Progress at Lalor LLC phlogged to the world

In response to our plea to try out the very simple phone blogging tool, ipadio, Assunta has produced a wonderful progress report on her and Carmela's e-project.

We've embedded it here to inspire you to have a go:



Thanks very much for participating with enthusiasm and dedication so far, Assunta and Carmela. We look forward to hearing and seeing your presie online or in our June showcase (more on that later...)

You can find a previous post about Progress at Lalor here or Search using the new Search Feature (top of the right sidebar).

How to phone blog with iPadio - Listen to the recording of the webinar

#1) Live session / workshop - a North West Cafe webinar.

One of the simplest ways to get people talking on the web: we're running a session introducing newcomers to iPadio (phone blogging). Because people have such complicated lives, we're running it twice. And we're offering this out to the other regions, so we need to have your RSVP.

A hands-on tutorial in making a phone blog using ipadio. For people with absolutely no experience in this wonderfully easy podcasting tool. For e-leaders in the current e-mentors program plus anyone else with curiosity and a sense of adventure. People with experience are welcome to attend too. We hope to have some time to discuss your thoughts on the applications of this tool for teaching and learning.

This was held on Tuesday 21 February. If you would like to hear the recording, click the following link to view a list of our webinars, then select the webinar dated 21 February 2012:
 https://sas.elluminate.com/mrtbl?suid=M.6669D01BE3EA01F2A81B65EE234956&sid=2008142

There might be an opportunity in a few months for a Phone blogging How-to webinar Part 2 - on customising the podcast details, embedding the podcast and registering for your own account/ channel.

[If you're still having trouble getting in to Blackboard Collaborate, pleeeease contact Jill, Ann or myself for some problem-solving assistance.]

Shortcut link to attend a live session in the Blackboard Collaborate room:

http://sn.im/ace-openhouse

More details in the ACE network Ning (events page). (login req'd)

Stay tuned, because this is the first of a whole series of online professional development for e-learning practitioners across the regions. This means sessions delivered not only by Jill, Ann & Michael in the North-West, but also many more amazing e-learning people right around Victoria.

E-learning at Carlton in focus

Here's our latest guest blogger: Sarah Deasey from Carlton NLC. Thanks so much Sarah, and welcome (michael). 

Hello this is Sarah. I am the Further Education coordinator at CNLC.

There have been many opportunities for development of basic computer and online skills in the last 10 years or more. Past projects include:

• Skillsnet funding in the Nineties for broad community training;
• a telematics trust  grant for disability students; and
• various grants through the flexible learning framework.

Phone blog your Progress, Part 2: E-skills at Carlton NLC

Further to the post, Phone blog your Progress, here are some interesting phone blogs kindly shared with us by staff from Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC). They were asked to describe how the teaching and learning in their ESL classes changed in 2011 with the introduction of internet and the projector into the classrooms.

The CNLC ipadio player:

The following phone blogs or 'phlogs' can be heard by clicking the little red + icon in the bottom right corner of the player (found as you move your mouse over the little spanner). You'll be taken to CNLC's ipadio channel where you can listen to each of them.

Or you can visit CNLC's ipadio channel to hear them.

Merry Christmas

For this post I have searched for free animated gifs and used the embedded code. The same technique can be used in wikis and Moodle. 

Phone blog your progress here via our iPadio phonecast channel

Below is a phone blog posted by Jill to our North West e-Mentors ipadio channel. Phone blogging is very easy to do - once you're feeling confident with the technology you could even create a channel for your students to use.

Please consider joining us here with your first phone blog.



Our iPadio channel is open for business: using ipadio you can call a special number (from anywhere in Australia it's 1800-802569) from either your landline or mobile and follow the prompts to provide the registered phone number and PIN.

(iPadio will detect that you're not calling from the registered phone - don't worry about that, just enter the registered number and PIN.)

You then say what you want to us to hear, that's right, no-one will interrupt you! When you're finished, just hang up.

Here are the details:

1. Call 1800-802-569
2. When prompted, enter the registered phone number: 613-9347 2739 and press #
3. Enter PIN: XXXX (ask us in person)
4. TALK and then hang up.

So we look forward to hearing your phlogs about your e-learning adventures. And we will also embed the phlogs here for your colleagues in the North west to share.

Here is Panayota from CNLC talking about how her teaching has benefited from having access to the internet and a data projector in the ESL classroom this year. Good on you for going first, Panayota! (She's using the CNLC ipadio channel).

E-learning livens up at Lalor

It's probably time to profile one or two e-projects and their early progress. The other day I took the opportunity to visit Assunta and Carmela at Lalor to assist them with their first e-project and to review some of the resources available for their e-learning and networking generally.

Neither of the two e-leaders are teachers of ICT yet they are targeting their first project to beginner ESL students entering the computer room for the first time: developing an enhanced Powerpoint presie showing how to sit, use a mouse and log on to the computers, an e-learning 'object' that can be played whenever needed by students in the computer room. It will have photos, captions and audio narration.

Let's Google it!

It seems that not only has 'Google' entered the English language as a verb describing the most ubiquitous web searching tool/ process on the planet, but its other components are becoming equally obligatory work tools.

This year is the Year of Google Documents: not only can you share your docs in the cloud but you can invite others to collaborate, that is, to edit them anywhere anytime - even simultaneously whilst you're working on the very same one!

Other must-have features include: a neat Revisions History that reveals each editor's edits in a different colour, text chat Comments in a sidebar so you can have a running commentary about content and immediate autosave (though I'm not sure if you can ever get access to previous versions...).

Of course, as your collection of docs in the cloud grows, you'll need to Organise them - this entails adding them to - you guessed it - Collections (rather than folders).

Do you think Moodle will meet your needs?

Prabhakar from AMCS and Joanne at Djerriwarrh are both considering using a "learning management system (LMS)" known as Moodle.

What is it, and how do you get it?

Fundamentally, moodle is an environment where you can set up discussion forums and course outlines. *

1) Talk to eWorks. They can set you up with a "TrainingVC" account, which gives you access to your choice of Blackboard or Moodle (both of these are learning management systems with forums, space for resources, student tracking etc). I think the initial outlay is $2000.

CAE uses this option (is that right, Ann?)

2) Find an alternative moodle host, such as:

• Education Services Australia (ESA, formerly EdNA) groups
• One of the recommended "Moodle hosting partners" listed on the support site.

** There's a huge help document in the moodle community - link here. 

3) Get the software and run it on your own web server. This is tricky, but some people do it, for example:

• Tim at Werribee Community Centre (?) explored a software called "BitNami" that lets you run moodle on your local windows network. (But then you may need to open your network to the wide world.)
• Stuart from Milang Old School House, South Australia, was one of the first to go down the moodle road in a community organisation [Here i wrote about an online forum where he presented in 2007.] 

4) Or find a web host who provides a "one click install" for popular free and open source software, such as moodle, wordpress, joomla. At PRACE, we use a Queensland-based crowd called "Fluccs" who offer free hosting for community & non-profit organisations. (And their paid options are reasonable too.)