This video shows how things change in the time it takes to travel from Cheltenham to Gloucester.
Stats were taken from various sources and checked across other datasets.
What do you mean, someone made them up…
Anyone who has attended one of my keynote or conference presentations recently will know I have made use of a series of quotes that I first encountered at an ALT-C Keynote by Martin Bean in 2009.
I have used the quotes to remind the audience that scepticism and concerns about the introduction of new technologies or new ways of thinking are not new and that it is “normal” to be concerned about change.
Now I’ve always had my doubts on the validity or authenticity of the quotes as my brief internet research showed that lots of people used the quotes, but there was very little real “evidence” on their authenticity. However in terms of the message I was getting across the essence of the message was much more important than the content of the message. Audiences related to the essence of the message and the scepticism that they had encountered. In more recent messages I have used actual quotes and newspaper headlines about the “dangers” of technology to reinforce the essence of the message.
Recently I used the quotes in a presentation at an ebooks event at UWE. I posted the slides online and I’ve had a couple of comments plus a really useful link that once and for all casts doubts on the quotes and pretty much says that someone in the 1970s made them up!
This set of statements was printed in the Fall 1978 issue of “The MATYC Journal”, a publication that focused on mathematics education. The quotes were assigned the dates: 1703, 1815, 1907, 1929, 1941, and 1950. But they may actually have been created in 1978. Copies of these quotes have been widely distributed and posted on many websites. They also have been published in multiple books and periodicals.
Ah well…. I knew it was too good to be true.
Though of course if you have listened to my presentations you will realise that the quotes were a theatrical device to make the audience to stop and think about change and people’s reactions to change. This is still valid, the quotes merely add a bit of dramatic licence!
So willI use the quotes again?
Probably not, but then I could do and point out that they were “made up” and use that point to make people think.
Mobile Technologies in the Library
These are the slides from the keynote presentation I gave at the Mobile Technologies Information Sharing Event in Birmingham.
The aim of the keynote was to remind those attending where we had come from, where we are and where we might be going. It was important to ask the question with all the mobile technologies that are currently available, why aren’t they already embedded into the provision of library services?
100 ways to use a VLE – #45 Adding an URL or a web link
I have often thought of the VLE as a portal for learners to discover new things, undertake activities, assess their learning, communication, interact, create, understand, apply analyse and evaluate.
The web, of which the VLE generally is part of and connected to has a wealth of knowledge, information and content waiting to be discovered and used.
In terms of discovery adding an URL or web link to a course on your VLE, will allow learners to make that journey to support their learning.
However one of the very advantages of the web, putting in a link, is also one of the key disadvantages. A link placed on its own lacks context and direction.
Now in some cases this may be sufficient, think of a reading list of useful websites.
However even then providing guidance to learners about not only why they should be browsing to those links but also what they should do on those web pages is important if the learners are going to get some value from them.
We sometimes think providing a reading list of books is useful for learners, but unless they have the necessary study skills to make use of those books they may find they either don’t find them useful, spend too much wasteful time looking through the books or not making the most of what could be a real valuable resource.
Likewise with a series of web links, without the digital literacy skills to deal with the content on those web pages then learners will not get the real value from those pages that they could and should.
Similarly just pasting a link into your course on the VLE without context or guidance may result in the learners not using the link or if they do browse to the web page not understand what they should do there or how to use that web page. Of course there are exceptions and sometimes it will be very self-explanatory, but generally it won’t be.
For some links, rather than adding them as they are to the VLE, it would make more sense to add them to a “page” with extra content, or maybe even more logical to put the link into a forum post with the context and suggested activity. A forum would then allow learners to ask questions about the link, or post their reflective thoughts about the link.
The VLE can be a fantastic repository of content and learning activities, sometimes though using the wealth of stuff on the web means adding links. Adding context to links is an important part to ensure that those links enhance and enrich learning and don’t just confuse the learners.
Moodle Audit
I recently gave a presentation and had a discussion on auditing your VLE installation at the RSC SW VLE Forum.
Gloucestershire College has recently undertaken an external audit of both their current VLE setup and their recent procurement process with outsourcing the VLE to ULCC. The audit process is a useful way of looking at the systems and processes an institution has in place for such a mission critical system like the VLE. This session will go through the key aspects within an external audit and delegates will discuss with colleagues how they would “fare” if they were to undergo an external audit. This may also be an opportunity to think about peer assessment and auditing.
Skitch – iPad App of the Week
Skitch – iPad App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various 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.
This week’s App is Skitch for iPad.
Express yourself with fewer words, emails and meetings…with Skitch for iPad!
Use shapes, arrows, sketches and text annotation to get your point across fast. Mark up photos, screenshots, maps, and webpages then share them with anyone you like.
Free
In my line of work I often have to make screenshots and sometimes annotate them. In the past I would take a screenshot using the built in function in the OS and then paste into Fireworks before using that to add annotations. I would then need to either e-mail the image or upload it somewhere.
For a while I used TinyGrab, mainly as it automatically uploaded the screenshot to the web and copied the resulting URL to the clipboard so it could be pasted into an e-mail or as I was doing more frequently then into Twitter. However TinyGrab wouldn’t let you annotate (so sometimes I would resort back to Fireworks) and then there was the premature launch of TinyGrab 2.0 following the hacking of TinyGrab. It was at this point I decided to look for another app and fell upon Skitch for the Mac. This was (at the time) a paid app, but it worked really well and I still use it on a regular basis.
So when Skitch for iPad was announced I downloaded it for my iPad.
Having started Skitch for iPad, the first thing is to get a screenshot or an image into the app. You can use an image or photo from your photo library, use the camera in the iPad, take a screenshot (using that built in function in iOS to take screenshots). You can use the built-in browser in the app to snap webpages. The app also allows you to browse Google maps and then snap a map before you annotate it.
Finally you can also start with a blank canvas (think whiteboard). The app adds previous snaps to the apps main screen so if you need to go back to a previous working image you can find it pretty easily.
Once you have an image in Skitch you can annotate it to emphasise or add information.
So you can create arrows, shapes and add text. Though there are limitations in the options you have for the different annotations, I can live with that. If I really really really need to do something really really really complex then I won’t be using Skitch. Skitch is for quick screenshots with quick, rough annotations.
You can edit your annotations once places, however editing is quite limited in the same sense of adding them. However you can reposition them, recolour them or remove them!
The sharing options built in are “limited”, you can send to Twitter, e-mail or save to your photo library.
Of course once in your photo library then you can “push” them out to where you need them. Now that Evernote own Skitch you can also send your annotated snaps to Evernote.
For those that want to “show” their snaps, you can use Airplay and an Apple TV connected to a projector or TV. Another option is to use the VGA or HDMI cable.
There are lots of uses for an app such as Skitch.
- Point out details in a photograph or a screenshot.
- Show someone how to use a particular app or website.
- Where to find stuff on a map.
Overall I really like Skitch for the iPad. Though I don’t use it as much as I do the Mac version, it is still a key app for my iPad. If you ever need to annotate screenshots on your iPad then do have a look at Skitch.
e-Learning Stuff Podcast #086: Do you like books, or do you like reading?
I delivered the keynote at e-Books: Experiences and Future Directions, A Joint Higher Education and NHS Event for Library Staff held at UWE in Bristol.
What are the challenges and issues when it comes to the embedding and use of ebooks in libraries?
With James Clay.
This is the 86th e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Do you like books, or do you like reading?
Download the podcast in mp3 format: Do you like books, or do you like reading?
Do you like books, or do you like reading?
I delivered the keynote at e-Books: Experiences and Future Directions, A Joint Higher Education and NHS Event for Library Staff held at UWE in Bristol.
What are the challenges and issues when it comes to the embedding and use of ebooks in libraries?
The Kindle is not a problem!
This week I attended and presented at UWE’s E-Books: Experiences and Future Directions Conference. It was an interesting conference that had a focus on health and delegates from Universities, Colleges, Hospitals, Aggregators and Publishers attended.
One theme that did come out of the conference was the “Kindle Problem”. The issue stated by both aggregators, publishers and libraries was that users had Kindles, however all eBook platforms and downloadable formats were not compatible with the Kindle and therefore this was a problem “with the Kindle”.
Sorry!
Blaming the user is indicative of an industry that fails to understand its users and is an industry that dictates how users should do things, over trying to meet the needs of the user.
The reason that people see the Kindle is a problem, is that the Kindle has been successful. Consumers have gone out and bought the Kindle and therefore want to use it.
The reason the Kindle has been a success compared to other eBook readers is that Amazon have created a product that basically works.
I have a Kindle and I also use the Kindle App on my iPad. All my purchases are stored in the cloud and I can download my books to the device of my choosing. I can download it to both iPad and Kindle. Once I have signed into the Kindle app, I don’t need to sign in again.
Now the Kindle isn’t perfect. There are issues with it that annoy my. I don’t like how it doesn’t support ePub, I think it’s PDF support is lacking.
Importantly though I use the Kindle to read books!
I did prior to the Kindle have a Sony e-Reader and though I did use it to read a few classics, the real issue I had was with getting books onto the device, the DRM meant that I had to use a specific computer to download the books onto before transferring them onto the e-Reader. I remember talking to a colleague at work who had real problems doing that, so in the end didn’t use it, they now have a Kindle and use it all the time!
I find therefore interesting that providers of ebook platforms are very rigid and inflexible and then accuse Amazon of the same thing! I appreciate also that Amazon are in some ways just as inflexible as the aggregators and publishers!
If our users are buying and using the Kindle, then shouldn’t we, if we are offering e-book loans, ensure that whatever service we subscribe to supports or at least works towards supporting, the Kindle?
To ignore the Kindle or to assume that it is a problem is missing the fact that it is well used and liked by the user. To push another device onto the user so you don’t need to change implies you don’t have a user focus. There needs to be a push to Amazon to support an ebook lending model and for aggregators and publishers to change their systems to support the Kindle.
It can happen, but at this stage I can’t see it happening, can you?
I love you, but you’re still boring
I have been thinking for a long time about the Moodle issue that is the “scroll of death”. I wrote my first piece on this after the Ireland and UK Moodlemoot 2012.
Quite a few people have provided me with a variety of solutions that means learners do not have to contend with the “scroll of death”. However what these solutions do not solve, is the fundamental problem, which is…
If you use Moodle “out of the box” and create a course; so you add a link to a page, a link to a file, a link to a forum, a link to a quiz and the odd lable or two, the end result will be the “scroll of death” and a long list of links… rather than an engaging and interactive learning experience. The learners will have a more difficult and challenging experience when using Moodle. As a result you will have disengaged learners and the complaint that Moodle is “boring”.
I also know that some of the training at my college in using Moodle has exacerbated these issues. We show people different features of Moodle and of course they then want to add them to their courses. What we don’t do (very well) is get them to think about the whole of their course and not only about how it looks, but also about how the learner experiences and interacts with the course.
Yes of course you can apply solutions, after the result, however why is it that the “out of the box” vanilla experience isn’t right in the first place?
It would be nice if the initial approach to using Moodle got the user thinking not about adding links, but about whole course design.
The problem with this is that most educators I talk to rarely think about whole course design, and are more concerned about planning what they are going to do tomorrow or next week rather than thinking about the course as a whole.
The more I think about it the more I think that this is the real problem and that Moodle is only a symptom of that issue of the lack of whole course planning by some educators. It’s not as though they don’t plan, I am sure they produce schemes of work and have a fair idea of what they are going to do over the course. However what will be missing will be the detail and the “big picture”.
So the question I am asking now, is Moodle the answer to this problem?
In my last blog posting on this, I wrote:
We might need to take a step back and work out what we actually want Moodle to do and start again.
Could we in fact get Moodle to be part of the solution rather than than the face of the problem?
In a future posting I am going to discuss the issues of Moodle UI and Moodle UX and look at some of the points that came out of this discussion on the Moodle Forums that was point out to me by Stuart Lamour, who you may recall got me thinking about all of this at Moodlemoot in the first place.
What are your thoughts?
