Newsletter 11

NEWSLETTER no.11 “It wasn’t until quite late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’.” - Somerset Maughm

Friday 24th February 2006

eLISU

Open Source VLEs: The Next Generation

Mary Cuttle eLISU Coordinator

In December I went down to York to a meeting on Open Source VLEs organised by the JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber. The aim of the meeting was to look at how Open Source platforms and tools can be developed and used to support and enrich student learning.

now have access to technologies that only a few years ago would not have been available to them. By increasingly using tools sourced from outwith their institution such as blogs and flickr, students are disrupting the status quo and potentially could change how technology is used for learning.

Although the focus of the day was supposed to be about Open Source VLEs, much of the discussion was about the success and future of VLEs in general – whether Open Source or proprietary. It proved to be a very interesting meeting with a lot of thought provoking ideas presented and questions asked.

Derek suggested that in the future Universities will have to choose between continuing to provide a VLE based on the current model – a single closed entity (“walled garden”) or a Learning Management System that pulls together a multitude of elements and tools.

“VLEs are just giant photocopiers” The day was introduced by Derek Morrison: Head of e-Learning of Higher Education Academy, and writer of the excellent Auricle Blog (http://www.bath.ac.uk /dacs/cdntl/pMachine /morriblog.php). He started off by putting forward a number of questions: “Is there any evidence that VLEs provide a better Student learning experience?” “Is Moodle really student centred?” “Is Open Source Software disruptive technology?” His view is that VLEs are a non-disruptive innovation that universities have been able to absorb without making any radical changes to how they teach. However, with more than 100,000 Open Source projects on Sourceforge (http://sourceforge.net/ ) alone, students

“It doesn’t matter if your VLE is proprietary or Open Source, if it isn’t managed properly its take up will be limited and it won’t be used effectively” The first Keynote was by Randy Metcalfe from the OSS Watch (http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/). The main points of the talk were: · Open Source Software is a viable and cost-effective option. It is developed by salaried professionals, not as is commonly believed by unpaid hobbyists, and the support provided is usually as professional (and expensive) as that offered by proprietary products. Despite the huge number of OS projects, there are in fact only 58 software products that have received an OSI certified licence. · Open Source Software is NOT a panacea and doesn’t solve all problems any more than proprietary software does.

OPEN SOURCE VLE’S · Always choose the best solution for your needs There are three key considerations an institution should take into account before rolling out any VLE, whether it is Open Source or not: · Procurement – it is difficult to compare OS with propriety software. · Deployment – the roll-out of any software needs to be properly planned and managed. · Support – many OS developers use their support packages to fund product development.

“When discussing the very expensive improvements made when re-engineering a VLE, none of those improvements were to develop or add to the student tools, they were all made to the teacher and admin tools”. The second Keynote was by Oleg Liber and was on Personal Learning Environments. (see page 6 for details of the PLE Project at Bolton University). Oleg’s talk picked up and expanded on the theme of Derek Morrison’s introduction. The world and education is changing, with the focus moving away from traditional lecture/tutorial based teaching towards distance and electronic learning. VLEs have been a crucial part of this change, both as a product of it and a catalyst for it. Universities have been able to implement VLEs relatively easily because traditionally they have experience of managing big systems, and VLEs have been successful because they have enabled and widened access to learning materials. They have proved to be a non-disruptive innovation, being used to support existing learning methods rather than replacing them.

Oleg believes that with the plethora of new technologies available to both students and academics, institutions should be shifting from VLEs to PLEs (Personal Learning Environments) so as to give students control over the tools used in their learning. Currently, a student registered with more than one institution has to use the different tools and systems provided by each institution. A PLE would enable a student to choose the tools they want to use for their learning and to use them in whichever institution is providing the learning. The vast majority of students carry mobile telephones with access to the internet and often with integrated cameras. Those of us who regularly travel by bus and train will be used to being surrounded by students plugged into their iPods (their thumbs busy txtng). Institutions should be engaging with these technologies, exploiting the creativity of their students by allowing them to use the technologies they are comfortable and skilled in using. The concept of PLE is based on a free market – giving students access to the right tools for their own learning. The institution provides teaching, support and any specialist knowledge and tools the student needs, whilst a commercial ISP provides core services such as email. The PLE project (http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members /ple/) is developing the definition, scope and a reference model for PLEs. It will also be developing desktop and portal based prototypes. In the afternoon, I attended a workshop on Moodle (http://moodle.org/) and one on StudyNet - a portal developed locally at the University of Hertfordshire. I didn’t feel that either VLE offered much more than our own VLE does, but they did seem to be much better integrated with other support and information webpages. The conference report and presentations from the day are now available to view on the RSC YH website: http://www.rsc-yh.ac.uk/conference/ossconf.asp

DIY e-Learning Five ideas on how free and low-cost tools can be used to introduce e-learning elements into your learning and teaching for minimal effort and cost. For help and advice on any of these approaches contact eLISU ([email protected]).

BLOGS Why? Online journals that give instant access to expert knowledge and updates. They are increasingly at the core of online communities as they can be commented on, and are usually linked into other blogs and content. Blogs are excellent for capturing individual knowledge and views. However, they are by nature highly personal and depend entirely on the contribution of the author(s). How? · Direct students to blogs related to their subject area · Create a community blog that groups of students can use to keep each other updated on a topic or progress with a project. · Ask students to keep individual blogs to reflect on their learning. Getting started Blog software is largely open source, but needs to be set up on a webhost. A good example of Blogging software is WordPress - http://wordpress.org/ If you aren’t lucky enough to have a webserver to install WordPress onto, you can get a free blog at a number of sites including blogger.com, WordPress.com and livejournal.com

Mary Cuttle eLISU Coordinator

WIKIS Why? Wikis are community website which can be edited and added to by any member – ideal for problem solving, collaboration and knowledge management. However, as with blogs, they are by nature unstructured and as the content can be edited by any member of the community, are vulnerable to misuse. Probably the best known Wiki is Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/), a surprisingly useful online encyclopedia to which anybody can contribute. Wikipedia is said to be the world's largest wiki website. How? · Set up pages for students to develop a knowledge base or micro encyclopedia on a topic. · Create separate pages for small group projects so that groups can put up the latest drafts of reports they're working on, brainstorm new ideas, keep track of useful websites etc. · Use it for lecture notes – create a page for each lecture, add any PowerPoint files from the lecture as an attachment. Let students add their own notes taken during class, or add follow up questions and comments. · Q&A - Start a page for questions and answers. Let students post any questions they have - and get answers (and opinions!) from yourself, other teaching staff and other students. Getting Started Most wiki software is free but needs to be set up on a webserver. Good examples are: MediaWiki (http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki) and DokuWiki (http://www.splitbrain.org/projects/dokuwiki). However, for a small sum JotSpot (http://www.jot.com/) will host one for you and Seedwiki (http://www.seedwiki.com/) is a free Wiki creation site.

DIY e-Learning RSS Why? RSS is an excellent and simple way to distribute information updates to students’ desktops. Rather than collecting content in a central repository content can be distributed across the World Wide Web piece by piece. How? · Recommend to students feeds on relevant topics · Publish syndicated content on module website or blog. · Ask students to create their own blogs and then subscribe to the feeds of all those blogs to check new content on them. · Provide students with information about their module: news, updates, new resources etc. · Subscribe to feeds from learning object repositories such as MERLOT to see the newest objects added or objects added in a topic they’re developing a course on. Getting started For more details on RSS and how to set up feeds: read Ross Little’s article in the last eLISU Newsletter (http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk/newsletter/documents/newslett er10.pdf)

INSTANT MESSAGING Why? Instant messaging tools offer an alternative means of creating collaboration for learning. Integrated with content from others sources (eg. PowerPoint, webpages) or as a coaching tool through collaboration. IM software is free and MSN Windows Messenger is shipped with Windows. However, bear in mind that text can be a slow medium for communication and that discussions can become difficult with more than a couple of participants and may need careful moderating.

How? · Run an online seminar · Provide one to one coaching using audio or videoconferencing facilities. Getting started For details on how to get started with MSN Messenger look at the Messenger support pages at: http://messenger.msn.com/Xp/Default.aspx.

PODCASTING Why Podcasting is the recording and delivery of audio broadcasts via an RSS feed to be listened to on PCs or portable players such as the ubiquitous iPod. It’s easy to do and is a format and concept that most students are increasingly familiar with. How? · Use PowerPoint, Camtasia and Quicktime to make PowerPoint presentation (Power Cast) that can be downloaded on to an iPod. · Record a lecture that students can download on to their iPod. · Record an interview with a subject expert. · Record a case study interview or scenario. · Record sounds that students need to be familiar with as part of their subject for example irregular heart-beats. · Work with the Spoken Word project (http://www.spokenword.ac.uk/) to use archived audio. Getting started We have an eLISU iPod with a recording add-on that you can borrow to make a digital recording. The Learning Design Lab (contact iLearn http://www.learningservices.gcal.ac.uk/ilearn/contact.html) has software such as Camtasia which can be used to make a PowerCast. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) free, open source software for recording and editing sounds.

NEWS JORUM SERVICE The University has signed up for the JORUM Service (http://www.jorum.ac.uk/). JORUM is a free online repository service for teaching and support staff in UK Further and Higher Education Institutions, helping to build a community for the sharing, reuse and repurposing of learning and teaching materials. Access to the service will be via the ATHENS Authentication Service.

PLATO Glasgow Caledonian University have been invited to help pilot PLATO – an online tutorial on Plagiarism. PLATO (Plagiarism Teaching Online) has two parts: The first is to help students understand what plagiarism is, the forms it may take, and the fact that it is cheating and therefore carries penalties. The second part helps them learn how to reference correctly. If you would like to review PLATO or trial it with your students please contact Mary Cuttle ([email protected]).

EXCELLENCE eXcellence in eLearning Ltd (http://ex-el.org/) is now offering an online version of the SQA Diploma in eAssessment. The award is designed for those who wish to design and implement eAssessment within an online learning environment. A cohort for the unit in eAssessment Principles and Practice will commence on Tuesday 14th March 2006. The diploma comprises 3 taught units, of which this is the first, and a project (4 units in all). The tuition fees for each unit are £550 plus VAT and SQA fees.

NEW MSC IN E-LEARNING A new MSc in e-learning is to be offered by the University of Edinburgh from September 2006. Their web site is at: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/e-learning. The programme is delivered part-time and fully online. It aims to give professionals working in higher or further education, or in training and development, the practical skills and critical insight they need to become confident within this fast-moving field.

TASI http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/advice.html. The Technical Advisory Service for Images produces documents covering all aspects of a digitisation project. They’ve released 4 new fact sheets focusing on the use of images in the following VLEs: Blackboard, Moodle, WebCT and Bodington. The one for Blackboard can be found at: http://www.tasi.ac.uk/ advice/using/vle_blackboard.html. Two further TASI info sheets cover the popular software packages Hot Potatoes and Quandary, produced by Half-Baked software. Hot Potatoes is a question generator while Quandary can be used to create online mazes. http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/vle_hotpotatoes.html http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/vle_quandary.html http://www.learningservices.gcal.ac.uk/apu/eguides/int ro.pdf

EPIC PAPERS EPIC is “...the UK market leader in e-learning, blended learning and knowledge solutions.” Okay, so that’s their own words and they’re highly unlikely to downplay their own success, but you would have to try pretty hard to discredit that statement. They have created some impressive solutions and, despite being a corporate company, have a range of clients from the Education sector including Cambridge University, Interactive Virtual Medical School (IVMEDS), Sheffield Hallam University, and the Teacher Training Agency, to name only a few. It is perhaps unlikely that your project budget will stretch to enlisting the services of EPIC, however they do have some very interesting and informative White Papers which can be found at: http://www.epic.co.uk/content/resources/white_paper s_index.htm. But remember, if you need hands-on help with e-Learning, think of eLISU before you go to EPIC!

ON THE WEB Pandora Create your own radio station and customise it to play the kind of music you like: listen to old favourites and be introduced to new tracks (which with a couple of clicks can then be bought and downloaded onto your iPod). http://www.pandora.com/

Watson Your personal research assistant. Whatever you’re working on, Watson will suggest related resources. http://www.intellext.com/firstlaunchprof.html

Flock has landed... Flock is a free, open source web browser built on the Mozilla rendering engine. It’s free, fast and includes support for del.icio.us and blogging built right in.. http://www.flock.com

RSS For all you RSS feed fiends… Here’s a great list of RSS feeds offered by UK newspapers and the BBC. Not just one feed for each newspaper but also the links for every single feed offered!! All these feeds and more on http://dave.org.uk/newsfeeds/

Podcast Searching A fab new resource online: http://www.podzinger.com. Podcasts have been subject to the same primitive search through categorization … until now. PODZINGER looks inside podcasts, not just the metadata, letting you search podcasts in the same way that you search for anything else on the web. When you type in a word or terms, PODZINGER not only finds the relevant podcasts, but also highlights the segment of the audio in which they occurred. By clicking anywhere on the results, the audio will begin to play just where you clicked. There are also controls that let you back up, pause, or forward through the podcast. Or you can download the entire podcast.

PLE Project at Bolton University The PLE project at Bolton University is working towards defining the tools for personal learning. A PLE (Personal Learning Environment) provides an alternative to locating all learning materials on the centralised VLE’s that most HE institutions have invested in. A PLE allows a great deal of the functionality, usually only available via the VLE, to be handed over to the learner either as a desktop application or an independently hosted portal. In this way the PLE allows the learner to decide how he/ she wants learn and to create their own personal, portable learning structure. The project is being funded by JISC and carried out by CETIS and is part of the e-Learning Reference Models programme for the e-Framework.

iTunes as PLE: iStanford Stanford has created its own iTunes Music Store for distributing recordings of lectures, sports coverage and campus events. For more info, check out Stanford iTunes. http://itunes.stanford.edu/ Some other universites that are “course casting” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10117475/site/newsweek/) are Purdue University, Duke Unvirsity and University of Washington. At Purdue University six professors have been course casting since September. Some are already tired of staring at empty seats…. In the UK, Portsmouth (http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13108is )planning to launch a range of video podcasts for potential students.

EVENTS CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS Designs on e-Learning Online Conference

Open Source and Sustainability 2006

Online March 27-31 2006 http://www.designsonelearning.net/ The conference will be international in scope and will focus on the use of technology in learning and teaching in art, design and communication.

Oxford, UK April 10-12 2006 http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/events/2006-04-10-12/ Open Source and Sustainability is a 3-day conference exploring the theme of open source sustainability: the perspective for higher and further education.

Innovating e-Learning 2006

The e-Assessment Question 2006

Online March 27-31 2006 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elp_conference06.html This online conference will be of interest to practitioners, e-learning coordinators and managers in further and higher education, researchers, staff developers and learning technologists.

PICTAL Conference Online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/education/pictal/ March 29-31 2006. The PICTAL Conference will address two themes: ‘Online Learning’ and ‘Online Tutoring’, focussing on: · Creating and maintaining interactivity and engagement online · Best Practice in online tutoring · Dynamics of online learning · Meeting the professional challenge of changing learner expectations · Extended and enhanced professionalism with ICT for learning.

Fifth International Conference on Networked Learning 2006 Lancaster University, UK April 10-12 2006 http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/ A research-based conference on networked learning in higher education and lifelong learning.

London, UK March 2-3 2006 http://www.e-assessment-question.co.uk/ In addition to providing insight and practical guidance in to the use of computer based testing and assessment, the 2006 conference will feature some exciting and innovative developments with a range of relevant and important presentations in the Shaw Theatre examining: · How to make e-Assessment robust and fit for purpose · Using e-Assessments to support Learning

15th International WWW Conference Edinburgh, UK May 23-26 2006 http://www2006.org/ The World Wide Web Conference is the global event to bring together the key influencers, decision makers, technologists, businesses and standards bodies shaping the future of the web.

The Higher Education Academy 2006 Annual Conference: Enhancing the Student Learning Experience Nottingham, UK July 3-5 2006 http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/conference.htm The 2006 Conference will focus on three major themes: · Higher education policy · Scholarship of teaching and learning in the disciplines · Innovations to support the student learning experience.

eLISU WORKSHOPS From Blogs to Wikis: An Introduction to the Web 2.0 Presenter(s): Ross Little, eLISU Project Officer Audience: Academic and support staff with an interest in enriching student learning through the use of innovative and collaborative technologies. Date: TBA Time: 2-4pm Aims of Workshop: Our students, now more than ever, could be described as digital natives – inseparable from mobile networked multimedia devices, such as iPods and mobile phones, and equipped with an understanding of the internet as media provider, research platform and social network. This workshop will provide the participant with an introduction to the new technologies that now dominate the internet and the concepts and structures behind them. The participant will experience these technologies first hand and examine the ways in which these have been use to enrich learning and teaching By the end of this workshop participants should be able to: · Understand how our students use technology every day · Understand changes in the world wide web and concepts of the Web 2.0, Open Source, Social Networks, Peer to Peer and Distributed Collaboration · Understand hardware developments such as iPods and Mobile Phones · Use web applications such as Wikis, Podcasts, Blogs and Vlogs · Use tools and structures such as Syndication, RSS, ATOM, Enb and Feed Readers. · Be able to acknowledge the potential for learning in new technologies

Fundamental Principles of Web Design Presenter(s): Kirsten Riley, eLISU Communications officer Audience: Academic and support staff who have a basic knowledge of the web and would benefit from an introduction into some of the issues related to front-end web design. A basic knowledge of HTML would be advantageous but is not essential. PC based only. Date: TBA Time: 2-4pm Aims of Workshop: By the end of this workshop participants should be able to: · Identify good practice in design for the web · Recognise the effective use of visual properties such as fonts & colours · Understand basic usability and accessibility issues

Designing Online Activities Presenter(s): Mary Cuttle, Head of eLISU Audience:All academic staff with an interest in e-Learning Date: TBA Time: 2-4pm Aims of Workshop: E-learning is more than simply providing online content. For an effective learning experience, students need to collaborate with their peers in a meaningful way. This workshop will consider how interaction can be built in to online courses through providing activities and simple tasks to form the basis of a pedagogically effective framework. Examples will be demonstrated, and participants will be encouraged to contribute their own ideas and suggestions.

Bored with your e-Learning?

Design & Development of e-Learning Materials for Web-based Materials

Blackboard

Graphic Design & Development

Multimedia Production & Development

Programming & 3D Visualisation

eLISU eLISU was established in 2001 to support the University’s objectives for online and life-long learning. We offer expertise in the design, development and implementation of e-Learning for academic staff across the University. Contact us for more information and to see how we can work with you.

eLISU e-Learning Innovation Support Unit Rm 212, 6 Rose Street Glasgow, G3

http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk [email protected]

PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES ALT Newsletter Online http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/index000100997.cfm?x=b6 G6sdp,b3scdv19

Sixth Durham Blackboard Users' Conference (2005) Presentations from this conference are now available in the UK/EIRE User Group on the Blackboard Communities Site. http://communities.blackboard.com/ If you're not a member you will need to enroll in the Community!

Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogosphere David Warlick Synopsis: Weblogs are about reading and writing. Literacy is about reading and writing. Blogging equals literacy. How rarely does an aspect of how we live and work plug so perfectly into how we teach and learn? Reading this book will give teachers important clues not only in how to become a blogger and to make their students bloggers, but also how this new avenue of expression is revolutionizing the information environment that we live in. Paperback 176 pages (May 9, 2005) Publisher: Lulu Press Incorporated Language: English ISBN: 1411629035

Making Distance Education Work: Understanding Learning and Learners At a Distance S., Joseph Levine Synopsis: A guide for effective development & delivery of distance education programs. Focuses on principles of distance education, clarifications of who distance education learners are, and examples of learner-focused distance education programs. An essential reference for those

about to create distance education programs, those currently conducting distance education programs, and learners who are considering the challenge of learning at a distance. "This is a must-read for all educators and learners who are committed to enhancing and succeeding in teaching and learning at a distance. From theoretical grounding in adult learning to very unique, practical tools and suggestions that translate theory into successful practice, this book brings forth essential new insights to the distance education arena. We come away challenged to further enhance our own efforts in formal and nonformal distance education." (Joan Cybela, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Extension) Paperback 256 pages (October 21, 2005) Publisher: Lulu Press Incorporated Language: English ISBN: 1411653556

Report on the OS VLE Event held in York on the 14th December 2006 The conference report and presentations from this excellent event are now available to view on the RSC YH website: http://www.rsc-yh.ac.uk/conference/ossconf.asp

Scottish Schools Digital Network Newsletter The Scottish Schools Digital Network Newsletter is now out and has some pretty interesting reading. http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk:8080/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2006/01/ssdnNewsletter.pdf