NEWSLETTER no.
11
“It wasn’t until quite late in life
that I discovered how easy it is to say,
‘I don’t know’.”
- Somerset Maughm
Friday 24th February 2006
Open Source VLEs:
The Next Generation
In December I went down to York to a meeting on
Open Source VLEs organised by the JISC Regional
Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber. The
aim of the meeting was to look at how Open Source
platforms and tools can be developed and used to
support and enrich student learning.
Although the focus of the day was supposed to be
about Open Source VLEs, much of the discussion was
about the success and future of VLEs in general –
whether Open Source or proprietary. It proved to be
a very interesting meeting with a lot of thought
provoking ideas presented and questions asked.
“VLEs are just giant photocopiers”
The day was introduced by Derek Morrison: Head
of e-Learning of Higher Education Academy, and writer
of the excellent Auricle Blog (http://www.bath.ac.uk
/dacs/cdntl/pMachine /morriblog.php).
He started off by putting forward a number of questions:
“Is there any evidence that VLEs provide a better
Student learning experience?”
“Is Moodle really student centred?”
“Is Open Source Software disruptive technology?”
His view is that VLEs are a non-disruptive innovation
that universities have been able to absorb without
making any radical changes to how they teach. However,
with more than 100,000 Open Source projects on
Sourceforge (http://sourceforge.net/ ) alone, students
eLISU
Mary Cuttle
eLISU Coordinator
now have access to technologies that only a few years
ago would not have been available to them. By
increasingly using tools sourced from outwith their
institution such as blogs and flickr, students are
disrupting the status quo and potentially could change
how technology is used for learning.
Derek suggested that in the future Universities will have
to choose between continuing to provide a VLE based
on the current model – a single closed entity (“walled
garden”) or a Learning Management System that pulls
together a multitude of elements and tools.
“It doesn’t matter if your VLE is
proprietary or Open Source, if
it isn’t managed properly its
take up will be limited and it
won’t be used effectively”
The first Keynote was by Randy Metcalfe from the
OSS Watch (http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/). The main
points of the talk were:
· Open Source Software is a viable and cost-effective
option. It is developed by salaried professionals, not
as is commonly believed by unpaid hobbyists, and the
support provided is usually as professional (and
expensive) as that offered by proprietary products.
Despite the huge number of OS projects, there are in
fact only 58 software products that have received an
OSI certified licence.
· Open Source Software is NOT a panacea and doesn’t
solve all problems any more than proprietary software
does.
OPEN SOURCE VLE’S
· Always choose the best solution for your needs
There are three key considerations an institution should
take into account before rolling out any VLE, whether
it is Open Source or not:
· Procurement – it is difficult to compare OS with
propriety software.
· Deployment – the roll-out of any software needs to
be properly planned and managed.
· Support – many OS developers use their support
packages to fund product development.
“When discussing the very
expensive improvements made
when re-engineering a VLE, none
of those improvements were to
develop or add to the student tools,
they were all made to the teacher
and admin tools”.
The second Keynote was by Oleg Liber and was on
Personal Learning Environments. (see page 6 for details
of the PLE Project at Bolton University).
Oleg’s talk picked up and expanded on the theme of
Derek Morrison’s introduction. The world and education
is changing, with the focus moving away from traditional
lecture/tutorial based teaching towards distance and
electronic learning. VLEs have been a crucial part of
this change, both as a product of it and a catalyst for
it.
Universities have been able to implement VLEs relatively
easily because traditionally they have experience of
managing big systems, and VLEs have been successful
because they have enabled and widened access to learning
materials. They have proved to be a non-disruptive
innovation, being used to support existing learning
methods rather than replacing them.
Oleg believes that with the plethora of new technologies
available to both students and academics, institutions
should be shifting from VLEs to PLEs (Personal
Learning Environments) so as to give students control
over the tools used in their learning. Currently, a student
registered with more than one institution has to use the
different tools and systems provided by each institution.
A PLE would enable a student to choose the tools they
want to use for their learning and to use them in
whichever institution is providing the learning.
The vast majority of students carry mobile telephones
with access to the internet and often with integrated
cameras. Those of us who regularly travel by bus and
train will be used to being surrounded by students
plugged into their iPods (their thumbs busy txtng).
Institutions should be engaging with these technologies,
exploiting the creativity of their students by allowing
them to use the technologies they are comfortable and
skilled in using.
The concept of PLE is based on a free market – giving
students access to the right tools for their own learning.
The institution provides teaching, support and any
specialist knowledge and tools the student needs, whilst
a commercial ISP provides core services such as email.
The PLE project (http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members
/ple/) is developing the definition, scope and a reference
model for PLEs. It will also be developing desktop and
portal based prototypes.
In the afternoon, I attended a workshop on Moodle
(http://moodle.org/) and one on StudyNet - a portal
developed locally at the University of Hertfordshire. I
didn’t feel that either VLE offered much more than our
own VLE does, but they did seem to be much better
integrated with other support and information webpages.
The conference report and presentations from the day
are now available to view on the RSC YH website:
http://www.rsc-yh.ac.uk/conference/ossconf.asp
DIY e-Learning
Five ideas on how free and low-cost tools Mary Cuttle
eLISU Coordinator
can be used to introduce e-learning
elements into your learning and teaching
for minimal effort and cost. For help and
advice on any of these approaches contact WIKIS
eLISU (elisu@gcal.ac.uk). Why?
Wikis are community website which can be edited and
added to by any member – ideal for problem solving,
BLOGS collaboration and knowledge management. However, as
with blogs, they are by nature unstructured and as the
Why?
content can be edited by any member of the community,
Online journals that give instant access to expert knowledge
are vulnerable to misuse. Probably the best known Wiki
and updates. They are increasingly at the core of online
is Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/), a surprisingly
communities as they can be commented on, and are usually
useful online encyclopedia to which anybody can contribute.
linked into other blogs and content. Blogs are excellent
Wikipedia is said to be the world's largest wiki website.
for capturing individual knowledge and views. However,
they are by nature highly personal and depend entirely on
How?
the contribution of the author(s).
· Set up pages for students to develop a knowledge base
or micro encyclopedia on a topic.
How?
· Create separate pages for small group projects so that
· Direct students to blogs related to their subject area
groups can put up the latest drafts of reports they're
· Create a community blog that groups of students can
working on, brainstorm new ideas, keep track of useful
use to keep each other updated on a topic or progress
websites etc.
with a project.
· Use it for lecture notes – create a page for each lecture,
· Ask students to keep individual blogs to reflect on their
add any PowerPoint files from the lecture as an attachment.
learning.
Let students add their own notes taken during class, or
add follow up questions and comments.
Getting started
· Q&A - Start a page for questions and answers. Let
Blog software is largely open source, but needs to be set
students post any questions they have - and get answers
up on a webhost. A good example of Blogging software
(and opinions!) from yourself, other teaching staff and
is WordPress - http://wordpress.org/
other students.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have a webserver to install

Getting Started
WordPress onto, you can get a free blog at a number of
Most wiki software is free but needs to be set up on a
sites including blogger.com, WordPress.com and
webserver. Good examples are: MediaWiki
livejournal.com
(http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki) and
DokuWiki (http://www.splitbrain.org/projects/dokuwiki).
However, for a small sum JotSpot (http://www.jot.com/)
will host one for you and Seedwiki
(http://www.seedwiki.com/) is a free Wiki creation site.
DIY e-Learning
RSS
Why?
RSS is an excellent and simple way to distribute information
updates to students’ desktops. Rather than collecting
content in a central repository content can be distributed
across the World Wide Web piece by piece.
How?
· Recommend to students feeds on relevant topics
· Publish syndicated content on module website or blog.
· Ask students to create their own blogs and then subscribe
to the feeds of all those blogs to check new content on
them.
· Provide students with information about their module:
news, updates, new resources etc.
· Subscribe to feeds from learning object repositories such
as MERLOT to see the newest objects added or objects
added in a topic they’re developing a course on.
Getting started
For more details on RSS and how to set up feeds: read
Ross Little’s article in the last eLISU Newsletter
(http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk/newsletter/documents/newslett
er10.pdf)
INSTANT MESSAGING
Why?
Instant messaging tools offer an alternative means of
creating collaboration for learning. Integrated with content
from others sources (eg. PowerPoint, webpages) or as a
coaching tool through collaboration. IM software is free
and MSN Windows Messenger is shipped with Windows.
However, bear in mind that text can be a slow medium
for communication and that discussions can become
difficult with more than a couple of participants and may
need careful moderating.
How?
· Run an online seminar
· Provide one to one coaching using audio or
videoconferencing facilities.
Getting started
For details on how to get started with MSN Messenger
look at the Messenger support pages at:
http://messenger.msn.com/Xp/Default.aspx.
PODCASTING
Why
Podcasting is the recording and delivery of audio broadcasts
via an RSS feed to be listened to on PCs or portable players
such as the ubiquitous iPod. It’s easy to do and is a format
and concept that most students are increasingly familiar
with.
How?
· Use PowerPoint, Camtasia and Quicktime to make
PowerPoint presentation (Power Cast) that can be
downloaded on to an iPod.
· Record a lecture that students can download on to their
iPod.
· Record an interview with a subject expert.
· Record a case study interview or scenario.
· Record sounds that students need to be familiar with as
part of their subject for example irregular heart-beats.
· Work with the Spoken Word project
(http://www.spokenword.ac.uk/) to use archived audio.
Getting started
We have an eLISU iPod with a recording add-on that you
can borrow to make a digital recording. The Learning
Design Lab (contact iLearn -
http://www.learningservices.gcal.ac.uk/ilearn/contact.html)
has software such as Camtasia which can be used to make
a PowerCast. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
free, open source software for recording and editing sounds.
NEWS
JORUM SERVICE
The University has signed up for the JORUM Service
(http://www.jorum.ac.uk/). JORUM is a free online
repository service for teaching and support staff in UK
Further and Higher Education Institutions, helping to
build a community for the sharing, reuse and repurposing
of learning and teaching materials. Access to the service
will be via the ATHENS Authentication Service.
PLATO
Glasgow Caledonian University have been invited to help
pilot PLATO – an online tutorial on Plagiarism. PLATO
(Plagiarism Teaching Online) has two parts: The first is
to help students understand what plagiarism is, the forms
it may take, and the fact that it is cheating and therefore
carries penalties. The second part helps them learn how
to reference correctly. If you would like to review PLATO
or trial it with your students please contact Mary Cuttle
(m.cuttle@gcal.ac.uk).
EXCELLENCE
eXcellence in eLearning Ltd (http://ex-el.org/) is now
offering an online version of the SQA Diploma in
eAssessment. The award is designed for those who wish
to design and implement eAssessment within an online
learning environment. A cohort for the unit in eAssessment
Principles and Practice will commence on Tuesday 14th
March 2006. The diploma comprises 3 taught units, of
which this is the first, and a project (4 units in all). The
tuition fees for each unit are £550 plus VAT and SQA
fees.
NEW MSC IN E-LEARNING
A new MSc in e-learning is to be offered by the University
of Edinburgh from September 2006. Their web site is
at: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/e-learning. The
programme is delivered part-time and fully online. It aims
to give professionals working in higher or further
education, or in training and development, the practical
skills and critical insight they need to become confident
within this fast-moving field.
TASI
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/advice.html. The Technical
Advisory Service for Images produces documents covering
all aspects of a digitisation project. They’ve released 4 new
fact sheets focusing on the use of images in the following
VLEs: Blackboard, Moodle, WebCT and Bodington. The
one for Blackboard can be found at: http://www.tasi.ac.uk/
advice/using/vle_blackboard.html. Two further TASI info
sheets cover the popular software packages Hot Potatoes
and Quandary, produced by Half-Baked software. Hot
Potatoes is a question generator while Quandary can be
used to create online mazes.
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/vle_hotpotatoes.html
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/vle_quandary.html
http://www.learningservices.gcal.ac.uk/apu/eguides/int
ro.pdf
EPIC PAPERS
EPIC is “...the UK market leader in e-learning, blended
learning and knowledge solutions.” Okay, so that’s their
own words and they’re highly unlikely to downplay their
own success, but you would have to try pretty hard to
discredit that statement. They have created some impressive
solutions and, despite being a corporate company, have a
range of clients from the Education sector including
Cambridge University, Interactive Virtual Medical School
(IVMEDS), Sheffield Hallam University, and the Teacher
Training Agency, to name only a few. It is perhaps unlikely
that your project budget will stretch to enlisting the services
of EPIC, however they do have some very interesting and
informative White Papers which can be found at:
http://www.epic.co.uk/content/resources/white_paper
s_index.htm. But remember, if you need hands-on help
with e-Learning, think of eLISU before you go to EPIC!
ON THE WEB
Pandora
Create your own radio station and customise it to play the kind of music you like: listen to old favourites and be introduced
to new tracks (which with a couple of clicks can then be bought and downloaded onto your iPod).
http://www.pandora.com/

Watson
Your personal research assistant. Whatever you’re working on, Watson will suggest related resources.
http://www.intellext.com/firstlaunchprof.html

Flock has landed...

Flock is a free, open source web browser built on the Mozilla rendering engine. It’s free, fast and includes support for
del.icio.us and blogging built right in..
http://www.flock.com

RSS
For all you RSS feed fiends… Here’s a great list of RSS feeds offered by UK newspapers and the BBC. Not just one feed
for each newspaper but also the links for every single feed offered!! All these feeds and more on http://dave.org.uk/newsfeeds/

Podcast Searching
A fab new resource online: http://www.podzinger.com. Podcasts have been subject to the same primitive search through
categorization … until now. PODZINGER looks inside podcasts, not just the metadata, letting you search podcasts in
the same way that you search for anything else on the web. When you type in a word or terms, PODZINGER not only
finds the relevant podcasts, but also highlights the segment of the audio in which they occurred. By clicking anywhere
on the results, the audio will begin to play just where you clicked. There are also controls that let you back up, pause, or
forward through the podcast. Or you can download the entire podcast.

PLE Project at Bolton University

The PLE project at Bolton University is working towards defining the tools for personal learning. A PLE (Personal
Learning Environment) provides an alternative to locating all learning materials on the centralised VLE’s that most HE
institutions have invested in. A PLE allows a great deal of the functionality, usually only available via the VLE, to be
handed over to the learner either as a desktop application or an independently hosted portal. In this way the PLE allows
the learner to decide how he/ she wants learn and to create their own personal, portable learning structure. The project
is being funded by JISC and carried out by CETIS and is part of the e-Learning Reference Models programme for the
e-Framework.

iTunes as PLE: iStanford

Stanford has created its own iTunes Music Store for distributing recordings of lectures, sports coverage and campus
events. For more info, check out Stanford iTunes. http://itunes.stanford.edu/
Some other universites that are “course casting” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10117475/site/newsweek/) are Purdue
University, Duke Unvirsity and University of Washington. At Purdue University six professors have been course casting
since September. Some are already tired of staring at empty seats….
In the UK, Portsmouth (http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13108is )planning to launch a range
of video podcasts for potential students.
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& WORKSHOPS
Designs on e-Learning Online Conference
Online
March 27-31 2006
http://www.designsonelearning.net/
The conference will be international in scope and will
focus on the use of technology in learning and teaching
in art, design and communication.
Innovating e-Learning 2006
Online
March 27-31 2006
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elp_conference06.html
This online conference will be of interest to practitioners,
e-learning coordinators and managers in further and
higher education, researchers, staff developers and learning
technologists.
PICTAL Conference
Online
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/education/pictal/
March 29-31 2006.
The PICTAL Conference will address two themes: ‘Online
Learning’ and ‘Online Tutoring’, focussing on:
· Creating and maintaining interactivity and engagement
online
· Best Practice in online tutoring
· Dynamics of online learning
· Meeting the professional challenge of changing learner
expectations
· Extended and enhanced professionalism with ICT for
learning.
Fifth International Conference on
Networked Learning 2006
Lancaster University, UK
April 10-12 2006
http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/
A research-based conference on networked learning in
higher education and lifelong learning.
Open Source and Sustainability 2006
Oxford, UK
April 10-12 2006
http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/events/2006-04-10-12/
Open Source and Sustainability is a 3-day conference
exploring the theme of open source sustainability: the
perspective for higher and further education.
The e-Assessment Question 2006
London, UK
March 2-3 2006
http://www.e-assessment-question.co.uk/
In addition to providing insight and practical guidance in
to the use of computer based testing and assessment, the
2006 conference will feature some exciting and innovative
developments with a range of relevant and important
presentations in the Shaw Theatre examining:
· How to make e-Assessment robust and fit for purpose
· Using e-Assessments to support Learning
15th International WWW Conference
Edinburgh, UK
May 23-26 2006
http://www2006.org/
The World Wide Web Conference is the global event to
bring together the key influencers, decision makers,
technologists, businesses and standards bodies shaping
the future of the web.
The Higher Education Academy 2006
Annual Conference: Enhancing the
Student Learning Experience
Nottingham, UK
July 3-5 2006
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/conference.htm
The 2006 Conference will focus on three major themes:
· Higher education policy
· Scholarship of teaching and learning in the disciplines
· Innovations to support the student learning experience.
eLISU WORKSHOPS
From Blogs to Wikis: An Introduction
to the Web 2.0
Presenter(s): Ross Little, eLISU Project Officer
Audience: Academic and support staff with an interest
in enriching student learning through the use of innovative
and collaborative technologies.
Date: TBA
Time: 2-4pm
Aims of Workshop: Our students, now more than ever,
could be described as digital natives – inseparable from
mobile networked multimedia devices, such as iPods and
mobile phones, and equipped with an understanding of
the internet as media provider, research platform and
social network.
This workshop will provide the participant with an
introduction to the new technologies that now dominate
the internet and the concepts and structures behind them.
The participant will experience these technologies first
hand and examine the ways in which these have been
use to enrich learning and teaching
By the end of this workshop participants should be able
to:
· Understand how our students use technology every day
· Understand changes in the world wide web and concepts
of the Web 2.0, Open Source, Social Networks, Peer to
Peer and Distributed Collaboration
· Understand hardware developments such as iPods and
Mobile Phones
· Use web applications such as Wikis, Podcasts, Blogs
and Vlogs
· Use tools and structures such as Syndication, RSS,
ATOM, Enb and Feed Readers.
· Be able to acknowledge the potential for learning in
new technologies
Fundamental Principles of Web Design
Presenter(s): Kirsten Riley, eLISU Communications
officer
Audience: Academic and support staff who have a basic
knowledge of the web and would benefit from an
introduction into some of the issues related to front-end
web design. A basic knowledge of HTML would be
advantageous but is not essential. PC based only.
Date: TBA
Time: 2-4pm
Aims of Workshop: By the end of this workshop
participants should be able to:
· Identify good practice in design for the web
· Recognise the effective use of visual properties such
as fonts & colours
· Understand basic usability and accessibility issues
Designing Online Activities
Presenter(s): Mary Cuttle, Head of eLISU
Audience:All academic staff with an interest in e-Learning
Date: TBA
Time: 2-4pm
Aims of Workshop: E-learning is more than simply
providing online content. For an effective learning
experience, students need to collaborate with their peers
in a meaningful way. This workshop will consider how
interaction can be built in to online courses through
providing activities and simple tasks to form the basis of
a pedagogically effective framework. Examples will be
demonstrated, and participants will be encouraged to
contribute their own ideas and suggestions.
Bored with your
e-Learning?

Design & Development of e-Learning Materials Graphic Design & Development

for Web-based Materials Blackboard Multimedia Production & Development
Programming & 3D Visualisation

eLISU eLISU
e-Learning Innovation Support Unit
Rm 212, 6 Rose Street
eLISU was established in 2001 to support the University’s Glasgow, G3
objectives for online and life-long learning. We offer
expertise in the design, development and implementation http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk
of e-Learning for academic staff across the University. elisu@gcal.ac.uk
Contact us for more information
and to see how we can work with you.
PUBLICATIONS
& RESOURCES
ALT Newsletter Online
http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/index000100997.cfm?x=b6
G6sdp,b3scdv19
Sixth Durham Blackboard Users'
Conference (2005)
Presentations from this conference are now available in
the UK/EIRE User Group on the Blackboard
Communities Site. http://communities.blackboard.com/
If you're not a member you will need to enroll in the
Community!
Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide
to the Blogosphere
David Warlick
Synopsis:
Weblogs are about reading and writing. Literacy is about
reading and writing. Blogging equals literacy. How rarely
does an aspect of how we live and work plug so perfectly
into how we teach and learn? Reading this book will give
teachers important clues not only in how to become a
blogger and to make their students bloggers, but also
how this new avenue of expression is revolutionizing the
information environment that we live in.
Paperback 176 pages (May 9, 2005)
Publisher: Lulu Press Incorporated
Language: English
ISBN: 1411629035
Making Distance Education Work:
Understanding Learning and Learners
At a Distance
S., Joseph Levine
Synopsis:
A guide for effective development & delivery of distance
education programs. Focuses on principles of distance
education, clarifications of who distance education
learners are, and examples of learner-focused distance
education programs. An essential reference for those
about to create distance education programs, those
currently conducting distance education programs, and
learners who are considering the challenge of learning
at a distance. "This is a must-read for all educators and
learners who are committed to enhancing and succeeding
in teaching and learning at a distance. From theoretical
grounding in adult learning to very unique, practical tools
and suggestions that translate theory into successful
practice, this book brings forth essential new insights to
the distance education arena. We come away challenged
to further enhance our own efforts in formal and
nonformal distance education." (Joan Cybela, Professor,
University of Wisconsin-Extension)
Paperback 256 pages (October 21, 2005)
Publisher: Lulu Press Incorporated
Language: English
ISBN: 1411653556
Report on the OS VLE Event held in
York on the 14th December 2006
The conference report and presentations from this
excellent event are now available to view on the RSC YH
website:
http://www.rsc-yh.ac.uk/conference/ossconf.asp
Scottish Schools Digital Network
Newsletter
The Scottish Schools Digital Network Newsletter is now
out and has some pretty interesting reading.
http://elisu.gcal.ac.uk:8080/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2006/01/ssdnNewsletter.pdf