RSC NewsFeed

We don’t normally offer a free plug to commercial companies here on NewsFeed but one good turn deserves another….London-based Mouse Training are offering free training manuals to download for all of the major components of the Microsoft Office suite. Click here to check it out.

Chances are you have new colleagues in your workroom who started at the beginning of term and who might be struggling to cope with the first weeks of a new career. Well here at NewsFeed we’d suggest you try two things to ease their burden.

The first is to suggest that they subscribe to NewsFeed to help keep up with the constant flow of technology in teaching and learning.

The second is to suggest that they download this new book which is full og survival hints and tips for new members of the profession. Lot’s on technology towards the end of the book and the message that ‘technology is your friend’ is one we’d fully agree with here at the Scottish Regional Support centres. Click here to download the PGCE Survival Guide.

SLIC is pleased to announce that the 2010 call for proposals is open. Bids which address the current priorities are invited from member organisations. In the current economic climate for public services,the SLIC Board is particularly interested in stimulating bids that encourage:

• Smarter working and strategies for efficiency
e.g. improving efficiency and effectiveness while giving value for money by streamlining processes, automating activitiesm etc.

• User-driven library services
e.g. deploying Web 2.0 technologies to provide access and create richer user experiences by providing interactive tools and services.

• Shared services and alternative delivery models

Funding will be considered for a range of activities including, research, impact analysis, service development, staff training, creation of new resources for pilot and evaluation of new technology, case studies, preparation of good practice guides or promotion of standards.

Proposals should be submitted by 16th April 2010.

Click here to download an application pack.

A recent article in the Journal for the Association for Psychological Science has once again questioned the validity and value of the notion of ‘learning styles’ which has had a great deal of currency in educational circles in recent years. To quote the authors:

‘The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing. If classification of students’ learning styles has practical utility, it remains to be demonstrated.’

Image ‘YIP Day 70 – More Few’ by Auntie P from Flickr, used under Creative Commons.

Click here for a typically combative comment on the findings and their implications from Donald Clark.

February also sees the return of the popular series of lunch-time broadcasts created and delivered by staff from the two Scottish Regional Support Centres. Sessions start at 12:30, just click on the titles to book a place!

Image The Time Machine by Chaotic Good01from Flickr used under Creative Commons

In a fitting start to the decade a  new report commissioned by the Science:[So what? So Everything] campaign peers into the future to anticipate the type of jobs available 20 years from now, and to second guess the type of education and training young people will need to match the demand.
Things are not looking good for butchers and bakers and the lights are going out for candlestick makers. However, the future beckons for body part makers, vertical farmers and weather modification police as well as memory augmentation surgeons and avatar managers. Sounds intriguing? Click here to see the future.

An excellent short clip from the World Science Festival 2009 in which Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the art of teaching without words. Please try this at home.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Video Assist, a new scheme to offer colleges and universities free individual consultations on how to create superior moving image resources was announced by JISC Digital Media on June 10th. The scheme will offer six projects over a 12 month period to help build the digital skills of education professionals to enhance the work they produce. There will be three rounds of the project beginning in July 09 and repeated in November and again in February 2010. Click here for full details of Video assist.

Image Bristol Buckyballs by Dave from Flickr used under Creative Commons

A new construction training centre – the ACT-UK Simulation Centre – is set to open at the Coventry University Technology Park in September 2009. With the backing of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), leading construction companies and Coventry University the centre will help both construction students and industry professionals develop their people management skills and fulfil their potential through a pioneering combination of virtual reality computer techniques and the use of professional actors.

Download the ACT-UK brochure (PDF, 15.98MB) to find out more

This looks like a really useful resource. Sign up to the site at 180TechTips.com and every day from September through to June a simple 5-minute tip will be emailed out to you. Most of these are based around the Office suite of programmes or the various uses of the Internet so they’re likely to be practical and useful. The service comes at no charge.