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I'm sure by now most of you will have heard of the new LMS/VLE (call it what you prefer) that is both offered as a cloud-based service or in an Open Source release that aims to challenge Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai and Desire2Learn. It's called Canvas and I took it for a 'test drive' (to use the cliche much loved of technology magazines!) recently and I have to admit that there is something pleasing about the simple, plain design. It cheered me up a little since I'd been seriously disappointed in the over-hyped but really naff Moodle 2.o. Indeed, plenty of others have commented that they have a cheek using '2.0' for software that looks as if it was designed in the 1990s. Maybe I expected too much. Not that we have any plans to move from our official Blackboard system, but we always have kept an eye on other systems and have run test implementations of Moodle and Sakai. Moodle is also used for courses that span multiple institutions or other work that doesn...

Last Monday (31st Jan) we hosted the second Project Symposium associate with our PG Diploma module in Learning Technologies. In my last post, I gave the background to the module and the expectations around the project. As before, we were treated to a range of projects, at various stages of development. Gary ( @GaryGillanders ) spoke about how he is developing video material to supplement laboratory manuals in Physics. He is using short video clips, accessible via the VLE (Blackboard) to replicate in-lab demonstrations of equipment, software and procedures. So far, he has used Jing for screencasts of software demonstrations, and also recorded some equipment demos and put them up on blip.tv . Although it is still too early to evaluate the usefulness of the videos, initial feedback from students in positive. Anne ( @annecegan ) told us of her plans to use podcasts to support students of Family Law. She has a plan to match short podcasts with tutorial topics, summarising materials and poi...

At NUI Galway, I co-ordinate a module in Learning Technologies (cel263) which is offered as part of our Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice . The module is taken by academic staff as part of a professional qualification in Teaching and Learning, mostly in NUIG but open to staff from other institutions. This year the module had 9 participants from across an array of disciplines in NUIG and three participants from the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology ( GMIT ). Now in its third year, participants in the module have a range of experience with using technology in teaching, from "very little" to "vast". Some need a lot of support and encouragement, while others are willing to try anything. The module is organised as a series of 7 stand-alone workshops, each based on a particular technology, including guest lecturers, online resources, demonstrations, practical sessions, discussion, research and reflection. We try to focus on teaching & learning, showing how...

The Jennifer Burke Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning has been awarded annually by the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) and Dublin City University (DCU) since 2009. The award recognises and rewards innovative practice in teaching and learning in Ireland. Previous award winners are John O'Connor (DIT) for his work on the module "Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?" in 2010, and the Bridge to College Initiative from TCD in 2009. Nominations are now invited for the 2011 Jennifer Burke Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, for an innovative idea which must have been implemented. Nominations should be submitted before Monday 7th February. Further details are available at the awards site .

A couple of weeks ago, I had a coffee with Michael Coyne ( @MichealCoyne on twitter) of the NUI Galway School of Law. I was interested in finding out a little bit more about the School's presence on Facebook . The site currently has more than 400 fans and is a very nice example of using facebook to enhance the student experience. Michael made some interesting points. The site is mainly aimed at final year undergraduate students, but also targets recent graduates and prospective students. It offers some useful course-related information such as timetables and announcements, more general information about upcoming seminars and career advice and whatever is considered newsworthy or of interest to law students, past and present. It’s also a good platform for current PhD students who actively blog on human rights and disability issues to highlight their work and perhaps make contact with like-minded people. This is seen as a good way to reach students. Michael's perception is that...

Last week, November 23-26, I "attended" the JISC online conference Innovating E-Learning 2010, Bringing innovation to life: from adversity comes opportunity. This was the 5th JISC online conference, attracting 475 delegates from 11 countries . For a registration fee of about €60, I had access to a number of excellent keynote presentations and invited speakers, using Elluminate, discussion areas and other resources. I didn't manage to get to all the sessions, which were arranged in two themes: Realising the Potential and Realising the Value. I participated in the following live sessions: Theme 1 Learning to Live in Interesting Times - What are Educational Institutions for? Keri Facer Transforming Assessment for Learning in a Digital Age David Boud What do students really want? Usman Ali Theme 2 Is the Future Mobile? Graham Browne-Martin Sustaining OER Innovation through Collaboration and Partnership Simon Thomson and Andy Beggan I missed a few sessions, but the grea...

On Monday afternoon, the European Day of Languages, we were invited along to the launch of PAISAGE, an Irish/Spanish project for the teaching and learning of both languages. PAISAGE stands for Portal Audiovisual Intercultural sobre el Aprendizaje de Gaélico y Espanol. It is a NAIRTL -funded project aimed at linking linguistic and cultural learning in Irish and Spanish, carried out by Dorothy Ní Uigín ( Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge ) and Pilar Aldarete ( Spanish ), both academic staff members at NUI Galway. Dorothy and Pilar have developed a range of resources including videos in both languages showing aspects of NUI Galway and its surrounds; interviews with Spanish students living in Ireland and Irish students living in Spain; interviews with professionals working in both languages and cultures; grammar explanations contrasting both languages; grammar exercises to accompany the videos. All resources are linked to the levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Langua...