Task 5 - Select, try and review an online learning tool
After watching several screencasts while completing the previous tasks I became interested in exploring how they were created, so the screencast became my tool of choice for this task. I had a quick look at CamStudio before deciding to download and trial Jing from Techsmith instead. Techsmith has a much more professional website with a number of tutorials that clearly demonstrate how to use their products.
One thing not mentioned in the Jing tutorials is the need to download Microsoft.net if it is not already installed on your computer along with Jing (and presumably the other Techsmith products too). From what I can determine Microsoft.net is a software development framework which includes a library of objects required by some software to execute, but don't quote me on that! Suffice to say it is quite safe to download (thanks to my computer science undergraduate son for that assurance!).
Jing itself is very easy to use. It presents on the desktop as a sun in the centre top edge of the screen, but can be moved to other positions along the periphery. Placing the mouse on the sun causes three mini suns to extend, the first labelled Capture, the second History and the third More. Selecting Capture turns the mouse into a crosshair which enables you to frame the material you wish to capture in the screencast, in a similar way to the crop tool during picture editing. A menu appears underneath your selection enabling you to begin your capture as either a still shot or a video, the latter with original sound and/or voiceover if you wish.You can pause your video capture or mute it at any time during the maximum five minutes recording time allowed. On completion of your capture you may share it via Screencast.com or save it to your PC. If you choose to save it, it is
possible to upload it at a later time by logging in to your
Screencast.com account (required when setting up Jing).
If your capture is a still image a toolbar popup on the lefthand side of the frame provides editing options including highlighting, text boxes and arrows, with a variety of fonts, sizes and colours available. Jing saves images as .PNG files and videos as .SWF files. The pro version of Jing saves videos in the more user-friendly MP4 format but that has now been discontinued in favour of Snagit, another screencast tool available for purchase or free for a short trial period.
I experimented with Jing to create photo screencasts, annotated notes, edited movie videos and a short Excel tutorial, all very easily. I think Jing is a brilliant little tool for short instructional videos, even if it's just giving someone directions to a particular location. Apparently lots of other people agree as Jing continually pops up on internet searches as one of the most popular free screencasting tools available.
Below are the links to a few of my screencasts:
http://screencast.com/t/MN3jgpHAsZOm
http://www.screencast.com/users/yvonne15/folders/Default/media/6567d63f-50fb-4041-aa37-c736e9984b50
http://screencast.com/t/Zlyea6FMeaG
http://screencast.com/t/dzoo8h7x
I enjoyed trialling Jing. It creates a basic screencast quickly and easily, and I do like the quirky sun icon concept!
Monday, 29 April 2013
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Online Learning Tools - All you need is You!
Task 4 - Five unofficial websites that offer free online lessons or courses just for fun
1. How to ... line dance
http://www.howcast.com/guides/688-How-to-Line-Dance
Just how easy would it be to learn to line dance online? When I came across country dance champion Robert Royston's series of 37 instructional videos I thought I would give it a try.
First up I was disappointed that the videos wouldn't play on my iPad, but when I transferred to my PC I had no problems. Trying again I have found that they will play if I load them via YouTube, for some reason. These videos are part of the Howcast series, and yes, there is a Howcast app, but as I cannot locate these videos (or any others for that matter), via its search tool I'm not sure how useful it will be.
Back to viewing via my PC, I like that you can tick a box to call up the next video automatically when the previous one finishes, as that saved me time and led to a continuity with the lessons. Robert obviously knows his dancing well and presents his lessons in an easy-to-follow way, commencing with some theory of music and line dancing before moving on to the practical side. Robert is an American so there is an American bias to the teaching and some of the terminology. There are ads at the start of some videos but not all, and they may be skipped after an intro interval so I didn't find them too annoying.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 stars
Level - Beginner to easy intermediate
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 stars
2. How to ... write macros in visual basic for applications
http://www.wiseowl.co.uk/blog/s161/online-excel-vba-training.htm
It's probably a bit sad to want to learn more about visual basic programming in your spare time isn't it?! Nevertheless I thought I would spend a little time doing exactly that and stumbled across the WiseOwl website.
This website is very well laid out, with clear main headings above boxes naming each tutorial on the left with the corresponding skill taught on the right. Once you choose a tutorial the new page which opens contains all the tutorials in a list allowing you to drop down to the next tutorial easily as you progress. The lessons themselves are well-structured and relatively easy to follow, and even include a sample spreadsheet to enable you to practice as you go. With the tutorials displayed in a blog format there is also the opportunity to post comments or ask for assistance from the author or the community.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 5 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Intermediate
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars
3. How to ... research your family history
https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
Being an amateur genealogist I thought I would look for lessons to extend my research skills and came across this site which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. The Learning Center home page is very simple with a box of search choices on the left and some suggested courses in the main body of the page.
The lessons on this site are drawn from many organisations, as well as the LDS. The few that I watched were very comprehensive, clear and easy to understand, whether in a video format, a video format with slides, or audio format. Some lessons include a course handout in the form of a PDF, which I think is a nice touch.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 1/2 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 1/2 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Beginner through to Advanced
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars
4. How to ... speak italian
http://www.italianpod101.com/
It took me some time to identify a learn to speak Italian website that seemed to be free and easy to use but Italian101 almost meets those requirements. A 7 day free trial provides access to all the features of the site initially but when it expires you will need at least a basic subscription at a cost of $4 per month to access any furthur lessons at a particular level, although the site publishes several new lessons each week and these are still accessible for free, along with the word of the day.
Some lessons are provided in video format, others in audio as an MP3; both are downloadable. There are a variety of supporting materials also provided depending on your level of subscription. I found all the different presenters easy to listen to and understand, and I liked that I could choose whether I wanted to learn some conversational Italian or choose a certain category of words, for example, fruit. I have had fun exploring the website and picking up some Italian words along the way. Ciao!
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Absolute beginner through to Advanced
Recommend to friend or colleague - 3 1/2 stars because to gain the most from the site probably requires a subscription
5. How to ... make a quilt
http://www.howcast.com/videos/507534-How-to-Design-a-Quilt-Quilting-for-Beginners
I was inspired to find out how to begin quilting after a work colleague brought in the beautiful quilt she had just completed for her baby grandson a couple of days ago. After looking at numerous websites, some of which had reams of written instructions, I ended up back at Howcast working my way through a series of 33 videos on quilting basics by Cathy Izzo.
Cathy's videos are very thorough, almost labouring the point a little at times, but she makes the whole process of creating a quilt from scratch seem very manageable. Although this is a beginner's guide she introduces some techniques designed to give your quilt a professional look, and tossing in a few handy tips along the way. For practical applications I think video demonstrations are far superior to trying to interpret written instructions so I would definitely recommend this series to any aspiring quilters. Shame about the ads at the start of each video though.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 1/2 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 stars
Level - Beginner
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars- just ignore those ads
This has been a fun task and has left me wishing I had more free time to follow my new-found interests. Roll on retirement!
1. How to ... line dance
http://www.howcast.com/guides/688-How-to-Line-Dance
Just how easy would it be to learn to line dance online? When I came across country dance champion Robert Royston's series of 37 instructional videos I thought I would give it a try.
First up I was disappointed that the videos wouldn't play on my iPad, but when I transferred to my PC I had no problems. Trying again I have found that they will play if I load them via YouTube, for some reason. These videos are part of the Howcast series, and yes, there is a Howcast app, but as I cannot locate these videos (or any others for that matter), via its search tool I'm not sure how useful it will be.
Back to viewing via my PC, I like that you can tick a box to call up the next video automatically when the previous one finishes, as that saved me time and led to a continuity with the lessons. Robert obviously knows his dancing well and presents his lessons in an easy-to-follow way, commencing with some theory of music and line dancing before moving on to the practical side. Robert is an American so there is an American bias to the teaching and some of the terminology. There are ads at the start of some videos but not all, and they may be skipped after an intro interval so I didn't find them too annoying.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 stars
Level - Beginner to easy intermediate
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 stars
2. How to ... write macros in visual basic for applications
http://www.wiseowl.co.uk/blog/s161/online-excel-vba-training.htm
It's probably a bit sad to want to learn more about visual basic programming in your spare time isn't it?! Nevertheless I thought I would spend a little time doing exactly that and stumbled across the WiseOwl website.
This website is very well laid out, with clear main headings above boxes naming each tutorial on the left with the corresponding skill taught on the right. Once you choose a tutorial the new page which opens contains all the tutorials in a list allowing you to drop down to the next tutorial easily as you progress. The lessons themselves are well-structured and relatively easy to follow, and even include a sample spreadsheet to enable you to practice as you go. With the tutorials displayed in a blog format there is also the opportunity to post comments or ask for assistance from the author or the community.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 5 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Intermediate
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars
3. How to ... research your family history
https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
Being an amateur genealogist I thought I would look for lessons to extend my research skills and came across this site which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. The Learning Center home page is very simple with a box of search choices on the left and some suggested courses in the main body of the page.
The lessons on this site are drawn from many organisations, as well as the LDS. The few that I watched were very comprehensive, clear and easy to understand, whether in a video format, a video format with slides, or audio format. Some lessons include a course handout in the form of a PDF, which I think is a nice touch.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 1/2 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 1/2 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Beginner through to Advanced
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars
4. How to ... speak italian
http://www.italianpod101.com/
It took me some time to identify a learn to speak Italian website that seemed to be free and easy to use but Italian101 almost meets those requirements. A 7 day free trial provides access to all the features of the site initially but when it expires you will need at least a basic subscription at a cost of $4 per month to access any furthur lessons at a particular level, although the site publishes several new lessons each week and these are still accessible for free, along with the word of the day.
Some lessons are provided in video format, others in audio as an MP3; both are downloadable. There are a variety of supporting materials also provided depending on your level of subscription. I found all the different presenters easy to listen to and understand, and I liked that I could choose whether I wanted to learn some conversational Italian or choose a certain category of words, for example, fruit. I have had fun exploring the website and picking up some Italian words along the way. Ciao!
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 1/2 stars
Level - Absolute beginner through to Advanced
Recommend to friend or colleague - 3 1/2 stars because to gain the most from the site probably requires a subscription
5. How to ... make a quilt
http://www.howcast.com/videos/507534-How-to-Design-a-Quilt-Quilting-for-Beginners
I was inspired to find out how to begin quilting after a work colleague brought in the beautiful quilt she had just completed for her baby grandson a couple of days ago. After looking at numerous websites, some of which had reams of written instructions, I ended up back at Howcast working my way through a series of 33 videos on quilting basics by Cathy Izzo.
Cathy's videos are very thorough, almost labouring the point a little at times, but she makes the whole process of creating a quilt from scratch seem very manageable. Although this is a beginner's guide she introduces some techniques designed to give your quilt a professional look, and tossing in a few handy tips along the way. For practical applications I think video demonstrations are far superior to trying to interpret written instructions so I would definitely recommend this series to any aspiring quilters. Shame about the ads at the start of each video though.
My ratings:
Website layout - lessons easy to find and progress through - 4 1/2 stars
Engaging and interesting lessons - 4 stars
Coverage of the topic - 4 stars
Level - Beginner
Recommend to friend or colleague - 4 1/2 stars- just ignore those ads
This has been a fun task and has left me wishing I had more free time to follow my new-found interests. Roll on retirement!
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Accredited Online Courses - How to earn a real qualification without leaving home
Task 3 - Five accredited online courses to keep the study withdrawal symptoms at bay after graduation
Well, where to start? There are a number of courses out there that would be invaluable in supporting my library career, each branching out in a slightly different direction but all equally valuable in increasing my knowledge base and skill set. The five that have most caught my attention are outlined below, in no particular order as I think I would find it quite difficult to choose between them at this stage!
Bachelor of Information Studies - Charles Sturt University
http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/undergraduate/information_studies/course-overview#.UTGmRjcfi8w
Designed for careers in all areas of information services, this course offers the opportunity to specialise in either Librarianship, Information and Knowledge Management, or Records and Archives Management and consequently is recognised by ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association), ASA (the Australian Society of Archivists) and RIMPA (Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia). It requires the completion of 16 core subjects followed by either 8 subjects from a particular specialist area plus 2 free electives from any area for a specialised degree, or a selection from all areas for a general BIS degree. There is also the option of exiting at a University Certificate or Associate Degree level.
The core subjects sound very interesting with units such as Web Publishing and The Digital Environment but it is the areas of specialisation which are the drawcard of this course for me. The Librarianship stream includes literature, children and youth studies, preservation, and social networking amongst its offerings, the Information and Knowledge Management branch looks at web design and usability along with data management and retrieval, and the Records and Archives Management units include the management and preservation of records, including historical records, from and for all sectors of the community. I would have trouble choosing between these three streams at the moment, but would base my future decision on whether I see myself remaining in a school environment or pursuing a position which has more of an IT or archival focus.
Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Services) - Edith Cowan University
http://www.ecu.edu.au/future-students/our-courses/overview?id=U67
This course is only given a brief overview online but appears to approach library studies from an IT viewpoint, which I believe is very valuable in a library world which is increasingly IT oriented and focussed. It looks at information literacy, retrieval, organisation and agencies, along with library systems, client services and software, and culminating in an applied IT project. With my leaning towards IT this sounds like an interesting and fun course to undertake, and definitely one which would complement our diploma studies.
This course is recognised by ALIA and may also be recognised by ASA and RIMPA.
Bachelor of Arts (Librarianship and Corporate Information Management) - Curtin University
https://www.open.edu.au/courses/arts/curtin-university-bachelor-of-arts-librarianship-and-corporate-information-management--cur-lib-deg-2013
One of the advantages of this double degree is that it recognises the Diploma of Library/Information Services (within a seven year timeframe) by providing an 8 unit credit towards the 24 units required. I like that it covers both librarianship and records management and archives, thus providing broader empoyment prospects. It is recognised by all three major industry associations.
This course requires the completion of 4 core humanities units followed by 8 LIS (Librarianship) units, 8 LIM (Corporate Information Management) units and 4 electives from any field of study. I would include a couple of IT based subjects in my electives along with two systems based units given the electives currently on offer unfortunately do not include any literature units.
Bachelor of Arts - Griffith University
https://www.open.edu.au/courses/arts/griffith-university-bachelor-of-arts--grf-art-deg-2012
This degree interests me as it is available with a Literature and Composition Major, certainly a useful qualification for a library professional in a school, university or public library. It is possible to exit with a Certificate (8 units) or a Diploma (16 units) instead of completing the 24 units required for the degree.
The Literature and Composition Major requires the completion of 8 units and includes studies in English, American, Irish and Australian literature whilst also exploring literature from ancient, medieval and more recent times in Greece and Europe. The remaining units for the degree can be drawn from a number of disciplines including art history, australian studies, communications, history and politics, sociology and religion. The research skills and knowledge acquired through this course of study would be most useful in supporting other education professionals and students.
Diploma of Education Support - GippsTafe
http://www.open.edu.au/courses/education/gippstafe-diploma-of-education-support--gip-eds-dpl-2013
I chose this course for its relevance to supporting and working with students in a school library environment. It is designed primarily for classroom assistants but the units sound very interesting and relevant to anyone working with children and teens.
The Certicate IV in Education Support is a pre-requisite to the diploma and requires the completion of 9 core units and 6 electives. These units include how to support and facilitate learning for students, including students with disabilities, the supervision of students outside the classroom, and duty of care and other legal responsibilities of working within the school environment. The Diploma consists of 7 core units which build on these foundations, followed by 6 electives which may be drawn from several streams, each with a different focus. I would choose my electives from the Education Work, Education Support Work - Youth Focus, and Literacy and Numeracy electives streams, which together address the fostering of children's development across all areas, supporting and engaging with young people, researching and implementing programs, teamwork, and literacy and numeracy.
Well, where to start? There are a number of courses out there that would be invaluable in supporting my library career, each branching out in a slightly different direction but all equally valuable in increasing my knowledge base and skill set. The five that have most caught my attention are outlined below, in no particular order as I think I would find it quite difficult to choose between them at this stage!
Bachelor of Information Studies - Charles Sturt University
http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/undergraduate/information_studies/course-overview#.UTGmRjcfi8w
Designed for careers in all areas of information services, this course offers the opportunity to specialise in either Librarianship, Information and Knowledge Management, or Records and Archives Management and consequently is recognised by ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association), ASA (the Australian Society of Archivists) and RIMPA (Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia). It requires the completion of 16 core subjects followed by either 8 subjects from a particular specialist area plus 2 free electives from any area for a specialised degree, or a selection from all areas for a general BIS degree. There is also the option of exiting at a University Certificate or Associate Degree level.
The core subjects sound very interesting with units such as Web Publishing and The Digital Environment but it is the areas of specialisation which are the drawcard of this course for me. The Librarianship stream includes literature, children and youth studies, preservation, and social networking amongst its offerings, the Information and Knowledge Management branch looks at web design and usability along with data management and retrieval, and the Records and Archives Management units include the management and preservation of records, including historical records, from and for all sectors of the community. I would have trouble choosing between these three streams at the moment, but would base my future decision on whether I see myself remaining in a school environment or pursuing a position which has more of an IT or archival focus.
Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Services) - Edith Cowan University
http://www.ecu.edu.au/future-students/our-courses/overview?id=U67
This course is only given a brief overview online but appears to approach library studies from an IT viewpoint, which I believe is very valuable in a library world which is increasingly IT oriented and focussed. It looks at information literacy, retrieval, organisation and agencies, along with library systems, client services and software, and culminating in an applied IT project. With my leaning towards IT this sounds like an interesting and fun course to undertake, and definitely one which would complement our diploma studies.
This course is recognised by ALIA and may also be recognised by ASA and RIMPA.
Bachelor of Arts (Librarianship and Corporate Information Management) - Curtin University
https://www.open.edu.au/courses/arts/curtin-university-bachelor-of-arts-librarianship-and-corporate-information-management--cur-lib-deg-2013
One of the advantages of this double degree is that it recognises the Diploma of Library/Information Services (within a seven year timeframe) by providing an 8 unit credit towards the 24 units required. I like that it covers both librarianship and records management and archives, thus providing broader empoyment prospects. It is recognised by all three major industry associations.
This course requires the completion of 4 core humanities units followed by 8 LIS (Librarianship) units, 8 LIM (Corporate Information Management) units and 4 electives from any field of study. I would include a couple of IT based subjects in my electives along with two systems based units given the electives currently on offer unfortunately do not include any literature units.
Bachelor of Arts - Griffith University
https://www.open.edu.au/courses/arts/griffith-university-bachelor-of-arts--grf-art-deg-2012
This degree interests me as it is available with a Literature and Composition Major, certainly a useful qualification for a library professional in a school, university or public library. It is possible to exit with a Certificate (8 units) or a Diploma (16 units) instead of completing the 24 units required for the degree.
The Literature and Composition Major requires the completion of 8 units and includes studies in English, American, Irish and Australian literature whilst also exploring literature from ancient, medieval and more recent times in Greece and Europe. The remaining units for the degree can be drawn from a number of disciplines including art history, australian studies, communications, history and politics, sociology and religion. The research skills and knowledge acquired through this course of study would be most useful in supporting other education professionals and students.
Diploma of Education Support - GippsTafe
http://www.open.edu.au/courses/education/gippstafe-diploma-of-education-support--gip-eds-dpl-2013
I chose this course for its relevance to supporting and working with students in a school library environment. It is designed primarily for classroom assistants but the units sound very interesting and relevant to anyone working with children and teens.
The Certicate IV in Education Support is a pre-requisite to the diploma and requires the completion of 9 core units and 6 electives. These units include how to support and facilitate learning for students, including students with disabilities, the supervision of students outside the classroom, and duty of care and other legal responsibilities of working within the school environment. The Diploma consists of 7 core units which build on these foundations, followed by 6 electives which may be drawn from several streams, each with a different focus. I would choose my electives from the Education Work, Education Support Work - Youth Focus, and Literacy and Numeracy electives streams, which together address the fostering of children's development across all areas, supporting and engaging with young people, researching and implementing programs, teamwork, and literacy and numeracy.
Friday, 22 February 2013
Online Learning - Spoilt for choice and free!
Task 1 - Assessing a few educational video sites
I chose four that you introduced us to Michele, and then one that I came across myself as I searched, LearnersTV. I have ranked them all in a table at the end.
TeacherTube
Started by a teacher in 2007 as a forum for educational
videos for both student and teacher learning, TeacherTube has now expanded to include audios,
photos and user groups. It was very easy to find, being the first result when I searched for
educational videos on Google.
It has a relatively uncluttered and well set-out Home page with clear
links to the following resources: Videos, Docs, Audios, Photos, Groups, Classrooms and Collections. I'm not quite sure of the usefulness of Groups
and Classrooms, but I did have to laugh when I found a Mrs Hardy under Groups! It is very easy to
share resources on a number of social media sites via the tab on the RHS of the
screen. I found the ads on the Home page a little sneaky as it wasn’t that
obvious that they were ads, unlike those that popped up whenever I wanted to
view a resource.
I performed a search for boolean logic and was disappointed to find just four results, only one of which was really useful. Climate change returned
994 hits, obviously a more relevant topic to the teaching fraternity. Smoking
also returned a large number of results but these cannot be narrowed down by
using boolean operators. Results can only be sorted by relevance or date,
so that is a bit limiting.
Overall I have given this website an average ranking as I
feel it is that while it may have lots of content in some areas sifting through
this to find what is really relevant may take some time. Like YouTube, it appears
anyone can upload content so there is a lot of material of questionable value on
the site.
LearnersTV
LearnersTV provides links to educational video lectures from
institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford Graduate School of Business
and The University of New South Wales, across a broad range of subjects
including science, health and business. It also offers free animations, study
notes, presentations, online tests and downloadable magazines. I came across it when I was searching for online educational videos
where it was the eighth result returned.
LearnersTV is very easy to use, but very topic specific. It allowed me to use
boolean logic to search, the only site that I visited to do so, and provided accurate, detailed and authoritative
information for topics searched. Some content is so specific that it is confined to a single institution or series of lectures, but that is an indication of the quality of the material rather than a shortcoming of the website.
I found this an engaging site to use with lots of
fascinating material. I especially loved the animations – who knew learning
about cholesterol could be so entertaining! With this site to browse we will never have an excuse to be bored in our retirement years! It would be good to see more universities and institutions come on board in the future.
CosmoLearning
CosmoLearning was created by two sibling students in 2007 as
an aggregation site for free educational resources to assist students and
educators around the globe improve and extend their learning by accessing
information in a variety of formats on a single website. That said, I found this site impossible to find via a google search
using keywords such as online, learning, lectures, courses, science etc but it
finally popped up on page 2 when I searched video
lectures online.
I like the layout of this site and it seemed like it would
be quite easy to use until I discovered that the Search tool does not work,
several links are not yet operating, and some video content has either been
removed due to copyright issues or does not play due to the site being over
capacity or some other unknown problem. Where content is accessible, it is
difficult to ascertain how thoroughly it is supported without being able to
perform a search within the site. Where a topic is grouped with several
resources I often found one or more of these to be unavailable. Overall I found CosmoLearning to be a disappointing and
frustrating experience that I am not eager to repeat any time soon.
AcademicEarth
AcademicEarth was created in San Francisco with the aim of
enabling technology to circumvent the barriers to a free high quality education
for all via the internet. It provides access to lectures and courses
from a variety of universities and institutions across the globe, including a
couple from Australia, and was not too difficult to find via a google search using a
variety of search terms.
It is very easy to navigate around AcademicEarth, with courses available
to view by Subject, University, Instructor or Playlist (a specially curated
list). Unfortunately the Search function doesn’t respond to boolean operators.
I got excited when I discovered an Advanced Search link, but it was shortlived
when I found it only provided a means of limiting the institutions or subjects searched. With the
content on this site being provided by some of the leading universities in the
world it is obviously very comprehensive and I like the links that are provided
on the RHS of the page to related resources. Overall I enjoyed exploring AcademicEarth.
TED
TED is an acronym for Technology Entertainment Design and
its mission is spreading ideas, which it achieves through its now well-known
TEDTalks. A google search didn’t find TED as quickly as I expected, nor with some
of the search terms that I expected, but along the way I did discover Edudemic
which lists what it claims are the 100 best video sites for educators, and that made for interesting reading (take a look here http://edudemic.com/2012/08/best-video-sites-for-teachers/).
TED can be accessed as a web page or via an app. Both are easy
to use but the app is much more basic than the web page. Both provide a search
function with a basic sort and filter option, along with the ability to choose
featured or random talks. The website also suggests related content and tags, and
has Speakers and Playlists tabs, along with a wealth of other information
relating to TED. I used magic as my search term and found a small selection
of videos on the app and a larger range of material on the web page, but not as
much as I expected. Overall though, TED is an engaging site to use.
Ratings
Website
|
Easy
to find
|
Ease
of use
|
Topic
coverage
|
Overall
rank
|
TeacherTube
|
 |
|
|
 |
LearnersTV
|
|
|
|
|
CosmoLearning
|
|
|
|
|
AcademicEarth
|
|
|
|
|
TED
|
|
|
|
|
Task 2 - Five Aussie institutions on iTunesU and five courses or lessons to take in my spare time or retirement (whichever comes first)
My choice of five Australian universities:
- Swinburne University of Technology
- RMIT University
- La Trobe University
- Australian National University
- Deakin University
Five
courses or lessons which caught my eye:
Deakin: The Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library – probably don’t need to explain why I chose this one. I wasn’t aware there was one so I had to find out more
Australian National University: How To Become A Millionaire Without Losing Your Soul – I was just intrigued by this title
La Trobe University: History of Children’s Literature – very relevant to our area of study and my work in a school library, this series of 29 lectures looks fascinating
La Trobe University: Fiction for Young Adults – a series of lectures with such titles as Defining Adult Fiction, The Turmoil of the Teenager and Perceiving the Voice in a Story, this course looks like a great way of expanding my knowledge in this area and again is very relevant to my job
Swinburne University of Technology: Using Educational Technologies: Wikis – just something I am curious to learn more about with regards to their use in an educational environment such as a uni or school
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)