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Computer Science Education week in the USA is going to be December 7th - Microsoft Blogger Alfred Thompson (and in my humble opinion one of the definitive leaders in advocating computer science education) has shared a blog post about this. If you teach computer science or touch on it, consider planning some things.

Computer Science Education week

It's a Multiphysics World The real world is multiphysics in nature. Consider your mobile phone. The antenna receives electromagnetic waves, the touch screen or buttons are mechanical and electrical components, the battery involves chemical reactions and electrical current, and so on. A single device, but multiphysics. Since it's a multiphysics world, your simulation tool must be multiphysics capable in order to correctly capture the important aspects of your design. The COMSOL Multiphysics approach starts with first principles like transport phenomena, electromagnetic field theory, and solid mechanics as the basic fibers of the software. Then, in an elegant and flexible user interface, you can weave these fibers together in a self-consistent way to solve your particular simulation needs. "COMSOL allows us to couple mechanisms in a very nice and simple way, allowing us to understand their combined effect. This is the true power of simulation." -- Dr Roberto Suarez-Rivera of Schlumberger. COMSOL Multiphysics delivers the ideal tool to build simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. Its unparalleled ability to include all relevant physical effects that exist in the real world is known as multiphysics.

This might be good for introducing programming without needing to touch a computer. I've students who aren't initially engaged by jumping into programming with a computer even with something like Scratch. Maybe this is a way to get them in the correct mindset first. When I first found this, I hoped there might be program cards that required using loops or variables but from looking at the game rule book that does not appear to be the case.  It appears that movement is the only command types, which can result in automatic laser firing or bumping another robot. Still seems like a good game though.

"In this episode we explore some research published by Dr Stephen Earl from the University of Kent in England that is expected to help teachers identify specific reasons for different types of pupil withdrawal in the classroom. Read more about the research at ukedchat.com/2017/04/26/teenage…ive-psychological/ Also, Richard Rogers shares some great classroom activities and ideas about differentiation - The accompanying blog post is at ukedchat.com/2017/04/25/differe…iation-magic-tool/ Get in touch with us via podcast@ukedchat.com and follow us on Twitter @UKEdPodcast, or Direct Message us via the @UKEdChat  accounts on Twitter or Facebook."

The original webinar took place on 28th October 2020 and explored how eBooks can augment your existing library and reading book schemes, both at primary and secondary schools. Experts Hannah Monson and Meredith Wemhoff talk to Martin Burrett about how eBooks can help in the current pandemic situation and beyond. They also tackle viewers' questions. Have a question? Get in touch via one for the methods below. Submit your details here for the chance to win a 10 inch Samsung Tab. One winner will be chosen at random on 30th November 2020.

Microsoft has announced an initiative as part of the ConnectED movement in the US. Here are the details: "Windows 8.1 Pro Operating System: One of the most powerful and flexible operating systems for education, it provides the ability for students and teachers to use education apps and Microsoft Office, search for information across their device and the web, and is optimized for touch, education apps, research, productivity and digital inking, critical keys to better learning outcomes. Office 365 Education Communication and Collaboration Tool: Email, sites, online and offline document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing capabilities for all you students for free. Plus 5 copies of Office for free for more than 12 million students at qualified institutions. Partners in Learning Network Teacher Training and Resources: Partners in Learning provides educators with a network of nearly 1 million educators from 136 countries. It offers them a forum where they can share ideas, find free lesson plans to inspire classroom learning and develop professionally. Bing for Schools Ad-free search: An ad-free digital literacy platform aimed at helping students learn important digital skills based on access to a connected computing device, daily common-core aligned lesson plans, and a safe, private environment where search history will not be mined for data. Student training and resources: Microsoft IT Academy: For roughly 2,000 high-needs schools, Microsoft is providing academic institutions and their educators, students, and staff with digital curriculum and certification for fundamental technology skills. Affordable Broadband from EveryoneOn: A critical component to connected learning, Microsoft's non-profit partner EveryoneOn is offering home Internet service for as low $10 to the 36 million Americans living in low-income communities."

"Every day people around the globe are absorbed in exciting new forms of learning, and yet traditional schools and university systems are still struggling to leverage the many opportunities for innovation in this area. Recently frog has been researching how learning models are evolving--and how they can be improved--via the influence of mobile technologies. We've found that the education industry needs new models and fresh frameworks to avoid losing touch with the radically evolving needs of its many current and potential new constituencies. "

The best stargazing apps - Starwalk, Solarwalk, Sky Live.

This is a fab suite of programming tools and toys from Microsoft Research. The site using HTML 5 which means that it works across most devices from PCs, Apple, Android and more. It has a get tutorial section to get you started and you are able to pick apart coding from other public projects. You can share your finished scripts and programmes with a link to play on most devices and even export it to the Windows Store. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

If you want to record voice memos to Dropbox, Dropvox will do that for you.

"TextMinder allows you to schedule SMS text reminders to be sent to you at the times you specify, repeating as often as you choose. Remind yourself of your medication, diet, exercise or financial goals, shopping, errands, bills, household chores, and other todo tasks and tickler items."

If you want to use Google Play Books for iOs, here's how you download. With the deals this weekend, you'll want to do it now.

Optical character recognition (OCR) software for the Apple iDevices that will scan any text, and then output it to text for e-mail, documents, or spreadsheets. Also includes text reading, which would make it very valuable for both students with visual disabilities and reading/decoding problems.

Great news for you PC users who love your iphone or itouch - you can now synch all your google cal's to your itouch -- OH BABY, this makes my weekend!

Nice blog post about some great apps for the itouch. Will be writing more on this next week, but this is a great post!

free, easy to read, voice to text, books for special needs readers up to teenagers

a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices). The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format.

Free online books for beginning readers of all ages. Some content more appropriate for teenagers. Use the favorites feature to pick books appropriate for you students.