Remembering sharing the past and uncovering the future by serendipity !!

As regular readers know I live in Ipswich in the UK.

I was following up on this story from Mates at radiowaves ironically forwarded from Mike Short ( I fogot to blog it first time round oops) .

Their Past Your Future is a project run by the Imperial War Museum, funded by The Big Lottery. More information about the project can be seen here: tpyf.uk

The last trip to France and Canada was a huge success. 24 young people from a Secondary School in Guernsey reported live during the trip and pulled in an online audience of 3000 people in just 2 weeks. They posted over 600 mobile blogs, videos and podcasts online which anyone in the world could view and comment on. Over 300 comments were left, not only from friends and family but also from previously unconnected young people, teachers and veterans.

The MoBlogs can be seen here: http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/Network/blogs.aspx?lngNetworkID=755

Some examples of the comments left:

“Ladies I am sure that it was very emotional for you all. last year at the age of 65 I managed to visit my Fathers grave in Brussels cemetery in Belgium, he was killed in 1944,he was an Irish Guardsman, just after my second birthday so I do not remember him at all. I do know that when I stood at the foot of his grave I cried, I was remembering him, and some of my old service comrades. So well done girls, you will have experienced feelings and emotions that a lot of people think do not exist.” Veteran

“I've just read about your commemoration service and I had tears running down my face - the way you explained what you all did and how you felt was so moving.” Student

The Next Trip….

The next trip to Australia and Thailand commences in April and we will be developing Video mobile blogging to give the students more immediacy to their reports and enable us to pull in a wider audience, logging in for each instalment. We are hoping to generate a campaign around this trip, encouraging teachers to use the site as a resource, encouraging students to learn from the first hand experiences of their peers and interact by asking questions and leaving comments.

There will also be a trip in August to Japan to visit Hiroshima and interview Japanese veterans.

Listen to the stories www.radiowaves.co.uk/tpyf

I did some follow up googling and this is what I found !!

When I discovered this http://northgatemfl.blogspot.com

great stuff and guess what Northgate school is less than a mile away and my sons primary is one of its feeder Schools . Great stuff Northgate really really cool to see your blog . keep up the great work. Nice site .

Size matters – iWear puts a whole cinema in your pocket

UK consumers can get their hands on the brand new iWear video glasses from US company Vuzix. Already a big hit with consumers in the US, iWear plugs into most video playing gadgets, including iPods and other portable media players, mobile phones, DVD players and even gaming consoles like the Wii, Xbox 360 and Sony PSP, to create the ultimate personal viewing experience. The iWear glasses start at just £99.99 for an iPod-only version, all the way to the top of the range glasses which use the latest LCD technology to create a 62 inch virtual cinema screen. The full iWear range is available to buy from www.vuzix.co.uk

Small enough to fit in your pocket, iWear come in a soft carry pouch and all the connectors and cables you need. The iWear range all deliver great stereo sound through discreet over-ear speakers, and the built-in lithium ion battery gives up to 5 hours of video playback from a single charge.

“Portable media players may be great for listening to music when you’re out and about, but watching movies and video clips on such tiny screens just isn’t a good experience,” said Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix. “iWear mean you can turn anything on the small screen into a big screen experience - and at a price that won’t break the bank.”

What really sets the iWear apart from the competition is its amazing ability to show video in super-sharp 3D using the same technology Hollywood studios are using to create blockbuster movies like Beowulf. With the iWear, all you need is 3D content, and you’ve got your very own iMax experience!

Vuzix iWear AV920 – the ultimate in ‘large screen’ video eyewear

Priced at only £199.99, the iWear AV920 deliver a massive 62-inch virtual screen, bringing video content to life for all personal devices with video-out connections. The AV920s use high quality LCD technology to faithfully reproduce video in brilliant, vibrant colour. Weighing just 2.9 ounces, the ergonomically designed AV920 is fully adjustable for an enjoyable and comfortable large screen experience while mobile.

iWear AV230 – entry-level video eyewear

Priced at £149.99, the entry-level iWear AV230 offers crystal clear video, giving users the experience of watching movies on a massive 44-inch screen. They connect to almost any video-capable device such as iPods, digital media players, DVD players, games consoles, camcorders and even a number of mobile phones including the Nokia N95.

http://www.vuzix.co.uk

Blog first Mike Short, Head of Research & Development at O2 reveals predictions for Mobile World Congress

Thanks to Mike Short chairman of Mobile Data association for this . Mike a legend in his own lunchtime ;-))) in the mobile world has supplied an insight into what's likely to be hot at mobile world congress . In Mike typical modest style he has canvassed opinion of colleagues in the sector. Unusually I quote his words directly .

Hi everyone,

Last year, as the last European Chairman of the Global GSM ASSOCIATION, I was asked by many people heading over to Barcelona, what I thought the big trends from Mobile World Congress 08 (MWC) would be. As Head of Research & Development at O2 and Chair of the UK Mobile Data Association I see a lot of innovation and new initiatives in the mobile space. So I thought I would repeat the exercise this year. Below are my key takes about what will be the most talked about themes at this year’s hotly anticipated show:-

Mobile Data and Applications

There will be a lot of experience shared around the 3G evolution, mobile internet and mobile email space again this year as we head towards a much richer and comprehensive data market.

The growing influence of the web will also come through in both business and consumer applications, touching new sectors such as Transport, Health and Education

Mobile Commerce and banking

Support for the GSMA Pay-By-Mobile initiative took off last year with a range of handset manufacturers and operators such as Nokia, Motorola, O2, Vodafone and Orange pledging to examine the use of NFC for contactless payments. With the UK’s first large scale NFC trial – the O2 Wallet – going live in November 2007, Mobile World Congress will be a platform for further brands to review and discuss their plans for using NFC technology in 2008.

This may also be complemented by GSM A led money transfer initiatives, to help the unbanked through mobile around the world.

Mobile advertising

2008 will be the year that mobile advertising comes of age. With more consumers than ever now browsing the web through their mobile handsets, there is a significant and largely untapped audience for advertisers to target customers appropriately with relevant messaging. At MWC expect operators, partnering with advertising specialists, to discuss how they can provide better targeting and measurement for mobile advertising, campaigns, from behavioural and demographic to geographic and channel-based targeting.

Screens, eyewear and accessories

When Bluetooth was first unveiled, largely for headsets, back in 1998 it did not achieve immediate consumer acceptance until around 2002. Talk has now moved to the adoption of screens and video eyewear. MWC 2008 should see the start of products such as pico projectors. With companies like Plastic Logic, Polymer vision, Vuzix, Microvision, and MyVu on show it will be interesting to see how this market develops as we move from a verbal to a visual world of mobile. It may not be long now before wearing video eyewear on the beach to watch the latest episode of Lost, whilst still getting a tan and protecting your eyes from the sun may not be far off.

Mobile communities and social networking

The steady growth of Facebook, Bebo and MySpace means making these communities truly mobile will generate excitement as well. The mobile industry has dabbled in this area with messaging and applications that can be downloaded straight to a handset there are still a lot more to be understood and implemented. We will see further offerings coming down the line later this year, potentially around what the future holds for user generated content (UGC) on mobile. The recent announcement of EYEVIBE by O2 and 3 in the UK is just one illustration of this.

M2M Forecast

Machine to machine or M2M will continue to grow as mobile provides new opportunities for machine as well as people connectivity. Telematics services are already growing rapidly now that GSM/ 3G modules have fallen in cost, and can be designed into longer term telematics applications from health care to transport, from environmental management to energy .

With more (mobile) phones than people in most developed nations the global forecast of M2M could be as high as 60 Billion by 2020, based on there being 10 times more machines than people around the world, but this will only happen with broader cross sector cooperation and partnerships.

Barcelona tapas – something for everyone

• Mobile video and TV - expect many more demos and trials to be announced, but no one single standard adopted globally .
• Mobile bar code standards
• GPS will be integrated more fully into networks and devices enabling many new innovative mapping and location based services
• Environmental /climate change solutions – the role that mobile can play in this
  

I am sure there will be a million more thoughts and ideas that will come out of Mobile World Congress and I would love to hear your views on the big stories and trends.

Can I also say I would love to hear any visitors to WMC . if you cant be there check the website out at http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/aboutcongress.htm

Looking forward to MLearn2008

I know its months away but book early !!!
I was lucky enough to visit one of the venues while presenting at the "The Learning Lab" as part of there seminar program . They've got

• web 2.0
  
• text messaging in education
• iPod technologies for learning innovation
• ePortfolios- Profiles for Employability

see the full list here

The website for Mlearn2008 in October is here

I also visited a location of part of the event at Ironbridge often cited as the birth place of the industrial revolution .

see the slidr show below of the few shots I took.
Created with flickrSLiDR.

Learners are the stars !!

Great stuff of the vodcasting sort . I introduced those talented types at Radio waves to the hard working team at Parklands CLC in South Liverpool at the end of last year where we giiged together .

Well Radio waves got invited back for the Enhancing Learning and Teaching with ICT conference for Liverpool City Council, Children Services alongside Sir Ken Robinson and Professor Stephen Heppell.

The learners interviewed these stars . I dont know Sir Ken Robinson but Stephen and Tim I know well and really suspect their view on things really great stuff see all interviews at http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/station.aspx?lngSiteID=1335

see Stephen Heppells below



and read what Tim said about the event on his blog http://www.timrylands.com/blog/2008/01/23/ict-conference-liverpool-letter-heading/

New academy goes down umpc route fro year 7 and 8 pupils

The highly innovative New Line Learning Academy in south Maidstone, comprising 3 original secondary schools, has adopted an equally innovative interactive "Anytime Anywhere Learning" strategy.

video is worth a watch.

http://www.localgov.tv/cgi-bin/details.pl?action=prog&id=356

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Anglian Ruskin host international conference on serious games

23-24 June date for your diary if your interested in serious games
!!http://www.inspire.anglia.ac.uk/serious/

looks an interesting line up.

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UNCTAD information economy report 2008 - Science and technology for development

Has just published the

The Information Economy
Report 2008 - Science and technology for development: the new paradigm
of ICT, analyses the current and potential contribution of information
technology to knowledge creation and diffusion. the BBC has picked up on this report and the fact that mobiles are narrowing the divide but I urge you to read at least the highlights of the UNCTAD site as well

BBC news story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7232264.stm

UNTCAD website
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=9479&intItemID=2068〈=1

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free WiFi network for "wireless social hippies"?

This is from Frontier science a blog by Denmark based blgger http://frontiersciences.spaces.live.com
interesting post on a system very similar to the fon shared wifi type concept.

blog post read
Join the world wide wippie revolution" is the slogan for a new WiFi service from Finland..FREE for wireless hippies! posted today on the frontier sciences network and the mobile monday network Free WiFi network for "social hippies"? af Scott Hill, 7. feb 10:14 the Finnish company Saunalahti announces ’Wippies’ (from ’Wireless Hippies’), a WiFi-sharing newtork smiliar to FON which is already very popular in Europe. At the moment, Sanualahti is offering FREE WiFi routers to new customers in Finland and Sweden, as well as free webmail accounts, under the slogan "join the wireless hippies revolution". The FON concept is already very popular in Denmark, with thousands of sites already, and is spreading like wildfire through Europe and the US...however FON requires a startup fee and you have to pay for the router... We will be following the progress of "Wippies" closely
http://frontiersciences.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!A1E4CC21DE41A7DD!263.entry

RSC Yorkshire and Humber spreading the Mobile Message via an event

Well done interesting event that if your working in the areas of Further Education Work Based and Adult Community learning and interested in mobile is worth a look.

Great to see the JISC Regional support centres in the thick of development and helping mainstream mobile learning . event details canbe found on their blog at http://rscyhexchange.edublogs.org/2008/02/06/rsc-yh-event-supporting-learners-with-mobile-devices/

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Guardian article on mobile device use

interesting article with great strap line.

"Texts leap 40% amid newer varieties of mobile traffic" worth a read and a think . Read article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/06/mobilephones

Touch of blogging

well finally getting some time to give my recently purchased IPOD Touch a look at .

things its great at

• Youtube viewing
• browsing email though lack of email client is a pain (more of that later)
• music and video viewing
  
• web browsing

The only thing it isn't great is blogging from I need Apple to allow third party Apps as using blogger on it is difficult .

There is an upgrade available at the cost £12.99 with google maps notes weather etc and an email client. It comes as standard on 32gb Ipod launched . So go on guys give us exisitng users a free upgrade !!

Hi to some readers

Well its lovely to hear about new readers of the blog and give some old one a plug ! First of all my old mate Niel Mayne of Northern College ( e tutor of the year a couple of years ago) has mentioned some of the students on MSc in Multimedia and Education at Huddersfield read my blog !!! A little fact for them I am an ex Huddersfield poly Geography Graduate and the course with its pioneering computer mapping now called GIS set me up on my current path. The fact I also borrowed a BBC micro to write my dissertation on was a revelation to me as a dyslexic students so a huge heads up to Huddersfield !!!
Publish Post
Now to plug someone elese excellent work Susan Waters of Tafe who I think works out of Perth Australia I know is a reader. I had a weird text from Steve's mobile at mlearn from Melbourne in which Susan introduced herself. Susan has just had high praise from James farmer of edublogs in his newsletter about here blog on things blog and web2.0 in general . I quote from James email newsletter


The Edublogger: http://theedublogger.edublogs.org

Possibly the most useful blog you'll ever visit, and written by multi-Edublog Award nominee Sue Waters, The Edublogger covers everything from giving your blog a makeover to adding photos to your site, playing with widgets and much much more. It's an education!


A seriously useful resource so good on those of you in the Southern and Northern hemisphere or is it just the blogosphere . sadly not even google could yield susans email address so if one of you know it get in touch.

firefox gaining ground

Be warned this reports in french

http://www.xitimonitor.com/fr-fr/barometre-des-navigateurs/firefox-decembre-2007/index-1-1-3-117.html

google can try to translate http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.xitimonitor.com%2Ffr-fr%2Fbarometre-des-navigateurs%2Ffirefox-decembre-2007%2Findex-1-1-3-117.html&langpair=fr|en&hl=en&ie=UTF8

aint the internet wonderful !!

ASUS watchout the opposition is coming !!

Well as I say its not about the device stupid !!! I se from engadget that MSI prepping Eee PC competitor with Diamondville inside. Diamondville is a new chipset from intel especially for the ultaportable type devices.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/28/msi-prepping-eee-pc-competitor-with-diamondville-inside/

now everybody get ready for loads of people turning up with there own devices !!!

dome projection

Now this is a bit interesting projection onto and inside inflatable dome think planeterium think surround images wacky but interesting .

http://www.discoverydome.eu/

Solid state drives not making into consumer conciousness

I might say yey myself. But wired reckons the kinetic hard drives gong to be around for a while. I agree but think solid state drives will become standard for devices were power consumption for that read battery life are an issue and cost isnt !! I know its not a mac air but the asus eeepc ive been using has made appreciatte sold state hardware !! read wired article here

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2008/01/solid_state_drives

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January edition of Tech news is now available

The newest addition of BectaTechNews is now out if you don't subscribe you should. its free go on download a copy and sign up .

In this edition analysis pieces include: NFC, High definition, Processor futures, portable personalities.

also call for examples of web 2.0 in secondary schools.

http://partners.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/technews/jan08.pdf

Mobile Youth report well worth a read

Mobile Youth http://www.mobileyouth.org/
This website and realted publication is really well worth following in you are interested in the developing mobile field.

The official mobileYouth™ report published annually 2001-2008
covering youth lifestyle trends and mobile consumption in 60 countries
worldwide.

The annual report covers 4 main areas .

1. The Mobilised Youth: Drivers, Challenges & Opportunities
2. Social Networks & Consumer-Generated Content (CGC)
3. Marketing & Branding for the Longtail
4. Mobile, Media and the Youth Market

go on have a look.

Innovative design

This stunning bit of design from Singapore is worth a look. The building is Nanyang Technological University http://www.ntu.edu.sg/OFPM/About+Us/Development+Division/adm.htm in Singapore Those involved in sustainable building or issues relating to Building Schools or Colleges of the future should look at this visionary bit of design .

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/23/amazing-green-roof-art-school-in-singapore

E learning techblog predictions 2008 gives thumbs down for mobile , I disagree!

While reading Tony Karrer's blog (yes I do read other blogs).

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2008/01/ten-predictions-for-elearning-2008.html

I came across a piece on eLearning Technology: Ten Predictions for eLearning in 2008. He is commenting from North America.
I initially picked up on the negative comment about mobile learning.

Prediction #5 => Mobile Learning - Continued Scattered Examples and Disappointment

I not surprisingly disagree. I will dilute it and say that isnt the case in the UK and maybe Europe. His comment on 20% of web access being via mobile devices is good and is going to increase very rapidly over 5 years.

I would like to quote Daniel Applequist of Vodafone who states in "5 years there will one Internet and it will be mobile".

Prediction #9 => Niche Online Discussions
I liked this idea of the growth of more niche online discussion and small targeted online conferences. This whole area is getting so much easier to set up . But the role of specialist facilitators is coming to the for. spend money on the human side not the platform.


those interested in gaming and its use in education and training wont like his comment on serious games.

Go on read the blog you may not like all he says but its a view !!!

Techworld.com - Toshiba weighs into Macbook Air with slim Portege

I have often said its not about the device and this article hints at it. I am currently blogging from a mac but still use a windows pc and Asus linux machine on a regular basis . The iphone has made other providers of mobile internet devices (MID) raise their game and there is a lot more to come .
Its seems the Mac air very slim laptop but some say lacking in usb port conectivity (I of course am not commenting) has a rival the toshiba r500 very slim very robust laptop with a flash hard drive

Techworld.com - Toshiba weighs into Macbook Air with slim Portege

what we users like to see is a bit of competiton I think the tosh maybe cheaper!!

Social networking and its impact and implications for business BBC - Radio 4 - In Business

Interesting programme on the effect social networking is having on business and how some companies are employing it for team building marketing etc .


BBC - Radio 4 - In Business


http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/inbusiness/inbusiness.shtml

The Changing Faces of Learning: a 1-day conference on current and emergent learning technologies.

This event at the Learning Lab on 6th February might be worth a look ignore the fact yours truly is speaking.

http://www.learninglab.org.uk/asp/conference.home.asp?ses=&typechk=2

The learning lab site is worth a look especially now John Traxler is heading it up.

Its part of the build up to Mlearn 2008 in October http://www.mlearn2008.org/

More detail on Mlearn below

mLearn was the first conference on Mobile Learning and is widely recognised as one of the most prestigious international conferences in the field. mLearn 2008, hosted by the University of Wolverhampton, School of Computing and IT, will take place on the edge of historic and rural Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Important dates for your Diary:

Conference Dates
Tues 7th (pre-conf. Workshops)
Wed 8th to Fri 10th October (mid-afternoon finish)

Submission Dates
Full papers - final date for submission for review is 14 April 2008 midnight GMT
Short papers - final date for submission for review is 28 April 2008 midnight GMT
Posters - final date for submission for review is 28 April 2008 midnight GMT

video blog a first for Andysblackhole

Well if you thought my ramblings as text were bad enough now you can hear and see me scary !!!

Home Access to Technology

This is a request from Department for Children Schools and Families for you to contribute

The Home Access project is seeking to try and overcome some issues of the digital divide in England so if youve got a view contribute !!

This consultation seeks views on the proposed Home Access programme that aims to ensure that every family with 5-19 year old learners in England has access to learning where and when they need it through access to ICT resources and support at home. Documents and info here

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conDetails.cfm?consultationId=1522


You can read it online at

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conDocument.cfm?consultationId=1522

You can even respond online at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conRespond.cfm?consultationId=1522

Molenet projects read all about it !!!

If you've been following my blog for a while you might know of my enthusiasm for mobile learning. I am lucky enough to be on the expert group for the Molenet project managed by the Learning and Skills Network and funded by the Learning and Skills Council . The team who are really busy have finally produced this document summarising the projects who have successfully won funding you can down load the PDF or order hard copies at the following link

This publication provides an overview of the MoLeNET initiative, the UK's largest and most diverse implementation of mobile learning. The Learning and Skills Council and consortia led by Further Education colleges are together investing well over £7 million in MoLeNET with 32 projects, supported by a Support and Evaluation Programme led by LSN, in This publication provides an overview of the MoLeNET initiative, the UK's largest and most diverse implementation of mobile learning. The Learning and Skills Council and consortia led by Further Education colleges are together investing well over £7 million in MoLeNET with 32 projects, supported by a Support and Evaluation Programme led by LSN.

Eye-Fi adds support for Iphoto

Thanks to Rob Englebright for spotting this posting on engadget from Macworld. I actually spotted eye-Fi a sd wireless card to fit in any digital camera that uses a standard sd card as a memory card back in November see original post on my blog at http://andysblackhole.blogspot.com/2007/11/eye-fi-wireless-sd-card-for-digital.html

but as recent Mac user pleased to see theyve added Mac functinality both for safari and firefox browsers for Macs.

Believe it or not, MacWorld does continue ev! en after Jobs has left the building. In as much, Eye-Fi just announced support for Apple's iPhoto as well as the Safari and Firefox browsers when accessing their web-based Eye-Fi Manager. iPhoto support means you can now capture images from your digital camera to your $99 Eye-Fi 2GB SD card and transmit them directly into the photo management software while on your home WiFi network -- right, no hotspot uploading action for you. Considering photos were previously dumped into a folder (or 19 on-line sites), the free update is definitely a step in the right direction. see engadget link here
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/16/eye-fi-kicks-the-folder-habit-adds-iphoto-support/

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BBC predicts bright future for ultramobile PC's

Well interesting artilce it is looking at key issues facing ultramobile devices

• battery
• processing power
• memory
• connectvity

article discusses the emerging soutions to them all . But as we in learning know its how you employ the technology to promote learning that matters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7178278.stm

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Forget the term EDA or PDA its a MID

Well according to the stuff coming out of the consumer electronics show (CES) in the states.

Interstingly the producer eeepc ASUS has three different offerings in the mobile device market and interestingly a four if you count there internet radio.
Mobile Internet Device

1. eepc the linux based entry level low format device
2. R50A UMPC a so called rich media device with connectivity and GPS functinality built in.
3. P527 Cell (mobile )Phone.

other manufactures are follwing this degree of vertical integration so forget WMD and lookout for MID. Theyve won three awards at CES.

Winning Product	Description	Category
Eee PC	Mobile Internet Device that Makes it Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, and Easy to Play	Computer Hardware
R50A UMPC	Revolutionary UMPC that Redefines “Mobile” with Full PC and GPS functionality	Computer Hardware
P527 Cell Phone	Elegant GPS Cell Phone	Telephones
ASUS Internet Radio	Listen to Worldwide Broadcasts with ASUS Internet Radio	Personal Electronics

Andy in print in publication education business

The article I wrote on "Mobile Learners ,not Mobile Learning" on behalf of Becta has been publshed Ok its not a thesis but it has come out ok especially pleased to get sms refrences and environmental angle in there.
Nice to see a publcation that publishes whole articles on the web. Read article at http://www.educationbusinessuk.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=336&Itemid=10

Bett 2008 a first for yours trully!! First of many postings

Those powerhouses of pod and vodcasting Radiowaves twisted my arm to do a three way interview with Matt Locke Commissioning editor for Channel 4 Dinendra Haria MINISTRY OF JUSTICE on the future of Technology in Education... .

Well of course Radiowaves used young people to do the lt ! What a suprise they were the stars of the show so go on listen to the podcast http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story.aspx?PlayVideo=1&lngStoryID=14050 and checkout www.radiowaves.co.uk
for more background on voice it campaign go to
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/network.aspx?lngNetworkID=750

Tim Riches of Radiowaves did a great slot at teachmeet2008 on Voice IT !!!

go on be a devil get those headphones out or speakers on.

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teaching mr stacey blog site great stuff

http://www.mrstacey.org.uk/teaching/

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Teachmeet 08 is go

What a week a bett and now the top gig of the week teachmeet08 its goint to be mad !!! Bring it on !!!

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English Heritage Launch Our Place Network

Interestingly described by pundits as heritage version of facebook !!

Welcome to the Our Place network!
What is Our Place?

Our Place is for people who work in broadening access to heritage.

It is an online space where you can network with peers, share and be
inspired by project case studies, and discuss the challenges facing you
today. It also contains news, resources and links – everything
you need to know about engaging communities with heritage.

Who is Our Place for?

You may work in the heritage, museums, libraries, archive, arts or
community sectors (to name but a few!); in such fields as community
engagement, outreach, access, audience development, social inclusion or
education. This may be your main role or just something you know you
need to do as part of your job but aren’t quite sure how to go
about it.

As long as you work in or are interested to know more about how you
undertake the vital but often challenging work to broaden access to
heritage, then Our Place is the place for you!

http://www.ourplacenetwork.org.uk/

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policy goes web2.0 BarcampUKGovweb

read these links sounds like a really interesting evolution of how those involved with web 2.0 interact with policy makers.

http://whitehallwebby.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/announcing-ukgovweb-barcamp/


http://barcamp.org/BarcampUKGovweb

wikipedia link gives a description of barcamp phenomena.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

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ASUS 10 inch screen

Now this is interesting
overcomes many of few shortcomings asus 7inch eeepc

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/14/asus-confirms-the-8gb-10-inch-eee-pc/

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Bett the Madness begins

Well not quite buts its coming Ive been in activity relating to Bett since monday which sadly I cant blog about. But as off 18.00 today I will be on site getting a look round pre show opening tomorrow.

Its going to be fun. Interestingly Steljes I know are focussed on mobile learing the year. RM and ASUS are obviously showing on the eepc and intel continue the mobile theme and of course Apple will do the thing they do best "wow us". Txtools futurelab and sums are there also.

so its going to be fun and chance to meet up with friends.Plus dont forget teachmeet on friday !!!

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Bett the Madness begins

Well not quite buts its coming Ive been in activity relating to Bett since monday which sadly I cant blog about. But as off 18.00 today I will be on site getting a look round pre show opening tomorrow.

Its going to be fun. Interestingly Steljes I know are focussed on mobile learing the year. RM and ASUS are obviously showing on the eepc and intel continue the mobile theme and of course Apple will do the thing they do best "wow us". Txtools futurelab and sums are there also.

so its going to be fun and chance to meet up with friends.Plus dont forget teachmeet on friday !!!

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Things I missed ?? Facebook

Ok I didn't get the facebook thing and now am addicted thanks to Steve Moore of Policy unplugged , Ewan Mcintosh and Lisa Valentine and Cathy Trinder for helping me get it. TYour all barking Mad !!!

Thought for the year these small devices will never catch on !!!

I feel in good company as many major technologies and advances have been missed in the past the classic one being SMS a Stealth technology that grown year on year.

Friend in the area made this year Mike Short whose Blackberry postings are like having for your own highly trained field correspondent who also an expert !!!

The looking forward bit !!

I unusually have been thinking a lot this week before blogging Staring down the barrel of BETT next week. My busiest week of the year.

Then along came a comment from IslayIan to my previous post

"Here's to excitement and the future.
Now how do we get the majority of teachers to 'get it?"

Few thoughts

1. learners are changing kids aren't at heart but they way they learn and consume information I think is .
   
2. Parents/carers whatever the age are becoming more comfortable with technology be that with
   
   1. Internet shopping
      
   2. Gaming the Wii Nintendo effect
      
   3. Digital photography
      
   4. The ipod MP3 phenomena
      
   5. The whole phone phenomena, SMS,camera phones
      

How to get teachers to get it.

The kit bit (wake up guys and girls its here or arriving soon.

Robust networks and kit well I reckon if your not obsessed with the latest shiniest we are there and the like ASUSEeePc numerous media rich laptops,umpc's are getting us closer

The blogging learners as creators of content as well consumers it's a mixed economy stupid !!

The whole MP3 podcasting thing thanks to £6.00 MP3 players and the Ipods be it nano's touches or Iphones of this world

Plus those other so called gadgets

The creativity bit

Yes learners produce and consume rubbish in the media scape but they also produce stunning stuff!! But with intervention of teachers ( to Make Derek Robertson of Learning and Teaching Scotland smile) teachers learners can work together to co create co construct and co-review great material to help scaffold and enhance their learning .

Teachers need space to practice and comfort in support for what they are doing

The curriculum might need to change but for obvious reasons I leave you to make your own mind up.

Stop worrying

The world is changing and in many respects the best people to help us oldies get our heads round it are learners themselves .

How to you broadcast share good practise and appraise failure that's the challenge . The challenge is now one of creativity I think the the access to technology at a basic level is nw a utility that staff can expect learners demand and be warned parents are going to start asking searching questions if its not available.

Hang on cutting edge learning in 2008 is going to be :-
1) Mobile to a point of being pervasive .
2) Context and location aware
3) Device seamless or even agnostic
4) Collaborative and contextual while allowing individuals multiple persona

So strap in its going to be exciting .As a geographer the whole location aware thing is going to be awesome

This might be wrong but as you all know what matters is not what you predict but what you miss !

Complet rubbish or do you have alternative views t you want to post and BTW adding Islayians blog to my blogroll

Looking forward looking back! The looking back bit!!

Well it's that time of year and along with my usual thoughts on what's coming I might for once reflect on what's past.
Last year things I hinted at

• Mobile went massive. The story of
  
  • Devices IPhone, Ipod Touch, Asus Eeepc, Remtechs Umpc 650 and others, smartphones.
    
  • Peripherals battery powered projectors microvisions mobile phone projectors Wi-Fi memory cards fro digital cameras
    
  • Connectivity education deals by the 3,Cloud,Vodafone T-mobile mobile internet providers all in the area of education and 02 and as for Bluetooth well its here
    
  • Software mobile apps for Shozu , Facebook Gmail and Google Android and open handset alliance
    
  • SMS 1 billion texts a week in the UK and growing its not going away
    
• Software went
  
  • Social
    
    • Facebook I didn't get till late on and now its part of my routine and I use instead of email and parallel to my blog
      
    • Microsoft 2007 has a great blogging from word function
      
    • Flock a Firefox derivative that integrates face Facebook and other social apps in the browsing experience
      
  • Browser web based
    
    • Gmail growth continued
      
    • Google presenter hit the streets (watch this one)
      
    • Scribefire became more functional for you keen bloggers
      
    • Tool bar additions kept coming
      
    • The whole Iphone,Ipod touch software integration raised the bar again
      
  • Geographical aware
    
    • GPS tagging of mobile device pictures became common and integration with packages like Google earth possible for mere mortals
      
  • Integrated
    

The key point about the Mlearning part of the mobile revolution is it has started to leave the pilot stage and enter the shipping lanes. The stealth technology has crept up on the mainstream across all fronts and mainstream is now integrating with the mobile or it is vice versa.

"Quote of the year Daniel Applequist of Vodafone in five years there will be one internet and it will be mobile!!" Future Mobile November 2007

 

• Information went push not visit based
  
  • RSS Based beyond email is one of my mantra's
    
  • Google alerts and other feed notifiers became standard tools for me
    

What a great year and next year looks even more exciting

Google UK Schools site and Royal Geographical Society offer Google Earth training events

Nice to see google offerring some resources for UK educators havent had a chance to appraise resoorces but worth a look http://www.google.co.uk/schools/index.html

Intersting the Royal Geographical scopiety are offerring free courses in using google earth in Geography teaching Link here

A tale of three devices

Well back home after a break !! Interestingly online on three different devices running different operating systems. Running

• Windows XP
• Mac OS running Leopard
• Linux

well the XP experience on my reliable workhorse PC was reliable if a little slow. The Mac OS usual interesting experience. what was really intesting the ASUS EEPC running a version of linux.

Ive been using it for a while keyboards a little small but usable the flash driver boot upis lightening fast the screen is bright and integration of igoogle,google docs and firefox is as refreshing change . Is it thee device well nearly for some users !!But as I shout its not about the device stupid!!!

Rethinking the digital divide - the themes for the the 2008 ALT Conference

This looks like shaping up to being a cracking event so go on submit a proposal.

Rethinking the digital divide - the themes for the the 2008 ALT Conference, and the call for proposals

The paper submissions system for the 2008 Association for Learning Technology Conference opened on 14 December 2007, and will remain so until 29 February 2008. Meanwhile ALT has announced the 7 (well 8) dimensions of the conference. Proposals for inclusion should address up to 3 of these:

* global or local;
* institutional or individual;
* pedagogy or technology;
* access or exclusion;
* open or proprietary;
* private or public;
* for the learner or by the learner;
* or other aspects of the digital divide.

read more here

http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2008/

Anyone for scrapbook?

Collecting or capturing web pages to reduce the stress of using web content in presentations is something I have got more confident with doing without . But to be honest it is sometimes really useful. I have used snag it which is a product you pay for and works across nearly all PC applications but lately I have discovered scrapbook an Add on for firefox that alows you to capture web pages as well as linked pages and media files considering its free its a robust product have a look at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/427

Powered by ScribeFire.

Microsoft buys Multimap "The next Utility

Microsoft buys Multimap
Consolidation among digital map providers continues as Microsoft joins the charge started by TomTom and Nokia by buying an established map maker.Microsoft have bought multimap


Thanks to ITpro for this lead read story here

this is interesting on lots of levels
1)Computer mapping or proto GIS I have often talked about the next Utility in terms of desktop PC applications on and offline.
2) The rise of mobile devices being able to locate/orientate users using GPS or geographical tag photo's sound recordings whatever has made integration mapping utilities much more possible for companies individuals . this is much more interesting . Now multi map came before Google maps but it does strike an interesting acquisition by Microsoft

Powered by ScribeFire.

This revolution will be text-messaged

This article from zdnet http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6222963.html
has made me reflect I have been thinking of gill Scot herons famous track the revolution will not be televised over last few weeks. In a slightly different context of the gathering TSUNAMI of the mobile internet . The coup rightly or wrongly didn't succeed due to public apathy or commitment . But it shows how text messaging is now seen as part of the armoury in terms of propaganda popular uprising.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Ipods in education

If your one of my readers with an Apple and Ipod interest in the mobile learning sphere this is well worth a look . Any FE colleagues involved in Molenet projects might find it useful. the videos cover a range of techniques approaches go on have a look. Thanks to Bob Harrison for the link

http://mlearningworld.blogspot.com/2007/12/ipod-in-education-video-overview.html

BETT preview on teachers TV

Its that time of year see Ray Barker of Besa and others on teachers TV previewing what's on offer at BETT.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23906

Division occurring the small format UMPC market

Its seems to me with appearance of flash memory only device like asuseepcc and so called rich media devices with conventional micro hard drives . Is making a distiction into:

1)Flash memory smaller capacity and slower processor UMPC often running non windows software like linux. with a low price tag.
2) Rich media more powerful devices runing windows based software with huge conventional micro drives and more powerful processors .

Toshiba one of the major suppliers of micro format hard drives (Toshiba) who interestingly don't make a UMPC have just announced huge micro format hard drives http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/14/toshiba-intros-five-capacious-new-1-8-inch-hard-drives/
which will add to the division buy which type meets your need but remember the future is mobile !!!

Educational software for eepc from sums on line

Asus eepc Its hardly been out a month or so and good old sums online http://www.eeeeducation.com have started producing their content to run on it. As usual not a recommendation but interesting they've got content out so quick .

Teachmeet08 the 5th edition 11th January

I dont need to say anything but if you want to see whats great and happening in innovative teaching be there !!!
http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2007/11/teachmeet08---m.html

the event is coming south from its long standing cult status at the Scottish Learning festival .

Thanks to Ewan for being one of driving forces behind teachmeet

OLPC orders kick of and Buy one Gift one Free (BOGOF) is reaping benefits

This from engadget. All steam ahead for the OLPC Foundation, which recently received an order from Peru for 260,000 of the little XO laptops. Also news is that Mexican billionaire and Negroponte's chum Carlos Slim has purchased 50,000 for his country. That's against a background of $2 million sales a day on the Give One, Get One program. Clearly, the OLPC Foundation is the most successful program out there for getting laptops into the hands of schoolchildren.

now my own thoughts the BOGOF campaign is a rweally interesting model why dont we add a premium for other health orientated projects say $5.00 or more as well as the kit.

The OLPC may not be in everybody's view the right model but at least they are giving it a go.

Office 2007 gets official mobile compatibility

Now this is interesting and a upgrade to make windows mobile compatible with Office 2007 format using controversial Office Open XML (OOXML) specification. read it here strictly no comment on this but for your info only http://news.zdnet.com/2110-9590_22-6220976.html

'SatLav' text service finds nearest loo

Excuse the topic but interesting all the same ?

Lovely one here on finding a toilet using SMS

Westminster City Council has launched an SMS service to inform users of the nearest public toilet.

Users text 'toilet' to 80097 and the service determines their location and automatically finds the nearest public toilet. The 'SatLav' system charges 25p for each text.

Locations include the council's 40 public toilets, plus those of the Greater London Authority, London Underground and some major department stores.

Westminster City Council said that the location service is designed to cut down on the amount of "street urination".

http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/news/2204758/satlav-scheme-finds-toilets

eee PC getting to look at one soon.

Will have one of these by Wednesday of next week. Now they aren't a rich media PC I know but they run

• word processor
• spreadsheet
• presentation tool
• video player
  

they support video out wireless and USB for under £220 . Will let you know how I get on and you make your own mind up.

You can read someone elses review here

I am not vouching for validity but giving you a chance to read about it !

Cell Phone College Class Opens in Japan

Japanese already use cell phones to shop, read novels, exchange e-mail, search for restaurants and take video clips. Now, they can take a university course. Now Cyber university are offering course my mobile phone .
No not mixed delivery method stuff but pure by mobile or so it seems http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5itnQWd2FxcYdcTJubgGheoq49MvwD8T6K42G0

My mobile feed the famous Mike Short Bless Him sent me this !!

Even I a few months ago would have scoffed but my own prediction of the year being the year the mobile goes mainstream is becoming fact.

Cyber interesting or cyber rubbish ?? You decide ?

Blogger add flickr Photbucket Picasa slideshow option

just in case you missed it see result in my slide bar I still prefer slidr for posting within the blog postings themselves but its still a nice extra bit of functionality/integration

http://buzz.blogger.com/2007/11/show-off-your-photos-with-new-slideshow.html

Near field Communication Pilot mentioned on Steve Wrights in the afternoon radio show.

O2 today announced the launch of the UK's first large scale pilot of NFC (Near Field Communications) technology on mobile phones. The trial of the O2 Wallet® paves the way for the mass market use of mobile phones to pay for purchases, access events or even be used as Oyster cards for travel around London, simply by touching the phone to a reader.

http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1171383

An interesting event but more interesting the powerhouse and almost ubiquitous spokesman for things Mobile. Mike Short of O2 and chair of the mobile data association was on Steve Wrights show on radio two talking about it !!
Terri Wogan it is widely recognised helped launch the email revolution is Steve Wright going to help push the mbile wave or should we say ride it. Well done Mike good piece !!!

vote for Sustrans Connect 2 in the peoples lottery £50 million pound give away

Regular readers know I am a mega keen cyclist well this has come to my attention . Even if you don't vote for this vote to say how £50 million yes £50 million will go in a one payment only to a charity.

In case you didn't know, Sustrans has the opportunity to win £50m of lottery money to support 79 local projects around the UK. It's a public vote, so the more of us that vote the better! See below for more information from Richard Sanders of Sustrans.

I'm writing to ask you to help sustainable transport charity Sustrans win £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in 79 communities UK-wide.

In this winner-takes-all contest Sustrans' Connect2 project is up against 3 other organisations - the Eden Project: The Edge, Black Country Urban Park, and Sherwood: The Living Legend, with the winner to be decided by public vote over the coming weeks.

We’re supporting Sustrans' Connect2 because it will transform local travel in towns, cities and villages throughout the UK. By building new bridges and crossings over busy roads, railways and rivers, and linking these into networks of paths, Connect2 will make it much easier for people to get where they want to go under their own steam. So whether children are going to school, people to work and the shops, or friends and family to visit each other, they'll be able to walk or cycle for many more journeys.

As many as 6 million people live within a mile of a proposed Connect2 scheme, and 1 million children go to school within a mile of a scheme. It is calculated that over 60 million active, low carbon journeys will be made each year on the Connect2 routes, potentially saving 79,000 tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of emissions from 79,000 people's annual car use.

If you'd like to know more about Connect2 before making up your mind take a look at www.sustransconnect2.org.uk

To make Connect2 happen we now really need your support and just a few moments of your time could make all the difference. We need your vote and the votes of as many people as you know.

There are three opportunities to vote - online, from a landline and by mobile.

Online voting began at 9am on Monday 26th November at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk with phone voting starting at 9am on Friday 7th December. All voting concludes at 12 noon on Monday 10th December.

If you want to be sent a reminder to vote please register at www.sustransconnect2.org.uk or text 'Connect2' to 80010.

If you do vote for Sustrans' Connect2 (and I really hope you do!), many thanks and please do forward to your own contacts and urge them to vote too

TalkingVTE a great resource

Great stiff from the other side of the world .

Thanks to Mick Mullane all power to his podcasting for this link .
Talking VTE is a podcast of educational conversations and audio
recordings made at conferences, seminars and workshops throughout the
Australian Vocational and Technical Education (VET) sector.

http://talkingvte.blogspot.com/

Mick has add his great efforts from Mlearn where regular readers will know he presented you can see the blog posting and related podcast at

http://talkingvte.blogspot.com/2007/11/mlearn07-from-podcast-to-vle-to-phone.html

there are a wealth of resources around Mlean2007 on the site use this link to find them
http://talkingvte.blogspot.com/search/label/mlearn07

good one you Mick!!!

Facebook fifty

As a late arrival to Facebook party I have just realised I have hit the magic fifty of Facebook friends . As a billy no mates of the face to face world I have using facebook quite a lot .
What have I gained :-

• better network
• more regular contact with friends
  
• Insight into my friends activities both in the area of their work but also in wider their activity
• Interesting invites to invite via invitation function within Facebook (got to give Steve Moore of policy unplugged a huge heads up for his work in this area)
• exposure to interesting applications

What it caused is blurring between personal ilfe online and working life online.

you might be intersted on this article on how to use facebook proffessionally.

http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/07/24/12-ways-to-use-facebook-professionally/

By the way who was my fiftieth facebook friend amazinlgy the prolific blogger Ewan McIntosh

Google Android developer challenge

Want to win a share of $10million US dollars Google have launched a competition

Cool apps that surprise and delight mobile users, built by developers like you, will be a huge part of the Android vision. To support you in your efforts, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge, which will provide $10 million in awards -- no strings attached -- for great mobile apps built on the Android platform.

http://code.google.com/android/adc.html

picked this up at Future mobile event today including a cool live demo of Android and developing mobile apps in 8 minutes .

WC3 mobileOK Basic ready for implementation

W3C have launched this today its going to be huge. On the W3C site

W3C MobileOK To Help Make Web Sites Mobile Friendly

2007-11-13: Today, W3C provides new means for people to create and find mobile friendly content. W3C invites Web authors to run the alpha release of the W3C mobileOK checker and make their content work on a broad range of mobile devices. The checker runs the tests defined in the W3C mobileOK Basic Tests 1.0 Candidate Recommendation. Read the press release and testimonials, and come see W3C at Mobile Internet World in Boston, Massachusetts (USA).

http://www.w3.org/News/2007#item244
teams blog at

http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/BPWG/

Future Mobile a whole new community

Hi all regular readers

this is blogging live so wont be pretty !!

At Future Mobile event having my mind expanded by a new community . Hard core developers and those looking to enter the mobile space. Interesting the guys from Wildkey are here and Richard Gunson of Learning Everywhere and Josie Fraser but I know hardly any one else of 400 plus delgates.

The morning was around themes of designing and making sites work on mobile device and role of context awareness and how to make payments work etc.

The afteroon really kicked off Daniel Applequist of Vodafone watch this space for more.

In 5 years time the majority of web useage be from mobile devices quote from Daniel Applequist from Vodafone

Two reflections on Mobile Learning from different parts of the world

Two articles looking back at how far mobile learning has progressed since the first MLearn conference in Birmingham in 2002 to Mlearn2007 in Melbourne .

The first by Bob Harrison from the United Kingdom well known and well published Mlearning evangelists his article reflecting on Handheld Learning 2007 held in London and linking to Mlearn2007 in Melbourne the article widely published in this case can be read on futurelab blog flux link here

The second article by Caryl Oliver from Australia who was chair of Mlearn2007 the article can be found at the is link

Knowing both of them interesting to note they have a real passion for Vocational Education and interest in emerging pedagogy around Mobile Learners.

Interestingly in my interpretation both pieces talk of the growth of mobile learning and how its focus is changing but both highlight either outright or in the tone the role of pedagogy. The role that technology with the right pedagogy can enhance the learning experience.

Also don't forget Mlearn2008 http://www.mlearn2008.org Titled the Bridge from text to Context

Future of Mobile event 14th November

Only discovered this by chance earlier in the week attending this tomorrow

Future of Mobile event http://www.future-of-mobile.com/
Not come across the event or this group before looking forward to sussing out and reporting back.

EYE Fi wireless sd card for Digital cameras

Now is this as good as it sounds a SD card that you fit in your camera that not stores photo's but publishes them to the web via wifi to flickr facebook etc . Is this just me getting excited or is this another slot in the ubiquitous computing emerging story !! Check it out a http://www.eye.fi/

no special camera etc etc.

Google to talk openhandset alliance at Future of Mobile event in London

Google has changed its talk from Gmail for Mobile to cover the recent
Open Handset Alliance announcement (made on November 5th). http://www.openhandsetalliance.com for detail .
This presentation at Future of Mobile is the first European event
at which to give a public presentation on the topic.
For future of mobile programme go to this link

www.future-of-mobile.com

Google are going further into that mobile arena just as the iconic Iphone launches in the UK .

Interesting times ahead !!

Watch the video explainig android the open platform for development

This is the Gphone or so the say !

Google Docs as a revision aid

I really like the collaboration that the web allows and it now seems from Googles own blog that teachers are one of the quickest groups to adopt these tools. Well I tell a lie I think personally learners use them even quicker.

This article suggests the idea of peer review hints at my favourite the rapid prototyping of ideas any way its worth a read .

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/with-little-help-from-your-friends.html

Interesting that again I am using word 2007 to blog with !! So I am still a person with a foot in both camps long may it continue.

 

 

Google are hiring London a hot bed of mobile development

As regular readers know I was lucky enough to chat with Peter Norvig at the ALTC 2007 conference dinner back in September. Over a wide ranging conversation Peter dropped in that most of Google mobile development work is taking place in London. I couldn't hep noticing the advert that came up in my Gmail web clips feed. So any one know guess what the Google mobile offer is likely to be.

Doing the Double !!

Some of my regular readers will know that I am a bit of a cyclist well I love my bike!!!! So excuse non technology post

For the last few years I have done the infamous Dunwich Dynamo see info here a mere 193 kilometres from London to Dunwich through the night in 2006 a similar event was formed the Exmouth Exodus link here it's a little shorter than the Dynamo but its much hillier. Guess what next year I plan to do both !!

So the key facts
Dates
Exmouth Exodus 2008 14^th 15^{th June}

Dunwich Dynamo 2008 19^th 20^th July

Distance
E&E 100 miles
D&D 120 miles

The FAQs of E&E make interesting reading

Yes and no. It's inspired by the DD, and there are plenty of obvious similarities, like the riding through the night to the seaside part. But it's different too. For a start, it's smaller - a lot smaller. We had 60 riders for 2007, as opposed to the Dynamo's 700. It's hillier - a lot hillier - too, so it's a bit harder, even though it's a little shorter.

The route profile shows the hills

So guess what I intend to do both!! With a six week gap between them no worries!!
The quote best describes the feelings

Words from the 24 hours of Moab dirt bike race in the USA describe whats its like ....

"Somewhere during the night you will hear a voice say, "Why am I doing this? I am never doing this again!" Look forward to this voice. Welcome it. Laugh at it. Embrace it. Look forward to hearing it again next year. Just know that it will come and that you will ride past it and be stronger when it fades into the shadows."

-- Chris Tirpak, 4x Sufferer of Canaan and Moab

I've heard those voices and learnt to laugh oh so loud at them for the joy of being alive!!

By the way Exmouth Exodus is looking for some small scale cash help any sponsdors out there maybe a mobile company some great stuff and publicty to be done with geotagged images from thosde mobile phones etc

A bright future for mobiles in schools Yes

Australian Jonathan W. Nalder has got down to writing his own paper on mobile learning on his blog in fact Jonathan your going to make into my side bar of interesting blogs !!!. Now I am not as always expressing opinion but it does add to the debate.

He explains his reason for writing the paper

" Rather than just reporting on what others have been saying about this new frontier in mLearning - that being kids using their own mobile phones for learning - I've written my own paper dealing with policy responses from schools and Education departments. Mostly these have only touched on safety issues - but I also include in the paper plenty of examples of their positive use in education. I even talk about why they should be used and make recommendations that hopefully future policy makers can use to get the balance right. Enjoy!"

The abstract is below

Abstract
Policy before practice: Reactions, Revisions & Recommendations for the educational use of mobile phones.

Although ICT integration is growing across all sectors of Education, the one device

that most symbolises the current stage of the Digital Revolution, the mobile phone,

has not been welcomed into classrooms. Many policies have been written to deal

with the negative social and disruptive consequences of the use of digital mobile

devices in Education; however less effort has been made to balance such policies

against the educational needs of students dealing with the ongoing impact of the

Digital Revolution. This paper aims to examine the reactions of current policy to the

presence of mobile phones in education and then detail emerging examples of their

use to enhance learning. The paper concludes with a summary of recommendations

drawn from these examples that may form the basis for more learner-centered

policy to be developed in the future.

Read the blog posting linked to this and look at the paper in draft http://mlearningworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/bright-future-for-mobiles-in-schools.html

Thanks to Jonathan for an interesting piece of work.

Britons sending a billion text’s a week !!

 

Well as I always thought this texting lark isn't that popular .

Britons are now sending 1.2 billion text messages every week, the latest figures reveal.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/7075005.stm

Anyone for Mobile Monday ???

Mobile Mondays heard about this group at Handheld Learning talking of the Finnish chapter. These are groups of people concerned around area of mobile developments in Business education etc and seem to have some pretty heavy weight developer members even I need a translator ;--)))) Global site http://www.mobilemonday.net and the UK group I have discovered Mobile Monday London (are there more ?) http://mobilemonday.org.uk . So if your mobile Monday type go on join up . Thanks to Mike Short for pointing me in there direction !

Google and Myspace get open Social

MySpace joins other sites including Bebo, LinkedIn and Orkut in signing up to OpenSocial. Google platform for developing applications that will work on any website !!

BBC NEWS | Business | MySpace in Google software deal

One to watch me thinks !!

Blog Off presentation at Futurelab Conference

Future Lab presentation reflections on my session

A mixed post here . First I am blogging directly from Microsoft Word2007 which allows you to publish straight to your blog !!

Over the two days of the thought provoking Future Lab conference "Why don't you !!!" delivered a 90 minutes workshop twice title "Blog Off , these web 2.0 tools will never make it into the learner experience " I thought they went ok and the participants were great and really had a lot to offer me and each other . The second session was filmed by two separate cameras one for future labs use and one streamed live by Leon Cynch

I used a variety of approaches including Google presenter with remote viewers adding in comments via chat Google presenter supports. Presentation can be seen at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc7bzghg_51cgn6xn

I started using my video clip epic2015 a interesting view of the future of the internet ??

http://epic.makingithappen.co.uk/new-master1.html

It mentions the wane of the fourth estate and by sheer chance Seb Schmollers fortnightly mailing picked up on this work of Bill Dutton (thanks Seb BTW link to Seb's mailing sign up is in my sidebar)

Seb says

A political scientist's perspective on the Internet. Bill Dutton argues that just as printing led to the creation of an independent (?) institution that has become known as the 'Fourth Estate', the Internet, and the network of networks it supports, is leading to the 'Fifth Estate', which could be more important to the 21st century than the Fourth Estate has been since the 18th.

http://fm.schmoller.net/2007/10/bill-dutton---a.html

Reflections interesting session making me think I am a bit web 1.5 rather than web 2.0 and not convinced web2.00 is really a helpful meaningful handle describing for current developments