StewartCutler.com

URConnected is an ongoing project exploring the benefits of using web based and mobile phone tools to enhance learning in youth work and to get the URC online!

Improve My Site – Some WordPress Plugins

Featured Content Gallery is a great plugin which gives you a clickable slideshow which pulls photos from any posts or pages.  Great for a front page!  Download it.

Twitter Tools allows you to link your blog with Twitter.  Your blog will ‘tweet’ each time you post and you can display your Twitter stream in a widget in the sidebar.

TinyMCE Advanced gives you loads of option to format your text a post or page.  Lots of formatting buttons to choose from!

NextGEN Gallery another nice slideshow tool.  I’ve used it on my Photography page but it also has a range of sidebar widgets!

PodPress is a great podcasting plugin with iTunes integration and now a sidebar widget for easy access to all your wise words!  Check the sidebar for some of mine!

URConnected

URConnected began as a very practical day of training and discussion on how you can use the new tools and possibilities of the internet and mobile phone technology to enhance your work with young people and churches.

At the first Connecetd training day we set up a number of websites to help both demonstrate how easy that was, how useful it could be and to allow us to widen our discussion about using online apps and tools.

I look forward to connecting with you at the URConnected website or wiki or here on my blog.

Here are some great videos from Common Craft which explain some of these tools.

Social Networking

Wikis

Blogs

Blogging

Want to blog but not sure how or why?  Check this great one page How To: Blogging for Youth Workers from YoMo blog The (late) Breakfast Society

For list of web tools check the Resources page.

Our facilitator for our first URConnecetd was Ewan McIntosh.

Ewan McIntosh helps people understand how emerging technologies such as social media, mobile ubiquitous computers and gaming can help them learn better, work better and live better. He is the National Adviser on Learning and Technology Futures for Learning and Teaching Scotland, the education agency responsible for curriculum development, and a member of the Channel 4 Media Advisory Board. As a teacher of French and German in the high school sector and an educational technologist working with children aged 3-18, he frequently gives talks and workshops around the world, trying to find new and better ways of using emerging technologies in education. Ewan also consults for organisations including the BBC, British Council, General Teaching Council of Scotland, RM and Scottish Enterprise, advising on how social media can be harnessed for to improve learning in the organisation, leadership and communication.

More information and previous talks are available on his regularly updated blog.