What DL is happening?

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Items included in this blog are also included in my website, http://www.acljohn.com/.

Back in the office this week after an enjoyable but busy week out and about. For those of you who missed the “eXe introduction for beginners” workshops I’m doing an online session in November; visit our website to book a place. Date and details to follow…

Today’s Finds include…

1:

Open Culture has posted an interesting YouTube video that could be used in a history or art history class.

The video below brings animation to the Bayeux Tapestry as it depicts the Norman Conquest of England.

It starts about halfway through the original work at the appearance of Halley's Comet and concludes at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Take a look…

2:

A game to improve...

• mouse skills as well as helping with
• single digit addition.

Ideal for Family Learning and/or Functional Skills...

Try it out at http://avenscorner.com/fireflies.aspx.

3:

Date Chart is an Interactive White Board resource (IWB), from ICT Games, that reviews the...

• weather condition,
• day of the week,
• date and
• month.

Date Chart is interactive calendar that is also appropriate for older users and can be accessed at http://www.ictgames.com/dateChart.html.

4:

...another website that lets users have fun with photographs by morphing them into a series of templates nicely organized in categories that currently include...

• Popular
• Halloween
• Magazines
• Movies
• Music
• Other and
• Sport...

The process is quick and simple...

• choose a template
• upload a portrait photograph
• align the eyes,
• wait for SeeNow to align, crop and blend it for you.
  The face position can also be tweaked manually if needed.
• Once done, the enhanced photograph can be

• easily shared online,
• saved onto a computer or
• printed on a t-shirt.

Here are two I made earlier...

Try it out for yourself at http://seenow.com/popular. 

5:

ScheduleGenerator has been developed to let users quickly generate class/teaching/lecturing schedules online.

I think it can also be used...

• within work based learning, for assessors/verifiers etc to produce/share their visit schedules and/or
• for staff development/event/workshop planners to produce their schedules and/or
• for managers to use as a planning tool for staff reviews, interviews etc.

I'm sure that there are many other uses as well.

The application is simple and straightforward, just...

• enter your data such as class names, locations and times, and once done
• click on ‘Generate’ button.
• ScheduleGenerator will then open up a new tab containing a ready to print schedule.

There are no limits on the number of schedules that can be created; no registration; FREE

Try it out at http://www.sealandserpent.org/schedgen/schedulegenerator.php. 

6:

ChartsBin is a web resource that hosts colourful and interactive charts created from different demographic data sets sourced through various research reports.

Most of the charts are both interesting and have uses within education.

The homepage shows the latest charts, and visitors can also see the...

• highest rated,
• most viewed and
• most discussed...

...charts.

The charts can be embedded in blogs, VLEs and websites etc.

Users can...

• comment on the statistics,
• rate the charts and
• search for specific charts via keyword or categories.

Powered by open source software, this site will be a first port of call for those who like statistics and graphs. ChartBin plans to introduce features like ability to download data sets and submit statistics to their site soon.

Find out more and/or try it out at http://chartsbin.com/.

7:

LinkUp is a resource which requires learners to link words to categories. The resource works particularly well on an interactive white board (IWB) as the links can be dragged around the screen.

Triptico have added a feature which allows practitioners to save the activities they create.

How does it work?

Each game requires...

• two categories,
• each with six linked words.

Once a game is created, users can save the information for future use and/or share it with others.

The aim is to drag links from the categories to the words. When each word has been linked, users can check how many of their links are correct.

This sorting activity is easy to adapt and customise. Hopefully this will allow it to be of use to many practitioners in many different subjects. The ability to save and share activities will also be popular with practitioners too.

Try it out at http://www.triptico.co.uk/flashFiles/linkUp/linkUp.html.