A new web portal (rather 1990's no?) for the UK Higher Education Academy's 24 subject centres has been branded a "mammoth waste of money". Too right. What is HEA for?
Disruptive technologies, pedagogical innovation: What's new: Findings from an in-depth study of students use and perception of technology. Computers & Education 2008 50 (2): 511-524.
The deal aims to provide students with web space free from the restrictions of the university, 500MB of webspace and a bandwidth allocation of 2GB per month.
The time has come to face up to the real question: not whether there are too many firsts or upper seconds, but why we are continuing at all with the current illusory classification system.
Screencasts can be used to supplement teaching materials and can also be prepared in response to student email queries, then saved and sent to other students with the same question. Screencasts can be applicable across all disciplines for online learners.
The number of British students enrolling at UK universities has stalled while those coming to study from overseas has continued to rise according to latest official figures.
The low cost and ease of use of open source software, combined with low funding for education means that commercial software giants like Microsoft will see a continually declining share of the educational technology market.
Key findings: The research shows that they will bring inherent expectations for ICT with them, display instinctive preferences for technology when presented, and be able to evaluate any new technology they may meet at university.