The toolbox  allowed us to look at resources in a structured way -  using the learner journey as a guide to what and how to use the resources. the group of DTLLS tutors using these resources thought the layout and ease of use of the website was good, some of the resources might need a better introduction to what they are and how they can be used ( i suppose that the project will have generated some good practice examples which would be a good addition to the website )

The project gave some valuable real life opportunities to share good practice, show others what we're doing and firmly focuse the idea that resources are about helping the learners , involving learners and having an impact in the classroom.
The project also raised the profile of where and what type of resources are available - many of our new tutors are new to IT/ICT/ILT and indeed to teaching.

Some of the simple resources have been the most productive, although learners and tutors were initially attracted to the animation resources. We're hoping to get more tutors to try out the Job Match resource - it's something that we need to investigate further with our learners particularly in light of the large number of employability courses we run.

the project timelines were a bit tight, but we're hoping that some of the resources will be "slow burners " and their use will slowly spread - some of the resources that were popular ( animoto , quizlet, Poll ) will be shared at a newly proposed show and tell session. 
The latter " show and tell " session is also a direct result of this project, the group enjoyed taking part in the project ( thanks LSIS and Vic ) and it's reinforecd the idea of having  more structure around the sharing of this type of resource and effective practice in ILT generally.

Final Thoughts on the Toolbox - CLP Way

Community Learning Partnership's experience - Final Thoughts
We have found that the toolbox has enabled us to:

• Review what we use that became hidden from 'plain sight' & pass on to our 'discovery scout' to share
• Commit a member of staff as a 'discovery scout' to tell us what he has seen in the project and report back to us
• Discover what tools being explored by others
• Have a source of reference for future

This is the beauty of the 'Hive effect'. Sharing a collective goal that nurtures Collaboration, Co-discovery & Contribution.

Legacy, sustainability & the curation effort

Community Learning Partnership (CLP) have really enjoyed putting staff and resource into this project. We have been inspired and would like to see it continue after.

However, we are aware about the time & effort behind reporting the use of newly discovered tools. We experience a time lag between the capture of interesting tools (via the use of social bookmarking site Diigo - via a specific group set up for this project's purpose) and their dissemination - on this blog. In the case where staff require support/training with tools, we will be more than happy to share them in an expanded way. Otherwise the captured tools that are examined for their potential utility will be saved for posterity in our Third Sector Tooblbox Diigo Group. We have more tools and articles than we have been able to share here.

 You're invited to a reduction of effort in sharing your discoveries
So I cordially invite you to find out a bit more about Diigo (on this site), and if you wish to join our ThirdSector Toolbox Diigo Group you are welcome to request an invite. We can socially bookmark, hightlight, make notes on tools that we all co-discover, with much, much less effort. I have outlined CLP's workflow approach to sharing, hope you find it useful too.

One of our member's of staff who is obsessive about open-source, cloud tools, and new ways of enhancing learning will continue to populate this group as he makes new discoveries. Will you leave our lone ranger on his own? ;-). Who knows what he will discover next.

May you all continue to make fantastic new discoveries that makes your learning and teaching practices more engaging and inspiring.

InterAction-MK Have Fun With SlideShows

Played with Google Slides and made this simple little presentation using screen prints of our web site. I'm not too sure what I'd really do with this but I like the way a presentation can be set to display in a blog post like this, or on a web page (if I knew how to edit mine!)



I tried doing something similar with Animoto:


Try our slideshow maker at Animoto.

I should have used some actual images I suppose but I like the general presentation and choice of music. (My account didn't seem to work though so thanks to Andrew Hill for setting up one for us so that I could share this here). Lastly, much better is my Picasa album of photographs from an exhibition last summer. With all the cold and miserable weather we've had, I needed this to cheer me up! Here I used the embed as slideshow option to add the code to this post.

All pretty simple stuff but thanks to LSIS for the money and opportunity to try out things that I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. We could do with a session or two to help staff get a bit more familiar with some of the tools here as I am pretty sure we could make good use of more of them given a bit more time to see what they an do.

Using JobMatch...

...is a requirement for most of my learners who are Job Seekers, it's one of the reasons they find themselves having to become ICT users. Many are completely new ICT users.

There are a significant number of ICT hurdles to negotiate in order to set up a GOV.UK account which is excellent for learning ...usernames, passwords (more than one!!!), form filling, emailing, clicking links to activate accounts, web browsing, navigating a website, word processing & much more… Many problem solving opportunities!! - V good practice for becoming confident operators of the digital environment. 

My learners create CVs in Google Docs which they store on their Drive & can attach to emails - all within their Google account. They can copy & paste their CVs from Google Docs into the CV tool on the JobMatch site. Most importantly, this means, it is possible to achieve everything necessary without the expense of owning a computer. No downloading/uploading documents...

Final thoughts on the Toolbox

Final thoughts on the Toolbox 

Great idea, some very useful resources, some resources that we will keep on using past the project deadline such as Jobmatch, Animoto and Blogger. Some resources we have “bought into” because we can see the benefits that they will bring, but one of the primary reasons for purchasing has been the relatively cheap cost.  A prime consideration for most third sector providers. Some of the tools are visually exciting, and could make a real impact on learners’, and some of the tools are perfunctory.

Unfortunately a lot of duplication of the tools within the steps of the learner journey, and a number of the tools require purchasing to get any real benefit from.  Personally I would have liked a tool in the “Reviewing learners’ progress” step that measured the before, the in-between and the after portions of a learner’s journey. For me, a tool like that would be really meaningful, and of benefit to our organisation.

Everyone from our organisation has enjoyed taking part in this project, it has proved to be a really distraction from the front-end of delivering. We all welcome the prospect of tools and resources to enhance our delivery, especially if that come at very little cost. Having the chance to do things differently, or to innovate our induction process, or to roll out a really useful resource such as jobmatch makes the job that little bit more bearable.

Terry McHale  -  28^th March 2013

Ongoing use of tools

Ongoing development of resources using Quizlet has been very successful. We have developed resources linked to employability and currently a tutor is designing a resource for learners to help them with the new universal jobmatch.
Although I had used Youtube before for personal use I had never used it with a view of including it within a teaching capacity. I have been surprised by the amount of valuable material that can be located there.

Have also viewed morguefile and have shared this site with all tutors, a good collection of photos that can be added to Powerpoints and learning materials

Humber Learning Consortium Review: QR Codes

QR codes are an increasingly familiar feature in daily life – small square patterns of irregular blocks found on letters, and promotional materials etc. Up until now none of us at HLC had really considered their potential application in recruiting learners, the role that they can play in the learning experience, or simply promoting our organisation.

The concept is actually pretty simple. The QR code is scanned by a smartphone (the scanning apps are free, we used “i-nigma”) and this provides a link to a website, telephone number, Google map location, Facebook page, Twitter feed, in fact a whole host of information you might want to convey to a learner / customer.

You need 2 things to make it work – access to the internet to generate the QR code on a QR website
(www.qrstuff.com) and a smart phone that can read the QR code (and link it to a website, telephone number etc.)

Positives

• If you / your learners have internet access and a smart phone, this is a really quick and simple application to use
• It could be used in a wide variety of ways e.g. providing a link to further information about a course, sending directions, or encouraging learners to visit a specific website as part of their learning experience
• The QR code can be embedded in learning materials, sent in an email, or hosted on a website making the learning experience potentially more interactive

Negatives

• Learner needs a smart phone to access the information within the QR code, which is a major limitation
• QR codes could be seen a gimmicky

Overall

We liked QR codes and could really see their application in a variety of settings. We need to be mindful that their reliance on the learner / customer having a smart phone with an app that can read the QR code could limit their accessibility and usage. We therefore feel that their use needs to be carefully thought out and alternative ways of accessing information considered for those without a smart phone

Job Match

Job Match – Terry McHale

JOB MATCH
Accessed by unemployed learners during our “free” employability course that we run here.  It proved to be a big hit with everyone who utilised the Job Match facility. Learners liked the site, finding easy registration, navigation and job search. Tutors delivering our employability courses indicated that they would “bolt this on” to existing resources, and ensure that all learners attending our centre were enabled to use this resource. Overall we got positive feedback for a “tool” that the centre will use and signpost people to, over and over again. - 27 march 2013

So far , the tutors using the tools have gravitated towards the animation tools, Poll everywhere and Khan Academy. We’re very limited in terms of IT infrastructure  - we don’t have an intranet or VLE just yet, it is being planned so getting a larger number of tutors interested and “ playing “ with the online tools just hasn’t got to any critical mass.

We use Googlemail and Google Docs as an organisation so we’re used to them and to some of the tools like Google Drive – seems that familiarity hasn’t translated into enthusiasm for exploring the full potential of these. The newer “ whizzier “ tools seem more attractive.

Like a previous blogger, some of the tutors were surprised by the number of tools available in the Teaching and Learning box.

Reviews from Humber Learning Consortium: Practical Aptitide Tests

3 aptitude tests, with 15 questions, in 15 minutes:

• Numerical reasoning
• Verbal reasoning
• Diagrammatic reasoning

Negatives

• Far too scary for most of our learners
• Limited relevance (how many progressions / jobs require such tests?)
• Exam feel
• High level language and subject matter e.g. “abstract expressionism”
• Timer in corner adds further pressure
• Strong corporate feel (access to Graduate schemes)
• Emphasis on technique and regular practice

Possible uses

Could be useful for individual practice if someone is looking to improve numeracy / verbal reasoning
at a relatively high level

Could be used in group / informal competition situation if the learners were a well-formed group

Overall

Very limited application, which would require serious consideration before usage

Reviews from Humber Learning Consortium - Job Match

Description

The UK government’s on-line search engine for job vacancies

The website advertises all job vacancies (UK-wide) on the Job Centre Plus database

Users can register their profile on the website – this requires a valid email address and takes around
5 minutes to complete. Registering for the website gives access to a number of additional services,
such as:

• Creating a CV
• Application history
• Job search activity history
• Facility for employers to send messages to the user if they are interested in their profile
• Job alerts (based on chosen profile)

Positives

Our learners found the basic Job Match website relatively easy to use. Even without registering, it
enabled them to narrow down their job search by:

1. Job Title
2. Postcode / town / place
3. Skills

Requires fairly basic IT skills

Search results can produce a lot of results, which can send a positive message about the number of
job opportunities that are actually out there.

Users can refine the searches more locally by clicking on the number of miles they are prepared to
travel. However, this of course reduces the number of search results.

Registering on the website is fairly easy to do in a class situation, as long as the user has a valid
email address. This means the user can then access a number of other features (see above). The
application and search history also means that a user can go back to their profile on a regular basis
and update records etc. This is a valuable feature as it allows for a number of sessions to be linked
together, for example, as part of an employability skills programme.

Negatives

Requires some IT skills

Requires ready access to IT and a personal email address (if using registration website)

Can produce a large list of results if not properly filtered

Overall

A good (free) resource either for progressions and job search, or as part of a programme that
encourages students to improve their research skills and gain a better understanding of local labour
market conditions.

We would definitely use Job Match as part of our learning programmes

GoAnimate

Feedback from our ITQ tutor
"Annoying things I found was that it wasn't really clear how to log in to retrieve saved videos you'd created and that although there were lots of templates on screen for you to use, there would be limited number freely available but lots you could 'upgrade' to. While this is obviously how they will generate their revenue it gets a bit frustrating so ideally would've preferred a simple 'demo' version alongside the subscription site. A lot of the animate characters need 'coins' to change the appearance which is another frustration.

Once on the site, you have you own account where you can store your videos, there are fairly comps where you can earn 'gopoints' or 'gobucks' and coins, forums etc.  You can win 'badges' for animations viewed. After I published my first video I earned my first badge as a 'novice animator'. I can see how this would appeal to young students as a reward system, you have to do certain 'tasks' to gain awards. 

You can make a quick video using templates or start your own full movie maker.

I loved the quick video.  I was able to alter the voices to nationalities and make male or female. 

Only downside was the stilted quality and some concerns about the content of animations available for viewing by students.  Once complete animations can be uploaded to YouTube, Facebook etc.

Certainly one to use along side SCRATCH.

animation tools most popular ( and Poll anywhere )

,

So far tutors are impressed by the variety of resources that were available, several are using ( and have particularly enjoyed ) Go Animate and Animator. They have created short clips to help explain points in sessions. Learners generally were very positive about it,  in the future tutors are trying to get them to use the tools to create a presentations themselves

Currently they are encouraging  students to use these two tools to create presentations.

The Khan Academy website has some great online maths resources which are being used by students as revision aids.

A couple of tutors have used Go Animate and made a quick video explaining my 'Top Reading-Exam tips'. It was  very suitable as the presentation was a bit  tongue in cheek, but was very effective and kept students much more interested and engaged rather than if tutors had just been speaking and/or with powerpoint

We are also using Poll Anywhere ( tutors also say it is good fun to use ) and are trying it out with  level 3 learners to try to get parent feedback.

Post 16 Collaborative learning

I attended a Post 16 Collaborative Learning event yesterday which involved sharing of good practice between schools, colleges and training providers.
When discussing CPD several of the large colleges confirmed that that encouraged their staff to use the excellence gateway as a source for accessing new resources.

VuVox - Media Creation Made Easy

Cloud Based VuVox
Another linear presentation/story  telling tool I discovered a couple of years ago - VuVox. Amazing that it is still... FREE!

Check it out at:
http://www.vuvox.com/

Room for a VUE?

Visual Understanding Environment  (VUE) 

The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) is an Open Source project based at Tufts University. The VUE project is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information.

I found this tool because I wanted to find a free alternative to Prezi - the presentation tool that has been milked to the core at TEDtalks presentaitons. You know, those funky presentations that zoom and pan along pathways.

But VUE is FREE !!! - and much, much more powerful. With lots of support tutorials on YouTube Channel. Interested? see links below.

VUE as a teaching & presentation tool



Introduction to VUE's capabilities & features



VUE YouTube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/VUEProject?feature=watch

Resource Discover & Sharing for this Forum

I Dig with Diigo for my Golden Resource Nuggets

Why should you care? Why am I telling you this?
Diigo is a powerful social bookmarking platform. This means that your bookmarks live in the cloud. You can "Jail Break" your browser bookmarks so that the process of research and discovery of new resources can become a social activity. 

But Aren't we doing this here?...Well, a bit less effectively?
The process for me goes some how like this:

• Search
• Filter
• Capture/Curate (by adding resource to your repository
• Share

These steps are a bit delusive -Specially, between Capture/Curate & share - a bit like a tube map. 

Mind The Gap!
You see the dots representing the stations may be equally spread, but the distance between two stations varies - and in our case the time & effort between capturing and sharing here may require additional effort.  I am experiencing that gargantuan gap between what I discover and writing about here!

Wouldn't it be fab if you could save time & effort in these last two steps?
Yes you can. You can "auto blog post" direct from your group (if you are collaboratively bookmarking) or from a list to your chosen blog or to here.

The Power of Diigo
if you consistently "tag" your content with keywords you can actually develop RSS feeds/Widgets that will feed that particular tag to an RSS reader or to an embed widget. You can also highlight, annotate with a floating yellow sticky note, take a screenshot, save the page for posterity if you think it is on the blink, and share all the "funked up bits" via a special link for those who are not signed up to Diigo. You don't even have to be on your PC - You can do it on the go on a tablet or smartphone! - I DON"T WORK FOR THEM! ;-) just in case...!!!

Vic - I'm not being lazy (as you have seen on Diigo). But I've got a glut!
So to  keep my mentor (Victor Dejean) abreast to the fact that I am committing time to this project, I have setup a Diigo group for this purpose. He can see how often I find stuff and can be alerted as it happens, daily or weekly. 

Next Experiment is to try and set "auto blog post" - see if it works in a multi-author blog platform - here!

Anyone interested in Diigo? - see below

What's HappenNing: intranet & private social networks

Staff Voice and ICT...
On the 15th of March, we had a Talent Management (mindset) workshop, whereby staff requested a virtual "private" space to:

• Exchange best practice
• Download & Print files related to their course
• Find teaching resources
• Host online conversations
• Check diaries
• Have contact directory
• Check whether resources were booked in or out and by whom

But they wanted it all under one roof!

The ICT Money Challenge we face as a small organization

There is no funding in large teaching contracts to improve provider capacity to increase ICT efficiency. So from day one we have had to adopt a pragmatic  "Duct Tape" approach to stitching together ICT in respond to user (teacher)  needs.

This has translated into the adoption of free and open platforms. If you can imagine the usual suspects, then we have used them: yahoo mail, gmail, google services, blogger.com, flickr, skype, dropbox,facebook, Diigo, etc., etc.

Until about two years ago we've had one part-time administrator and one senior member of staff servicing the needs of tutors who have grown from around 10 to over 20 plus. Can you imagine the exponential growth in electronic traffic? - still with no money for ICT improvements.

Adopting free tools has taught us a thing or two...about limitations

Knitting together all these free tools to serve a freelance and mobile group of teachers has given us the experience at the coal face of how none of what we have used can encompass the expressed needs of the tutors. We have looked at the usual suspects and here is a summary of what we have learned in the journey in the last week:

• Facebook Groups: Sound great, right?..Yup, you could use Facebook apps that are updated for 2013 that can elegantly handle the new working framework in which Facebook handles javascript and embed codes (to integrate services). All the <iframe> gee whiz apps promise a lot...but,  they have access to a lot of access to a plethora of what is being exchanged!...You have to check the small print.
• Google pages/groups: After asking "Papa google" or "Daddy Google" as you would say in English, I could not find anything regarding how to embed code to integrate other services.
• Ning.com Freemium said goodbye: A couple of years ago, this used to be a "build your own free social network" - but alas, there is no Freemium (with the embed code faciltiy)
• Spruz.com: A Ning competitor looked promising - even in the description, but as soon as you try to embed services via javascript & widgets, you get slammed with the notice that you need to upgrade!
• Google sites to the rescue?: The embed codes are proving to be a technical challenge. The "technical cooking" recipes didn't work for me. I had to throw in the towel after two days of trying. However, after a rest and further trawling, if what you are trying to embed has an RSS feed associated to it, it appears that this could be a way to pipe in the information into google sites. I have yet to try these "technical recipes . RSS integration (from other sites) into google sites is yet to be confirmed by me. Need to try it out.

A learners’ access to the toolbox – Pauline Hughes, 21^st March 2013.

 

I do not consider myself to be particularly “techie”, and all of the Internet skills that I have, I have learnt from attending classes at Open Door Adult Learning Centre. Of course I surf the Internet at home, using my personal computer, but mainly for holidays and insurance comparisons. Usually I find that I can get around most websites without too much problem.  I have been asked to access this toolbox, using an android-based 10” Tablet. This is a new technology to me.

 

Upon accessing the toolbox website I had expected to see pictures of “tools” to identify the different tools available. When I realised that the tools were available from web links, I quickly navigated around the toolbox website. The following are my observations:

Moving backwards and forwards from page to page is relatively easy.

All the tool links require 2 clicks to actually access the tool ?

A lot of duplication of tools within the different sections (steps)

Some of the “tool” descriptions sound wonderful, but the linked more detailed descriptions are more appropriate.

A would have expected rather more tools for the “teaching and learning” step of the journey, isn’t this the central crux of a learner’s journey?

Some of the tools have limitations, or restrictions, or cost money.

Access from the android Tablet to some of the tools proved a little awkward, especially downloading the PDF descriptors.

No right-click on the Android hindered me, but did not prevent me.

Useful tools identified, were Job Match, Go!Animate, Animoto and Google Docs.

Animoto / Khan Academy

currently Animato and Khan Academy are proving very useful with some of our group.
initial thoughts are about the ease of use  - which is good. With Khan Acedemy there's muh content that doesn't look relevant to us at the moment although some of the Maths resources are being adapted.
I'll get more details from practitioners in the next days or so.
Animoto generated the most interest in the group when first introduced, it looks like its use in the classroom might be limited. I'm waiting for comments from our Media team in case it can be a useful outside the classroom.

Animoto - a practitioner's view

Practitioner’s view of Animoto

In my opinion this tool does have some useful facets, but playing the devil’s advocate it also has some negative aspects. On a positive note, the tool has an easy interface that is “clean” and unfettered with clutter. It is very intuitive to use, and has just a few steps to complete a “project” from start to finish. Being a web-based application it has the ease of access from anywhere in the world, and from any I.T. platform. The finished projects in Animoto have the potential to be visually stunning, and effective. The tool generates the “project” in a few short minutes, and then provides the facility to upgrade the dpi, (at extra cost), to HD quality, and provides a number of sharing facilities such as Twitter and Facebook. The cost of purchasing the PLUS version is relatively inexpensive, and does facilitate some easy “upgrades” of video project outputs.

On the negative side, Animoto does have a “free” version, but limits the user to low-level dpi video output, and to video clip output limits to 30 seconds. The purchased PLUS account does facilitate upgrading video output to 480 dpi (MP4) and extends the length of video time for output to five minutes, but only the expensive PRO account facilitates “unlimited” outputs. There does not appear to be any facility to change the settings of the video output, it runs at the same frame speed, and other than the usual “play, pause and stop” facilities in any video player, it seems to be restrictive. Finally to achieve “web ready” video output cannot be achieved with the free version, the dpi is restrictive and can seem to be blurred or poor. We are likely to continue to use this tool beyond this project.

Overall I like Animoto, and would rate this as 7.5 out of 10, it has some usefulness, but along with this comes some restrictions.  -  Terry McHale  21 March 2013

Quizlet

Tested by our Functional Skills tutor who thought it was a simple to use learning tool which allowed you to create your own activities or use those already posted by others.  Wide variety of activities including - flashcards, Q&A, matching words to definitions, spellings, multi choice, defining terms against the clock.  Suitable for initial or summative assessment. 

Very like activities she had spent hours preparing by hands.

Good for homework as students are able to access on mobile devices and simple to use.

Definitely one for us to use in the future.

Job Match

During a very interactive staff training session tutors gave feedback on resources we have tried. 

JOB MATCH
Used by learners during A level Applied Business.  Students liked the site, finding it easy to input information and were provided with relevant local job opportunities.  They thought people their age may be more likely to access this information than search in job centres or local papers.  Resource also drew them to GOV. UK where they were able to access relevant research information about employers/employees rights and responsibilities which they have been able to incorporate into their course work. 
Tutors delivering Workskills and Employment & Personal Development courses indicated that they would built this resource into their scheme of work when supporting students needing support into employment.  Tutors supporting NEETs would also access the site. 
Positive feedback for a resource that the centre will use in the future.

Open Door's Admin input

Recruiting – Go!animate, can be very useful for this to advertise in class if we have short courses, new courses or even annual events

Inductions- Animoto ,Go!animate, are both very useful tools for inductions.

Teaching & Learning- Blogger could be very useful for day to day records of achievement as well as how they got on and how they feel that day. Job match also as a lot of students are normally actively seeking work. – Angela (admin) 19 March 2013

Animoto - first "test drive"

My feelings about Animoto are that although it is an impressive show that requires little design, its use will be limited within our Centre.  I feel that it would be useful as a marketing tool to attract new students and that a link from our website to a prepared Animoto presentation would be ideal.  It could be used as part of the induction process with photos of fire exits, hazards, specialised equipment and teaching rooms.  As a teaching and learning tool I can think of little use.  The only way in which I would possibly use it is for the students who have done or are doing Digital Imaging as they would find it easy to use and fun – I would suggest that they use the free version or download to their own computers.  I'll speak to the team regarding which particular aspect of the learner journey I feel it would/could be of most interest.  19 March 2013  -  Bev (Tutor)

ICT Needs Consultation Uncovered During Talent Management Workshop

Community Learning Partnership (a.k.a. CLP family fun), is concurrently working on the LSIS Talent Management project. We are interpreting this mindset, so that we can further enhance a culture,  work environment & procedures that will optimize the learner journey experience.

During the staff workshop (15/03/13) and without duress, staff themselves raised the needs to address the following:

• Access & Contribute to teaching resources
• Share best practice
• P2P exchanges: in an exclusive  tutor space.
• Share your interests - cross pollinate ideas, inspire, foster collaboration
  
  

As staff are sessional, and distributed across Hertfordshire, they don't get a chance to meet that regularly, and they may not all be able to attend meetings / gatherings.  The pragmatic realities and constraints pointed to combined approach of face-to-face & and online space.

The findings are nothing new,  but our approach will be to meet these very needs with social media tools that are open to all and free.

We will phase our approach with quick wins.  

For example,  the admin team members - unlike tutors,  saw need to coordinate calendars - beyond paper based.  This will required staff to register a gmail account. This process has started.

Our undertaking of these two LSIS projects is to ensure that we sustain and further develop our commitment to a fun and creative work culture. Therefore ICT & Talent Management workshops are tools that make life easier and happier for all.

During informal conversations,  lunch & appreciative inquiry (Thx Linda ;-) ) activity, we were able to share things related to what is meaningful in our lives: our values, interests & hobbies. We were seen holistically, not just as professionals. We all discovered how CLP’s values in actions - dealing with us, reflects what we value.

As they say,  anyone can build the competencies to teach, but having your heart truly focused on doing social good, inspiring people & communities,  well,  that's another ball game.  As a member of the senior management team, I was awed and humbled to see the smiles, appreciation and inspiration that our workers have gained with us. Our ethos & values are inspiring our staff! Wow,  what can you say about that?

Hi all, We have a group of tutors all in their second year of DTLLS training and keen to use online and digital resources so the Third Sector toolbox seems very apt.
I got the group to explore some of the tools. Their initial feedback - it looks like
Go animate
animoto
quizlet
Poll everywhere
Khan Academy

are the most useful after a first and  quick look through.

The trainees will be feeding back their comments to me and their course leaders , I'll be keepings tabs on lesson learnt and where we can share any good practice internally as well as on the blog

we have some IT issues ( or so I am told ) with using tools like Box but we're keen to soldier on.
with the ones mentioned above

CN4C’s blog...

I've been using Google Drive for a number of years for storage purposes - principally backing up teaching documents. 2 years ago I switched to DropBox which, for storage, is far more user friendly/practical, I love DropBox & have clocked up about 34Gb of free space some of which came with my phone contract. Both systems are usefully cross-platform & multi-device friendly. However, I continue to use Google Drive to upload ITQ courses for Internal & External Verification. We have a dedicated Google account for this. I can compile & upload the courses at my convenience from any location & the verifiers can immediately access them from where ever they are. There's no paper, so the sustainability-in-education people like it.

I've been using Google Docs, recently, as a learning tool for new ICT users who don't own computers, they can be digitally included without the expense of buying a computer. They've set up a Google account which gives them an email address, storage space & access to free software (particularly word processing). Google Docs is good visually, easy to navigate, has editing tools that are similar to gmail text editing tools & a good stepping stone for progression to Microsoft Word with which it is compatible. My learners have been creating CVs which they can then update & email off, from any computer. My only concern is that now they've discovered the templates they may not find Microsoft Word (more formal) as fun!

My Level 2s started blogging last week - they each created a post but were less interested in writing content & more interested in the design facilities, this is the 1st time they've experienced blogging or being able to affect the 'look' of software. So it was interesting to see them exploring & being unafraid to be adventurous - good for learning!. 

My youngster learner is setting up a Raspberry Pi so I uploaded a picture of it to Picasa & discovered the others had found it when it appeared in their blogs.