So the workshop went well and now repeating it for this afternoon with some different delegates.
Monthly Archives: March 2010
AoC Communications Conference
Here at the AoC Communications Conference.
A day in the life of New York City, in miniature
I do like the Tilt Shift effect.
In the past I have tried to do something similar with pictures of the college and always failing miserably… Now I can fail miserably doing the same thing with video!
One day…
National Rail Enquiries – iPhone App of the Week
Update: Since this blog post was written, this app has been renamed UK Train Times and another app by a different company has been released which is called National Rail Enquiries. To add to the confusion the UK Train Times icon has changed, whereas the National Rail Enquiries app has a very similar (well identical) icon to the old icon of UK Train Times. Though National Rail Enquiries is free, having tried both, I do think UK Train Times is a much better app and you don’t get the ads you get on the free app.
National Rail Enquiries – iPhone App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive. Though called iPhone App of the Week, most of these apps will also work on the iPod touch.
This week’s App is National Rail Enquiries.
National Rail Enquiries provides complete journey planning for journeys across the UK National Rail network and live departure information for all National Rail stations in the UK. This is an official application from National Rail Enquiries, with fully-licensed and accurate real-time information.
£4.99
For many users a 99p App is too expensive, this is a five pound App, so is it worth it? If you travel by train then in my opinion it is.
A simple example, I know that this App helped my college secure £40,000 of funding, so well worth the £4.99 I paid for it.
Really?
Well, let’s just say it certainly helped.
What’s the story?
I was on my way to London to be interviewed for a funding proposal we had put in.
The interview was at 11.00 and I had my train ticket and was intending to catch a train from my local station and arrive at 9.45 giving me just over an hour to get to the venue for the interview.
So there I was waiting…. waiting…. waiting…
I got out the iPhone and checked National Rail Enquiries.
It said that the train was running very late and would not be going to London! Confused I was to begin with. A few minutes later the “train” arrived. It wasn’t the big High Speed Train I was expecting, but a smaller local train. As it arrived the driver lent out the window and shouted that this was the next train to Bristol. What had happened was that the original London train had broken down and they were using this as a replacement. Arriving in Bristol later than expected and on checking the departures form Bristol on the iPhone via National Rail Enquiries, I knew that if I caught the Manchester train I could change at Bristol Parkway and catch a London train from there. This I managed to do with literally seconds to spare after running across the station; and eventually I was in London by 10.00! Only 15 minutes later than originally planned.
If I had relied on finding out trains from departure boards or information kiosks I would have been much later into London and would have been late for the interview.
Would it have made a difference? Don’t know for sure, but I am glad I was there in plenty of time.
So what about the App itself?
Simply it is a portable station display board. It tells you the departures and arrivals from any station on the national rail network. It can also tell you the whereabouts of your train, if it is running late or worse cancelled.
It can also be used for journey planning, though there are other websites that do that for free. For the immediacy of catching trains now, it works really well.
If you travel anywhere by train, then this is one useful app. True you can find the information online for free, but the user interface of this app beats most websites interfaces, which have been designed more often then not for use on a computer and not on an iPhone sized screen.
Libraries of the future
Imagine a new Library of Alexandria. Imagine an archive that contains all the natural and social sciences of the West—our source-critical, referenced, peer-reviewed data—as well as the cultural and literary heritage of the world’s civilizations, and many of the world’s most significant archives and specialist collections. Imagine that this library is electronic and in the public domain: sustainable, stable, linked, and searchable through universal semantic catalogue standards.
Thanks to @ostephens on Twitter who pointed out this thoughtful article from Lisbet Rausing on imagining the future of libraries.
It’s an interesting observation when in the article it says
the question for scholars and gatekeepers is not whether change is coming. It is whether they will be among the change-makers. And if not them, then who?
We know change is coming, we can pretend that we can fight it, but the reality is that we need to be making that change.
e-Learning Stuff Podcast #038: iPodding and iPhoning
Do you iPod? Do you iPhone? The e-Learning Stuff Panel discuss the use of iPhones and iPods in colleges.
With James Clay, Ron Mitchell, Lilian Soon and Lisa Valentine.
This is the thirty eighth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, iPodding and iPhoning
Download the podcast in mp3 format: iPodding and iPhoning
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
Photo source.
You can do what with the iPad?
Many people see the iPad as a BIG iPod touch, something that is used to view content on. Though it does have a microphone, unlike the iPhone is does not have a camera.
There is though one aspect of the iPad that Apple have announced that I think some people have missed and that will be the availability of iPad versions of the iWork applications. Apple will at the same time as they release the iPad, release iPad versions of their presentation software, Keynote, wordprocessing software, Pages and spreadsheet software, Numbers.
There are also rumours that Microsoft may be working on a version of Office for the iPad.
So what does this all mean?
Well is turns the iPad from a mainly content consumption device to a device that can allow the user to both consume and create content.
So what you may say, I have a laptop that does just that!
Well it’s pretty certain that the iPad is no laptop, even Steve Jobs in his iPad announcement says that the iPad sits between the iPhone and a laptop.
However I don’t see the iPad replacing my laptop all the time, but in some circumstances I can see it replacing it some of the time.
For example in meetings, the iPad is going to be more useful than a laptop for checking information, using Pages to make notes, etc…
Likewise in conferences (where there are in some sessions no tables), the iPad (with the long battery life) will make it easier to engage in the back channel, makes notes, check URLs, share thoughts and impressions, and all the other conference stuff that at the moment most people do with a notepad and a pencil.
For learners an iPad may be a better device to bring to lessons, with easy access to e-books (and these may be getting more engaging and interactive), internet access, web tools; the ability to also create notes using Pages, or enter notes using tools like Evernote more easily than on an iPod touch or iPhone, I can certainly see many learners preferring the lightweight feel of the iPad, over a heavier laptop. Then again they might want to buy a netbook!
I don’t use spreadsheets much so I don’t see much of a use for Numbers. However I do give a lot of presentations and having Keynote on the iPad makes a lot of sense to me.
I’ve always thought that Apple should have made a Keynote Presentation App for the iPhone; you would create your presentation on the Mac, sync to the iPhone and then on the iPhone would be a little App that allowed you to both view the App on the iPhone screen, or using the AV cable you can get, show the presentation through a projector or TV. One of the issues though with that is Apps can’t use the AV cable! I guess an Apple App could, but maybe not.
If Keynote on the iPad can use the AV Cable and hopefully then other applications will also be able to use the AV out.
Of course the Keynote App for the iPad allows you to create presentations, and I really do like using Keynote as my primary presentation tool.
Overall I think Keynote and Pages for the iPad, have turned the iPad into for me from a “maybe” purchase to a “more than likely” purchase.
2000+ Dead VLEs
Quite impressed that over 2000 people have now watched the video recording of the VLE is Dead debate at ALT-C 2009.
It was a fun debate and I hope that in future conferences we can have similar entertaining, stimulating and popular debates.
100 ways to use a VLE – #23 Rewarding Learners
Too often in education we focus on the poor behaviour of learners and absence. Forgetting sometimes to reward those students who do attend every session and do follow the rules.
We probably do similar things with the VLE, admonishing learners who haven’t done online activities or joined in discussions.
By rewarding those learners who do make use of the VLE, for using the VLE to support their learning, etc… then you are sending a message to the group; that learners who work hard, obey the rules will be rewarded.
So how can you reward learners?
- Sometimes it can be randomly from all those learners who filled in the feedback survey.
- Sometimes it can be fun, see how many times a student has accessed content on the VLE over a week – there will always be one who spends all week clicking links…
- Hide and seek, see who can find a particular link or reference in all the resources on the VLE.
- Most useful learner in a discussion.
So what should be the rewards?
Well, it would be nice if it was an iPod touch! Of course we don’t all have the money or budget to do that. However what about the following:
Assignment extension voucher – one extra week for submitting an assignment.
- Coffee voucher for college cafe
- Lunch voucher for college dining room
- Chocolate bar
- Fruit (if you have a healthy eating strategy)
- Vouchers for local stores (see if they will donate them)
- Certificates
Of course rewards for learners needn’t be exclusively for those that use the VLE, they could be any learning activity.
Case study from the Excellence Gateway that inspired this post.
TEN Open Day
Today was our Open Day as part of Gloucestershire College’s role in Becta’s Technology Exemplar Network.
The focus was not just about how Gloucestershire College use technology to enhance, enrich and support learning, but was also an opportunity for delegates to discuss, debate and have a conversation about Web 2.0 and Social Networking.
The day followed an “unconference” style format with the emphasis on discussion and debate, and less on presentations and “sit and listen”.
We advertised the day with the following:
With the wealth of learning technologies and web 2.0 tools and services available to Further Education, this open day, will provide an opportunity to see how Gloucestershire College are using learning technologies to enhance and enrich learning. The open day will also give you an opportunity to discuss and debate with others how Web 2.0 and social networking can be used in Further Education.
The day will focus on the use of Web 2.0 and Social Networking and how they can be used to enhance teaching and learning.
The day will also give you an opportunity to tour the college to see how we use ILT and how we have embedded learning technologies across the curriculum.
The day will consist of a formal introduction followed by semi-structured unconference format in which delegates will be invited to discuss, show and tell, collaborate, share and learn. The day starts at 10.00am and will finish at 4.00pm
As well as learning from us, we want to learn from you.
I was very pleased with the way the day went. The delegates really enjoyed the day, the tours, the discussions and lunch!
Plenty of time for coffee too.