Doctor in the House

Whilst at ota09, one of the sessions I joined was hosted by the NHS and discussed how they wanted developers to create web apps/widgets that use NHS data. Examples that were thrown around included suggest a medication, in conjunction with a major pharmacy or store, so far so good.

But following on from my discussions yesterday of how to make a VLE more relevant to Students, could we reposition the VLE as not just a learning tool but one to help in general?

We've already started with the creation of seeSpace onto our VLE, which gives Students access to Forums, personal blogs, Notepads, Twitter Style communications tools that give Students the ability to comment and a whole lot more.

But lets take it a step further, what if we could enhance our VLE by creating an application/service that could help Students find answers to questions they'd rather not ask someone face to face?

It may be slightly pie in the sky at the moment but if we could create an application such as that, it would really change how we view VLEs.

I'm hoping to meet with the session leaders in the next month to discuss what we can do, my first, my first idea is a postcode search based 'Find my GP/NHS Clinic'.

Exciting times.

The Chairman of the Board

Lights, camera, action…cut!

In an attempt to promote the use of the interactive whiteboards we decided to film a training session with 2 members of staff, both keen to incorporate the resources available into their ESOL sessions. We could use the video for further training and as a resource for staff to access when required…easy…NOT!

Things got off to a bad start almost immediately after firing up the projector and PC. To my horror the dreading red x was clearly visible over the Promethean software icon in the system tray…a sign that something is wrong!

I played it cool of course, pretending I had deliberately sabotaged the equipment so that I could demonstrate to my two eager trainees how to troubleshoot if problems should arise! After 5 minutes of desperately tugging on leads and searching for software drivers I had no choice but to shout “Cut!” to my camera man.

It turns out the whiteboard had been unplugged at the socket…it’s always the simplest of things but nevertheless the two tutors had learnt their first lesson, if there’s a problem stay calm and check the obvious first. Just because the technology is more complex it doesn’t mean the problem is too!

Thankfully the remainder of the session went smoothly but on playback of our first feature length film it became apparent that the session was too rambling and disjointed to act as a training video.

Take 2

Our second attempt at filming would be conducted without trainees, just me, my whiteboard and my trusty Promethean pen!

We decided to film very short segments focusing on easily digestible chunks and things were going very well until we decided to check some of the footage after about an hour and a half of filming.

Unfortunately we had positioned the camera directly underneath the projector and the inbuilt microphone had done a fantastic job of recording the incessant dirge of the fan, largely obliterating the dulcet tones of my voice and rendering the whole batch of vignettes utterly useless!

Take 3

Lessons learnt, for our third attempt at filming we placed the camera well away from the projector and set about re-shooting. Filled with confidence after our ‘practice’ sessions we ploughed through the basics of using the board capturing another hours worth of tips, tricks and techniques with aplomb. Tired and a little dry throated after our marathon filming session my cameraman and I returned to our desks to start the video editing process using Windows Movie Maker. On firing up the film we watched in anticipation of our first training clip only to discover that the camera had been set at an angle and it looked like I was standing in a cabin on the Titanic just before it took its final lunge into the North Atlantic!

• So, what have we learnt from our dismal attempts at filming?
  Technology can let us down but generally the problem is a simple one and is easily solved.


• Alas, human error is often at fault when technology doesn’t work as expected but it’s the technology that can get the blame.


• Practice makes perfect, if things don’t work out the first time don’t give up, try and try again!

We are currently planning our next filming session…watch this space for an update!

The Chairman of the Board

First Impressions

Part of my role as ILT Liaison Officer at South East Essex College is to train tutors in the use of interactive whiteboards. Across our campuses in Southend and Thurrock we have over 50 boards including Promethean and Smart interactive units and training can be arranged at any time via an online booking form on seeNet (our VLE) for both groups and interested individuals.

Are ordinary whiteboards in our learning centres obsolete?

Alas, the short answer is no. Our first boards were Promethean and early versions of the software proved to be unreliable and unstable, often crashing unexpectedly and fatally without warning. Unsurprisingly, many tutors found this ‘seat of the pants’ experience unacceptable when trying to do something as simple as writing on a board in front of their class. This is a ‘bread and butter’ aspect of teaching and learning but suddenly it became a complex, nerve wracking task accomplished only by the bravest, most IT literate members of our teaching teams.

Fortunately, things have improved with progressive software updates but there can be no denying the damage that has been done. First impressions of any new technology are vital. If users can’t see the benefits of new systems immediately why should we expect them to use them at all? As innovators, pushing the use of technology, we continually skate along a thin knife edge, being first to pioneer technology and systems while continually running the risk of alienating and ‘putting off’ the very people we want to be using that technology when things don’t work as expected. Three questions spring from this which can be applied to ILT in general and not just to the use of interactive whiteboards:

1. Should we wait for ILT systems to be 100% reliable before we push for their use?
2. Can IT based systems ever be 100% reliable?
3. Is there any point in over-complicating something which is relatively simple by using state of the art technology?

Firstly, IT based systems can never be 100% reliable. If we were to wait until they were we’d never get to use them. This is why Microsoft often gets blamed for releasing ‘unfinished’ or ‘buggy’ products which they later patch with updates. It’s impossible to find all the bugs in a complex piece of software and often fixing relatively small bugs leads to the creation of new, more serious ones. We need to test and use software and systems in the real world to discover problems and issues which may not surface until they are used on mass in the environments they were created for.

The risk of alienating or ‘putting off’ users through using technology which may not be 100% reliable is a risk we have to take. If we didn’t take this risk we’d never make advancements. There’s no doubt that undoing the ‘damage’ caused by the whiteboards early unreliability and rebuilding faith in their use is one of the largest barriers I have to face in increasing their use across the College but this can be achieved.

As for over-complicating something as simple as writing on a board through the use of technology, the benefits of the interactive software are huge and tutors receiving training are amazed at the potential the software offers. Importantly, interactive boards haven’t replaced the existing dry wipe boards; they co-exist in the same room, tutors have the choice to use either depending on the needs of the session. We’re not replacing the ‘bog standard’ board but merely offering a system with huge flexibility and scope that can transform the dullest ‘bread and butter’ element of teaching and learning into something far more stimulating.

Ultimately, first impressions do matter but they can be changed.