Catch the wave or is it waves

Google does small roll out of 100,00 users of google wave see the post from the BBC for some background

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8282687.stm

dont need to say anymore one to watch

Fuss about Cell Phone

I had the pleasure of chairing Laura Czerniewicz prsent a paper at ALTC in 2008 in Leeds http://repository.alt.ac.uk/433/
About student access to Technology in SA. Great session and she wont best research paper for it.

She this year has published work on whats the fuss about cell phones post can be found here    Lauras great blog can be found at http://blogs.uct.ac.za/blog/laura-cet

In a country were for the majority of the population THE ONLY ACCESS for voice or data is mobile .

Changes by Lewes New School

Now some people give Youtube a bit of stick ( I may or may not be one of them) in educational context. But watch these musicians and look at there work on YouTube on lewesnewschool on YouTube . When I looked 15,364 views and growing
Nice bit of work well done to all involved.

Changes by Lewes New School

One screen or two and take your tablet.

Now Ive been a tablet PC user for a while a Ipod touch fan as well so this touch sensitive screen I reckon is an interesting thing.

Now the OLPC XO is going to have two screen one working as a virtual keyboard
 keyboard

 The Nitendo DS has two as well


The talked of Apple tablet didnt arrived in Septmber now Microsoft has this interesting device in development supposedly called the Microsoft Courier  . Now it looks very nice it also looks like a book tablet meet e book reader interesting development.

 see details on gizmo such as they are http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet

embedding documents on mobile pages

Couple of tools to mention Zoho Viewer and a recently launched functionality from google  embeddable document viewer link here

Another product is embedded it http://embedit.in

works with pdf and PPT files .

Richard Millwood a short history offline

Ok this is a becta related post but Richard is a mate . Its a really nicely written well informed piece of history of tech especially edtech  You must read it. Richard has influenced me a lot in the short time i've known him so go on download and read it. More detail below followed by link.


Richard Millwood has produced a thorough history of the developments of hardware from the teletype to the smartphone and of software from punched card input to LOGO to cloud computing. Graphic displays, office productivity tools, interactive multimedia and social networking are considered in the context of the educational imperatives of the time and the development of communication and creativity among learners in each decade since the 1970s. The article looks at the implications of the way that technologies and pedagogies have interacted in the past to focus ideas for the educational technology of the future.

page to down in variety of formats below

http://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&rid=14826

Mobile Libraries got a life far outside the Library

Working with Jon Trinder of Glasgow University of Monday was amazed to find people hadnt come across The Mobile Librairies blog possibly one of the best blogs on mobile stufff ( sorry Carlsberg and others) .

Covers loads of Mobile stuff not just library related at

http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.comlibrary.html

This recent post on how to use twitter in your Library is a good example worth a look

http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com/2009/09/100-ways-to-use-twitter-in-your-library.html

RFID tracking of museum visitors and personalised content delivery

Interesting report found By Alistair McNaught of Techdis. Lookis at RFID in Museums context

"In this project, we explored the deployment of RFID-based technologies to observe visitors’ behaviour in a museum to record what exhibits they visit and when. This data has tremendous potential to enhance museum visits through personalizing information via dynamic interfaces, or profiling the visitor to make recommendations for future activity inside or outside the museum. The outcomes of the project demonstrate the viability of (passive) RFID technologies for museum visitor tracking and provide empirical validation of the near-human tracking accuracy of the system in two different environments. "

http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/baldwin/baldwin.html

Screens and Pages publication by NIACE

 just received a copy of this worth a read. 

 About This Publication

This good practice book shows you how technology can be used to support and encourage reading, particularly reading for pleasure. It introduces technology such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds and social networking sites and shows you how they can enhance and enrich reading. The book also shows you how to use this technology to make reading more accessible.

You may have seen headlines like:
"Technology – with the wealth of choices and distractions it brings – is directly responsible for the decline of traditional reading, especially among younger adults."

Our new book gives a more balanced understanding of technology and reading by explaining how you can use technology to encourage reading.

The new book will raise your awareness and increase your knowledge of how to use technology to support and encourage reading
for pleasure.

http://shop.niace.org.uk/screens-and-pages.html 

Mike Wesch ALTC 2009 presentation

Really worth a look.

http://alt-c.blip.tv/file/2615703/

Information-rich and attention-poor

Interesting piece on abou the challenge of being iformation rich and attention poor. I use the phrase "we are the first genration in history where the ability to sort information is a as important as the information itself."


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/information-rich-and-attention-poor/article1285001/

the idea of the power and finacial worth of inforamtion filters is a concept worth thinking about !

the Awesome Highlighter >> Highlight text on web pages

Thanks to Ian Usher for sending this my way is is it just me or is this highling tool and ulr shortnening tool for web pages brilliant  http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/  this is a section of my blog highlighted using the tool http://awurl.com/uCUePmM2e

its got send to twitter and firefox bookmarklet one to watch .

Thanks Ian

Social Media in plain English Common craft strike again

Simple short but breathtakingly effective, Commoncraft video explainng social media in plain English

Social Media New revolution or marketing hype

Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Welcome to the World of Socialnomics . Thanks to bob Harrison for the link . Video is a medium that is increaingly dominating the internet .

Social Media Revolution

whats your view ?

HHL09 just over 2 weeks to go

Have you booked yet  the programme is absaloutely rammed and worth having a good pick over the programme. http://www.handheldlearning2009.com/

So book your place now and spend sometime planning your visit . Plus dont forget to vote for the awards finalists to b awrded at the awards party at the end of the first "festival day" (the first day is free). I wont pick out my favpourites in the nominees list because they are all hero's of the handheld learning arena just getting your phones out and vote for your favourites see onminees list HERE

go on vote and do come along !!

Children's use of mobile phone text messaging and its impact on literacy development in primary school

Report looking at text messaging and impact on literary development in primary school children http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rc_ic_03&rid=16824

no comment but interesting findings and sensible no nonsense approach

world bank blog on ICT in education

Great to see this and sort of amazed i shouldnt http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/
if your interested in the global picture of ICT a site worth visiting and dwelling on a while . its a blog so go on post a comment and pass the link on !

World bank study use of mobiles in Education in Developing Countires

Thanks to Richard Scullin of mobileed.org for this info
The Use of Mobile Phones in Education in Developing Countries

The World Bank is embarking on a new study investigating issues related to the use of mobile phones in education in developing countries.

The study is intended to help to raise awareness among key decisionmakers in the public, private and civil society sectors about the potential importance of the use of low cost mobile devices -- especially mobile phones -- to help benefit a variety of educational objectives. By documenting the existing landscape of initiatives in this area and emerging 'good practice', it is also hoped that this work will serve as a common base for further analytical work in this area, and inform the impending explosion of development of new hardware, software and business services occurring on mobile devices, to the benefit of these educational objectives.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:22267518~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:282386,00.html

one to watch another sign of increasing rise in mobile in education on a global stage.

ipod touches in classroom setting

Thanks to Leon for the footage http://www.l4l.co.uk/?p=835 year group of learners using the touches in real world situations

Bandwidth Caps for Residential High- Speed Internet in the U.S. and Japan OTI report

Interesting report contrasting US and Japan in relation to broadband interesting read. It forms part of the Open Technology Initiative's continuing research to compare international broadband capabilities andpolicies, we have completed this report comparing bandwidth or usage cap policies between Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) in the United States and Japan. download report at http://www.newamerica.net/files/Bandwidth Caps for High-Speed Internet in the U.S. and Japan.pdf

A Kindle in every backpack publication from the US

Interesting publication from New Democratic Leadership Council.


In a section a better tool for learning has the statement :-

The most important benefit of eTextbooks is their ability to improve educational attainment. For
less money than is spent on conventional textbooks, eTextbooks, over time, could deliver a regularly
updated, interactive, and 21st-century education to our children. There are multiple reasons the technology
offers an improved educational experience.

Now thats an iteresting stement be interested to see the evidence around it but for now just saying the reports out there and worth a read .

Publication can be downloaded at http://www.dlc.org/documents/DLC_Freedman_Kindle_0709.pdf

The organisations website can found at http://www.dlc.org/

something in the air , well over it

Thanks to Adrian for reminding me of this a real developers, mobile heads event. Now I cant do saturday but I could do friday if I blow a meeting out who listens to expert groups anyhow .

http://overtheair.org/blog/

great event mobile madness on steroids but great event

Reshaping Learning from the Ground Up Alvin Toffler

Alvin Toffler http://www.alvintoffler.net/ writer with his wife  of future shock  . article has some interesting thins to say inluding shut the public education (state education in the UK) down . I am not expressing any view at all just saying the artcles worth a read http://www.edutopia.org/future-school

Hierarchy of digital distraction

Hierarchy of digital distraction

Brilliant work by  David McCandless, London based visual and data journalist . I loved this graphical representation of the hierarchy of digital distractions

http://s3.amazonaws.com/infobeautiful/hierarchy_distractions_960.gif

 

I also loved his work on Mountains out of molehills at time line of global media scare stories

 

 

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/mountains-out-of-molehills

Great stuff do visit the site

 

Shift Happens 4.0 The digital media reconvergence remix

Karl Fisch
 shift happens video first produced in a few years ago.
This isnt hte original but is an early version

was one of the 1st ed tech related youtube video phenomena that went viral read the story at this wikki http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/History+of+the+Presentation the blog related post here

Karl recently was asked to allow a version of the video called did you know 4.0 The digtial convergence remix to be produced this is the result . Love the idea or hate it still worth a look !

The future is a foreign land or is it ?? Its definitely mobile now I wonder whose been banging on about that ! If you now get it welcome to the world the mobile world!

Microsoft's Bing.com goes visual plus look at aquabrowser

Interesting and important development in the search for next genration searching . Now I reckon our friends at google will come back very quickly .

Let battle comence http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8256046.stm

also have a look at aqua browser youtube video of it in use




aquabrower home page http://www.aquabrowser.com/

Mobile camps in Africa , lead to new generation of mobile developers

The bar camp so popular in Europe has taken a novel twist and appeared in Africa. Mobile camps may be building the next generation of mobile programmers by helping to develop a new field of study in African higher education. Recent camps have produced tools for social development and provided educators with new skills. interesting becuase the next billion users of the internet are likely to access it through mobiles devices .

http://mobileactive.org/mobile-camps-africa-bringing-next-generation-mobile-programmers

worth a look at the article.

Teachers TV ICT week

Now if your a avid viewer on digital television  or elsewhere across the web its worth noting its ICT week on teachers TV .

There is games in education,virtual worlds and a range of technologies scatterred through out the schedule.

Get Going with Google Apps In Your School

Interesting post on getting gong with Google apps in your school (other products are available !!).

Not expressing a view as always but worth a read http://techlearning.com/article/22556

Also of interest is earlier post on top ten reasons to use google apps http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/sell.html
other products are avaialbe but always good to keep upto date with developments.

saving energy

Thanks to Richard Scullin for this US example of energy saving measures in ICT in US college Library. seemingly simple stuff but with great benefit in cash and energy consumption terms . This simple graph from the report gives a strong messages .


Read the report here.
http://library.williams.edu/news/262/

Asus To Launch EEE E-Book Reader With Two Screens

looks interesting but what do you think of two page format.
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/9/8/asus-launch-eee-e-book-reader-two-screens/

commoncraft video on twitter in plain english

New to twitter well if you want a simple no nonsense explaination of how its works look at this

Twitter in Plain English

Pico projection in Nikon camera

I want one of these look at the spec

• World's first ultra-compact built-in projector^*1
• Projector stand and wireless remote control supplied
• A variety of slideshow effects enhance the fun of the built-in projector
• Five advanced image stabilizing features^*2 include ISO 6400^*3, Lens shift VR image stabilization, Electronic VR image stabilization, Motion Detection, and Best Shot Selector
• 12.1 effective megapixels for high-resolution images
• 5x zoom NIKKOR lens
• 2.7-in. high-resolution LCD monitor
• Smart Portrait System with Skin Softening
• Scene Auto Selector provides quick, carefree picture-taking in a variety of situations
• Subject Tracking for automatic tracking
• Quick Retouch for the best balance of contrast and saturation
• D-Lighting adds detail and optimizes exposure to rescue underexposed images

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/digitalcamera/coolpix/s1000pj/index.htm

Power of YouTube

A shocking but powerful youtube video on dangers of texting and driving . Strong and disturbing images .

Tredegar Comprehensive School and Gwent Police (Gwent is located in south-east Wales,UK) present a half hour drama entitled 'COW' --The film that will stop you from texting and driving,"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I54mlK0kVw

Tredegar Comprehensive School and Gwent Police (Gwent is located in south-east Wales,UK) present a half hour drama entitled 'COW' --The film that will stop you from texting and driving," with SPECIAL EFFECTS BY ZIPLINE CREATIVE http://www.ziplinecreative.co.uk (this is a trailer video)

** In the United Kingdom, a graphic public service film depicting the ravages of using cell phones in cars has spread virally on the Internet.

** The four-minute sequence involves British student actors and crews -- and is part of a larger 30-minute drama produced and directed by Peter Watkins-Hughes -- (visit http://bit.ly/AeYB4) -- an award winning former BBC producer who is also a lecturer for the Documentary Film & Television department at the Newport School of Art, Media and Design in Wales. This drama was made for -- and with -- the Gwent Police Department, located approximately 150 miles west of London.

** WARNING the graphic clip is professionally staged -- but does a fine job hammering its message home. In my view, it should be seen by every parent -- and imported/licensed for broadcast or school use throughout the United States from Mr. Watkins-Hughes. His contact information is available above.

COW: Its all about Cassie COWan a nice girl from a Gwent valleys family who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile and lost her concentration for a few seconds. Gwent police is proud to have helped Brynmawr filmmaker Peter Watkins- Hughes in the production, which stars local drama students Jenny Davies as Cassie, and Amy Ingram and Laura Quantick as her friends, Emm and Jules.

It is hoped this film will become part of the core schools programme across Wales and the UK and ultimately worldwide.

Gwent Police facilitated the films crash scenes because we want to stop ALL drivers, but particularly young and new ones, from causing accidents.


Over 300 teenagers from all over Wales were auditioned to take part in the film, nine police vehicles were involved and both the police and air ambulance helicopters featured.

State of the art digital special effects were utilised to show the impact of what would happen inside the car during impact. 

Lyn Samuel, School Liaison Coordinator for Gwent Police said: We worked closely with the production team including the University of Wales Newport, Tredegar Comprehensive School and local partners including the council and Probation Service. The result is a very impactive road safety educational tool to help reduce the number of collisions involving young drivers across Wales. Chief Inspector John Pavett from Gwent Police Roads Policing Unit hopes the serious message in this film will hit home to viewers:

Making and receiving calls and texting whilst driving is still happening on roads not just in Gwent but all over the country"

Seeing a scenario, like the one Cassie goes through, played out right before your eyes makes you realise how extremely dangerous it can be and what devastating consequences it can have.

I hope that after watching this film motorists will think twice before picking up their mobile phone when behind the wheel and realise that a quick reply to a text message or answering a phone call is never worth putting theirs and other peoples lives at risk.

It should be noted that here in Wales, we use the word "taster" instead of "teaser" as we're giving you a "taste" of what the full 30-minute video is like.

If you find this video compelling and want to see more of our work, please consider subscribing to our channel and favoriting this video.

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union. Wales has a population estimated at three million and is officially bilingual, with both Welsh and English having equal status; the majority use English as their first language. Please come visit us -- VisitWales.co.uk -- "The official UK guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales."

Press inquiries:

EDITOR Richard Jon Micklewright (message me on this channel for permissions, screenings etc)
DIRECTOR Peter Watkins- Hughes is available for interviews, as is Gwents Chief Constable Mick Giannasi, from the Gwent Police. http://www.gwent.police.uk/
Aswell as ZIPLINE CREATIVE special effects team at http://www.ziplinecreative.co.uk
And the Actresses of the film, (please contact this channel for any other enquires)

Category:  Film & Animation

Tags: 

master  original  dont text and drive  text and drive PSA  driving and texting PSA  driving and texting  Dont  text  and  drive  PSA  texting  driving  CNN  NBS  BBC  ITV  CBS  news  txting  ban  cow  ford KA  TV  smash  bang  crash  accident  texting while driving  south wales  girls  danger  death by driving  racing cars  valleys  gwent police  warning  tredegar  tredegar comprehensive  comedy  drama  welsh  car crash  disaster  jenny davies  laura quantick  amy ingram  andrew jenkins  shinko 

Mike Wesch prsenting at ALTC

earlier today had pleasure of see Mike Wesch deliver keynote at ALTC in manchester

Mikes bio is http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2009/keynotes.html#wesch

presentation isnt yet live but earlier one prsented to presented at the Personal Democracy Forum

The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics of Authenticity

View more presentations from mwesch.

The Moral Economy of the Mobile Phone in Sub Saharan Africa

Thanks to Richard for this report .A study of how the mobile phone is incorporated into relations between husbands and wives, children and parents, peers, and neighbors in Uganda and Ghana. This project looks at the mobile phone as a gift, as a device for transferring money, and as a shared community resource. How are the benefits of mobile phone access distributed according to a cultural logic of rights and responsibilities?

Interesting to contrast with behaviours actvity around mobile phones in other parts of the world.

http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/research/moraleconomy

Recruitment for the National Teacher Research Panel

No comment but for information.

The National Teacher Research Panel is an independent group of practising teachers and tutors who work to:
• Ensure that all research in education takes account of the teacher and tutor perspective;
• Ensure a higher profile for research and evidence informed practice in government, academic and practitioner communities; and
• Increase the number of teachers and tutors engaged in and with the full spectrum of research activity.

The Panel is sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, the General Teaching Council for England, and the National College for School Leadership. For more information about the panel please visit:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/ntrp.

The National Teacher Research Panel is holding an open recruitment round during the autumn term, with interviews being held on 15th October 2009 in London. Applications are invited from practitioners in all phases of education including the learning and skill sector, with experience of engaging in and with research and who would like to join this prestigious and influential group.

Being a member of the National Teacher Research Panel is demanding, but it is interesting too, and practitioners gain access to truly exceptional professional development during their membership, as well as contributing to national research and development projects.

The 5th Plymouth e-Learning Conference Learning without limits

Loads of Notice 8-9 April 2010 absaloutely great event organised in part by that powerhouse Steve Wheeler . Titled learning without limits worth a look http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/e-learning/index.html

Teachmeet the legend continues

Great piece on teachmeet by Margaret Vass http://mvass.net/2009/09/04/teachmeet-beginnings-in-falkirk/

The best CPD in the world I know people who have attended who have never been the same since . Next one is at the Scottish Learning festival on 23rd September http://teachmeet.pbworks.com/TeachmeetSLF09

To say they are just great is like saying the internet might amount to something !!!

HandHeld Learning 2009

Well I am attending and if your interested in this area can I suggest it would be a good idea you do to

look at the event home page here

View the jam packed programme here

Go on have a look

Molenet Phase one report "the impact of mobile Learning published"

Publication definitely worth a read if your interested in mobile field. Well worth a read

Phase one of MoLeNET (2007/08) involved 75 colleges and 18 schools, approximately 10,000 learners and 2,000 staff, in 32mobile learning projects. The Learning and Skills Council provided funding for handheld technologies and supporting infrastructure. The LSN MoLeNET Support programme provided advice and guidance; systems and materials; face-to-face, on-line and on-site training and continuing professional development; on-line support including peer-to-peer support and knowledge and resource sharing. LSN research, and LSN supported practitioner-led action research, explored the impact of introducing mobile learning on learner retention and achievement, teaching and learning, learner experiences and participating institutions. The findings of the research are described in this publication.

https://crm.lsnlearning.org.uk/user/order.aspx?code=090068

Learning online two reports to read

US goverment report Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

A hard read but one worth looking at.  .

But also can I highly recomnend you read the work with Models of innovation in learning online report commissioned by Becta And prduced By DR Cathy Lewin and Dr Nicola Whitton of MMU http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_02&rid=16715 the report can be downloaded here executive summary
and Full report here

compare contrast but draw your own conclusions.

Handheld learning award nominations

Have a look well deserved nominations

http://www.handheldlearning.co.uk/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,58/topic,1611.0

MiFi

Interesting device for those of you doing that mobile thing . A mobile wireless access point !Insert a sim (I assume and off you go ) for up to five devices.

http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=183117