eLearning Stuff

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #029: Handheld Reflections

James Clay — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:41:29 +0100

Recorded live at Handheld Learning 2009 (hence the background noise) James is joined by David Sugden, Lilian Soon, Ron Mitchell and Nick Jeans.

We reflect on the keynotes, presentations, sessions, the conference, hheckl and stuff.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #028: The VLE is Dead

James Clay — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:56:17 +0100

The VLE is Dead!

A recording of the symposium run at ALT-C 2009 in which Steve Wheeler, Graham Attwell, James Clay and Nick Sharratt, with Josie Fraser in the Chair; discuss the if and how we should be using VLEs to enhance and enrich learning.

This is the twenty eighth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, The VLE is Dead.

Shownotes

ALT-C 2009 Conference
The VLE is Dead
Watch the video recording of the debate (instead of listening to the audio).

The future success of e-learning depends on appropriate selection of tools and services. This symposium will propose that the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as an institutional tool is dead, no more, defunct, expired.

The first panel member, Steve Wheeler, will argue that many VLEs are not fit for purpose, and masquerade as solutions for the management of online learning. Some are little more than glorified e-mail systems. They will argue that VLEs provide a negative experience for learners.

The second member of the panel, Graham Attwell, believes that the VLE is dead and that the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is the solution to the needs of diverse learners. PLEs provide opportunities for learners, offering users the ability to develop their own spaces in which to reflect on their learning.

The third panel member, James Clay, however, believes that the VLE is not yet dead as a concept, but can be the starting point of a journey for many learners. Creating an online environment involving multiple tools that provides for an enhanced experience for learners can involve a VLE as a hub or centre.

The fourth panel member, Nick Sharratt, argues for the concept of the institutional VLE as essentially sound. VLEs provide a stable, reliable, self-contained and safe environment in which all teaching and learning activities can be conducted. It provides the best environment for the variety of learners within institutions.

The session was chaired by Josie Fraser.

Photo source

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #027: It’s conference time…

James Clay — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:02:23 +0100

James discusses what he will be doing at the ALT Conference in Manchester from the 7th-10th September 2009.

This is the twenty seventh e-Learning Stuff Podcast, It’s conference time…

Shownotes

* ALT-C 2009 Conference
* The VLE is Dead

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #026: We’re waiting for a train…

James Clay — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:20:37 +0100

David, Lilian and Dave discuss what they did at the Gloucestershire College Staff Development Day whilst waiting for a train at Gloucester Station.

This is the twenty-sixth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, We’re waiting for a train…

With Dave Foord, David Sugden, Lilian Soon and the introduction by James Clay.

Shownotes

* Gloucestershire College
* Turnitin

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #025: To tether or not to tether

James Clay — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:47:11 +0100

James talks about his opinion of Apple's new iPhone 3GS. He talks about the new features, the 3MP camera, video, digital compass, faster hardware, internet tethering.

He mentions JoikuSpot, the Nokia N95, MiFi, wifi hotspots and the WiFi Zone and Wifi Trak iPhone applications. He then reviews his new Polaroid Pogo printer and finishes off on Evernote.

This is the twenty-fifth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, To tether or not to tether.

James is on his own this week.

Shownotes

* Apple launch the new iPhone 3GS which has some nice new capabilities.
* JoikuSpot allows you to use your wifi phone, such as the Nokia N95, as a wireless access point.
* The MiFi is a 3G wireless access point, which runs on battery.
* WiFi Zone and WiFi Trak are iPhone applications which allow you to find WiFi hostspots (both links are iTunes Store links)
* The Polaroid Pogo is a Bluetooth portable battery powered printer which prints 3" x 2" sticker prints using a zero ink technology called Zink.
* Evernote is a web based note application.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #024: Sounds good to me

James Clay — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:43:34 +0100

Audio recording, sound recording, podcasting, content and then some.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #023: To blog, or not to blog, that is the question

James Clay — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:47:28 +0100

Do you blog, do you read blogs, do you use blogging to support learning, are blogs dead?

James is joined by Kev Hickey and David Sugden.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #022: The Internet Brick

James Clay — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:48:17 +0100

Online interaction or wasting time? Do services such as Twitter have potential for supporting learning or are they a distraction?

This is the twenty-second e-Learning Stuff Podcast, The Internet Brick.

James is joined by Shri Footring, Jane Edwards and David Sugden.

Shownotes

* You can find James, Shri Footring, Jane Edwards and David Sugden all on Twitter.
* Is Twitter going to wither and die?
* Ten things people say about using Twitter, but really they shouldn’t
* Do have a look at tweetdeck - useful for filtering and grouping people.
* Useful for a range of stuff includin Twitter, Flickr and RSS feeds, is Friendfeed.
* Have a go with ipadio.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #021: Goldilocks, what’s that all about then?

James Clay — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:02:22 +0100

So what do you understand by inclusion? Can we use learning technologies to improve inclusivity?

We discuss the ILT Champions Conference at Gloucestershire College, including the unconference format used and the learning spaces seen at the college. Do we need big names at conferences? Do we need keynotes? How do we make conferences financially viable?

We move onto planning. Do you plan your lessons a week, a month or a year in advance? Is planning a good thing or does it hinder creativity?

This is the twenty-first e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Goldilocks, what's that all about then?

James is joined by Dave Foord, David Sugden and Nick Jeans.

Shownotes

* The ILT Champions Conference took place on the 21st April at Gloucestershire College.
* What is an unconference?
* The Ofsted report on VLEs.
* James' keynote at the RSC Eastern Mobile Learning Event.
* James will be presenting a keynote at ASCILITE 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand.
* Ewan McIntosh was at the JISC Conference.
* James' blog post on Twittering at conferences.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #020: The future of learning...

James Clay — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:11:43 +0100

At the RSC Eastern Mobile Learning Event, James Clay considers the future of learning…

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #019: W.. W.. W.. W.. Wikipedia

James Clay — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:11:57 +0100

Is Wikipedia a evil place we should ignore, or a useful resource for our learners?

James, Nick and Lisa discuss the merits and challenges of using Wikipedia, and provide advice and guidance on how and when it should be used by practitioners and learners.

This is the nineteenth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, W.. W.. W.. W.. Wikipedia.

James is joined by Lisa Valentine and Nick Jeans.

Shownotes

* The Scots language version of Wikipedia.
* The Copyright Activity mentioned in the podcast

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #018: Digital Literates

James Clay — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:35:09 +0000

James Clay, Kev Hickey, Shri Footring and Lisa Valentine discuss Twitter, digital literacy, digital identity and other stuff too.

Shownotes

* Digital Literacy Debate - The purpose of the debate is to try and move forward on issues surrounding Digital Literacy. The focus of the debate will be the UK education sector, but international attendees and contributors are more than welcome. Recently, Digital Literacy has gained a lot of traction within academic and educational technology discussion within the UK, and is generally thought of as A Good Thing. However, some important questions have yet to be addressed.
* James, Shri, Kev and Lisa all use Twitter, but some of us prefer Jaiku.
* So what is a hashtag?
* Pat Parslow's comment on the term digital native.
* Marc Prensky's new paper on digital wisdom.
* Dave White’s blog a post about residents or visitors to the online world.
* The e-Learning Stuff podcast on the whole digital native, immigrant, visitor, resident, naturalised debate.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #017: Pedagogically Sound

James Clay — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:07:37 +0000

James and David Sugden talk about pedagogy, e-learning, learning technologies and stuff.

This is the seventeenth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Pedagogically Sound.

James is joined by David Sugden.

Shownotes

* James' blog post on the Nintendo DS.
* Research from the University of Rennes has concluded that using the Nintendo DS Brain Training game “does no such thing” as reported in The Telegraph. The BBC reports on the Which article about Brain Training.
* The use of Brain Training on the Nintendo DS in Scotland had better results.
* Charles Dickens' literary style.
* The telephone.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #016: One month later...

James Clay — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:01:03 +0000

On the 12th February 2009 David Sugden was given an iPhone for just one month. In a previous podcast he talked about his first impressions. Now a month later, is he still excited by the iPhone? Does he want to keep it? Will he be buying one for himself? Find out more in the e-Learning Stuff Podcast, "One month later..."

Shownotes

* David's first reactions to his new iPhone, e-Learning Stuff Podcast #013: To iPhone or not to iPhone that is the question
* David made a fair few audio recordings and blog posts about his experiences using the iPhone which he published to his Posterous Blog, they included: Day 1; Day 2; Day 3; Day 4; Day 6; another day; one week to go; the final chapter.
* Lilian Soon’s original blog post on the iPhone.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #015: Social networking rots your brains

James Clay — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:30:57 +0000

James, Lilian, Lisa and Ron discuss the recent publicity over Susan Greenfield’s comments in the Daily Mail on the “dangers” of social networking and young people’s brains. Does using social networking sites lead to loneliness and isolation? Do users of Facebook and Twitter feel excluded from society. In this podcast we discuss the furore and the issues.

This is the fifteenth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Social networking rots your brains.

Shownotes

* James’ blog post on this subject.
* BBC News reports on Susan Greenfield.
* The story then ran in the Daily Mail and Susan was interviewed.
* Dr Ben Goldacre has published his reaction to the article on the Bad Science blog.
* Dr Ben Goldacre also linked to some useful academic papers which dispute the “connection” between social networking and loneliness.
o Caplan SE published a paper in 2007 entitled: “Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic Internet use.” Dr Sigman did not quote this paper in his article. Why not? “The results support the hypothesis that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious.”
o Sum et al published a paper in 2008 with the title: “Internet use and loneliness in older adults“. Dr Sigman chose not to quote this paper. Why not? I don’t know, although it does contain the line “greater use of the Internet as a communication tool was associated with a lower level of social loneliness.”
o Subrahmanyam et al published a paper in 2007 called “Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well-being.” It features the line “loneliness was not related to the total time spent online, nor to the time spent on e-mail”. Dr Sigman ignored it.
* Another good blog post on this is from Sue Thomas.
* Why Social Networks Are Good for the Kids.
* Age Concern backs social networks.

Finally the photo above of zombies meeting in the real world was organised on Facebook. So you could argue that Facebook has turned them into zombies, however I don’t think these kinds of social gatherings was what Susan Greenfield meant.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #014: Half-Term Meanderings

James Clay — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:02:40 +0000

James, Ron and Lilian just chat about a range of different stuff, basically they meander…

This is the fourteenth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Half-Term Meanderings.

Shownotes

* The iPhone.
* David and James’s Podcast on the iPhone.
* Lilian Soon’s original blog post on the iPhone.
* The Skype deal James mentions in the podcast only covers landlines and does not cover mobiles.
* The Three Skype Phone doesn’t appear to be available on the Three website, but is available from Amazon.
* Ambrosia’s Wire Tap Anywhere which James uses to record Skype.
* Levelator levels your podcast recording.
* James uses Instant Presenter for the MoLeNET Online Conferences, but is considering using Ustream instead, but would need a Tricaster (available from PlanetDV in the UK) to do this.
* Ron said have a look at Adobe’s OnLocation.
* James uses the Sony HDR-SR10E HDD Camcorder to record video for his blog and for the JISC Online Conference Blog. He then uses iMovie to allow him to crop the HD video
* Geoff Minshull runs DirectLearn and uses WebEx for running online conferences. At the last JISC Conference they also used Elluminate for live presentations.
* Gabbly can be used to discuss a website.
* Feedburner from Google allows you to create a better RSS feed.
* Feeder allows you a lot more control over your RSS Feed.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #013: To iPhone or not to iPhone that is the question

James Clay — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:07:16 +0000

Following a blog post from Lilian Soon and David Sugden receiving his new iPhone; James and David discuss the iPhone and how they both feel about the device.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #012: It’s Snow Joke

James Clay — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:13:12 +0000

Recorded during the height of the snow at the beginning of February 2009 the panel discuss the role that learning technologies and communication tools can have in supporting colleges and schools that get closed because of the snow.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #011: Mobile Learning

James Clay — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:01:07 +0000

This is the eleventh e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Mobile Learning. In this show, James talks about what he believes mobile learning is all about.

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #010: Let’s take a note

James Clay — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:05:45 +0000

So what is it about Google Docs and Evernote and other online office type applications? Why are they useful for learning? What can we use them for.

This is the tenth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Let’s take a note.

In this show, James is joined by Dave Foord and Nick Jeans.

Shownotes

* Google Docs
* Google Gears
* Evernote
* BBC news item on pupils bypassing web filters
* Mac OS X Spaces
* Flip Mino Video Camera