Embedding Digital Literacy

I'm currently involved in a project on Embedding Digital Literacy in a Community Education setting.

As part of this, I have been asked to create resources on things I do with my learners, and this in turn has prompted me to be a little more organised in how I go about things.

I've created a few resources as a result:

1. How learners can use Evernote in the classroom
2. Using Screencast-o-matic (screen recording software) to create quick tutorials on skills learnt in the classroom.

Here's my Prezi on Evernote

And here's an example video I've created using Screencast-o-matic:

Both ideas have been very well received by the learners, particular the screencast videos, as it means learners can review what was covered in class at their own leisure.

Any comments?

Evernote (again!)

Yesterday I had a session with my Photoshop learners.  They are a group of adult learners, and the course is community based (though still part of Coleg Gwent).

At the start, I got a learner to sit at the front PC which is attached to the White Board, and we did a recap of the previous session.  This rapidly digressed and we covered some really useful, though unplanned, extras.  I was conscious of the fact that the learner at the front was unable to take notes as she was controlling the PC which everyone was watching, but then I noticed her taking a quick snap of the screen on her mobile phone.

I asked if she wished to return to her seat, but she said that she was fine because she was taking photos of all the stages and sending them to Evernote.

This then lead to a discussion about the usefulness of Evernote (and similar online resources).  I showed my Evernote account to the group - most of which is work related although the first thing that popped up was a recipe for Toad in the Hole which I'd sent from my phone, which caused a chuckle.  The students were suitably impressed.

Many of the group were really interested in what such a package could offer them, and it was great to share something which I really think is very useful.  Digression is not always a bad thing in lessons!

Evernote

Over the past few weeks I've been playing with Evernote.  I've been hearing good things about it for a while, but I was prompted by a colleague in another college to have a look at it.  As I was currently in the process of applying for an increase in my teaching grade, and needed to compile a portfolio of evidence, I wondered if Evernote might be the format I was looking for.

I wasn't disappointed.  I started by creating a few short notes, just to test the water.  I added an attachment or two, and asked our campus Director (who would be reviewing the portfolio) to check that he could see the files.  Once he confirmed that he could, it was full speed ahead.

One of the most useful things I've found about Evernote is the ability to use my smartphone to take photos of all my training certificates.  Having installed Evernote on my phone, I can then upload the certificates with one click.  Now, instead of having certificates all over the place - some one one campus, some on another, some at home - I will take a snap of them as soon as I receive them, upload it to Evernote, and then I'll have a copy of it ready to access whenever I need it.

The other thing I really like is the ease with which I can create links between notes.  This means that my index can point to relevant evidence by simply right-clicking the destination note and then pasting in the hyperlink.

Criticisms are few - currently my notebook seems to take a long time to load up for a visitor - I think this is because there are so many certificates (bragging not intended!) and snaps of my classroom obs and so on - perhaps there's a need for me to optimise the images prior to uploading them (I only did a quick resize).  I also ended up paying for a premium account (£4) - but this was because I had a lot to upload within a short space of time and there are monthly limits.  This is something I plan to avoid in the future as I will upload things as I receive them.

All in all, Evernote is an excellent tool, and one I will definitely be sharing with my students and colleagues.