rsc east midlands newsletter "intouch" - spring 2005

2
Spring 2005 Volume 3 • Issue 2 the termly newsletter produced by RSC East Midlands Welcome from the Editor Welcome to the first In touch of 2005. I hope you all enjoyed your well deserved break, and are settling back into the new term. The new year brings with it a new editor of In touch. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to see that I have kept the format that you are by now so familiar with. I am, however, very keen to hear your views. If there’s anything new you’d like to see in the next edition, please let me know, and if you’d like to submit an article, just email me at support@rsc-east- midlands.ac.uk On the back page you will see that this term’s events focus on other JISC services, with a host of workshops being delivered by Netskills and JISC infoNet. If you’re interested in free and open source software, then look out for the OSS Watch Roadshow on February 23rd. To book on any of our events, visit our website at www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk Rachael Stacey, e-Learning Advisor (HE) Forthcoming EVENTS January 25th Netskills Workshop - Design Solutions for e-learning 26th Netskills Workshop - Content Solutions for e-learning February 3rd JISC infoNet Workshop - An Introduction to Records Management 8th JISC infoNet Workshop - Creating a Managed Learning Environment 10th Using ILT in Biology 23rd OSS Watch Roadshow March 1st LRC Forum 8th JISC infoNet Workshop - Effective Use of VLE’s TBC HE Forum TBC Technical Forum For further details see our website www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk INSIDE This issue TechDis Accessibility Box Adult and Community Learning sector ILT/e-learning strategy: From development to implementation The First East Midlands ILT Fair The JISC Effective Practice with e-Learning guide Providing and Supporting JANET Connections: Who Does What? Starting your Learning Journey Forthcoming events College Focus: South Leicestershire College Hints and Tips: The Use of Electronic Voting Systems Often when we think about assistive technologies, images of complex kit and highly specialised software packages are brought to mind. Although there are plenty of different types of equipment on the market to justify this image, we quite often neglect the low-cost good practice for all solutions, readily available to most of us in colleges. TechDis, the JISC educational advisory service for accessibility needs, has recently supplied each Regional Support Centre with a collection of assistive technologies. The ‘Assistive Technology Boxes’ contain a host of hardware and software, which can be used to enhance teaching and learning for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Whilst some of the technologies are specialist, such as trackballs, joysticks and specialist keyboards, what is most striking about this kit is that many of the technologies are more main-stream such as MP3 players and digital movie creators, and also low-tech. The low-tech items in the kit range from regular post-it notes & copyholders to indexing cards & highlighter pens, items which we wouldn’t normally associate with assistive technology. So, what would be the disability rationale for using a highlighter pen? Maybe students with dyslexia find that highlighting text in a variety of different colours helps distinguish words from one another, and in doing so may well help break particular sentences down into smaller more manageable chunks. There is also evidence to suggest that students with impaired vision often benefit from highlighting words and sentences, an ordinary highlighter pen as an assistive technology because it is simply effective in making text stand out from the page. So, what does all this mean for your college? Under the guidance of TechDis, the RSC has been taking the ‘Assistive Technology Box’out to colleges to allow staff the time to look at the kit and assess it’s potential use in their particular area. What we have found is that a lot of colleges already have video cameras, MP3 players, digital cameras and many of the low-tech items mentioned earlier, but that it isn’t badged as assistive technology so isn’t used as such. We hope that by coming out and visiting your college we can demonstrate how much of this equipment, with the particular accessibility needs of your students as the focus, can be put to good use. That isn’t to say that we don’t also have access to highly specialised pieces of kit, so if you or a particular student want to try something out before spending a large sum of money then getting access to the ‘Assistive Technology Box’ may be a good way of doing so. Although training can be useful and stimulating it is often quite difficult, for all sorts of reasons, to carry fresh momentum and enthusiasm into the classroom, especially frustrating when the procurement of equipment is the main barrier. We hope to minimise this frustration by offering college’s access to particular pieces of kit in the ‘Assistive Technology Box’ on a loan basis. So, if you want the RSC to visit your college to provide training for and access to the ‘Assistive Technology Box’ then contact us on [email protected] and we can work out a session that best suits your staff, and ultimately best serves your students. Chris Bell, Specialist Colleges Advisor intouch TechDis Accessibility Box This activity took place during the initial assessment/induction section of a Teacher Education programme at South Leicestershire College. After being given a brief introduction to the topic of constructivism, the learners (all in-service tutors) were given a task brief: The learners had to work in a small team to research constructivism within a specified time frame and agree a definition of constructivism that could be summarised on one power-point slide. The team had to create the slide themselves. They also had to produce an electronic handout for their peers that summarised their research, linked the research findings to their own teaching practice and included internet and journal references. The aim of the activity was to encourage the learners to work together in groups to research ‘constructivism’ through the use of ILT and to experience the ‘constructing of a construct’. Prior to engaging in the activity, the learners had completed a right brain/left brain learning style analysis and the results were used to mix the groups up (as part of the task, they would later reflect on the group work processes). This activity was beneficial on many levels - It demanded the use of ILT - Web research, Power-point presentation (all student centred). The activity also required group work and provided the learners with an opportunity to reflect on the impact of learning styles in a group task situation Because of the diversity of the student population in terms of experience and prior attainment, the activity promoted peer tutoring and the development of independent and interdependent learning skills. Learners learnt that they could ‘learn without teaching’ - particularly pertinent to trainee teachers. For some this was their first experience of developing understanding of a topic without teacher ‘input’ The course tutors were able to formatively assess not only learning of the topic, but approaches to learning. We were able to provide support where necessary and identify gaps in terms of ILT skills. We were also able to observe and assess the aptitude of learners for collaborative learning activities. The learners thoroughly enjoyed the activity and most of them said that they found it fun - for some the first time that they had been able to use the ‘F’ word in learning! Jackie Rossa Development Manager Teaching and Learning South Leicestershire College South Leicestershire College COLLEGE FOCUS Constructing Constructivism through ILT: Hints and Tips: What are they? Electronic voting systems (EVS) combine software that allows you to create interactive, multimedia tests, quizzes and other activities, with hardware in the form of handsets (rather like a TV remote control), which allow learners to respond at the press of a button. How do they work? An activity is designed using the software. The activity is then projected on to a screen. Learners select their response using the handset. A receiver picks up the responses and stores them on a computer. Answers are automatically marked and can be viewed as reports, statistics or graphs. Why use EVS in teaching and learning? To “engage” the students i.e. not only to wake them up and cheer them up, but to get their minds working on the subject matter, and so to prompt learning’ (Draper 2002). Assessment - both formative and as practice for summative assessment. Marking is automatic and instant; the learner knows immediately whether they have answered correctly and how their performance relates to the rest of the group; the teacher can instantly gauge the understanding of individuals and the group as a whole and adapt the lesson accordingly. Formative feedback on learning. Questions at the start of a lesson are used to identify a topic for more detailed coverage. The same or similar questions at the end of the lesson provide feedback on the learning that has taken place. Formative feedback to the teacher on the teaching. Regular feedback on the course or a specific lesson allows effective changes to be made immediately. Peer assessment. Where student presentations are made to the group a series of questions can be used to gather instant feedback on their performance. Generate discussion. Learners register (thus committing themselves to an opinion) and then discuss their answers to a posed question. Increase participation. Privacy of choice allows the less confident learner to express an opinion without inhibition. Improve interaction. Active learning improves attention, interest, understanding and recall. Support from the RSC The RSC has a set of voting pads and can run practical workshops for you where you get the chance to try out the tool and explore what it can do. If you would like to arrange a demonstration, please contact Judi Millage: [email protected] Judi Millage, ILT Advisor References Draper S et al (2002). Electronically enhanced classroom interaction. WWW document: www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/ilig/why.html Visited 24/08/04. The use of Electronic Voting Systems in Teaching and Learning www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk

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The JISC Regional Support Centre (RSC) for the East Midlands produces a termly newsletter "intouch" that highlights current practice in e-learning/ILT in the region.

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Page 1: RSC East Midlands newsletter "intouch" - Spring 2005

Spring 2005 Volume 3 • Issue 2

the termly newsletter produced by RSC East Midlands

Welcome from the EditorWelcome to the first In touch of 2005. I hope you all enjoyed your well deservedbreak, and are settling back into the new term.

The new year brings with it a new editor of In touch. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to see that

I have kept the format that you are by now so familiar with. I am, however, very keen to

hear your views. If there’s anything new you’d like to see in the next edition, please let me

know, and if you’d like to submit an article, just email me at support@rsc-east-

midlands.ac.uk

On the back page you will see that this term’s events focus on other JISC services, with a

host of workshops being delivered by Netskills and JISC infoNet. If you’re interested in free

and open source software, then look out for the OSS Watch Roadshow on February 23rd.

To book on any of our events, visit our website at www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk

Rachael Stacey, e-Learning Advisor (HE)

Forthcoming

EVENTSJanuary25th Netskills Workshop -

Design Solutions for e-learning

26th Netskills Workshop -Content Solutions for e-learning

February3rd JISC infoNet Workshop -

An Introduction to RecordsManagement

8th JISC infoNet Workshop -Creating a ManagedLearning Environment

10th Using ILT in Biology23rd OSS Watch Roadshow

March1st LRC Forum8th JISC infoNet Workshop -

Effective Use of VLE’s

TBC HE ForumTBC Technical Forum

For further details see our websitewww.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk

I N S I D ET h i s i s s u eTechDis Accessibility Box

Adult and Community Learning sector ILT/e-learning strategy: From development to implementation

The First East Midlands ILT Fair

The JISC Effective Practice with e-Learning guide

Providing and Supporting JANETConnections: Who Does What?

Starting your Learning Journey

Forthcoming events

College Focus: South Leicestershire College

Hints and Tips: The Use of Electronic Voting Systems

Often when we think about assistive technologies, images of complex kit and highly specialised software packages are

brought to mind. Although there are plenty of different types of equipment on the market to justify this image, we quite

often neglect the low-cost good practice for all solutions, readily available to most of us in colleges.

TechDis, the JISC educational advisory service for accessibility needs, hasrecently supplied each Regional Support Centre with a collection of assistivetechnologies. The ‘Assistive Technology Boxes’ contain a host of hardwareand software, which can be used to enhance teaching and learning forstudents with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Whilst some of thetechnologies are specialist, such as trackballs, joysticks and specialistkeyboards, what is most striking about this kit is that many of the technologiesare more main-stream such as MP3 players anddigital movie creators, and also low-tech.

The low-tech items in the kit range from regularpost-it notes & copyholders to indexing cards &highlighter pens, items which we wouldn’tnormally associate with assistive technology. So,what would be the disability rationale for using ahighlighter pen? Maybe students with dyslexia findthat highlighting text in a variety of differentcolours helps distinguish words from one another,and in doing so may well help break particularsentences down into smaller more manageablechunks. There is also evidence to suggest thatstudents with impaired vision often benefit fromhighlighting words and sentences, an ordinary highlighter pen as anassistive technology because it is simply effective in making text stand outfrom the page.

So, what does all this mean for your college? Under the guidance ofTechDis, the RSC has been taking the ‘Assistive Technology Box’ out to

colleges to allow staff the time to look at the kit and assess it’s potentialuse in their particular area. What we have found is that a lot of collegesalready have video cameras, MP3 players, digital cameras and many of thelow-tech items mentioned earlier, but that it isn’t badged as assistivetechnology so isn’t used as such. We hope that by coming out and visitingyour college we can demonstrate how much of this equipment, with theparticular accessibility needs of your students as the focus, can be put to

good use. That isn’t to say that we don’t also haveaccess to highly specialised pieces of kit, so if youor a particular student want to try something outbefore spending a large sum of money then gettingaccess to the ‘Assistive Technology Box’ may be agood way of doing so.

Although training can be useful and stimulating itis often quite difficult, for all sorts of reasons, tocarry fresh momentum and enthusiasm into theclassroom, especially frustrating when theprocurement of equipment is the main barrier. Wehope to minimise this frustration by offeringcollege’s access to particular pieces of kit in the‘Assistive Technology Box’ on a loan basis. So, if

you want the RSC to visit your college to provide training for and access tothe ‘Assistive Technology Box’ then contact us on [email protected] we can work out a session that best suits your staff, and ultimately bestserves your students.

Chris Bell, Specialist Colleges Advisor

intouch

TechDis Accessibility Box

This activity took place during the initialassessment/induction section of a TeacherEducation programme at South LeicestershireCollege.

After being given a brief introduction to the topicof constructivism, the learners (all in-servicetutors) were given a task brief: The learners had towork in a small team to research constructivismwithin a specified time frame and agree adefinition of constructivism that could besummarised on one power-point slide. The teamhad to create the slide themselves. They also hadto produce an electronic handout for their peersthat summarised their research, linked theresearch findings to their own teaching practiceand included internet and journal references.

The aim of the activity was to encourage thelearners to work together in groups to research‘constructivism’ through the use of ILT and toexperience the ‘constructing of a construct’.Prior to engaging in the activity, the learners hadcompleted a right brain/left brain learning styleanalysis and the results were used to mix thegroups up (as part of the task, they would laterreflect on the group work processes).

This activity was beneficial on many levels -

It demanded the use of ILT - Web research,Power-point presentation (all student centred).

The activity also required group work andprovided the learners with an opportunity toreflect on the impact of learning styles in agroup task situation

Because of the diversity of the student populationin terms of experience and prior attainment, theactivity promoted peer tutoring and the

development of independent and interdependentlearning skills.

Learners learnt that they could ‘learn withoutteaching’ - particularly pertinent to traineeteachers. For some this was their first experienceof developing understanding of a topic withoutteacher ‘input’

The course tutors were able to formatively assessnot only learning of the topic, but approaches tolearning. We were able to provide support wherenecessary and identify gaps in terms of ILT skills.We were also able to observe and assess theaptitude of learners for collaborative learningactivities.

The learners thoroughly enjoyed the activity andmost of them said that they found it fun - forsome the first time that they had been able touse the ‘F’ word in learning!

Jackie RossaDevelopment Manager Teaching and LearningSouth Leicestershire College

South Leicestershire College

C O L L E G EFOCUS

Constructing Constructivism through ILT:

Hints and Tips:What are they?

Electronic voting systems (EVS) combine software that allows you to createinteractive, multimedia tests, quizzes and other activities, with hardware inthe form of handsets (rather like a TV remote control), which allow learnersto respond at the press of a button.

How do they work?

• An activity is designed using the software.

• The activity is then projected on to a screen.

• Learners select their response using the handset.

• A receiver picks up the responses and stores them on a computer.

• Answers are automatically marked and can be viewed as reports,statistics or graphs.

Why use EVS in teaching and learning?

To “engage” the students i.e. not only to wake them up and cheer them up,but to get their minds working on the subject matter, and so to promptlearning’ (Draper 2002).

• Assessment - both formative and as practice for summative assessment.Marking is automatic and instant; the learner knows immediatelywhether they have answered correctly and how their performance relatesto the rest of the group; the teacher can instantly gauge theunderstanding of individuals and the group as a whole and adapt thelesson accordingly.

• Formative feedback on learning. Questions at the start of a lesson areused to identify a topic for more detailed coverage. The same or similarquestions at the end of the lesson provide feedback on the learning thathas taken place.

• Formative feedback to the teacher on the teaching. Regular feedback onthe course or a specific lesson allows effective changes to be madeimmediately.

• Peer assessment. Where student presentations are made to the group a seriesof questions can be used to gather instant feedback on their performance.

• Generate discussion. Learners register (thus committing themselves to anopinion) and then discuss their answers to a posed question.

Increase participation. Privacy of choice allows the less confident learner toexpress an opinion without inhibition.

Improve interaction. Active learning improves attention, interest,understanding and recall.

Support from the RSC

The RSC has a set of voting pads and can run practical workshops for youwhere you get the chance to try out the tool and explore what it can do. Ifyou would like to arrange a demonstration, please contact Judi Millage:[email protected]

Judi Millage, ILT Advisor

ReferencesDraper S et al (2002). Electronically enhanced classroom interaction. WWWdocument: www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/ilig/why.html Visited 24/08/04.

The use of Electronic VotingSystems in Teaching and Learning

w w w. r s c - e a s t - m i d l a n d s . a c . u k w w w. r s c - e a s t - m i d l a n d s . a c . u k

Page 2: RSC East Midlands newsletter "intouch" - Spring 2005

Page 3

intouch

Adult and Community Learning sector ILT/e-Learning strategy:From development to implementation

intouch

As your full strategies have now been submitted, and I can imagine withgreat relief, I’d just like to take a little time to look back at what’s beenachieved here in the East Midlands.

For many of you developing your strategies has been a huge increase inyour existing workload, for others you have been given the specific roleto develop your organisations awareness and commitment to ILT and e-learning. Either way this has been quite a journey and has demanded ahuge commitment from you and your service. I think a good way tomeasure how much hard work has been done is to consider what yourpersonal understanding of ILT/e-Learning was before you becameinvolved in developing your strategies and what it is now and,importantly, how this is beginning to transform your service! Just from mytime spent with you I’d say there’s been a huge shift in the way you seetechnology enhancing the learning and teaching within yourorganisations, the next stage is to make all this happen!

Implementing your strategies

So, you’ve written your strategies, (and I wouldn’t dare say this was theeasy bit!!) however the next step should be the really interesting onewhere you put it all into action. So where does the RSC go from here interms of support available? I will continue to support the ACL sector, andlook forward to it, but here at the RSC we have many areas of expertisewithin our team and they are looking forward to becoming involved withthe ACL sector also. Below are some examples of ways we can supportthe implementation of your strategies:

Support for E-Guides

In addition to the E-guides programme we aim to offer ongoing support to

your E-guides so they don’t feel isolated once their initial training iscompleted. The support could be in the form of additional training, helpwith their cascade plans or just a phone call to our help desk.

Variety of ILT/e-Learning workshops

We run a number of workshops from project management to creating simplee-resources in MS office. Check the website regularly for details of events.

Forums

We run a number of forums where those interested meet up to discusstopics relevant to them. We would very much like to welcome the ACLsector to any of these forums and one we think may be of real use to E-Guides, (and likewise to their FE counterparts) is the Ferl PractitionersProgramme forum. Details of forums will be posted to the website and theACL discussion list.

What support do you want?

The above is just a taste of support available; the key focus this year is foryou to say what kind of support you really need to help you implementyour strategies. Late January we will be organising a meeting to discuss theways we can support you, so please start thinking of ideas.

On a final note I want to say thank you for being a great group to supportyou have made my job a real joy. I’m really looking forward to this yearand seeing all the hard work you have done over the last year continue tohave a positive impact on the way you deliver your learning and teaching.

Sharon Hutchings, ACL Advisor

The provision of a JANET connection involves aclose collaboration between a number ofdifferent organisations. Unfortunately, thereisn’t one magical “JANET organisation” thatprovides all of the equipment for the connectionitself and the technical support for aninstitution’s link to the outside world and therest of the Internet.

Although there are many different organisationsinvolved in the provision of a JANET connection,for the readers of this newsletter, the mainorganisations involved are UKERNA (UnitedKingdom Education and Research NetworkingAssociation), the EMMAN (East MidlandsMetropolitan Area Network) and the JISC EastMidlands Regional Support Centre.

UKERNA (United Kingdom Education andNetworking Association)

UKERNA is responsible for management of theJANET network. Some of the roles undertaken byUKERNA involve the provisioning and operatingthe highly resilient, high-speed, high-bandwidthcore of the JANET network, (often referred to asthe JANET backbone), negotiating with regionalnetworks, such as the EMMAN, to provideregional connectivity for education and researchinstitutions, working with the JISC (JointInformation Services Committee) and the variouseducation and research funding councils toensure continued funding for the developmentand expansion of the JANET network and theprovision of training, events, publications andservices to help connected institutions make bestuse of their JANET connection.

UKERNA is responsible for the management of theJANET network as a whole and operates the JANET

backbone on behalf of connected institutions.

This hopefully gives some idea as to the role andfunction of UKERNA. More information can befound on UKERNA’s website www.ukerna.ac.ukor by telephoning JANET Customer Service on0870-8502212.

EMMAN (East Midlands Metropolitan Area Network)

The EMMAN is responsible for regional JANETconnectivity in the East Midlands region. Thearea covered by the EMMAN includesNottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire,Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. Just as thereis a JANET backbone, managed by UKERNA, theEMMAN procures, and operates an equivalentregional backbone, to give regional institutionsJANET connectivity. The regional backbone inthe East Midlands consists of a resilient, high-speed, high-bandwidth network connecting eachof the region’s eight universities. Individualinstitutions requiring a JANET connection thenconnect to the nearest university.

In a similar way to UKERNA operating thenational backbone of the JANET network, theEMMAN operates the regional section of theJANET network in the East Midlands. A formalagreement exists between the EMMAN andUKERNA to ensure that the same standards ofservice apply to the regional network as well asthe JANET backbone.

More information about the EMMAN, can befound on their website www.emman.net

JISC East Midlands Regional Support Centre

In the summer of 2000, the Learning and SkillsCouncil funded the JISC to establish thirteen

regional support centres throughout the UK. Theoriginal idea of the regional support centres wasto connect FE Colleges to the JANET network andthen help them “increase the use of ILT in thecurriculum”. Since the Regional Support Centrewas formed, the support offered to FE Collegeshas also been extended to Specialist Colleges,Higher Education Colleges and the Adult andCommunity Learning Sector. From a technicalpoint of view, this has involved working withUKERNA and the EMMAN to install and bringinto service connections to the JANET networkand then working with the institutions to developtheir networks and systems to allow learners tomake most effective use of the JANET connection.The ways for working towards this vary frominstitution to institution, but the main purpose forthe regional support centre is to use its links toorganisations such as the EMMAN, UKERNA andthe JISC to help institutions get the informationthey need and to encourage the sharing of goodpractice within the region.

In summary, the purpose of the Regional SupportCentre is to act as a source of information forsupported institutions, encourage the sharing ofbest practice between them, and to work on theirbehalf with UKERNA and the EMMAN. In termsof the JANET network, this means that theRegional Support Centre acts as a link forconnected institutions to UKERNA and theEMMAN, operators of the national and regionalsections of the JANET network.

More information about the JISC East MidlandsRegional Support Centre and the services it offerscan be found on the website www.rsc-em.ac.ukor by telephone 01509-618110.

James Higham, Network Specialist

Providing and Supporting JANET Connections: Who does what?

Page 2 w w w. r s c - e a s t - m i d l a n d s . a c . u kw w w. r s c - e a s t - m i d l a n d s . a c . u k

The Regional Support Centre is pleased toannounce that the first East Midlands ILT Fairwill be held at the University of Derby on June23rd 2005.

The theme will be all about making ILT normal.ILT is not an optional add on for enthusiasts oranoraks, but part of normal daily life in anylearning provider. No matter what your role is -teaching, learning support, administration,management, technical and other supportservices - ILT can be part of the way you work.Whether you work in an FE or sixth formcollege, specialist college, smaller HEI or Adultand Community Education, there will besomething in the ILT Fair for you.

You will be able to:

• listen to inspirational speakers

• find out what other learning providers in theregion are doing

• learn from regional projects

• meet the regional and national organisationsthat provide you with ILT services

• go to short sessions on all sorts of ILT issues

• browse the exhibition

• chat to colleagues from other learning providers

But this is not just a Fair to go to - it is one totake part in. Tell the rest of the region whatworks for you. There is much effective practice

going on in East Midland learning providers -and we would very much like you to tell usabout it at the Fair by having a stall or runninga short session. If you are prepared to share,then get in touch with Gwen Callaghan oranother member of the RSC team.

The Fair will be free - and we are even planningsome things for you to take away with you inaddition to the ideas and the contacts!

Further information will be on the RSC websiteand arriving in your institution soon. Book thedate in your diary and keep your eyes open!

Chris Hill, RSC Manager

The First East Midlands ILT Fair

Starting your Learning JourneyIncorporating the potential of e-learning into your teaching is a process- a journey. If you are at the start of your Learning Journey, the EastMidlands RSC is running a whole day event so you can travelpurposefully and successfully. This is not a talking shop. It is a practicalevent for teachers, tutors and all those who help learners to get the bestout of their studies. Its focus is on the role of ILT in the learning journeyson which we travel.

The day is structured around a curriculum planning cycle - anotherlearning journey. You bring with you a session plan(s) or scheme of workyou would like to improve. As the day looks at how e-learning can helpeach stage of the planning cycle, you reflect on how you can use theideas. You go away with clearly signposted improvements to the plansyou brought and skills you need to implement them.

It’s a shared journey, with expert guides leading hands-on activity within smallgroups - with access to computers, other hardware and appropriate software.But e-learning is not an end in itself and so there are four underpinninglearning themes - learning styles, differentiation, inclusion and creativity.

The Learning Journey event is for those in the foothills of the journey -with just enough knowledge to get by on a computer but frustrated bythe lack of an overview of where they should be heading and a mapthey can trust. It aims to provide that sense of direction. It is not forChampions and other experienced users.

Our first Learning Journey event is being held at the Basford Hall campusof New College Nottingham on April 7th. There are 30 free places whichwill be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis with a maximum of 3places per learning provider. You can find full details and book on lineat www.rsc-east-midlands.ac.uk. We are also happy to provide aLearning Journey event for individual colleges or groups of colleges.

The Learning Journey is for those who travel hopefully, those who’d liketo travel a bit quicker and in good company. Once the journey starts,who knows where it may end?

Chris Hill, RSC Manager

The use of VLEs is a common thread. ILT tools used include:

• Use of images and audio files to support the development of conceptual learning• Use of mind-mapping software to visualise the relationships between

concepts and to structure lines of argument• Use of Learning Activity Management System (LAMS), to build short

sequences of activities to maintain active engagement on a collaborative task.• Interactive Whiteboard• Moodle• Assistive technology• Collaborative tools • MS Producer

Effective practice with e-learning looks at the pedagogy and is related to learners,the learning environment and the intended learning outcomes. It emphasises that

the benefits of ILT are to be found in the context of planned learning.

There is an accompanying CD which includes video case studies.

Feedback is valued, and to this end, a JISC case study template is included,designed to encourage reflection on the design of learning activities andsharing with other practitioners.

Information about the JISC e-Learning Programme can be found atwww.jisc.ac.uk/elearning

Sarah Knight, Programme Manager [email protected]

Digital copies can be downloaded from

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=elp_practice

Martin Cooke, ILT Advisor

The JISC Effective Practice with e-Learning guideCopies of the Effective Practice with e-Learning guide went out to providers in December 2004. The report is built around ten case studies- the emphasis is on the seamless use of e-learning within a variety of settings.