Oct
Deborah Judah who is currently e-learning advisor (HE), JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire & Humber has started a new blog that she says will “keep you up to date with anything new in HE and e-learning”. Find it here
http://deborahhe.edublogs.org/
Sep
The Position Statement for Learning Resources is now available from here
Jan
Learning Resources are developing a new Digital Creative Learning Lab to help with the push towards more effective use of ILT in the classroom and the greater use of the Virtual Learning Environment. Following a successful bid to Yorkshire Forward for funding this exciting project will begin now and the aim is that we will have the Lab up and running by the end of March. The funding is designed to help build a higher level Skilled Economy through Building Capacity – key aspects of Yorkshire Forwards ambitions for the short-term future. In particular capital funding for technology to support the delivery of foundation degrees.
The focus of the lab will be on creating multi-media learning materials which can be delpoyed within and alongside the VLE. This sort of development would typically be commissioned by a course team leader and delivered through a range of different skills from pedagogic principles through to user acceptance testing. The lab will be a key resource in developing our e-learning strategy for Foundation Degress and other learning offers.
Nov
This painting “Turn In The Road” oil-on-canvas by my cousin Niall Wright was one of a number on show at his latest exhibition recently held in Dublin. Follow this link to see more.
With externally-funded projects starting to show a return and the VLE infrastructure firmly in place, we are beginning to see our own turn in the road. What lies ahead is a new landscape where the delivery of learning becomes appropriate to the learner. Key staff are working daily and meeting weekly to pull together and deliver the virtual learning environment.
One area that still needs to be addressed is staff development. We are planning a series of events over the coming months that will ensure that all staff have a excellent understanding and knowledge of the principles and practical application of e-learning.
When it comes to creating courses, tutors and lecturers can be assured that we are looking at making things easy in the new online world. We will do this by developing generic templates and tools that can be shaped and utilised on specific courses.
Also we are looking at streamlining the production of online content, giving tutors a framework within which to specify and develop, along with Central Media Services, high-quality material that engages learners.
We have also identified, and in some instances evaluated, online learning material repositories. These online repositories can be used to procure learning objects which, in turn, can be placed within courses in the VLE. Many learning objects have been tried and tested with learners therefore we can have a high degree of confidence in their quality.
So, as we make that turn in the road, we look forward to exciting times – together.
Nov
Pleased to see a piece I wrote, looking back at the last year and looking forward to next year from an FE College Library perspective, has been published in the December issue of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals journal, Update. Unfortunately it is not one of the parts of the Update journal that is made available online – but I have reproduced a snippet of it here (presuming I hold my own copyright), without the misprints!
“The key document Leitch Review of Skills – Prosperity for All in a Global Economy – World Class Skills, published December 2006, very much shaped the thinking within FE colleges for the duration of 2007 and, it is likely to do so for many years to come.
While these policy level adjustments continue the librarian operating typically at a level once or twice removed struggles with the familiar problems of resourcing and promoting the library or learning resource centre. Structural changes to the organisation may or may not be appropriate, while the need for cultural change seems always necessary. The challenges presented by rapid technological progress are having greater impacts on service delivery. Yet librarians within the sector seem capable and keen to claim new territories. For example the ownership of the virtual learning environment, a key resource within a college, seems to fit best with the library, once the IT people get bored with it! This boredom often coincides with the realisation that VLEs need to be maintained and populated with learning materials. In the hands of innovative librarians the VLE can be developed rapidly and aligned with a growing range of electronic information sources.
With Facebook, together with YouTube, attracting much attention this year, the promised lands of Second Life are, for many in FE, still a curiosity and one can only speculate how such technologies will embed. There are serious issues associated with how such social networking tools might be deployed in an educational environment. Moreover their acceptance and recognition as tools for learning seems yet to be established. Early anecdotal evidence suggests that potential opportunities offered by these technologies may be missed due to traditional concepts of what the college library or learning resource centre “should be”.
With greater emphasis on independent learning, virtual learning and the proliferation of media sources those with good information literacy skills will succeed more readily in learning. The challenge for the librarian in FE for the coming year and probably far beyond is not only to provide the resource but also to ensure that the learner has the information literacy skills to access those resources in order to learn effectively.
I visited the Open University’s Digilab recently and was impressed by the creative use of technology to support learning. The paragraph below, from the OU website explains the concept best:
“Digilab is a showcase for tools, technologies and resources illustrating how today’s technology can nurture tomorrow’s learners. User guides explain how engaging interactive materials achieve successful learning outcomes. Exploration of Digilab will spark the creativity of the multi-disciplinary teams who develop our learning materials.”
To visit the Digilab website go here. Even better, if you are interested in visiting the venue in Milton Keynes, sometime in the new year, please get in touch with me and I will try to arrange a trip.
Nov
This latest Michael Wesch video may be a wake-up call for many. It presents a problem, a sort of mismatch or tension between established education systems and their information landscapes e.g. books/libraries and the new landscape of the digital learner. The rapid growth of and easy access to technology has wrong-footed the establishment. Watch the video here
Nov
I spent two interesting days at the first M-Libraries conference at the Open University in Milton Keynes. The “M” stands for mobile so just like mobile learning – accessing learning from a mobile device – the concept here is accessing library support services using a mobile device.
A full report on the conference and abstracts from the presentations will be available soon. The conference website is located here.
