Bookboon is a free to use website that lets visitors download eBooks, in PDF format. The eBooks are categorized either as...

• textbooks;
• books for business; or
• books for travel.

Visitors can begin their searches by entering in a keyword and having the results displayed; they can also choose the category of books and optionally change the language of the website since it supports multiple languages.
Note: Search results can be filtered through subcategories in the left pane.
All the books can be down...
Continue reading ...

Help spread the word about great resources available to students, academics and researchers from JISC Content http://bit.ly/rbzyHF.

Continue reading ...

Lecturer of Earth Sciences, eLeader and PDA, Moodle Teacher Certified, Mark Rollins, has published an illustrated guide that those new to Moodle 2.0 will find useful.

Take a closer look at http://issuu.com/muppetmasteruk/docs/moodle2cover.

or the embedded version below...

Continue reading ...

May's Senior Manager Newsletter is embedded below and/or available at http://issuu.com/jiscrscnw/docs/rscnwsmmay2011.

Continue reading ...

May's eLearning Focus Newsletter is embedded below and/or available at http://issuu.com/jiscrscnw/docs/lpaprilmay2011.

Continue reading ...

The Equality Act 2010 replaces the previous antidiscrimination laws with a single Act. It simplifies the law, removing inconsistencies and making it easier for people to understand and comply with it. It also strengthens the law in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality.

This quick start guide is intended to help employers understand how they can use new positive action provisions to improve diversity in their workforce when recruiting and promoting candidates.

The ...

Continue reading ...

It doesn't matter if you're new to Twitter or a seasoned Tweeter, there's much more to it than many think.

Visit http://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-glossary to access the Official Twitter Glossary which holds literally every thing users can do on Twitter… from # to z.

The glossary contains "lingo" and vocabulary used frequently to talk about features and aspects of the Twitter service.

Continue reading ...

The latest publication of our Newsletter is now available online.

Access this interactive version at http://vol10iss1.notlong.com.

Continue reading ...

You're at home. You need to access a file that has important information, but as you attempt to find the file you realize that you've made a mistake. You saved the work on your desktop computer, but you only have your laptop with you. You have no way to access the file.

Enter Dropbox.

This program acts as a "magic pocket" which is always available and contains whatever you place in it. Put a file into your Dropbox and it can be on all of your computers and mobile devic...

Continue reading ...

A Parents' Guide to facebook is designed to help parents/guardians/carers etc....

• understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely;

• become better informed; and
  

• to communicate with young Facebook users more effectively.
  

This is important because...

• if something goes wrong, we want children to come to us; and
  

• as the Internet becomes increasingly social and mobile, such guidance and support are ever more key to young people's well-being in social media and technolo...

Continue reading ...

I missed these when they were published in September - the release of the Harnessing Technology Surveys for Adult and Community Learning (ACL) and Offender Learning (OL) provides data and findings from research conducted on behalf of Becta by NIACE in November and December 2009.

Read the full article and access the downloads at http://research.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_be_03&rid=18006.

Continue reading ...

I've heard my colleagues, Keith (our Technical Adviser) in particular, discussing learning provider network managers who are engaged with virtualisation projects; I'm aware that it's very important to their ICT infrastructure; the reasons given for this include...

• cutting carbon emissions;
• improving network reliability and service levels;
• managing their workload; and/or
• reducing costs;

But...

• What's the difference is between server virtualisation and desktop virtualisation? and
  
...

Continue reading ...

– demand, perceptions and training needs

This publication is the end product from HEFCE who commissioned the National Union of Students to undertake research into the demand, perceptions and training needs of students in both further and higher education.

"Section 184. Lecturers and staff have widely varying levels of ICT competence.

- One common area of concern for both those who took part in the survey and the discussions was the varying levels of ICT competence on the...

Continue reading ...

How many of you are old enough to remember reel-to reel cassette tapes and the floppy disk, which was then such great device to transfer files from one computer to another?

When the USB flash drive came out, storing so much more than 1.44MB of files, I, and many of my colleagues, were blown away.

Today Flash drives are not just about storing files: they can be used to run programs and even entire operating systems.

In MakeUseOf’s latest free PDF guide “The Office Workers Guide T...

Continue reading ...

Onlignment, has put a marker in the sand by developing their own set of rules for better online meetings, based on the best practice that they have been able to glean from around the world and from their own experiences as a virtual team. The result...

Visit http://onlignment.com/online-meetings-a-facilitators-guide/, click on the link to download it – it's free.

Onlignment would like to know how you get along with their e-book, whether th...

Continue reading ...

"A massive thank‐you must be extended to the education community on twitter, with out whom this book couldn’t have happened."

The PGCE Survival Guide, edited by Tim Handley, a recent PGCE graduate from the university of East Anglia and illustrated by Helen Morgan, is full of useful and practical, hints, tips and advice from recent PGCE graduates and more experienced teachers; the publication covers every  element  of teacher training, from the first day with the learning pr...

Continue reading ...

"Driving UK Research - Is copyright a help or a hindrance - A perspective from the research community" has been published by the British Library.

The document includes a call for...

"an extension to fair dealing provisions under UK copyright law to bring them into line with fair use doctrine in the US."

The document, which will be of interest to all those working in FE and HE, can be accessed in pdf format on the British Library website at - http://www.bl.uk/ip/pdf/dri...

Continue reading ...

JISC Legal release copyright advice on lecture recording

The paper from JISC Legal regarding rights issues and lecture recordings is now available to download from their website.

The document outlines and discusses all of the rights that are generated in a lecture recording, such as...

• performance rights;
  
• recordists' rights; and
  
• the rights of the intellectual property of the content.
  

The section on copyright exceptions and interpretation of the law in this area is interesting. I ha...

Continue reading ...

IT Professionals: Getting started with Microsoft Office 2010

This publication provides an overview of the Microsoft Office 2010 suites and information about how to get started.

Aimed at IT pros and help desk technicians who need to provide training and support to those moving to the new version of Office; equally useful for anyone who uses Office.

• what's new, changed, and removed in Office.
  
• how to...
  • migrate data, 
  • use the new features, and
    
  • ensure compatibility between versions. ...

Continue reading ...

I seemed to have missed the "First Look Microsoft Office 2010 by Katherine Murray" which was released back in January.

Contents:

• Introduction
  •  The Road to Office 2010
    • Who Uses Office 2010?
    • What's in Microsoft 2010?
    • Office 2010 System Requirements
    • What you'll Find in First Look: Microsoft Office 2010
• Part I: Envision the Possibilities
• Part II: Hit the Ground Running
• Part III: Nest steps with Office 2010
• Resources

Visit http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2010/01/20/free-ebook-...
Continue reading ...

The latest eMagazine Supplement is available at http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/eMagArchive/RSCeMag0910/SafeguardingRevisited/index.html and can be downloaded from the zipped eXe Library at http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/ZippedeXeLibrary/zippedeXelibrary.htm;

Continue reading ...

To add to MakeUseOf’s excellent PDF publication collection, Bakari Chavanu from Mac Photography Tips has produced an 8000+ word, 59 page PDF eBook. The Essential Guide To Digital Photography is full of useful information for all type of photographers – from beginners to advanced photographers.

There is information about:

• The different types of digital cameras to choose from
• What digital camera is right for you
• What to look for when buying your digital camera
• Accessories that you should h...

Continue reading ...

A new study, conducted by Finland's Turku University, of 2,215 teenagers aged 13-16 found that victims of cyberbullying experienced physical, psychological and behavioral problems including...

• frequent headaches,
  
• persistent stomach pains,
  
• problems sleeping, and
  
• trouble getting along with their peers.
  

Cyberbullying victims were also apparently less likely to be living with both biological parents.

On the flip side, actual cyberbullies themselves reported similar emotional and beha...

Continue reading ...

The majority of us probably have at least one email account, and some of may even have 2, 3, 4, or even more than that. Email – has changed most of our lives; I hear some of you muttering...

"...and not for the better!".

email is used everyday...

• for work;
  
• for communication with learners; or
  
• during our personal lives.
  

The question is, what email provider is best for you?

Gmail seems to be the preferred choice for many and MakeUseOf's latest publication "Ultimate Guide To ...

Continue reading ...

Paul Andrews' Moodle Tools Guide for Teachers - An excellent single A4 sheet, printable guide, which outlines how all of Moodle's tools can be used.

Visit http://pauls-elearning-resources.blogspot.com/2010/05/moodle-guides-google-wave-video-added.html to download or
http://sites.google.com/site/technologyenhancedlearning/moodle to find more of Paul's Moodle resources.
Continue reading ...

This Electronic Training Needs Analysis publication, from RSC Scotland North and East, provides a window on Further Education in Scotland.

Presenting valuable strategic information to decision-makers within colleges and universities, it is also a publication that external agencies and organisations interested in tertiary education should read. Although targeting FE in Scotland, the publication should be a "must read" for decision-makers across the UK.

ETNA, published in April 2010, is ...

Continue reading ...

Functional Skills, a 16-page A4 supplement, was published in association with the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) alongside the February 2010, edition of SecEd.

This supplement offers support and resources to all those working to implement the new Functional Skills qualifications in...

• English;
• mathematics; and
• ICT within the four learning pathways –
  
  • GCSEs;
  • Diplomas;
  • Apprenticeships; and
  • Foundation Learning.

In September 2010, the full Functional Skills qualific...

Continue reading ...

For those of you interested in Cloud Computing and Security, the Cloud Security Alliance has just published a “Top Threats to Cloud Computing” paper.

The purpose of this document, Top Threats to Cloud Computing, is to provide needed context to assist organizations in making educated risk management decisions regarding their cloud adoption strategies. In essence, this threat research document should be seen as a companion to Security Guidance for Critical Areas in Cloud Computing. The “T...

Continue reading ...

Silvia Tolisano has published a free eBook about digital storytelling.

Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators is a 120 page guide to using digital storytelling tools in teaching and learning.

The guide offers clear directions for using tools like...

• Audacity;
• Google Maps;
• Photo Story;
• VoiceThread; and
• other digital media creation tools.

The CPD content is aided by clearly annotated screenshots of each digital storytelling tool.

Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators also provides a...

Continue reading ...

Ex Curricula is the final report of a year-long Demos research project on children and young people’s disengagement from education.

The work was funded by the Private Equity Foundation.

The report is based on research including...

• desk-based literature review;
• conversations with charities and organisations working with children and young people on the issues covered in this paper;
• a panel of practitioners working with children and young people who discussed with us the symptoms a...

Continue reading ...

The COI (Central Office of Information) for the Government have produced an excellent, and easy-to-read, set of usability guidelines for creating usable website in the public sector.

The COI Usability Toolkit includes technical and design advice, as well as some very good pointers towards writing effective web content.

If you are involved in a Learning Provider Website Project – whether it’s external for the public, or just internal for learners and staff, it is a very worthwhile rea...

Continue reading ...

The Digital Storytelling Teacher Guide is a free twenty-eight page eBook produced by Microsoft.

The guide...

• outlines the basics of digital storytelling;
• offers ideas for digital storytelling projects for all grade levels; and
• provides examples of digital storytelling projects.

Microsoft's Digital Storytelling Teacher Guide also offers instruction for using Windows Movie Maker and Photo Story in the classroom.

Even if Windows Movie Maker or Photo Story are not used, much of this Guide...

Continue reading ...

After many false starts, the universe of digital books is poised to expand dramatically.

An expansion that should perhaps be viewed with both excitement and wariness.

Excitement because digital books could...

• revolutionize reading;
• make more books...
  • findable; and
  • more accessible...
    to more people in more ways than ever before.

Wariness because the various entities that will help make this digital book revolution possible may not always respect the rights and expectations that.....

Continue reading ...

The huge potential of mobile social networks lets us imagine the enormous benefits that everyone could get from...

• the integration of mobility;
• always-on connectivity; and
• social networking services.

Such realities could be a great advantage for...

• lifelong learning;
• community living; and
• knowledge-sharing but...

...as boundaries between public and private spaces will blur, new risk scenarios will emerge.

Companies should assure that their staff members understand and explicitly accep...

Continue reading ...

It is no longer good enough to maintain the skills of learners with learning disabilities.Post-19 Practitioners have to show that learners are progressing .

There is no doubt that this has stopped the issue of the 'perpetual learners' returning to learning providers year after year but it has also limited the learning provision for some learners.

NIACE has commented on this report in which it was found that nearly one-in-five (19 per cent) of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded lea...

Continue reading ...

Security and protection from lawsuits are two of the most common concerns that Learning Providers have regarding student use of cloud-based web services.

I've heard from more than one manager, practitioner etc., "We can't use Google because then we can't archive email." and "Google will steal data"; both of those statements are false.

Google has published a short whitepaper designed to address the security concerns of learning providers. The next time you are questioned about the safety...

Continue reading ...

Microsoft is making sure that IT Professionals and developers can access information that will help them embrace Microsoft’s latest release of desktop and server operating system.

The Redmond company has released two ebooks, that are available for free download, focused on...

Windows 7 <http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=EE2A1D38-88A9-43B3-95BC-7E962F0B6030&displaylang=en>

...combines selected chapters written by industry experts Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jer...
Continue reading ...

This publication has been created by Doug Belshaw and other teachers using Twitter. Contributors were invited to share teaching tips, ideas and suggestions in 140 characters using a special tag.

All tweets have now been collated and the resulting valuable resource, for new and experienced teachers, is now available to download or buy.

The PDF is available for free download at http://www.lulu.com/product/download/%23movemeon-2009/6170010,

The book is available from http://www.lulu.com/con...

Continue reading ...

An incredible amount of practitioners and learners have very little knowledge of internet searching. They don’t know how to formulate queries, instead they just ‘ask’ questions to the mighty Google.

These same people have no idea how many different content-specific search engines there are, and what they can do with the right bookmarks at their disposal.

For these people – and for everyone else who wants to be more productive and get to know some of the incredible new search engine...

Continue reading ...

Continue reading ...

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. They also protect the interests of people whose rights have been restricted under the Mental Health Act.

They have published a five year plan outlining how they will drive up standards on behalf of people with learning disabilities. This has been published in response to an inpatient review published on16 December 2009.

One interesting statistic within the document is that ...

Continue reading ...

Learning Providers do not have time for pages and pages of jargon and gobbledegook, but getting data protection right makes good 'business sense'. Data protection lapses cost reputations and can affect the bottom line. But, many Learning Providers feel that data protection law is difficult to comprehend. This new guide will assist them to understand and comply with the law.

The publication is definitely written in plain English and there are many specific examples which are useful to help u...

Continue reading ...

Understanding the Need of Mobile ICT Learning as an Elderly Learning Tool - this paper by Lam¹ and W. Chung² (1 Oxford University, Oxford, UK
2 Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong), unlike most existing research, seeks to throw light on the use of mobile technologies for elderly learners rather than school or college students. 

The study indicates that elderly people are interested in using mobile devices and services, but these services need to deliver real value for them.

Read the ful...

Continue reading ...

Schools and Parents: A New Partnership, is a research report, conducted with over 2,000 parents and 1,000 teachers explores what motivates, and hinders, successful parental engagement to benefit the child, parents and schools. 

It can be downloaded from http://www.nextgenerationlearning.org.uk/Global/Schools%20and%20parents%20-%20a%20new%20partnership%20A4.pdf. 

Parents as partners in learning, another booklet from Becta, has been developed to provide schools and headteachers with inform...
Continue reading ...

This publication sets out how Government investment for 2010-11 will support further education and skills training for post 19 learners.

The funding will be routed through the Skills Funding Agency and enable the delivery of increased Advanced Apprenticeships places to support the creation of a new technician class central to our economic recovery and future growth, whilst continuing to support those currently seeking sustained employment as part of the Government’s Real Help Now initia...

Continue reading ...

The latest edition of the JISC RSC Scotland e-quality bulletin is now available to download.

The newsletter features a wide variety of articles on subjects from communicating with symbols to creating accessible PowerPoint slides.

Find out more, access archived publications and/or download the latest edition at http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/publications.php#e_quality_newsletter_winter_2009. 

Continue reading ...

On Guard Online offers a fifty-four page PDF guide to talking with kids about being online.

Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online offers numerous suggestions for having conversations with learners about online behaviors.

The guide offers differentiated suggestions based upon the age of the children with which you're talking. Net Cetera covers topics including...

• social networking,
• cyberbullying,
• sexting,
• mobile devices,
• peer-to-peer file sharing, and
• online privacy.

To do...
Continue reading ...

The NIACE website has free resources to help providers and practitioners in supporting learners with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities;

The resources consist of...

• a series of case studies - highlighting practical examples of providers with a wealth of experience in supporting learners with learning difficulties and disabilities in work-based learning
• seven briefing sheets - each highlighting a particular learning difficulty or disability, explaining how it may affect learne...

Continue reading ...

This publication is designed to alert employers to impending changes within the education system that aim to see more people with learning difficulties and disabilities employed.

This publication aims to publicise the aims of the LSC strategy and encourage employers across all sectors to play a part in ensuring that disabled people have a positive start to their working lives.

It suggests ways employers can do this by:

• offering work experience opportunities and nominating mentors to s...

Continue reading ...

'The Impact of Mobile Technologies: Examining what it means for teaching and learning'.

A report that summarises Phase one of MoLeNET projects.

Molenet 1 involved approximately...

• 2,000 staff and
• 10,000 learners,

...spread across 32 mobile learning projects; this produced many examples of good practice and "lessons learned", all of which are included in the report.

“Handheld technologies used included...

• personal digital assistants (PDAs),
• mobile phones,
• smartphones,
• M...

Continue reading ...

A strategy for young people’s information, advice and guidance.
A 52 page publication that all involved in the education of children should be aware of.

The document outlines even more initiatives to be included in the curriculum. It identifies issues that most are taking on board or have had as part of their Careers responsibilities for some time. It talks about the need to help young adults to be aware of the opportunities available to them and repeatedly encourages practitioners, par...

Continue reading ...

Haven’t got a Google Wave invite yet? Don’t worry. Sooner or later you will get it.

Meanwhile get yourself acquainted with Wave by reading “The Complete Guide to Google Wave” written by Gina Trapani with Adam Pash.

Currently the guide is available online for free at http://completewaveguide.com/guide/The_Complete_Guide_to_Google_Wave. It features eight chapters and two appendices, but it is going to expand as Google Wave develops. In January 2010 a PDF and print version of the b...

Continue reading ...

In fourty illustrated pages, Will Mueller < http://willm.me/ > tells readers all they need to know about...

• free internet listening to music,
• streaming audio to your computer, and
• free download music sites to get all your favorite songs and albums in a whim.

Learn how to...

• share music with others and
• track a band’s performance and album releases!

Download the Internet Music Guidebook, now in PDF, and/or read it online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/21698803/MakeUseOf-com-The-Internet...

Continue reading ...

A 'Review of Modern Foreign Languages provision in higher education in England' by Professor Michael Worton has been published.

The review, commissioned by HEFCE in response to concerns about falling student numbers and the reduction in provision, was carried out in a personal capacity by Professor Michael Worton, Vice-Provost, University College London. Drawing on a range of data, it surveys current trends and makes recommendations to...

• university language departments,
• university senior ...

Continue reading ...

If you have felt like trying tweeting but didn’t know where to start, this publication is for you.

It’s important to know the tools you are working with, and the reach of this innovative technology.

MakeUseOf has produced a PDF manual, filled with Twitter-knowhow.

"In over forty pages, MakeUseOf's publishing editor Mark O’Neill, tackles Twitter's features and provides tips-n-tricks. Learn to...

• work the interface,
• Tweet from your desktop etc.

With this free publication, Mark...

Continue reading ...

This publication is from Richard Byrne, author of Free Technology for Teachers that I've previously included in eMagazines, blogs etc..

Contents include...

• Creating Documents and Presentations
• Communicating with Learners (and Parents)
• Places to Create Collaborative Projects and Alternatives to YouTube

The guide is designed to provide practitioners with a selection of tools that can be used in most classroom settings regardless of content area. All the resources are 100% free for teachers. ...

Continue reading ...

Edutopia has created a new guide - Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media.

A free PDF for download offering some very solid advice. If you are beginning to explore the uses of social media in teaching & learning, this guide is well worth downloading.

If you're in an ILT/eLearning leadership role, this guide is worth distributing to colleagues.

Find out more and or download the pdf at http://www.edutopia.org/node/6660/done?sid=116759.

Continue reading ...

The Health and Safety Executive is making some of its publications available for free in pdf format.
Initially...

• HSG (guidance) and
• L (legal)

...series are available, and we are informed more publications will be added in future.

Visit http://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/home.jsf.

Continue reading ...

Sacha Chua has created an excellent presentation which you can view in her blog.

In the slideshow Sacha shares that she is an introvert and offers advice to other shy people on how to network.

The advice she shares could be used by learners that struggle with shyness preventing them from making connections at work and when in a learning environment.

To view Sacha's blog entry go to http://sachachua.com/wp/2009/08/11/the-shy-connector-thinking-out-loud/.

Continue reading ...

'Getting Started with Second Life' is a new JISC guide written by teachers for teachers who are interested in using virtual worlds as part of their teaching. 

The aim of the guide is to...

• present the basics of getting started in Second Life,
• allow teachers to experiment with Second Life.

The guide answers a range of the most common questions as well as providing examples of how teachers are using Second Life to support their learners.

To find out more and/or to download, ...
Continue reading ...