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For all your technology and training needs, please contact: Lynette Chadwick, Learning Technologies and Resources Manager (lynette.chadwick@eastberks.ac.uk) Ian Lake, VLE and eLearning Administrator (ian.lake@eastberks.ac.uk) Graham Fenn, Learning Centre Advisor (graham.fenn@eastberks.ac.uk) Kwabena Amankwah, Learning Centre Advisor (kwabena.amankwah@eastberks.ac.uk) Rosemary Franklin, Learning Centre Advisor (rosemary.franklin@eastberks.ac.uk) Laura Fonash, Learning Centre Advisor (laura.fonash@eastberks.ac.uk) Barbara Soko, Learning Centre Assistant (barbara.soko@eastberks.ac.uk)

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Welcome to the inaugural issue of Engage, the elearning digital magazine

by the East Berkshire College Learning Centres.

In this issue, we’ll take a look at the some of the digital technologies we

have available in the Learning Centres.

There are a number of tools which you can borrow to add some excitement

to your lessons, such as Flip Video cameras, voting systems, digital voice

recorders and more.

MindGenius is mindmappping software which can be used in many exciting

ways from planning lessons and essays to capturing minutes of meetings.

Planet eStream is a media streaming service which has the ability to record

TV programmes for use in lessons.

And of course—there’s Moodle—the college VLE which allows you to make

learning resources available to your students 24/7!

Why not come and learn something new and turn a good lesson into an

outstanding one!

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Moodle VLE Standout T and L Toolkit Planet eStream Txttools Mind Genius Flip Videos Turning Point Digital Camera Digital Voice Recorders

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Use Moodle to store all your presentations and documents so your learners can access them at any time and from any-where. You can easily access all your students information through their PLP, set targets, view targets and concerns from your colleagues, write re-ports and grade your entire class in a matter of minutes. https://elearningzone.eastberks.ac.uk/

Create quizzes and activities that grade themselves Get your students to print out their hand-outs See all your students profiles and add targets, reports easily Create evidence of class discussions and learner progression

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If you’re looking to gain an insight from other practitioners for ways to im-prove your Teaching & Learning then go to the Stand Out teaching and learning site. You’ll find links to useful sites, helpful documentation and snippets from staff and pupils into effective ways to make your lessons more engaging. http://standout.eastberks.ac.uk/

Find the information you need quickly Learn from other practitioners Gain lesson ideas

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Planet eStream is the College’s streaming media server. It’s a centrally located video service that allows you to upload videos, record programs from television and attach relevant documents. At the moment, it’s only accessible internally via the Moodle homepage.

Attach pdfs and powerpoints that link up to your recorded programs

Chapter programs to jump straight to the information you need

Record programs within 7 days of their airing

Please visit Planet eStream via the Moodle Home Page.

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Txt tools is a service that allows you to text one student, an entire class or the whole of the student body—it’s that flexible!

Use to notify learners of important information Inform learners of event times/appointments Keep college community up to date regarding inclement weather

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*Please contact Ian Lake (ian.lake@eastberks.ac.uk) to set up a TXT Tools account.

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Mind Genius is a quick and easy way for you to display points from a class discussion. The system provides the opportunity for your students to collaborate and create revision maps, divide group work and much more. You can even use it to help your students improve the structure of their essays and assignments as Mind Map you and your class create can be easily imported to Microsoft programmes such as Word and PowerPoint to make clearly structured points for discussion.

Easy to use Import your map into Microsoft Word or PowerPoint Create Revision maps Improve essay structure and flow

*Mind Genius is available on all PCs in the College.

Photo courtesy of Mind Genius

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Allow your learners to be digitally creative, adding excitement to learning without increasing your preparation time! Hire a flip video from the Learning Centre and use in a variety of ways to enhance the learner experience.

When going on a field trip replace the clipboard with a flip video Record rehearsals or practical activities which will allow learners to analyse at a later date Incorporate into an assessment activity replacing the conventional essay or PowerPoint presentations Load your completed videos on to Planet eStream

*The Flip Video cameras are available at both Learning Centres to be borrowed for a one week loan.

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Create interactive presentations which can record student answers and inform your teaching. Student responses can be displayed in graphs And can be linked to specific individuals to inform differentiation. You can use answers to open up discussions before revealing the correct answer. Use Turning Point in your introduction and plenary to show your learners progression and improve your teaching.

Fun ways to engage your students in presentations Use this to inform your teaching and target learner needs Open up discussions

*Turning Point handsets are bookable through both Learning Centres for a one week loan.

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Digital cameras are a great way to evidence learners’ practical work or work experience. Also, they’re great for roleplaying activities in the classroom.

Collaborate and share learner practical work via Moodle Use images as a starting point for a writing activity Learners can document their own progression and learning with photographs

*Digital cameras are available for booking through both Learning Centres for a one week loan.

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Digital voice recorders are an excellent tool for recording your students’ debates and language activities.

Record and play back learner discussion to the entire class Record audio feeback and link to ePLP/Moodle Transcribe language activities to inform learning

*Digital Voice Recorders are bookable through the Langley Learning Centre for a one week loan.

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**In the next issue of engage—Learn about our ipad, wireless mouse and keyboard, wireless presenters, and much more.

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