Lindsay Jordan: Blogging with Students...how and why

We came across this lovely video yesterday from Lindsay Jordan, educational developer at the University of Bath. Linday's blog is promising an accompanying paper soon.

Learning Technologies Projects

I spent a very pleasant evening yesterday listening to the presentations being given by our students on the Learning Technologies module of our Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice. The students are all academic staff members, with busy teaching and administrative workloads, and we have spent the last number of months looking at the use of various technologies in teaching and learning. The project was to consider the use of a technology in their own context. Since each student started the module with a different level of competence in using technologies, the aim of the project was to push each individual beyond their comfort zone.

So, yesterday evening we had a wonderful range of technology use. Projects included:

• Social Networks: using Ning to support Irish language learning; using grou.ps in project work in Botany to promote and support peer-learning; using Blackboard tools to support a research group in Microbiology.
• Video: a Microbiology lecturer has created some short videos to demonstrate skills in the laboratory; a lecturer in Occupational Therapy recorded in a nursing home, in association with the HSE, to create self-instructional videos showing the correct use of wheelchairs.
• Second Life: we were given a fantastic overview of Second Life and shown plans for how students of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship will have projects based in the virtual world in the next academic year.
• Reflective Logs: students of Speech and Language Therapy will, in future, submit their reflective logs using blogging tools on Blackboard instead of the current practice where they have to travel to the campus to submit paper based versions.
• Blended Learning: although she couldn't be there, one lecturer from Nursing recorded her presentation on lessons learned from moving to a blended learning environment, using a participatory group narrative.

It is great to see how each of these students has moved on and really embedded the use of their chosen technology in their teaching practice. I'm looking forward to the project reports, which are due to be submitted at the end of next week.

Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World

Today's THE article Internet is fostering a 'want it now' culture among students reports on the findings of the Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience. This committee has been investigating the impact of Web 2.0 tools on teaching and learning in higher education. The final report is to be published next week.

The findings, as reported in the THE, are not particularly surprising.

• The use of Web 2.0 tools in teaching and learning is very patchy, and mainly driven by enthusiastic individuals. However, they can be used very effectively to support collaboration and reflection in students groups.
• The lack of information literacy skills, and critical assessment of resources in particular, is a problem.
• There is a divide between those staff who like to experiment with Web 2.0 tools, and those who are reluctant to engage at all with them.
• Students like traditional, face-to-face interaction.

My own opinion is: it's not the tools that are the problem, or the solution. When used well, they can be very effective. Poor use can promote shallow learning. The lack of information literacy skills is a problem, whether you use Web 2.0 tools or not.

I'll look forward to reading the report of the committee, which will be published on 12th May.

re-Kindle-ing the flame of learning

Amazon's new version of its e-book reader, the Kindle DX was launched officially today. With a larger screen size, the device is also being aimed at the student market with deals being done to provide popular textbooks in electronic format and a number of pilot programmes running in various US universities. With a price of just under $500 however, it might be a little costly for most students.

In previous pilot studies of ebooks in university contexts, one of the key aspects of feedback from student users was the need to provide some means of annotating and commenting on readings, something students often do with their texts or papers that they are reading. No sign that the Kindle has addressed that issue however, but perhaps gradually we're moving towards the device that we really want.

The Future Internet: Web 3.0

The future of the web?

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