iTunes U

Wonderful to pick up from a number of blogs (John Connell, Martin Weller) on the move by the Open University, UCL and Trinity College, Dublin into iTunes U as reported by the BBC yesterday. The iTunes U has been available in USA for some time now so it is really good to see that it is beginning to be rolled out here. This is a sure sign that education is beginning to start from where the learners are and not always from where the institutions might wish to be. Long may it progress.

"Our students will be able to revisit materials presented to them in lectures, so they can learn anywhere and anytime," says Professor Peter Mobbs at University College London (UCL).

More on Learning Platforms and Social Networking

My colleague Tricia and I have now cracked most of the problems that we had at first associating the University's VLE, Blackboard, with FaceBook... with the help of the University's e-Learning team and the guys who developed the widget/app ... CourseFeed. Already students on the PGCE course are signing up so that they can use the VLE from within their social networking set up.

This opens up a number of interesting questions about how people see their access to the materials that they want to use. One of the current questions that I get constantly asked by teachers, SM teams, and LAs is 'Will it work within our portal/VLE/LP etc ?' And I am thinking that this is probably the right question the wrong way round. How about 'Will your VLE/portal/LP work within my social network app?' . Because I want to start from where I am and not necessarily from where the institution is. I hadn't thought too much about this until recently but the stuff I have been doing in the last few days has caused me to think a good deal about it. Is it a matter of who leads who here? or 'what leads what' ... chicken and egg syndrome come to mind !

Which brings me to my 'new definition' of interoperability ... I want to be able to choose where I start but also want to get to the same place whichever way it is. Is this a long step on, or as the FaceBook/Blackboard experience seems to suggest, something just around the corner?

ToonDoo

I have just discovered ToonDoo by taking part in the K12online Conference and listening to Wendy Wolfe from Saint Paul, MN, USA
“If All My Classes Did This”

djd8

Click on the 'GO' button to see what my day was like ...

Trent University Lunchtime CPD

On May 2nd I was invited to Trent University, Nottingham to talk to a group of educators about podcasting. It was to be part of a series of session that the University has to keep people in teacher education in touch with ideas to support teaching and learning, both of their students and in education as a whole.

The university have two ways of disceminating the information in these sessions. The first is to be there and listen and take part in the debate and the second is to pick it up from the video on the web site.

For those of you with a strong stomach here is the video !

It is awful to watch your own mannerisms - I must remember NOT to clasp my hands like that.

Sorry !

Science Learning Centre

Around the country there are Science Learning Centres which provide the highest quality Continuing Professional Development for everyone involved in science education, at all levels. With a network of ten Centres across the country access to innovative and inspiring courses is within easy reach of anyone.

On Friday I ran an interesting session entitles 'Using ICT to support and enhance science teaching in KS1 and KS2 - Investigating Materials' for a small group of primary teachers. This was the first of three sessions, the others, coming in the next two months being 'Physical Processes' and 'Life Processes and Living things'.

The day covered many things including:
Using Interactive Whiteboards in science teaching
Data Handling
Using internet resources in science
Datalogging
Digital cameras and microscopes

We also looked at a selection of CD based resources

During the session we got quite hooked on 'social bookmarking',saving the useful website that we found into 'del.icio.us' so that they could be accessed anywhere/anytime. This broached ideas on having school access to the 'del.icio.us' so that teachers could share effectively important site for curriculum contexts thus cutting down on the time it takes to assemble resources.

ICT Specialist Students visit Web 2.0

Some of my ICT Specialist students have made their first forays into considering how Web 2.0 can be of use to them professionally and to enhance their teaching and learning.

Andrea and Emilie have built a blog to inform friends about web site that will be of use to them during the course and hope that others will contribute their best sites.

Aaron has been working with some children and has produced a series of podcasted book reviews.

Jo produced an excellent resume about podcasting and built it into a blog.

Pierrick did some research on the use of ICT in Physical Education and put his references in a blog

Leeds Trinity 6th March 2007

Three excellent sessions on podcasting today. Trust that those attending left with more information than they started with. If there are any questions please use the comments section.