Palgrave Macmillan have just announced details of their 2009 Pocket Study Skills Series, one of which is my book “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and More.” (ISBN 978-0-230-57763-3)

It’s been written as an essential guide to getting the most out of using the internet and internet technology for studying. Areas covered include: web 2.0 technology (wikis, blogs, Podcasts and RSS) that students may encounter at university, good web practice (netiquette, tagging, online writing) and using external resources for educational use (citeulike, Google scholar and del.ici.ous).

Each guide focuses on a single crucial aspect of study – for example, the importance of planning an essay, or referencing and understanding plagiarism – giving students step-by-step guidance, handy tips and clear advice on how to approach the important areas which will continually be at the core of their study ethic.

View Palgrave Study Skills Leaflet

Sony’s new online virtual world, PlayStation Home, is behind the times, says a leading Microsoft executive……….

Daily Telegraph Article

I finally got my chance to have a roam around Home on the Sony PS3 last Friday after receiving my Beta invite and graphically it looks a million times better and sharper than Second Life which for simulation and health might be important in the longer term/bigger picture. Characters are easy to customise and quick to process (comparing the pc to the ps3) and movement is very fluid even when there are lots of people moving around – it’s also funny to be in a virtual world where there are lots of people around rather than moving through the eerie deserted plains of Second Life.

If Sony ever decides to enter the education arena in some way with a privately cordoned off section it might be onto a winner. If it leaves it as an entertainment development for ps3 fanboys then at least for researchers looking at how virtual worlds might be implemented and function on a large scale it will provide a huge range of data. The beta forum already has some very interesting posts for possible papers………

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