eadministration

Trello

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:59:45 +0100

Trello is an online collaboration tool helping users perform tasks in a productive manner.

Users can

- create boards,

- add lists and cards which contains description about the tasks,

- share the tasks with a group of people and work on it in real time,

- add labels and more.

Users can also track the activity on the board through Trello’s user friendly interface and monitor who is making changes on the board.

Visit https://trello.com/to try it out - we have!

280 Slides - Create & Share Presentations Online

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:35:46 +0100

Having purchased a Chrome Book, I've been test-driving a few of the newest web applications to see if they’re going to help my everyday life.

While looking for an elegant web-based way to create and present slides, where there are no downloads needed, I came across 280Slides, an excellent site that has an intuitive interface.

Users can...

import presentations from Keynote and PowerPoint,
select a variety of themes, and
use it anywhere because it’s cloud-based.

If you’ve used either PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Docs then you can use this application. Users can download the presentations and even publish them right to the web.

Ideal for learners who can't afford commercial software.

Visit http://280slides.com/index.php to find out more.

ShoutOmatic: Audible Shout-Outs: Stop Typing, Start Shouting!

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:16:58 +0100

The ShoutOmatic platform lets Practitioners, Learners and other Stakeholders record short messages ("shouts") straight from their desktops and smartphones, and have them instantly delivered to others.
These short "shouts" can be used in so many different ways, within the learning environment,in a more personalised way than faceless emails, texts, tweets etc.

"Shouts" are particularly suitable for educational use since they all come with their very own QR codes; providing alternative communication channels.

Many Learning providers use QR Codes for Educational Treasure Hunts, getting their learners, using their mobile devices, to learn. How about an induction tour?

Visit http://shoutomatic.com/ to sign up and try it out.

Twijector

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:30:48 +0100

Twitter is normally used to update statuses and share activity updates with friends. Twijector allows Twitter users to hold text conferences.

Twijector is a free to use web service providing a wall that can gather public tweets with a particular hashtag.

Choose a custom hashtag and ask your colleagues/learners/stakeholders to tweet with it. The wall will then show all the public tweets containing that unique hashtag. Options provided by the application include blocking certain users and using the filter for inappropriate words.

Use Twijector at http://twijector.com/.

DROPitTOme - Securely receive files from anyone to your Dropbox

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:57:39 +0100

Ever wish you could easily receive big files from anyone?
Now you can - together with Dropbox you can setup an unique upload address with password protection for FREE. DROPitTOme is your one stop solution when email is just not enough.

DROPitTOme is a free service that works with Drop Box to allow learners to upload files to your Drop Box account without giving them access to the contents of your Drop Box account.

Ideal for WBL/ACL learners, Learning providers without VLEs etc.

Visit http://www.dropitto.me/ to find out more.

Students Love Technology

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:19:26 +0100

While it's no secret that learners are addicted to technology, the specifics of their gadget usage have never been studied scientifically - until now.

Are learning providers using New and Emerging Technologies (uNET)?

Visit http://www.onlineeducation.net/students-love-tech to take a look.

Pollowers - Twitter polls

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:52:02 +0100

Pollowers: Poll your followers. A tweet is a poll. Twitter polls.

Needs some planning to ensure that the poll is posted when followers are likely to respond. Practitioners could find it useful to use with learners and/or at events etc.

Visit http://www.pollowers.com/ to find out more and/or to try it out.

Wunderlist | Task Management At Its Best

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:40:38 +0100

"Organize your life with Wunderlist, a free and easy-to-use Task Manager"...

Wunderlist is a simple task manager that works on the web or on a user’s PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android phone. A users list follows them and stays synced across all their devices, and they can even share their to-do list with the Wunderlist via URL or Twitter. Ideal for "Team Collaboration"

Find out more by visiting http://www.wunderlist.com/account.

Verifiable signatures online

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:55:24 +0100

I'll start by quoting from...

Guidance Note 7 - Published 11 April 2011
Skills Funding Agency-P-110031

"Electronic Records
80. Providers must retain a robust and reliable form of evidence to support funding claims including evidence of learner existence, eligibility, and achievement. From 1 August 2011, providers will be able to hold evidence in electronic format. This may include holding data on electronic platforms and in scanned format, including learner signatures."

This is still open to some interpretation and I'm aware that my Work-based Learning Colleagues are awaiting clarification that this means digital signatures, not just scanned hand-signed documents.

In the meantime I don't claim to be an expert in the "Work-based Learning" (WBL) Sector but I do know that electronic signatures from Learners, Assessors, Employers and Verifiers are often the centre of quite heated discussions.

As with most technologies, it is important to identify...

the current practice you would like to enhance and/or
the things you would like to do but currently can't.

When this is clear, it is the time to look at potential solutions; that way you can ensure any new technologies adopted will meet your requirements.

From listening to the ~~arguments~~ discussions the benefits looked for are...

To give and get verifiable signatures online; providing the ability to sign on a browser, smart-phone or tablet etc.

To provide an audit trail for any "WBL Records"; improving accountability.

Save time & money

Sustainable; save paper, ink, fuel, and is affordable.

Secure; and

Legal; signatures are valid and binding (Here in the UK, see the 2004 Electronics Act)

Take a look at the two potential solutions, that I've looked at, which address the benefits listed above, by visiting...

Signnow at https://signnow.com/; and
Vignature at http://www.vignature.com/.

Do let us know if you decide to pilot either or if there are others worth looking at.

Criminal Background Checks

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:50:21 +0100

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was set up to allow employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors to run a background check on all job applicants whom they might be considering offering work to.

The Safe Workers Website looks at...

how it is necessary to undertake a criminal background check on potential employees in order to protect the most vulnerable sectors of society;

how the information is gathered and what it is used for.

It also covers...

Benefits to the Candidate; and

Data Protection Issues.

Read the full article at http://www.safeworkers.co.uk/CriminalBackgroundChecks.html.