Digital devices take reading back to its social roots

Posted on by Anne Hole

 

e-reader imageWhen I imagine my ideal setting for reading a good book, I think of a comfy chair, a cup of coffee and some soft background music. Your perfect reading situation might be different, but it is likely that what you imagine is solitary.

We are used to reading alone, but this is a relatively recent phenomenon which only became possible because of historical developments in print technology. Now digital technology is creating possibilities for reading to become social again.

The Digital Reading Network symposium held at Bournemouth University on 19th June 2014 covered a wide range of topics related to reading digital texts, but two strong themes were ‘social reading’ and the different affordances of devices. Read more ›

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Posted in Technology Enhanced Learning

Managing your tweets with Tweetdeck

Posted on by Sally Burr
Tweetdeck bird

Tweetdeck bird by Uncalno

Keeping track of your tweets can be a challenge. Twitter can be fast, furious and the constant stream can be overwhelming for new users.

To help you make sense of your Twitter stream you can use a Twitter management tool such as Tweetdeck.

Using Tweetdeck, you can manage your tweets easily, organise them according to interests, and never miss a tweet again. You can even keep tabs on when you are mentioned in Twitter or follow a conversation using a hashtag.

Using TweetDeck is not unlike turbo charging your car – it’s a game changer. Read more ›

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Posted in Technology Enhanced Learning

The e-Classroom: From Flipped to Global to MOOC

Posted on by Nicholas Botfield

e technology

Exploring Technology, Enquiry, and Pedagogy

Monitoring emerging trends in learning technology and guiding the development of innovative teaching practice is a core activity of the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team here at the University of Sussex.

On 26th June 2014, Nick Botfield, Learning Technologist with responsibility for supporting the science cluster of schools at Sussex, attended the e-Pedagogy, e-Learning and Blended Learning event at Middlesex University. The event focused on how technology, and particularly social media, could be implemented into learning and teaching. Read more ›

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Posted in External events, Technology Enhanced Learning

Flickr Attribution Helper: credit with a click

Posted on by Sally Burr
Bookmark

flickr photo by mmmcrafts shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

What is the Flickr Attribution Helper?

The Flickr Attribution Helper is a free and easy to install ‘bookmarklet’ which facilitates easy attribution of images.

When you are using the internet, a bookmarklet allows you to have more capability to interact without the need to open up other tools. For example, you can add a website to your Diigo bookmarks.

The Flickr Attribution Helper is a very handy and popular tool – most of the TEL team have this bookmarklet on their browser to help them to credit images they source from Flickr correctly.

The bookmarklet was developed by Alan Levine (@cogdog).

Note that some bookmarklets are designed for use with only certain browsers, not all. The Flickr Attribution Helper however works across all browsers.

If you would like to explore more bookmarklets, browse the 10 must have bookmarklets for teachers. Read more ›

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Posted in Images and Copyright

Bring Your Own Devices for Learning (BYOD4L)

Posted on by Anne Hole

Members of the Technology Enhanced Learning team will be helping to facilitate BYOD4L or ‘Bring Your Own Devices for Learning’, an open online learning event starting on Monday, July 14th and we would like to invite students and teaching staff at the university to join us.

What is BYOD4L?

BYOD4L is a free, open, and online learning opportunity which runs over 5 days. It is an excellent opportunity for students and teachers to explore the potential of mobile and smart devices (such as tablets, laptops and smartphones) for learning and teaching.

Each of the 5 days focuses on one of these topics:

    • Connecting
    • Communicating
    • Curating
    • Collaborating
    • Creating

Read more ›

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Posted in Technology Enhanced Learning

Gamifying language learning: Duolingo

Posted on by Nicholas Botfield

Duolingo (1)

Each month the TEL team will be introducing you to a useful resource. This time we are looking at an app that gamifies language learning.

Duolingo is a free app designed to supplement language learning by gamifying the learning experience and utilizing the competitive nature in all of us. To get you started and to keep you hooked, Duolingo separates language learning into stages and levels and offers experience points, currency (called Lingots), and the ability to play competitively against either, another user or a ‘Duobot’.

For English speakers, the app currently offers courses in French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese (Russian, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Polish and Romanian are all on their beta site though, suggesting more to come). Update – Welsh has just been added. Read more ›

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Posted in App review

Changing the learning landscape

Posted on by Anne Hole

Adam Bailey image

Digital Literacy in the disciplines

One of the reasons for increasing the use of technology in Higher Education is to develop students’ digital literacy. Anne Hole, a member of the Sussex Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team, recently attended a Higher Education Academy (HEA) event at the London School of Economics which featured reports from Jisc-funded projects that explored ways to embed digital literacy within disciplines. This is her report. Read more ›

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Posted in External events, Technology Enhanced Learning

Smart devices for learning

Posted on by Sally Burr
MELSIG_6

TEL ‘out and about’ at the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group

Sally Burr from the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team recently attended the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG).

The ‘Smart Devices for Learning’ event hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University explored the impact that Smart technology – mobile devices, tablets, apps and social media – are having upon teaching and learning.

Opportunities, ideas, and challenges were explored throughout the day by various learning technology professionals and academics who have been experimenting with new approaches to using technology in their courses.

Below are some brief highlights from what was a very engaging and digitally active event (tagged #MELSIGMMU), even ‘trending’ at number 77 in the UK for 35 minutes!

Read more ›

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Posted in External events, Technology Enhanced Learning

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We are the Educational Enhancement team at the University of Sussex. We publish posts each week on using technology to support teaching and learning. Read more about us.

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