Wikipedia in universities and colleges?
Here at Jisc we are lucky enough to have a view across the education sectors in teaching, learning and research. I’m delighted to be at the EduWiki Conference this week, which is run by the Wikimedia UK Foundation and brings together educators to discuss how they use Wikipedia in their teaching and Wikipedians who create and edit the content. I... >>
No such thing as a free MOOC
And that brings me to our recent decision in the University of Edinburgh to join our colleagues in North America and offer our own MOOCs - or massive open online courses - through the Coursera consortium. It has been a very busy few weeks. After taking the in principle decision, there has been a tsunami of sorting the legals (you... >>
Behind the headlines of the new Jisc Techdis tools – a personal view
It isn’t often that when I am delivering a plenary session at a conference that the audience is moved to tears, but that is exactly what happened at ND2012 . Let me explain what happened.... It was the final plenary on 30 May in Old Billingsgate. I was on stage excitedly introducing the video of John Hayes MP, Minister of... >>
Developing digitial literacies for working in a digital world
We heard this week that too many young people lack the social skills needed to get their first job. The report by the Work Foundation (PDF) doesn’t explicitly mention digital literacy, but perhaps it should. With an estimated 90% of UK jobs requiring some level of IT competency, the notion of digital literacy - those capabilities that equip an individual... >>
Where there's MOOC, there's brass?
Why bother paying inflated fees to attend university? Why pay to spend three years living on a campus, attending seminars and tutorials, running up debts? What if you could get it all for free, online? This is the compelling pitch offered to millions of prospective students from a bewildering array of start-ups and initiatives. Building on the open educational resource... >>
Blackboard's new open source strategy: how virtual learning environments became commodities
Unthinkable a couple of years ago, and it still feels a bit April 1st: Blackboard has taken over two other virtual learning environment organisations : the Moodlerooms and NetSpot Moodle support companies in the US and Australia. Arguably as important is that they have also taken on Sakai and IMS luminary Charles Severance to head up Sakai development within Blackboard’s... >>
Apple's new iBooks: a force for good?
Jisc has long been associated with licensing and exploring ebooks for education, and research by Jisc Collections has shown increasing numbers of students enthusiastic about such resources as publishers and librarians seek to find suitable business models in a changing environment. So it didn’t come as much of a surprise to me to hear that now Apple’s released their own... >>
Remembrance Day: an opportunity to revisit our cultural heritage around WW1
To mark this event in international history is therefore a key priority for custodians of heritage and educators alike. We’ve already made considerable efforts to preserve online the memories and writings of those active during the First World War. The popular Great War Poetry Archive was funded by Jisc to digitise precious documents relating to the poetry of the Great... >>
OER in the field: institutions solving problems openly
Is your institution 'open'? Open education resources are becoming an essential component of academic practice. With the uncertainties of a new funding model to deal with, it is becoming harder than ever to convince institutional managers to support nice-to-have projects. Everything needs to be justified, both on a balance sheet and within a wider battle for hearts and minds. But... >>
Preparing for the future: a new guide on emerging practice in a digital age
The environment of further and higher education is changing in response to economic pressures, government policies and a cultural shift marked by an increasing emphasis on student satisfaction and concerns about the impact of rising student fees. In addition, the rapid growth in personal ownership of new and more powerful technologies such as mobile phones and tablet PCs, along with... >>
