Just a final post for this academic term to wish all you avid readers a great summer and hope that the good weather returns for your annual leave. The next few weeks, when a large proportion of staff in our supported institutions are on holiday, give the team here an opportunity to regroup and it’s at this time that we evaluate the services that we’ve delivered and plan for the coming year.
For those of you that are members of the eCurriculum forum which this blog is intended to support, I’d appreciate any comments and suggestions on how the forum could and should develop at the bottom of this posting. In addition completing the survey that I sent out a couple of days ago would be really helpful to ensure that appropriate levels of support are in place.
I’ll be Blogging again from mid August – until then – happy holidays – Joan
27 Jun 2008
13 Jun 2008
The World of Widgets
I’ve been revising and reviewing our Web2.0 workshop in preparation for a few sessions I’m to deliver over the next couple of weeks and in particular how to embed elements that are generated by a range software tools and hosted elsewhere. (I thought about a blond virtual me but it’s really brunettes that have more fun!). Move your mouse around the head and face - spooky. It’s a really fascinating concept and there are some extraordinary tools available to liven up web pages that don’t require any knowledge - except how to cut and paste a little code which is supplied. You’ll hear them called widgets, flakes, snippets and gadgets.
I’ve added a number of widgets to the Blog for this week – scroll down the page a bit and you’ll see a load of links to useful websites in a “tag cloud”. The tag cloud is generated using a website called del.icio.us – this is a social bookmarking site that I use to save good websites I find. It lives online and can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet so when I’m at home, out and about or even in the middle of a workshop I can find resources easily. Each time I save a site, the tag cloud here will be updated instantly and I can embed this same collection anywhere – in fact it’s on the pages for teaching staff on our website too. This enables sharing and encourages networking which is one of the common characteristics of Web2.0 technologies – see social bookmarking in plain English from commoncraft.
You’ll also find a selection of books that I recommend for staff development displayed on a bookshelf. This widget comes from Shelfari and as well as creating a widget that you can embed as I’ve done here, the site provides opportunities to network with others and discuss what you’re reading – if you want. While no doubt a bit fanciful, I can see learners responding to a reading list displayed like this more appealing.
Here’s a widget I created using "polldaddy" that allows you set up an instant poll or survey that can be embedded into your website or blog.
You can also embed your own, or slide shows created and shared by other people, into pages. Here’s one about widgets from slideshare.com.
Widgets like these allow you to use materials that people are prepared to share and perhaps goes someway to avoiding the dreaded “C” word (copyright!).
Widgets are managed remotely and involve no extra work to ensure that the information is current and as up to date as possible which has to be a good thing. They provide dynamic content and can introduce an element of fun for the learner - and what’s wrong with that?
What are Widgets - youtube video explanation
Web 2.0 and Social Software : An Introduction
Understanding the issues and benefits of social software
I’ve added a number of widgets to the Blog for this week – scroll down the page a bit and you’ll see a load of links to useful websites in a “tag cloud”. The tag cloud is generated using a website called del.icio.us – this is a social bookmarking site that I use to save good websites I find. It lives online and can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet so when I’m at home, out and about or even in the middle of a workshop I can find resources easily. Each time I save a site, the tag cloud here will be updated instantly and I can embed this same collection anywhere – in fact it’s on the pages for teaching staff on our website too. This enables sharing and encourages networking which is one of the common characteristics of Web2.0 technologies – see social bookmarking in plain English from commoncraft.
You’ll also find a selection of books that I recommend for staff development displayed on a bookshelf. This widget comes from Shelfari and as well as creating a widget that you can embed as I’ve done here, the site provides opportunities to network with others and discuss what you’re reading – if you want. While no doubt a bit fanciful, I can see learners responding to a reading list displayed like this more appealing.Here’s a widget I created using "polldaddy" that allows you set up an instant poll or survey that can be embedded into your website or blog.
You can also embed your own, or slide shows created and shared by other people, into pages. Here’s one about widgets from slideshare.com.
Widgets like these allow you to use materials that people are prepared to share and perhaps goes someway to avoiding the dreaded “C” word (copyright!).
Widgets are managed remotely and involve no extra work to ensure that the information is current and as up to date as possible which has to be a good thing. They provide dynamic content and can introduce an element of fun for the learner - and what’s wrong with that?
What are Widgets - youtube video explanation
Web 2.0 and Social Software : An Introduction
Understanding the issues and benefits of social software
6 Jun 2008
Walk the Talk
I had to bite the bullet this week and take a look at the recording of the RSCtv session – ePortfolios in practice – that I delivered a few weeks ago. We’ve recently had a recording facility made available to us which means that we can now make our new RSCtv sessions available from our website. Jason Miles-Campbell from JISCLegal was guest presenter over lunchtime on Tuesday this week and he presented his 5 Top Copyright Tips. His session was also recorded and pressure to make Jason’s session available on our site forced me to review my own session which I’d managed to put off to date.
Somehow delivering a session using video conferencing is one thing but watching yourself on screen is another and I was nervous about reviewing what I actually said, captured for posterity. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and get on with it. Well you know it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was uncomfortable about seeing myself on screen and quite sceptical about losing the live, interactive element to the session. I felt was a “unique selling point” offered to people signing in to RSCtv, but the recording really works quite well. We’ve two recordings available just now but we’ll be recording the re-runs that are scheduled for the last week in June and will be making them available to watch again from our website.
This week I’ve also been out and about, invited to present at College People Week at SFEU on Wednesday, and invited to attend the Scottish Hospitality Association conference today to disseminate information about JISC services and also what support we can give to staff. Events like this give me an opportunity to talk to staff and gain a better appreciation of the issues they are dealing with in their day to day activities.
In the last couple of years I’ve often threatened to spend some time back in a college just to update my knowledge of the curriculum and fully appreciate the pressures and priorities of staff working in FE. I’d welcome an opportunity if any of you reading this have an opening. Actually as I write this, I realise that our plan for next year to work with course teams to take a more holistic approach to course design, and the use of new technology within it might provide this. As well as the RSC team providing support for course development, I’m quite sure that as a small team, delivering a specialist service, we would benefit from spending time with and working with groups of college staff.To find out more about the curriculum development initiative for next year email support@rsc-sw-scotland.ac.uk
Somehow delivering a session using video conferencing is one thing but watching yourself on screen is another and I was nervous about reviewing what I actually said, captured for posterity. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and get on with it. Well you know it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was uncomfortable about seeing myself on screen and quite sceptical about losing the live, interactive element to the session. I felt was a “unique selling point” offered to people signing in to RSCtv, but the recording really works quite well. We’ve two recordings available just now but we’ll be recording the re-runs that are scheduled for the last week in June and will be making them available to watch again from our website.This week I’ve also been out and about, invited to present at College People Week at SFEU on Wednesday, and invited to attend the Scottish Hospitality Association conference today to disseminate information about JISC services and also what support we can give to staff. Events like this give me an opportunity to talk to staff and gain a better appreciation of the issues they are dealing with in their day to day activities.
In the last couple of years I’ve often threatened to spend some time back in a college just to update my knowledge of the curriculum and fully appreciate the pressures and priorities of staff working in FE. I’d welcome an opportunity if any of you reading this have an opening. Actually as I write this, I realise that our plan for next year to work with course teams to take a more holistic approach to course design, and the use of new technology within it might provide this. As well as the RSC team providing support for course development, I’m quite sure that as a small team, delivering a specialist service, we would benefit from spending time with and working with groups of college staff.To find out more about the curriculum development initiative for next year email support@rsc-sw-scotland.ac.uk
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