It’s been a year since RSC Wales started using an online environment as a medium for delivering learning directly to the desktops of its customers. Much of this time has been spent honing our skills as remote presenters trying to make the sessions as interesting and relevant as possible.

Always looking for ways to improve and enhance this service and my own professional development, I decided that accreditation would be a positive step forward. In October 2011 I embarked upon the Certified Online Learning Facilitator (COLF) course. This is an insight into my journey.

The course is accredited by The Learning and Performance Institute http://www.learningandperformanceinstitute.com/ and consists of 9 on-line sessions compressed into 3 weeks with a final live on-line peer assessment 3 weeks later. Each session lasted almost 2 hours and was supported by off-line tasks that had to be uploaded to a Moodle in advance of the next session. Typical tasks included keeping a learning journal, viewing videos, reading articles by subject matter specialists and undertaking critiques of other presenters’ performances. If you are interested in doing this qualification I would recommend a flexible work schedule for the first 5 sessions if you want to devote the time and do the course justice. Sessions 6-9 were somewhat more relaxed as we were encouraged to concentrate on the presentation for our final assessment.

So what did I learn that I didn’t know already? Simple answer – lots. We started as a group of 8 professionals who currently work in some capacity or other in learning and development and  quickly bonded into a tight knit group as we stumbled along our journey. Sessions 1 & 2 concentrated on promoting the value of online training within organisations and a general introduction to making the online classroom engaging, interactive and fun. I suppose it’s important to emphasise here that this course is tailored specifically for a small online classroom environment of up to 10 learners rather than the one-to-many sessions that are often used by learning providers. Session 3 concentrated on mastering the finer points of WebEx Training Centre, the medium that we would use for our final assessment. Having used Blackboard Collaborate for a year it was refreshing to use a different web conferencing system that afforded many of the features on my Collaborate wish-list. Session 4 saw us tackle the question of gauging body language online and using the response facilities to communicate in the online environment. Session 5 was probably my favourite and involved designing engaging visuals along with a master-class in using PowerPoint by Garr Reynolds who teaches global marketing and multimedia presentation design and is the author of the excellent Presentation Zen http://www.garrreynolds.com/Introduction/index.html. Session 6 involved session planning and setting up a typical session. Session 7 looked at the dos and don’ts of opening and managing your session including how to deal with common technical issues. Session 8 looked at maximising learner engagement and finally session 9 concentrated on closing your session and follow-up.

Was it all worth it? A resounding yes! The experience has given me the impetus to move to the next level and become even more proficient at delivering in an online environment.

I am pleased to say that I passed the course and I am now looking forward to incorporating my new skills into future on-line presentations.

It’s been almost 9 months since RSC Wales started using web conferencing as an additional means of reaching its customers. ‘Lunchtime Bytes’ are designed to deliver 45 minute sessions directly to the desktop on a variety of topics. During this time I have had to troubleshoot a range of problems that have interfered with our customers being able to access the sessions.

On June 21st – 23rd JISC RSC Wales are proudly presenting an inaugural series of ‘live’ webinars using video and audio streamed through a web browser using a web conferencing tool called Elluminate. In order that all participants get a trouble free experience I have decided to publish the following guidelines.

Elluminate requires a JAVA plug-in to enable you to connect, so the first and probably most important thing to do prior to joining a session is to conduct a simple system check by navigating to the Elluminate Live support web page https://www.elluminate.com/Support/?id=62 and follow the on-screen instructions.

NOTE: You may need the assistance of IT personnel to install the JAVA plug-ins. Please consult your IT technical department in advance.

What you will need

• a PC with Internet connection and Firefox or Internet Explorer
• a headset with microphone (this is important, as a separate speaker and microphone is not suitable). Note, this is the area of PC compatibility with the highest ‘failure rate’.
• JAVA plug-in for Elluminate Live.
• a webcam is not required. A good quality audio channel will suffice to create a sense of live participation.

Joining the Webinar

Please aim to be in the session 10 -15 minutes before the start to test your sound settings. Once you have entered your name and clicked login a JAVA plug-in will install, this may take a few seconds. You must confirm you have local permissions on your computer for the plug-in to be installed. Elluminate will open and the system will connect you to the webinar session. Once you have entered the webinar session you will be presented with the Elluminate interface. Key areas of the interface image are labelled and show the following features:

1. The participants area. Here you can see which Participants are in the session and level of functionality they have access to.
2. This section may be used by your presenter to make the session more interactive, it contains a number of voting or participation options. Your presenter will indicate a the start of the session whether these will be used.
3. This displays all chat conversations within the session and where you can type a message and send it to the room, (recommended) the Moderator/Presenter or other selected participants.
4. Your audio settings can be managed from here i.e. turning your microphone on or off or altering your microphone and headset volume settings. Your Moderator / Presenter will let you know at the beginning of each session whether they will be sharing the microphone.
5. The pallet contains a number of tools which can be used to annotate each presentation slide.
6. The main area on the screen is called the whiteboard and this is where the presenter of the session will display their presentation.

For further help on preparing your PC for the ‘live’ online webinars please contact Russell Symmons or  Justin Spooner on 01792 295959

Good news ….. the online Leadership and Management Toolkit has been updated with 3 new modules.

They are:

• Learner Voice – part of the Quality Improvement topic

• Managing the Employer Journey – part of the Responsive Provider topic

• Leading Equalities – part of the Equality and Diversity topic

All updates relate to key policy areas which are emphasised in DCELLS’ Quality and Effectiveness Framework, and will give providers a valuable additional resource which they can use to support their self-assessment processes and to prepare for inspection. The first module complements the Learner Involvement guidance issued by DCELLS last year. The contractual requirements relating to equality and diversity have also been strengthened, and the Leading Equalities module will help providers to demonstrate that they are addressing this area.

In addition, the Quality Improvement topic has been reviewed and updated, reflecting the new Common Inspection Framework and the latest position on the Quality and Effectiveness Framework.

To create an account in order that you can access the Leadership and Management Toolkit navigate to: http://www.leadershiplearning.org.uk/course/view.php?id=273

Contact support@rsc-wales.ac.uk for the enrolment key.

It’s been over 2 years since RSC Wales published its national WBL e-Learning Survey. One of the most significant findings from this survey was that the majority of Work Based Learning providers did not have an e-Learning Strategy. As a result, RSC Wales devised and delivered several ILT Strategy Workshops around Wales. In March 2010 RSC Wales carried out a follow up survey to try and establish what impact its services have had on the Work Based Learning sector in Wales e-Learning Impact Survey.

Whilst the impact study clearly shows a shift towards more providers developing a strategy there is still more work to be done. I am enclosing a link below to a recording of an online seminar I attended recently. The seminar was entitled ‘Building a Successful e-Learning Strategy and the presenter was Marc Rosenberg an independent New Jersey based management consultant, writer, speaker, educator, and leading figure in the world of training, organisational learning, e-learning, knowledge management and performance improvement.

https://sas.elluminate.com/mr.jnlp?suid=M.F64FB646D7A0BA4E93BEDC1B184257&sid=2010436

The seminar comprises the following topics.

What is an e-Learning Strategy, and why do we need one?

Basic sources and techniques for creating an e-Learning Strategy

e-Learning Strategy mistakes and benefits

Key focus points for an e-Learning Strategy

Making your e-Learning Strategy sustainable

The online session was carried out using Elluminate and I believe there was approximately 260 participants. I would be interested in learning if anybody found the material from the seminar useful and whether or not you liked the online style of presentation.

I recently attended a cross-sectoral event on the subject of how learning providers manage their relationships with employers, the wider community, potential learners etc. At first I was thinking “surely this is something work based learning providers have been doing forever. In fact if WBL providers weren’t engaging with employers and the wider community they wouldn’t be in business!” However, as the day moved on I came to realise that sometimes it is not whether we do something or not, but how well and how joined up the thinking is, especially in larger organisations. Plenty of anecdotal evidence was offered of good work being done but with a silo type attitude and no cohesive strategy for looking after employers throughout the organisation.

Enter the arena the JISC InfoNet Embedding BCE team who produced a Diagnostic and Self-Evaluation workbook that challenges organisations, or departments within organisations, to consider their performance on a raft of BCE related topics including strategy, business processes and partnerships and resources. Useful for its intended purpose but also an aid in the self assessment process too.

“This workbook is a diagnostic tool designed to help educational establishments to review and evaluate the extent to which Business and Community Engagement processes and strategy is embedded within the mainstream activities of the institution.”

“Completion of the workbook aims to help institutions to diagnose the things they are doing well and where they can improve. It will hopefully stimulate productive discussions and debate leading to new ideas and agreed change and improvement actions.”

The workbook can be viewed online or downloaded as a pdf from http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/bce/embedding-bce

Many thanks to an RSC colleague who shared this simple yet effective video from You Tube promoting online safety. I would suggest it is more suitable for your learners, but then a good message is always a good message. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrG061_Rm7E&feature=player_embedded

Just a brief post to let you know that your RSC Wales WBL team will be demonstrating the new online Leadership and Management toolkit at NTfW Regional meetings during December and early in the New Year. 

The Toolkit was developed by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service in conjunction with the Welsh Assembly Government and the support of RSC Wales.

Those of you who attended the NTfW Conference at the Celtic Manor recently will have had the opportunity to view and sign up for the toolkit. Further information and a link to the toolkit can be found by clicking here.

Can Welsh WBL Providers feature as prominently as last year?

Becta has launched the exciting Next Generation Learning Awards: Technology Excellence in FE & Skills.  Now in their second year, they will look to reward all types of learning provider in the FE and Skills sector and seek to identify those across the whole system who are fully confident in the use of technology.

Not only will the awards celebrate the success of those in the FE and Skills sector who are using technology to transform their organisations and the experiences of their learners, they also offer the opportunity for winners to share their excellent practice.

A really exciting element in the Next Generation Learning Awards is the Furthering my learning Award – an award nominated by learners for organisations and institutions who are using technology to improve the experiences of their learners.

The awards are now open for entries and full details and an entry form are available on the Becta website.  The deadline for entries is 19 October 2009.  For more information, including case studies of last year’s finalists, go to www.becta.org.uk/nextgenerationlearningawards, ring 0800 877 8777 or email nextgenerationlearningawards@becta.org.uk

Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” experiments have shown that, in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity and peer interest.

In 1999, Sugata Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in a wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi, installed an Internet-connected PC, and left it there (with a hidden camera filming the area). What they saw was kids from the slum playing around with the computer and in the process learning how to use it and how to go online, and then teaching each other.

In the following years they replicated the experiment in other parts of India, urban and rural, with similar results, challenging some of the key assumptions of formal education. The “Hole in the Wall” project demonstrates that, even in the absence of any direct input from a teacher, an environment that stimulates curiosity can cause learning through self-instruction and peer-shared knowledge.

Watch the video at http://tinyurl.com/5m7yfs

I have been asked several times recently to recommend a suitable text to speech system. As with most multiple solution systems each have advantages and disadvantages and choice is largely dependant on the requirements of the user. Speech synthesis is not a new technology and has been in existence since the late 1950′s with the first complete text-to-speech system being developed in 1968. A typical text to speech reader is NaturalReader by NaturalSoft

The quality of a speech synthesizer is judged by its similarity to the human voice and by its ability to be understood.

NaturalReader is a Text to Speech software with natural sounding voices. This easy to use software can convert any written text such as MS Word, Webpages, PDF files, and Emails into spoken words. NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV for your CD player or iPod.

Typical advantages of this type of system are;

1. Allows learners to listen to notes, text books etc ……. listen to your chosen written material anytime, anywhere.
2. Facilitates Education …. highlights each word as it is read. This helps those who have learning difficulties improve reading , comprehension , and spelling skills.
3. Avoids eyestrain from too much reading.
4. Learn English or other languages … provides multiple language voices: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Swedish, and Arabic.
5. Make proof reading effective … hearing your own work in a natural sounding voice allows much more effective proofreading compared to visual proofreading
6. And so much more … prepare for speeches by hearing your work read aloud, listen to e-books or e-material during your commute, amuse children by letting your PC read stories to them, help seniors or those with vision problems.

The package comes in three varieties, Free, Personal and Professional. I have only tested the Free version. Once installed you are presented with a simple floating toolbar which enables you to start or stop the process.

To see a demonstration of this product visit http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.htm