ICT and education

Language learning

2007-08-09T14:01:00.000+01:00

I was reading on this blog about how to use the second life web applications for learning languages.
The idea is the language teachers log on and walk around the second life scenarios and talk in the target language to their pupils. Sounds appealing to the young but not sure how successful it will be. There is certainly a novelty factor but I can see it wearing off as you get used to the idea.
You can read more about it here.

BETT 2007

2007-01-20T20:33:00.000Z

Going to BETT is always an exciting prospect. Will there be new interesting technologies that can enhance the teaching learning process? It is impossible to see everything at BETT, in fact sometimes I think it is impossible to find anything at BETT, it's so huge but I always hope to make new discoveries.

Waiting outside in the weak winter sun I talked to the people around me to understand who was coming to the exhibition. I talked to South Africans, Australians and I could see from the badges that this was a truly international exhibition. We should be proud and realise how lucky we are this event has such a draw.

This article is a personal view of some of the things that caught by eye and it is not meant to be representative of the whole exhibition.

Web 2.0 technologies

For me it was the first time that Web 2.0 technologies really came alive at BETT. Within minutes of walking in to the main gallery I seemed to be bombarded with podcasting, blogs and Moodle.

The Apple stand was showing off the latest version of GarageBand which has a sophisticated yet simple way of producing podcasts.

GarageBand has all the usual track editing facilities but also has the ability to divide the podcast into chapters and insert pictures as chapter headings. If you use Apple Macs this latest version is very enticing but whatever software you are using to record podcasts, a good investment is a decent microphone above all else.

Although PC users can use Audacity, a free, open source program that can be used to record, edit and export MP3 tracks, it can be quite tricky to use. 'Podium', from Softease could be a good alternative and has a good user interface. It does what GarageBand does for the Apple Mac but for PCs. The great advantage of Podium is that it has an in built tool for writing what you are going to say. So, on the same screen you can write your script, click record and then read out your lines. Each script can be allocated to different people. This makes the whole podcasting production much easier.

Last year Moodle had a real struggle to get to BETT but now it seems an established part of the scenery at Olympia. The open source content management system seems to have a real grip on the educational community and the Moodle stand was offering plenty of advice on how to use it. Although Moodle is free, the support load in school can be quite demanding so I was pleased to see so many people offering to support and host the service.

One such company, Advisory Matters were offering three day courses for beginners on Moodle and were selling 'Moodle on a stick' – a USB memory stick with a working model of moodle. Not that they were suggesting you run your system on a memory stick but as a good way of trying out the product and getting others to try out the system.

They also offer a set up of WordPress MU, the multi user version of WordPress blogging software. Although this is open source and you could set it up yourself for free. You may be tempted by the idea that someone will run, set up and theme the site for you and even offer support and training.

Opensource

More schools are beginning to think about using open source software. I have seen 'Edubuntu' in use in Southern Africa. It is an open source application of linux that has been bundled together with a range of other open source software to provide a complete solution for schools. Ubuntu is an African word meaning ‘humanity to others’ and its good to see this spirit being brought to the world of software.

Also worth looking at is the School-Forge-UK project which brings together many of the open source products that will be useful for schools and it was at this stand that I had my interest reawakened in the Ingots scheme which is good low cost IT skills certificate scheme and offers a way of using free e-portfolios.

Digital Worlds GIS 2

With the advent of Google earth people have taken a new interest and perhaps have a greater, well, misunderstanding of what Geographical Information Systems are all about. You may ask if you really need to buy anything else when Google Earth is freely available but this system takes over where Google Earth stops. All the Ordnance Survey information, aerial photography at high resolution, satellite imagery and Census data for the British Isles is available as well as Historic map data from the 1860’s. This means that the user can load layers of information and inspect them in a variety of ways. With a flick of your mouse layers can be revealed to see the difference between, say, an area now and what if looked like in 1860. Then inspect how many people lived there and what the ethnic split was for example. The application is enticing for any user but in the hands of a geographer it will provide far more power than Google can offer.

Newsmaker

I have always been keen on turning the computer room into a working newsroom so the launch of 'Newsmaker' from The Guardian was one of the main stands I wanted to see. 'Newsmaker' is an application that can be used in the classroom to pull together the resources and allow pupils to submit stories to an editor who can work on the layout without having to deal with all the usual desktop publishing problems. The Guardian believes (well, it would do) that making a newspaper is a good way of teaching. It involves working on a collaborative project and involves high level thinking as students have to select and interpret evidence.

Space

Bring space into your classroom with Sarepta. The Norwegian Space Centre offers a way of using a whole host of resources including satellite imagery and this year they were advertising a space camp for youngsters that is surely going to capture your students’ imagination.

Interactive whiteboads

I can still remember seeing the first interactive white boards at BETT. There has always been the problem for people of different heights using the board. So I was very pleased to see the 600i front projection interactive smart board that can adjust up and down. It can only do this because the projector is attached by an arm to the top of the board. So, as the board is pushed up, the projector goes with it.

British Computer Society

Membership of the BCS is increasingly an option for ICT educationalists. I should know. As a member myself, I enjoy the benefits of the Society and the publications and talks are more geared to general audiences. Membership is now very accessible without having to sit specialist examinations and I am pleased that the industry is now recognising teachers as part of the professional body.

Whilst at the stand, I tried out the new e-Type software. A system for teaching and testing typing skills. It seems excellent and is low on administration and could be a useful qualification to do alongside the ECDL course for general ICT skills. Certificates are awarded at Bronze, Silver and Gold depending on your speed and the tests are conducted on-line and marked automatically. Comprehensive reporting is available to the teacher and the tests only last about 5 minutes each.

24 Hour Museum

Although accessing a museum on the web is not the same as a day out visiting the place. The 24 house Museum is a good website to use in the classroom. I had an interesting demonstration of the site and it’s free as it is government funded. Many of the exhibitions are on line and there is a good search facility so this is a useful website to use.

Similarly, the Michael Cultural project helps you find websites, learning resources, images and videos to use in teaching that have been sourced from UK European museums and libraries. All these resources are prepared by the Museum Libraries Archives and as 2007 is the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, they are providing information on various events around the country so it would be worth joining this year if this is of interest.

Conclusion

New technology seems alive and well and there are plenty of ways of achieving a great deal from BETT, either by exploring new technologies or looking again at some old ones and taking the chance to talk to the suppliers. If all that fails, the Naace lounge is a comfortable place to rest those weary feet.

Websites

Apple GarageBand	http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
Softease Podium podcasting software	http://www.podiumpodcasting.com
Digital Worlds GIS 2	www.digitalworlds.co.uk
Moodle on a stick	Advisory Matters Tel: 048702 415742
Michael Culture	http://www.michael-culture.org.uk/mpf/pub-uk/index.html
Schoolforge project	http://www.schoolforge.net/
Ubuntu	http://www.ubuntu.com/
Norwegian Space Centre	http://www.spacecentre.no/English/Learning/
24 Hour museum	http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/

British Computer Society	http://www.bcs.org/

Notate

2006-12-14T11:22:00.000Z

Notate from Logotron is a music composition tool that offers a means of exploring and composing music using ICT. Many of the features are kept simple to avoid over complication of the software although the complexity level can be increased. It’s essentially a teaching and learning tool rather than a package to produce printed scores for your next concert but the print option will be perfectly adequate for classroom use.

Notate can be used as a whole class teaching tool and using a projector with whiteboard would be ideal as the display is large and attractive. It could be used in this way to show pupils how to use the program and to teach general concepts such as pitch and tone. It can then be used with pupils working in pairs or alone to explore ideas in more detail. The package comes with pupil and teacher worksheets that are matched to the QCA schemes of work as well as program instructions. Pupils do not have to start from scratch; they could open existing works and then experiment to change instruments or aspects of a composition. The teacher guide is supplied separately to the pupil guide so they can be used independently by the pupils at their workstation.

The software is easy to get to grips with. The interface is clear and accessible and can be set to three levels of difficulty. Although I was unable to use a keyboard to try out Midi input. I could still compose tracks by dragging notes or chords to the staves. Using the control key, notes can be easily duplicated. There is room for up to eight staves. Each stave can be set to a different instrument and they can be mixed at different levels. Speed of the output can be controlled which could be useful to bring out some teaching points.

Editing is straightforward and intuitive. Select, copy and paste is as one would expect but there is also a transpose option as well as moving a selection up or down the stave using the arrow keys or edit menu.

One of the examples from the work book requires you to compose some music that creates a mood. Pupils are asked to look at a picture and to express their feelings of the picture through music. They can explore the different textures and timbres of groups of instruments as well as the structure of patterns and phrasing. There is a full range of such activities and more ideas on the website.

To sum up, this is a package that could be used by both non specialist or specialist teachers for beginner students or the more able. There is plenty of scope to encourage creativity and to develop a clearer idea of notation at the same time.

Notate.

Platform –Windows PC

Age range –KS 2/3

Supplier – Logotron / Cambridge Software

URL: www.logo.com

Email: info@logo.com

Tel: 01223 425 558

Fax: 01223-425 349

Price £59

from a review published in InterActive

Coming of Age -an introduction to the new world wide web

2006-05-08T13:01:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the weekly e-mail from NAACE, I have just been reading the free to download book entitled 'Coming of Age -an introductin to the new world wide web. Edited by Terry Freedman and includes lots of articles about Web 2.0 - podcasting, the blogosphere, RSS and wikis etc. The book is free to distribute and I shall be making copies available to the teachers at school so they can read up about this new ICT developements. There are some excellent contributions including one from Miles Berry on the use of ELGG in school. He gives plenty of anacdotal evidence of how the use of ELGG as a blog / e-portfolio has been used alongside Moodle to give a personalised learning experinece for his pupils.
I hope this book grabs the attention of the non-believers and gives them some ideas of how to make some tentative steps towards e-enlightment.
Coming of Age

bebo.com

2006-04-10T09:14:00.000+01:00

An article in the Sunday Telegraph about the dangers of social networking.
Bebo is not a great site - the article is quite right. Surely webdesigners can come up with proper rules and a good way of moderating networking sites.

Uses for iPods in Education

2006-04-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

I came across this interesting site from Georgia USA about uses for iPods.

"This school year, it started iVillage, a virtual community that encouraged incoming students to start communicating before the start of classes. The first dozen freshmen recruited for the effort were asked to think up innovative uses for the iPods.

The team is creating an iPod-based freshmen survival guide that includes advice on classes, dorms and nightlife in this sleepy community 100 miles south of Atlanta."

British Computer Society

2006-04-05T15:11:00.000+01:00

I have been a full member of the British Computer Society now for about a year. I have found it very useful. Apart from the prestigious MBCS after your name, I find the journal and web site updates very interesting and make me feel part of the profession. Entry for ICT co-ordinators in schools has been made easier. There are no exams to do if you can demonstrate qualifications and professional practice.
I can't believe that it has taken so long. I remember when I was at school being totally unimpressed by the BCS compared to the other engineering and scientific organisations. Maybe the next step will be for them to produce some really good careers information for schools as I find the current material uninspriring. I refuse to put up the latest offerings in my classroom.

BETT 2006 pictures

2006-02-26T17:33:00.000Z

BETT 2006

2006-02-26T17:10:00.000Z

An excerpt from my article in Interactive magazine.

Oh no, huge queues already at BETT on the Thursday and I had arrived especially early to get in dead on 10.00am. These queues were for the pre-registered doors so I had a brain-wave and went to the non-registered door. Guess what, I walked straight in. Please do not do this next year, it is my trick.

I was looking out for VLEs because I had some interest in the arrival of Moodle to BETT for the first time. If you are a Moodle fan you may know it is an open source VLE that is available free. It is one of the most exciting things in education today and excellent that there was a stand at BETT because it was staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. It was buzzing with people asking questions and quite rightly as Moodle offers more than just a course management system. It also offers a real opportunity for collaborative learning with components added by the community of users from all round the world.

I took a look at some of the opposition – Fronter. A VLE system that has spread in Northern Europe. Their solution is to do the hosting for you so you have none of the support worries that many VLEs present. You can set up virtual classrooms and link your e-mail and documents to the Fronter portal screen. It will be interesting to see if it takes off in the UK. FrogTeacher is a similar system with such a beguiling name. A VLE, an email system, intranet and school website all wrapped into one.

The Smart stands did indeed look smart with the new Smart 600 series board. The design has, thankfully, been dragged into the current century and at last looks like a grown up interactive smart-board with designer speakers either side incorporating USB sockets and volume controls. The excellent notebook software has been updated as well and they have come out of the closet about the mind mapping software that actually comes free with each board. I say it like this because not many people seem to have heard about the mind mapping software which is a great shame as it is a friendly package to get to know. At last, Smart seem to be singing its praises.

One of the recurring themes at BETT this year for me was podcasting. Everyone was doing it. At the Ultralab stand, groups of students were busy making short audio and video files ready to podcast on the net. Made slightly easier by a new product for the Mac; Podcaster from Kudlian software. Ultralab were full of enthusiasm for Ultraversity, their on-line university that would be most suitable for, say, a technician who wants to do a university degree whilst they are at work.

If you don't have a Mac but are still puzzled by how to actually cast your audio files then Radiowaves is the answer. A platform for schools all over the world to show off their digital audio files. It is interesting to hear what a typical school day is like in different parts of the world and there are tutorials and ideas on how to start your own radio station.

With all this interest in podcasts and recording audio, you would think it would be easy to source a suitable microphone. All the stands showing off audio equipment only seem to have professional kit. When you ask them for a microphone for class use that doesn't cost as much as your total budget then they are completely stumped.

I went to relax in the excellent NAACE lounge and sat enjoying a cup of Earl Grey pondering on the fact that the lounge doesn't feel as exclusive as it did last year. However, it is an excellent facility and provides a cosy area to chill out and meet people. I was even asked to take part in a podcast of the BETT show. I gingerly went over to the Mac setup and recorded my thoughts and the podcast was then put up on the Ultralab site. You can listen for yourself. However it is only by being asked to do something like this that you realise the difficulty of putting together a few coherent sentences if you haven't planned it properly. So if you do a podcasting exercise in your own classroom do stress the importance of what the media types call – pre-production planning!

All the examples of podcasting at BETT seemed to be done on Macs and although I use PCs in school I have a Mac at home. Yes, I am a recent convert and I am writing this on an iBook. Of course, PCs can be used for podcasting as I am sure you know but if you do want to think about using Macs at school I found two interesting companies. 'Macs in my school' are based in Surrey and will help you integrate the machines into an existing PC network. Similarly, ATComputers had a slicker approach with glossy literature explaining how Macs are going to take over the classroom with their superior creativity suites, including not just the Mac software that is contained in the iLife package but 'I can animate' which does just what it says on the packet! Incidentally, this one is also produced by Kudlian software.

I was very interested in mind-mapping tools this year, so, apart from the Smart software that I mentioned earlier I was pleased to see a new version of Inspiration coming out. Inspiration and Kidspiration for the primary range, are mind mapping tools that are undergoing an update. The new version of Inspiration is Version 8 and has a dictionary, thesaurus and word guide that will find synonyms easily. There is support now for video files to play within the mind maps and the templates tool means that starting off is a whole lot better. It is also worth considering Mindjet Mindmanager which does a similar job and unlike Inspiration it is possible to buy a site licence. However, one advantage of Inspiration is that it can be used on a PDA.

Talking of PDAs, it was the first time this year that I took a real interest in what is happening with PDAs for teachers and pupils. The answer is – not a lot. Although I am glad that I found the 'Handheld learning' stand. I can't believe that PDAs are still rather looked on as geeky but they are increasingly becoming a real alternative to the laptop for a busy IT co-ordinator. Do you still use paper? There is now support for Word and Excel on the PDA and the one I use at home has a great bird-watching database with all the bird calls as well as distribution maps. Do try logging onto the 'Handled learning' site as there are some good examples from practitioners on how to get the best out of them.

What was the strangest thing you saw at BETT? Mine was the software called iClone. You can take the dubious opportunity to scan your photo into the program and build a 3D animation of yourself. Within minutes, you create an action packed animation sequence of yourself. Just don't let your students get hold of your photo or you will be in trouble!

It had been quite a different experience at BETT this year. No tablet laptops that I could find, not so many Starboards, lots of ingenious furniture that folded out revealing a network of PCs that appeared from nowhere. There was perhaps a greater emphasis on choice of software and ‘e-learning’.

It is always a good chance to meet other people and over coffee I talked to some people from Egypt, Norway and South Africa. One teacher said that you used to get better freebies a few years ago. I wonder what he expects; a free nano-pod! I went away quite happy with a handful of pens and a pot of Jam, of all things, from the BBC. See you at BETT 2007.

Podcasting -An introduction

2005-06-21T16:50:00.000+01:00

Podcasting is the next big thing to hit education. The word is derived from ipod and broadcasting. The ipod is just a way of listening to sound files, usually in MP3 format. It is just a way of compressing a large amount of music into a small trendy box that teenagers love to use. Traditionally, they download the music via a computer and store it on the i-pod.
However, it does not need to be music. Any audio file can be recorded and stored onto an i-pod.
Podcasts are usually small radio programmes that can be listened to at the computer or downloaded onto an i-pod or other mp3 player.
It makes it easy to create a radio programme and distribute (or broadcast) via an intranet.

Create radio interviews for languages or make a science documentary. You are only limited by your own imagination.
Traditional Radio
The radio is alive and well on the internet. There are some excellent programmes on the radio but how to record them? Use the Listen Again service on the BBC. Listen again allows you to broadcast the radio programme from the computer to your class. You can stop, rewind and play the programme.

You will need the Real player software. It should be installed but please check with our helpdesk if not.

The BBC is trailling podcasts and downloads.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/downloadtrial/

Most programmes, however, are available only for a week.

Feeds
True podcasting involves using a ‘feed’ but you don’t need to go to such complexity to undertand the basics. If you do want to know more use the following sites.
The wikipedia definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

The BBC have more informtion on podcasts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/downloadtrial/podcast.shtml

Remember
You do not need an ipod!
Have a nice i-holiday!

About blogging

2005-06-14T16:00:00.000+01:00

An introduction to blogging

"Every reader is a writer, every writer is a reader." --Jay Rosen

Blogging
What is blogging or blog? It is short for web-log. They started out as a diary that a gap student may have written on their travels. The student can settle in a café and put thir blog on-line for the relations back home to read. You can include pictures and text. Have a look at Boris Johnson’s blog http://www.boris-johnson.com/index.html

How to blog
You do not need to know how to create a web site. You register with a blog supplier (free)and then just fill in the on-line form with the details of the blog and hey presto – the whole world can read your ramblings.
One supplier is http://www.blogger.com/start . You can set up a blog in minutes.
There are some excellent instructions on how to set up a blog at http://www.geographypages.co.uk/blogs.htm

Blogs for education
There are many teachers who use blogs for their teaching. Look at the Geoblog pages site, at (http://www.geographypages.co.uk/blogpages.htm) supported by the Royal Geographical Society.

Plenty of ideas on blogging are here.given at http://anvil.gsu.edu/EduBlogInsights/2004/10/05#a668
some examples are
You might like to create a reflective, journal type blog to...

* reflect on your teaching experiences.
* keep a log of teacher-training experiences.
* write a description of a specific teaching unit.

You can encourage your students (either on your weblog using the comments feature or on their own weblogs) to blog...

* their reactions to thought-provoking questions.
* their reactions to photos you post.
* journal entries.
* results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit.
* their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class.

Caution
Be careful about publishing details of your school work on the web.
Keep the site secure – you do not have to make it public.
Do not mention the school name - it can be anonymous.
Pupils will use blogs to bully their classmates.

The Future
If you understand blogging you can now go on to read about pod-casting,

Join the technorati at
http://www.technorati.com/

Ideas on blogging

2005-05-24T16:18:00.000+01:00

anvil.gsu.edu/EduBlogInsights
You might like to create a reflective, journal type blog to...

* reflect on your teaching experiences.
* keep a log of teacher-training experiences.
* write a description of a specific teaching unit.
* describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work.
* provide some teaching tips for other teachers.
* write about something you learned from another teacher.
* explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes.
* share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom.
* provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class.
* explore important teaching and learning issues.

You might like to start a class blog to...

* post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework assignments and other pertinent class information.
* post assignments based on literature readings and have students respond on their own weblogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work.
* communicate with parents if you are teaching elementary school students.
* post prompts for writing.
* provide examples of classwork, vocabulary activities, or grammar games.
* provide online readings for your students to read and react to.
* gather and organize Internet resources for a specific course, providing links to appropriate sites and annotating the links as to what is relevant about them.
* post photos and comment on class activities.
* invite student comments or postings on issues in order to give them a writing voice.
* publish examples of good student writing done in class.
* show case student art, poetry, and creative stories.
* create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning.
* create a literature circle.
* create an online book club.
* make use of the commenting feature to have students publish messages on topics being used to develop language skills.
* ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions and written work.
* post tasks to carry out project-based learning tasks with students.
* build a class newsletter, using student-written articles and photos they take.
* link your class with another class somewhere else in the world

You can encourage your students (either on your weblog using the comments feature or on their own weblogs) to blog...

* their reactions to thought-provoking questions.
* their reactions to photos you post.
* journal entries.
* results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit.
* their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class.

You can have your students create their own weblogs to...

* learn how to blog
* complete class writing assignments.
* create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing.
* express their opinions on topics you are studying in class.
* write comments, opinions, or questions on daily news items or issues of interest.
* discuss activities they did in class and tell what they think about them (You, the teacher, can learn a lot this way!).
* write about class topics, using newly-learned vocabulary words and idioms.
* showcase their best writing pieces.

You can also ask your class to create a shared weblog to...

*
complete project work in small groups, assigning each group a different task.
* showcase products of project-based learning.
* complete a WebQuest.

Share ideas you have for using weblogs in education.

Posted by Anne Davis on 10/5/04; 9:54:05 AM from the eSN dept.

Screen casting

2005-05-22T14:56:00.000+01:00

Screencasting...an improvement to Blogging?
By John Fallon on May 20, 2005 in Best Practices. Discuss it below
For years, I’ve used the products created by Techsmith for a variety of projects. The latest defined use for their video capture device Camtasia has been incorporated into what is called Screencasting, a term defined by Jon Udell from InfoWorld. Where blogging is essentially text based, a podcast is used for audio, a screencast is used for combining text, audio and video. Although a relatively new concept for expanding blogging entries, for years I’ve used the PowerPoint add-on Microsoft Producer to produce some of my classroom instructional materials that I've incorporated onto the web. Producer allows the combination of text via HTML, audio and movie files. For powerpoint users, screencasting is really not all that new. These days, it seems that everyone is trying to jump on the “ogging” bandwagon. Even Serious Magic has developed software for the art of “Vlogging” (video blogging). I’ve seen some of the files/screencasting projects that have been produced with Camtasia and they do look and function great. I can see that at the beginning of the next school year, I’m going to do some experimenting with screencasting with at least one of my classes. I just hope that we don’t dilute the overall concept of blogging that provides a medium for concentration on written material. From an educational viewpoint, we need more opportunities for students to write and improve their skill, not additional opportunities to create multimedia extravaganzas.

Blogging for teachers

2005-02-15T11:30:00.000Z

Just reading about how many other teachers use blogging. Prompted by Web-Ed blog. The answer is - not many. There are a few that I found that are interesting - have a look at HipTeacher. I would like to find some more IT teaching blogs but so far I can't find any.

BETT 2005

2005-01-29T16:05:00.000Z

‘Take hold of the future’ was the motto for this year’s BETT show.

“Was this going to be a renaissance year of a new enlightened age of computing?” I pondered the ideas on the crowded train, my thoughts interrupted by loud people who stand around with their mobile phones saying – “I’m on the train – where are you?” I read in a preview of the show that a massage session was available for those tired and weary limbs at the end of the day. I looked forward to it as I stepped out of the train into a bright blue sky day and was pleased to see no queues. Although, by the numbers of people who arrived in the next twenty minutes, I wondered who was actually teaching in the country’s classrooms.
Round the corner from the RM stall was the SCRAN picture library stand. I am particularly interested at the moment in how we source pictures for our teaching and this on-line library looked interesting. SCRAN is a charity based in Scotland and is a learning image service with 300,000 images, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media. You can use the images just as clipart but there are tools that can turn the images into a work sheet very quickly. You can keep bookmarks for your own use but it would be possible to set up a list of bookmarks for your classes to use. It is a subscription service but the price seemed reasonable and the collection is growing all the time. I ordered a free trial straight away.
The Apple stand was the next to grab my attention. Wasn’t it strange this year that so many stands were sporting apple laptops? Maybe there is a trend in education that the rest of us ought to take seriously. I speak as a confirmed PC user. I was keen to see GarageBand, a fairly new addition to the I-life suite of Apple software. You can record up to 8 audio tracks at once and quickly produce and edit your own music compositions. Whist at the Apple stand I tried to find out more about the new Chroma-key plug in to I-movie. This is the blue-screen effect that means you can film yourself against a blue background and then electronically put on a weather map behind you. This could be great fun in the classroom and I am sure there are plenty of other educational uses other than just the weather to exploit but no-one could show me how to use it – how disappointing.
How do you organise your trip to BETT? I made lots of plans about the people I wanted to see but then forget it all in the excitement of the event. However, I had made a note to see the Serif Draw stand and then had to say that I had forgotten why. They dutifully handed out a couple of CDs full of curriculum materials and training tutorials. I do like this about Serif. They are keen to give you free samples of fully working software to try out and their licensing for use in school is very competitive and some of the software is excellent. I watched a demonstration of their MovieMaker software, used for editing video. It’s always difficult to find the balance with ease of use against functionality but I think this version does well against the competition.

Would you like a radio station to play with? For £7250 you can buy everything you need to run a radio station. This could be relayed through the intranet so you don’t have to broadcast to the whole of the local community. There is a compact mixing desk, mini-disc recorders, a telephone balancing system for taking on-air calls, basically everything right down to the ‘on-air’ light and radio controlled clock.

Like the radio station, my attention is always grabbed by exotic looking stands and so I was pleased to see the Mirandanet stand decked out in a celebration of Southern Africa. The walls were covered in decorative fabric, there were cases full of wooden carvings, there were baskets and drawings of mud huts and other African scenery adorning the stand. The E-lapa project is for schools in challenging circumstances in the Free State and there have been various exchanges and on-line projects. Mirandanet has also published a paper on ECDL for educators that is worth reading if you are considering the ECDL programme.

Talking about the ECDL programme I noticed a large growth in the number of stands offering ECDL solutions. Aston Swann were famed for their ECDL for Educators programme but have now released a programme for students as well. The ECDL certification seems to be gaining ground, as I notice the number of people asking questions about it. Now that it can gain points and is matched with the BCS User certificates it can be quite attractive. The only problem is finding the right training materials and coping with the administrative burden. Although you can buy packages that include the automated tests and training all together as one.
I had been looking for astronomy support material but I hadn’t expected to find it here at BETT so I was happy to see ‘Starry night astronomy and planetarium resources’ which comes in various forms. There is a complete space and astronomy pack for Key Stages 2 and 3. It consists of software, a companion book and DVD films. View from any location and travel through time to 3000AD to see what the sky will be like in the future. There are various other packs for older students and with the publicity that the Titan landing is generating this might be a good time to get into astronomy with your students.
Time was pressing on and after a rushed sandwich and coffee I realised that all the collectible goodies were running out. At the Ultralab stall, every year I collect their DVD showing the movies made at the Summer school. These are short movies that are excellent to show students to give them ideas for creative projects. I was lucky to get the last one they possessed so next year I advise you to visit them early! Maybe you all took my advice last year. The students on the stand this year were making animated movies using small stages set up with plasticine figures – Wallace and Grommet style. We have tried this in school and it is very effective and I recommend it to everyone. The thrill of making a piece of plasticine come alive on the screen is worth the effort.
Feeling completely exhausted I checked out ‘The National Archive Learning Curve’ suite of computers allowing people to sit and browse their free online teaching and learning resource, following the History National Curriculum from Key Stages 2 to 5. Lot of exciting resources including the Tudors and the Great War. You can find out what they mean by the phrase ‘lions led by donkeys’?
In the afternoon I was delighted to find Wells Cathedral school advertising a music software package called “The virtual Javanese Gamelan”. This is some software that has nothing to do with the computer technology of Java but everything to do with the music produced in Java, the place. The Gamelan is an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments consisting of gongs, pots, metallophones (similar to glockenspiels) and drums. The software explores the instrument and compositions. Using the tutorials you can compose and play your own pieces. Best of all the software is a free download from the site. There is plenty of information on the accompanying website and discussion groups.

As I am a member of NAACE I took refuge in their dedicated lounge and took stock of things. If you haven’t joined NAACE I do recommend it. It’s not just that they provide such a sumptuous lounge but that they are developing useful courses and conferences such as the ‘ICT Alive show in March 2005. They have also produced the NAACEMark scheme – a quality assurance scheme for schools that can be used to aim for success in using ICT. Even if you do not apply for the award the documentation would be a useful guideline for any ICT co-ordinator at primary or secondary level.
Whilst I don’t think we are quite in the Renaissance of a new computing era in education I certainly found some interesting new developments at this year’s BETT that will allow me to take hold of the future and the most disappointing thing was that I couldn’t find the relaxing, rejuvenating massage area. I hope you did and that you found what you were looking for without being overwhelmed.

Links
www.imusic.org.uk The virtual Javanese Gamelan
http://www.scran.ac.uk/ SCRAN
http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/elapavle/ Mirandanet
http://www.educatorsecdl.com/default.asp Aston Swann
http://www.guildsoft.co.uk/index.html Starry night
http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/ National Archive Learning Curve
http://www.naace.org/ NAACE

Podding

2005-01-16T17:57:00.000Z

Just researching the use of podding for education.

This is a useful site to use.

Video blogs

2005-01-06T16:51:00.000Z

An interesting article on videoblogs:
Videoblogs...Another Tool in the Toolbox?
We've been making some inroads at my school into multimedia video projects using MovieMaker. It's been slow going as we've had to work through the process of the most efficient ways to save and produce the video our students take. But in the last couple of weeks, we've had some really fine interpretations of Romeo and Juliet as well as some minute-long vids with a political bent. I think the teachers are starting to see the potential despite the added time it takes to create them.

http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/12/29#a2985

My Newsfeeds

2005-01-06T15:42:00.000Z

These are my news feeds.
http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=MrPorter

RSS feeds for education

2005-01-04T16:32:00.000Z

www.weblogg-ed.com

This site contains some interesting writing about the use of blogs for education.

www.becta.org has some good info about open source software.

http://www.weblogg-ed.com/rss_for_ed

This is a useful pdf on rss for education.

To build a feed on your own web page use this handy javascript maker:
http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/feed/index.php?s=about

Coppermine

2004-12-23T18:09:00.000Z

Found the rather useful Coppermine open source photo gallery software.
http://coppermine.sourceforge.net/