[private] :: Blog

We've just purchased Turning Technologies "Turning Point" electronic voting system ... hope to encourage its use in CISM next year once I get to grips with it myself ;-)

Interested? Join the EVS community!

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2009/06/09/nintendo_ds_classroom/ (via Nick Fernando.)

Interesting implications for handheld/mobile learning (stylus => maths?), shame our games guys are mainly PSP, plus it's Japan-only thus-far :-(

Some brief reflections on a visit to Delft. I was part of a group of SWan staff that paid a visit to TU Delft last week to learn from their experiences in the use of educational technologies and collaborations with other institutions. My first thoughts on arriving in Delft was what a beautiful town reminding me a little of Amsterdam with a network of canals, humped bridges and narrow streets and of course bicycles everywhere. I was told off (very politely) more than once by passing cyclists that I had strayed into a cycle path, and a times it was quite alarming to find cyclists coming at you from all directions, especially on the 'bicycle motorway' running through the TU Delft campus - I wished I'd had a bike with me!

The images above show bicycles left outside the station and some images of the canals and streets in the town. The final two images show some the TU Delft Library with a large open ground floor with collaborative desking, PC's bean bags and support desk.  The building was almost of a wedge shape with a grassed sloping roof. The rear wall of the building as can just been seen in the photograph made an impressive sight lined with books.  In the centre of the building you could look up into a multi floored 'pod' type space with student study spaces.

I got a good overview of the Dutch educational system and for those students coming through the 'University preparatory education (VWO)' secondary education route were guaranteed a place in a University on about 95% of subjects.

 There were many aspects of the institution that I found fascinating including the library but also amongst many things:

- Significant involvement with open courseware (OCW)

- Dedicated facility for students working on significant projects / competitions such as the World Solar Challange.

- support for international students including the NAP-acculturation project.

- the use of students to support a video recording service available to all staff.

- Staff development including the Grass root project

File available at: http://one.swlacademicnetwork.ac.uk/KU18809/files/5/291/whatisansnspresentation.pdf

This is a user guide to the blog and presentation tool.

[You do not have permission to access this file]