e-books and e-book readers

The written word remains an extremely effective way of communicating. We read text at approximately the same speed as we listen and absorb a spoken narrative or description. It works well and we are comfortable with it.

Since the printing press was invented we have had hard copy books to read and libraries and booksellers to access them. Since personal computing and, latterly, tablet computers became commonly used digital versions of those books have been made available for download or viewing online.

In my view e-books are going to grow in usage in education. The ability to download, store and read digital documents on iPads and similar mobile devices means that students can access a wide range of resources anywhere without the need to visit a library or to carry around a pile of books.
Publishers are recognising this new way of reading and are creating new business models and ways of operating as a result. Libraries are reconsidering their ways of servicing the needs of readers for the same reason.

The series of postings on the RSC Wales blog on this subject is very useful for the education community and provides a number of links to resources. In particular it points to sources of freely available e-books that would be of value to students, staff and, because of the cost saving, to institutions. The blog post with these links is shown below:

Jisc Resources: The Student Journey

A key focus for Jisc has been the innovative use of technology in the support of learners and the outcomes of this work are encapsulated in The Student Journey page on their website shown below. Once again, it is possible to drill down to greater levels of detail and to use the links to explore the range of support materials available.

Jisc Resources: Institutional Management

Jisc has a rich history of TEL research and provides a wide range of valuable resources for institutions seeking to exploit technology in their management of their organisation. These resources are accessible through the Jisc website and users can drill down through the resources to whatever level of detail they need. For institutional management, the following page is a good starting point:

SIP Evaluation Report 1

The purpose of the TEL SIP is to evaluate the resources available from Jisc Advance/RSC Wales to assist institutions in their e-learning planning and development. The outcomes will inform the discussions that are currently underway at Swansea Metropolitan about future developments in technology enhanced learning in the context of the recent merger with University of Wales Trinity Saint David. It is hoped that the work will assist the new institution in its planning.

The project began with a meeting with the RSC Wales team and a summary of recent developments and services was prepared by Peter Scott, RSC Wales Manager. An evaluation document was prepared from this information and an examination of all the links it contained. This document is shown below and concludes with planning for next steps in the SIP project.

Sip evaluation report 20513 from Tony Toole

TEL Strategic Insight Programme Project

This blog will be a narrative account of the progress of the Enhancing Institutional Capacity to Develop Technology Enhanced Learning project at Swansea Metropolitan in collaboration with Jisc Advance. The project is funded as part of the Strategic Insight Programme supported by the Welsh Government.

The blog will also be a document repository for the project and will contain links to all the resources.
The project proposal is shown below.

Jisc advance rsc wales sip application upload from Tony Toole