Plagiarism awareness

This was posted on David Hopkins' blog this morning. Sometimes all the sincerely earnest academic talk in the world isn't as valuable as one clever video presentation! Imagine working where there were budgets for this sort of thing!



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Wallwisher

It's been a while since I've come across a really clever, easy to use freebie, but Wallwisher definitely fits the bill! It's a really clever site designed to allow users to post (sorry) post-its on a 'wall'. I'm currently usnig it to gather ideas from staff for content on some new curriculum papers and it's working really well. It's incredibly simple to use, it only allows 160 characters, so people have to be pithy and get to the point, and it allows viewers to see all the ideas at a glance - no clicking, no scrolling. The site designers suggest using it for party invitations and the like, but I can see that it has great potential for students' pre-learning; brainstorming, reflecting on the lessons, and the like. It would even work well for primary school children.

This screenshot shows postings by lecturers listing key content for a new paper. Wall editors can edit the appearance and re-arrange the sticky-notes, and there's even an option to moderate postings before they appear on the wall.

Wallwisher is still in beta, but it's well wort a visit.

Mea culpa!

I have completely neglected my blog for the last few months, so imagine my shame when, on returning to it this week, I discover comments that have been awaiting moderation since JANUARY! I harp on all the time about the importance in e-learning of timely responses to emails and comments from students, so clearly, it is a case of do as I say, not as I do. Mea culpa!

It hasn't been an empty six months, though. We're finally getting Questionmark up and running at UCOL, and every time I use it I am impressed by what an incredibly powerful piece of software it is. It is certainly revolutionising the way we do online assessments within the School of Nursing, and it has amazing potential as an adaptive learning tool too. What I particularly like is the fact that I can build simulations and learning content in Captivate, and embed these into Questionmark as the basis for assessments.

We recently took delivery of a fancy new simulation mannikin from Laerdal (admittedly a doll that groans and breathes seems somewhat creepy to me) and the intention is to install an interactive whiteboard in the skills lab, and then create simulations and scenarios using Captivate, Questionmark and the mannikin to really challenge the student nurses in their learning! What with Flip video cameras, laptops, podcasts and live viewing, the e-world is our oyster!

Image: http://beginnerbaby.com/blog/?p=100

The Future of Education?

Apparently this video was originally commissioned by DoringKindersly as part of an internal training/marketing session, but it's 'gone viral', and with good reason. Although I no longer work in publishing, it struck me that one can substitute 'education' for 'publishing' and the message is as appropriate for those of us in e-learning and education. What do you think?



The Future of Publishing - created by DK (UK)