memory4teachers - Lesson Planning with Google Calendar - Word It Out - meetog - Egg Watchers - WorkSmart Guides - Forms in Google Docs
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Welcome to the 3rd Blog for February 2010; There is a new eXe Publication for you to view on our uNET webpages http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/RSC_uNET/index.html; it looks at the use of Skype to enhance communication and assessment for work-based learning. Colin Keith and I, with the invaluable support of Helen Smith, delivered a live broadcast on this very subject on the 8th February 2010, and it will also be available for on demand viewing from the same webpage. The publication was produced to support the broadcast. I must apologise for the poor sound quality yesterday; we seem to have sorted the cameras but sound quality let us down. Keith feels it was a bandwidth problem.
Today’s Finds include…
1:e

Memory4Teachers is a major ICT initiative that I've written about before. It involves the FREE provision of USB memory sticks for all...
- Head Teachers,
- Teachers,
- School Business Managers and
- all support staff.
The memory sticks feature...
- full password security,
- virus protection and
- encryption software.
In addition the revolutionary memory sticks feature a bespoke user interface specifically designed to support teachers and schools on a daily basis. The user interface provides access to various software applications including...
- a diary,
- timetable,
- lesson planner,
- calculator and even
- an MP3 music player.
Furthermore the interface is pre programmed with educational content and resources that support all of the national curriculum subject areas. Memory4Teachers refer to this technology as a Portable Learning Environment as it enables teachers to conveniently carry a vast amount of educational content that can be used effectively in lessons on any...
- PC,
- laptop or
- interactive whiteboard.
In addition to providing their portable technology for FREE to the education sector Memory4Teachers also provide FREE online storage space for all of their users so that they can "back up" their memory sticks and store additional data securely online. On the Memory4Teachers website visitors will also find a huge array of educational content and resources that can be downloaded to the memory sticks royalty free.
I opted to register online to download resources and have access to the 50MB FREE online storage area, so I can't comment on the Portable Learning Environment. The resources, labelled as Primary/Secondary, could be used with other learners especially in Functional Skills; probably the most useful section is the wide range of links to other resources.
Find out more and/or register at http://www.memory4teachers.co.uk/.
2:

This blog entry provides a quick tutorial on lesson planning with Google Calendar.
Read the full article at http://electriceducator.blogspot.com/2010/02/using-google-calendar-for-lesson.html or
watch the video below
.
3:

Wordle is something I've used many times before and often use to help me and others understand, for example, the gist of Government documents.
Well Word It Out is an alternative to Wordle. The way it all works is quite simple by just entering text users can have it transformed into a cloud of tags that can be pasted on a blog or website or VLE to show visitors what it is content truly revolves about. Word It Out can also be employed as a way to extract the key concepts of any portion of text and make clearer notes. Educators, especially those who are bloggers, along with webmasters are going to be the ones who will probably make the most use of Word It Out. As an alternative to Wordle this looks quite professional, so that's another point scored in its favour.
Visit http://worditout.com/ to try it out.
4:
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With meetog, simple mini blogging, users can share...
- photos,
- thoughts,
- videos
...with people they choose.
Users can stay anonymous or they can create a profile that will allow them to edit or delete their content or to follow others.
Apparently users can also sign in with Twitter and post their articles directly to it. Do let me know if you try it.
This could be an excellent tool for learners to use as ePDP Portfolios (Personal Development & Planning)
Visit http://www.meetog.com/ to find out more and/or to login with your Twitter Login or sign up for an account.
My meetog can also be accessed at http://meetog.com/acljohn.
5:

EggWatchers is an online egg timer that helps to prepare a perfect boiled egg and entertains you by showing videos from YouTube while you wait for your egg to be cooked.
The site even lets you specify the type of egg you want to cook.
To use EggWatcher’s timer...
- go to the site; and
- choose what size of egg is to be cooked; then
- specify if the egg is refrigerated; and
- specify how you want it to be cooked (runny, squidgy, or firm).
After starting the timer, the website will play a random video from YouTube while showing you an indicator of the cooking egg’s progress. By the time the video is done the egg timer goes off and you will be asked if you want to make another egg.
Yes the idea seems silly, however with Egg Watchers, users won’t have the dilemma of whether you have to check on your cooking or finish watching the video – really a win-win situation.
Visit http://www.eggwatchers.com/ to try it out.
6:
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What do you do if you start a new job and find yourself in a technology rich culture, with so many IT systems around, and so many different software resources, that your head ends up buzzing?
Many managers, administrators, subject learning coaches, eGuides, practitioners, learners etc., have never used...
- internet telephony,
- encryption,
- instant messaging,
- live meeting,
- SharePoint or
- Groove before.
Meanwhile, those around them seem to be metaphorically whizzing along as they...
- collaborate;
- share;
- publish; and
- distribute information.
Work Smart Guides may be the godsends such people are looking for.
This set of documents walk readers through the basics of some of the new technology they may encounter.
Work Smart Guides...
- bridge the gap between technology and users;
- provide employees with scenario-based, best-use productivity aids on Microsoft products and technologies.
The guides have also published for users to modify and use. This is a great step – every learning provider in the UK is producing user documentation where 80-90% of the content is identical. These guides make a good starting point, either for their format, or instructions, or screen shots.
The subjects covered in these step-by-step guides include:
- Environmental sustainability (hints like using Balanced power settings on your laptop)
- Protecting data with BitLocker
- Getting started with email
- Transfer files and settings to a new computer
- Collaborating with SharePoint
- An overview of collaboration tools
- Customising SharePoint sites
- Integrating Outlook with SharePoint
- Basics of managing email (Are you a stacker or a filer?)
- Office tips
- Outlook email signatures
- New features for users in Windows 7
There are 23 of them, and they come in one big Zip file for users to play with.
Download the customisable versions of Work Smart materials from TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb687781.aspx.
Bonus: Also take a look at the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder, described by Long Zheng as a miracle tool. It does what it says on the tin, and the best bit is that the document it creates is brilliant for creating user guides, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions. Just stick “problem steps” into the search box of your Windows 7 Start menu.
7:
Forms in Google Docs Spreadsheets
John R Sowash has posted in his "The Electric Educator" Blog two video clips that I’ve embedded below.
- Creating forms in Google Docs; and
- Uses for Google forms
and
Note: This blog is also available as…
· A mobile version at http://acljohn.wirenode.mobi and
· An audio version at http://drop.io/wdlihblog,
Items included in this blog are also available in my web portal at http://www.acljohn.com/.
Don’t miss the “IN-TOUCH” Live broadcast (12:45 to 13:15) on 8th February 2010 which has a focus on
Using Skype in Teaching, Learning, Administration, Management etc.
it can be viewed at http://www.livestream.com/locus.








































































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