creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by Mr MPD
Travelling to and from work or University can take up precious time. Why not start the New Year by discovering some tools that could help you make your commute more enjoyable and productive.
If you are commuting by public transport, you could use this time to prepare for the day by organising your calendar, or by decluttering your email inbox.
On Twitter? You could schedule Read more ›
creative commons licensed (BY-NC-ND) flickr photo by European Parliament
Mobile devices are becoming a familiar part of people’s lives and it became clear during the recent Mobile Technologies Week here at the University of Sussex that many staff and students are interested in finding ways of making the most of their smartphones, tablets and laptops for learning and teaching.
Next week, from Monday 12th to Friday 16th January there is another opportunity to explore the possibilities of digital devices for learning and teaching. Bring Your Own Devices for Learning (BYOD4L) is an informal 5-day online learning experience that will bring together educators and students from across the world using social media to connect, share and learn together. Read more ›
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by Matti Mattila
If Santa was a learning technologist, he might well recommend the following digital tools to help you organise your revision over the Christmas holidays.
Fill your mind as well as your stocking with the TEL team’s top five suggestions for Smart revision and study.
We start our recommendations with the Brighton-based company, The Student Room (TSR).
1.The Student Room
Find at http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk
Cost Free
App? Yes
The Student Room is a large digital student community offering study support to students. The company also owns Get Revising which offers additional revision aids. Read more ›
Sussex in the snow
The Autumn term is over and the weather is turning colder. Bad weather and illness can disrupt well-laid plans for face-to-face teaching, but digital technologies offer ways for learning to continue, despite the worst that winter can throw at us.
If bad weather or other circumstances prevent meeting on campus, you could try to recreate a seminar discussion in an online forum, but why not take the opportunity to experiment with something that you wouldn’t usually do in a face-to-face session?
Students could each write a blog post and share links via a Study Direct forum. Blogs can include images, web links and video alongside text to create really rich resources while the less formal style allows students to express themselves in a different way than they would in an academic essay. Students might be encouraged to peer review each others posts with the process of reflecting and commenting aiding the development of critical skills. Blogging supports a range of digital literacies important for graduates’ employability. Read more ›
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by Sean MacEntee
Email is the beauty and the beast of the modern workplace. It’s a quick and easy way to communicate, yet there is a dark side. Reading and responding to email can be time-consuming, and teaching staff can find their lesson-planning or research time compromised by the demands of responding to emails from staff and students.
In an article by The Guardian, reporter Emma Featherstone reports on a study conducted by Dr Tom Jackson at Loughborough University on email and productivity. The study found that, with email applications set to check for new email every five minutes, individuals could be potentially interrupted up to 96 times a day. Read more ›
Two weeks ago University of Sussex staff from the Library and Technology Enhanced Learning team came together to organise and deliver a week of workshops, seminars, drop-ins and challenges revolving around the use of mobile technologies. These sessions ran throughout the week and were held all over the University campus. Interested parties from the Hive research group, the Careers and Employability Centre and IT services also got involved to ensure the week had a variety of different workshops that were relevant for students, faculty, researchers and professional services staff. Read more ›
Presentations shared via mobile devices
A big welcome to the TEL team, Kitty Horne; our new Learning Technology Assistant. This is Kitty’s inaugural post; a look at Nearpod and how it can be used in teaching and learning.
Nearpod is a tool which allows you to create engaging, interactive presentations. It’s packed with great activities and tools.
You can create a presentation which is then viewed by students on their mobile device. Students can interact via their mobile device, whether they are in the classroom are not. This allows for creating exciting, interactive lessons, as well as potential distance learning opportunities. Nearpod is available for free at GooglePlay, AppStore and WindowsStore and at www.nearpod.com, making it highly accessible. Read more ›
BoB’s your uncle for video
TV and radio broadcasting can be used to deliver engaging content in a medium which can entertain, inform and educate. Combine this with online media streaming, on-demand service, educational licensing and you have Box of Broadcasts, a powerful educational resource enabling students and teachers to record, watch and share programmes in the classroom or from the comfort of home.
Broadcast media can be applied to teaching and learning within almost any discipline. It can be used to contextualise theories and ideas through current and historic events, communicate professional, media or public opinion and bias, easily explain complex ideas through visual presentation, provide examples and case studies to generate discussion and develop analytic skills and much more. Read more ›
