How-to guides to new technology launched by Jisc Netskills

Anyone interested in social media, RSS, collaborative writing, podcasting and microblogging can download the Web2practice guides in both video and PDF format from the website.

The A5 guides include top things to try if you’ve never used the tools before, and cover the risks and implications of their use as well as hands-on tips.

Over 2,000 visitors have accessed the Jisc materials since their preview last month, with around 40% of users originating outside the UK including the USA, Australia, India and Malaysia, Canada and Egypt.

Users have already reacted very positively to the guides, with a wealth of comment on blogs and Twitter.

Ollie Bray, national adviser at Learning and Teaching Scotland, said on his blog "The videos are very high quality and would be excellent as an introduction to a CPD session on any of the topics."

Edith Speller, librarian at Trinity College of Music, blogged “[The materials are] likely to come in very handy for developing in-house training.”

The materials are completely free for people to use, copy, adapt, comment on and above all, shareVideo creator Steve Boneham, Jisc Netskills consultant trainer, said: “While we’ve aimed the tools at the UK higher and further education audiences, the internet and Twitter knows no national boundaries – we’re really pleased that people from so far afield are taking such an interest.”

He continued: “I’m particularly pleased that people have started embedding the materials as well as this is just what we wanted to encourage people to do – the materials are completely free for people to use, copy, adapt, comment on and above all, share.”

The Web2practice guides have been produced through funding from the Jisc Users and Innovation programme, which looked exclusively at how Web 2.0 technologies could improve the higher education experience for learners and researchers. 

Further guides and animations are now being planned by the Jisc Netskills team.