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ELA Conference 2011 // Technology on a Shoestring

Posted by Joel Kerr on 25 Mar

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It was my pleasure to be in Edinburgh this week for the ‘Technology on a Shoestring’ conference – a pretty apt title given the increasingly tightening strings on which companies have to balance their budgets.

Of course any chance to visit Edinburgh gets a thumbs up from me and combined with the opportunity to meet with elearning types, those in the know and those who want to know, is a double whammy.

Keynote came from Euan Semple who’s got an impressive CV that includes time at the BBC, Nokia, the World Bank and NATO. Mr. Semple covered the benefits of Social Media and the challenges faced by the Senior Management in letting the employees loose on the various channels.

There was talk of the quality of networks compared to quantity, the need to make communications human as opposed to corporate and how to engage people by asking the right questions. Conversations, conversations, conversations; that’s what’s important!

The emphasis was not on how far we had come but the possibilities that are yet to present themselves; the new businesses and products that will develop, the new businesses models that will evolve and most excitingly the freedom that working online can offer.

Other speakers included Mark Clark from JISC, Kenny Shaw of Screen Media, Pauline Randall from Florizel Media and…me. That’s right. As an exhibitor I had the opportunity to pitch the benefits of the ever popular Moodle and Mahara.

That aside, points covered were how technology can facilitate change, the need for innovation given the budget cuts, the need for positivity in the face of adversity and the importance of not hitting the bottle (actually the last point wasn’t covered, I made that up to check if you where still with me).

It is increasingly clear that through careful research and planning, structure and strategy, online services can offer the necessary savings required by companies in today’s market. And the sooner you get started the sooner you get your head around the possibilities and the sooner you start reaping the rewards!

I’d like to thank the eLearning Alliance for the invitation and the possibility to showcase Synergy Learning. I’ll leave you with one extremely naff but amusing quote from Stuart Hilles of the eLearning Alliance, “How can I soar like an eagle when I’m surrounded by pigeons?”

Take from that what you will.

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ICT for Education | Belfast

Posted by Joel Kerr on 01 Mar

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Synergy Learning will be at the Belfast Hilton on Friday 11th March for the Northern Ireland leg of the ICT for Education conferences. While we’re there we will be exhibiting our wares, and as always will be keen to speak to people who are interested in the benefits of Open Source Software and the implications it has on elearning.

Moodle is making a pretty big splash over here at the minute, with a number of schools and businesses choosing it over the competition. If you are attending the conference and want to find out more about Moodle and Mahara, and the services we offer please call by and say hello. If there is something specific you want to find out on the day then feel free to leave a comment or email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com so we can be fully prepared!

For more information on the conference and exhibition visit the ICT for Education website.

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Moodle 2.0 Integrations – Alfresco

Posted by Joel Kerr on 17 Feb

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As Moodle 2.0 becomes more established we are finding more and more clients eager to upgrade from their current version.

Not only is the software being recognised for it’s new and improved features, it also makes integrating with third party tools a whole lot easier, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for those moving to Moodle 2.0.

Over the next few blog posts I am going to look at some of these external tools to see what benefits they can bring to your operations….starting with Alfresco.

Alfresco

If you haven’t heard of Alfresco before you might find it a rather useful tool. It is a Content Management System (CMS), which basically means it can be used for managing the production of electronic content (text files, videos, graphics etc.) via a set of rules, processes and workflows.

Like Moodle and Mahara, Alfresco is Open Source and as a CMS it specializes in:

It caused a lot of interest when it was announced that Moodle 2.0 was to come complete with an Alfresco repository. File management within Moodle has long been a debate generator and integration with an external CMS solves the issue of content ownership, tracking changes, linking to external content finding content etc.

We have been working with Alfresco for some time now and our clients are finding it’s capabilities a perfect compliment to Moodle, allowing users to store and retrieve resources from within both piece of software.

The integration is quick and straightforward and the outcome can prove very beneficial. If you are interested in finding out more about our Moodle or Alfresco services email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com.

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Dynamic Learning with Moodle

Posted by Joel Kerr on 31 Jan

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I enjoyed this Prezi so much I decided to add it to the blog…

Dynamic Learning on Prezi

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eLearning Events // 2011

Posted by Joel Kerr on 27 Jan

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So BETT 2011 is over and Learning Technologies is about to follow suit. That doesn’t mean elearners can kick their feet up for the next year and wait for January to roll round again. Here is a list of events up and down the country to keep you entertained throughout 2011.

Are You Afraid of IT?
Friday 25^th February | Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh

This conference and exhibition is part of a programme to foster better use of technology in the social services.

Expect a mixture of keynote speakers and workshops attended by senior managers, learning and development managers, practitioners and IT managers.

Click here for more information

ICT for Education

Friday 11^th March | Belfast Hilton
Friday 1^st April | The Grand, Bristol
Friday 13^th May | Cardiff City Football Club

This series of free conferences is aimed at school teachers, technicians and decision makers who share a “common thirst’ (their words!) for e-learning and ICT in schools.

Expect keynote speakers, discussion groups and networking opportunities.

Click here for more information

JISC11 Conference
Monday 14^th – Tuesday 15^th March | BT Convention Centre, London

This conference offers advice, guidance and support via workshops, demos, plenary sessions, an exhibition and networking opportunities.

This is one for those in post 16 and higher education suitable for senior managers, ICT champions, teachers and researchers with an interest in the use of ICT.

Click here for more information

Naace Annual Strategic Conference
Tuesday 15^th – Thursday 17^th March | Wokefield Park, Reading

The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Brave New World: Changing Times in Education’ and aims to explore, debate and challenge current thinking about technology and learning.

If you are involved in education and interested in education technology this event offers networking opportunities and the chance, “to contribute and influence future initiatives, strategies & policies individually and through Naace.”

Click here for more information

The Education Show
Thursday 17^th – Saturday 19^th March | NEC, Birmingham

The Education Show is for finding educational resources and is aimed at educators from all levels and sectors. It promises exhibitions, seminars, conferences and demonstrations to assist in finding, “resources and ideas to help you to save money and make a difference in your school.”

Click here for more information

The EAUC Annual Conference
Monday 11^th – Wednesday 13^th April | University of York

This is more for sustainability in education than elearning but there is no reason why the two can’t go hand in hand.

It’s aimed at the UK’s Further and Higher Education Sector and boasts Dame Ellen MacArther, Sara Parkin and Nick Baker among the keynote speakers. There is also a conference and the opportunity for one-to-one sessions with the experts.

Click here for more information

Plymouth eLearning Conference
Wednesday 6^th – Friday 8^th April | University of Plymouth

The title of this year’s event is “Digital Futures: Learning in a Connected World” which will be delivered via paper presentations, workshops, demonstrations and networking opportunities.

They say, “The 6th Plymouth e-Learning Conference will highlight the need for innovative solutions in education and training, and will provide opportunities for delegates to discuss the tensions that exist between institutional provision and personalised learning.”

Click here for more information

Moodle Moot
Tuesday 19^th & Wednesday 20^th April | Senate House, London

A conference dedicated to UK Moodle users, developers and administrators and a great opportunity to discuss the increasingly popular Open Source Software.

If you are interested in presenting a paper, workshop or other session, visit Moot UK 11 for information.

Click here for more information

iMoot
Saturday 30^th April – Tuesday 3^rd May | Online

iMoot is an international online conference aimed at engaging the 32 million Moodle users across the globe to, “ignite the sense of community and sharing for which Open Source and in particular Moodle is famous for.”

If you are a Moodle practitioner, administrator or decision maker this one is not to be missed.

Click here for more information

IITT National Conference & Exhibition
Wednesday 7^th – Thursday 8^th September | London Marriott Hotel

This is the seventh year of the Institute of IT Training’s National Conference & Exhibition, aimed at corporate and commercial trainers, training managers, L&D managers and HR managers.

Expect talks from the experts, the opportunity to develop your skills and up-to-date information in the field of Learning & Development.

Click here for more information

The Scottish Learning Festival
Wednesday 21^st – Thursday 22^ndSeptember | SECC, Glasgow

An event all about Teaching and Learning, the Scottish Learning Festival offers the opportunity to, “enhance the education professional.”

The list of targets is a long one: headteachers, senior management, policy makers, librarians, community learning and development staff, youth workers and volunteers from local authorities and third sector organisations, college and careers staff, and teaching practitioners in early years, primary, secondary, further and special education establishments.

Click here for more information

World of Learning
Tuesday 27th – Wednesday 28th September | NEC, Birmingham

This conference and exhibition is aimed at all senior level decision makers and buyers. Expect product launches, high profile case studies from industry experts, a host of seminars and networking opportunities.

Click here for more information.

European Conference on eLearning
Thursday 10^th – Friday 11^th November | University of Brighton

This is the 10^th of the ECEL events, which each year is hosted by a different European city. According to the organisers the conferences, “are places to find the excitement of learning new things, the support and stimulation of like-minded professionals in learning and the opportunity to reflect productively on research evidence and conceptual thinking in the field.”

Click here for more information

And one from our German Office:

Online Educa Berlin
Wednesday 30^th November – Friday 2^nd December | Hotel InterContinental

Online Educa Berlin pitches itself as the; “the largest international platform for exchanging ideas and experiences on ICT-supported enhanced education and training”.

Expect conferences with big name speakers, discussions, debates, an exhibition with lots of new products and emerging trends and plenty of networking opportunities.

Click here for more information.

My list does not claim to be a comprehensive one, so if you know of other elearning events in 2011 worth noting leave a comment…

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January // BETT 2011

Posted by Joel Kerr on 21 Jan

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It’s been a busy start to the year!

As has become the norm, our year kicked off by exhibiting at the BETT show. An important event in any edtechs calendar that attracts people from all over the world. It’s a great way to see first hand the new products available and the improvements to those that have been around for a while.

MOODLE

There was a non-stop flow of Moodle visitors throughout the week; existing users who stopped by to share their admiration of the software, organisations that wanted to migrate from other platforms and of course those who were taking their first tentative steps into the world of elearning.

Our job is made a whole lot easier by the fact that Moodle generates such good publicity through word-of-mouth. There were very few people stopping by who hadn’t heard good things about Moodle and the enthusiasm for the software continues to grow. The number of companies and schools who had done their research and were planning a full migration in the near future was overwhelming.

New clients range from primary schools, secondary schools, Local Authorities, FE colleges and universities to councils and large scale organisations. We were also pleased to answer questions from a number of the other exhibitors who were interested in partnerships and integrating Moodle into their own operations.

MOODLE 2.0

At last years BETT we were enthusiastically telling our Moodle visitors the virtues of Moodle 2.0 so it was a pleasure to be able to offer some real solutions at this year’s show. We have upgraded a number of our own client’s sites with successful results and the improved navigation and increased functionality has not gone unnoticed.

BETT offers the opportunity to gauge a real response to the upgrade; both teachers and trainers recognise the benefits of the new conditional activities feature, cohorts, the repository API, the Portfolio API and the list goes on.

We have a queue of people waiting to upgrade with our Route to Moodle 2.0 packages and the demand is only going to increase.

MAHARA

As Moodle becomes as increasingly integral part of the learning environment so the need for an ePortolio also increases. We had a record number of inquiries about our Mahara Services this year. Again the software is proving popular with both educational and commercial establishments who are looking to facilitate records of ‘life learning’ within their establishments.

I’ve spent this week getting in touch with the new contacts we made at the show and the whole office has felt the full benefit of BETT 2011.

I would like to thank all those who visited us at the BETT show for making our trip a rewarding one. If you are in need of our Moodle or Mahara Services get in quick! Our 2011 calendar is filling up fast.

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Moodle at BETT 2011

Posted by Joel Kerr on 06 Jan

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BETT 2011
Stand N2
12-15 January 2011
Olympia, London

Synergy Learning is looking forward to next week when we get to exhibit our wares at the world’s largest education technology event. BETT brings together the leading names in innovative education technology, new elearning organisations and the global teaching and learning community from early years to universities.

This will be the 27th year of BETT which has grown to feature almost 700 exhibitors, attracting close to 30,000 visitors. According to the organisers, “BETT is an indispensable part of the annual knowledge-gathering process, coming at a time when establishments are planning and budgeting for the new school year.”

Why should you attend?

BETT is a showcase of all that is new and innovative within the industry and is an opportunity for education professionals to pick up a wealth of knowledge as well as evaluate and purchase a comprehensive range of ICT products and services.

There will be the opportunity to “touch, test and compare” resources for learners at all levels. There will be free hands-on training, technical help, over 100 seminars, product launches, networking opportunities and the chance to discuss education technology with industry experts and established suppliers

Who should attend?

BETT 2011 covers the entire education spectrum and is aimed at everyone from early learners to higher education and all that’s in between.

BETT 2011 will benefit:

Teachers
Department Heads
Subject Heads
Education Officers
Governors
Librarians
Bursars
Facilities Managers
Teachers Trainers
Inspectors
School Boards
Network Managers IT/ICT Co-ordinators
Head Teachers/Principals
School Management Teams
Parents
LEA’s
Special Needs Teachers
Technicians
Classroom Assistants
Home Educators
Student Teachers
Nursery Staff
Lecturers

Registration for BETT 2011 is now open, for more information visit the BETT show website. See you at stand N2

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Twenty Ten

Posted by Joel Kerr on 30 Dec

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It’s said so often (and I’m not afraid of a good cliché so I am going to say it as well) where did the year go? It seems like yesterday since I was walking through the doors of Synergy Learning for the first time and since I was sitting down to my first blog post.

In fact it was a year ago!

So as we get ready to see in the New Year I am going to give you ten of my highlights from 2010 – things that stood out in my mind at the time of writing (bearing in mind I am still in the grips of my Christmas recovery!).

In no particular order…

The BETT Show

A great start to any e-learning calendar I was lucky enough to get over to BETT for a day trip. Roy, Alex, Jonny, Ian and Andrea were the core team manning the Moodle stand at London’s Olympia from 13th – 16th January and as always the response was mighty

iMoot

2010 played host to the first iMoot where the who’s who of the Moodle glitterati presented to Moodlers around the world. Among the presenters were Synergy Learning’s Technical Director Alex Büchner and Moodle Trainer Ian Wild.

The World Cup

Vuvuzela’s weren’t the only thing that caught the attention of the Synergy Learning office. Our heated Fantasy Football League was a close one and I was delighted to come out on top and very disappointed for Jonny McAlister who spent so much time at the bottom of the table he contemplated making it his permanent address.

Moodle 2.0

Is it this month? Next month? No, tomorrow you say? Yes that’s right – with more ‘will they, won’t theys’ than a soap extra-marital affair Moodle finally released the much anticipated Moodle 2.0. The biggest Moodle release to date with more new and improved features than could be mentioned in this short post (don’t forget to visit our ‘Route to Moodle 2.0’ page to see how we can seamlessly facilitate your upgrade).

Our Fifth Birthday

Although not the fifth year of Synergy Learning, 2010 was the fifth birthday of the company under the ownership of Roy Kerley and Alex Buchner. We celebrated in style…that’s all I’m saying!

Race for Life

We were very proud of our girls who raised a non-to shabby £700 for Cancer Research by taking part in the Race for Life up at Stormont (Belfast) in May. Inspired by photos they had seen from previous years of girls stumbling over the finish line looking red, sweaty and like they were on their last legs, our girls finished the 5k with dignity and grace – and then swore never to put themselves through a similar agony again!

Award-winning Theme Design

While I am being proud I may as well mention Caroline Kennedy who won Moodle 2.0 Theme contest, hosted by New School Learning, with her ‘Splash’ Theme. Caroline won herself an iPad and Splash can now be found as part of Moodle 2.0’s core code.

iPad

It is worth mentioning that 2010 was the year the newest addition to the Apple family was released and a number of iPad‘s have found their way into the Synergy Learning offices. Received with a mixed response the tablet is sure to impact the future of elearning one way or the other.

New Hosting Platform

This was also the year our Senior Networks Engineer, Peter Hinds, built our new Hosting Platform from scratch. Optimised for Moodle and Mahara, “it is a fully resilient platform comprised of hardware manufactured by industry leading vendors.” Click here to read all about it in Pete’s blog post. Not bad Pete!

Scotland

Our Belfast office is just a stone’s throw from Scotland so everyone was delighted for our Managing Director, Roy Kerley, who was appointed to the Board of the eLearning Alliance – a member-based organisation that supports Scotland’s elearning community. We have enjoyed a lot of new business from that direction and met some great people.

And one lowlight…

We were sorry to say goodbye to Fearghal Murphy who left us for sunnier climes (Florida to be more specific). I would like to wish Fearghal all the best for the future, and given that he’s prone to sunburn I would like to wish him good luck for the present as well!

So there you have it – ten memorable moments from the last 365 days… obviously it is difficult to fit a year into one blog post but not a bad list!

Here’s to the next 365…in the meantime I would like to thank you all for reading and wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Joel

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Snow School Today

Posted by Joel Kerr on 23 Dec

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I don’t know what it is like in the rest of the world but the UK and Ireland have been heavily disrupted by the recent bad weather. As a result the majority of schools have been closed or had to close for some length of time. As always this inspires a flurry of blog posts venting anger and astonishment that in the age of the Virtual Learning Environment schools aren’t better prepared for such an eventuality.

This guy (click here) in particular has pre-empted the excuses a school might give for not continuing operations via their VLE and although it is interesting to read his responses they do seem a bit idealistic.

So what do you think? Should schools be at a stage where they can use their VLE to continue operations even when the building is closed?

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Moodle for Schools

Posted by Joel Kerr on 26 Nov

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As we get closer to BETT 2011 I thought I would do a bit of research into reasons why schools and universities would chose Moodle over the competition.

There have been a number of reports recently of organisations moving from Blackboard to Moodle with a variety of reasons being given, the most consistent being the huge saving that comes with eliminating the annual license fee. I read a report from Vasaar College who estimated a saving of $50,000 annually by switching from the commercial Blackboard to the Open Source Moodle.

But the huge money saving was not the only reason for Vasaars decision to switch VLE, as explained by various members of their team…

Jeffrey Schneider, an Associate Professor commented on the different reasons the faculty where drawn to Moodle.

“A sizable majority of [the faculty] were dissatisfied with Blackboard—it seemed really limited and didn’t offer the same kind of metaphor for learning. It was very teacher directed and felt more fake and artificial. Moodle is a much more attractive, flexible interface.”

Associate Professor Rachel Friedman, who uses elearning in her classes, pointed out what she considers to be the advantage of Moodle:

“The automatic layout of the semester week-by-week, for example, allows for an “interactive” syllabus—not a frozen document, but something that evolves in response to what is actually happening in the classroom.”

Steve Taylor, a member of Vasaar’s Moodle Support team tells it from a technician’s point of view:

“Technologically speaking, Moodle is easier to maintain than Blackboard because it is an open-source software—a program whose code is accessible to those running the site.

“This means that if there’s a little bug, or if we want a function to behave differently or if someone has created a great new function, we can modify the program. We’ve made lots of modifications and while that has called for some work on our part, it’s resulted in a system that better meets the users’ needs,”

Another school that recently made the move from Blackboard to Moodle is the North Shore Senior High School. Again their district viewed Blackboard as being a, “huge investment that was putting a hole in their tight overall budget.”

A report by the school’s newsletter described Moodle as being:

“a stronger [version] of Blackboard which includes more advanced features that allow teachers to become more involved in a student’s academic future”

Some of the specific advantages of Moodle outlined by North Shore include:

“it promotes frequent feedback to students. Students are sent email notices when an instructor has posted grades, added feedback to an assignment, and an assignment can be updated.”

“The grade book tool in Moodle lets you add feedback in addition to a grade or score. Built-in blog and wiki tools in Moodle provide new communication options for group work and journals.”

“Moodle students can access all of the course resources from the course front page.”

Over all North Shore concluded that as well as saving money, Moodle provided a site that was much more personalised and flexible.

Introducing Moodle 2.0

Another topic that is sure to be a hot one at BETT 2011 is the release of Moodle 2.0. With the release of Moodle 2.0 comes a whole host of new and improved features that continues to set Moodle apart from the competition.

The Open University, who operate one of the world’s largest VLE’s, has recently reviewed their options in the light of the advances made with the various software options.

Having looked at the functionality offered by current and future editions of Moodle, Blackboard, Desire2Learn and Sakai it was concluded that the new Moodle 2.0 was best suited to the Open Universities requirements.

A current consideration for organisations using Moodle will be how to introduce Moodle 2.0 as efficiently as possible. Ross McKenzie, Strategic Development Manager at the Open University, explains how they plan to execute the transition to Moodle 2.0:

“The first student-ready release of our new OUVLE will come online in June 2011, with a follow-up release in September 2011. We’re planning to run the new OUVLE alongside the existing Moodle-1.9-based OUVLE for at least 12 months, and we’ll be gradually moving students over to the new OUVLE during that period.”

It is inevitable that with Moodle 2.0 being such a major release a lot of Moodle users will want a transitional period for introducing Moodle 2.0 so as to cause as little disruption to their operations as possible.

We have factored this into our Moodle 2.0 upgrade packages, offering a number of ‘Test Options’ that give Moodlers the chance to play around with a Moodle course, test site or duplicate site. This means you can acquaint yourself with all the new features that come with Moodle 2.0 before introducing it fully.

For more information on our various ‘Route to Moodle 2.0′ options click here

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Posts Tagged ‘Moodle’

ELA Conference 2011 // Technology on a Shoestring

ICT for Education | Belfast

Moodle 2.0 Integrations – Alfresco

Dynamic Learning with Moodle

eLearning Events // 2011

January // BETT 2011

Moodle at BETT 2011

Twenty Ten

Snow School Today

Moodle for Schools

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