Recent posts - PICTA@Lewes

Prison education - the way forward. From picta in PICTA@Lewes (617 days old)

Today the BBC announce that since June 2007 18,600 prisoners have been released 'early' from their sentences to accommodate the general increase in prison population. With most of those released e… more

Crossword for geeks From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

PDF Version for download… more

T4T2 - Evaluating Training. From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

There is a great benefit from evaluating training as feedback to the tutor that they are achieving goals set out when designing courses. The only problem is that these evaluations are often undertaken… more

T4T2 - Giving feedback From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

There is a school of thought that feedback must always be positive even when it is negative. The Prison Service trains all its management the process of what we call the S**T Sandwich. This is when yo… more

T4T2 - Training Needs Analysis From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

I have been involved in Training Needs Analysis since working for Racal Acoustics back in the 1980's. It is a necessary part of training delivery and shouldn't be undertaken half hearted. In recen… more

T4T2 - Attributes of a Trainer From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

Being an e-trainer or 'facilitator' I have to concur with Clive Shepherd of Fastrak Consulting that an e-trainer needs "the ability to adapt training materials to be extremely visual, allowing plenty … more

T4T2 - Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Learning From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

Looking at e-learning more deeply now than when I first started delivering it I realise that it has definite Advantages and Disadvantages over conventional teaching.Disadvantages:It can be seen as ste… more

T4T2 - Learning Styles From picta in PICTA@Lewes (817 days old)

When looking at learning styles tutors should be more adaptive to students needs, rather than students having to come out of their comfort-zone of achievement to fulfill a tutors style of teaching. … more

Embracing technology From picta in PICTA@Lewes (988 days old)

Developments in recent months in e-learning have turned from a trickle to a full-on torrent. As more and more agencies embrace the concept of technology working in education (not taking over as some t… more

I am not a number, I'm a free man From picta in PICTA@Lewes (992 days old)

Straw poll anyone? Interested to gauge the opinion of the blogosphere as to the necessity to introduce a 'Unique Learning Number' to all students from the time they start school right through adult… more

BECTA conference on Personalising Learning From picta in PICTA@Lewes (995 days old)

Yesterday I was invited to attend the BECTA conference on Personalising Learning. The aim was to look at how technology can support and advance the personalisation of learning, which should not be … more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 14 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (999 days old)

We are more and more looking towards e-learning to fulfil a need in the prison service; to offer a wider, more comprehensive choice of learning to inmates. We are already ensuring that prisoners are o… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 13 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1000 days old)

Electronic Voting Systems The systems used in e-learning are along the lines of Qwizdom. Students each have a handset and when presented with questions on a projected screen enter the correspondin… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 12 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1002 days old)

Learning Management Software/Systems (LMS) LMS is a software package, usually on a large scale (that scale is decreasing rapidly) that enables the management and delivery of learning content and r… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 11 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1003 days old)

Computer Aided Assessment or e-assessment This is an on-line means of delivering examinations or assessments. An e-testing system comprises two components: (1) an assessment engine; and (2) an… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 10 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1005 days old)

Wiki or Social Software This is a type of Web site that allows the visitors to add, remove, and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. Wikip… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 9 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1006 days old)

Webcam and Instant Messaging These ‘chat’ systems are an extension of e-mail. A tutor can set up a class on a particular time and date and have students all over the world join in, in what is call… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 8 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1009 days old)

E-mail E-mail is by far the widest used means of e-learning. As with Discussion Boards and Blogs, information can be shared and disseminated to individuals or groups over a wide area. A tutor can … more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 7 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1009 days old)

Collaborative Software Also known as GroupWare, this refers to programs that help people work collectively whilst geographically remote from each other. Programs that enable real time collaboratio… more

Introduction to e-learning - Part 6 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1010 days old)

Podcasts Podcasts as an educational means, are becoming very popular with the i-pod user, for convenience and extreme privacy. Being able to download learning materials to a portable audio player ar… more

Introduction to e-learning Part 5 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1011 days old)

Blogs or weblogs Blogs are another means of learning. Websites, like educational.blogs.com, pride themselves as offering a ‘Disruptive Technology Resource for Educators using Weblogs, Blogware, Coll… more

Introduction to e-learning Part 4 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1012 days old)

Hypermedia This is a term that was coined by Ted Nelson, in 1965 in an article ‘Complex information processing: a file structure for the complex, the changing and the indeterminate’. Today it mainly… more

Introduction to e-learning Part 3 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1013 days old)

John Chambers, president and CEO of CISCO Systems said, “The next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education. Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to mak… more

Introduction to e-learning Part 2 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1014 days old)

In 1885, William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago said, “The day is coming when the work done by correspondence will be greater in amount than that done in the classrooms of our a… more

Introduction to e-learning Part1 From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1016 days old)

What is E-Learning? E-learning is an all-encompassing term generally used to refer to computer-enhanced learning, although it is often extended to include the use of mobile technologies such as PDA… more

E-Learning the way forward? From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1135 days old)

I am currently looking at the e-learning in the prison service and its future development. As part of this I am now on the steering part of the Southern Learning Skills Council and the Practitioners g… more

E-Learning and exams - the way forward. From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1285 days old)

Interested in two pieces of education news today. First: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) announced that this year will see the first 'on-line' examination sat in Intermediate 2 and High… more

Under new management From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1305 days old)

After months of worry about the future of PICTA we are happy to report that we have a new steering group and management team. The DfES transferred 'ownership' to the Regime Services Group(RSG) of HMP… more

PNIE update From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1305 days old)

Our workshop expansion is now complete. The £15,000 refurbishment paid for by the Offenders Learning and Skills Unit of the DfES allows us to develop the courses currently being run to include the NEW… more

Hard work pays off From picta in PICTA@Lewes (1324 days old)

Congratulations to Officer Mike Billett of HMP Lewes (PICTA workshop) for being nominated for Officer of the Year for Lewes for his valiant work in Resettlement. His name is to be put forward with of… more