Weekly Learning Technology Digest... 13

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Time for the weekly learning technology digest yet again and a round up of all that's been wafting around!

To be honest, it's been a gorgeous week weather-wise and almost too nice to be sitting down reading articles online... however... there were plenty worth the sacrifice of a bit of time in the sunshine... and so here they are...

• The first bit of news came in the form of a piece of research done by the Million+ group which reported on a 'collapse in the number of mature students' as a result of funding changes. The full report is worth a read.
• Another interesting bit of research from Harvard University appeared in The Guardian under the title of 'Improve efficiency – switch off your smartphone' - we're under pressure to be 'always on', but this article reports on the fact that 'predictable time off' was better for balance and efficiency. Also applies to those learning and teaching online too, I would have said!
• If you fancy listening to a link rather than reading... why not head to the latest of JISC's 'On Air' podcasts which is about 'Developing Digital Literacies for Working in a Digital World'.
• If you're after other guidance, then 'Social Media Etiquette do's and don'ts' will help you work out how you can make more of social media. A nice straightforward list!
• '6 drivers of mLearning in the workplace' - I do like a good list... and this is another that although it's talking about the workplace, to be honest, will equally apply in education.  Especially with a strong employability agenda pressing on the curriculum!
• I know I've mentioned them before, but I do like a good infographic and infogr.am has just launched to help creating them easier.  Let's face it though... lots of infographics aren't good at all... 
• Never one to lag behind a trend (*coughs politely*), we have something new from Microsoft, 'Microsoft's New Social Network, So.cl: It's Like Google+ for Wonks'.  My instinct is to say 'nod in its direction and then ignore'.
• There's a lot about cloud computing (and has been for a while) around... so, if you'd like to know about the different routes businesses are going into this area, then The Guardian's Media Network gave a good overview of an evolutionary vs. revolutionary approach which is worth a look.
• Educational Technology and Mobile Learning had '8 Free Video Websites for Inspiring Talks and Lectures' and while you may have heard of TED, there are several more sources of free university lectures out there which this points you towards.  Flipped classroom fodder - and useful to bookmark.  Oh, and they also have some excellent links for teachers wanting to create presentations and slideshows if you're after even more ideas!
• The final thing I discovered this week - although how this has passed me by, I'm not sure - is the weekly Tech Weekly podcast from The Guardian.  This week's is about how search has changed as well as stuff about data activism.  Only last week Google announced the 'Knowledge Graph' as part of enhancing search functionality... so this podcast is very timely.

That's your lot.  And there really was a lot this week.  From resources to help enrich your teaching to research reports and new developments.  It can sometimes feel hard to stay on top of all that's changing out there, can't it?  Maybe we should all follow that advice from Harvard and switch off every so often and not worry too much about it!

See you all next week!

Sarah