Digital Signposts

BETT07 Days 2&3

Thanks go out to  Miles Berry for his link and comment on my previous post on the presence of Web 2.0 and social software at the show.  I regret that I was unable to make the presentation Miles gave together with Terry Freedman but by all accounts the room was bursting at the seams and many were unable to get tickets. This serves as a good indicator of the continuing interest in the social and collaborative use of technology.

One of the highlights, of the show, for me,  has been  meeting Steve Powter and the students of Castle Manor Business & Enterprise College in Suffolk; on the Centerprise stand. The students are carrying out live research, interviewing visitors to the stand about their views on social software. I was really excited to be able to to take part, and I look forward to reading their findings. This is indeed a timely piece of work as it comes hot on the heels of two major pieces of research on students online spaces  from Pew Internet in the US and the DEMOS report, released yesterday.

Castle Manor students broadcast a weekly TV News show on their website, which they also upload  to YouTube. I am sure this enlightened approach will see their audience continue to grow and will bring benefits to them individually and as a school.

Hopefully, at next years show we will see many more examples of students showing us what they can achieve using technology. I am convinced that these presentations and displays will easily have as much benefit for educators as any of the exhibits and  'educational marketing'  rhetoric of some of the high tech hardware and software vendors.

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.

Best of Both Worlds

image credit xx3734

Web 2.0 continues to transform the potential of the Internet for learning and collaboration. The distinction between the desktop and the web is becoming increasingly blurred. IT is much more like a fluid jigsaw, where the interlocking pieces change shape to accommodate each other with each technological development. Another piece of the  jigsaw, Adobe Apollo, is due to be be put in place before the end of the year, giving us the best of both worlds.

Apollo,  will be available as a free download for Linux, Mac, Windows and mobile devices. It will integrate HTML, and web technologies with Flash applications and PDF technology to create Rich Internet Applications for the desktop.

I may not have got this totally right, (I am not a programmer or developer), but I suspect it means that: Flash will no longer be exclusive to web browsers, and we can use web applications on and off-line. What will happen when web applications such as Google Docs or online video can move seamlessly between desktop and cyberspace? I currently download Flash video files, using the Video Downloader extension for Firefox, and then convert it to a suitable desktop video format using iSquint.  I suspect this process may soon become much simpler.

All this convinces me, more than ever, that ICT, in schools, can no longer be seen as a separate collection of software tools or skills; (e.g. word-processing,  database, DTP, et al) to be taught and used in isolation. Such attempts to develop IT capability, are surely doomed, as they fail to take account of the full, and ever changing potential of digital technologies. What needs to be taught, are the underlying skills and principles that are transferable to current, and yet to be developed applications.

Now that we are beginning to scratch at the surface of the educational possibilities of Web 2.0, it seems likely Adobe Apollo will extend those opportunities even further. Whether 'education' is ready for the next step, is up for debate.

The Changing Face of YouTube

Since its acquisition by Google, hardly a day seems to go by without YouTube being mentioned in the mainstream media. Whether it is its meteoric rise, (illustrated in the graph above), over the past year, the subtle redesign of the interface a few days ago, or content  being ruthlessly deleted in response to the media industry, it is considered newsworthy. Some speculation follows:

What happens next? There have already been three major instances of removal of video clips within a week; 1,2 & 3. If  the content, (music video, film clips), currently accessed by the YouTube demographic is deleted;  will users change to another, (yet to be released) service? Will YouTube take on board a  broadening group of Internet users? How will the graph look in a years time?

Some commentators suggest that the hardball tactics, being used by of some  media companies, is a negotiating  lever  for setting up deals with YouTube. Others have a vision of 13 year old girls in court for lip-synching to a Shakira track.

Perhaps the current publicity will encourage more educators, schools and colleges to investigate YouTube (and Google Video) in more depth.  Possibly they may continue to ignore it, because of adverse publicity, security worries and the stacks videos of kids being 'silly'.

Will they may miss out on the opportunities offered by thousands of  clips, with real value for learning?  Whether they are off the wall or highlight the latest development in science and technology. Amongst the dross there are nuggets of gold. I have used YouTube a lot on courses recently, and even where a topic is specialised, students have found unique  source material with which to illustrate their work.   

Perhaps educators have a 'duty' to investigate, participate and contribute to YouTube and other collaborative sites such as Wikipedia?  Over to you.

Into the blue - Writely

Writely , the (on-line word processor), has been subsumed into Google Docs, sharing a combined interface with Google Spreadsheets. Clicking on the Writely URL takes you straight to Google Docs now sporting Google's minimalist blue interface. All the tools are still there together with some new features, (which I have to check out yet),  more is promised including integration with G Mail. So let's wait and see what's in store for  YouTube.

Grab it while you can

The sad news is that the BBC Creative Archive,  featuring hundreds of clips from the BBC archives, freely available  to watch, download, edit and share is going to close  temporarily, on September 29th, 2006.

Under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence, It appears the  download site was only a Pilot and that the BBC now have to meet certain terms.

"As with all its new digital proposals, the BBC’s Creative Archive will be submitted to the Governors for a public value test. While the test lasts, we have to temporarily withdraw the service."

If you use digital assets  personally ,or in education, it may be worth spending a few hours looking through the content and downloading anything you think might be useful.  Although I have not read the paper in detail since the notification last night, it's not to clear when it will re-open and in exactly what form. In a previous post  I mentioned not everyone is happy with the BBC's digital adventures.

Of course, it is possible that the archive will offer an even better service in the future, but in the meantime, there's only 9 days left.  

We Are Not Alone

image credit: NASA Astronomy images of the day

If you had to name one thing that digital technologies, blogs and on-line collaborative  software tools are doing really well, it is in bringing together educators, at all levels, who are actively discussing and exploring how to move learning forward and make it appropriate for students in the 21st century. Though many educators may not have met they are finding a common voice and encouraging and motivating each other.  The results are now beginning to bear fruit with more and more teachers showing interest and wanting to know more.

It also seems unlikely that events such as the forthcoming TeachMeet  in Glasgow next week, would have been possible without these developments and tools.

I am really looking forward to what promises to be an unique informative event, blending cool learning with fun in an informal social environment, (something I always try to encourage on courses).  I am also looking forward (with a degree of trepidation) to meeting many of the  authors of the blogs I read for information and inspiration.

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.