Great SharePoint resources for Education

Microsoft has created a great document for SharePoint (MOSS 2007) with great resources for this product.

The premise behind the attached SharePoint Resource Guide is that almost everything in the booklet is the result of an education customer asking for more information

Check here for the document.

Great help for your students and teacher with Office 2007

Great posting from the UK Team:

Even amongst those colleges who are moving to Office 2007 this summer, one common fear is whether students/staff will be able to quickly transition to the new Fluent interface in Office 2007. If you want more help, then I've just come across these brilliant add-ins for Office 2007. Basically, it adds a new menu bar to your tab called "Getting Started".

This is the tab for Word 2007, but there's also ones for Excel and PowerPoint 2007. And it adds on an interactive guide to find commands, links to online training, video demonstrations for overviews and getting started, and even links to the online discussion forums. If you're installing this summer, then perhaps this is another thing you can do to help your staff and students to get started quickly on the first day of term...

Download the new tabs using the links below:

Word 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab

Excel 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab

PowerPoint 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab

Nice new search engine - Tafiti

Tafiti, which means “do research” in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search.

So, check it out: http://www.tafiti.com/

European skills document

Finally a document about the future european skills!

There has been a lack of information on future skill needs in Europe for a long time. Requests for information have been repeatedly coming to Cedefop and other European organisations.
The European labour market is becoming a reality on the European Union (EU) policy agenda and the free movement of labour gives hope that increased mobility across European countries will help to reduce unemployment. At the same time, occupations, skills, competences and qualifications, which will be required on the European labour market in future, have not been identified. The need to anticipate skills and occupational needs were defined as a priority in the Maastricht communiqué (1), in the European Council’s integrated guidelines for employment
for 2005-08 (2) (guidelines Nos 19, 20 and 24), and in the Social partners’ framework of actions for the lifelong development of competencies and qualifications (3).To find ways of obtaining information on future skill needs in Europe – even a joint European action – has become a main concern.

To check the full document, click here.

Elgg - social platform

Elgg is an open source social platform based around choice, flexibility and openness: a system that firmly places individuals at the centre of their activities.

Your users have the freedom to incorporate all their favorite tools within one environment and showcase their content with as many or as few people as they choose, all within a social networking site that you control.

I played with the environment, it looks very nice, but misses some interactive features that students wants. The portfolio element is not that advanced. (see this post of helen barrett)

The platform is developed for LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) which encompasses weblogging, file storage, RSS aggregation, personal profiles, FOAF functionality and more.

For more information about this product, check their website

Great and free authoring tool - Courselab

This weekend I played with a great and free authoring tool called Courselab. It's a nice environment to work in, it works very simple and looks like powerpoint. It's compatible with the following LMS systems:

- IBM Learning Space
- IBM Lotus Workplace Collaborative Learning
- Oracle iLearning
- WebSoft WebTutor and WebTutor Lite
- SAP eLearning Solution
- Microsoft SharePoint Learning Kit
- Moodle
- ATutor
- Ilias

Courselab already supports the following standards:

- AICC (http://www.aicc.org/)
- SCORM 1.2 (http://www.adlnet.org/)
- SCORM 1.3 (SCORM 2004) (http://www.adlnet.org/)

For a full featurelist please follow this link.

5 powertools for students from Microsoft

Your kids can do a great job with even the toughest school projects with just a computer running Windows Vista and the right information resources. Research no longer requires a trip to the neighborhood library because a whole world of information—and the tools to put it all together—are right at home on your family computer.

Microsoft has 5 great tools for your students:

Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008

• Microsoft Encarta 2008

• Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007

• Microsoft Office Online Clip Art

For more info see: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/intouch/studentpowertools.mspx

Tafiti search engine

What is Tafiti?
Tafiti, which means "do research" in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search.

So give it a try at http://www.tafiti.com/ it's really cool

Portfolio training at Stanford University

Last week I went to the Stanford University for a portfolio training. The training was great, the teaching team was great;

Helen Barrett

Helen Chen

John Ittelson

Tracy Penny-Light

Toru Liyoshi


The locatie was great, what a beatifull buildings Stanford has.

It was great to see how portfolios are used in the USA. They are not as far as Europe, because in Europe the regulations are much better. At the moment a lot of portfolios are just a page with text and images. But that is really changing there right now, It goes much more interactive and the students loved that. We had also a great presentation from Hellen Barret, she told about 'Digital story telling'. A great opportunity for students to tell their story online. Not only with video, but also with text and pictures. You can find more information on her website (http://electronicportfolios.com/ )

The horizon project 2007

The annual Horizon Report
describes the continuing work of the NMC's Horizon Project, a research oriented

effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching,
learning, or creative expression within higher education.

These subjects are discussed:
Use Created Content
Social Networking
Mobile Phone
Virtual Worlds
The New scholarship and emerging forms of publication

How to create and share video captures?

Do you want to create a video capture? The Jing project is a free program to do that! Great to use this in your classroom to share video or images!

The concept of Jing is the always-ready program that instantly captures and shares images and video…from your computer to anywhere.
It's something we want to give you, along with some online media hosting, to see how you use it. The project will eventually turn into something else.

You can download it from: http://www.jingproject.com/

Channel 8?

Thanks to Steven Audis:

Microsoft just opened in new web site/community site for student technology enthusiasts called Channel 8.

Channel 8 is THE place to be for STUDENTS who want to code, connect and create technology. Stay plugged into tech news and share in the experience with students around the world just like you who want to see their creations come to life. This is also a back door directly into Microsoft just like Channel 9 but from a student point of view. This means access to the inside scoop about our products and life working inside Microsoft and information on cool things coming out. This is your community – a place for you to share your tips and tricks and even your problems. Go check out what others are doing and talk about what you think is cool.

It's new and content is just starting to roll out but it looks like it is going to be quite the place.

Link: http://channel8.msdn.com/

SharePoint Learning Kit, VLE for SharePoint

This is the SharePoint Learning Kit, which is a SCORM 2004-conformant e-learning delivery and tracking application. It works on Microsoft Office SharePoint server (you have to buy this one), or Windows SharePoint services (Free version!). Basically, it's a kit for you to build your own VLE, and like Moodle it's free...

It supports SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, and Class Server content and allows assignment, tracking and grading of both e-learning and non-e-learning content. It is really the first step with this product to a VLE, if you use the SharePoint Server, you can use mysites, to tell something about yourselves and share documents with your class or teachers.

You can download it from the Codeplex website too

Grava authoring tool

From the UK team:

"Grava" is the code name for a new set of tools from the Microsoft Education Products Group (based over in Redmond in the States) that is designed to allow the education community to create and assemble interactive materials that will increase discovery and allow learners to go at their own pace and learning style.

It's a great thing to go with your virtual learning environment (whichever one you choose), and the reason I thought I'd mention it now is that I've heard that you can sign yourself up for the early adopter programme (the CTP programme) on the Connect.microsoft.com website. This means you can play around with it, see what it does, and decide whether it's going to be something that will help your students and staff.

The "Grava" tools that are scheduled for release later in 2007:

• "Grava" Player—The "Grava" player enables users to view the rich interactive content created in "Grava" Authoring.
  
• Developer Tools—The "Grava" SDK is built on Silverlight (aah, not a code word but a real name - the code word for Silverlight was WPF/E) and provides a programming model and tools for building rich educational experiences.
  
• Authoring—"Grava" Authoring allows users to create interactive and stimulating non-linear projects to view in the "Grava" player.
  
• Services—"Grava" provides an array of services which complement the authoring, SDK and player components. These services include the ability to do assessments, log results, and create intelligent learning solutions.
  

Windows SkyDrive, free online storage

500MB of free online storage that can be private, shared or public.

This has been coming for a little while, and then when it arrived, it was initially only for users in the US. But now, it has been activated for customers in the UK. And this has some really useful applications in education. SkyDrive gives users 500MB of free online file storage - password protected by their Windows Live ID. And they can be stored in private, shared or public folders - allowing you to decide who has access to each folder.

What could you do with it? Well, things like...

• Backup up important files, using personal folders.
  
• Access files from any PC with Internet access - making it easy for students or staff to move files between a personal PC and a shared or personal college PC.
  
• Work on a project with colleagues or amongst students, using shared folders.
  
• Publish files, so that students can read them, but control their access so that they cannot add files or delete them - useful for assignments?
  

Some of the features added to this Beta version are:

• An upgraded look and feel – new graphics to go along with your new features!
  
• "Also on SkyDrive" – easily get back to the SkyDrives you've recently visited
  
• You can see thumbnails of your image files
  
• Drag and drop your files right onto your SkyDrive, using the handy applet
  
• Embed your stuff anywhere – with just a few clicks, post your files and folders anywhere you can post html
  

Sign up for your personal SkyDrive here

Creating interactive content with eXe learning

Source: http://www.exelearing.org

The eXe project is developing a freely available Open Source authoring application to assist teachers and academics in the publishing of web content without the need to become proficient in HTML or XML markup. eXe can export content as self-contained web pages or as SCORM 1.2 or IMS Content Packages.

This project has been funded by a grant from the New Zealand Government and led by the University of Auckland, The Auckland University of Technology, and Tairawhiti Polytechnic.It has also been greatly assisted by a global group of participants and contributors.

I really love this product. It works really simple.

You can run it directly from an USB stick without installing it. It supports standard SCORM 1.2 so you can use it in the SharePoint Learning Kit, Moodle etc etc.

In your learning products you can add a lot of functionality, like:

• RSS feeds
  
• Multi-choise answers
  
• Free text
  
• Objectives
  
• Reflection
  
• SCORM Quiz
  
• Wiki article
  
• And much more
  

The program works together with Firefox, that is already included in the program (it doesn't install Firefox, but just use the files)

So give it a try on http://www.exelearning.org !