In November, Jeremy Orlebar created a new section on CD Cover Design + Analysis and Sue Crawte completed the third part of her Dreamweaver Web Design Tutorials.

We've been busy putting together a Glossary of Terms which we hope will be available by mid December. This will, inevitably, have gaps. We are hoping that you will let us know what we've missed so we can develop it further.

Last week we recorded a series of Quiz Show Podcasts at Elsinore House in Hammersmith - the HarperCollins HQ. Pete Wall spent the day explaining the Controlled Test topic and how best to prepare students. It always amazes me that Pete manages to cover almost every section in one take. It certainly makes editing considerably easier. We hope to make these podcasts available both on Mediaedu and on the HarperCollins website next week.

The low point of the month would have been the beginning of this week. Due to some technical problems (code for mistakes made by me during a late night editing session) the site was unavailable on Tuesday and the rest of the week was spent picking up the pieces.

Inevitably, at some point we all experience downtime with websites. We're just sorry if we let you down during this period. You may well encounter problems from time to time whilst using the site. If you are able to, please let us know if you find a broken hyperlink or a page which fails to display. We will do our best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

As a result of this period of downtime, we've begun to recreate the existing Mediaedu website in a more stable and dynamic platform - a content management system. This should allow us to introduce new features and add lots more content without encountering further capacity constraints.

As part of the restructuring, we have an opportunity to give the site a facelift. We would welcome any ideas from you in terms of site design, colour schemes, features you like on other sites, etc. Where possible, we will try and act on your ideas in the new version of the website.

Do you have a Christmas Wishlist? Would a few specific things really help you with your teaching after Xmas? Let us know and we'll try and help.

We spend a lot of time thinking about what we should add to Mediaedu. Most of the best areas on the site have been created because our colleagues have requested support with specific problems they've been having. Please let us know what would help you the most so we can give you the support you need. One thing's for sure, there will be others who will benefit too.

Early December will also see the launch of Ardnox High, a new monthly comic created specifically for Edusites by Hunt Emerson - a leading underground cartoonist in the UK who spends his daylight hours working on The Beano for DC Thomson. Ardnox is intended to be fun, a light-hearted look at the experiences of a small group of secondary students as they move from one subject lesson to the next. We're always looking for ideas for future editions, so if you have suggestions for new scripts - let us know. You might find them in the next issue.

There are a few things we would like to remind you about... Please familiarise yourself with the Client Panel on Mediaedu. It's where you will be able to monitor your account and keep your contact details and invoices up to date. The Client Panel is also the area on the website where you can create your students' logins.

You might like to include Mediaedu.co.uk as a useful link on your school's website. It will save time when it comes to students remembering the web address.

Some people have found it frustrating that we don't currently allow people to pay subscriptions by credit or debit card. This option is well underway and should be available within a week or so.

We are planning to record a Q + A series of podcasts on the Creative and Media Diploma after the New Year with Pete Wall. We are more than happy to cover some of the tricky issues you've experienced so far - either in your delivery of the diploma or your current planning.

John Lough has kindly agreed to begin to create come core resources for Film Studies. We will let you know more about this as new copy is uploaded.

Have a good week.

Kind regards,

rgtsignature

Richard Gent - Edusites Ltd
[e] richardgent@mac.com

Updates for November 2008