chair and Vice Chair did a great job inputting some interesting topics. The forum was held at Hertford Regional College, Broxbourne campus, which is their new building and will be the venue for this years’ JISC Regional Support Centre Eastern e-Fair.

Using 21st Century Technology to improve Teaching & Learning – How do we do it?

Sam Kennedy (Vice Chair) gave an overview of the college dynamics explaining their journey pre-new build to the present day; sharing their vision of: • • • • •

A safe, shared environment A sense of community Learning on show Learner at the heart of everything we do Empowering Learners strategy / Doing Things Differently development plan

• • •

Appropriate technology embedded in all areas Flexible rooms, scalable infrastructure Celebration and sharing of ideas

Sam went on to give their strategic approach using new technologies, encouraging CPD, new ways of working, using their very impressive network (fastest in any educational institution in Europe) and understanding the impact of the new environment on their learners. Sam closed the session with an activity discussing the e-Learning strategies/ initiatives in their own institution which have impacted on the quality of teaching and learning.

Putting the ‘Interactive’ into Interactive Whiteboards – tutor demo Sam Kennedy organised a session with sports tutor Stuart Day to show how he effectively uses the interactive whiteboard with his learners. Stuart presented a session from his first year BTEC level one course, “tactics”

and explained how he engaged his learners as they were entering the session by using a picture of a baseball game with players scoring; the display also included some observational questions the learners could discuss and form an opinion around the subject of tactics. Stuart used a Youtube video in PowerPoint to highlight recent games for discussion purposes and took questions throughout his presentation on learner responses to technology.

been using Moodle to support and teach PTTLS courses as a blended programme. The time and energy that she has put into this development plus her research for materials as well as the fact that she is also offering to share this resource, made some of us extutors feel fairly humble. Our round table discussion relating to future plans was energetic.What shone through from all providers was the determination to continue to deliver great teaching and support.

Learner Experience/Student Voice at Hertford Regional

Following a great lunch (comments were made about the steak pie and will it ever be beaten at the next venue?) we decided, as it was Easter, on a more entertaining and relaxed session on content creation tools for the afternoon, aided by a small furry cheetah and an abundance of chocolate eggs.

Sam arranged for a media Learner to talk about his experiences at the college, from enrolment to present day. The learner answered questions posed by the forum and this was extremely useful having the learner perspective.

The afternoon had input from all present about developments in their own organisations and attendees contributed with sharing good practice and ideas for staff development. The Assistive Technology Kit was displayed and an offer to organisations was made for the loan of the kit, feedback was given by Mark Harris (Harlow College) as a previous user. The afternoon session was closed with a tour of the Broxbourne campus.

ACL/WBL Forum - 26 March, Suffolk Community Learning and Skills Development The March 2010 ACL/WBL forum was kindly hosted by Suffolk ACL at their centre in Eye, Suffolk and chaired by Gill Sollenberger from Central Bedfordshire ACL. We had a great turnout from ACL and WBL providers keen to hear our chosen topics for the day and to network.

Gill kicked off the day with a great presentation on how she has

A widely available range of open source or cheap tools were looked at from the simple use of Windows Photostory or Movie maker through to using Xerte and Second Life.

This was a highly engaging and interactive afternoon which just flew by- as one attendee was overhead to say “that was the best training session I have ever been to!”

We felt very flattered as it was not meant to be a training session just a sharing of information between all. So if you have not attended one of our forums, do come along next time and you will amazed at what you can learn from each other.

All presentations from the day can be found on the RSC Eastern Moodle. http://moodle.rsc-eastern.ac.uk Article continued on next page

Event Feedback We have hosted a series of successful forums and events to provide advice and support for learning providers in the Eastern region. Here is some of the postevent feedback we have had:

“As I am new to e-learning it really helped me to talk to more experienced people and get good ideas to create my moodle site.”

ACL/WBL Forum (26/03/2010) “I found this course extremely interesting and informative and would recommend attendance by colleagues if/when it is next being delivered locally.”

Finding Free-to-Use Images Online (03/03/2010) “Very friendly and relaxed environment which made the event enjoyable. There was no wasted time and the course progressed at a good speed.”

Moodle Training- Course Administration for Tutors (04/12/2010) “Networking with other providers to share information and good practice. Discussing e-learning staff development and how other providers handle this.

Theaccessibility kit - excellent idea.” e-Learning Forum (29/01/2010) “I always welcome the contact with colleagues from around the area.

It’s good to hear how everyone is doing and that in turn gives me confidence.”

Learning Resources Managers Forum, (19/03/2010)

AT kit Our aim is to raise awareness and offer guidance towards embedding best practice. We are able to offer advice during visits, forum meetings and events.

It is also possible for supported learning providers to use our loan equipment for assistive technology for evaluation purposes.

Our AT kit consists of a range of technologies designed to make learning more accessible. You will find text readers, giant keyboards, joysticks, video cameras and lots more.

VLE Forum, 5th March Cambridge Regional College The new Catering, Hair & Beauty building at Cambridge Regional College provided a stylish, professional setting for this term’s VLE forum meeting on 5th March, 2010, a day filled with thought provoking presentations, discussions and fabulous hospitality.

To borrow the equipment please ask a member of the team at our events for more details.

Andrew Hill’s presentation challenged us to think about how we use VLEs. Have approaches changed in recent years? Are we exploiting potential? We saw some innovative examples of online collaborative learning. There are further details available on Andrew’s blog:

Alternatively you can e-mail us at

http://tinyurl.com/ahill2010

m.fisher@rsc-eastern.ac.uk

Contact Details JISC Regional Support Centre Eastern Anglia Ruskin University 3rd Floor, Ashby House Bishop Hall Lane Chelmsford Essex CM1 1SQ Tel: 01245 684090 Email: support@rsc-eastern.ac.uk www.rsc-eastern.ac.uk

Andrew Nightingale brought us up to date with the exciting developments at Cambridge Regional College. He showed inspirational examples of the way in which use of the VLE has been integrated and is supported throughout the college.

Delegates then shared their own considerable experience and knowledge about new plugins for VLEs and their relative merits. We’re grateful to Chris Boon, VLE forum Chair, for his expert last minute juggling of the agenda when our speaker was unfortunately unable to make it. Richard Goddard has been rebooked for our next meeting on 21st May at Oaklands College.

The ‘hot issue’ for discussion in the afternoon was social networking policies and practice. Are “Web 2.0” applications seen as tools to enhance independent learning, or a threat to discipline, resources and e-safety? There was a wide spectrum of practices across the region. Some are actively using social media to develop digital literacy skills.

Others are blocking a number of sites or only allowing use during free time. A few are using private social networks such as Ning to support learning, with Twitter and Facebook being used for external communications and marketing.

This is a rapidly developing area which we hope to revisit at a future meeting.

All were impressed by the professionalism of students throughout the day, and appreciated the amount of time and effort that students and staff at Cambridge Regional College put in to make the day such a success.

Many thanks to everyone involved.