Digital Signposts

All set for BETT

Gloucester Sq. tube from Bailey's hotel room this evening

Its that time of year again, the BETT show.  As a seasoned BETT veteran, (I think my first was in the mid 80's when it was still held at the Barbican), something tells me this one will prove to be a different experience, for myself.

Unlike the Scottish Learning Festival there will be no wifi  available (even though we are now the 21st century), the organisers prefer to maintain their cash cow by charging the exhibitors whacking fees for a wired connection, which unfortunately means no wifi for the rest of us. Realising this, I decided to get a Broadband 7.2 USB modem, and it is working a treat, so I will be able to blog, Flickr, etc. live from the show, and remain connected in all respects.

I will be with the University of Hull on stand S97, which  we are jointly sharing with  Mirandanet.  We are keen to talk to all who are interested in using digital assets and archives and Web 2.0 for learning. Please come and join Kevin and myself, we look forward to meeting friends old and new.

Having attended two previous events in Glasgow, I suspect Teachmeet08 on the Friday will be one of the highlights, and its great to see so many signed up; and still doing so.

Has it really been that long since I posted?

I am afraid it has been far too long.  Holidays, events, conferences, projects, bloggers block and even Facebook have conspired to eat in to my best laid plans. Therefore, I  will try to get back on track, regain some momentum by adopting a more disciplined strategy, as follows:

1. Alerts on new tools, developments, insights or breaking news. (daily)
2. Focus on some unique aspect of the archive work I have been involved with. (weekly)
3. Post on subjects more tenuously linked to the main strand of the blog but with great personal interest e.g. music, art.  (weekly)
4. Offer a more substantial key topic, report or issue for debate (fortnightly)
5. Updates on earlier posts. - (monthly

Will it work?  It remains to be seen, but I will try cover a few of  of these in the next few hours.

BETT 2007, Can't wait!

This years BETT at Olympia, London 10th- 13th January promises to be one of the most exciting educational technology ICT conferences and shows ever.  Alongside the glistening and jaw dropping hardware and software, there are some hot issues on educational use of technology, to debate and spice up the atmosphere. A couple that spring to mind are the QCA Online Tests for KeyStage3, (already extended across the water) and  Learning Platforms. I suspect Web2.0, digital media and digital literacy are also likley to be high on the list.   

Please come along and have a chat if you are at the show.  I will be part of the Cascade team from the University of Hull on stand N64. If you are unable to come; then please have a look at, and contribute to, the Cascade wiki. I have been setting up the structure today and when the show opens it will ready for business. We look forward to seeing you there, either in person, or online.

LabSpace (Part 2)

Continued...from an earlier post...

I have now had a day or so to look at LabSpace.  With the weight of the Open University behind it,  Labspace adds another dimension to learning collaboration.  From LabSpace with its partner site OpenSpace  it is possible access a range of tools including, instant messaging, visual mapping and video-conferencing. Open to all learners and educators, course content can be accessed  for study or remixing and sharing, possibly using a Moodle environment, under a Creative Commons License. As well as courses, software and other learning resources will also become available on  the site.

Keeping it together

I have just come across Edblogger News.  It is similar in principle to DIGG, where readers post interesting news  and articles that are then ranked by popularity except that the focus is primarily on education.  Appears to be an excellent way of keeping on top of news when time is short.

My Writely Post - Correction - updated post

It appears I got it wrong yesterday when typing my Post about Writley on the train, so I apologise unreservedly for any inconvenience. I did see a different log on screen and information, and my limit on collaborators disappeared. I think what is happening is that those who registered during the transition to Google period are being given the new accounts...I may be wrong though.

"Writley is open again for registrations,...."

Sorry! finger crossed it won't be long though.