tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90220837552215691492024-03-13T04:19:23.073-07:00Supporting Learning and Teaching....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-59529705382588174372013-07-03T00:33:00.001-07:002013-07-03T00:33:09.048-07:00Using formidable and penpusher to upload log sheets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Been a while since I posted on here so thought I would update it with some of the work I am doing at the moment.<br />
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I have recently started 'Cochran Boilers' as the IT support technician and am currently getting use to the systems they have in place. <br />
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What happens is an engineer is sent out to service the boiler and uses <a href="http://penvision.com/formidable_features.html">http://penvision.com/formidable_features.html</a> to create forms that allow a digital pen to be used out in the field. Once the engineer finishes the log, they connect the pen to their mobile which then sends the data into a web database which is then converted into the main database back at main office.<br />
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The interesting features of pen-pusher is it is a step up from character recognition in that it actually records what the user is writing and recognize up to 38 languages.<br />
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It also has software which allows you to compare the recorded information easily against the desired output to minimize errors.<br />
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<div style="background-color: gainsboro; color: #666666; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">
<span class="header_main" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">Main benefits</span><br />XMS Penvision is the sole provider of a complete system and includes:</div>
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DesignTool in Flash for visually enabling forms functionality.</div>
<div style="background-color: gainsboro; color: #666666; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">
Printing software for Windows XP/Vista/7.</div>
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Easy-to-use administrative interface for users, applications and pens.</div>
<div style="background-color: gainsboro; color: #666666; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">
Handwriting recognition for 30 languages and 88 alphabets.</div>
<div style="background-color: gainsboro; color: #666666; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">
PC and mobile phone software including web based distribution tool.</div>
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Validation interface for visually checking and editing the final result from the forms.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-14882839962657645482012-08-15T02:34:00.000-07:002012-08-15T02:36:01.755-07:00Fish Fat / Freshness Meters for Trading Standards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Had a recent discussion with a colleague regarding the uses of the fish fat and freshness meter (www.distell.com). They had recently been having a discussion with a field agent for the food standards agency. <br />
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The fish fat meters are ideal for agents heading into factories/supermarkets etc and wanting to quickly see in real time the content of fat being processed or sold. The fish freshness meter would allow agents to test how fresh the fish is and which they can then use to sign off or take matters further.<br />
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It has also been seen that in some cases there has been a dispute between the buyer and reseller of fish stock so the fat meter allows an indiscriminate third party to evaluate the stock.<br />
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Quality control is just one of the facets of the use of the meters.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-16898266159459066252012-06-06T08:07:00.001-07:002012-06-18T09:12:53.521-07:00Measuring Fish Fat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have recently began working for <a href="http://www.distell.com/"><b>Distell.com</b> </a>as their '<i>Assistant Business Development Manager</i>'. <br />
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<b>Distell </b>produce meters to </div>
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<ul>
<li><b>measure the fat content of fish</b></li>
<li><b>measure the fat content of meat</b></li>
<li><b>measure the freshness of fish</b></li>
</ul>
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And also the website. Which is in Joomla.</div>
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Joomla seems actually fun to work with ( if you can call computer work fun), installing the plugins and improving efficiency, SEO etc is something that is enjoyable as you can see a definitive outcome at the end.</div>
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Social Advertising is another area which I am charging into,</div>
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We currently have:</div>
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/DistellMeters</div>
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Facebook: http://<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">www.</span><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">facebook</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">.com/</span><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">DistellMeters</b></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Youtube: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/DistellMeters" style="text-align: left;">http://www.youtube.com/user/DistellMeters</a></div>
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<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Since measuring fish fat is one of the main objectives I am going to develop some e-learning materials to help support the process</div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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Here is an example video of one our fish fat meters in use.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7owgDlK4Jvc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Hello, and welcome to the first post of the year. Having received a Kinect for Christmas I have spent many an hour playing it with my 3 year old son (especially Kinect Adventures). I also managed to wangle a copy of the UFC personal trainer and all I can say is WOW, this game is amazing, it can read when you do press ups, push ups, standing jumps etc and can even tell by my posture if I have cheated.<br />
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Now, bet your wondering where the e-learning comes into this. Well on my google + stream the other day I notcied a post by a Mr James Clay talking about a <a href="http://edublend.blogspot.com/2011/09/motion-based-audience-response-system.html">http://edublend.blogspot.com/2011/09/motion-based-audience-response-system.html</a> motion based response system being developed at the University of Portsmouth.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sn9j0wqUAUk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/qFWLsDgAtQk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Now we have all seen motion tracking cameras that can follow you about, but now we are starting to see motion based selectivity that can be programmable... I wonder how long it will be till there are scripts, clients that have this built in. <br />
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I have been having a think about how this could be used for e-learning and think there could be many a possibility, but as always we shouldnt try to use this for stuff there is already a market for unless it is a improvement. Maybe health and safety vids in the future will test you to see if you are picking stuff up properly etc.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-242500772066923992011-11-28T06:04:00.001-08:002011-11-28T06:13:05.723-08:00Catching the information Bus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.intuitivebusinessintelligence.com/Harper_Adams_University_College_Improves_Student_Experience" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>intuitivebusinessintelligence.<wbr></wbr>com/Harper_Adams_University_<wbr></wbr>College_Improves_Student_<wbr></wbr>Experience</a><br />
<br />
Came across this recently in one of my searches. My old colleague Roger Greenhalgh had an idea to create an information bus, that sits on top of all the databases, that would allow for easy data reporting and manipulation.<br />
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The idea was that data depending on user rights could be accessible to staff, students, service providers and management. You could cross tally results for research, for example how many students from a certain demographic scored 50% and higher on their exams. Or an easy method for managers to pull up information on student intake etc without having to higher in specialists or task others to develop reports. It seems the company he has went with provides this service and allows you to create a 'dashboard' where you can easily see the reports that concern you.<br />
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Definatly something to think about if you want to improve services, and not wholly unattainable.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-41598359080876583412011-07-29T04:42:00.000-07:002011-07-29T04:42:10.869-07:00Gripes with the way social networking is doneHavnt posted for a while but thought I would just keep this blog up to date.<div>
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Why is it all social networks are standard to deliver to everyone. Why not as the initiator of a conversation you could bring people in when you needed to. So you type something all your friends can see it and some people comment on it, could those comments not be hidden until you 'open' them up and bring them into a conversation?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-65586283360670848182011-03-02T08:57:00.000-08:002011-03-02T08:57:21.070-08:00Fixing the financial systemWith the advent of technologies and GPS. It should be possible to track the flow of money through the world. Especially digital transactions. Without identifying people we could see how much money is swallowed up and where. You could see where investment was needed or track how much money goes out of the country from foreign workers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-41793988978506830962011-02-07T02:55:00.000-08:002011-02-07T02:55:53.949-08:00The downsides of OERHaving recently tried to use some OER in anger, we download a QuestionMark questionset from a well known repository. On installing the qpack, we noticed that there where questions with graphics missing. There was a name and an e-mail next to the releaser, so I thought may as well drop them a line to see if they had the graphics handy. The releaser it seems was not the releaser of the materials but the author of the questionset. So someone else had released the materials without giving it a proper review. The releaser was very helpful though in getting the images to us, but as they mentioned they are under extreme pressure in the normal work instances. <br />
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A lot of people might not be aware of the extra workload and communication involved in OER and really should. Someone might get in touch and expect an answer, others might be after more information about a specific subject. Quality control is something that needs to be rigourus especially when releasing materials out into the wild and people need to be aware of the possible extra time after publication.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-74624675946337813752011-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:002011-01-05T08:04:09.944-08:00Creating a Plug n Play framework for OER in HE institutionsAs part of the Oxford ripple project we are looking into a kit of software called <a href="https://open.umich.edu/wiki/Main_Page">OERCA</a>. This kit of software basically makes the copyright clearance process for #OER much easier. What could be done to further improve the process would be to have an end point where the clearance could say safe for exposure, from where the software automatically uploads it into JORUM or Xpert or some other repository.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>In that case an institution could install this software and they almost have a full working process from start to finish.<br />
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</div><div><br />
</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-64335680477541726532010-11-29T07:56:00.000-08:002010-11-29T07:56:47.398-08:00Teaching students real world skillsWas approached today by an academic who wanted to incorporate version control in their engineering course. Now VC is something which is used in the 'real world' and is an industry standard practice. This also includes project management methodology, so why not start introducing them to project management tools!<br />
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The academic wishes to create groups and wants the groups work to be locked down to that group. But also have a place for them to discuss the project.<br />
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So some of the things we will have to look into is<br />
<ul><li>Who will support the technology (IT,e-learning)?</li>
<li>What tech would be best suited?</li>
<li>How can we link into what we are doing into other similar modules</li>
</ul>This is a showcase of some of the places we as education have to go, by replicating real world scenarios and infrastructures.<br />
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Some of the ideas is using elgg/sharepoint as the communication platform, subversion as the version control and microsoft project/Trac as the pm.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-62455671287630966292010-11-08T02:37:00.000-08:002010-11-08T02:37:14.586-08:00Gaming in E-learningGaming/Movies has already been proved to be very influential in the way we learn. For example think about after you have played need for speed, when driving have you thought, Im just going to try to slip stream that lorry or take the inner lane on a corner.<div><br />
</div><div>It intrinsically builds into you the desire to replicate the game into real life. Same as real life replicates into the game, you see UFC and you want to control Brock Lesner in UFC Undisputed and you want to elbow smash into Frank Mir. All these things are exiting, which is at the core of learning, if you have motivation and excited about something you will want to learn. If its dreary you wont take much in. </div><div><br />
</div><div>One of the most important aspect of gaming is levelling, you want to test yourself against certain situations that allow you to progress. If you are on a linear module designed to cater for all skill levels you will either fail to learn enough important stuff or if you are on the higher end feel less stimualted to learn and so pass along the module course like its a breeze and it doesnt challenge. The role of the teacher in that sense is to try to gauge the level of the course based on their own academic and peer experiences, this is hard when most academics in the field are not teachers first they are content experts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In order to build these quality gaming simulations takes time, money and experience. All of which poses a major risk especially in this economic climate. It is still something which I would like to triall and if the chance ever came about would like to partake some research on.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-77245401532125400302010-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:002010-10-18T08:20:02.667-07:00TimelinesFirst post in a while, been busy learning OER stuff and just getting to grips with my new post. <br />
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Well this post is going to be about time!<br />
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Time is generic, if there was no time , there would be no then??<br />
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Well anyways, one of the concepts that we have identified is that it would be useful for almost every course if there was a generic timeline tool created. Even better if this tool could have overlays, sort of like you used to get with the transparent slides.<br />
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So one of the projects we have commisioned is to come up up with a generic tool that would have a database backend that would feed into a site with checkboxes, sort of like autotrader.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-50335531957672193672010-09-07T04:45:00.000-07:002010-09-07T04:45:27.157-07:00New StartWell as from last week I finished my 6 year post at the University of Derby, I started there as a temporary developer and managed to work my way up to a senior position.<br />
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Yesterday I began my new role at Harper Adams University College as a Instructional Design Leader, where I got to meet the new team I would be working with. There's a broad range of skills and the developers were whittled down from 80 applicants down to 5. So these guys are the best of the best. <br />
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Theres a lot of exitement kicking about the project, with the fact that we can try new things and push a few boundaries. Not only that but we all get brand new laptops complete with BioMetrics! Cool, always wanted to have a play about with that. So as always we got them to start with a SWOT analysis, always good to find out about each others strengths and weaknesses. I think one of the ways to bring equalness and partnership to the team is to have everyone a owner of a service. So that they feel they have a responsiblity for something. <br />
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Not only that but having met the e-learning team that already exists, it sounds like they are pushinng a few boundaries themselves with respect to the services they offer.<br />
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Since there is no e-assessment at the college one of the points of the project is to bring CAA to Harper and for that we are going to have a look at a range of options.<br />
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Definatly looking forward to the challenges that the project will bring.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-62966551380203611712010-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:002010-08-23T09:48:20.661-07:00Learning in WavesNope not google wave,<br />
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The concept is old but I thought I would do a bit of reflectiveness on the subject for my own benefit. In the old classroom when a student would learn a bit of information, the wave of retention would begin. Reinforcement would start the process again, in the old days and still to now this would be achieved via homework. This would carry on until either it dissipated or the barrier broke and it entered the long term memory.<br />
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Nowadays people are thinking about how they can support the student to create their own wave. Formally this occurs using groupwork or now socially.using social network sites. We can support this by creating social learning tools or by creating social learning areas (SEA) within our learning centres.<br />
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E-learning can be seen to strengthen the wave by creating bursts at different intervals.<br />
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Constructivism occurs in a similar method, by planting the idea or item of knowledge within the subject the item can grow and change according to how the subject views and changes much like a tree with branches.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-23407761372555724552010-08-18T06:21:00.000-07:002010-08-18T06:21:08.942-07:00Google Shmidt Gone mad<a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_ceo_suggests_you_change_your_name_to_escape.php#comments-open">http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_ceo_suggests_you_change_your_name_to_escape.php#comments-open</a><br />
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So the best the CEO of Google could come up with was for teenagers to change their name, in order to escape the openness of the web.<br />
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Instead of spouting stuff like that, why not add more privacy to the web instead.... its like shouting heads or tails and turning the coin over if you lost.<br />
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If biometrics, identifiable dna etc is all planned for the future, a person should be able to link data to themselves and then choose to delete whatever information they want... except maybe criminal records. To think that everyone has to change for the web is ludicrous thinking and if that's what the people steering the web are thinking then god help us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-186925305944242472010-08-11T05:09:00.000-07:002010-08-11T05:09:14.878-07:00Encouraging Formal Informal LearningChoice.....<br />
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That after all is what drives us an enables us to do the things we do. Today we had Interviews for the new Dean of 'Learning Education and Innovation' department. Almost all of them were focused on Students Learning 21st Century skills. When asked what how we could support that as a department they talked about us working closely with Academics.<br />
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Here's my idea .... With all these informal learning learning spaces, we could utilise them better. Having workshops, ran by academics and training staff on technology throughout the semester could prove valuable. Students could pick n chose what workshop they wanted to attend. Having them certified would be even better!<br />
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We talk about getting students to use web 2.0 technologies etc, but what are we doing to encourage the use. We push stuff out to academics all the time, but what are the odds of it filtering through?<br />
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I think having informal workshops now and again would not prove too difficult, would enable students to feel in control of their teaching and help towards there PDP.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-54946843190119619652010-07-21T02:08:00.000-07:002010-07-21T02:08:06.023-07:00Custom Questions in BlackboardEver wanted to do custom questions in Blackboard but didn't know how... read on.<br />
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If you need to do a drag and drop question, balance sheet or have your own randomly generating questions then you can. We have been looking into this for a migration project to convert from our current existing assessment system to another.<br />
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Using the HTML question box in the blackboard quiz creator your can insert a link to your externally hosted flash question file and then by using JavaScript pass the answer from the flash piece to standard Blackboard question. For example<br />
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Question > Pass question answer > Blackboard text entry > Check Score > Auto Input to Gradebook<br />
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Any questions feel free to askAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-82962532772032643732010-07-14T07:49:00.000-07:002010-07-14T07:49:29.532-07:00Skills For Life (21st Century Skills)At the LTA forum I attended an event hosted by Elani. Elani is an academic who is using PDP (Personal Development Plans) within her modules. The reason being is Elani believes that by encouraging students to branch out into different areas of the field will allow for a better student learning experience. Also at the course was an academic from ADT who is using similar methods within his module and is looking to support 21st century skills through it. The exeption is that the academic from ADT changed the name from 'PDP' to 'Passport to Learning Certificate', this is more friendly on the ears to students and they seemed to engage more with this than the offical PDP. Elani agreed with this and noted it was something to change in her modules. Now since I am coming at this from a technologists point of view, I was thinking how can we support this process. <br />
Something similar to what Adam has done with his SQM could be used as it take into account some of the Basic Structure, see below for a mockup of a system.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.triadsatderby.org.uk/Assessment/skillsforlife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.triadsatderby.org.uk/Assessment/skillsforlife.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-17627796689181641662010-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:002010-07-14T06:20:57.959-07:00Portable Social Profilet would be dab handy if there was a way of transferring a student socially to other applications and transferring their links, friends etc.<br />
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Please find below a mock up of the concept,<br />
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To be able to plug your own social network outside of facebook would be ideal.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://teams.derbyuni.uk.net/assets/chrisj/img/Student%20Social%20Platform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://teams.derbyuni.uk.net/assets/chrisj/img/Student%20Social%20Platform.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>XML<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-23336916001948072282010-07-06T06:21:00.000-07:002010-07-06T06:21:43.493-07:00Interactive E-BooksIve been reading the Horizons Report on the up and coming technologies to watch. One of the technologies they mention is e-books. Now the benefit of e-books is that they save paper and are pretty mobile you can take them anywhere.<br />
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Now if you where to treat it as a e-learning course and have the text along with interactivity then user might receive a better learning experience. The old books used to have mutliple choice questions at the end so lets make e-books more interactive.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-84698757984460811152010-03-11T02:13:00.000-08:002010-03-11T02:13:51.322-08:00Whats in a VLE...Mobile can be added to the list,<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blackberryrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/blackboard-mobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://blackberryrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/blackboard-mobile.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>With Stanford University and a lot of other Universities using the <a href="http://www.blackboard.com/Mobile/Modules/Mobile-Central.aspx">MobileEDU </a>(Now Mobile Central) iphone app from Blackboard the world of the student has opened up, now they can easily check module information, assignement information, sports info etc on the go. The app is even 'fashionable' in the sense it looks up to date.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://iphone.moodle.com.au/file.php/1/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://iphone.moodle.com.au/file.php/1/image.png" width="320" /></a></div>Now Moodle have stepped into the arena with their own app <a href="http://iphone.moodle.com.au/">Moodle4iPhones</a> though this is still in development it would be interesting to see what it can offer students, especially since the project is open source.<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlWiLr8of48&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlWiLr8of48&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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I will run a comparison on the two once the moodle one has been released, in the meantime I am going to be looking into the Iphone app from Blackboard and will report back hereAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-43342967523132016082010-03-03T07:05:00.000-08:002010-03-03T07:05:22.211-08:00TsunamiWhile I was browsing I came across a demonstration island for weather studies,<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This was developed by the earth system research lab of the NOAA. They have took the simulations of second life to the next level, demonstrating such things has how hurricanes occur, what happens in a tsunami etc. This is a really good useful way of demonstrating the effects and what it would look like to be in one, though maybe second life graphics itself could be improved, the concept behind it is really good.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I suggest you take a look...http://slurl.com/<em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">secondlife</em>/<wbr></wbr><em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Meteora</em>/177/161/27/</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-9055192123169716282010-02-23T00:54:00.000-08:002010-02-23T00:54:48.469-08:00Academic InvolvementWhen starting major University pilots, it might be useful to propose for academic involvement. We have all these skills here in the University so it might be time to utilise them. For example the social networking project, it could be useful to try and get a psychologist involved, or for the QuestionMark project we could get an e-assessment expert. This would provide a comfort for the academics in the pilot and allow for a an easier involvement process.<br />
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As an e-department and learning technologist we have skills in multiple areas but are generally experts in none. This is where these resources could come in useful. Whether we pay for them or that is in their interest I think the way we go about these things could be improved.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-43105650927783340422010-02-22T02:57:00.000-08:002010-02-22T02:57:13.485-08:00OwnershipWatched the programme on the 'Virtual Revolution' on Saturday and found it quite informative. It reiterated some of the ideas I have heard about regarding the lack of deep learning within e-learning. And one of the concepts it made think about is <b>ownership</b>. <div><br />
</div><div>When you go out and buy a book it is yours you can look at it at anytime and you have control of it. One of downsides of electronic material online is that it is shared with everybody so the knowledge is distributed.</div><div>I suppose one of the way to get around this is to use tablet pc's or e-readers. I think this is something we should concentrate more of in the future within the University and provide some focus to it. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022083755221569149.post-56686687399451385382010-02-20T07:40:00.000-08:002010-02-20T07:54:06.517-08:00One Big Community<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HRsop7VtKn8/S4AFlAWE0NI/AAAAAAAAAcs/4k63Lr_8LvE/s1600-h/socmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HRsop7VtKn8/S4AFlAWE0NI/AAAAAAAAAcs/4k63Lr_8LvE/s200/socmed.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div>Think about it, we badger on about social networking for all types of things, for business to get together, for students to do collaborative learning and for us all to socialise together.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now do we practice this ourselves, wouldnt it be great if the University itself had a social network, allowing each other to share best practice/ideas/reasearch etc. Lets say Academic A has been trying some really cool stuff that lecturer B would never probably get the chance to see or hear about. You could make postings that way and allow people to subscribe to feeds on e-learning or whatever subject you wanted to.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now we things like intranets etc which is sort of like this, but does not provide the personality of a social network, then we could have sub groups for the sub committees, if someone has interest or a speciality that they would like to share then they could join that group as such and provide feedback that way. It could make interpersonal working more friendly etc, I have found social networking does not really work for small teams you need a pretty hefty user group to work best, providing a lot of posts. The other benefit of a large cohort is that you are just a number, this makes it a lot more easier to voice opinions etc without judgement.</div><div><br />
</div><div>That is not without problems:</div><div><br />
</div><div>Implementation</div><div>Engagement</div><div>Privacy etc</div><div><br />
</div><div>But is that not you have with social networks anyway??</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830722006360577818noreply@blogger.com0