Free workshop on finding free images

Jisc's training coordinator Dave Kilbey will be running a short workshop on Finding Free Images Online at next week’s RSC Northern event: The North East’s Got Talent: A Showcase for Best Practice in e-Learning.

Academic journals through RSS feeds

One of the most useful aspects of RSS feeds for academics is the ability to track the latest issues of journals. I use feeds through Google Reader to keep track of journals relevant to my discipline, Ottoman and Mediterranean history. This is a great way of keeping on top of recent developments without having to actually remember to check a journal whenever it's out. The downside for the time being is that not all journals have feeds just yet, but this is certain to change soon.

To set up some feeds from journals, follow the instructions below:

1-Find the website of the journal you want

I chose Past & Present in this case, as it is the one I'm interested in.

2-Go to the website and copy the web address from the address bar. The journal may have an RSS feed button, the orange image you see in some websites.

3-Go to Google Reader and click on 'Add a subscription'. Paste the address there and click 'Add'. If the website has a feed this should work.

4-Reader should show as 'unread' the latest titles from the journal. When you've read these, you will get new ones with the journal's next update, whenever that is.

Catalogues of journals with RSS feeds can be found on Google, here is an example.

Workshop: Using Technology in Teaching History

From the History Subject Centre - click on the image for more detail or go here for the pdf.

Academics resistant to e-learning?

An interesting article in today's THE online (thanks Oliver) teases out some of the main reasons why academics might be resistant to 'e-learning': 

• when academics saw that their students' technological expertise exceeded their own, their identities as "expert knowledge providers" was undermined
• those interviewed believed that face-to-face contact between academic and student was more important than technology, and that e-learning should supplement rather than replace this

I actually think this is based on a misunderstanding of the term 'e-learning', which is quite widely understood as 'doing everything online' - it isn't. Using technology to enhance teaching practice is the same as using a chalkboard - you simply have to learn to use it well and I think that's where the problem really lies: Universities need to provide the structure (especially time) for academic colleagues to be able to engage with the technology creatively in their professional lives... what do you think?

Course: e-Submission and plagiarism detection (using Turnitin)

The Central Team have a few places left on the following course:

e-Submission and plagiarism detection (using Turnitin)

http://www.weblearn.bham.ac.uk/training_courses/pd.htm

Date: 27th Oct 2009

Time: 2-3pm

Location: Learning Centre

If you are interested in attending and want to reserve a please email Pete Rainger: p.rainger@bham.ac.uk 

If you can make this date but want to attend another date please add you name to the register of interest for that course: http://www.skills.bham.ac.uk/documents/booking/elearning_booking_form.htm

Great new issue of 'Talking About Learning and Teaching'

Find it here from the forward-looking Team at Education...

Inside This Issue 

1. Editorial
2. Awards for excellence in teaching or supporting student learning 09 / Communities of practice: teaching fellowship update
3. Using university tools to connect research to teaching / Using PebblePad to support personal evaluation and reflection 
4. Participation in online reflective learning logs / UG academic skills: spreading enhancement
5. Deaf students benefit from WebCT / Potential for Facebook in supporting research?
6. MA TEFL podcasts / Pre-course learning materials using public files area of WebCT
7. E-Learning user and designer sites / Tweeting: Twitter in education / Who's Who: Director of Studies for Initial Teacher Education
8. Educational Enhancement Group (EEG)  / Learning Environment Group (LEG)

Facebook is Good Shock Horror

A recent article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8299050.stm) suggests that Facebook is a valid tool for use at 'College' and that institutions are beginning to accept  the way social networking technology can help bring people together and create a sense of community.