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Fakebook: Fakebook. Create educational games and quizzes at classtools.net
Interesting way of using the ideas behind social networking for students to connect with fictional or historical people.
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Tools that could be useful or on their way out
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The Big Question: how to assess informal learning | Clive on Learning
Article on ownership of informal learning
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1.3 Disability facts and figures - Accessibility of eLearning - OpenLearn - The Open University
Disabled student stats for the OU
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Sensemaking artifacts « Connectivism
Great article on sense making artifacts
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ICDE » Guidelines for OER in Higher Education institutions
Guidelines from the ICDE on OER in HE
Sunday 25 December 2011
Laura's Interesting Links (weekly)
Sunday 18 December 2011
Laura's Interesting Links (weekly)
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Article on effective practice with ePortfolios
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JISC infoNet - e-Portfolio Models
JISC models for the use of ePortfolios
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The value of academic blogging
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Article on the importance of Digital Literacy
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Categories of ePortfolio Tools
Review of ePortfolio tools
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JISC TechDis - Invest in Yourself - What We Have to Offer - ITQ for Accessible IT Practice
It qualification in inclusive IT practice
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Guide on using Twitter in research and teaching
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UCISA Engaging hearts and minds Best Practice Guide
Best practice guide on engaging staff with TEL
Sunday 11 December 2011
Laura's Interesting Links (weekly)
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» 5 Stages of Workplace Learning (Revisited) Learning in the Social Workplace
Workplace learning model
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Weather updates - University of Derby
weather update for Derby uni
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How to Make Presentations Accessible to All
Making accessible presentations
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features of JAWS for reading Word comments
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Guidance on making e-learning materials easier to use and accessible.
Monday 5 December 2011
Digital Inclusion
I read this morning "Listening With a Different Ear: Understanding Disabled Students' Relationship With Technologies" by Seale and Bishop from the book "Rethinking Learning for Digital Age" as I am currently working on assessing how accessible Turnitin and GradeMark are.
Here are some of the key things that I got from the chapter:
Previous research has found that disabled students commonly experience several barriers when accessing technologies which support their learning.
LEXDIS project
LEXDIS is a JISC funded project looking at the experience of disabled students use of technology for learning at Southampton University. There were 6 key findings from this research:
There were two key behaviours which were identified by the research.
Digital Agility
Disabled students are familiar with using both general and specialised technologies. They have also developed a wide range of strategies to using technology for learning and display high levels of confidence in their own ability to use technology. As with most students, disabled students, have customised technology to suit their needs.
At least 31 different strategies were developed. These were often related to adapting to the restrictions on access to computers and information as well as coping with written work. In order to learn effectively disabled students have to be prepared to adapt activities, environments and technology to suit their own circumstances. However it should be noted that not all disabled learners are as digitally agile as others and may need further advice and guidance on developing these strategies.
Digital Decision Making
Disabled students frequently have to make strategic decisions about the technologies that they use. This may include the decision not to use a specific technology. Decisions are often complex and contextual, based around the task being undertaken and the strengths and weaknesses of a technology to help complete this task. This can also be course related where some technologies are not fit to support learning within a particular subject area. This is often like a cost-benefit analysis making sure they choose the appropriate tool for the job.
One of the key factors when deciding to use a technology, or which technology to use, is time. Does the student have the time to learn how to use a technology for that purpose, either through training or trial and error? If not then this often results in the student using methods they already have because they do not have time to learn something new which in the long run could be more efficient. They are diveritng time away from studying in order to learn how to use the technology. When a student does not use a technology it is important to understand why rather than assuming that they are having trouble accessing it. This decision making has also been referred to by Parker and Banerjee (2007) as "Strategic Fluency".
Recommendations
The paper provides 5 recommendations for future practice.
References
Parker, D.R. & Banerjee, M. (2007). Leveling the digital playing field. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 33(1): 5-14.
Seale, J. & Bishop, N. (2010). Listening With a Different Ear: Understanding Disabled Students' Relationship With Technologies. In Sharpe, R., Beetham, H. & De Freitas, S. (Eds.) Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age. (pp.128-141) London: Routledge.
Here are some of the key things that I got from the chapter:
Previous research has found that disabled students commonly experience several barriers when accessing technologies which support their learning.
- Access to publically available IT facilities (no specialist software on these)
- Funding takes too much time
- Accessing support and training for these technologies
LEXDIS project
LEXDIS is a JISC funded project looking at the experience of disabled students use of technology for learning at Southampton University. There were 6 key findings from this research:
- e-learning applications do not interact well with assistive technology.
- Navigation of library website was difficult
- Navigability and usability of Blackboard was a problem
- Problems opening and manipulating PDF
- Learning environments influences if the student can access their preferred assistive technology
- Difficulties scanning non-standard symbols or text
There were two key behaviours which were identified by the research.
Digital Agility
Disabled students are familiar with using both general and specialised technologies. They have also developed a wide range of strategies to using technology for learning and display high levels of confidence in their own ability to use technology. As with most students, disabled students, have customised technology to suit their needs.
At least 31 different strategies were developed. These were often related to adapting to the restrictions on access to computers and information as well as coping with written work. In order to learn effectively disabled students have to be prepared to adapt activities, environments and technology to suit their own circumstances. However it should be noted that not all disabled learners are as digitally agile as others and may need further advice and guidance on developing these strategies.
Digital Decision Making
Disabled students frequently have to make strategic decisions about the technologies that they use. This may include the decision not to use a specific technology. Decisions are often complex and contextual, based around the task being undertaken and the strengths and weaknesses of a technology to help complete this task. This can also be course related where some technologies are not fit to support learning within a particular subject area. This is often like a cost-benefit analysis making sure they choose the appropriate tool for the job.
One of the key factors when deciding to use a technology, or which technology to use, is time. Does the student have the time to learn how to use a technology for that purpose, either through training or trial and error? If not then this often results in the student using methods they already have because they do not have time to learn something new which in the long run could be more efficient. They are diveritng time away from studying in order to learn how to use the technology. When a student does not use a technology it is important to understand why rather than assuming that they are having trouble accessing it. This decision making has also been referred to by Parker and Banerjee (2007) as "Strategic Fluency".
Recommendations
The paper provides 5 recommendations for future practice.
- Increase the level of provision for online materials.
- Raise awareness and understanding of accessibility issues particularly within VLE's (inconsistency of structure and organisation across courses can be problematic).
- Increase awareness of alternative formats which offer similar learning outcomes.
- Recognition of digital literacy skills of disabled students.
- Design and develop learning opportunities and support systems that recognise the significant factors influencing student use of technology.
References
Parker, D.R. & Banerjee, M. (2007). Leveling the digital playing field. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 33(1): 5-14.
Seale, J. & Bishop, N. (2010). Listening With a Different Ear: Understanding Disabled Students' Relationship With Technologies. In Sharpe, R., Beetham, H. & De Freitas, S. (Eds.) Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age. (pp.128-141) London: Routledge.
Sunday 4 December 2011
Laura's Interesting Links (weekly)
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Wikis for Everyone - Wikispaces
Wiki creation tool
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Edmodo | Secure Social Learning Network for Teachers and Students
Is this the new VLE?
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Glogster: make a poster online. It's free!
Tool for making interactive posters
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Peer Evaluation : your research your peers your impact
A place to share your papers with your peers
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Lulu Blog » eBooks Made Easy with New Lulu Free EPUB Converter and eBook Publishing Tools
A way of converting stuff into eBooks
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Using Turnitin Assignments with JAWS : Learning Management System : The University of Melbourne
Advice around using JAWS with old version of Turnitin.
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10 Awesome Free Tools To Make Infographics
Great advice on designing info graphics
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Good instructional design books? - E-Learning Heroes
List of books about instructional design. I have even added one to my wishlist.
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Educational technology: From pencil pads to iPads
Infographic on the history of technology in the classroom
Sunday 27 November 2011
Sunday 20 November 2011
Sunday 13 November 2011
Laura's Interesting Links (weekly)
Sunday 6 November 2011
Friday 4 November 2011
Device and Tool use
I was thinking today about all the different tools that I use and which devices that I use them on. I wanted to get an idea of some of the tools that I use frequently and how some of these tools link together. I thought it might be good to see if after changing my job I continue to use the tools and devices in the same way or if changing one of the devices would change the way I use a tool.
The diagram represents the three main technologies that I use, my PC at work, my Mac at home and my mobile device the iPhone (represented by the three circles). I have added the names of the tools I use and the ones that are purple are the ones I use on a daily basis. The arrows indicate that the tool feeds information into another tool. For example MSN Messenger is linked to Facebook by displaying your status.
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The diagram represents the three main technologies that I use, my PC at work, my Mac at home and my mobile device the iPhone (represented by the three circles). I have added the names of the tools I use and the ones that are purple are the ones I use on a daily basis. The arrows indicate that the tool feeds information into another tool. For example MSN Messenger is linked to Facebook by displaying your status.
Thursday 27 October 2011
eModerating - Key ideas from Gilly Salmon
I have been reading Gilly Salmon's (2011) eModerating: the key to teaching and learning online. I am hoping through this book to pick up on key ideas which I could include in training staff to become effective 'eModerators' especially in the use of online discussions.
One of the chapters that I have started on looks at the key issues for eModerators. I will summarise the important things I have noted from this section of the book below.
Group Size
It is important to ensure that you have the right group size. The group size largely depends upon the purpose of the discussion. For a discussion where members have to produce a collaborative output you will want a small group (e.g. 6). A slightly larger group (e.g. 20) works well for sharing views especially where the moderator uses effective summarising, weaving and feedback. Large groups (e.g. up to 1000) work for questioning experts where questions are posed to an expert and answers given. For the student this is not so much about asking questions but also reading the responses. In my experience as a student within the OU a course usually provides a mixture of these group sizes. There are discussions that are open to all the students enrolled on the course, tutor group based discussions where we discuss questions posed within the course materials providing us with activities and then these tutor groups are also divided into smaller groups for work which requires us to collaborate on a piece of work and produce a document at the end.
Asynchronicity
This feature of online discussion provides advantages (24 hour access, flexibility of participation) but can also provide frustrations (keeping everyone together, waiting for others to contribute, students feeling overwhelmed if they come late). It is important that the discussions have clear goals, appropriate challenges and provide a positive group experience, excitement, rhythm and engagement. All of this depends not only on the design of the course and how the discussion links to the key themes but also on the actions of the moderator. By ensuring that you provide welcoming messages and use an encouraging tone you can help to manage the discussion through the use of summarising, weaving, archiving and feedback. It is also important to ensure that you put thought into every reply and consider how others might interpret the message. Often we reply without thinking and this can result in misunderstanding or offence.
Time
Lack of time seems to be an issue with everything that we do but it seems that time as the time that you are online is not limited by place or time of day it can be harder to manage than other activities. The key thing is to be flexible about the way that you work and consider how you can change your patterns to incorporate the fact that online could be any time. Communicating online seems so instant that expectations of an immediate response are increased, posting your online office hours can help students to understand that you do not sit at your computer ready to respond 24/7.
for your students it is important to indicate what you expect from them. What should they do and by when should they have done it? It is often the case that some students will come to the discussion early and yet some will come late. It is also important to remember that often students are fitting their contributions around other commitments and that these change from week to week, day to day.
To help you and your students manage your time online you could consider scheduling regular events, like a summary of the discussion so far being posted on a Thursday. It is best not to leave things open ended as they can loose there usefulness and leave things left incomplete.
Consider how long your messages are, long messages take tome to read, process and respond to but can often contain deeper and more complex ideas which are valuable. This is where summarizing, weaving and achieving by the moderator become more important helping to highlight key points and ideas saving the student time.
Remember if you are new to emoderating it will take more of your time as you get used to working in this way. This will be the same for your students and you will need to reduce offline activities to take into account the time they are spending online.
It seems that the items mentioned here are important for activity design as well as eModeration and need to be taken into account whilst the activity is being created and embedded within a course as well as during the training of the course tutors.
Salmon, G. (2011) eModerating: the key to teaching and learning online, Routledge, Abingdon.
One of the chapters that I have started on looks at the key issues for eModerators. I will summarise the important things I have noted from this section of the book below.
Group Size
It is important to ensure that you have the right group size. The group size largely depends upon the purpose of the discussion. For a discussion where members have to produce a collaborative output you will want a small group (e.g. 6). A slightly larger group (e.g. 20) works well for sharing views especially where the moderator uses effective summarising, weaving and feedback. Large groups (e.g. up to 1000) work for questioning experts where questions are posed to an expert and answers given. For the student this is not so much about asking questions but also reading the responses. In my experience as a student within the OU a course usually provides a mixture of these group sizes. There are discussions that are open to all the students enrolled on the course, tutor group based discussions where we discuss questions posed within the course materials providing us with activities and then these tutor groups are also divided into smaller groups for work which requires us to collaborate on a piece of work and produce a document at the end.
Asynchronicity
This feature of online discussion provides advantages (24 hour access, flexibility of participation) but can also provide frustrations (keeping everyone together, waiting for others to contribute, students feeling overwhelmed if they come late). It is important that the discussions have clear goals, appropriate challenges and provide a positive group experience, excitement, rhythm and engagement. All of this depends not only on the design of the course and how the discussion links to the key themes but also on the actions of the moderator. By ensuring that you provide welcoming messages and use an encouraging tone you can help to manage the discussion through the use of summarising, weaving, archiving and feedback. It is also important to ensure that you put thought into every reply and consider how others might interpret the message. Often we reply without thinking and this can result in misunderstanding or offence.
Time
Lack of time seems to be an issue with everything that we do but it seems that time as the time that you are online is not limited by place or time of day it can be harder to manage than other activities. The key thing is to be flexible about the way that you work and consider how you can change your patterns to incorporate the fact that online could be any time. Communicating online seems so instant that expectations of an immediate response are increased, posting your online office hours can help students to understand that you do not sit at your computer ready to respond 24/7.
for your students it is important to indicate what you expect from them. What should they do and by when should they have done it? It is often the case that some students will come to the discussion early and yet some will come late. It is also important to remember that often students are fitting their contributions around other commitments and that these change from week to week, day to day.
To help you and your students manage your time online you could consider scheduling regular events, like a summary of the discussion so far being posted on a Thursday. It is best not to leave things open ended as they can loose there usefulness and leave things left incomplete.
Consider how long your messages are, long messages take tome to read, process and respond to but can often contain deeper and more complex ideas which are valuable. This is where summarizing, weaving and achieving by the moderator become more important helping to highlight key points and ideas saving the student time.
Remember if you are new to emoderating it will take more of your time as you get used to working in this way. This will be the same for your students and you will need to reduce offline activities to take into account the time they are spending online.
It seems that the items mentioned here are important for activity design as well as eModeration and need to be taken into account whilst the activity is being created and embedded within a course as well as during the training of the course tutors.
Salmon, G. (2011) eModerating: the key to teaching and learning online, Routledge, Abingdon.
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