October 2011

About & CommentIf you have any comments and/or

contributions to make, please send them...

• ...using the Online Comment/Feedback Form using the QR code or link below

• The Regional Support Centre eMagazine provides news of funding, current projects, initiatives and examples of good practice in eLearning, and offers ideas and support for the HE, FE, ACL, WBL, 6th Form, OLASS and Specialist College Managers & Practitioners, that are supported by the RSC here in the Northwest.

Note: - Although every care has been taken in the preparation of this eMagazine, no warranty is given by the author or the Regional Support Centre-Northwest as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained within it and neither the authors nor the RSC-Northwest shall be responsible or liable for any errors or omissions.

General Contact Details• Support Desk... Duty Adviser Tel: 01524 510067Email via QR Code or URL

below...

Address & Telephone/Fax Numbers... • Joint Information Systems

Committee (JISC) AdvanceRegional Support Centre - NorthwestLancaster UniversityBailrigg HouseLancaster University CampusLancaster LA1 4YE

Tel: 01524 510067 Fax: 01524 593 798 Web Address (URL)... http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Continued on next page...

RSC-Northwest Contact Details• Manager: Andrew Quarmby

Tel: 01524 510071aq@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

• Events Co-ordinator & Administration...

Sandra HarrisTel: 01524 510067Fax:0152 459 3798sh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

• AdministrationChristine Hulme

Tel: 01524 510066Fax:0152 459 3798admin@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

• eLearning Advisers...Anita Holt (Further Education/6th Form

Colleges)Tel: 01524 510062ah@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Colin Gallacher (Work Based Learning)Tel: 01524 510058cg@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Hilary Thomas (Higher Education)Tel: 01524 510059ht@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

John Dalziel (Adult & Community Learning / Personal & Community Development Learning/OLASS & Sustainability/Green)Tel: 01524 510057jd@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Judy Bloxham (Further Education/6th Form Colleges)Tel: 01524 510061jb@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Keith Wilson (Technical)Tel: 01524 510065kwil@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Kevin Hickey (Specialist Colleges & Accessibility)Tel: 01524 510064kh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk

Disclaimer

• If any one has any objection to displaying of any picture and news, it may be brought to our notice by sending an email (see the QR Code or URL above ) & the same will be removed immediately, after verification of the claim.

• All the pictures and news shown on this eMagazine are the property of their respective owners.

• We don't hold any copyright about these pictures and news.

• These pictures have been collected from different public sources including different websites, considering to be in public domain.

News & Events• Access Event

information on the RSC Website (use the QR Code or URL below )

• Access Latest News on the RSC Website (use the QR Code or URL above )

ACCA Global• As the global body for

professional accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCAGlobal) provides support to their 147,000 members and more than 420,000 students; based in London, with administrative offices in Glasgow, they have an active presence in over 170 different countries.

• Take a look at "Teach Accounting" ACCA's e-magazine for teachers of finance professionals.

• Now published exclusively via email, it includes ACCA news, industry updates, resources and guidance for learning providers, as well as technical support and exam-related articles.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

A Fun Way to Learn a New Language

• Lyrics Gaps aims to help users learn a language through songs; it could be a fun way for students to practice their listening skills and writing skills in the language that they are studying.

• Each song has a few activities accompanying it. The activities ask learners to fill in the blanks in the songs with the correct word or words that are missing. Currently there are activities available in ten languages.

• Registered users are encouraged to develop and contribute their own activities in the user community; LYRICSnMUSIC <http://www.lyricsnmusic.com/> may assist in this process.

• Lyrics Gaps doesn't provide the most rigorous of activities, but make a nice break from traditional ESOL/EFL/ESL etc., language practice activities.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Blitz School• Blitz School offers educational

workshops with exciting activities to help learn about World War II. Based in Greater Manchester, their website offers valuable resources.

• Take a look in the Free Resources section for a fascinating video lesson, fact files about a number of objects from the period and lots of other teaching resources.

• Based around the QCA unit 9 history topic "what was life like for children in the second world war?"

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

CC:to me• CC:to me is one of those

bookmarklets that "makes my head hurt"; there are so many things practitioners and their learners can do with it. Why wasn't an idea as simple as this implemented earlier.

• As its name suggests, it allows users to...– email stuff to themself via a

bookmarklet; – drag and drop text, images, videos

and more from the web onto it;

• cc:to me then emails them all flawlessly along with the webpage URL.

• Currently free (sign up needed); pro accounts (coming soon) will bring goodies like multiple recipients (ideal for collaborative work) and more.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Children’s Books Forever• Children’s Books Forever is a website

with free children’s books that are downloadable in pdf format and are wonderful for expanding a Family Learning Practitioner's library.

• The books can be used on an interactive whiteboard, power point, overhead projector, on iPads (or other iDevices), or computers in the learning environment.

• New books are being added regularly to Children’s Books Forever so be sure to check back often!

• The books can be read in multiple languages making it a wonderful place for those who are learning a second language or speaking English as a second language.

• Make sure you click on the links in the left side bar, they lead you to additional books; books for toddlers, Waldo humor books, inspirational books and more information on author Hans Wihelm.

• Many of the stories can also be used for "character discussions" with learners.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

Claroline• Open source software is the

perfect choice for learning providers - it’s free (which is great for those with very limited budgets), and the software’s flexibility and open nature suits the learning environment. Claroline is well-suited for building online courses and managing online and collaborative environments. As usual I highly recommend you check out the demo.

• For a DIY: Set-up visit http://alturl.com/pbzfy.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Cloud Computing: The Layperson’s Guide to Distributed Networks

• There's a lot of buzz around "cloud computing" these days, but what exactly is it? Who are the major players involved, and how can it benefit learners and Learning Providers?

• Find out more and/or access the guide by using the QR Code or URL above...

• This post by Christina Warren at Mashable will help answer these questions.

Create webpages mirrors• TextMirror is a free, online tool

for creating text mirrors of webpages. It also has a searchable mirrors archive...– Are learners or practitioners

trying to read articles on a website blocked on Learning Provider networks?

– If yes, then they can read that article with ease thanks to TextMirror – a service that converts websites into plain text.

• All they have to do is enter the URL of the website they want converted; the conversion is all done on TextMirror’s own server.

• Find out more and/or access those blocked Educational Resources by using the QR Code or URL below...

CSI Web adventures• CSI Web adventures, based on the

CBS TV show CSI: Crime Scene, provides resources that allow learners to experience several different types of forensic analysis.

• CSI Web adventures also provides links for practitioners, and their learners, of forensic science. These include...– General Forensics– DNA (Forensic Biology)– Toxicology– Firearms and Tool Marks

Examination– Digital Forensics– Forensic Anthropology– Forensic Pathology

– Forensic Art– Fingerprints and– Other Forensic Games

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Dial-e in 5 mins • This is a very brief five minute

narrated Prezi presentation from Simon Atkinson that provides a quick overview of the Digital Artefacts for Learner Engagement (DiAL-e) framework.

• The presentation provides a context for the work, suggesting that faculty might benefit from a framework which supports their use of video (and other digital content) by giving primacy to its intended use (what the learner 'does' with it) rather than merely its subject or discipline relevance.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Documentary Heaven• DocumentaryHeaven is a site filled

with hundreds of free online documentaries just waiting to be seen!

• I'm sure that practitioners could find the videos on Documentary Heaven by searching the web themselves, but Documentary Heaven makes it easier to find good content.

• Through Documentary Heaven users can find documentaries covering all kinds of topics in science, history, politics, business, and many more categories. The videos are sourced from a variety of services not just YouTube.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

• Note: Documentary Heaven does have some videos in the "lifestyle" category that might not be appropriate for younger learners.

Download free ebooks at bookboon

• Bookboon is a free to use website that lets visitors download eBooks, in PDF format. The eBooks are categorized either as...– textbooks;– books for business; or– books for travel.

• Visitors can begin their searches by entering in a keyword and having the results displayed; they can also choose the category of books and optionally change the language of the website since it supports multiple languages.

• Note: Search results can be filtered through subcategories in the left pane.

• All the books can be downloaded without registration. The ebooks are legal and written exclusively for Bookboon. They are financed by a few in-book ads.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

DYMO/Mimio

• DYMO/Mimio Interactive Teaching Technologies...

• Do you own a Mimio interactive whiteboard? Yes - then you’ll be interested in this YouTube channel containing several useful videos on how to use the Mimio software.

• Find out more and/or watch the clips by using the QR Code or URL below...

eBible• For those engaged in "Thought-

Beliefs" courses/study/evaluation etc.

• eBible is an online tool that makes reading and going through different aspects of the Bible very simple.

• Users can...– search through sections,– read specific books and chapters,– add notes,– highlight sentences and do so

much more.

• Practitioners could also use it to link to Bible verses in a VLE or blog or other web presence.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Engineering Interact• Engineering Interact is a site for

younger learners designed by the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.

• Engineering Interact offers five games designed to teach students physics concepts. The games address concepts related to...– light, – sound, – motion, – electricity, and – space travel.

• Each of the five games presents students with a scenario in which they have to "help" someone solve a problem.

• The games require learners to learn and analyze the information presented to them.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Fakebook: from classtools.net

Create a fun, interactive, fictional profile...Another excellent resource from Class Tools - Get learners to organize information that they know and or find out about a famous person by Creating a fake Facebook profile for them.

Learners could also create profiles for characters in novels that they are studying/reading for literature courses etc.

GCompris• GCompris is an open source

educational games and software suite ideal for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Family Learning Practitioners; it contains a wide range of activities aimed at the 2 to 10 year age group.

• GCompris comprises of over 100 individual games offering various activities such as...

• the functioning of the computer,• using the mouse and keyboard,• general learning,• reading,• writing,• foreign languages,• algebra,

...as well as various activities such as memory and logic games, scientific experiments etc.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Get your computer • Research shows that everything

practitioners do to inspire and encourage learners – providing them the right skills to go online – will gradually slip away if there is no PC at home to keep the excitement alive and provide easy, instant access to the internet.

• For many learners, engaged with ACL/PCDL/IAL/WBL and other Learning Providers, and others within the communities they support, the last significant barrier to getting people connected is the cost of a PC in the home.

• It’s not enough for them to go online while attending taster or longer courses – the goal is to make it possible for them to stay online – and to feel the wonderful benefits of...– using Skype with friends and family;– unlimited video calls to any part of the world;– finding information just when they need it;– making the most of learning opportunities and

develop their particular passions.

• Help your community and current learners overcome this final barrier by pointing them towards GetOnline@Home website – the best place to buy a no-nonsense, affordable computer, which will give them a chance to stay online for good and to enjoy all the benefits that many take for granted.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

Google Inside Search · Playground• “Welcome to the Search

Playground. Feed your curiosity, test your search skills and explore topics in a whole new way.”

• Use this link to be taken inside Google Search and into their Playground.

• Here visitors can...– feed their curiosity;– test their search skills; and– explore topics in a whole new way

–

• Packed with features that give visitors several new ways to play around with Google Search.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Google Swiffy• If you are practitioner, you will

probably be worried, with so many iOS devices that can’t support flash, that many of your resources are past their "usefull to learners shelf life" - outside the learning environment that is!

• Naturally, practitioners feel stuck, but with Google’s Swiffy, they can convert Flash SWF Files to HTML 5 to help them reach a wider learner-base.

• Note - Swiffy uses SVG, a standardised format for vector graphics. SVG features used by Swiffy are supported by Webkit-based browsers such as Safari (on desktop and mobile)...

...and Google Chrome.At the time of writing this, Firefox 5 has almost complete support for SVG, but does not support SVG fonts. • Find out more by using the QR Code or

URL below...

Glean Comparison Search: An Educational Research and Search Tool

• Glean Comparison Search is a designed to help its users explicitly explore differing points of view about a topic, and through lessons, come to understand how their own confirmation bias might be impacting their research work.

• Another useful Information Literacy Tool - The GLEAN Comparison Search engine is an online tool that allows learners to compare search results for "positive" and "negative" perspectives side-by-side. For example, if users search using the term "e-portfolio" they will be presented with lists of positive and negative terms. Clicking on those terms will change the results and give them quick comparison options.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Gradebook | LearnBoost • LearnBoost claims to be the best

grade-book software on the web - and it’s free! Although aimed at schools this has potential for practitioners working in the Further Education and Skills sectors.

• What do users get?– Gradebook: easy inputs, statistics,

standards, grading, weighting, etc.;– Attendance: Track, notice trends, and print

off records;– Lesson Plans: helps connect planning and

instruction to grading and assessing; Create lesson plans, align to imported standards, and add enriching media and picture files;

– Reporting: easy-to-interpret charts and reports automatically update, giving practitioners information required;

– Parent (substitute Employer) & Learner: enabling employer and student accounts and users will create inroads for communication and collaboration.; and

– Other Goodies: seating, schedules, calendars etc.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

How to Create a Chrome Web

• Many learning providers may use Google Chrome and would like to have "Their own Web App"(s) for their website and/or VLE and or other web presence.

• This How-to helps them to do just that.

• Find out more and/or create your own web app by using the QR Code or URL below...

ICT PlanningIan Addison has created this guide to

ICT - with sections on...– Blogging & Working Online;– Research;– Digital Literacy;– ICT in Maths;– Animation and Video;– Art & Image Editing;– Presentations;– Sound & Music;– Modelling & Simulations;– Control, Programming & Game

Design;– ESafety; and– Early Years.

• Also includes information, web links and suggested resources within each section...

... and references to expected levels/benchmarks, for Family Learning Practitioners, that children should aim to reach at different ages.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

LYRICSnMUSIC• A Lyric and Music Search

Engine for Music People by Music People.

• Looking for...– lyrics,– for video clips,...of a particular song or to purchase

that song/track/album?

• Well LyricsNMusic is a free to use website that lists details of a song on a single webpage. These details include the song’s lyrics, videos, Wikipedia results, and links from iTunes and Amazon.

• Saving you time!

• Find out more and/or find those lyrics by using the QR Code or URL below...

Merriam-Webster's Word Central Games

• Functional Skills/Key skills/English etc., Interactive word games, from the Merriam-Webster website, that are great for an Interactive White Board (IWB)...

• Alpha-bot - has an engaging method for spelling words, challenging spellers of all ages. Listen to the audio then drag, drop and click your way to success!

• Robo-Bee - Learners control the flight of the Robo-Bee through a garden of synonyms, antonyms, spelling, and usage puzzles! This one works much better on Internet Explorer.

• Bigbot - ideal for the younger learner; word-automated machines with an appetite! Challenges learners to find the antonym or synonym for different words - fun for the kids.

• Jumble Kids - has potential as a fun lesson starter. The game has 10-12 Jumbles to choose from and seems they have a new Jumble each week.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

minutephysics's Channel

• Simply put: cool physics and other sweet science.– all in a minute!

• Useful video resources for Science Practitioners

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Model & Solve Maths Word Problems

• Learn how to model and solve word problems in mathematics. Ideal for Functional Skills (Key Skills) Learners.

• Using brightly coloured blocks, learners model mathematical relationships and identify known and unknown quantities. The model provides learners with a powerful image that organises information and simplifies the problem solving process. By modelling increasingly complex word problems, learners develop strong reasoning skills which will facilitate the transition from arithmetic to algebra.

• This tool has great potential for use on an Interactive White Board. Practitioners need to spend some time familiarising themselves with everything Thinking Blocks has to offer.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

Music Notation Training • If you're a music teacher looking

for a simple reading practice activity, Music Notation Training might be for you.

• It's a simple website on which learners can practice recognizing music notes. The offers practice for both bass and treble clefs.

• To use the site...– type the letters of the notes you see

displayed before you.– each time a letter is typed learners

can instantly see if they were right or wrong.

• Find out more and/or try out the training by using the QR Code or URL below...

• Note: There are a few progressions through the site so that learners don't have the same sequence of notes all the time.

PageFlip-Flap• Transform your

doc(x)/ppt(x)/xls(x), pdf/ps, ods/odt/odp..., jpg/png/gif/svg/eps..., avi/mov/ogm/flv... in an interactive flipbook.

• It's very easy:– upload a file;– enter your email; and

...you will receive an email with the url to access the creation.

You can share this with colleagues, learners, other stakeholders... by email, blog, VLE, website, facebook,twitter and other web presence.

• Note: this is produced using PageFlip-Flap

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Page O Rama• Want to post online for all

stakeholders and prospects to read but you don't have a blog and you just can't be bothered putting one together for what's essentially going to be a one-off announcement? Yes! Then Page O Rama comes highly recommended.

• Lets users have a webpage created and published without having to get near a single line of code, and it wont cost users anything. Page O Rama is a browser-based webpage creator and whatever is created will go live the second the "Save Page" button is clicked.

• By submitting an email address when creating the page, it can be modify after publication too.

• Page O Rama has the undeniable advantage, over similar online tools, of letting users create full HTML pages, complete with content such as images.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

PrimaryWall - Web based sticky notes

• There are a lot of different online notice boards available these days.

• Online notice boards are a neat way of getting a shared space to collect ideas from learners during a "blue sky"/brainstorm session. Or for a practitioner to post resources for a topic. Learners could ask questions which can be answered by fellow learners and/or their teacher/assessor/practitioner etc.

• PrimaryWall is ideal for Family Learning, concieved by a teacher and built for schools; deliberately kept simple, fast and user friendly.

• The font size of the notes is quite large when typed to make it easier for younger users. Some lesson plans and ideas for practitioners are provided on the site.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Reel• Reel App provides an online

service for sharing PPT, PDF, and image files with others. Reel App provides...– a unique url for sharing the file; – an option to get feedback from the

audience on each slide or images in the shared file.

– an option to view the presentation on laptops, mobile phones, or tablets.

– a summary page containing the overall feedback from viewers.

Learner Voice-Peer Assessment• Could be a good way for learners

to get feedback on presentations they deliver and...

...practitioners could use Reel App to check learner understanding on each slide in a presentation;"thumbs up" if they feel they they understand & "thumbs down" if they don't.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

SMART goals• “101 SMART goals is a free

online goal setting tool. With our application it's easy to privately create your life list and manage your goals online.”

• Most learners set out goals for themselves only to abandon them later due to lack of motivation. The lack of motivation often results because people lose sight of those goals. Here to help learners (and/or Practitioners) remind themselves of their goals and to track their completion is a web app called 101-Smart-Goals.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

SocialBro - Explore your Twitter community

• "With SocialBro you can manage and analyze your Twitter Community."

• An ideal tool for those Learning Providers engaged in Marketing using Social Media. Providing data that help evaluate "success" of Social Media Marketing Projects and much more.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Sandfields Comprehensive School, Free Resources for Practitioners

• Looking for some useful Flash resources that can be used on an Interactive Whiteboard?

• Sandfields School has produced some including clocks and timers plus games such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire. These come as downloadable...– Flash files which can be run offline;

and– PowerPoint templates for games

such as Blockbusters.

• These resources are completely free and can be edited to suit individual needs by editing the xml files.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

SlideShare: HTML5 not Flash

• Popular presentation sharing web site SlideShare has abandoned flash and shifted entirely to HTML5–you can now view SlideShare on any app that has an HTML5 compliant web browser.

• Is this a first step away from flash?

• Good news for learning providers, and their learners, using iPads etc.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Teaching Library

• The Teaching Library is a place to find free teaching ideas and lesson resources, all linked to books that can be used in the classroom.

• Each book has ideas for uses in different areas of the curriculum, along with related video content and downloadable materials.

• Ideal for Initial Teacher Training and Family Learning Practitioners

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

The Children's University of Manchester

• Resources for Initial Teacher Training and Family Learning Practitioners.

• The Children's University of Manchester shares, with the wider community, and particularly primary schools, the excitement of the knowledge created through its pioneering research activities and teaching and learning practices.

• Resources include...– online interactive learning materials

for use on whiteboards or PCs;– video clips which will bring the

University to your desktop;– downloadable resources; and– educational games.

• Content is aligned with, and complements existing Key Stage 2 web-based learning resources.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Tikatok Across the Curriculum

• Writing lessons and project ideas for Family Learning.

• This free monthly series of activities, project ideas and learner worksheets integrates writing across a variety of subjects from maths, science, social studies, art, and more.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Trello• Trello is an online collaboration

tool helping users perform tasks in a productive manner. Users can– create boards, – add lists and cards which contains

description about the tasks, – share the tasks with a group of

people and work on it in real time, – add labels and more.

• Users can also track the activity on the board through Trello’s user friendly interface and monitor who is making changes on the board.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Troubleshoot Wireless Network Connection Problems by Yourself

• You can read & learn our step by step diagram for how to troubleshoot a wireless connection by yourself. If it is hard to remember, you can even print it and have it available when needed.

• Some smaller Learning Providers, without IT Support, will at times experience Wi-Fi network problems.

• The 7Tutorials tutorial website provides a set of handy flowcharts to help walk users through their wireless networking problems; guiding them towards Wi-Fi solutions. The charts cover everything from the basics (is the router on?)...

... to the more complex (does your device support the wireless mode in use by the router?).

• The flowcharts cover just about every common wireless configuration issue Learning Providers may run into.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

Tucoola• Tucoola is a great site for parents

and children with great content for the family and an information center with details regarding the development progress of their children.

• If Family Learning Practitioners are looking for some basic skills practice activities it's worth bookmarking Tucoola.

• The site has a section of single user activities for younger learners and section of two user activities for parents to play with their children.

• Activities include things like simple jigsaw puzzles, checkers, and basic number games.

• The site can be used without registration, but the option to access activity reports for their children might be an appealing feature for parents; such parents will need to register themselves.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

Vimeo Music Store • Vimeo Music Store

– find music tracks which can be used in videos, presentations etc.

– almost 45,000 tracks browsable by various genres, tempos and moods.

– powered by Audiosocket, a music licensing company which is providing Vimeo with over 30,000 tracks, and Free Music Archive (FMA) offering up to 11,000 songs licensed under Creative Commons.

• Vimeo Music Store provides users with 3 types of licensing options: Free Creative Common Licenses, $1.99 per track for personal, non-commercial web use and $98 per track for commercial, professional web use.

• Just search the genre or type of music you are looking for and Vimeo Music Store will show the tracks available.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Vocabulary"Vocabulary.com helps you learn new words, play games that improve your vocabulary, and explore language."• Whether learners are posting a quick

tweet or applying for a job, When they communicate on or offline, vocabulary and the quality of the writing are a key part of the impressions made. It’s important, to learners, to be able to communicate clearly and come across as intelligent human beings.

• This free website - Vocabulary.com - claims it can help users improve their vocabulary by figuring out which words they don’t know, and then concentrating of teaching them (without spending time on stuff users already know).

• The first step is a multiple-choice test aimed to assess current vocabulary.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Web 2.0 & Hosted Services for Schools

• Providing ICT support to schools here in the UK Primary Technology also offers a huge collection of online resources that Family Learning Practitioners can take advantage of.

• Tools include...– PrimaryWall;– PrimaryPad;– Primary Games Arena; – My School Holidays;– Safe Search;– Satpin;

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

WebAIM: Web Accessibility for Designers

• The follow quote from the website says it all...– "The focus of web

accessibility is often on web development – the things that happen in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript after a site has been designed visually. Optimal accessibility should start much earlier, as part of the visual design process. We have created an infographic that highlights a few important principles of accessible design."

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

Web Tools for Educators• The Super Book of Web Tools for

Educators is a comprehensive introduction to using technology in all Learning Environments.

• Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) collaborated with ten other bloggers to construct "The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators".

• Please don't be put off by the K-12 schools/classroom angle as the content is appropriate for all Learning Providers within FE & Skills;there are introductions to more than six dozen web tools, sections devoted to...

– using Skype with learners,– ESOL/EFL/ESL/ELL,– blogging,– social media for educators,– teaching online, and– using technology in alternative education

settings.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

What Makes Someone Leave A Website?

• Attracting a potential learners (prospects) is hard enough. Grabbing their interest and retaining them is even more difficult. It’s important to design a learning provider website so that user frustration is kept to a minimum, thereby maximizing prospects' retention. This resource provides some examples of what not to do when designing a website.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

WhoIs Project• The WhoIs search tool is designed

to help learners evaluate the source of the information on a particular website.

• The intent of GLEAN's WhoIs search tool is good and worth showing to learners as long they are aware that the implication that .org domains have more validity than .com domains is questionable and, under "what can you learn from its ownership", in many cases the WhoIs registry often takes you to a domain by proxy registry that masks the real ownership of a domain.

• ".ac.uk" information also seems to missing from their servers.

• Find out more by using the QR Code or URL below...

YouTube Teachers• YouTube Teachers is a new

YouTube channel launched by YouTube itself. Its aim? - to inform teachers about the many ways that they can use videos in their learning environments.

• YouTube Teacher features...– video-based lesson plan

suggestions, – suggested playlists for a

variety of content areas, and – suggestions for creating

videos with learners. • Find out more by using the QR Code or URL above...

• YouTube Teachers won't fix the problem of access for many learning providers, it could however help show some decision-makers the educational uses of YouTube in the classroom. If practitioners are able to access YouTube in learning environments, YouTube Teachers could be a good source of lesson ideas for them.

Resources and Archives

• aclJohns Website &Blog Portal http://www.acljohn.com/

• Dipity Timeline http://www.dipity.com/acljohn/

• Only2clicks http://bit.ly/ppcIHX

• Pearltrees http://pear.ly/Hhwv

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