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This section will contain news articles about developments within Shift Learning and in the education and learning sector in general.

A-level pass rate rises to 97.6%

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The A-level pass rates have risen for the 28th successive year. An unprecedented 27% of entries achieved an A grade and just over 8% of the entries were awarded the A* grade, which was introduced this year.

The increased proportion of A grades will intensify competition for university places. Around 170,000 people are predicted to miss out on a place on a degree course this autumn after applications surged to another record high this summer.Leading universities are split over whether to use the A*. Cambridge has made A*AA its standard offer in most subjects. But some top universities including Leeds and Oxford have declined to use the A* this year.

The rise in the pass rate over the last three decades has prompted concerns that A-levels have got easier while candidates' abilities have remained the same.

Click the link below to read the full article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/aug/19/a-level-results-2010

 

 

 

Leicester City Council Starts iPad trials

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Leicester City Council Starts iPad Trials

Leicester City Council has recently invested in four iPads as part of a trial into a potential £40,000 plan to supply the tools to all 54 councillors as well as some senior officers. The council believes the investment will lead to future savings if councillors adopt a paperless working environment. The iPads will replace existing laptops and save on printing costs.

The trial demonstrates that perception of the iPads is moving from ‘expensive toy’ to becoming a full competitor in the commercial world, taking its place in both private and public sector offices.

 

Online lectures boost part-time Open University courses

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Online Lectures Boost Part-Time Open University Courses

The Open University has seen a 34% increase in the number of 18-24 year olds enrolling for distance learning degrees. This allows them to work part-time, gaining valuable work experience whilst avoiding student debt.

Many lectures are published online, allowing students the flexibility to access learning material from wherever they are. As a result the university has seen a recent upsurge in the number of people accessing OU student websites on their mobile devices: from 1,370 in June 2008 to 11,000 in May 2010.

The OU also has a huge number of downloads available on iTunes U, a special area of the Apple iTunes store that allows Higher Education institutions to make audio and visual content available for download. The university recently recorded a record as the first university to hit 20 million downloads on the iTunes website.

 

European Parliament Creates Online Role-Playing Game

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European Parliament Creates Online Role-Playing Game

In a bid to raise awareness of the role of the European Parliament, an online virtual game and social networking forum has been created. Game-lovers will be able to explore the virtual 3D world that represents the European Parliament, proposing legislation and voting while they learn how the parliament works.

The final touches are being put to the game, called Citzalia, which will soon be launched in a beta version. Participants from the general public are currently invited to register to take part in the experiment. The full version will go live later this year.

The 3D environment is built around a combination of the three European Parliament buildings in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. Participants will interact with real MEPs and European Commission civil servants.

It is hoped that the tool will be used by the general public, secondary school teachers and journalism students to learn about the work of the parliament.

The game follows the success of other virtual environments such as Second Life which have been adopted by universities, such as the Open University, and other institutions for teaching and learning purposes.

Visit the Citzalia website for more information, or to register for the game Opens in new window.

 

Universities accused of pressurising students in HEFCE surveys

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Eight British universities have been accused of putting undue pressure on students in an attempt to boost their position in the  National Student Survey. The eight universities were Swansea, Anglia Ruskin (in Cambridge and Chelmsford), Derby, Leicester,Portsmouth, Sunderland, Kingston and London Metropolitan. Documents show they have all been investigated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).

Documents released under freedom of information show the universities were reported to the higher education funding body in the last two years over allegations they tried to persuade students to give their institutions high scores in the National Student Survey.

The allegations bring up methodological problems with creating a survey where the participants have an interest in skewing the results upwards. Maybe time for a rethink?

For more information see this article in The Guardian. 

 


 
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Shift News

Leicester City Council Starts iPad Trials

Leicester City Council has recently invested in four iPads as part of a trial into a potential £40,000 plan to supply the tools to all 54 councillors as well as some senior officers. The council believes the investment will lead to future savings if councillors adopt a paperless working environment. The iPads will replace existing laptops and save on printing costs.

The trial demonstrates that perception of the iPads is moving from ‘expensive toy’ to becoming a full competitor in the commercial world, taking its place in both private and public sector offices.

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