Regular visitors to technologyenhancedlearning.net may have seen and used the JISC TechDis Accessibility Toolbar which has been rebranded as the ATbar. We have just updated the button which is still located in the top right hand corner of the website. The ATbar has become part of the Fix The Web campaign, where people can now report sites to volunteers using the toolbar. The ATBar was developed by researchers from the School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton. For more information please see the ATbar homepage and ATbar Functions where you can discover what each button can do to meet your accessibility needs.

Today the announcement has come out regarding this year’s round of academic promotions! I am delighted to say that the number of Professors in our Teaching and Learning Directorate has increased to 5 which demonstrates the excellence of Teaching and Learning here at Plymouth! Congratulations to Prof Debby Cotton, Head of Educational Development, and our very own Prof Neil Witt, Head of Technology Enhanced Learning on their promotions! Professor in the area of technology enhanced learning is a fantastic achievement and shows Plymouth University’s commitment to and excellence in embedding TEL centrally in our teaching, learning, assessment and research activities! Congratulations must also go to Prof Pauline Kneale, Pro Vice-Chancellor & Director of Teaching & Learning! These promotions show the excellence in this area and the strength of her support and leadership!

Have you ever wondered what a Podcast is and how you can create and use them with your students? Podcasts are bite-sized chunks of audio and/or video content that are designed to be played on computers or mobile devices. Come along to the 2 hour University staff session to learn about: Scenarios where you can use podcasting Equipment & software you need to record a podcast Planning and recording a podcast Distributing your podcasts to students Copyright, good practice and hints & tips Sessions available on 15 May, 12 June, 24 July and 21 August. For further details on the session and how to book a place see University Staff training course page.

This guide has been produced to highlight a number of ‘free to use’ tools available via the Internet that can be used within teaching and learning. The full guide can be accessed on this topic can be accessed here.    

Podcasts (audio) and vodcasts (video) are resources made available to download via the Internet and designed to be used on mobile devices or computers. Podcasts can take learning beyond the classroom encapsulating a wide range of content for example traditional broadcast media, whole lectures, short project updates or personal reflections after a conference. Tutors can communicate ideas effectively and students can even create their own podcasts to record placement logs, conduct interviews for research projects or to use in their assessment submissions. Podcasts are also great revision aids giving students the opportunity to reuse them as often as required.  This can be especially helpful for international students. The full guide can be accessed on this topic can be accessed here.

Download the guide for podcasting

M-Lab Tools Website M-Lab provides tools to test your Internet connection and perform diagnostics. What do you think of M-Lab Tools?

Picmeleo Website Picmeleo is a free online photo editor that you can embed on your website letting your users upload and edit images on your site. What do you think of Picmeleo?

TestMy Website TestMy is a bandwidth speed test and Internet connection comparison tool. TestMy offers the ability to log speed test results, test upload speed and automatically test connection speed. What do you think of TestMy?

Unitag QR Code Website Unitag lets you create a customised QR code. Choose your colours and size as well as adding a logo. What do you think of Unitag QR Code?