General Resources From 2 January 2015, Jisc brought its customer-facing teams, including Jisc infoNet, in-house. Although the variety of individual services have disappeared, our focus on practical support will remain. A nominated account manager, backed by a team of subject specialists, will operate locally to you and provide you with a fully-managed relationship, ensuring that you benefit from our full offer. Jisc’s local teams will draw upon expertise from across the organisation and will have direct access to events, training, communications and marketing, sector intelligence and subject expertise to support you on: Accessibility and inclusionTeaching, learning and assessmentTechnology and the lawOnline learning and the digital student experienceTechnology to support enterpriseResearchResearch data managementScholarly communicationsLibraries and digital resourcesStrategy and business processSystems, tools and information management Many of the infoNet resources can now be found on the Jisc website.
Mlearning Infokit John Dewey, writing in the early years of the twentieth century, may not have foreseen the proliferation of 21st century ‘mobile devices’ but, in the quotation to the right, he does point out something that remains relevant: that mobile learning involves change, initiative and adaptability. Mobile learning involves change in the sense that the ability to communicate with tutors and peers, as well as access learning resources, changes what is possible in education. It takes initiative for leaders to create a vision to sustain that change and, finally, mobile learning requires adaptability by members of staff to carry out the change. This infoKit is a practical guide to thinking through the issues relating to institutional adoption of mobile learning. As with other forms of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) it is possible for mobile learning to be used in a small-scale and ad-hoc manner. Emerging Practice in a Digital Age Bee motif
Lesson plans for teachers Common Core Implementation Kit enables the creation of a Common Core State Standards aligned lesson plan with a few easy clicks. Common Core operates from within Word 2013 and provides daily learning targets for Common Core State Standards, along with instructional notes, student friendly “I Can” statements, vocabulary lists, differentiation ideas, activity ideas, assessment ideas, common student misconceptions, and links to open educational resources aligned to the standards. Save time planning lessons and locating resources for your students The Common Core Implementation Kit is a free tool that makes it easy for teachers to create Language Arts and Math lesson plans aligned to the Common Core State Standards all from within Microsoft Word 2013. To create a lesson plan, a teacher selects the desired learning target and adds it to the lesson plan document with a click. System requirements
Web 2.0 Teaching Tools 30 Best Web 2.0 Tools Looking for the best cloud computing software for your school? What about a way to remotely store homework and other assignments? It’s time to figure out which web 2.0 tool is right for you! The following presentation contains dozens of the most popular tools being used in classrooms right now. See Also: The 100 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen By You Each slide in the below presentation by Rafael Scapin contains the name, description, link, and screenshot of what each tool looks like and does. Edudemic’s Recommendations If you’re looking to try out some of these tools, here are the top 5 tools we recommend you try out (if you haven’t already). Slideshare - Get the credit and audience you deserve for your presentations! Scoop.it - A stellar social bookmarking service that is being used by a ton of teachers right now. PlanBoard - It’s an online lesson planner made for teachers. Evernote - Featured in Edudemic Magazine numerous times, we love all things Evernote.
23 Resources 4 PLNs Part of the Cool Sites series For the past year, I have researched the what, who, when, how, and why of Personal/Professional/Passionate Learning Networks (PLNs). We have seen the benefits of the people we choose to connect, collaborate, and problem solve with through social media. The educators, subject matter experts (SMEs), authors, and mentors we choose to derive knowledge from help us self-reflect on our methodologies and beliefs. A community raises a child! Below are several resources I have collected about the history of PLNs, how to build a PLN, and the tools needed to build a PLN. We Connect Wiki- This wiki is full of videos, Wallwishers, Wikipedia articles, and more that help educators find the resources to build a PLN. Wikipedia article about PLNs- This article explains the history and theory behind PLNs. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George Siemens- Siemens is noted as one of the forerunners behind the PLN movement. Why Do We Connect? Challenge:
How to Create a PLN What Is A PLN? Through the use of my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) , I came across several great examples that both define what a PLN is, and explain the value of creating one for yourself. According to a wikispace about creating PLNs, “Personal Learning Networks are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to: 1) set their own learning goals 2) manage their learning; managing both content and process 3) communicate with others in the process of learning and thereby achieve learning goals Simply put: A PLN is a system for lifelong learning. ” Why Start Your PLN Now? Teachers in our district, especially freshmen teachers, have a ton on their plates this year. Here are some ways that educators are using their PLNs: 10 Easy Ways to Kick Start Your Personal Learning Network Social Networking – Keeping up with personal, more social contacts like friends, family, and former students (Facebook, Google+) Resources
Teacher Guide - Creating PLNs Creating your PLN is easier than you might even thought. Most of you are already familiar with some social media platforms such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Diigo, LinkedIn, but do you really know how to use them to create a personal learning network ? We have several guides to walk you through all the tips and tricks you need to know to start a powerful PLN. Check them out and share with us your feedback. The Importancre of PLNs in Education Watch this excellent video to learn about the importance of creating a PLN Guides Check out these guides to find out how other educators have used social media and other tools to grow their personal learning networks. Want to really make the most of your PLN?
Designing for mobile learning and communications | LINE From the moment we wake up in the morning to the moment we fall at sleep at night we are “in near-constant visual contact with bright, pulsating rectangles” (Dr. Richard Menken, 2009). Originally published as part of a spoof article in The Onion, Menken’s quote rings startlingly true today with the rise of ubiquitous computing. UX Magazine predicts a trend towards Digital Abstraction, with technology paring down functionality, personalising and extracting information and operating nicely around the edge – rather than at the centre of – our attention. So how do we go about designing learning, and creating engaging content for users in 2013? ContextContentUsers In this article we will consider how we should treat these three factors when designing content for mobile. Speak to different mindsets not different devices Firstly, let’s get one thing straight – ‘on the go’ does not always mean ‘need it now’. Case Study: Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Fighting for attention Habitual digital extensions
- Developing Training With What You Carry In Your Pocket Web video, as a means to deliver educational content, is clearly an idea whose time has come. What started as the result of the full motion compression (MPEG) efforts of Philips Interactive Media in 1992, has resulted in the proliferation of web-based instructional video content. For example, YouTube reports that over 72 hours of video content is uploaded to its platform every minute. Many of those videos are instructional or educational in nature. Companies including Microsoft, Cisco and Cloud Access maintain YouTube channels that exist for the sole purpose of providing training materials to their customers. TED-Ed, a free educational platform that allows visitors to create and share instructional videos, receives close to 166,000 visitors per day. What Role Does Technology Play Technology advancements have certainly paved the way for this extended use of video in educational programs. How Video Impacts Performance Why Professionals Stay Away from Video Learning Solutions
Seven Steps to Success with Mobile Learning “Part of 'getting it right' with ed tech is a practical, guided approach to any implementation plan, no matter how big or small. The same can be said for the trend of mobile learning that we're seeing expand in education today. Laura Devaney guides us through some practical steps for making this type of instructional approach work for the best, in the following article from eSchool News.” via eSchool News Implementing a mobile learning initiative is a complicated undertaking, no matter how much funding or stakeholder support you have. The first step, Investigating, is to determine why you want to implement mobile learning. Identifying the problem that must be solved.Researching background information and examples.Identifying skills that teachers, administrators, and students must have.Estimating the cost of implementation.Considering how to facilitate acceptance and measure success. The second step, Scoping, involves identifying core stakeholders and defining an implementation scope, by:
Online learning basics Chapter 1 Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning Mohamed Ally Athabasca University There is ongoing debate about whether it is the use of a particular delivery technology or the design of the instruction that improves learning (Clark, 2001; Kozma, 2001). It has long been recognized that specialized delivery technologies can provide efficient and timely access to learning materials; however, Clark (1983) has claimed that technologies are merely vehicles that deliver instruction, but do not themselves influence student achievement. According to Bonk and Reynolds (1997), to promote higher-order thinking on the Web, online learning must create challenging activities that enable learners to link new information to old, acquire meaningful knowledge, and use their metacognitive abilities; hence, it is the instructional strategy and not the technology that influences the quality of learning. top For the instructor, tutoring can be done at anytime and from anywhere. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1.