Achieving e-maturity is about successfullyintegrating and embedding the use oftechnology so that it supports all the keybusiness functions of an organisation. Toenable this, the active involvement ofsenior managers is essential and weintend to work very closely with thisgroup in the coming years.

Your JISC RSC can help you worktowards e-maturity by providing anumber of bespoke services tailored toyour organisation including:

• Management advice and strategicsupport

• e-learning progress reviews• Curriculum review• Embedding VLE use• Staff development strategy and

implementation• Embedding e-learning in quality

processes

We will also continue to support thewhole sector through a series of genericservices such as events, forums,placements, our help desk, brokerageand JISC mailing lists.

Through both these individualised andsector-wide services we are able toprovide relevant information and adviceon the crucial topics that will dominatepractice in the Learning & Skills sector.

To highlight the latest phase ofdevelopment, we will be hosting alaunch event on the 30th November forpeople who are key in moving theirorganisations towards e-maturity. Thisincludes those responsible for quality,curriculum, teaching and learning, staffdevelopment and IT services.

The launch of ‘Becoming e-enabled:support for the strategic and effectiveuse of technology’ will feature a keynotepresentation from Tony Burgess, SeniorPolicy Manager, Technology for Learningat the national LSC.

There are plenty of opportunities forlearning providers in the region to takeadvantage of the JISC RSC services onoffer, so please get intouch with us todiscuss how we can help you become e-enabled.

Are you e-enabled?

Newsletter MakeoverAs you may have already noticedintouch has undergone a re-design forthis edition. We are now following anational RSC template, and hope youlike the new look. Watch out for morechanges to come in future editions. Wewill also be using this style in the futurefor all our communications to make iteasier for you to recognise the RSC.

intouchthe termly newsletter produced by RSC East Midlands Autumn 2007 Volume 6: Issue 1

This is the question that you need to consider as we enter the latest phase ofusing technology in education. Our support over the next round of fundinguntil 2010 will focus on the strategic use of technology to ensure that you canbecome e-mature and e-enabled.

Stimulating and supportinginnovation in learning

Contents1 New service provision

2 Customer satisfaction survey results

2 NLN Materials - latest changes

3 Focus On: The RSC EastMidlands Team

4 Round-up of the 2007 e-fair

4 Hints and Tips

4 Forthcoming events

Well actually you can - as the nationalCustomer Satisfaction Survey showsthat in 2007, the East Midlands RSChas achieved its highest level ofsatisfaction ever from the learningproviders it supports.

97% of those surveyed endorsed thevalue of RSC support across 15different areas.

Each year the independent surveycontacts every one of the learningproviders we support in the region, andasks the opinions of key post holders,typically those responsible formanagement, staff development,technical services and learning resources.

“source ofauthority”

In the East Midlands the response ratewas above the national average, at 43%,and showed that you particularly valuedthe opportunities we provide for you tonetwork together and the benefits ofvisits by RSC staff. Information skillssupport was also praised; howevertechnical training is one area highlightedwhere we need to do a bit better for you.

The survey invites comments butmodesty means we can’t shout aboutthe response that commended our“exceptionally talented staff!” Othersnippets were “when I quote JISC tomanagers and colleagues it is treatedas a source of authority” and “oursuccessful bid to JISC was as a directresult of the help given by theregional support worker!”

As manager of the RSC, probably themost satisfying comment for mepersonally was that the RSC “nevermakes me feel that my queries orproblems are unimportant.”

Thanks for those of you who took timeto respond. We think very hard aboutwhat you tell us, and hope to be able tokeep the same high level of service overthe coming years of Round 3.

Chris Hill, Regional Manager

I can’t get no satisfaction!

What are NLN materials?They are small, flexible ‘bite-sized’episodes of learning. They are notwhole courses but are instead designedto support a wide range of subject andtopic areas. The materials adopt a rangeof approaches involving someknowledge acquisition, a chance topractice and absorb, and some form ofassessment to check that the learninghas been understood and the learningoutcome(s) achieved.

How do I access thematerials?All existing users should have receivedan email in mid-October advising themof the new service and how to registerfor it. The current services for FE, WBLand Specialist Colleges will continue tobe available until the end of October.

Registration for new users isstraightforward. Simply go towww.nln.ac.uk and register on the site.Instructions on how to find thepassword will be available during theregistration process.

What is different aboutthe new service?The new access site to the NLNMaterials includes a range of usefulfeatures designed to help practitionersaccess and customise resources easilyfor their learners.

In particular, the site enables:

• Access to the full, definitive library ofNLN Materials (Rounds 1-4 includingall updates and all previous contenthitherto unavailable. The third partycopyright issues have now beenaddressed.)

• Powerful search and browse to findand play online appropriate materials.

• Creation and editing of collections ofmaterials which can be assigned tolearners online via a web link.

• Download of collections for easyimport into virtual learningenvironments (VLEs) such as Moodle,or immediate use on CD, DVD orIntranets, with no need for external tools.

• Review and sharing of collectionsassembled by other practitioners.

What about support?The new service is fully integrated intothe existing support site atwww.nln.ac.uk providing a unified pointof access and support for the entirecommunity of NLN Materials users.

There is an extensive help facility on thesite including:

• a user guide, with instructions on key“How To” tasks

• context-sensitive pop-up helpthroughout the site

• a dynamic FAQ system

RSCs will continue to provide supporton how to use the materials buttechnical support will be from theLearning and Skills Network (LSN).

NLN Materials updateXtensis has obtained the contract to host the NLN materials and the newservice has been launched. The service now extends to Further Education(FE) and Specialist Colleges, Adult and Community Learning (ACL), WorkBased Learning (WBL) and Offender Learning Providers. All staff in learningproviders can now have access rights rather than at an organisational level.

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Fresh faces

KevinSpencer“My role is a newposition beingestablished at eachRSC across Englandto develop casestudies for the QIAExcellence Gateway.

“As Information Officer, I will also belooking to improve our communicationswith our learning providers, includingour intouch newsletter.

“I have joined from Nottingham TrentUniversity, where I was part of themarketing team promoting the universityto potential students.

“Previously I have worked for theUniversity of Bradford and HuddersfieldTechnical College, as well as in a varietyof other non-education sectors.”

Tel: 01509 618112kevin.spencer@rsc-em.ac.uk

Focus On:The RSC East Midlands TeamDon’t worry – we won’t be talking about ourselves in every issue of thenew-style newsletter. But with some new additions to the team, somechanges for existing team members and our new focus, we thought itwould be useful to give you an overview of who does what now.

Who’s WhoKathrynRobinson“I joined the RSC inSeptember on asecondment fromLincoln College,where I was workingas a lecturer in theSchool of Business.

“I have worked for the college for manyyears, taking in a range of roles inadministration, human resources, thebusiness development centre and thecollege’s ‘Learning Shop’.

“I have always been interested inintegrating ILT throughout my teachingand, as a consequence, took on the roleof ILT mentor for the School of Business.

“I am currently re-establishing contactsin colleges with Higher Education (HE)provision, with the aim of arrangingvisits to determine the type of supportrequired. Another of my aims is to worktogether with my colleagues in otherRSCs in order to provide an all-roundservice, such as a proposed joint HEfocused conference with our WestMidlands colleagues next spring.”

Tel: 01509 618113kathryn.robinson@rsc-em.ac.uk

Stan Unwin“I’ve joined theRSC to develop thenew part of theorganisation’s remitas our support isextended to coverWork BasedLearning (WBL)provision.

“I come with extensive experience,gained over the past 14 years with WBLproviders in Leicester and Lincoln.

“Having held a number of positions,both ‘at the sharp end’ as assessor andverifier and in a range of managementroles from Business Manager to QualityManager, I have a good all-roundappreciation of the sector and of theissues and opportunities that exist.

“I’m very much looking forward to thechallenges that this new role willpresent, and would be interested tohear from any of the WBL providers inthe region.”

Tel: 01509 618119stan.unwin@rsc-em.ac.uk

Here’s a brief list of all the RSC team,with our roles and some examples ofthe type of things that you might liketo get in touch with us about….

Chris Hill (Manager) Strategic support, brokerage,secondments to RSC, benchmarking,teacher trainingchris.hill@rsc-em.ac.uk

Judi Millage (Assistant Manager)Placements, e-learning progress reviews,learning resources, staff developmentplanning and reviewjudi.millage@rsc-em.ac.uk

Martin Cooke (Advisor)Accessibility, Moodle, e-assessment, e-portfolios, Specialist Collegesmartin.cooke@rsc-em.ac.uk

Sharon Hutchings (Advisor)Curriculum review, E-learning in quality processes, project support, peer review, ACLsharon.hutchings@rsc-em.ac.uk

Ben Williams (Advisor)New learning technologies, embeddingVLE use, fundingben.williams@rsc-em.ac.uk

Kathryn Robinson (Advisor)HE in FE, Small Higher Education Institutionskathryn.robinson@rsc-em.ac.uk

Stan Unwin (Advisor)Work Based Learningstan.unwin@rsc-em.ac.uk

Gwen Callaghan (Events andAdministration Coordinator)Help desk, events, JISC mailing listsgwen.callaghan@rsc-em.ac.uk

Kevin Spencer (Information Officer)Case studies, RSC communicationskevin.spencer@rsc-em.ac.uk

We are in the process of recruiting anew Technical Advisor following JamesHigham’s move to EMMAN in thesummer, so watch this space.

To get intouch with any of us call theRSC office on (01509) 618110 or emailusing the addresses above.

ForthcomingEventsNovember

1st (am) Specialist CollegesForum

7th (am) EMIS Information Skills Meeting

13th (am) ILT Forum

15th (am) Technical Forum

16th (full day) Moodle for Beginners

21st (full day) LRC Forum

28th (full day) e-portfolios

30th (am) RSC East MidlandsRound 3 Launch

December

4th (am) Moodle Users Group

4th (am) Heads of IT Forum

11th (full day) Change Management

For further details please visit www.rsc-em.ac.uk

It saves as .avi or .swf files, which can beimported into Windows Movie Maker foradding text or can be exported toportable devices.

When you start recording it will recordwhatever is on the screen, including allscreen movements. An .avi file of 60seconds will come to something like30 MB.

As the software records what the user isdoing on-screen it can be used for awide variety of purposes but in particularit has found to be a beneficial tool forassessment, recording annotations onwhiteboards, and as a critique andreflective tool.

www.camstudio.org

Get intouchJISC RSC East MidlandsLoughborough CollegeRadmoor RoadLoughboroughLeicestershireLE11 3BT

Tel: 01509 618110Email: support@rsc-em.ac.ukWeb: www.rsc-em.ac.uk

Sue Lovell, CEL Strategic Associate andformer regional Chair of AOC NILTAEast Midlands region: “The conferencehas grown and matured, and is a veryprofessional event – something foreveryone, good keynote speakers,good choice of workshops, and anexcellent and varied exhibition.”

Gilly Miller, Lecturer in Learning Supportat Castle College: “I thought the e-fairwas excellent - I’ve learnt a lot today.One thing I will now look at doing isencouraging tutors to use Camstudio,including having it as an assessmenttool for learners with dyslexia to use. Ialso intend to reassess what I can puton our VLE due to what I’ve learnedabout copyright issues.”

Other delegates were equally intent onusing the knowledge they had gained onthe day. Feedback from them included,“looking at open source accessibilitysoftware from TechDis”, “following-upon Web 2.0 and Shibboleth”, and“developing Photostory”.

Many delegates had similar plans to theidea of “taking a couple of hours todigest all of the information collected andthen I’ll disseminate it to colleagues”.

All the people who returned a feedbackform were entered into a prize draw.Congratulations go to James Gordon-Hallat Lincoln College who was the winner ofthe wireless keyboard and mouse!

Preparations are already under way forthe next event, which will be held on24th June 2008 at the Walkers Stadiumin Leicester. So put that in your diarynow! And if you are interested in beinginvolved in the organisation and themesof the event then please get in touch.

If you didn’t make it to the e-fair youcan watch edited versions of thekeynote presentations on our website at www.rsc-em.ac.uk, or even if you werethere, maybe you would simply like tosee them again!

The 2007 e-fair took place in June with over 30 exhibitors and 150delegates converging on the University of Derby for an action packedday. Visitors came from across all the various sectors and fromthroughout the region, and gave a lot of positive feedback on theirexperiences of the day.

2 0 0 7ROUND-UP

Hints and Tips: CamStudioCamstudio is a useful free tool for creating video tutorials. It recordsvoice, image and cursor movements. You can download it for free forboth personal and commercial projects. CamStudio and the Codec areboth released under the General Public License.

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