Jane's Pick of the Day

Network Citizens: Power and responsibility at work

Demos have released this new report which looks at the importance of social networking in organisations. Here is a brief overview:

"Humans are social animals, spinning intricate webs of relationships with friends, colleagues, neighbours and enemies. These networks have always been with us, but the advance of networking technologies, changes to our interconnected economy and an altering job market have super-charged the power of networking, catapulting it to the heart of organisational thinking.

"Social networks are providing tremendous opportunities for people to collaborate. But until now, thinking has focused only on how organisations can respond to and capitalise on networks. This report argues that we have to look equally at how networks use organisations for their own ends. That is where the new contours of inequality and power lie that will shape the network world. We have to face networks’ dark side, as well as their very real potential."

Network Citizens [92-page PDF]

162 Tips and tricks for working with e-learning tools

B J Schone alerted me to this new ebook from the E-Learning Guild.

The eLearning Guild asked members for their favorite tips for using software for the creation of e-Learning. Members could submit tips in any or all of the following five categories:

• Courseware authoring and e-Learning development tools
• Rapid e-Learning tools
• Simulation tools
• Media tools
• Combining and deploying authoring tools

A total of 122 members responded to the survey, contributing 162 usable tips.

You can download the 65 page ebook in PDF format.

162 Tips and tricks for working with e-learning tools

Pedagogical templates for e-learning

"This report describes a series of pedagogic templates for the integration of technology into teaching and learning, derived from a consideration of present Institute of Education practice and a selective literature review.

"The main objective of this report is to provide an overview for IoE academics who are interested in integrating e-learning into their courses. This report has been designed to guide practitioners on how e-learning can be used in the context of a course, and the description of each template focuses on the pedagogical aspects of using e-learning."

PDF to download

Pedagogical templates for e-learning

Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking

An interesting report from the National Schools Board Association says that "online social networking is now so deeply embedded in the lifestyles of tweens and teens that it rivals television for their attention" and that "an astonishing 96 percent of students with online access report that they have ever used any social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging and visiting online communities, such as Facebook"

The report lists the activities that tweens and teens say they do at least weekly:


And in terms of using social networking for educational purposes:

59% say they talk about any education related topics, including college or college planning; learning outside of school; news; careers or jobs; politics, ideas, religion or morals; and schoolwork

50% say they talk specifically about schoolwork

Creating and Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Education - Networking [PDF]

[PS: Facebook ranked highly in our Top 100 Tools List, which is further evidence to suggest that social networking is becoming a key "educational" tool]

Word Processor Review

"If ever a maxim fit, one size does not fit all applies accurately to word processors. First rule: Choose your word processor according to your environment and needs, and inherent in that choice is choosing your format. Second rule: be happy with your choice, because statistics show you're not likely to change."

Word processor review

[There are 54 free and commercial document and spreadsheet tools in our Directory of Learning Tools]

CIPD Learning & Development Survey

The April 2007 report provides the "latest benchmarking data on current and emerging trends and issues in learning and development. Focuses on:

• the role of line managers in learning and development
• building a coaching capability
• integrating learning and development with wider organisational strategy
• use of competencies
• trends in workplace learning
• economic influences on learning and development
• training spend and budgets."

pdf available to download

CIPD Learning & Development survey

A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users

"The advent of Web 2.0 – the ability of people to use a range of information and communication technology as a platform to express themselves online and participate in the commons of cyberspace – is often heralded as the next phase of the information society. Yet little is known about which segments of the population are inclined to make robust use of information technology and which aren’t."

The Pew Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey to classify Americans into different groups of technology users.  They developed a typology along three dimensions of people’s relationship to information and communications technology (ICT):

• assets
• attitudes
• actions

A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users is a 65 page PDF report with the results

The Expanding Digital Universe: A Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2010

The Expanding Digital Universe: A Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2010
IDC white paper—Sponsored by EMC

"In this detailed white paper, IDC researches and analyzes the impact of ever-increasing amounts of digital information generated worldwide. It defines the digital universe and forecasts its growth to an incredible 988 exabytes (or 988 billion gigabytes) in the year 2010.

"Get a clear picture of what this expanding universe means to you and your organization. Find out what’s driving growth—from files and e-mail to voice data and images. And learn about strategies for managing the rapidly expanding digital universe."

You can download the complete whitepaper and/or the Executive Summary

The Expanding Digital Universe

[Via: Educational Technology]

The Horizon Report

The 2007 Horizon Report is now available.

The 2007 edition is a collaboration between The New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCAUSE program.

The 2007 Horizon Report, just as has been the case with previous editions of the report, highlights six technologies that the underlying research suggests will become very important to higher education over the next one to five years.

2007 Horizon Report

2006 Annual E-Learning Survey Report

Every year the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN) and the Isoph division of LearnSomething sponsor a survey of e-learning activity in the nonprofit and association world. They compile key e-learning data for the sector into a report which is then made freely available.

Download a PDF summary of the report: 2006 Nonprofit and Association E-learning Survey