Typists who could rattle out a notice on a Remington Portable knew nothing of word wrap. So-called word processors simulated part of the procedure of carriage return by using ‘Return’ keys, now replaced by ‘Enter’ keys on the QWERTY keyboard.I worked in an office when bound, printed instruction manuals were in their heyday. I didn’t need to read a manual to find out that it was useless either. I could tell from its crisp pages and gleaming cover.The contents of useful manuals fell at my feet when I took them from the shelf. Company experts on procedures were usually those who wrote, added to, or amended manuals like these.Many things we now do in the workplace, and the way we go about them, have arisen through the inclusion of the computer. Much of those were modified and re-jigged, or even scrapped from practiced routines and procedures and reinvented, when the use of computer technology became a mandatory part of the processes.Dissemination of procedural instructionsOne of the artefacts that almost disappeared through all this was the printed process specification or business procedure manual. It was sometimes replaced by an online version - less convenient in some ways, more facile in others.One argument in favour of this replacement was that updates to procedures could be conveyed instantly to a network of workers. In the past these changes were scribbled on the margins of printed manuals and referred to until new versions were published.But if there is no rigorous and timely procedure for updating an online manual, the user can’t scribble notes in the margins when instructions drift out of date. That is unless they print their own version at some stage. Many do, for this and a number of other reasons. In doing this, however, they may lose touch with subsequent amendments that are only announced on the online version.Sometimes the business procedure manual, if it existed at all, simply disappears altogether, to be recreated in notes and copies of those made by industrious workers who recognise the need for a manual of some sort. Announcements of new procedures or changes to existing ones sent round by email are filed in either digital or printed form by this diligence.Evolving 'expertise'Through this process there evolves a wealth of expertise of varying quality. Someone in need of information about a business procedure may skip around a workplace looking for advice from those workers well known for gathering and squirreling away procedural information.And new ‘experts’ come into being.This is all very well, until there is a real need for a unified approach to a specific and important procedure. It is a property of communities that exists in large workplaces, that they are recursively elaborate and capricious in how each separate part functions according to its situation.So what's the solution to communicating unequivocal up-to-date procedural methods of practice to all parts of the workplace?

This quick post is ultimately to say, as the title suggests, numbers are not all that counts. And I mean this in a number of contexts such as 1) Blog Traffic, but also 2) in the wider Learning Analytics. I'll tackle each separately;1) Blog Traffic NumbersA few days ago I had a brief few tweets with a couple of people about their blog traffic, but whilst the likes of Steve Wheeler (@timbukteeth) receive hits in the tens of thousands, this blog gets a rather pathetic figure in comparison.My mean hits per post is just over 300 (but God knows how many of those are spam hits), although I have a few posts with about 500 and some with 80. But my main intention isn't about getting high numbers of hits. As I've said before, I mainly blog for me (do I sound like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV - 'Yasibya'!) Really though, I find the process of reflecting on work/readings, etc the main way to construct my own meaning. I've written many a post and left it in draft for ages before deleting it. And I've written even more posts that are rather garbled because I've literally dumped my brain into it. But that's how I use my blog.Of course, I would like others to read my posts and connect, discuss, etc. And I think I sometimes share data that might useful to the wider community. That's why I tweet out the links all the time, but that's not the key driver - I think if it was, I'd have given up by now! So blog traffic is certainly only a secondary factor!2) Learning AnalyticsNow, I quite learning analytics - despite what I've said above, I like to look at traffic and access hits to our Mobile Learn server. I think it gives us some useful indication of what might be going on out there in the wild. But (there's always a but)...One area of learning analytics that used to cause quite a hassle in years gone by, is online engagement in the VLE. Back when I was at Edge Hill working on courses in the Faculty of Health, we had face-to-face courses, online courses, and courses which blended the two modes completely. One issue was that, in particular with CPD modules, NHS managers, etc, wanted to know that the staff they were releasing had actually engaged in the modules. Now in the f2f modules, a tick of the register would suffice. But in the online world things are different; more cagey. Does it count if the student logs in for that particular week? How long did they spend online? What if they didn't log in at all this week, but next week spent 5 hours online? Did they actually spend 5 hours online or did they just log in and then carry on watching the telly all night?So as you can see, there are myriad of questions beyond what those simple numbers might suggest. And I think this is where the problems with learning analytics will crop up - making meaning of those numbers! Yes we know X thousand of students are logging in to Blackboard via their mobile device, but how are those students actually using those devices to support their learning?There's always more context to be had from numbers. Isn't that why we engage in qualitative research anyway?So similar to that Jesse J song, 'It's not about the numbers, numbers numbers'.[And I apologise for leaving you with the original (?)] Peter@reedyreedlesThe Reed Diaries by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License

An Ontology for Open Rubric Exchange on the Web, by Panulla, Brian; Kohler, Megan (2010) While the Internet has given educators access to a steady supply of Open Educational Resources, the educational rubrics commonly shared on the Web are generally in the form of static, non-semantic presentational documents or in the proprietary data structures of commercial... Read More ›

Oaklands College recently started using Eliademy to create courses for their students in Health & Social Care. And they love it! Oaklands College is a Further Education College located in Welwyn Garden City in the United Kingdom. It successfully provides … Continue reading →

This week I was introduced to the beta version of an elearning application I thought I was familiar with and that I’d been using for the past 6 months. I’ve seen one minor upgrade in that time.Beta is one of the stages of development in software release cycles when the application is made freely available to users, well before the general release date. This practice allows software developers to gather general feedback on design layout and functionality. It also assists with the detection and monitoring of otherwise unknown faults.I prided myself on my competence in using the generally available interface (not the beta). I thought I was at least as capable using it as I am in using many other applications on my PC. But I felt like a newbie when I attempted to use the beta release, even when I appreciated that there were evident improvements compared to the accustomed version.This scenario is not uncommon. I often find that my apparent expertise on a computer disappears. And it’s not failing memory either. It can happen overnight when a new application version is installed or a so-called upgrade is made.Give and takeI concede there has to be a balance between the need for a more attractive interface to impress new users who may otherwise be put off with what may appear to be a less attractive interface, and the necessity for regular users, familiar with features and layout of an application, to be able to utilise the new environment with relative ease.But experienced users have the knowledge of functionality and feature. Though they may not know where to find these on the latest version of an interface, they will know to look for them. I feel grateful when I have this knowledge.When I go looking for a feature or function, the prior knowledge that such a feature or function exists in the old version spurs me on to keep looking for it. I always hope that it hasn’t been listed with other, perhaps unrelated options or features to do with a different functionality.What's givenTake the introduction of Word 2007, for instance. My expertise with a word processing application literally became virtual when I began working with Word 2007. It took me several weeks of use before I felt reasonably comfortable using the menus on the new release.Even now, there are some functions I know must exist in that application that I can’t find - even using the help menus. How do I know they exist? From my knowledge of feature and functionality my experienced use of past Word versions has given me, of course.What’s more, I had to find out that the Word 2007 default .docx files that could then be created on my PC were unlikely to be readable by others when I sent them as attachments. So a whole functionality, new to me and many of my colleagues, had to be sidestepped in order to achieve necessary connectivity, despite that functionality being given in the default file type.It’s one of the vagaries of change. Despite the best intentions, things will evolve that aren’t necessarily helpful or useful.What's takenIn future, the watchword is concept not know-how. The future expert is one who can take forward the conceptual framework of ideas, features and functionality and look for their equivalents in new circumstances.The successful future machine, application or interface is one that can mirror these ideas, features and functionality in a way that permits them to be found intuitively by the expert.

In our modern environments, rarely do we get to interact with living things. We’ve gotten so disconnected with our food and the place we live on- Earth. We try to incorporate gardening and outdoor activities into our lives but our typical work and home environments are almost completely sterile. The EcoQube C is a living... Read More ›

Flip Cam image CC BY-SA Flickr User Charles & HudsonA while back I reached for Martin Weller's 'The Digital Scholar: how technology is transforming scholarly practice' - something I've been meaning to read for a while (although many of Martin's thoughts/discussions have taken place on his blog).The point of this post, is to pick up on something Martin references early on, that is: the 'Good Enough Revolution', which 'reflects a move away from expensive, sophisticated software and hardware to using tools which are easy to use, lightweight and which tie in with the digital, networked, open culture'. The term was coined by Robert Capps in Wired Magazine in 2009.Essentially, the debate is that high end tools are often not necessary, exemplified by the Flip camera - cheap, not great tech specs, but sold millions of units because it was/is good enough for what a lot of people need, especially as it's significantly cheaper and easier to use than higher end video cameras. Furthermore, the ability to connect to computers and upload to the web is simple and straightforward.So how can / does this translate to HE?If we stay with the theme of video cameras, why haven't Flip Cameras made a bigger impact in HE? I remember we had a handful at Edge Hill about 7 years ago but you don't hear much about them any more. (In fact, I think I heard they stopped making them?) However we can easily relate the notion to the cameras available in our smartphones. For some time, I have used the camera on my iPhone to capture footage and upload to YouTube and it has been perfectly fit-for-purpose.I recently seen a request for a high end audio recorder when in actual fact, it really was beyond necessity. I've long used the earphones/mic from my iPhone, plugged into my computer and used a basic video/audio/screencast package to capture.If we relate this further, we quickly stumble across the likes of Google Docs, which to some degree, negate the likes of Microsoft Office. Google Apps for Edu is being implemented in many HEIs, potentially proving a real competitor to Microsoft services. And as Martin suggests, expensive ePortfolio solutions could be negated by the introduction of a free blog from Blogger or Wordpress, or even a wiki from PBWorks.I came across another example recently - the dreaded Lecture Capture situation. Many HEIs are spending fortunes on expensive high end equipment with wide angle IP cameras to capture video, confidence monitors in rooms and sophisticated back end setups. What we've actually seen, is that students prefer screencasts (audio sync'd with powerpoint slides). We looked at a high end solution that was costing around £30k per lecture theatre. Our computing services have built a system for nothing more than a few months of part-time work.Why do people get so hung up on having the best, shiniest, most expensive equipment when it's not really required, and I suspect more often than not, 90% of the features won't be used anyway. This is even happening amongst the very people and departments that profess 'fitness-for-purpose' and ensuring pedagogy precedes technology!I should say, I've probably been guilty of buying more expensive items when cheaper ones would suffice, and we also need to be careful of false economies, which may be seen in things like incorporating Moodle over Blackboard for example (cost of external hosting, CSS templates, etc, can work out fairly expensive).Anyway, I'd recommend reading the article linked to above, and in general, Martin's book - it's available under CC BY-NC.Peter@reedyreedlesThe Reed Diaries by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License

Вчера мы получили большой отзыв от одного из наших давних пользователей которым мы решили поделиться со всемы нашими читалями. Текст представленный написан Еленый Кузьминой, методистом по информационным технологиям москоского педагогического колледжа "Пресня". Мы работаем в области дополнительного профессионального образования взрослых. … Continue reading →

My work environment has been a bit noisy lately. The school is having the roof renovated. The building’s air-conditioning units have been disconnected during the time of this refurbishment.It being summer, there’s a need to open windows and to bring in industrial air-conditioning units to maintain a workable atmosphere within the building. At the beginning of this week, contractors wheeled two of these units into the space close to my office area, plugged them into the mains and switched them on.Other units were similarly introduced at points throughout the building. The Science teachers who worked in the areas, including myself, viewed this activity with amusement. It was evident that the contractors knew nothing about thermodynamics.It sucksThe heat exchange part of an air-conditioning unit operates in a way similar to a refrigerator. In normal use, the unit sucks warm air from the room through a cooling unit and filter. Fresh air from outside the building is drawn in through windows and other openings to replace the heated air expelled during the process.The resulting chilled air is blown back into the room while the removed heat is air-pumped to the exterior, usually through a duct in a window.In the case of the units that we observed, there was no such venting. Instead, the hot air from the action of the cooling unit was being pumped back into the room. It was as if a fridge had been turned on and its door had been left wide open. In such a circumstance, the fridge does nothing more than make a noise and heat the room.The overall effect of the air-conditioning units being used in this way was not unlike that of using large blow heaters. In no time, people started to complain about the rising temperature.A little learningScience is a wonderful thing. Its principles are being utilised in just about every piece of technology that contributes to our lives today. Of course, an understanding of scientific principles isn’t always necessary to use or install the equipment that puts these principles into effect.There are at least three levels of understanding that can allow one to realise the significance of a scientific idea, such as the thermodynamic principles that were put to use in the construction of the air-conditioning units:It works provided certain conditions are met according to a recipe for installation. For the air-conditioning unit to be effective, it has to be functioning and have its required vents clear, one of which has to be ducted to the exterior.It works as it follows the thermodynamic idea that heat can be pumped by using a small amount of energy that is eventually released as heat (which is why the fridge with its door open does nothing more than heat up the room).It works, and its function can be explained by thermodynamic principles:a) energy can neither be created nor destroyed,b) heat energy is released when a gas is compressed so that it condenses to a liquid and this same heat is taken in when the liquid is allowed to evaporate - this is what happens in the heat exchange unit of a fridge,c) some energy will always be wasted when heat energy is pumped using mechanical means - entropy is always increased as a consequence.Understanding at level 3 can be achieved by senior secondary school Physics students.Level 2 can be understood by able students of Junior Science.Working recipes that define the factors that are important in level 1 need only be followed when it comes to the correct and appropriate installation of a piece of technology in general circumstances.The example that I unpack here shows how related learning can apply at various levels to the curriculum. What is significant is that the most elementary levels of learning are still important to the correct use of technologies that involve sophisticated principles in their design and construction.SortedAs it happens, the contractors were notified by Science teachers about the correct use of the air-conditioning units which were immediately switched off. Appropriate locations near windows were then found. Necessary ducts to the outside of the building were fitted correctly to the machines within 24 hours.Through all this, the cicadas continued their sibilant summer chorus.

The Office of Eduational Technology just published a developer’s guide on behalf of US Department of Education, it’s called "A primer for software developers, startups, and entrepreneurs". Opportunities abound for software designers and developers to create impactful tools for teachers, school leaders, students, and their families. This guide for developers, startups and entrepreneurs addresses key... Read More ›