Posts from — April 2009

This UK version of an American slide show is worth watching (though the ending is a little suspect) - it certainly gets across the message about change and how it impacts on our students.

Here are links to my Learning Technology Fellow blog posts from this term.  Lunchtime events after Easter will include sessions on Student Tracking in Blackboard, Powerpoint plus and Twitter Deliciously (Stephen Fry optional) like a academic bird of prey - watch this space.

Different ways of recording project work

Examples of students using tools record the process of project and assignment work

Narjiss’ video got her a one year placement

This excellent student video got her a job - read her story
5th Education in a Changing Environment Conference

Submit an abstract for the conference by 27 April

Connectivism video created by students

Students model 21st Century learning in the style of Commoncraft

Buddypress - a platform for increasing digital literacy?

Great lightweight platform built on Wordpress

Technology for Teaching Programme

Not too late for these excellent technology training courses

Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills

Right topic - wrong commissioners?

Audio Tool - Audacity

Free tool for editing audion, and link to excellent resource on podcasting

BJET Special Issue on e-Assessment

Spot the SBS author

Internet for Image Searching

This tutorial will help you  find images for use in teaching and learning

Avoid accusations of plagiarism - do tools encourage ‘good’ behaviours?

Plagiarism detection tools offer promise but are not always a simple solution.

Many project assignments require students to submit a diary, log book, project notebook, lab book or other record of work in progress, for example student placements, group and project work.  In the, increasingly rare, situation of regular one to one supervisory meetings between student and supervisor a hand written bound note book can work well, with student bringing it to each meeting.  In individual or group work with large classes, this works less well and the log book can become a bit if an afterthought, a chore to be completed before handing the assignment.  Hands up who has ever written a retro fit log because the assignment spec or the project funders demanded it - well me, for one!

Let’s think about the possibilities offered by Web 2.0 tools to support alternative methods to straight text for documenting the process of a project or other assignment.  I tried to find a bespoke tool for doing this but have not managed to find one.  If you can ignore the cutesy backgrounds, Scrapbook gives you an idea of how such a tools might help you put together images, videos, sound and text to create a multimedia account of process. Here is a quick tour of Scrap Book .  I am not suggesting its use with HE students until some more restrained templates are available!

1. Using a blog to write an essay

A student-led project exposed the process of writing an essay in a collaborative online setting, see http://anessayevolves.blogspot.com/, http://evolvingessay.pbwiki.com.

This has been written up in an interesting account that shows  how this approach can be used by staff and students in higher education.  The blog could be published in a closed environment like Blackboard, or openly on the web, as in this project.

2. Using a blog for project management

Since a blog is a stream of date-stamped posts (+ comments) it can be used to keep a project diary.  This can be done privately (for an individual, group or class) in Blackboard, or publicly on a blogging service.

3. Using a blog for reflective practice

Here is an excellent slide show with examples and ‘howto’

Using Student Blogs As Reflective PracticeView more presentations from Ken Ronkowitz

4. Multimedia Project Work Book

Increasingly, students have phones that can record images, video and audio clips.  These will make excellent records of a project as it progresses - designs, prototypes, resources, what worked, what didn’t.  These records can be published on blogs, wikis, and even a on photo sites, as my craft example shows.

See the visual project notebook covering  design and process of a weekend craft project. You can view this is a slideshow (best to click Show Info option) at http://www.flickr.com/photos/francesbell/sets/72157616064980620/show/

Just think how this could be used by students working projects to manage events, write software, create a strategy, create a meal or recipe, and many other practical projects.

I have blogged on how to make the notebook at  http://francesbell.com/2009/03/30/documenting-your-project-in-flickr/

General Resources

Ten Ideas for using (UMW) blogs