Group items tagged

"I've just been browsing a report recently published by Ofcom titled "Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report." [PDF]. Much of my work in schools and with teachers involves discussions about the sorts of skills and dispositions young people need to be considered 'literate' in an increasingly digital world. The research carried out by Ofcom reveals some useful data to help inform how schools think about a response, including…"

"There are few similarities: it appears that the Coalition's plans for Fixed Wireless technology and Satellite technology in rural areas may be similar (there's an near-total lack of detail in the Coalition's plans and much information is gathered through 'reading between the lines') but there are big questions regarding the differences in funding. Ultimately, the only obvious similarity is that people should be able to download web pages and videos a bit faster. Here follows each facet listed in detail. In the spirit of crowdsourcing, and with the phenomenal success of it in terms of NBN research, if you can add any more information one way or the other, please contact us or leave the details in the comments."

"The most time-consuming part of evaluating web tools for educational use has got to be looking at the Terms of Service (also know as Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions). They can go on for pages, and are so often wrapped up in so much legalese that even if you manage to read to the end, there is no guarantee you will be any wiser. And yet we can't just ignore them; it is our duty as educators and as digital citizens to protect rights and understand responsibilities online."

"As cloud computing services become ever more popular, you might begin to wonder how much you can really trust them to perform when you need them? I decided to find out - by testing the top file-transfer/file-storage/file-backup services."

"Since its inception back in 2003, WordPress has grown from a humble blogging platform into one of the world's most popular content management systems (CMS). Now, the much-loved website and blogging platforms has celebrated a special miletsone - its 10th birthday. In today's blog, I'll be taking a look back at the history of WordPress, how it has changed, and is one of the most important tools for companies and marketers today."

"Reckon you can spot a YouTube video captured on a smartphone camera? It's not hard - they're often the ones that look like they're shot on "spin cycle". Many new, dedicated video cameras include optical image stabilisation (OIS) that takes out much of the shake from video clips. Even most budget models now include a digital version that can remove minor hand-shaking. But unless you have a HTC One, iPhone 5 or Nokia Lumia 920 in your pocket, most smartphones have nothing to offer for video stabilisation. But it can be fixed - even if you've already captured your video."

"Andrew Vanden Heuvel has a little too much fun looking at mirrors with his Google Glass."

"With the massive uptake of social networking sites, social media has become part and parcel of our digital life.Your daily dose of social media depends on how much time you have to spend on such virtual networks. It also depends on the purpose behind you joining them, if you are using them solely for personal and socializing goals then you might find yourself running the risk of addiction to these platforms."

"Somewhere between a PowerPoint presentation and a full-fledged video is the audio slideshow. Creating audio slideshows can be a good way to add meaning to slides that otherwise might not mean much without a presenter. Here are some ways that students can create audio slideshows."

I'm a big, big fan of Diigo. I appreciate that I can save and share bookmarks, highlight and leave comments on webpages, annotate resources, host and participate in groups and forums on particular topics, message and interact with friends and colleagues, and much more. It's a very big component of my personal learning network (PLN). I'm also impressed and pleased that the Diigo founders and employees listened to its community of teacher-users and developed Diigo for Educators (More fondly referred to as EduDiigo). Here are some thoughts about about why teachers and learners might use Diigo.

"Much attention has been paid to 3D Printing lately, with new companies developing cheaper and more efficient consumer models that have wowed the tech community. They herald 3D Printing as a revolutionary and disruptive technology, but how will these printers truly affect our society? Beyond an initial novelty, 3D Printing could have a game-changing impact on consumer culture, copyright and patent law, and even the very concept of scarcity on which our economy is based. From at-home repairs to new businesses, from medical to ecological developments, 3D Printing has an undeniably wide range of possibilities which could profoundly change our world."

Millions of students have signed up for massive open online courses, and hundreds of universities are offering some form of Web-based curriculum. Most students aren't paying much for these classes, if they're paying anything at all. So where is all that knowledge-and all the cash-coming from?

On Monday, Google will pull the plug on Google Reader, despite much general online despair about the death of the most popular RSS reader. So if you were ever a fan of Google Wave, Google Labs or maybe even Google Buzz, you're probably a little nostalgic for the services of Google's past. If you want to take the trip down memory lane, check out the infographic below, courtesy of Wordstream.

"This story is incredible, and admittedly, unfinished. There's much more we need to learn that hasn't been told yet, but what we do know c(sh)ould change things. Maybe even a whole lot of things. Recently, the OLPC organization took boxes of tablets, carefully and tightly taped up, and dropped them in two remote villages of Ethiopia. There were no instructions. No teachers. Nothing but a group of first grade-aged students for whom the tablets were intended. Students who couldn't read, couldn't identify the single form of a letter, had never before seen any kind of technology."

"It is pretty much a given these days that students have mobile phones, tablets, and e-readers. Leveraging what your students already have and already know how to use is a smart idea - even if you aren't implementing a full-on BYOD classroom environment. There are many ways to have students use their mobile devices in the classroom in a format geared towards learning rather than for leisure. The infographic in this post takes a look at ten fairly general ways to use devices in the classroom. The general nature of some of the recommendations makes it a great starting point if this is a newer concept for you or for a particular group that you're working. "

"Two features distinguish OneNote from other note-taking apps like Evernote. First, notes can be shared and collaboratively edited in real time - much like Google Docs. This includes collaborative handwriting when on tablets. Next, OneNote notes can be opened and edited in multiple locations at the same time. Consider a student taking notes in OneNote on a laptop or Chromebook while inserting photos from their phone"

"Minecraft is more than just a game and used carefully it can also be a powerful educational tool. It allows young people to create and explore places that are completely inaccessible by other means. Within the blocky world, they can roam around historical sites, delve into the geology beneath their feet or fly through the chambers of a heart, and much more besides. The rich resources of these virtual worlds, coupled with the educational version of the game, allow teachers to immerse young people in a comfortable but exciting learning environment. Minecraft has the ability to bring just about any conceivable structure to the classroom, and beyond.

As the post-PC era moves from interesting theory to cold, hard reality, one of the most pressing questions is: How can we use tablets, and especially the iPad, to help people learn? Most of the focus has been on ebooks replacing textbooks, a trend fueled by Apple's recent updates to iBooks. Specifically, the company released iBooks Author, a tool for creating immersive ebooks on the desktop. Plus, the new iPad is now the first tablet with a retina screen, making reading and watching multimedia on the device even more enjoyable. But technology is only as good as the system it's applied to. Much like a fresh coat of paint will not improve the fuel efficiency of a '69 Mustang, the application of technology to a broken system masks deeper problems with short-term gains.

YOUSRC is much more than just a programming language. It is also a site where apps written in ELC can be shared with others. All source code (the human readable code that people program in) is freely available so you can see how people did things and learn from their skills.