As the last festival firework splutters and dies over Edinburgh Castle, we say goodbye for another year to the fire eaters and human statues and hello to a new football season and a new batch of students. It’s time to welcome you back to NewsFeed 2008-9. If you’re a new reader, a warm virtual  welcome from staff at the two Scottish JISC Regional Support Centres who produce this online blog. We’ll use it to keep you informed of new technologies and events across the sector. Though NewsFeed does focus on the JISC and the RSCs, we find space for news of technology and resources wherever these can benefit teaching and learning.

'Fireworks' by chrisdonia from Flickr used under Creative Commons
‘Fireworks’ by chrisdonia from Flickr used under Creative Commons
NewsFeed appears roughly fortnightly during term-time which means 20 issues across the session and between issues we scour networks for news, techniques and resources. If there are any areas of technology, teaching and learning that you think we should highlight please get in touch, or if there are any comments you wish to make on any item featured here, then please use the comment facility or contact the RSCs directly.

Major Conference Alert!

Do Virtual Worlds have a Place in Education?

JISC

Invitations to Tender

JISC ITT 1: Quality of e-Assessment Review
JISC ITT 2: Review of Advanced e-Assessment Techniques
JISC ITT 3: JISC Digitisation Programme – Preservation Study
JISC ITT 4: Establishing an Evaluation Framework for the BCE (Business & Community Engagement) Programme

Podcasts

JISC Summer Podcasts

Other JISC News

Free Journal Archives from JISC Collections
SCRAN Joins the RCAHMS
TASI & BUFVC Autumn Courses
Conference:Tackling Plagiarism & Academic Misconduct
Ongoing Support for Federated Access Management

New Appointments

New Heads Appointed to JISC and the SFC

Images

Royalty Free Images from Cultural Institutions
Photosynth Launched by Microsoft
You Tube Video Competition
Hints & Tips – Downloading Video
Wordle – Beautiful Word Clouds

Web Miscellany

Today’s Student: Not Travelling Light
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Simplified
New Blog Readership Numbers from PEW Internet Study
Webinar: Understanding the New Look of Office 2007
Save the Polar Bear – and the Environment – Online
Online History of the Internet
Online Flood Simulation:Stay Dry while the UK Drowns

Accessibility

Fencing in the Habitat
Adult Dyslexia Conference: Understanding the Difference
How Accessible is iTunes?

Search Engines

Kallout – Context-based Search Engine
Virtual World Without End

Resources

Planet Science – Science Resources Online
New Style Annual Report from the British Library
Hints & Tips – Downloading Video
Optical Anatomy
Anatomy Arcade: Human Anatomy Online Games

Misc

RFID event: book your place now!
OpenLearn Scotland
Calling all Library Staff – Contribute to Virtual Reference Survey
You Tube Video Competition