ChangeDetection(tm) - Monitor any web page for changes even those without RSS

Thanks to Seb Schmoller a e-learning legend of a commentator for pointing out this simple service for getting updates on web pages without RSS feeds.ChangeDetection(tm) - Monitor any web page for changes

Also going to add Seb influential and widely read fortnightly mailing in my links sidebar thanks Seb .

Its not about the device

Harking back to a killer remark made by Geoff Stead of CTAD Tribal of being device agnostic I have been reflecting on this. While on a run from Battersea in London to St Pauls along the Thames late last night gave me time to think. Passing tourists taking photo's with Phones small large cameras, runners listening to Ipods and other MP3 and people talking texting on mobiles I thought why should education be any different.
The Lord of the rings type quest for "one device to rule them all" of some mobile learning protaganists I personally feel is misplaced. If you are looking a mobile its got to be on premise that Mike Sharples of Nottingham University puts forward idea of Mobile learners not Mobile Learning

So its a combination of devices that will emerge phones,tablets smart phones MP3/MP4 players and even content on conventional PC's and importantly portable storage devices.

Its strikes me connectivity and remote and local hosting of content and technologies such as good old SMS and RSS will all have a role to play devices are a issue but if you wait for the killer device we will keep waiting and waiting and waiting !!!
seee

PEW internet & american life project

A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users
Interesting report on mobility and technology headlines US figures of course !

• 8% of Americans are deep users of the participatory Web and mobile applications

• Another 23% are heavy, pragmatic tech adopters – they use gadgets to keep up with social networks or be productive at work
  

• 10% rely on mobile devices for voice, texting, or entertainment

• 10% use information gadgets, but find it a hassle

• 49% of Americans only occasionally use modern gadgetry

and many others bristle at electronic connectivity

full report here

As interesting is the questionnaire and returned data which can be found here

On to mine for killer mobile behaviour facts

Take their quiz tio see what kind of technology user your are link here

BBC Radio 4 in Business Generation next

In Business hears about Generation Next, the new consumers with ideas of their own. They know what they want and companies are paying attention … all round the world. Peter Day hears about the new tastemakers. Worth a listen visit the webiste here where you can read background listen again download or set up download as regular podcast feed. What pleased me was the non europe centric reporting well done BBC.

Going native at going wild at in the wild

In the wild at channel 4 today with what seems like a who's who of interesting people in the social networking world in the UK !!Event doesnt start till 9.30 but already picked up interesting stuff from the related virtual conference looking forward to it. Promise to blog !!!

see the excellent programme here

I give up just reads Ewan Mcintosh's blog posting out blogged by Scotland best blogger !!! read ewans blog here

Keep your eye on the ball I missed charting being added to google spreadsheets

After raving about RSS feeds and watching them via bloglines,google and google alerts I've missed something massive. Andy repeat after me you will register for the google system blogs feed. Because I missed launch of charting from google docs. Ok its not as exciting as when they finally come out with google presenter (or whatever they call it) but it still pretty cool .http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/04/google-spreadsheets-charts.html



also interesting article on the same blog why comparing google docs,google mail to Microsoft office isnt a similar comparison according to google but the cynics amongst you would say well they would say that wouldnt they. . http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/google-docs-spreadsheets-vs-microsoft.html

Google alerts,bloglines or technorati watch lists

Well with finally joining technorati and setting up a watch list I know have all three. I am intrigued over next few months to see what the three methods of following RSS feeds ( I think thats what they do") turn up will keep you posted. Using mlearning and mobile learning in google alerts and technorati . Ewan Mcintosh raved about watch lists on Tuesday in London

more info technorati watch lists at link

Google alerts sign up here

Legend in his own breakfast time. Ewan McIntosh "Talk Tuesday"

A very early morning to you. Yesterday quickly enroute to work went to a Talk Tuesday event organised by Redhouse Lane by Ewan Mcintosh of Learning and Teaching Scotland only for 1 hour but great all the same. Ewans influential education blog is in my side links. The link to his posting form the days event is here
Great stuff Ewan for lots of things refocussing my thinking in the following respects:

The main heavyweight ones are:

1. Capability of young people making me rethink what young people are doing and what there capable of:
2. How much the world and education has changed and is changing.
3. How simplistic my blog is (embarrassed of the blogosphere)
4. How slow conventional companies and adults are to appreciate the changes happening around them

The lighter weight but on reflection as important :

1. Importance of social bookmarking I use bloglines for feeds but don't post and share the link although they are public. http://www.bloglines.com/public/ajb1962 I don't use delicious and I should?
2. I should sort out an online file store for useful documents my existing google docs is the obvious one.

Now I think I got very different things out of Ewans presentation than others at the event. The main thing were :

1. meeting Ewan in person for the first time
2. Reference having your own blog quoted by Ewan from in his presentation thanks Ewan !
   
3. Astute observation in a seemingly throwaway remark on first meeting . "Andy you can spot a blogger by the way they saunter". Can you surely not ?? or maybe you ca.

Great stuff Ewan and final point for now you realise someone is on the edge or is it in the thick of the new world when talk of taking a photo of their impressive breakfast that morning !!

Nice description of what an RSS feed is.

Thanks to Lisa Valentine from JISC Regional Support centre in the North West. She thought it was great and a really easy and clear way of describing what an RSS feed is. .http://www.leelefever.com/archives/001398.html.

thanks Lisa got to agree really nice resource.

SMS to RSS a tool for disaster recovery

Shocked as we all were by Virginia Tech shooting read this interesting post from Creative Development Team at Sheffield Hallam

http://extra.shu.ac.uk/wordpress/?p=355

I also have an interest in SMS in disaster recovery linked to personal experience around 7/7 bombings in London . 160 characters in txt message isn't a lot of words but they can count for a lot when you need to get through to people and conventional phone network is down .

I attended sms in education conference a few weeks ago. Look at link to conference on sms texting in education http://andysblackhole.blogspot.com/2007/04/talking-about-text-their-raving-about.html

plus the neat video. Also ability to create rss feeds from a website blog posting increase chance of getting your message out. www.txttools.co.uk one of there customers Yorkshire coast college has done a really good podcast about it http://podcast.ycoastco.ac.uk/weblog/admin/2007/04/26/PodcastingandSMSmp3.html

state of the blogosphere

Blogs tags the whole web2.0 phenomena heres a report compiled from Technorati that will make you think.



http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/04/06/blog_usage_statistics_and_trends.htmn summary:



here's a few headlines that are worth reflecting on:-

• The blogosphere is now 70 million weblogs wide



• About 120,000 new weblogs are created each day, or...



• 1.5 million posts per day



• 1.4 new blogs are created every second



• 17 posts are made every second

Cumulative number of weblogs - Technorati

Spam

• 3000-7000 new splogs (fake, or spam blogs) created every day



• Peak of 11,000 splogs per day last December

Growth

• Growing from 35 to 75 million blogs took 320 days

Blogs vs. MSM

• From 11 to 22 blogs among the top sources linked to in Q4 2006

The multi-lingual web

• Japanese the #1 blogging language at 37%



• English second at 33%



• Chinese third at 8%



• Italian fourth at 3%



• Farsi a newcomer in the top 10 at 1%

Tags Stats

• Tracking 230 million posts with tags or categories



• 35% of all February 2007 posts used tags



• 2.5 million blogs posted at least one tagged post in February

Web 2.0 for content sharing for learning and teaching

I have got to give a huge heads up to my fellow technology evangelist Tom Franklin of Franklin consulting for organising on behalf of JISC this webinar on Web 2.0 for content sharing for learning and teaching.

The Webinar runs from Monday 30th April to Friday 4 May, and will continue to be open
for comment after that.

Each day will run from lunchtime to lunchtime, starting with live presentations at 12.30 from two speakers.

The subjects are:

Monday - Institutional practice in implementing Web 2.0

Tuesday - Creating content using Web 2.0

Wednesday - Web 2.0 for taching and learning

Thursday - Strategy and Policy

Friday - Conclusions and recommendations

Short briefing papers have been prepared, to help focus the discussion.
These highlight some of the issues and raise a number of questions, and we hope that you will find it useful to read them before the conference.

details can be found at http://www.franklin-consulting.co.uk/Web2_Webinar.html

RSS 2 to PDF free ATOM feeds conversion converts RSS2PDF

Thanks to Ivan for posting this as comment to earlier blog posting impressed Ivan very neat !!!

RSS 2 to PDF free ATOM feeds conversion converts RSS2PDF: "Flexta takes a fresh approach to information publishing with RSS2.
In simple terms, RSS2 can convert multiple RSS and ATOM feeds into a single, consolidated PDF file without the need for expensive software, computer programming, or complicated RSS readers."

Educause update 7things great great stuff

I first blogged these excellent publications in September 2005

http://andysblackhole.blogspot.com/2005/09/magnificent-series-of-7-things-you.html



Well they've updated them and there are loads more than seven topics goggle earth, digital story telling, facebook , youtube just great if your new or want to update your knowledge of web2.0

http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=7495&bhcp=1

Talking about TXTing there raving about !!

First Txt messaging in education conference in Europe
ome of my regular readers will know I quite like SMS as a reliable simple technology. Well got to admit I better not use the word simple any more. I am currently at the lets talk about txt event at Leeds school of music. Put together by https://www.txttools.co.uk/ without a salesman in sight
seen some brilliant stuff by Mick Mullane of Yorkshire Coast college who is doing great stuff using a combination of RSS, moodle ,sms in a compelling mix see what the college are doing using moodle http://moodle.ycoastco.ac.uk/
great video in the session
http://podcast.ycoastco.ac.uk//blojsom_resources/meta/edutxt/rivet2.mp4

Ray Lawrence from how to moodle gave a great over view of moodle.

gave brisk talk through of what moodle is and also outlined a good description of open source. He made me aware of some great stats of registered moodle sites. total number registered sites world wide number 23244


Dr Kevin Lynch school of history at Leeds Uni gave a compelling reasoning how he is uses sms with other technologies to engage with learners. talked with great thought from a teaching and learning perspective and institutional view point.

Jim Busher of City college Brighton and Hove students service Management gave a really pragmatic up to date view of how they use sms to support students.





Judith Hennessey and Deborah Pinder of Norton College Sheffield
Gave a great of how they are deploying SMS to support activity in college.
A great example of doing simple things to benefit learners and for the college. classic general FE

• varied group of learners
• wide range of programmes
• Learners unable to meet as a larger group to develop community
• seen as one way of promoting virtual
  

Started with A/S foundation students who were both new to college and a pick and mix varied timetable.

Alan Southwell Salisbury colleges e-learning manager
gave a simple no nonsense approach of how they are using the technology . They are using moodle and are looking at installing the moodletxt in moodle they're chosen learning platform.
Interesting attendance monitoring . great virtual interview with the colleges students attendance officer


A added plus point was also meeting Leon Cynch who was covering the event with his video camera. Look forward to the result Leon.

initial reflections

• Great workshop pragmatic and delightful mix HE & FE
  
• The diversity of approaches
  
• Honesty of what worked and what did not
  
• SMS is being used in many ways I hadnt even thought of
  

Epic 2014 now 2015 is out compare the difference.

I first posted the original in December last year it outlined a possible future for the web in 2014 I posted the link and blogged some simple remarks .

http://andysblackhole.blogspot.com/2006/12/2020-vision-excellent-video.html

Now the year on version 20015 is out what is interesting is not the extra year but how previous years content/ context has changed . It does give weight to the what is important is technology you miss rather than predict model I hawk around. last version no mention or little of Ipods podcasting etc .

watch it your self.
http://epic.makingithappen.co.uk/new-master1.html

Enjoy which one is right or are they both way of the mark (only time will tell )??

Top Ten Blogging Tools from EPIC Newsletter

From Epic newsletter not sure I agree they sure are big fans of wordpress

• Wordpress
• User polls
• Email
• Clipmarks
• Weblog clients
• RSS Aggregator
• Google Analytics
• Technorati
• De.licio.us
• Spell-checker

Further detail here

2014 Vision Excellent video

Possibly the best blog I have read in recent months. From the Fischbowl from Karl Fischer 2020 Vision

I wish I had could write so well !!!

"
This post - and resulting presentation - has been kicking around in my head for the last month or two. One of the difficulties I've encountered with our staff development efforts is being unable to define a specific vision for what the future is going to look like. While I have many ideas about the changes that are occurring - and are going to occur - and the general direction we should head, I can't nail down specifically what school - or the world - is going to look like 5 or 10 or 15 years out. The pace of change is so great that it's nearly impossible to predict what's going to happen. And, for teachers that are used to the seemingly endless pendulum swings in education, that makes them hesitant to commit."

watch the video shades of blade runner or hope for the future its great.


EPIC video