Dyslexia Awareness Week

Hi, with it being Dyslexia awareness week. I have collated a few resources and information that may be of use to your learners .With a lot of new starters joining courses, it may  be useful to manage expectations and provide information on what support a Learning Provider can offer and how this support can help the  learner become independent.   

Firstly Jisc TechDis, have a document Technology to support your Reading. This identifies Text to speech Readers, Publisher Look ups and how to support yourself. Also it may be worth updating your version of My Study Bar, the latest version has an excellent Text to Speech reader Orato, and Balabolka a which will help with grammar and spelling.    

Free Services to look out for  are, Robobraille  which will provide Word documents in MP3 format or large text. Assistive

Technology Toolbars like ATBar or Browse Aloud   could be useful in VLE'S or e-Portfolios. Also take a look at the FREE voices Jack and Jess which are a massive improvement on Microsoft Sam.

 

More updates this week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Niace Funding

A funding opportunity not to be missed! Niace are inviting learning providers to bid for funds for the Equality and Diversity Fund. The closing date is very close so it might be worth taking look today. The application form can be accessed on the  Niace  website.

http://www.niace.org.uk/current-work/equality-and-diversity-innovation-fund    

Individual colleges and training organisations are invited to bid for a grant of between £1,000 and £25,000. Successful bids of £5,000 or less will have a higher level of freedom and flexibility in how they deliver their projects, and be subject to a lower level of reporting and monitoring than projects receiving larger grants.

Projects will normally begin in October 2013 and should be completed at the beginning of June 2014. Monitoring and reporting of project outcomes and impact will be required after project funding ceases up until the end of March 2015.

A key aim of the project fund is to catalyse change across the sector, so all projects will be required to collaborate with each other and disseminate their findings locally and nationally. Mandatory dissemination events will take place in June/July 2014, followed by ongoing dissemination in autumn 2014 and beyond.

 

e-Learning Tools

The Discover 'e' conference for 2013 highlighted a few tools that may help with Content Creation and Assessment. Carolyn Lewis from Vocational Innovation Ltd discussed these in her session relating to Work based Learning. However these tools would be beneficial if you are thinking of using a blended Model of Delivery. A couple that I particularly like include Quizlet this will allow you to create simple and easy assessments. Quizlet has the option to create flash card based questions, track progress and use automatically graded quizzes. Accessibility wise, Quizlet will allow you to listen to the written word. Creating a quiz is relatively easy; there are enough instructions to help you zip your file ready to be embedded into a website.
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  UDUTU is a content authoring tool which is free. This is  will allow you to use templates to present material. You will be able to add video, quizzes sound and images. It works seamlessly with PowerPoint. I found the Publish tool useful to be able to keep track of what your content looks like. Once you have created your content you can select how you wish this to be visible to your learners. You are able to extract your content as a Zip file for

 

Infuse Learning is a free Learner Response System, that will work with any Internet enabled device This is excellent after tool and compares favourably with  Hot Potatoes and Socrative. This tool will allow you create a quiz and add video images. Accessibility wise Infuse has a text to speech option and again you will be able to select a language.
 

 

BrowseAloud

BrowseAloud is a excellent product that I have trialled for a while now this is a piece of software  is free to use and works with all major browsers. To hear text read aloud from a desktop or laptop computer you simply move your mouse pointer over the text. From a touch screen device, you simply tap on the text to hear it read aloud.

 

This could be useful for reading long text documents, or helping with pronunciation. very simple to download and easy to use

Related Links Below
http://www.browsealoud.co.uk/page.asp?pg_id=80005  

Discover-e

Learning From Each Other

This year's conference sessions all have the theme of "learning from each other" and will give you an opportunity to hear how practitioners from around the region are using technology successfully to enhance the learner experience.   This year, we are pleased to offer delegates a brand new conference platform and sessions include:   - live webinars looking at inspiring learning spaces, raising learner engagement, assessment using free tools and much more.   - short and practical conference fringe sessions, including a twitter school, next generation VLE showcase and e-learning swap shop   - competitions for you to get involved with and possibly win a prize   We look forward to seeing you online - booking are being taken on our website   Related link below http://jiscevents.force.com/E/EventsDetailPage?id=a06U000000CSxR1IAL&srvc=JISC

Book your spot on the staff development webinar

This webinar will identify good practice from across the region and outline how two FE colleges from the West Midlands effectively deliver Staff Development. Sue McGregor, the Director of Curriculum from Solihull College, will outline the rationale and the methods that the HE department has developed for its HE staff. Stephen Wileman, E-Learning Manager at South Staffordshire College, will discuss a recently-introduced model where staff development sessions are streamed live across the campuses.

Both presenters will :

• Showcase two different methods of staff development
• Identify the rationale for developing the staff development model
• Outline what worked well and what didn’t work
• Discuss the assessment process (if assessment is applicable)
• Demonstrate what impact the staff development has had on teaching and learning

To book your place visit the RSC website. Related link below    

 

 http://www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/westmidlands/keeping-you-informed.aspx

iPad Project

Earlier this year the JISC Regional Support Centre invited Specialist Colleges to take part in a iPad project. Colleges were asked to express their interest in the project outlining how they would use the iPad with learners with disabilities. New College Worcester and Regents College were successful in their application.

New College Worcester is a national residential school and college for young people aged 11 to 19 ho are blind or partially sighted. In addition to visual impairment, some students have additional needs such as hearing impairment,complex medical conditions and Asperger’s Syndrome. Students can access the full range of National Curriculum subjects, plus a variety of leisure activities.

Regents College Regent College is a small non-residential college providing a safe and supportive environment for people who have complex learning difficulties with associated challenging behaviour. It is situated within easy reach of the Stoke-on-Trent’s City Centre, close to local amenities and convenient for local public transport. The college has 30 places for learners aged from 16. Both colleges completed a case study.

New College Worcester used the iPad to help a learner develop their artistic skills. Regents College used the iPad to help to develop learner’s personal communication skills.

Related Links New College Worcester Case Study  

Regents College Case Study