Web 2.0 in Schools Policy and Leadership by COSN

Great report from our friends at COSN http://www.cosn.org on web 2.0 in Schools in relation to policy and leadership released back in may but Ive just come across it report can be downloaded at
http://www.cosn.org/Portals/7/docs/Web%202.0/ExecSummaryCoSN%20Report042809Final.pdf

Watch telly go on !

Yes TV does exist I suggest you catch the BBC programme on BBC2 "The virtual revolution ! The programme talks

 "web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee,  journeys across four continents and six countries and speaks to more than 50 people who have made the web what it is today – including some rather famous names, such as Bill Gates, Al Gore, Stephen Fry, Jimmy Wales, Arianna Huffington, Mark Zuckerberg, Chad Hurley, Stewart Brand, Jeff Bezos … and the President of Estonia."'
My wife a gorgeous non tech time said she's going to watch it so I suggest you 20.30hrs on BBC2 and UK players can watch it later on Iplayer. The programme home page is found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution/index.shtml

Helpfully Dr Aleks Krotoski programme producer and part of team at the Guardian Tech Weekly team discuss the series in the later part of their weekly Guardian Tech podcast you can listen to it at

Latest: Sir Tim Berners Lee on free data and the BBC's Virtual Revolution

ICT & Education: Eleven Countries to Watch -- and Learn From

From the world banks blog on ICT use in Education well worth a read great list of countries looking at 1:1 access and other work around ICT Uruguay, South Korea Singapore Malaysia and Namibia link http://ow.ly/11Tng

also highlight up and coming conference on 1:1 computing

International Conference on 1-to-1 Computing in Education

Together with our co-organizers, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we are proud to announce an International Conference on 1-to-1 Computing in Education hosted by the government of Austria from 22-24 February 2010 in Vienna.

Results from this event will be covered on the World Bank EduTech blog beginning in March.

For more information and event registration, please see www.bildung.at/nml-conference2010.

One to watch
 

Brandheld by essential research

This report Branded services will make smart phones starts of with following statements
Handsets, cost and connection speed holding back mobile internet adoption


London, 21 January, 2010: A huge 76% of mobile phone users don’t use their mobile to access the internet a UK-wide study into our mobile habits by leading research specialist Essential Research has revealed. The news comes despite industry hype around the success of internet-enabled smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Nexus One.
Even more surprising is that 60% of UK mobile users claim to not even own a mobile with internet access and just 30% of these are interested in getting one. The picture gets worse for mobile operators with the revelation that even for upwardly mobile internet users and owners of smartphones, one third (31%) have never used their phone to connect to the internet, a quarter (24%) use it less than once a week and 8% tried it but don’t intend to do so again.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now Iam sure this reflects what researchers found but it doesnt reflect what I see around town but still give it a read it makes some interesting points. As always form your own view. Blog post relating to report can be found at http://www.essentialresearch.co.uk/blog/2010/01/branded-services-will-make-smart-phones/

Do it now and save £100 book for games Based Learning 2010

The closing date for early bird registration for one of the planets best games based learning event. Games Based Learning 2010. The presenters/contributors for the event are like the who's who of educational   use of games a list of some of them can be seen at http://www.gamebasedlearning2010.com/conference/speakers . Book by 31st Jan and you get early bird rate and save £100 registration details can be found here http://www.gamebasedlearning2010.com/conference/registration

plus there is free teachmeet event on the first night.

Apple Tablet Moment of discovery video

First predicition is wait and see

But joking aside look at this video from Apple who I do  fully credit from 1997 called a moment of discovery so Apple Newtons etc its not the first foray by Apple into the tablet world though radically different well the video is 13 years old

Moment of Discovery

Iphone projection

This might be another killer accessory for small scale training Iphone/ipod pico projection
http://www.beambox.co.uk/product_details.php?product_id=27

worth checking out other projection of the pico kind at http://www.beambox.co.uk/products.php

Projection is going to get interesting again !!

Mobile Continent

Article worth reading on growth of mobile in Africa . one stat amazed me since 2003 African with mobiles has risen 550%.

The “Information Economy Report” published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in October, found that mobile subscriptions rose from 54 million to 350 million between 2003 and 2008 – meaning more than a third of Africans now owns a mobile phone.

really easy to read article well worth a read. Article can be at http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/14163

worth a look Social Network Websites: their Benefits and Risks. A guide for school leaders

If your strugging with the evolving worlds of social networks and the relationship young people have with them this could be a good place to look. The author has fourteen years of teaching experience and is currently in a leadership role . This looks at the positives and the negatives of using such media tools with learners . Now as usual not telling you what to do but I tihnk its a good read . A nice short e book that can be found at the following link  http://www.optimus-education.com/social-network-websites-their-benefits-and-risks-guide-school-leaders-254

go on have a look.

SMS and Haiti Earthquake

If you still doubt power of SMS look at this data on charitable giving on the excellent  http://mobileactive.org and the data on the cash donated via humble sms can be found at http://mobileactive.org/mobile-giving-and-haiti-earthquake-relief-efforts this is bleeding amazing !!

Bett 2010

Crazy event with for once a few surprises
+3 D projection with bigs images and very reliable
+amazing 3 d rapman printer link to Merlin Johns review here
+Lovely multitouch screen check out the surface app on a windows 7 machine to see some lovely functionality see some info here


more to follow but off out to a party even though exhausted !! Did you see anything you liked. Bulb less projectors are also appearing

well bit of a dream team at next epic e learning debate

Epic to host Mobile Learning debate at Learning Technologies, January 27th

Following the success of the inaugural E-Learning Debate at The Oxford Union in September, Epic is staging another debate in the seminar theatre at Learning Technologies, London Olympia, on Wednesday 27^th January. To be honest;s its got some real giants of the world that is mobile speaking . All the participant are well versed academics but all are real pragmatists with strongly held views its going to a great debate one to attend or follow . Its a complex motion from many angles. Is it the right motion only time will tell with participants having space to approach

The motion is: 'This house believes that learning on smart phones is less about new technology than it is about a new approach to pedagogy'.

Professors John Traxler and Mike Sharples, acknowledged experts in mobile learning, will lead the arguments For and Against, accompanied by Kim Whittlestone of the Royal Veterinary College and Dr Mike Short of O2.

Epic are also bring out one of the well known some say "Epic" white papers this one fits nicely with debate topic 'Smart Phone Learning' .

The golden triangle no me thinks a golden square

Interesting post looking at mega trends in web tech sector stating  The three current big megatrends in the web/tech sector are mobile, social, and real-time. being a triangle http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/10/the-golden-triangle.html actually I would add a fourth of maybe even a fifth to make golden square or a golden pentagon

1. mobile,
2. social,
3.  real-time.
4. Location aware
5. context aware 

A while ago I described location awareness (GPS) as the next Utility I think we now have that and context awareness is the fifth utility  .

Reimagining Learning Digital Media and Learning Competion

 Got an ace idea can build partnership quickly well have a go at this :-

 The HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition headquarters, we are increasingly excited as the opening of the online application system draws near (January 15).
The theme of this year's Competition is Reimagining Learning and there are two types of awards:  21st Century Learning Lab Designers and Game Changers.

Aligned with National Lab Day as part of the White House's Educate to Innovate Initiative, the 21st Century Learning Lab Designer awards will range from $30,000-$200,000. Awards will be made for learning environments and digital media-based experiences that allow young people to grapple with social challenges through activities based on the social nature, contexts, and ideas of science, technology, engineering and maths.

The Game Changers category—undertaken in cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) and Electronic Arts (EA), Entertainment Software Assocation, and the Information Technology Industry Council—will award amounts ranging from $5,000-$50,000 for creative levels designed with either LittleBigPlanet™ or Spore™ Galactic Adventures that offer young people engaging game play experiences and that incorporate and leverage principles of science, technology, engineering and math for learning.


Each category will include several Best in Class awards selected by expert judges, as well as a People’s Choice Award selected by the general public.  The online application system will open on January 15 and will include three rounds of submissions, with public comment at each stage.

Please see www.dmlcompetition.net for all details.

Its serious cash for serious ideas if your news years resolution was to change the wolrd or a little part of it go for it !! Good luck

 

What di you do in the snow today at school

Have a look at snow games produced by Downs Primary school learners in the UK

http://www.downs.kent.sch.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Snow+Games&pid=49

have a p[lay and leave a comment lovely the sunny look to the web page by the way !!