Back in November, RSC Wales launched its Toolkit for Teaching : a series of Moodle modules on technology skills  that will hopefully be useful both for staff development programmes and Initial Teacher Training.
Each module has a series of activities and associated guidance notes to facilitate online self-study, though access to some face-to-face support would probably be beneficial. The modules were originally put together by JISC RSC Scotland South and West but have been modified to give more of a Welsh focus, and have additionally been mapped to the LLUK Professional Standards, as well as the Application Guide to Using Technology, for Teachers, Tutors and Trainers in the Lifelong Learning Sector in Wales. The modules can be used directly from the RSC Wales Moodle, or can be downloaded into other Moodle instances. Unfortunately the modules are not currently available through the medium of Welsh.

Video from Module 3

The Toolkit for Teaching includes:
•        Module 1: Introduction to e-Learning
•        Module 2: e-Resources & Copyright
•        Module 3: Creating Interactive Resources (part 1)
•        Module 4: Designing an Inclusive Curriculum
•        Module 5: Creating Interactive Resources (part 2)
•        Module 6: Online Communications & e-Tutoring
•        Module 7: e-Assessment

In addition to this skills-focused toolkit, RSC Wales has also developed a Toolkit for Subjects. This RSC Wales Moodle area is not actually a collection of tools,  more a showcase of taster lesson/lecture plans: the aim was to provide a quick reference area covering a range of different topics and technologies that would provide ideas for the use of technology in subject teaching. Technologies were selected on the basis of their subject value (eg. online resources), their ability to provide interactivity (eg. voting systems), independent study (eg. interactive study packages from NGfL Cymru), collaboration (eg. online mind-maps) and communications (eg. Twitter). Reference is also made to other key aspects of teaching and learning including formative assessment and accessibility, and useful resources such as the RSC Wales Delicious links, Xpert and Merlot. The Toolkit for Subjects was not intended to look at technologies in any depth: there are many JISC publications and resources that serve this purpose.

from www.morguefile.com

We welcome feedback about these resources and how you have used them,  and value your suggestions for their further development. Please send any feedback to support@rsc-wales.ac.uk.

And just to add that by the time you read this, I will no longer be a member of the JISC RSC Wales team, though still working in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning at CELT, University of Glamorgan.

Over the past year there have been a series of meetings and consultations to develop a guide to aid teachers in the Lifelong learning Sector in their use of technology. The aim was to update the existing Fento ‘ILT Standards’ (2003) whilst building in more functionality and an awareness of the educational scene in Wales. LLUK (Lifelong Learning UK) led the developments which were funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, and input was obtained from several key organisations in Wales including NGfL Cymru, NIACE DC, NTfW, JISC RSC Wales, Fforwm. The Steering Group for the guide’s development also comprised representatives from all the key Post-16 sectors including FE, ACL, WBL, HE.
Following the example of the previous Fento publication, the guide was developed in three parts:
• A section for Teachers, Tutors and Trainers: this follows the format of the ‘New overarching professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the lifelong sector in Wales’
• A guide for Leaders and Managers: this follows the format of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Management and Leadership 2008
• A series of case-studies

The first two of these sections are now available bilingually both as hard copy and online on the LLUK web-site (yng Nghymraeg, and in English). The Managers’ Guide should be of great value in highlighting the importance of educational technology at an institutional level, and outlines the responsibilities of senior staff. The Teachers’ Guide should prove really useful both for ILT Managers and Teacher-Training Co-ordinators when preparing courses/cpd, but the Guide was also designed to be of direct use to teaching staff. Each part of the guide (eg. Planning, Assessment, Specialist teaching) contains specific advice and examples that should be helpful both to beginners and those who are already well-versed in technology. The online version of the guide also provides hyperlinks to an extensive glossary as well as to key external web-sites. In due course, the case studies will give concrete examples of the uses of technology in teaching and learning that should be useful for all sectors and levels.
Any feedback about the guide is welcomed, especially with respect to ways in which it can be used in the professional development of existing and trainee teaching staff. In due course, I hope to use this blog to disseminate further ideas about the ways in which the guide could be used.

This week Nielsen Online published its findings regarding mobile internet usage in the UK.

According to their research mobile internet usage increased by 25% (an increase from 5.8 to 7.3 million) between the second and third quarter of 2008. PC based internet usage grew by 3% in the same period.

Nielsen found that there is a higher concentration of younger users (aged 14-24) using mobile internet services compared to services accessed via a PC.

BBC news, Google Search, BBC Weather and Facebook are the most popular mobile sites indicating a need for fast access to resources and information.

It’s interesting to see that mobile internet usage is increasing so rapidly; Sometimes I hear the arguments that mobile internet access is prohibitively expensive or requires advanced handsets that many people do not have. All inclusive “web” deals, subsidised phones and faster mobile networks have chipped away at those arguments. Almost anyone can now have cheap and easy access to the information they want when and wherever they want it.

Many students I have talked to don’t consider their phone to be mobile technology, it’s just a part of their day to day life. A mobile is slipped into the pocket without any thought, just like putting on a pair of shoes before you go outside.

To read the full Nielsen report click here (PDF)