History of Open & Distance Learning

Considering the post below was from the Brighton School of Business and Management which is a UK website it is a shame that it refers to America's history more than the UK. There is no mention of the Open University for example which has had a world wide impact on open and distance learning.  Still it is a good graphic and quite nice to see the history unfold. it is especially interesting to see the impact that technology has had on the whole concept of Open & Distance learning.

Distance learning through the ages

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Ten Steps to Better Web Research

Using the Internet for research is a growing concern for educators in this age of mass digital information production. As you well know appropriate online research involves much more than a quick Google search and with a copy and pasting from the website with the nearest match. Legitimate research is called re-search for a reason: patient repetition, careful filtering, and the separation of drivel from verified content, all performed when applying your critical judgement. I like to use the Virtual Training Suite which is a set of free Internet tutorials to help you develop Internet research skills for your university course. The Internet Detectives link is quite a good website that was created by Bristol University to demonstrate to new entrants to university how to discern the good, the bad and the ugly for their online research. Also you might find this slideshare useful too. So don’t be afraid to try a range of sources, and remember that Microsoft Word can help keep your referencing organised.

Teaching the Ten Steps to Better Web Research from SweetSearch

Embedding a PowerPoint in to your Blog

The whole point of creating your blog is to share your thoughts, ideas and interests with your readers.  The reason that you select to do so may vary though.  Some of my students will be blogging under duress, because it is a requirement of the module and because it is an assessed element, or even the whole assessment.  The idea of our blogging as far as my students and I are concerned is that we not only reflect on the materials, concepts and technology finds, but that we build a collection of useful material that we can share with our readers.  Today's share is adding PowerPoints to a blog.  There are a number of ways to do this, other that just adding screen shots, which does not need explanation at this stage!
The first way is to create a SlideShare account and upload and share your PowerPoint, then copy the embed code from SlideShare and paste it into the HTML page of your blog post. If this sounds like German then see the SlideShare how to guide below. 

 

The other way is to use your PowerPoint Web App, which may be an application connected to your student email account, or your Hotmail account.  You access this easily from PowerPoint itself if you have Office 2010 or above.

Getting to grips with blogger

A little visual aid for getting your Blogger blog started.

PCET reflections

Developing reflective practice is good for many professionals. Becoming a reflective practitioner is a valuable and beneficial skill. The students on my PCET course are no stranger to the concept.  Their 'day jobs' require them to be reflective in a number of ways and now I am asking them to continue the process, not only as part of their ICT module assignment, but also as part of the on-going reflective process as trainee teachers. The method of recording their reflections is of course a blog. Their blogs will be used two fold. Firstly as they begin their reflections, it will be demonstrating their use, understanding and progress of using technology in their teaching and learning. As it builds and they add content and media it will develop in to an e-portfolio. They will however continue to write, reflect and engage with the technology as they continue on their journey to becoming qualified teachers. The bonus of the blog is that I can continue to read and enjoy their reflections even after they leave my module. So to simplify reflective practice: What? Here are the fact. So what? What did they mean, what did I learn. Now what? So what do I do with this new information, how does this information affect my practice?

ICT in Post Compulsory Education

I have begun to teach in a new sector this year, and I’m really enjoying it. It is the PGCE/PCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) here at UWTSD Swansea. Our website boasts “The programme aims to help existing or intending full or part-time teachers, tutors, etc., in Further, Higher and Adult/Community Education to gain an understanding of the principles and methods of learning and teaching.” So for me it brings a range of new challenges, not least because my new students have such vastly different backgrounds, not only in their ICT experience and expertise, but also their life experience too. The range of activities that we engaged with this week were not so different from those on my undergraduate course, however, the ways in which they were performed and discussed were very different. According to Lindeman (1920), who is considered to be a major philosopher of adult education in the US, adult education is "a co-operative venture in non-authoritarian, informal learning - the chief purpose of which is to discover the meaning of experience." With this smidge of insight in to andragogy I began to enjoy myself. The session was so rich in dialogue and confab that I lost track of time, and, unfortunately overran the session by half an hour! So sorry guys!
Our discussion topics were based on the ICT Skill for Life Curriculum document that was developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) back in 2007. Although 2007 is a long time ago in terms of technology and advancement, the documents raises some excellent areas for discussion, with the use of ICT in post 16 education..
The Curriculum document outlined a clear set of skills required to meet the national Skill for Life ICT standards, together with the knowledge and understanding to underpin those skills, and aims to:

1. link to purposeful use of ICT in everyday life;
   
2. emphasise transferable skills;
3. foster critical judgement;
4. develop independent use of ICT;
5. prepare learners for the future.

The document was written for learners in various post-16 settings including further and adult education, the workplace, prisons, and programmes for the unemployed, community and family. Therefore, it seemed like a good place to begin our investigations into technology and education.
Here is a little taster; the group discussing the development of independent use of ICT provided the class with passionate discourse along the following lines;

• To encourage the individual to research and use self-motivation in preparation for the development of ICT skills.
• This can be achieved by linking their special interest or employment/professional vocational skills, and the value of ICT.
• To demonstrate to the individual the benefits (which are somewhat tangible) to the user.
• Necessary to define the purpose of using IT skills within their own backgrounds.
• To make the use of ICT dynamic, interactive; enjoyable and purposeful.
• To demonstrate the increasing popular diversity of the specific sites that can assist the user to develop their particular skills (e.g. YouTube, emailing, social media and blogging).
• To enable them to use popular 'search engines' such as Google; Yahoo and Bing.
• To set tasks/exercises that can be achievable independently. 

 For more you have to be on the course, but is gives you a flavour of the session!