A new semester and our #mscidel students have got off to a cracking start!
RT @Flynn_Lim: Starting the MSc in E-Learning/Digital Education this week. Hello everyone! #mscel #mscidel
RT @keithohare: Back in twitter after months away, getting ready for the new Digital Education course starting next week! #mscidel
RT @JanetBenson77: Made my first couple of posts on course discussion boards - eek! #mscidel
@physiart I did Georgio. My personal observations during a curriculum change were identical to those of your post. Much to ponder #mscidel
Understanding The Human Element of Blended Learning | Blend My Learning http://t.co/ErNxMTeA #mscidel
@bjohnnymac Good morning John :-). Did you read the article of Neil Selwyn? #mscidel
In 2025, will we still be sending our kids to school? http://t.co/nzJNhVFk #Mscidel --> building discussion
7 habits of highly effective teachers Always Prepped Blog http://t.co/7S9nPFS4 #mscidel
Jisc is delighted to have finalised an agreement to preserve and host the Vital subject portals, an invaluable resource for schools.
From 1 April 2013, management of the established subject and special interest portals will move from The Open University. The portals direct teachers to some of the best subject resources available, helping to bring about innovation in the classroom to inspire learners.
Guy Lambert, CEO of Jisc Advance said: “We are delighted that the DfE and The Open University selected us to provide a legacy for the Vital programme. We’re looking forward to taking over the reins of these established resource portals, accessed by up to 6,000 users every year. Over time, we aspire to be in a position to extend the value the Vital portals already deliver to the curriculum and to teaching and learning. Vital currently serves teachers in England; our ambition is for all teachers across the UK to benefit from this invaluable resource.”
The portals will be free to access, complementing Jisc Advance’s new subscription offer to schools which is due to be launched in Spring 2013. This service will provide local hands-on practical support to:
• Optimise the use of schools’ and academies’ existing technologies
• Link the use of technology to improvements in learning outcomes and progression
• Provide opportunities to share with and learn from peers
• Provide open access to resources and professional development opportunities.
Peter Twining, director of Vital, commented, "I'm thrilled with this agreement with Jisc Advance which is a win-win for everyone concerned. It provides a huge endorsement of the work Vital has been doing, it will help Jisc raise its profile within schools, and most importantly ensures the ongoing support for teachers that the Vital subject portals provide."
Current Vital users will be contacted by Vital in Spring 2013 informing them of the changes and increased benefits. They will be offered the opportunity for their registrations to be transferred to Jisc to ensure continuity of service. Users can rest assured that the portals will remain similar with possible enhancements introduced in the future.
Should Education Entrepreneurs Fear a 'Tech Bubble'? http://t.co/i9GttvBt via @educationweek #mscel #mscidel
Made my first couple of posts on course discussion boards - eek! #mscidel
Federal Program Puts Focus on Learning Technologies http://t.co/uqSBRTAL via @educationweek #mscel #mscidel
Jisc joins organisations from across the UK higher education network to welcome the launch of the Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID).
There are more academic articles being published than ever before and more authors working together. In order to be able to identify an author correctly a unique identifier is needed that can then link to each author’s publications. ORCID provides this link and if widely used would:
It also provides researchers with their own ORCID. Researchers are able to control how much information it holds about them and who that is shared with. The adoption of ORCID is a solution to the current challenges of being able to search for work accurately. By researchers volunteering to adopt its usage it could improve discoverability and accurate referencing.
Neil Jacobs, programme director, Jisc comments: "We welcome the consensus that has been achieved on this issue, which should pave the way for better research systems, less work for researchers re-keying details, and more efficient operations across the sector. We recognise that this is only the start and that work needs to be done to implement ORCID in the UK. However, we have a solid beginning and we look forward to working with our partners across the sector to build on it."
Alongside Jisc, the organisations below are encouraging the adoption of ORCID:
Find out more about ORCID on Jisc's website.
Back in twitter after months away, getting ready for the new Digital Education course starting next week! #mscidel
Starting the MSc in E-Learning/Digital Education this week. Hello everyone! #mscel #mscidel
RT @JanetBenson77: Beginning a new course next week & getting excited about it! #mscidel
@JanetBenson77 Look forward to working together! Glad you're up and tweeting... #mscidel #mscel
@JanetBenson77 Have a great start Janet. We will be co-flyers :-) #mscidel #mscel
Beginning a new course next week & getting excited about it! #mscidel
University and research libraries in London and the South East are benefiting from Search25, an online catalogue of world-renowned institutions and specialist collections, thanks to funding by Jisc.
Search25 allows users to access the catalogues from within the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries, giving their learners greater choice and access to materials. There are also cost and time benefits too as John Tuck, chair of M25 consortium of academic libraries and director of library services, Royal Holloway, University of London explains: “Search25 makes it easier to search, locate and obtain resources at any library in the group. This is the only service that allows students and researchers to benefit from and hop between a vast range of large academic institutions and rare specialist collections densely packed within South East England.”
Andy McGregor, Jisc programme manager says: “Recent work on resource discovery has highlighted the importance of open metadata and application programming interfaces, which allow computer systems to speak to each other. The M25 team have taken these principles and used them in their development of a useful new search service for their users. It is great to see the principles being tested in practice and I can’t wait to see where the team take the service next.”
Cathy Phillpotts, head of library resources and e-strategy development at London Metropolitan University adds: “First impression - wow! Well done to the M25 team. I think Search25 looks really good and works well and I really like the online video too which explains how to use it. I think it’s a good balance of form and function.”
Search25 allows users to locate specific items in an M25 library. Once researchers have found what they need, they can check whether they are eligible to access the library and material through the ‘user options’ section.
See how the group realised this project through their blog which relates lessons learnt and how they collaborated.
ALT, ALT Research Papers Template for altc2013. ALT.
Jisc welcomes the announcement by the Open University today to bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading UK universities through MOOCs (massively open online courses).
Professor Martyn Harrow, chief executive at Jisc said: “The development of Futurelearn aligns with Jisc’s vision to make the UK the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. We are excited about the possibilities MOOCs offer and are looking forward to supporting the Open University and other education institutions in exploring their benefits.”
Jisc has been supporting activity within online learning across the UK to enhance the learner experience and open up access to education and learning for over 20 years.
One recent example has been the development of the ‘open classroom’ model funded by Jisc at Coventry University - linking in with over 60 universities across the world. The MOOC is a photography module which is being run with fee paying students as well as virtual learners. The benefits are already being realised as the larger class size means international contacts can be made, renowned and higher profile speakers and lecturers are secured and learners gain a wider variety of peer reviews from around the world.
This announcement by the Open University is an important step in allowing UK education to be at the forefront of the next generation of MOOCs – helping to build an online community for learners.
If you’re new to MOOCs read David Kernohan’s blog post on an introduction to what they are and how they can benefit learners.
Green, Cable Creative Commons, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Policy (webinar recording made in elluminate). In: Creative Commons, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Policy: A webinar with Cable Green.