Dame Lynne Brindley aims to dispel myths and build on UK’s position. Rebecca Attwood writes
The idea that online learning is a “poor substitute” for campus provision is a myth, according to the head of the UK’s Online Learning Task Force.
In a time of hefty cuts to higher education, sceptics will argue that the government’s heightened interest in online learning is driven – at least in part – by a desire to cut costs.
But, in an interview with Times Higher Education, Dame Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library and chair of the task force, said the best examples of online learning were “not cheap alternatives” and required “deep consideration”.
The task force is “trying to dispel some of the myths that online learning is a second-rate alternative”, she said.
Meeting the changing demands of students – whether they are studying on campus, at a distance or via a combination of the two – is one of the group’s priorities.
But there are financial, as well as pedagogical, objectives.
- Read full story.
- UK Online Learning Task Force will report in full at the end of 2010/
I still have several months to run on my contract for my iPhone (3GS 32GB), so an iPhone 4 is definitely out of the question at the moment, and probably have to wait for iPhone 5! The only things I crave on the iPhone 4 are the improved battery life (although not the weight that comes with it) and the flash on the camera… Otherwise, I’ve updated to OS 4.0 on my phone, so I’m sure it gives me whatever the extra functionality is… although unfortunately the phone seems (unsurprisingly) much slower and the battery life is just killing… although that may be more down to the experiments with geolocation software – notoriously hard on battery life!
Apps Folders
With OS 4.0 comes the option to place apps in folders… which sounds like a great idea… so long as you can remember which folder you put them in… Folders can be named whatever you want, and you work with whatever system works for you!
iPhone Folders
- Hold down on an app/folder until the cross appears in the left-hand corner (see right)
- Drag & Drop on top of another app which you wish to put into the same folder
- Name the folder appropriately.
- Continue
Now, I have huge problems getting my apps (all 9 pages of them) to move across the screen boundaries on my phone, so Tweeted out, and got lots of helpful advice that it was also possible to do this, much faster, in iTunes
iTunes Folders
- Ensure that you have the latest version of iTunes available.
- Attach iPhone to computer, allow it to Sync
- Click on ‘Devices’
- Look for the tab ‘Apps’, and a screen similar to the following will appear:
- Drag & Drop apps from the main screen into the numbered screens.
- Click on the numbered screen to ensure that it appears as the main screen
- Drag & drop within the screen to in the folders. Appears to be a limit of 9 apps in each folder… (so I have ‘Games 2′)… actually, that’s not true – just got 10 in one!
- Press ‘Apply’ otherwise before syncing, otherwise your phone settings will overset it (found that out the hard way!)
Maybe I’ll be back with another screenshot when I’m done… fortunately I had only moved about 20 apps when I lost what I’d done!!!!
As many of the comments on YouTube indicate, the sources for this info haven’t been given, but the video is well made! Enjoy some more stats…
Read more about the Christian New Media Conference on October 16th in central London. We’re going to be looking at how the internet affects us as human beings – what are the theological implications of the internet? How can the church and the academy get involved?
The event (#refract) is part of the Christian New Media Conference which will include workshops on the how church leaders, members and techies (interesting list that!) might engage with social media. Workshops include looking at New Media; website and the law; creating podcasts; making viral videos; fundraising online; use of social media in the churches. Read more.
Twitter Names
- Maggi Dawn
- Ian Aspin
- Pete Phillips
- Bex Lewis
- Is Heidi Campbell on there?
- Expect to see a few more names here as confirmed….
Some interesting stats on the BBC website – read on for more. Facebook continues to grow apace (globally), whilst Twitter, Orkut and LinkedIn have slower growth. Not surprised to hear that MySpace and Bebo are dropping and that FriendsReunited is pretty much negligible, bit more surprised by Flickr – maybe it’s the fact you have to have a Yahoo account, that put me off originally!
Thanks to @outtherehq for the tip-off.
I started writing quite an extensive blog post whilst sat in Zizzi’s in Manchester last Monday on the WordPress app on the iPhone, but although it indicates that there is a draft in the local folder, there’s nothing there to open – it was my first go at using the app, so if anyone can tell me what I’m doing wrong, I’d love to know!!
The Digital Day
On that day, a Monday on which I was having a day off in Manchester, I had considered the amount of digital data I had used by lunchtime….
- iPhone: Alarm clock
- Bible (YouVersion)
- Calendar (to check the time of my flight later in the day)
- Train timetable – what time did I need to leave to ensure time at the airport.
- Weather (what did I need to wear?)
- Tweets via Echofon, including photos
- Contact with friends (inc the one I was meeting later) via Facebook (and emails)
- Checking in at various locations with Foursquare and Gowalla (including adding new locations/photos)
- Geocaching (do you know how much more difficult that is in the urbanised areas than in the countryside – had to sit on a bench awaiting the other 3 benches around me to empty out – thank goodness for Mancunian rain!)
- Vouchercloud, to check out somewhere I could get a good meal (on my own) for lunch.
- And then I was sat there tapping in a blog on WordPress, but that didn’t quite work….
And that’s just the digital stuff I knowingly use… our entire world runs on digital in many ways
Digital Fasting
I had already booked, post giving my Twitter Talk to OutThere to go to St Cuthman’s for a retreat – phone went off shortly after I arrived… I then realised I had to turn it on as it was my only alarm clock (despite breakfast available til 10am!) – I risked it without the following day. Occasionally I missed the opportunity to take a photo of something, or tweet about something, but without that, can start to look at the views, at sitting still, etc. differently… I’m not saying I want to be without my digital tools (I especially love my Twitter, Facebook & blogging!), but it was such a relief to turn my phone off and NOT be available to anyone else but me – and a big pile of books in the library (for the record: 5 fiction books, 3 non-fiction books, 3 chapters of Ortberg, and reading through from Amos to Matthew in The Message)… and some gentle walks, meals cooked for me, lots of sleep and a bit of art! I was ready to dive back into Twitter and Facebook when I got back online – as you can kind of deal with stuff then & there, but it’s the email which tends to hang around until dealt with – and often requires more thought! Short of deleting around 2000 emails when I got home, I still have a big pile to deal with…. I need to plan my next digital fast, so that the digital world remains enjoyable and appreciated!!
A really interesting idea from ING Direct that I’ve just come across, opening itself with “Welcome to the ING Direct Feel Good site dedicated to bringing you news that will make you feel good. Here you can find the latest good news press articles, comment on these stories and share your own feel good stories and images. We hope you enjoy the site.” It looks like it’s been there for a while, but I’ve not noticed it before… and although, clearly, it’s about saving, there’s some interesting non-saving stuff there… only 200 Twitter followers at the moment, but a really interesting idea…
See the full mind map created by Andrew Wilcox using ConferenceReaction mindmapping software – I could see him doing it on his tablet (out of the corner of my eye).
Looking forward to watching this before too long:
The Social Media Safari from Jonathan Marks on Vimeo.
De Montfort’s new leader uses Twitter to engage with staff and students. Sarah Cunnane reports
A university vice-chancellor is hoping for tweet success in his new role by reaching out to his staff and students and others in the sector via the social networking site Twitter.
Since taking the reins at De Montfort University last month, Dominic Shellard (@t) has been quick to embrace the Twittersphere.
In doing so, he joins university heads from around the world including E. Gordon Gee (@presidentgee) of Ohio State University, Richard Descoings (@rdescoings) of Sciences Po in France and Steven Schwartz (@macquarievc), vice-chancellor of Macquarie University in Australia.
But Professor Shellard’s UK peers have been slow to take to social media. He is only the second to personally twitter, following Martin Hall of the University of Salford (@VCSalford).
Read full story
