Induction Activities :: Blog

http://shirley.blogdrive.com/archive/513.html

After a frustrating morning, including cancelling my direct debit with British Gas as I do not want them to use my cash without proper reason, I have made arrangements to switch gas supplier to ScottishPower.


More streamlined automated call section than British Gas
Much quicker to speak to an adviser - within a few rings, rather than the 15 minute wait for the British Gas adviser
Cheaper - I knew this anyway and it had not been a major concern until combined with an unjustified hike in my payments.
Willing to accept my estimate of cost, though of course this will be reviewed.
Helpful... (more)

http://shirley.blogdrive.com/archive/512.html

I'm tempted to change gas supplier as British Gas has increased my direct debit from £15 a month to £50 a month with minimal explanation. Perhaps another supplier would at least give me the courtesy of explaining how they arrive at the amount.



The letter says: ...we regularly review our customs' payment plans



I find this inadequate - what figures are used? I reviewed my own figures and the highest average is £54 a month last winter. Even with prices rising, it seems unlikely that I would use £50 a month on average over the next 6 months, and it would be hugely excessive over... (more)

http://ultramac.blogdrive.com/archive/37.html

It took ages to find the support page, so I'm keeping a note here:

(This article only applies to you if you have an old BT Openworld website.)

To log in to your old BT Openworld web space, please:

1. Type the following into the address bar in Internet Explorer: ftp://ftp.btinternet.com
2. Click on file menu at the top of the Internet Explorer window
3. Select Login as
4. Enter your username and password in the pop-up box that appears
5. Click OK and you are now logged into your web space.



Using Firefox

FTP add-on for Firefox 2 installed.

http://www.stephenp.net/2008/08/04/london-pedgagogic-planner/

I think I understand what the London Pedagogic Planner is trying to achieve and at the level of trying to get University teachers to explore their practice it is a useful intervention. However, as it stands I would be surprised if any teachers actually use it. On downloading and unzipping the compressed file users are then have to open the ReadMe.text to discover that the planner is launched by opening lpp.jar A bit of thought about making this a foolproof process would have been effort well spent.

Pressing on, I am faced with a set of fields to fill in (a bit like a spreadsheet) that use typical HE descriptions of modules (”Properties”). For some reason, I couldn’t fill in “start date, number of staff, duration”.

Next I used the planning grid to allocate time against different teaching methods which then generates suggested breakdown of ‘learning experience’ - personally I think that learning activities would be a better label - who can tell what the experience will be?

Lastly I tried the “Allocate” tab where it appears that learning outcomes are mapped against topics, but none of the fields were available for me to edit, not sure why (Firefox 3.0.1, Mac OSX10.5.4).

Beyond the problematic interface and unfriendly installation process and remembering it is a prototype there are several keyissues:

- can subject teachers be persuaded that the learning and teaching approaches are relevant enough to their discipline to warrant the considerable effort required to use the tool;

- the field labels and descriptors don’t adequately reflect the range of learning and teaching practice. For example, in work-based learning (the field I work in) I would say that inquiry is a “teaching method” not a “learning experience”. Also, what about ‘action learning sets’ or “Patchwork Text” for collaborative learning and formative assessment? The list is endless, and creative teachers will be constantly adding to it…;

- arguably, in trying to ‘atomise’ the description of learning and teaching (precise allocation of effort against topics, outcomes, teaching methods, learner experience) in support of a particular interpretation of “Learning Design”, in any practical or usable sense, all meaning is lost.

http://shirley.blogdrive.com/archive/511.html

"All of my music is legal, I get it from a friend on CD."



An astonishing statement from a 16 year old who sincerely believes that it is fine to have copies, so long as you don't download them yourself. Clearly, the message about copyright is not getting through. i explained a little about copyright, and a little about Magnatunes. Message understood, but of course the trouble is that the industry publicises bands to people like a careless sweetshop owner. Brightly wrapped, widely advertised, on open shelves - of course the temptation to consume is massive.



I prefer to use... (more)

http://www.stephenp.net/2008/08/01/google-docs-offline/

I just downloaded “Google Gears, an open source browser extension that adds offline functionality directly to the browser.” Ate the initial synchronisation which takes a few seconds if you have a lot of docs, the offline use of Google Docs is exactly the same as online, with the exception that data is stored locally and updated the next time you log into Google Docs. Working well for me at the moment but I wonder how it will deal with versioning between documents with multiple owners making offline changes and then syncing.

How much longer will we need separate word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation applications on our computers rather than use the functionality offered by browser extensions?

http://shirley.blogdrive.com/archive/510.html

The course at www.anglia.ac.uk/ultraversity gets a mention today in the Independent, Careers section.



Q. I want to find out what sort of courses are available as online degrees. I believe these may be more affordable. But how can I find out about them?



The Ultraversity project provides a fully online Honours degree, with lecturers providing not only course material but also online guidance. Central to the technology is the use of facilitated online communities, allowing asynchronous communication between staff and students - any time, any place, any where with an internet... (more)

http://ultraversity.blogdrive.com/archive/163.html

The final step in assessment at the university is the Awards Board. Students who have completed (at Certificate, Diploma or Degree level) are then sent the documentation by the Conferment Unit, including a final transcript. The Conferment Unit deals with all requests connected with the certficate and final transcript.

http://ultraversity.blogdrive.com/archive/162.html

One of the first assessed tasks undertaken in the degree course - after registration and sorting out access to the software - is the introduction. Clearly this is more than "Hello!" and as a work-based degree the emphasis needs to be on introducing oneself in the work context. As the degree includes study of the use of online technology, a suggestion is to create a photo story using six images.



Some examples are always useful, and the news article at http://tinyurl.com/5ewdes Taxi driver takes snapshots of London life shows one way in which photos can be used. The article selects... (more)

http://shirley.blogdrive.com/archive/509.html

A problem which has caused dismay for some time is the incorrect display of online module resources in Firefox. The site is designed to be viewed in Firefox and works well in other browsers. However, Internet Explorer has been a headache. Although students are strongly advised to use Firefox, as it is a much better browser, those who need to access course material at work are often restricted to Internet Explorer.



Today there was time for the team to put heads together and the solution appears to be simple: specify percentages for page and column widths.








It has taken a... (more)