A competiton to find FE's top 50 social media users has been launched to recognise those who have made a significant impact in the sector using 140 characters or fewer.

Raspberry Pi has launched a next-generation computer for just $5

On the final day of the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference, Paul McKean, head of further education and skills for Jisc, talks about his highlights over the past three days, the main themes that have emerged, and how Jisc can help support colleges going forward.

"...This does not mean the end of face-to-face learning, but hopefully a balanced blend of learning that’s more responsive to student and employer needs. This time, we are ready for a paradigm shift in how learning programmes are designed, delivered and assessed.

These area-based deliberations are set in a context of drastic cuts to the FE budget, so it’s important to remember that technology-enhanced blended learning is not a cheap option.

Any realignment of learning vision, leadership, culture, design, methodology, pedagogy and assessment may require upfront investment in infrastructure and human resources. But it has the potential to deliver long-term efficiencies by opening up opportunities to a greater number of learners – with a different paradigm for learning and a differently skilled workforce.

If we continue to mismatch inappropriate physical assets with inappropriate workforce skills, we are at risk of repeating earlier mistakes. If colleges are to avoid going the way of Comet and Woolworths, their leaders need to learn these lessons..."

To create blended learning, instructional designers chunk content into lessons, and determine the best medium to deliver those lessons to the learner.

A question posed at The UDG Agora 

#udgagora

Brian Lamb @brlamb

Twitter-beg: do any of my Twitter pals want to say what value they see in open resources? Please use #udgagora tag. http://udg.theagoraonline.net/studios/open-educational-resources/ …

7:16 PM - 13 Jul 2015

My time as a student in Further Education (FE) was one of a handful of life changing experiences that I have been privileged to have.  Prior to studying a vocational subject at a College of Further Education I had hated school, there was no space at school for me to pursue the subjects I was really passionate about and the only teachers which seemed to value the skills I had were those who lead the extra curricular activities I took part in. The overriding message at school was; "The only successful end to your school career is good A level grades and a place at University".Wel

Mobile learning has stalled, argues John Traxler, professor of digital learning at the University of Wolverhampton's Institute of Education. He challenges Digifest to examine what's happened and how can it get back on track.

A free course for the Vocational Education and Training sector to promote effective practice and pedagogy in blended learning.

The role of UK higher education (HE), further education (FE) and skills sectors in developing student employability is clear. Technology can be an enabler to the development and communication of employability skills, but are organisations and employers making best use of it? 

Philip Moriarty stands up for the much-maligned presentation tool

...we should be aiming to involve and actively engage with students in the lecture; to make our teaching connect with, and challenge, as many as possible in that room. PowerPoint isn’t a barrier to doing this. If we exploit it correctly, it breaks down the barriers. We shouldn’t blame the technology for deficiencies that are wholly human.