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"Siri is still in relative infancy as a program, but as the technology develops, it will be interesting to see how it's applied in other situations outside of finding basic information, locating a Starbucks, or updating a calendar. One area where Siri's capabilities could be extraordinarily useful is in education, and many are already theorizing about the myriad different ways that Siri could be used to change how we teach, learn, and view it. Here we've collected a few of these ideas about how Siri could make the leap from a simple search tool to a powerful learning and education assistant. While they may not all come to pass, it's certainly fun to think about a world where interaction with technology for education could be so seamless, accessible, and maybe even fun."

Schools are needing increasing amounts of expensive educational technology at a time when budgets are shrinking. Many have started to explore BYOD policies - Bring Your Own Device - as a practical solution to integrate cost effective technology into their educational programs. With the convergence of widespread broadband and the growth of powerful, platform independent web based tools BYOD has finally arrived as an effective educational alternative to other plans that require expensive purchasing and maintenance. Viewed within a realistic perspective of both its benefits and limitations BYOD can provide a workable solution for the many schools seeking to upgrade their educational technology.

"With the rise of the blended learning model of education, video is becoming an increasingly important medium for instruction. The essential components of blended learning - such as flipped classrooms, MOOCs and "Bring Your Own Device" programs - are facilitated by video instruction to ensure the personalization and flexibility of a digitized education system"

"People in the 3-D printing world have talked for years about the possibility of unauthorized copying and sharing of designs-similar to what the file-sharing program Napster allowed for music. Now the first commercial solution to this as-yet theoretical problem is preparing to launch. It was developed by Authentise, a startup based in Mountain View, California."

"The Instructional Assessment Resources (IAR) Web site is a comprehensive resource to assist you in assessing student learning, classroom teaching, and instructional technology. The site also provides resources for conducting program evaluations and educational research."

"Opt out of global data surveillance programs like PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora. Stop governments from spying on you by encrypting your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary services."

via @dajbelshaw

"Here's a step by step guide on how you can setup the Send to Google Drive program for your Gmail account:"

"If you go to the Getty Images website, you'll see millions of images, all watermarked. There are more than a hundred years of photography here, from FDR on the campaign trail to last Sunday's Oscars, all stamped with the same transparent square placard reminding you that you don't own the rights. If you want Getty to take off the watermark, you'll have to pay for it. Starting now, that's going to change. Getty Images is dropping the watermark for the bulk of its collection, in exchange for an open-embed program that will let users drop in any image they want, as long as the service gets to append a footer at the bottom of the picture with a credit and link to the licensing page. "

"SNAPCHAT users may be in for a not-so-pleasant surprise this Christmas. Hackers could gain access to the phone numbers and names of the app's users because of a loophole in its coding and API (application programming interface), a new report from online security firm Gibson Security has revealed."

"While most web-sites provide downloads of current versions, OldApps.com caters to a different market of interest by providing older versions of the same useful programs. Often newer versions are more complicated to use and we understand that it is hard to find older, more user-friendly versions of popular software. Many software providers do not include older versions of their software on their sites, therefore, OldApps.com has found its market niche and provides a vital intermediary function for our users' software needs."

"State education departments are unlikely to roll out iPads as part of the federal government's digital education revolution program because of the device's technical shortcomings."

Thanks for sharing this Tony. Looks very interesting - Python reminds me of Microworlds. Might look into running a lunchtime programming club for grades 5-6. Although still trying to get a Minecraft Club started! - unfortunately my school techs don't know Minecraft and although it has been on their 'to do' list from last year limited time makes it really hard for them to get it up. :-( Cheers - Chris Trimnell

"Middle to late in term 2 of this year we decided to survey a large cohort of our Middle Years students (Yrs. 6, 7, and 8), all of whom are involved in our 1:1 iPad Program. Over the past two years we have decided to survey our students about their iPad, or more so Mobile Technology use to assist us in gaining a slightly better understanding of their feelings and perceptions relating to the use of their devices to support their learning. I have included aspects of the completed data below. Our next step is to unpack this a little further with both teachers within their teams as well as the students themselves."

Introducing Sphero 2.0. Choose from over 25 apps and launch a whole new world of mobile gameplay. Drive circles around your friends with Sphero's new engine, turn your living room into a video game with augmented reality apps like The Rolling Dead, and upgrade family game night with multiplayer apps like ColorGrab. You can even get a crash course in programming Sphero with MacroLab. Sphero rolls 7 feet per second and pairs to your device via Bluetooth. Powered by induction charging and an internal smart robot, Sphero also glows in millions of colors and is pet proof, waterproof, and ready for any adventure.

"There are lots of different skills that go into game development. This course is about key technical concepts in game development, and has been developed for people of many different backgrounds and skills. Some programming experience would be nice but is not required. We start by looking at the central role of game design and common development processes used in the industry. You will see how game software can be broken into parts that work together, and in particular the idea of game engines. We'll explore the relationship between game design, balance and player experience. Lastly we'll look at enhancing player experience though the use of AI techniques."

Remember 'Logo?' Now you can write your code and run it in a browser window.

Wouldn't it be great if each line was highlighted as the program ran so you could see visually what each line of code was doing?

"Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google was so taken with Pis (and so horrified by the lack of computer programming currently being taught) that he donated a barrel load of them to British schools. Raspberry Pi is now one of the most talked about products on Quibly and one of the most frequently purchased through our store."

Screenhero is a screen sharing program that is a free download in beta. It has voice chat, is cross platform and has dual cursor capability.