Excellence Gateway
Cheshire Lifelong Learning Service forms part of Cheshire County Council's Education and Community Directorate within the Local Education Authority. The service manages part-time provision at over 200 venues across the county offering courses in all 14 areas of learning including Family Learning. All the Adult and Community Learning (ACL) programmes are provided through sub-contracting arrangements with five local colleges, three educational associations, an independent adult education centre and a range of voluntary and community organisations reaching over 33,000 learners last year.
I am involved in promoting and supporting e-learning and ILT development with our partner provider organisations. I am also an E-Guide and co-ordinate Cheshire Lifelong Learning Service E-guide activities.
An E-Guide Discussion Group was looking for an answer to this question. A possible solution was identified by e-guide Patrick Purcell, of Redbridge Institute of Adult Education who suggested that a 'Sandisk Photo Album' might be the answer.
I decided to investigate further by purchasing one and assessing its capabilities to display PowerPoint presentations without requiring a computer in the classroom or meeting place. Costing only ?40 or even less from some internet sources, it offers a cost effective means of displaying presentations.
To help get things started we needed a memory card reader/writer with the capability to display photos (JPEGs) onto a TV or onto a screen via a data projector. We also used the following ancillary equipment:
Cheshire Lifelong Learning Development Officers, our admin team along with our Move On and Family Learning tutor teams will have access to this equipment to use in the classroom or when giving presentations. It will enable them to cut down on the amount of equipment they need to take out when working in outreach locations. If users know that if there is access to a TV or data projector at their venue, then they would only need to take the Sandisk Photo Album and a memory card.
We are still in the initial evaluation stage regarding the value of this piece of equipment and will soon be providing introductory training through our e-guides.
The Sandisk Photo Album will display photos in JPEG format on a TV or through a data projector onto a screen. PowerPoint slides can be saved in several formats including JPEGs which means that if you save your PowerPoint presentation slides as JPEGs, you can then view your presentation using the Sandisk Photo Album and a TV or data projector. PowerPoint presentation slides are created in the normal way using Microsoft PowerPoint software. These slides are then saved onto a memory card of the type used in digital cameras or onto a USB data stick. The slides must be saved as JPEGs. This can be done within the 'Save As...' options.
In the classroom or meeting room, the Sandisk Photo Album may be connected to either a TV or data projector using the RCA Video cable provided. The memory card or USB data stick containing the presentation is inserted and the slides are displayed using the remote control provided.
Too early to answer this one fully. We are still evaluating its usefulness and assessing any practical implications. However, the Sandisk Photo Album is less than the size of a paperback and is very light. Small and light enough to slip into your pocket.
It also reads and displays the slides in alphabetical order which means that when saving a presentation it is important to name the slides alphabetically so that they are displayed in the correct order.
The larger the file being displayed the longer it takes for the Photo Album to read and display it, so keep any photos small as they can hold a lot of data.
Once again, it is too early to gauge the impact of using this method of providing a means to give presentations without using a computer. However it has answered the initial question in the E-guides discussion group!
Can you give a presentation without needing a computer in the classroom? Answer - Yes! At ?40 or less, this player offers a low cost method of displaying presentations in rooms with TV or data projector access.
Outreach workers will appreciate the compact size, low weight and low cost of this equipment along with reduced security issues since they would not need to take a laptop to give their presentations.
Source: Quality Improvement Agency
You can find this page and download any referenced resources from the Excellence Gateway at http://excellence.org.uk/ferl.aclearn.resource.id12446.
