JISC Advance is delighted to be supporting the NIACE digital conference this Friday, 4th November.

JISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) on behalf of JISC Advance will be running a Knowledge Cafe. Learning providers will be able to find out about the wide range of services and expertise across JISC Advance.

Our Advisers will be facilitating discussions around:

• Learning through technology
• Technological changes and you
• E-safety and learners

Tracey Morris, RSC South West, will be discussing skills development for practitioners through an interactive workshop – ‘Skills for tutors: Digital Storytelling’.

Sal Cooke from TechDis is running a workshop on how learning providers can exploit technology to help everyone access learning – ‘Technology aiding Equality’.

The JISC RSC network and JISC Advance services such as JISC TechDis and JISC Netskills have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with NIACE. This was recently formalised with JISC Advance signing a memorandum of understanding with NIACE.

The 18th international conference of the Association for Learning Technology will be held at the University of Leeds, UK, 6-8 September 2011.

Booking is now open for ALT-C 2011: Thriving in a colder and more challenging climate via the ALT website.

Early bird discounts are available until 17.00 BST on Monday 4 July 2011.

Building resilient organisations – new ways of working

18 January 2011
Inmarsat Conference Centre, London

Enrolment is open for this conference, which aims to “challenge your thinking and enable you to steer your way to greater personal and organisational resilience”.

Further details and link to enrol can be accessed at:
www.lsis.org.uk/Services/Events/Pages/LSISLeadershipandManagementConference2011.aspx

MoodleMoot UK 2011 will be taking place over 19/20th  April 2011, at Senate House, University of London Computer Centre (ULCC).

Preregistration

I had the pleasure of facilitating four workshops at MoodleMoot UK 2010 held at University of London Senate House which was very convenient for me as all I had to do was go upstairs to attend…

The event had a real energy throughout the two days which was kick started by a visionary speech from the incoming Vice Chancellor of University of London, Professor Geoffrey Crossick. Professor Crossick impressed me with his knowledge of IT and its potential to enhance learning, which I must admit I did not expect from a university vice chancellor.

Next up was the charismatic and very thought provoking Professor Sugata Mitra. I have heard Professor Mitra speak several times before and he has always stolen the show. Everyone was talking about his presentation throughout the conference. He gave a brilliant presentation based on his work in exploring how to use technology to educate children who do not have access to English-speaking teachers or computers.  He showed the power of the social constructivist model where, in his experiments, children are able to learn through social interaction with a computer without the active input of a teacher. The role he takes with children is more that of a facilitator. He sets children puzzles in an informal setting and gets incredible results.

I facilitated four workshops over the two days and was very impressed with the creative ways people had found of using learning technologies like Moodle and Mahara  in different contexts. We had presentations on

• Moodle in the Health Sector
• Moving to Moodle from other systems
• Linking Moodle to other internal systems
• Using the Mahara e-Portfolio in colleges

Each workshop had several presenters from different organisations which gave delegates a rounded view of the topics and a range of approaches which could be followed. The workshops included question and answer sessions and discussion which proved to be very popular.  Highlights for me were the presentation from Fehmi Hanoglu of Hackney Community College on their linking Moodle to their internal MIS and monitoring systems. This has led to a rich ILP (Individual Learning Plan) which enables staff and students to easily set goals and track progress on a student by student basis. The ILP enables learners to develop responsibility for their own learning and share this with their tutors. This has enhanced communication between learners and staff which has resulted in improving standards across the college.

The other presentation that really caught my eye was Angela Jay from Lewisham College. Angela explained how the Mahara e-Portfolio system had been a success at Lewisham without the college having to promote it. It is so popular with learners that it sells itself. Angela demonstrated a traditional CV against a CV a catering student had created in Mahara and there was no comparison between the two – Mahara won hands down.  Portfolios such as this will vastly improve the chances of students gaining employment.

There was also an interesting discussion about the possible use of Mahara e-Portfolio systems being used as an Alumni system. It could be a great way for colleges to keep in touch with their former students and celebrate their future successes with them.

Acting as a facilitator at MoodleMoot 2010 was a very easy job as sharing expertise, information and ideas with so many creative and dedicated educationalists was so interesting and inspiring that the two days flew by before I knew it.  I am already looking forward to MoodleMoot 2011.

Martin Sepion
Senior Adviser

JISC Regional Support Centre for London

Leading Innovation: Embracing Technology
20 October 2009
Aston University, Birmingham

Becta and LSIS are hosting a one-day conference on 20 October for leaders and managers who are keen to learn more about how technology can benefit their organisation and its learners. Through this conference, senior managers from across the Further Education and Skills system can learn about the benefits of implementing a technology strategy, hear more about the tools and programmes available to support the development of their ILT strategy, and share their views on the future of technology in FE and Skills.

This conference is free to attend.

To find out more and register your place, please see the attached brochure.

LSIS and Becta e-Leadership Conference (PDF)

Researchers, practitioners and managers with an interest in technology enhanced learning are encouraged to sign up for the fourth online conference ‘Innovating E-Learning‘ on 24 – 27 November 2009.

The themes for Innovating e-Learning 2009 reflect the challenges facing further and higher education in the 21st century and explore the increased options offered by technology for meeting those challenges.

Delegates can interact in real-time sessions, watch presenters on video, meet other delegates in the virtual coffee shop, and comment on the conference using Twitter.

Conference organiser Sarah Knight said: “Innovating E-Learning gives people a chance to take a step back from their everyday work and look at technology from a different and innovative angle.

“Perhaps most importantly, JISC wants to provide a space for researchers and teachers to discuss the challenges facing their institutions with the keynote speakers and delegates from all over the world”.

Keynote speakers include Helen Beetham, the author and researcher who has played a leading role in the JISC e-learning programme, Dr Rhona Sharpe, principal lecturer at the Oxford centre for staff and learning development at Oxford Brookes University, and Peter Bradwell, researcher at the think tank Demos.

Registration is now open for the Mimas Mobile Learning: Telling Tales one day conference on 09 July at the University of Westminster. 

The day will showcase how mobile technologies are being used by teachers to enhance learning, both in the classroom and on the move. Aimed at teachers and lecturers, learning technologists or anyone using or thinking about using mobile devices in education.

There is no charge for this event but places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.Details of the event, and a link to the booking form are available at:

http://www.mimas.ac.uk/news/mob09/

(more…)

Strategic Content Alliance Workshops

The Strategic Content Alliance, (which works in collaboration with JISC and other public sector agencies such as BBC, Becta, British Library, MLA and NHS) is conducting a series of workshops nationwide during June and July. These workshops are aimed at senior policy makers and practitioners involved in the delivery of online content and services over the internet.

The events will deliver enhanced professional understanding, as well as the opportunity to evaluate and critique the following Alliance areas of works:

Audience Analysis- to meet user needs
Business Modelling and Sustainability
Intellectual Property Rights and Licencing
Introduction to Digipedia- a moderated wiki aimed at synthesising the digital content life-cycle information and knowledge from authoritative sources

The workshops are designed to appeal anyone involved in the digital content lifecycle from creation to curation.

For more details, please see: http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/ - the London workshop is on 19 June and focusses on IPR / Licencing issues.

JISC Digital Content conference 2009

As JISC’s digitisation programme enters a new phase of enhancing previously unseen and difficult to access materials, experts from across libraries, museums and the private sector will meet to look into future opportunities and challenges at this year’s Content Conference.

To register for the conference visit:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/2009/06/digitalcontent.aspx