Don’t look now but already one month of the new decade has come and gone, the economy has inched, marginally, out of recession and (tempting fate here) the worst of the winter already seems to be behind us.

Image After-snow by cuellar from Flickr used under Creative Commons.
Time to look forward to the spring, to this year’s JISC Conference, to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and to the ‘Rewiring Inclusion’ conference, looking at accessibility & social media on the 9th of February.
The latest news of all three topics is waiting for you in the electronic pages of this edition of NewsFeed as well as the usual range of stunning online resources – this time including spinning globes to map out the web of your connections and a free online course in the financial markets from one of America’s finest institutions. There’s also an online percussion generator that is more than it appears to be and MyStudyBar, a comprehensive set of portable open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties. Add to that the return of RSCtv and another bumper bundle is set to thud into your electronic mailbox.
As usual we’ve tried to include something for everyone in the mix but if there are other ingredients that we’ve somehow left out don’t be afraid to let us know using the built-in comment facility. We’d also like to hear from you if you’re doing something novel and interesting in the application of online technologies to teaching and learning. Share what you’re doing with the world.
Till then, sit back and relax and enjoy this edition of NewsFeed brought to you by your two Scottish JISC Regional Support Centres.
RSCtv
Spring and Summer Schedules
The return of the popular series of lunch-time online broadcasts created and delivered by staff from the two Scottish Regional Support Centres
JISC
Book Now for JISC Conference 2010
The theme of the 8th JISC Annual Conference is Technology at the Heart of Education and Research, and takes place in London on the 12th and 13th of April.
Sharing Information Can Beat Recession Says New Report
JISC and the British Library are calling for universities, colleges and public libraries to work together to help businesses obtain the information and knowledge they need.
Safeguarding – Meeting Your e-Safety Duties
A webcast which focuses on relevant statutory duties, areas of liability for institutions, tips on writing an e-safety policy and guidance on appropriate incident response.
DG MySpace – Latest Best of the West Case Study Added
A case study from Dumfries & Galloway College on their open source e-Portfolio solution.
Workshop: Using Digital Media in VLEs
New workshop from JISC Digital Media
Misc
Stepping Into the Future
A free half-day event at Jewel & Esk College for staff in the construction and trades curricular areas.
It is the Season for ICT Strategies
Two major ICT strategies have been announced recently, the BBC Technology Strategy and the Government ICT Strategy.
Revolver Maps
Interactive 3D visitor globes that can be placed on a website.
Catcher in the Rye Interactive Map
The New York Times have published an interesting interactive map of the journey of the book’s teenage narrator, Holden Caulfield, as moves around in Manhattan.
Winter Olympics Online Roundup
A list of online resources for those interested in the forthcoming Olympics,
Hands Symphony – Create and Share Percussion
Go online and choose a sequence of hand claps (thumps/clicks/slaps) which can be built into a set of percussive rhythms.
From Yarrow to Yale – Study the Financial Markets Online
Yale University now offers a range of courses under the title of Open Yale.
Event: 7th Enhancement Themes Conference (Bookings Open)
Booking is now open for the free 7th annual Enhancement Theme conference on ‘Graduates for the 21st Century: Integrating the Enhancement Themes’
Introducing the Apple iPad: Revolutionary?
Apple introduces its new tablet device. The iPad
Google News
New Chrome Extension Helps Maintain Focus + More Waves
A new guide for Google Wave and an interesting extension for the Chrome browser to limit your surfing time.
OU Signs up for Google Apps – 200k Students join the Cloud
As well as email, students will have access to Google’s other services including contacts, calendar, instant messaging and website creation.
Google Reader – Follow Changes to any Website
Google’s web-based service now allows you to follow changes to websites without an RSS feed.
Accessibility
RoboBraille wins BETT Award
RoboBraille offers a unique solution to the problem of converting text into Braille and mp3 without the having to be an expert in alternative formats
MyStudyBar
A comprehensive set of portable open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties.
Rewiring Inclusion Conference
Organised by the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) and JISC TechDis, the conference takes place on February 9th 2010 in Nottingham.
Lexdis – Helping you Make Reasonable Adjustments
Providing a wealth of guidance and advice for those who deliver learning and teaching, create e-learning resources or who support learners.
Creating Accessible Environments
Resources available to offer online access for websites and VLE’s allowing support for symbol readers online.
Snippets
Cold Snaps – February Snippets
Interactive games on a range of science topics; websites for students to create original artwork; digital moviemaking and a free 3-D online floor-plan designer.

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