Thanks to the informative and entertaining Ewan McIntosh’s Edublog I spent a large part of yesterday “playing” with slideshows using a package called Animoto. With minimal effort from the user Animoto takes your photos, mixes them with music and some technical know how to produce a professional looking video.

In the words of the Animoto team “Animoto Productions is a bunch of techies and film/tv producers who decided to lock themselves in a room together and nerd out.

Their first release is Animoto, a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos using their own patent-pending technology and high-end motion design.”

Once you produce your video you can chose whether to send it to a friend or post/embed it into a web site. The clip below was embedded into my YouTube account and onto the Mumbles Yacht Club web site.

“How can this help the work based learning sector?” I hear you cry. It’s true that standard photographs will satisfy evidence requirements. However, just think what this can do to increase the motivation and engagement of the learner – I know how much fun we have had with it in the office!!

There is a lot of discussion currently about the attitude of awarding bodies and in particular, external verifiers to e-Portfolios. The following are extracts taken from formal communications issued by the Policy and Regulation team of the City and Guilds to their external verifiers.

E-portfolios: current policy and practice (October 2005)

We have started, and are continuing, to enter into endorsement agreements with third party organisations that provide e-portfolio systems in line with the City & Guilds corporate vision. The records that an external verifier needs to see to complete verification work are the same regardless of the approach used to store them. There are clearly many benefits that e-portfolios can bring to external verification, but it is impractical to train all EVs on the use of all the e-portfolios used by centres.

Electronic portfolios – current policy (August 2006)

Last October’s generic Verifier update (number nine) contained an article about eportfolios that has prompted many queries from EVs whose allocated centres are starting to use these products. More specifically, there seems to be confusion about the rights and obligations of centres and EVs in relation to e-portfolios. If a centre intends to purchase an eportfolio system, this must be communicated to you during the visit planning process – you should never be in a situation where you arrive at a centre to be confronted with an e-portfolio that you knew nothing about! The second obligation that centres have is to ensure that all relevant personnel, including EVs, are comfortable with using their system – As EVs, you are expected to use the eportfolio systems that we endorse. You are not expected to be an expert on the system, but should be prepared to use it with the centre’s help. It is never acceptable to insist that the centre prints out the contents of an e-portfolio, or to refuse to use an endorsed system.

For further clarification, contact your awarding body.

Every once in a while you come across a web site that captivates you and offers many everyday teaching and learning solutions. The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies is such a site. Its creator Jane Hart is a well-known name in the e-learning world both in the UK and internationally.  She has a long track record of helping business and education understand how new technologies can be used for formal learning as well as to improve job and business performance.

The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies provides a number of resources, consultancy services and workshops to help you understand more about how Web  2.0  technologies and tools are creating a new approach to learning (in both in education and the workplace learning) known as Learning 2.0 or Social Learning.

The site can be found at http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/index.html

Follow this link, http://www.freeware-software.org/ to find a very useful listing of free and freeware software.

It has tools listed under several categories including:

Office tools – a suite of free applications designed to mirror the tools available in Microsoft Office
Multimedia – – including music players, media players, sound recording and editing software
Security and Privacy Protection - antivirus and spy ware detection software
Graphic / Desktop publishing tools - free image and photo editing software
Internet - web browsers and Internet suites

I like this listing – it’s clean and easy to follow and includes many of the popular free software options with links directly to pages where you can download them. It also shows just how much great software is becoming available to use in this way.

How many times have you attended a course where you have been told exactly how to do something but seen little evidence of instructors actually practising what they preach? At Swansea ITeC, Leia Fee has been pioneering an approach to training that both practices what it preaches and embraces the evolution in teaching and learning tools – namely Web 2.0 technology. In Leia’s words, “teaching IT by using IT as used in the real world.”

For the last year Leia and her colleagues have been developing a Blog that assists both formal and informal communication with trainees (http://www.swansea-ITeC.co.uk/traineenews).

Traditionally blogs are seen as on-line journals but their format and a little creative thinking lends them to being a dynamic “web site” capable of being updated and contributed to frequently. The blog contains news stories, achievement recognition, links to resources, policies and, every tutor’s dream, notification that certificates have arrived and are ready for collection, as well as many other features. Setting the blog as the organisation’s homepage also ensures that staff and trainees are kept up to date with the latest news and events.

Due to the success and enthusiasm surrounding the project, the use of Blogs has now been incorporated into the learner experience. Working on group and individual tasks, trainees are expected to create a blog on a topic of their own choice. Whilst one would expect such a task to meet ICT key skills criteria learners also have to work collaboratively, communicate effectively and reflect on their own learning in order to successfully complete the task.

Multi-use of open source (free) Web 2.0 technologies provides an integrated approach to learner development and progression while catering for a wide range of learning styles. For example trainees who have a visual learning style enjoy using bubl (http://bubl.us) to brainstorm or plan their projects whereas the reflectors prefer written feedback utilising a combination of annotating software and web mail.

Using a variety of packages opens the minds of the trainees to a wealth of tools, innovations and resources that go beyond the boundaries of Office applications normally used in IT training and electronic communication.

Chatting with Leia and looking at work produced by the learners identified clearly a number of positive aspects of developing and using a blog. “A large percentage of our trainees have English as a second language. Blogging improved literacy levels due to the ability to edit posts as well as promoting a range of transferable skills such as word-processing and graphics manipulation. Handing ownership of the learning process to the trainees also greatly enhanced independence and group cohesiveness. At Swansea ITeC we are convinced that the quality of the learners’ work has improved.”

This article was taken from the RSC Wales Work Based Learning Spring 2008 Newsletter. If you are a WBL practitioner and would like to receive regular copies of the newsletter please email a.dacey@swansea.ac.uk to be put on the mailing list

I received an email from a colleague today containing a link to an article by Dan Cobley entitled Wales takes on the world. How the internet is changing small business

The article caught my attention for several reasons. Firstly its opening lines refer to the historic Swansea-Mumbles train, the route of which I walk frequently and can also see from my office window. The article states that this worldwide innovation paved the way for the economic transformation of Britain. It commends the success of current “young” businesses that have embraced the technological transformation and use the power of the internet to overcome traditional barriers such as logistics and limited advertising budgets. The internet has levelled the playing field offering a worldwide audience to all and not just the big players.

We can compare using technologies for commerce and staff development to Chung’s (2005) view on e-learning development – with leaders, learners, teachers, organisations making the best use of tools that were previously not readily available or affordable. I can’t help comparing the Swansea-Mumbles train to Web 1 technology – a great innovation that paved the way for the greater interaction of Web 2.o

The above article was published in http://itwales.com/997507.htm

CHUNG, Q B (2005) Sage On The Stage In The Digital Age: The Role Of The Online Lecture In Distance Learning The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, Vol 3 Issue 1

This utility is ideal for those of you who want an easy, free solution to the age old problem of scheduling a meeting. I have used this application a couple of times and it works a treat.

Here is what Meet-O-Matic says about itself.

If you’ve spent time scheduling or arranging meetings, you will know that the task typically involves some tricky moments trying to satisfy everyone’s constraints and to converge on a schedule that works. Often you end up playing ‘telephone tag’ or ‘email tag’ trying to chase individuals. Even if you use modern diary/meeting management workgroup or scheduling software, things can still become unstuck if one or two individuals don’t use the meeting scheduling software properly (or don’t use such scheduling software at all). Our research into human computer interaction, psychology and intelligent agents has suggested six fundamental principles underlying the creation of good diary management/meeting scheduling software:

1. Autonomy: People often prefer to ‘do their own thing’ (e.g. arrange circumstances to attend or avoid a specific meeting), rather than delegating responsibility to another person or a software tool.
2. Different tools: You cannot count on everyone you intend to invite to a meeting to use the same single diary/meeting software, or even software that ‘interoperates’ (communicates seamlessly) with your own.
3. Least common denominator: You can, however, safely assume that the overwhelming majority of people you want to invite probably have access to Internet email and a web browser.
4. Familiarity: People like to work with software tools they already know.
5. Speed: People will often pick up the phone or send a conventional email rather than wait for a new software tool to help them, even if that tool looks innovative and promising. Reason? The old tried-and-tested methods feel faster!
6. Granularity: For meetings that involve many possible dates or many people, the real problem is homing in on dates or AM/PM slots at a coarse-grained level in order to obtain a first-pass solution, rather than fussing about the precise time.

Give it a try, you will be pleased with the results.

http://www.meetomatic.com/calendar.php

Good news for the Work Based Learning Sector – a web site that has been created to promote collaboration, share good practice and identify resources etc etc etc. What’s amazing about this site is that it is created entirely from freely available Web 2.0 tools – the front page is a blog! It just goes to show what can be done with a bit of imagination and thinking outside of the box. Below is an article that explains the origins and rationale behind Innovate. Have a look and see what you think.

What is Innovate?

Innovate is a freely accessible online resource designed to support the Work Based Learning Sector in their adoption of ILT and e-learning.

Why was it established?

Recent studies conducted by the RSCs highlighted the fact that WBL providers have difficulty in sourcing ILT/e-learning information, resources, examples of good practice and expertise for advice and guidance. Some WBL organisations have a lack of awareness of the use of technology and the opportunities it presents in developing quality provision. This resource attempts to address these issues by providing on-line resources for:

• teaching and learning
• staff development
• strategic development
• examples of the use of technology in work based learning provision

Innovate also provides the opportunity for WBL staff to engage in peer support and to join networking groups on topics such as e-portfolios, mobile learning and staff development.

How can it be used and by whom?

The Innovate resource can be used by all staff within Work Based Learning organisations. For managers it offers advice on inspection, strategic advice and guidance etc. Delivery staff can make use of its web based resources that include “how to guides”, case studies, free content creation tools, teaching and learning resources and much more. Innovate can also be used as a reference for anyone wishing to keep abreast of issues facing the WBL sector.

Is there a cost?

No, Innovate is entirely free to use. It was also set up using freely available online tools as a way of demonstrating what can be achieved with no, or very little cost.

Is registration required?

No. You are not required to register to use Innovate however registration will allow you to actively participate in discussion with peers, join online groups that focus on specific topics and ensure you are kept fully up to date on issues that might be of interest to you.

How can I get started or learn more?

Join the Innovate WBL community at http://rscwbl.jiscinvolve.org/ or contact your local Regional Support Centre for more information.

I have recently revisited my surfing habits and have set up a battery of RSS feeds that now deliver up to date information from my favourite websites.

For a really cool explanation of RSS Feeds watch the guys at Common Craft do their stuff.