Innovative Practice with Mobile and Wireless Technologies

Thanks to Lis Parcell for this -

I attended a pilot of this workshop at University of Wolverhampton and thought it was excellent. It didn’t require participants to have any great technical knowledge or a very flashy mobile phone. However you will get more out of the workshop if you have your mobile with you, as it is used during the event for feedback and activities. It’s probably the first event I’ve been to where mobile phones ringing were actually part of the event and not a distraction! We were given a quick overview of some of the benefits of using mobile and wireless devices such as PDAs and wireless keyboards in teaching and learning, and also to assist with admin. For example some universities use students’ mobile phones to send information about timetable changes, and this proves very popular. One of the most useful bits of the day was the group work, where we were given scenarios and had to decide where (if) mobile/wireless devices could help the learners in that situation. The end result had to be summarised in one short text message – quite a challenge! The case studies were also very good, the ones I went to were all Wolverhampton-based, but each event in the series will feature different case studies from the host university. The case studies are all given by staff who have actually piloted the technology with their learners, and they are good at showing how this relatively innovative technology can work ‘on the ground’ as well as some of the pitfalls you might encounter. All in all I would recommend this workshop for e-learning staff, those responsible for providing technical support for e-learning, staff developers, or lecturers who are thinking of going down the mobile and wireless route. And what’s more, it’s free!

Mobile Learning?

Thanks to Lis Parcell from RSC Wales for this -

The use of mobile phones and other small, wireless devices to enhance learning is becoming more widespread. To show what can be done, JISC and the Higher Education Academy are running FREE workshops on “Planning and Implementing Innovative Practice with Mobile and Wireless Technologies”.There are four venues and dates to choose from.

• London Met University - 7th MarchRegister at http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/innovprac_070307/
• University of Leicester - 21st MarchRegister at http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/innovprac_210307/
• University of Bristol - 18th AprilRegister at http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/innovprac_180407/
• University of Salford - 25th AprilRegister at http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/innovprac_250407/

Each workshop will explore the practicalities of implementing mobile and wireless technologies in an institution. As a participant you will explore technical, pedagogical and organisational change issues around implementation. A practical demonstration the hosting institution will provide an insight into the latest developments in mobile and wireless technologies at the venue. For a full programmes of each workshop see Full Programme.

If you have any questions relating to the events please contact Christina Ioannou jisc@inanyevent-uk.com or Eddie Gulc Eddie.Gulc@heacademy.ac.uk.

Even if you can’t make one of the workshops, you may be interested in the JISC guide “Innovative Practice with e-Learning” which includes lots of information and case studies on the use of mobile and wireless technologies, which can be downloaded for free at
http://www.elearning.ac.uk/innoprac/

Podcasting - does it have any use in education?

You may have heard of Podcasting or Podcasts, sometimes associated with Apple and iTunes, students may have mentioned it, colleagues may have mentioned it, you may have heard that the BBC provides podcasts for many of its radio programmes.

So What is Podcasting?
Podcasting is the concept of regular audio files being posted online, where the audience can subscribe to the audio files and have them automatically download to their computers and even automatically sync with their media device such as an iPod. This Audio tends to take the form of monologues on a topic, interviews, recorded debates, professional and amateur, Podcasting can be seen as a personal broadcasting medium.

Where does education fit in then? Many universities are now using Podcasting as a broadcasting medium, in a concept labelled "edupods", the most common use in education so far has been to record lectures, either students or staff themselves, and have these shared/distributed by the Podcast concept.

Imagine though, being able to record interviews with topical experts and providing this information for your students. Whether out on the street, at conferences, or in the office with your colleagues.
Imagine recording sections of your own knowledge, where it is presented in an easy to access format, and provides additional information on classroom topics. Think BBC radio meets the classroom.

What if it wasn't just the lecturing staff recording these podcasts?, what if students recorded Podcasts to share with their classmates, based on their research? What if every week a student or pair of students provided a Podcast to the rest of the class via the class Podcast stream?

Wouldn't that make learning a collaborative process.

Creating Podcasts can be very simple, reasonable quality Podcasts can be created with basic equipment, a microphone, a computer, and a quiet room; or a mp3 device. If the audio is clear, and the quality of the information is good, then the Podcast is likely to work well.

Where could you use Podcasting within education?

All technology is new at some point

A colleague sent me the link to this funny YouTube video Introducing the book.

All technologies require a lot of support in the beginning.

E-Learning & Cakes

Despite the snow Friday's E-Learning and Cakes had wide ranging discussions (and a wide range of cakes) on the following subjects -

• Using Personal Response Systems in large lectures.
• Social networking using Oremi.
• How to assess work in blogs and wikis.
• Creating and using podcasts.
• DACEs interactive website for asylum seekers.
• The Engineering 'Blackboard Quest' - podcast on this coming soon.
• The idea of a university wide session on Web 2.0. This met with approval from the academic staff present.

The next session will be at 11:00am on Thursday 15th March in Room 703, which is on the 7th Floor of the Library.

Web 2.0 a Visual Explanation

While reading my favourite Instructional Technologists Blog (CogDogBlog) I came across a recent post, which shares this video below.

It has been created by Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University, a working group of Kansas State University students and faculty dedicated to exploring and extending the possibilities of digital ethnography.

This video provides a simple and clear explanation of Web 2.0 in a visually appealing manner.

Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University

So, what do you think of e-learning? - Blackboard Survey

On 30th January the E-Learning Sub-Committee was presented with the results of the 2006 Blackboard survey. The survey was completed by 909 students and 79 staff and gave some interesting results as well as some further questions to answer.

The full report can be downoaded from http://learninglab.swan.ac.uk/publications.html

Key points

• The overall response from students was that they value the use of the VLE but don't see it as a replacement for traditional lectures and seminars and don't want it to be seen as such.
• Both students and staff mainly use the VLE for lecture notes and Powerpoint slides.
• Students are keen to use new technology such a blogs. wikis, podcasts as well as video and formative tests.
• Both staff and students do not appear to be so keen on using technology for exams.

Questions

• When and where are students using the VLE?
• Are problems questions of content, functionality or design?
• Why are students negative about online exams?
• Why are students unsure about where to go for help?
• What are the barriers to using the VLE for staff and students?

Recommendations

• Build a community of practice which includes academics.
• Broaden the concept of what e-learning is.
• Rethink our approach to training.

Some of the recommendations have been included in the University E-Learning Strategy.