Sony Camera tip

I love my Sony camera to bits. Really I do. But recently, my (own) Sony camera broke and until Santa Claus could find the time to bring me a new one, I used "my" (AdEd) Sony camera rather more than I generally do. But I couldn't understand why so many of the photos I was taking weren't so good. I've never had problems before and I take A LOT of photographs.

Not only that, but there were surprising videos that I didn't remember shooting.

The mystery was solved when I noticed that, whilst in my bag, that little dial was turning without my realising. Often, I'd take a photograph on a different setting from the "automatic" I intended (the green camera shape) Looking closely at the design of this particular camera model, the dial protrudes ever so slightly and is quite easy to turn. Once I started to check that it was set correctly before snapping my picture, all was well again.

And it's a jolly good excuse for taking a heap of bad photos too ;-)

Uploading photos

Lizzie wrote in the previous post, about her difficulties with uploading photos to this blog and sometimes, to Flickr. I have had similar problems in the past and can share one or two thoughts which might be of help.

Firstly, sometimes the photo doesn't upload because of a problem with Blogger - or Flickr - in some remote place, not on your computer. We tend to think that any problem we encounter must be down to something we are doing ourselves and that's not always the case. Web-based services such as these often have problems of their own. You can check if this is the case on their central website - I think there's a link from the Blogger sign in page - where sometimes, they report service interruptions.

Another possible reason is that the file you are trying to upload is too large. If the photos are only to be viewed on screen, then there's no need for them to be anything larger than about 100kb. Next question, how to reduce the file size...(cue Jane Carter-Dunn!)

Another thing could simply be that your own internet connection is busy. Might be worth trying again at a different time of day. Early evening and late afternoon is often the worst time, when all the schoolchildren are home and checking their email and playing games online. Try sometime mid afternoon, perhaps, or early morning.

Of course, you may still have problems....in which case I'm probably no help at all! But of course, I'll always encourage you to keep trying and exercise max patience (something which I find extremely difficult!!)

Evidence-Based Teaching

Last week a learner left the session saying "I hope I'll be able to remember!". She'd learnt to crochet. I saw her in town and discussed it and offered to show her again, we could film the demonstration and then I'd be able to put it on to CD for her to watch at home. I've thought of doing this several times, have never got round to it, here was a great opportunity, and since I'd said I'd do it for her, I'd have to!

Yesterday evening I looked at clips on youtube to remind myself of crochet techniques - since I was being filmed I'd have to get it right and I taught myself to crochet that way two years ago. I found an excellent link, very clear instructions indeed, I wrote down the link to give to my learners.

As I unpacked materials this morning I discovered my camera was very low on battery - mmm. I'd promised to do this! My learner arrived with a huge smile on her face and pulled out of her bag what she'd done at home - evidence that she'd learnt very well and more! No need to demonstrate again - phew!

Has anyone else ever had problems uploading photos onto this Blog? I never had until now, I'd wanted to upload a photo of some fabulous crochet samples done by my learner but that's not going to happen - I think my computer is very slow because it can't cope with all the photos and video clips it's storing! I'm having the same difficulty with Flickr - can't upload photos onto Flickr either at the moment.

I reflected on what I'd intended to do - why re-invent the wheel? I'd found some excellent clips on Youtube - mine were never going to be as good - why make extra work for myself?!

Laptops, Projectors and other Gizmos

My technophobe days are over at last! I am now among the anoraks (aka 'techies') of the teaching world, armed with my sturdy laptop case with projector bag slung over my shoulder as I stride confidently into the classroom to treat my learners to picture shows of gasp-making awesomeness..
Well, that was the dream..
The reality was somewhat different!
I decided to try it out at home and put some worksheets up on the lounge wall (not good timing, since Champions League was on the TV at the time and groans were to be heard from the depths of the sofa where partner was recumbent with lager and crisps ready for a footy evening.. undaunted, I ran a parallel viewing opportunity for the rest of the household in the form of Parts of Speech followed by Word Tag quiz).. so far, so good
My next tutor session was scheduled for the following day, so I included an 'Introduction to Online Tests' in my session plan, sketching in approximately 15minutes as the time slot... The first five minutes were spent looking for an extension lead, since desk and plug socket were yards apart.. the next five minutes looking for a thick book (mysteriously in a learning establishment there were none to be found! Only wafer-thin Readers Digests) in order to aim the projector somewhere vaguely in the direction of the whiteboard and not at my knees. The next five minutes I had to unscramble my desktop icons on the laptop to remember where I had stored my televisual feast of learning.. the class by now were doodling in their notebooks or looking out of the window. Then, tra-la! Up came the selected first page of links in glorious technicolour on the whiteboard, not a camera-shake in sight... success! Ah, but what was that mysterious glow on the laptop keyboard, followed by an intermittent bleep...? O joy, the power was fading and, well, dear Reader, you can guess the rest... Intrepid Tutor had left the transformer at home and the battery was dying...
Lessons learned, but not by the intended learners that day!
The projector and laptop have lived quietly ever since in my office cabinet, languishing beside discarded Sony Walkman and long-dead Betamax videos. However, life springs anew and the trusty equipment is due for another outing this coming session when I want to do some Practice Tests 'live' in class. To this end, I am wielding yet another sparkly new gizmo- a mobile webstick! Do I feel confident? Watch this space...

A plea!

It's interesting that Gill's last post, below this one, was titled "What's in a name?". I am currently setting up a course on Moodle for those taking the CTLLS course as we are piloting a new approach and are asking teachers to use e-learning as part of their course. Of course there is so much good practice on the blog that I want to showcase and the best way to do this is to link directly into the post I am discussing. In order to do this I have to be able to click on the Title at the top of the post. So no title - no easy linking. What's in a Name? - the opportunity to share your good practice with your colleagues, through Moodle as well as the blog.

This blog is itself an example of good practice and I know that others in adult education, outside of Gloucestershire, refer their colleagues to our blog - two examples are Sally Betts from NIACE who presented at our recent RARPA event and Tracey Morris from the RSC. So thank you for all your contributions and we look forward to some new contributors from our colleagues on the Initial Teaching Training programme.

what's in a name?

Tragedy

Norwegian Sky

Mermaid's Gown

This website has the most amazing collection of colours, each with its own story. It's great fun to simply click through to each and decide whether or not the name represents your own idea of the colour of the pencil.

Imagine what fun you could have with learners making up names for colours. Could be a useful starting point!

I have no idea what an Amaranth is (will have to google!) but it's a glorious colour.

TLP film competition

Rob Randall has brought this competition to my attention. Do any of you have learners who might like to create a film? We could loan you one of our Flips to record it. The closing date is the end of November so no time to be wasted.

Using Video in Spanish class

Using the Cybershot camera and the gorilla pod, I made a short video of myself having a conversation with a Spanish friend, perched on my kitchen table! I showed it in class using the laptop and projector.
The great advantage of making our own materials is that it can be tailored exactly to the learners - I have found it a very effective method of checking and consolidating what they've learnt.
It suits most of my learners that the classes are held in small, friendly and familiar settings - one of the disadvantages is that we don't have whiteboards suitable to project video clips and photos onto. The canteen blind worked fine! I chose this rather than a white sheet which I'd tried before. I wondered if AdEd could look into providing small, portable screens which we could use?

Go, see, now!

Just reading Sara's post below about her work prompts me to remind readers to visit the AdEd Interest Flickr Group which has got more than 600 photographs of the most amazing work done by learners over the last couple of years.

The work seems to get more inspiring by the day and is such a valuable record of what is happening in Gloucestershire.

If you visit, do leave a comment, won't you?

I am working with learners in Littledean to create a Community Textile for the village. As far as we know this has not been done before in the village. Learners felt it would be good to record the village landmarks as they are in 2010. The textile will be completed by the end of the year and will feature the local school, church, chapel, pub, our millennium field, the local meat and veg shop (including the owner Pete the Meat) and even the local bus! We have walked around the village and taken lots of photographs. The village is surrounded by glorious countryside and so this will feature prominently as well. The project has caused a lot of interest and most weeks we have visits by local folk to see how we are getting on. Sometimes visitors are from further afield as you can see by this photo. It also dispels the myth that men don't sew - this gang of four had a great time and the Arch Bishop stayed much longer than he intended. No - none of this was in the session plan, but learners loved sharing what they had achieved and explaining the plans for the textiles. There are photos of our progress on the AdEd 'flickr' site and on my own 'flickr' site.

Art and Craft tutors, please read

I had an email today from Mark Hewlett (AdEd Head of Quality Improvement and Contracting) which shared a link to an incident report which made me shudder.

As the original email, forwarded by Mark, said:

"I’ve not sent this out to you all to shock or upset but more to highlight the fact that this case proves that even when the task/activity appears to be straight forward, the lack of awareness and Risk Assessment has resulted in horrific injuries.

This was a simple classroom activity which should have been fun and enjoyable but the outcome so avoidable!

It may be worth sharing with those in your organisations (in particular large organisations like colleges where classroom activities are so varied) who doubt the need for health and safety, the appreciation of the importance of Risk Assessments, the need to communicate these risks to those who need to know and the potential consequences of failing to tell Learners! It may be an eye opener to them?"

Read the report yourself here

Thoughts and comments would be welcome.

I have recently bought my own dongle after trying out one on loan from AdEd kit. I could immediately see great benefits in this neat bit of equipment - not just for teaching but also for fun. However, so far I have not been able to get it working. I must admit I have not had time recently to spend long on this latest challenge. I wondered if anyone has any tips that I can pick up before I try again.

voice recorders

just to share something really simple that has made a real difference in our community choir.
Many of the members do not read music, so learning complex songs with 4 parts can be very time consuming, and 3 parts often sit in sessions while the 4th part "note bashes".

This time I've recorded the different parts on the Olympus digital recorder - some sung or hummed, some playing the lines on the piano, using a new file for each - my husband did the bass lines, so a variety of voices! and with some songs we recorded a quartet of us, so the whole effect of the song could be heard!

Once uploaded on the computer each of these files can simply be burnt on to an audio cd as a new track (straight on, no need for any complicated conversion software) the tracks listed, and the resultant CD can be copied. Once the files were ready the Cd took about 20 minutes to compile.
(We sold it to members at 50p a time, with all the term's music on it, which more than covered the cost)

The result has been dramatic! No more sitting around listening to others learning their part, only polishing up and focussing on the hard bits.
The speed of learning has increased not just for the individual but for the whole group, as the song can be put together so much more quickly.

It's not for everyone, but I know several members who have played it over and over at home or on the car cd, and it really offers an alternative learning style. The gain in confidence of the "I can't singers" has been tremendous!

A few links to share

It's easy to tell when I should be doing something else...I start following links on websites! There were some goodies to share today:

Aviary tools looks a useful place to find web based programs which can be accessed anywhere

I'm not a language teacher, so can't evaluate LiveMocha objectively, but it looks a pretty useful site which might interest your learners, as does Xlingo . Another language site which might be worth exploring is italki, especially the facility to communicate with a native speaker. I might exercise the usual internet cautions with that one however, reminding myself of some basic internet security advice before beginning a conversation!

Finally, I'm not sure that the ability to make a balloon starfish qualifies as an essential life skill but who knows when such a skill could come in useful? The 5 min website has plenty of displacement activities, most of which take slightly longer than the name suggests.

Hmmm...I wonder if learning to make a balloon starfish would count as CPD? I'm off to reflect on that right now.

Working Collaboratively online

I've just finished an online workshop run by NIACE, called "Working Collaboratively Online". It was delivered using Instant Presenter and I really enjoyed it, even though my sound wasn't working properly. There were sixteen participants, one principal presenter and two further staff to offer tech support (I needed that!)

We learned about - and used - Twitter, XlearnSMS, Etherpad and the discussion forum facility of a Moodle just like ours. We were introduced to the new Google Wave which looks fantastic - can't wait for that to launch and can see there's going to be much fun to be had with it.

There was pre-course prep to do, the course itself ran from 9.30 till 12.30 this morning and now we have homework. But the whole workshop was really enjoyable and surprisingly easy to follow. In particular, Instant Presenter is a remarkably effective tool for teaching online, involving everyone in the process, wherever we happened to be.

The picture is of the new home of Adult Education in Gloucestershire; a wonderful old warehouse in the heart of the historic docks, Gloucester and a step away from the new shopping centre. Things are settling down nicely!

Completed Hanging at Joys Green Community Centre

My learners at Joys Green Community Centre completed their hanging at the end of last term and it's now on display in their centre, they are rightly quite proud of their achievements.
I've sent several photos to the AdEd Flickr site and they've provoked some very positive comments. I look forward to being able to show them the comments, I'll probably print them out, I imagine they'll be thrilled.
The hanging will also be on disply at Cinderford Artspace's 21st birthday celebration at the end of next month. We regularly hold exhibitions to celebrate our learners' achievements. Being able to photograph work being exhibited and store them on the laptop and web is something I feel pleased to be able to do.

Power Point

Over the last 18 months I have made several power point presentations of, for example, work from exhibitions I've visited and other learners' work. I've used them in class and they've made a very useful addition to resources I take in.
I've come across a problem which I'm wondering if anyone can advise me on and help me solve. When I copy the Power Point to a CD and try to watch it on another computer, I am told "Power Point can't read XXX (name of presentation)." This didn't happen when I used the AdEd lap top I used before last summer - it was replaced because it had no firewall in place.
I still feel new to using technology and there's oh so much to learn! I'd hoped to give some CDs to friends, but don't want to give them power point presentations that they can't read.
Any suggestions?

What would make a difference?

Is there a piece of kit you feel would make a real difference in your classroom? Have you seen something new that you would like to trial? We will shortly be able to put in a bid for further capital equipment so please let me know as soon as possible what would be on your wish list and why. Please a new post on the blog with your ideas.

RARPA

Last month I was observed by a member of the AdEd Observation & Support Team. The overall feedback I received was very positive and useful and both myself and my learners benefited from the experience - after he left some of them said how unobtrusive he'd been and they'd enjoyed "showing off" their achievements.

I was disappointed to be awarded a 3 for RARPA. I record initial assessment of learners. I use an A4 sheet of lined paper rather than the form from the AdEd CD, as this has nowhere for recording initial assessments. I have a sheet for each learner, where I record mid-term and end of term progress and achievement.

I take photos each session of my learners' work as they experiment and progress. I post some of these photos to the AdEd Flickr site. My learners know about Flickr - I tell them about it and give them a handout telling them how to acess Flickr. I encourage them to make comments on each others work. When I can I access the internet with them so they can see their work on the Flickr site. (I look forward to being able to use a "Dongle" to increase learners' access to the internet).

At the end of the term learners display their work, in this case we had asked for an area in the Community Centre entrance for just this, and learners were looking forward to the opportuninty. The observer knew of this plan as it was recorded in my scheme of work and I discussed it with him.

What more can a tutor do to record learners' progress and achievement, to achieve a "good" rather than "satisfactory" for RARPA when observed? I would appreciate some feedback from anyone but especialy members of AdEd Observation & Support Team. As tutors we have a limited amount of time into researching and preparing courses we deliver and recording progress and achievement. Most importantly, how much would learners benefit if I put more time into recording progress and achievement?

This question is on my mind as I work at Cinderford Artspace and this morning we have a tutors' meeting - RARPA is on the agenda. I would love to feel I had a positive contribution to make to the discussion but as my efforts are deemed satisfactory rather than good I'm not sure that I have.

What a difference a dongle makes!

This evening I went to my computer course at Forest Road Centre in Cinderford. I had told tutor Amanda about the 'dongle' for using where there is no internet connection. It is brilliant, but at the moment I can't get it working at the Littledean venue. I am told it is the weakness of the signal and others have experienced the same problem. However, never to give up, I took it to Amanda's course last week and it worked fine in Cinderford. Amanda's learners were very interested in this technology and we shared ideas on how it could be used. Although the learners' computers are connected to the internet, the computer Amanda uses (laptop) to project worksheet etc. onto the board is not connected to the internet, so teaching internet skills is quite tricky. This week Amanda borrowed the 'dongle' and the feedback form learners and Amanda was a 'passionate' - "this has made such a difference". It is a brilliant piece of kit. Learners had a good look at the flickr site and left a comment below one of my learner's pictures.

Pogo Printers

 

I think the most memorable feedback I've had from a workshop was the one where someone claimed to have fallen in love during the session.

He enjoyed using the Pogo printer we were using so much he went straight out and bought one for himself.

It still attracts interest and today, a friend who was looking to buy one for herself found it at a bargain price, so I thought I'd share.

Have a look here

Could be just what you need for your holidays!

Completing our hanging at Joys Green

Completing our hanging at Joys Green
Originally uploaded by lizziegolden

I am linking to this picture as I think it is of the textile Sara and Lizzie have been talking about in previous posts. The thing I really like about our blog is its visual appeal and many of our posts have images with them which add interest. It's really simple to link to images from Flickr. You simply go to the image and click on the blog icon above it. You write your blog post in Flickr and it automatically uses the title of the image and attributes it to the person who uploaded it.

Free Software

I was at Wyedean on Wednesday evening catching up with tutors working on the RARPA project. Part of our discussion centred around the increased storage space required when saving video and photos and someone from the Wyedean IT department joined us.

He has recommended the following free compression software Infranview. Does anyone want to give this a try and let me know what they think. It looks like it has some editing capabilities in it to so may be a possible solution to the issue Sara has raised. I am interested from a VLE point of view as it will enable us to compress images we are uploading and so reduce the amount of space we need.

what a treat!

I had a late night visit last night from textile colleague Lizzy - she brought down the 'just completed' textile created by a group of AdEd learners. It was absolutely fantastic. I know it will be exhibited later in the year at Cinderford Artspace. I am sure Lizzy will let us have the dates. There are pictures of learners creating 'their square' on flickr. The colours and textures are delicious. This is the rewarding part of teaching - seeing such lovely work produced and seeing the reactions of learners when they see what they have achieved.

Community textiles diary

I am enjoying creating the diary of making our Community Textile in Littledean. I think some of the sets of pictures and the comments would make a meaningful handout for learners. The learners will be in the pictures so it will be a great reminder of the learning experience. The group is keen to do this. For example my week 3 set includes how to use freezer paper. I can't work out how to copy the pictures and the captions 'in the set' so that I could print out a copy. Not many of my learners are using the internet yet. However the use of IT in the session is arousing their interest in the possiblities and there is talk of developing an internet cafe in Littledean. I thought if I could produce prints of some of the flickr' pics and captions it would be a great step in the right direction. Learners with the internet have had a handout to explain how to get to flickr. I don't want the other learners to loose out.

Community textile diary with pictures

I thought I would take advantage of the 'description' box below the photos in flickr to make a diary to record the 'story of how we made our community textile'. I will add a couple of pictures each week to the shared AdEd flickr site - but if you would like a peek at the full story take a look at my personal flickr site. There is a link off this blog.

The Lightbulb Project

"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got"

(Peter Francisco)

In construction at the moment, an experience that will alter your perception of teaching, raise your self awareness, allow you to look deep into your soul and realise... this is the way forward!
The Lightbulb project, light up your life with the knowledge.

Released: autumn term, 2009, subject to contract

Old kit, new ideas

 

I dropped into City Works this morning for a meeting (which wasn't at City Works at all, but that's a different story!) In the foyer was this great assemblage of materials and an OHP (overhead projector) together with a heap of interesting components to play with. So much potential here to explore shape, transparency, pattern, texture, with a piece of kit that many would argue has had its day.

It set me thinking about what other bits and pieces of equipment lie unloved in a cupboard somewhere, overtaken by more modern machines? What creative uses could they be used for? We have such a creative bunch of readers of this blog, how about giving us a challenge? Tell us a machine/resource you no longer use and we'll try to think up a new/different/exciting application for it!

getting sttarted

It is always excitiing to start a new project with learners. More so this time as I have not been working with AdEd learners for a little while. Our challenge is to create a community textile for the village of Littledean. It will hang in the United Reform Chapel which is buzzing with community activities. In our first session a series of simple but effective textile techniques were learnt. Students now plan to teach these techniques to others that attend community events so that everyone will be able to contribute a little to the textile. It is said that that the best way to learn is to teach someone else! We plan to put pictures of each session on flickr (aded site and my own site). In our first session we shared design ideas, learnt some simple techniques and took photos of landmark buildings in the village. We welcome you to share our progress on flickr.
Labels: Litledean community textile
posted by sara weaving @ 00:32 0 Comments"

What would you do?

I have been using the Epson PictureMate for some time now. We often use a digital camera to record a range of activities within sessions, and then use the Epson PictureMate to print off photos in class. All learners love the 'instant' photos, with younger members of the groups having great fun trying to 'guess who is going to come out of the box'!!!
However ... it seems the PictureMate is a little too easy to use! :(
within a group of adults learning how to develop IT skills we looked at digital cameras and added the use of PictureMate for printing photos. Most learners were able to print off a couple of photos, but we ran out of time for all so I said I would bring the printer back the following week so all could have a go. We also looked at the cost of printing - £39 paid for ink resulted in about 120 good quality photos.
One learner then decided to download photos from a computer at home back onto their camera, bring to the next IT session with an aim of printing off 98 prints!
What would you do?
I pointed out that I wanted to use the printer for another group later in the week, but by this time 58 prints had already been printed!
Any suggestions about how to stop this from happening again?! Should I put a '10 prints per learner' sticker on the printer?
I will start my next printing session off with a chat about how many photos should be printed! - or hide the paper!!
I live and learn!!!!

Sony Double-Take

Having had Jane C-D visit our CTLLS course to introduce us to lots of wonderful "techy" bits and pieces available to tutors around and about the county - I felt it only fair to experiment with some myself! As a techy-phobe, but a tutor on the course, it's part of my CPD to make sure I can work at least a few of them. So ... the first bit of equipment I tried out was the Sony camcorder, which allowed us to record all the micro-teaches and to immediately download them onto individuals' memory sticks for them to take home. This is the first time we've been able to offer this facility enabling candidates to effectively evaluate and reflect on their teaching in the privacy of their own homes. I had tried the whole process out at home, and although someone else did the 'filming', we managed to download all the micro-teaches onto the laptop and then the memory sticks - all within the session, so evaluation could be immediate. This is just the start, as there are suddenly all sorts of implications and uses to which this can be put. So, thank you, Jane and Kerry, who showed me how to do it all.

Crochet, the WI and the Docucam

One of the most impressive pieces of Technology we have at our disposal for teaching is the docucam IMHO, and I was thrilled to be able to use it again today.

I was asked by the Gloucestershire Federation WI to give a class on crochet.

A phone call last week informed me that the class was oversubscribed and could I take more students than my maximum? This is usually a difficult decision, as demonstrating crochet is quite a daunting task with large numbers when you try the traditional... "gather round" ...demonstration technique.

Using this traditional teaching technique there is also the consideration of mass disruption every time you wish to demonstrate. By using traditional methods with large numbers of students, means the merry - go - round of all your students getting out of their seats and standing around.. then going back to their seats trying to remember what you said and continuing with their work. Often a nuisance for both tutor and students.

So this morning 15 students arrived at Cherrington Village Hall to learn the art of crochet. We arranged 3 large tables with 5 chairs at each one, so the students were seated in groups.

.

(students working)

Using the docucam meant the students never need to move out of their seats, and could see the demonstrations on the screen in real time and perhaps even more important they could follow along crocheting at the same time as I was demonstrating. Naturally this had the advantage that if they experienced a problem. I could easily do a quick replay of the technique or skill I was demonstrating. {Note to self.... make sure to have a manicure before using docucam, as hands are magnified onto the screen!}

(this is a photo of the screen with my rather anaemic hand demonstrating how to hold the yarn in the left hand)

Of course I also used the docucam to show patterns to the group, as well as finished crochet items and these are easily seen on the large screen.

The two and a half hours seemed to fly by this morning and I feel sure the learning was enhanced by the use of the docucam. The result of using this technology was a relaxed, hard working group of students who have asked me to return and teach them some more crochet skills. I am more than happy to do that with my trusty and wonderful docucam to help me.

NB -click on photos to enlarge.

So how do you use the docucam in your teaching?

Maggie H.

Eco font

I've just come across this new font which claims to use 20% less ink than a standard font when printed out, yet still be as legible. I've downloaded it and will give it a try.

Of course, when printed out in a "normal" size, the holes won't be visible - or so they say.

Anyone already used it? Comments?

Download and find out more here http://www.ecofont.eu/

Recording reflections

One of the themes which comes up regularly is the need to record reflections. This could be after a class, when a few thoughts could be helpful for future lesson planning, after some training when some thoughts are required for a CPD record or for keeping a record throughout a programme of professional development. I don't know about you, but I struggle to corral my woolly, fluffy, mis-shapen thoughts into an online box to be filled in. I find my best thoughts and reflections are always somewhere else - sitting in the bath, doing the washing up, ironing....anywhere but when I'm sitting with that screen in front of me, trying to gather some sensible and worthwhile thoughts together.

There simply had to be a better way - and I think we've found it. Did you know that you can attach a soundclip in a Word doc? Did you know that your computer probably has an inbuilt microphone and the simple software needed to record an off-the-cuff thought without the need to do anything but a couple of clicks? I didn't. But now I've found it I want to use it all the time.

From the Start Menu, go to Accessories/Sound Recorder and a click should open a small window.

I don't think further instructions are needed, do you? Click, talk, save.

The file, when saved, goes into the "documents" folder by default, or of course, you can specify exactly where you want it to go. It's a ".wma" file and shouldn't be too difficult to find. don't forget to change the box to "all files" though, or else you won't see the .wma files listed.

When you're ready to embed it into your Word .doc (or .docx) "insert object", find and double click on the .wma file you created. A small logo will be inserted to show where to click to hear the sound clip.

Fun, eh?

(and if you're one of those lucky people with a pocket voice recorder, then it's easier still!)

Make your vote count!

I have had the Turning Point voting set for a couple of weeks now! I am willing to share! (Honest!)
I have used it with four different groups, from adult only groups for initial assessment at the start of a new course to 5-year olds! All found the voting cards fun and easy to use. Once the vote has been cast you get to see the results as a graph - there are a variety of different styles of graph available, but the basic bar chart style has worked best with my groups so far.
Once the Turning Point disc has been loaded onto your laptop you can plan your activity within powerpoint - very quick and easy. You can add text, clip art, photos etc Save and use!
If you don't have access to an IWB you can add a projector to your laptop and still view your show!

Introduction to Computers to Chinese Elderly in Gloucester

Wednesday 29th April 2009
I had my first teaching experience yesterday teaching Introduction to Computers to the Chinese elderly at the Gloucestershire Chinese Community Group in Gloucester using ADeD laptop, projector, digital camera, and Epson PictureMate. This was in partnership with the Chinese Children and Parents Association, Hesters Way, Cheltenham.

Luckily I had 4 enthusiastic helpers with me to help with preparation of the room, Cantonese translation and hands on workshop. I found that preparation was so vital to the success of any project.

We had 2 sessions of one and a half hours each with 8 in the first and 6 in the second session.
All went very well and the elderly were very appreciative that we took the course to them and showed them what computers could do like playing card games, watching films on DVDs, taking photos of each other with a digital camera, getting their photos printed instantly and actually touching a mouse.

We then had lunch together prepared by their resident chef. It had a great party atmosphere with a total of about 25 people and all of us enjoyed the day together. The Chinese elderly have asked if we can come back again and teach them more!

What a resounding success!

Voting System

We have just taken delivery of our new voting system. It's a 32 handset Turning Point set and when the 2 additional receivers arrive we will be able to split it into 3 sets. Questions are created in PowerPoint. It is fairly straightforward to use - particularly for those who are familiar with PowerPoint. Lesley Andrew and Josie Brown got to grips with it in about 20 minutes last night so if you want to know more you could ask them.

If you would like to borrow a voting set please contact Kerry Jones or Jane Carter-Dunn (either by email Kerry.Jones@gloucestershire.gov.uk/ Jane.Carter-Dunn@gloucestershire.gov.uk or call 01452 425426). Brief training session available on request.

CTLLS session 23 March

Had a great evening with a group of e-learning enthusiasts sharing ideas on how technology can enhance teaching. I used our new voting system for initial assessment for the session and was delighted to discover that all of the tutors were using e-learning either sometimes, regularly or always.

They have all promised to share what they are doing on the blog so look at for their posts, and give them our usual welcome.

Useful IT Resources

Am really pleased I have discovered the DigitalUnite site today. Their Learning Zone has a lot of resources which are well written and simple. Take your pick from topics such as Games and Hobbies, Music and TV online, Social Networks and blogs - as well as the more traditional Email etc. This is also where I spotted SagaZone.

The resources would be suitable for those under 50 too and don't dismiss the site if you are not teaching IT - there are some useful resources on photos and videos and I know that some of our arts and crafts tutors are encouraging learners to display their work online.

I'm off to follow the instructions for using Skype now.

SagaZone

Are you teaching IT to older learners. Have you looked at SagaZone - it's a sort of Facebook plus for the over 50's. I have registered today (naughtily as I'm not quite old enough to qualify yet but did it in the interests of our learners!).

Seriously do take a look and let me know what you think.

Are we teaching what our learners need to know?

Came across this blog post on digitalunite. Some of you will have heard me "going on" about purposeful learning - and this is such a good example of why this is important.

Are you asking why learners have come to your class? and what they want to be able to do when the leave? They probably won't say they've come to learn how to turn text upside down!

Help needed....!

At the beginning of the holiday I made two short video clips of my Spanish friend Cristina and I chatting, the conversations were designed for my Spanish Continuation course at RFDC. I copied the clips from my camera onto both my own laptop and the AdEd laptop. I was hoping to use the very useful software Movie Maker, which I used a year ago quite successfully. I now have a different laptop from the one I used last year.

Unfortunately the video clips on the AdEd laptop aren't usable - when I try to open them I am told "The drive or network is unavailable". I'm perplexed - I copied them the same way as I always have done. I'd been hoping to edit them and use them in class next Monday - now I need to find out whether I can use the projector with my own laptop, which unfortunately doesn't have the editing soft ware, but shows the video clips very well.

Has anyone else come across similar problems and able to advise?

Welcome to visitors from Cambridge!

Thank you for making me so welcome and it was great to hear all your ideas about the use of technology in teaching. I hope you will find some things of interest here on our blog. Please feel free to leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you.

Using Video for RARPA

This short video clip of a very flushed me (well I had just cycled 4 miles!) shows how video could be used to record learners' own goals for a course, encourage them to think about how they might achieve those goals, and how they will know when they have been achieved.

ASUS EEE PC. Impressed, I bought one!

Having seen the ASUS EEE PC at the Ad-Ed Camel fayre, I was so impressed that I bought one!

I felt that some of you may like a little information on what it is and what it can do. Mine has the 80GB hard drive fitted.

I recently bought the EEE PC904 HD in white. What a fantastic device! I was looking for something to replace my old Psion organiser (mini pc style) which died a while back. I had software to sync this with windows and it was useful to carry around my dates, schedules, word and excel files. I looked at several PDAs but came around to the idea of a netbook style PC.

For compatibility with windows, I went for the ASUS EEE PC904 with 80G hard drive. It comes with Win XP home and MS Works preloaded. It has anti virrus pre-installed, a web cam and mic array with a mini web video creation package. Win XP was at SP3 level but I have updated the IE browser to V.7. plus other win updates have been rolling in. If you are not an MS fan, It also comes with Sun Microsystems Star Office (an open office package). The only thing lacking is a full version of PPoint (a viewer is supplied).

The free AV package is included with 40? days cover. I have altered mine to AVG Free.

The device has 3 USB ports, headphone and mic sockets, VGA, Ethernet and a security lock socket plus an SD card socket (and power inlet jack). It is well suited to portable use including use with a Digital projector via the VGA Port.

There are two reasonable quality speakers either side of the screen plus a stereo phased array microphone (bottom of screen) and built-in webcam (screen top). These can be used with the supplied applications to easily create av clips.

Construction is very good although don't be tempted to pick up the unit via the lid with the screen exposed. I have seen a number of reports of thumbs going through the LCD (ouch, sounds like a write-off). I have fitted a clear filter / screen protector to my unit, just to keep the LCD clean.

This is such a useful device, it gives you the power of a small PC in something just a bit bigger than an A5 notepad. Even though it is not a speedster, performance is very good. As a bonus, ASUS warranty is 2 years on this device (at the time of writing)

A memory stick is a useful addition as to is a mouse or trackball although the built-in touchpad is quite functional. If you don't already have one, a USB CD/DVD drive should also be on your shopping list. In fact, an external CD/DVD drive adds a new dimension in being able to demo Windows media player and similar applications. Ideal for demos on multi-media.

The other thing to bear in mind that, if like me, you teach at a facility where in house PC's are tightly controlled (as they should be), this provides you with an unteathered, fully functioning PC able to do things that may be restricted on a school network (for example). You can demo things like System tools, settings menus, winXP settings, registry, RIP function for CD to WMA / MP3 etc. Normally restricted in such an environment.

For around £250 for a PC with pre-installed Windows XP OS plus MS works and other packages, this is a fantastic bit of kit that is ready for work as soon as you get it out of the box! Well done ASUS and well done Ad-Ed for using this device!!!

Using sound clips with MS Word

Hi Ad-Ed Glos!

I was very pleased to participate in a hands on demo of interactive multimedia usage in Ad-Ed teaching and RARPA at Wyedean School last Wednesday.

I teach many multi-media based and related subjects (DTP, Photoshop, Web Design with Dreamweaver, photography etc). I had recently run a successful saturday workshop on using portable devices with your PC. This workshop allowed students to bring devices with them. These included:

• Cell phones
• MP3 palyers
• Memory sticks
• Cameras
• An MP2,3 and 4 player

I also demonstrated the olympus voice recorder. I particularly like this device as it can be used as a high quality stereo audio recorder, voice dictation machine and MP3/WMA player.

It is great for adding sound clips to web sites or PPP's. I also explained that it could be used to help writers in recording story lines, plots or even RARPA observations.

So do you just record your notes and listen to them???

No, you can actually include your audio clips as audible notes within MSWord. I haven't produced any screen shots as many of you are using versions from 2005, 2007 and 2008 but they all work the same way.

Having uploaded your audio clips to a file in My Documents (maybe creat a new one "My AVClips") proceed as follows from MS Word.

• On your open page, choose the insertion point (position the cursor) at which you want to insert your clip.
• Choose the Insert Menu.
• Choose Object.
• Select the Tab "Create from File.
• Then choose "Browse for file".
• Find your audio clip and Insert.

You also get the options Link to File: play the file if checked otherwise embed the contents. You can also display an icon (or just the clip title).

Try it, once you have become familiar with the method, you may find you are hooked! Especially good for story-boarding when planning a movie or mini video doco.

Those who have older MS systems can still achieve this but would need to use the OLE Object Linker and packager tool (but that's history)!

All the best: Bill-E

Hello

As instructed, I'm posting this....

Ideas for learning and assessment

At an eCPD training day yesterday we were introduced to some e-learning tools. Two of them we have already - the Flip Videos and Olympus Voice Recorders - both of which are proving popular with tutors and examples of their use can be found on the blog.

One of the new items was the Creative Zen portable media player. This is very similar to the iPod range of products but prices begin at around £70 for a reasonable screen size.

As well as being shown the equipment we were given a link showing a simple revision quiz for use on this equipment. Click here for a video showing how to create the quizzes which can also be used on mobile phones. The suggestion is that learners create resources for these media players as part of their learning activity - and they could also be added to our Moodle site (which will be available soon) to be shared with other tutors and learners.

There are a range of ready made video clips available on VideoJug - arranged in categories - for example this selection is for Yoga and Pilates. Videos can also be found on Mole TV - see here for the language videos.

If anyone thinks these tools could be used to enhance teaching and learning (and particularly for use as an assessment tool using the quizzes) please let me know and I will put forward a case for purchasing some. I did something similar with PDAs (personal digitial assistants) a few years ago and they went down really well with learners in a family learning cookery class - where they were used to assess their knowledge of health and safety in the kitchen and healthy eating guidelines. The advantage of these players is their cost in comparison to a PDA which has many other features we might not use.

AD -ED Equipment

The ACA Sewing Class has being going since October 2008 and has been thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Some of the Equipment provided by AD-ED has been used with very simple instructions making them easy to use for the Tutor.

Here are some of the pictures taken from the camera provided.

The Docucam has come in very handy along with the Projector to demonstrate what the Tutor is doing. Giving everybody a clear demonstration of what the class need to do without everybody crowding around which was greatly received.

See more pics!!!

Confirming acceptance

No message

Testing testing

I have absolutely no idea what will appear here, if anything at all. Bear with me and hope for something more exciting than a knitted scarf.

Update: really interested to see comments left on the Voicethread website appear here too. Why no have a go yourself here? If you don't feel like starting your own Voicethread, why not leave a comment on mine - see how easy it is.

I must say, it's great seeing and hearing comments like that, too. Wouldn't your learners like to receive feedback in that way?

Thank you Jane C-D for yet another nifty distraction!!

As easy as Eee PC!

Welcome to the latest AdEd toy that I have booked out !

The Eee PC is much smaller than a normal laptop = easy to use and light to travel with!

The battery is great - over 4 hours on a full charge!









So far I have used it with an adult-only class, when it was used by a mum working on own goals while the rest of the group worked on Level 1 and Level 2 activities, pre-school children who thought it was great to record 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! a group of Year 1 children who recorded a starter activity for each other, and a group of adults and reception children!


ALL LOVED IT!





You can use a built in camera to take individual photos or record video - adults hate it Kids love it!!!! You can also set the camera to record chat while they complete an on-screen task or activity and play-back to see how they got on!


EXCELLENT kit with LOTS of potential for ANY group - and very easy to use!

Talking e-learning

At a New Tutor training session last week I talked to tutors about the use of e-learning and how some of the tools we have could be used for initial assessment. One of the attendees told me I had a wonderful job - and she was right. Two tutors were very taken with the potential of voice recorders and took them away to use in their Family Learning and ESOL groups. I look forward to hearing how they get on.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is when people come back to tell me about their successes with the use of e-learning and yesterday I had a very excited Lesly Andrew who had just used an EEE PC with one of her learners. I won't say any more as Lesley has promised to post on this herself.

I look forward to introducing yet more tutors to the equipment as part of the CTLLS course on Saturday.

Please continue to post about your successes here - it's great to hear your stories.

Epson PictureMate - What a Hoot!

Gizmo - from The Barn Owl Centre, Hempsted

Friday 13th Feb was the last session of Owl Babies at Tuffley Primary School.

To celebrate we had a very special visitor - Gizmo!

As part of the activity we took photos using a digital camera, and were then able to use an Epson PictureMate to print off photos in class - every child then had a photo to take home!

The PictureMate was VERY easy to use, take the SD card out of the camera, put into the slot on the PictureMate, choose the photo and print! Very quick, very easy and excellent quality photos!

I have booked out the PictureMate 'till July - but more are available - so go and see Jane C-D and get yours!

Next big thing?

I'm not sure how we'd cope with the permissions etc but I wonder if this might add a little something to our classes?

In the Times yesterday:

"...websites such as YouTube and Flickr already allow you to upload videos from computers but now mobile phones and a new breed of video camera (such as the Flip Mino) are upping the ante - allowing gig-goers or flaneurs to upload direct to the web without a computer"

(I had to look flaneur up in case it was something rude!)

I think we could extend the group to include learners and tutors, don't you?

Oh my, we'll all be media stars before we know it!

eeePCs

You may remember I posted about these PC's last year. We still have 10 of them waiting patiently to be used. Today I have been inspried by the different ways that just one of these eeePCs was used in Nottinghamshire.

Read how Nottingham used their eeePC

so..... Gloucestershire tutors, your challenge is to let me know how one or more eeePCs could make a real difference to your learners. I look forward to hearing your ideas and to getting these laptops out of the cupboards, working for our learners.

Laptop and Projector Set up

Following Lizzie's post earlier in the week here is a short video showing you how to set up your laptop and projector. A more comprehensive written guide will be placed with all projectors in future. However, if you have a projector and no instructions please contact Jane.Carter-Dunn@gloucestershire.gov.uk or call 01452 425923.

Lizzie I hope this will inspire you to get your projector back in action. With this new laptop and the Epsom printer I was also able to play video - which I know has been a problem with some of the older laptops where the video plays only on the laptop and doesn't project.

Please post any successes, problems, pleas etc about laptops and projectors here as we are just delivering new projectors across the county and so other tutors may be having the same issues.

Creative and Media materials

Some tutors who came to the core training events last term might remember the "wheel" activity about initial assessment? Although it was targeted at language tutors, we used it more broadly and many tutors found it an interesting discussion starter.

I now have a box of similar resources aimed at our Creative and Media curriculum and though I love them to bits - satisfying packaging, beautiful production values and some great concepts and starting points - I don't want to keep them to myself!

Why not have a look at these materials online, see if there's anything there you'd like to use - either with your learners, for your own professional development or simply to satisfy your curiosity. If, as a result of what you see, you'd like to borrow the whole pack (A4 size, 15cm thick and weighing just over 3kg) drop me an email and we'll see what we can do!

I intend to bring the materials to our next training event in any case but don't feel you have to wait!!

Not only that, but as a result of Subject Learning coach training, there are several copies of the Developing the Expert Learner and the Learning Maths materials in the county too. They of similar size and design to the Creative and Media materials and though they look beautiful on my shelf - coordinated colours and all of that - they'd look better still on your CPD record!

Ready, Steady, Learn

More from the eCPD Launch Conference last week. This shows what progress one group made in just 10 minutes with a Flip video and voice recorder. The video is on YouTube.

Laptop and projector

I'm wondering how other tutors are getting on with using the laptop and projector in their teaching. I haven't made the time to set the two up since I was unable to get them to work at the beginning of the autumn term. I was observing a tutor a couple of weeks ago and she was unable to get the projector to work. I so felt for her, she had very well prepared resources to use and couldn't. She dealt with the situation well and improvised but we all know how frustrating and upsetting this can be.

Some people reading this blog were at the Skills for Life Quality Improvement training a couple of weeks ago. You may remember the workshop leader being unable to get the projector to work. Three people came to her rescue and the problem was solved so she could continue with her presentation.

AdEd tutors are usually on their own setting up and running their sessions, no-one to help out when things go wrong. Most tutors in schools and colleges can find a technician. It would be so helpful for myself, and others I imaghine, to have a handout which went through the stages in setting up the projector and laptop, plus how to deal with frequently encountered problems. This could be laminated and given to tutors who would like to use the equipment.

We have talked about this before Jane, I wondered if it'd be possible for this to be produced and distributed soon so that we feel more able to use the equipment for the benefits of our learners.

Recording Learners

NIACE recently held an on-line discussion on voice recording and Alastair Clark produced a short video on the subject. This features Pauline Thomas who teaches ESOL for Adult Education. You can watch the video on YouTube

To tell the story

In the presentation this morning, Jane and I wanted to tell the story of the work of the Dream Team in a simple and interesting way. Thanks to this blog, I knew about the Microsoft Photo Story program and so I quickly put together a four minute "video".

Of course, Gloucestershire tutors will recognise their part in the story...you played a starring role!

Inspiring Tutors in Adult and Community Learning

That's the title of the presentation Jane C-D and I made at the eCPD conference this morning, showing all the good things Gloucestershire AdEd tutors are doing and sharing here on the blog and elsewhere. We took along some of our Flip video cameras, Pogo printers, eePCs, Sony cameras and Panasonic voice recorders and set the participants in our workshop a ten minute challenge: what could they achieve in such a short time with these nifty bits of technology?






In no time at all, they were filming, printing and recognising what powerful tools these were for recording learning and the air of excitement in the room was wonderful to witness.



We made a list of the achievements in those ten short minutes - quite a long list, actually.

They:

used Flip video to record learning :: bluetoothed an image from phone to pogo :: found the webcam on an eepc :: made a bluetooth connection for the first time :: printed using the pogo :: fell in love (with the pogo!) :: used the voice recorder :: found the USB on the Flip :: took advantage of peer support :: uploaded video to an eepc :: took a still photo with a digital camera :: recorded evidence using a camera :: identified further applications of the equipment in their own teaching :: took a photo with a mobile phone for the first time :: recognised the importance of learner involvement :: recognised the importance of recording the process of learning as well as the outcome :: had FUN!

Thanks to all the participants in our workshops - we had a ball working with you and enjoyed sharing what's going on in Gloucestershire with a wider audience. Thank you Sally, for being such great technical support and for holding it all together for us!

We're very proud of the work our tutors are doing and thank everyone for sharing so many great ideas.

Involving learners in setting assessment criteria

I think this is a really simple, but useful idea which would help us to get learners more involved in the assessment process. The tutor displays the mindmapping software with the task to be assessed in the middle. The learners then suggest how the task should be assessed and the tutors adds these ideas to the mindmap. The mindmap can then be displayed as learners work through the task to remind them of the criteria. Jane Griffiths has suggested this would be a really useful tool to use with ALDD learners and pictures or symbols could be used in place of words. Although this example is from a cookery class it could be used in any subject area. Let us know if you give it a try.

A list of free mind mapping software is available in Wikipedia.
This is just one of many ideas for assessment for learning taking from the NIACE publication Assessment for Learning. If you would like to borrow this publication please let us know.