What apps do you use for image work?

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, technology

Good discussion on the ACE Network Ning, started by Lynne Gibb the e-mentor for Eastern Metro Region. Like Lynne, I used to be a big PaintShop Pro fan, as i had a free licensed version from one of the computer magazines. Now I use XNview for browsing through my image collection, and also for those times you have to quickly re-size, adjust colours or optimise an image for the web. [Here’s my video screencast about it.] Screenshot captor is my choice for screengrabs (similar to Carole’s Snipping Tool.) I’ve loaded Read More …

Dropbox, an introduction

Michael Chalk2 CommentsUncategorized

Michael Chalk and Ian Hall present an intro to Dropbox: How to get it, what it’s for and what can you do with it.  Thursday 07 March, 12:30 AEDT. Location TBA (online – you’ll need a headset).  Especially for the folk of the Loddon Mallee and North-West regions, however everyone is welcome. Please indicate here in the comments, or on the ACE network Ning events page (login req’d), whether we’ll see you. Come and share your knowledge if you already have some experience. Still booking an online room, but we’ll let Read More …

What learning brings you joy?

Michael Chalk1 Commentace

Found a lovely conversation on the Adult Learning Australia (ALA) Linkedin page, started by Sally Thompson. It was great to see so many joyful responses 😉 [You’ll need to join the conversation group to follow those links.] I must say Junita amazes me with her constant sense of bubbling joy in her work. She’s a real inspiration in the way she’ll organise a network of educators and draw them into connecting. Above and beyond! Junita spoke of a small group of collaborative educators who would get together

What’s happening around the region?

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

Here in the North-West, we’ve met with some inspiring educators from 8 different organisations. It always intrigues me when i meet people who say, “We’re real beginners with e-learning, we don’t really know what we’re doing,” and then you find out they’re already experimenting with all kinds of engaging practices in their classrooms. So often, people in adult education don’t recognise what’s already happening in their teachers’ practice. Here’s a very brief overview of what people are working towards on these e-learning mentor projects. So far, people are looking to: Read More …

Workshops coming up very soon (face-to-face)

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

In November, we have 2 half-day workshops for anybody in the region. The sessions are face-to-face, held at the CAE (Flinders Lane, Melbourne) and free to attend. Both sessions will have opportunities for networking activities & discussion, as well as Q&A problem-solving. Bookings are needed however. (Please use the form below.) Day One:Thursday 15 November 1:00 – 4:00pmWorking with images and photos – examples: flickr, instagram ideas for using photos in class books & zines with Publisher optimising images Day Two: Tuesday 27 November 9:30am – 12:30pmExploring powerpoint and other slide-based presentation tools, for Read More …

First meetings underway

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

What a great turnout we had last week for our “induction sessions” in at the CAE. Educators from nearly all organisations came along, and we talked about many things: what e-learning is,  what the issues are,  what you would like to learn about,  what you are doing already, and  various ways to stay in touch during the project.  Here’s the presentation from the day, including input from everyone in the room as we went along. You should be able to make this full-screen, and move through the slides. If you’d Read More …

Live web conferencing – the skills you need to facilitate a session

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, professional development, technology

Last year, a few of the Victorian LearnLocal e-learning mentors put our heads together to think about the skills that people need when they want to run a live web conferencing session. I think it’s really crucial, if you’re thinking of running a live web conferencing session, to get as much help as you possibly can. We came up with the ideas in this document below.

Sign in, Sign up. The challenges of email in an ESL class

Michael Chalk1 CommentUncategorized

Last week, i spent one session working with Chris at Reservoir Neighbourhood House, in her “very beginner” English as a second language (ESL) class. One of the English students was having a terrible time trying to sign up for a gmail account. They had tried to connect week after week, and kept getting some kind of “verification code” message. Fortunately we managed to resolve that issue, and she could sign in for the first time. First task was to send Chris a message. After that, send a message to one Read More …

Which model of e-learning suits you?

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

Clint Smith is one amazing e-learning strategist. You may have seen him at the recent Victorian LearnLocal e-learning showcase. According to Clint, these 8 models are the most commonly understood representations of how people engage with e-learning in business and education. We asked our participants which of the models were most likely to interest them. Blended Learning and Live Online Learning (aka web conferencing) were the most interesting. We held a live poll in person at the North-West induction sessions, via sms and also the web. People could vote here Read More …

Writings Reclaimed

Michael ChalkLeave a commenttechnology

I decided to bring posts to this blog from other projects, such as: Digital Learning at PRACE Digital Learning at Lalor Living and Learning ACFE Learn Local Communities of Practice the North-West e-mentor projects from ACFE Learn Local iPad for Seniors at PRACE the 23 Things project from ACFE, CAE and PRACE.   Having written nearly all the text in those places, i wanted gather it all together. It was relatively easy to export from Blogger, and then import into WordPress here. Unfortunately, now i’ve discovered several roadblocks, namely: the Read More …

Mark Hopkins’ story translated into many languages

Michael ChalkLeave a commentadult literacy

You remember Mark Hopkins, the adult learner from PRACE who told his story so well, not only in our publication, but also on the SBS Insight tv program last year? Well, some of the stories from this Resilience collection have been translated into other languages for the EPALE* site, and the first story to be translated was Mark’s. *EPALE: Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe. https://goo.gl/XqROOX

Adult Learners in Conversation – “A Fuller Sense of Self”

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, adult literacy, community

Last night Tricia Bowen spoke about her experience of reconnecting with the adult learners who have shared their stories in this volume. I talked about how great it was to join with Tricia and Lynne in the whole creative and collaborative process of editing. Then Lynne Matheson invited us to launch the video into the world, so we all made rocket-launching sounds, and the champagne flowed. * It was such a good experience filming and editing these stories with Tricia. I would love to hear any feedback, especially related to Read More …

Reading between the Lines – SBS Insight focus on Adult Literacy

Michael ChalkLeave a commentadult literacy

If you think Australia is a highly literate nation, watch this recent episode of Insight from SBS. This powerful and moving episode features Mark Hopkins one of the students from PRACE. I spoke with Mark as part of the “Stories of Resilience” project, and it’s really heartening to hear his voice in this national forum. All these adult learners show real courage and vulnerability, as they describe their experience for people who have no idea of the extent of this hidden problem. Over 40% of Australians experience some level of difficulty Read More …

Dark Side of the Comment Section

Michael ChalkLeave a commentcommunity, technology

If you’re involved with any kind of online facilitation, you may appreciate this article from The Guardian. They’ve done some research into the comment section, finding that much more abuse is directed at female writers than male. (Also, for web designers, some really good layout effects, especially the way they’ve integrated the graphs and the “how would you moderate this comment” bits.) There’s a whole series around this research, articles interviewing people who have experienced the maelstrom of massive online shaming and bullying.. and articles on ideas for making things Read More …

PageTurners has a new online shop

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, adult literacy, community

Just sent out the latest PageTurners newsletter, letting people know that the new shopping-cart style website is up and running!! It’s taken me much time this year to get the site all updated and e-commercey, so i’m very happy that we’ve finally launched. Woot. You can read the newsletter here. Take a look at the site, tell us what you think. Oh, we need a feedback form don’t we. If you’re not subscribed to the PageTurners email list, you can join via the website.

iPad apps especially for Seniors??

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, technology

I wondered if there are any iPad apps that would be especially useful for people over 55, so i searched the web for  “best apps for ipad for seniors“. Sure enough, there are many many lists: “16 helpful apps for seniors”, “27 bet iPad and iPhone apps for senior citizens”. But are any of them useful.. and how many of these apps are FREE..? Well, some of them are designed to help people by improving things like: Visual accessibility: Silver Surf is a web browser with “large navigation buttons, dynamic text Read More …

Some help files for blogger

Michael ChalkLeave a commenthow to

Here’s a basic intro that Michael made – for low level students really (link: pdf stored in google drive). GCF LearnFree don’t have an intro to blogger, but they do have a great section talking about blogs in general, and an intro to Tumblr instead. Tumblr is much more visual than blogger, which can be text-heavy. Google themselves have a fairly decent help section. Grovo has a few videos showing the basics, including this overview. But they’re a commercial mob, and they’ll want you to pay for more. What good Read More …

Skills you may need (blogging)

Michael ChalkLeave a commenthow to

What are the the basics of blogging? make new blog, with title & web address (URL) hopefully at a time when google is not policing your IP address make new post  add & format text add images make links save draft / publish get people interested in reading your blog post knowledge you may need Ideas for engaging learners with online activities.  Ideas for adapting your already brilliant teaching and learning knowledge into online spaces.  On writing for the web  keep it as visual as possible  make your text very Read More …