ict

Social Media – what can it tell us?

Following yesterday’s experiment – let’s try again – but be much more disciplined than yesterday with the 10 minutes.

Windows LiveWriter really comes into it’s own here – I simply start a LiveWriter post and keep saving draft until it’s ready for the blog. If some of thee entries are truncated – I stopped typing when the 10 minute alarm went off.

9am (start the timer!)

@leicslibraries Historians at Harborough Library in March: War veterans can bring their photos, films, badges and Royal British … http://bit.ly/fYligo .

This time we’re at the libraries blog site – much easier to work through than the county web site. (Note – I am a rate payer in the county) http://leicestershirebooks.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/historians-at-harborough-library-in-march/

@dan_bowen Any ideas of what book character my 3 year old can go to school as that’s easy to do ?

That sound like a cop out and he should be more imaginative. I’d suggest Mr Tickle (I’ll do that!)

@the_NEN Guardian Edu: Are university technical colleges the next big thing?: Peter Wilby speaks to Kenneth Baker, who ha… http://bit.ly/eGjAxt

The link is http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/01/university-technical-colleges-kenneth-baker

My personal view – nothing new here ‘they will be grandly, if rather confusingly, called university technical colleges (UTCs).’ I did a sandwich course in Engineering at Bradford University – why do they need to mess – why don’t they fix what’s there. When, oh when, are politicians going to run the country like a business. Simple rule – optimise current situation then look at new avenues. The man has enough industrial background to be more sensible. As I say – my personal view.

@karencymru Welsh for beginners @njhamer: Key phrase 1: “Whose coat is that jacket?” meaning “Has someone lost their coat?”" – On St David’s day we need as much Welsh as posible

@whatedsaid Looking for a site where I can find historical newspaper headlines –

I wonder if she found any responses. I’ll spend a few minutes after this post to help her (I did have some on my blog)

Then I’ll put out a question on twitter – how can I consolidate my blogs without Google thinking I’m scraping?

10am

Not a lot was happening on the folks I follow – I had to trawl back 30 minutes or more.

@Mark_Antony Great article by @glynmoody on latest UK Gov Open standards & Open Source moves http://bit.ly/gCiKt6 plus a challenge for those good people!

The link takes you here – http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2011/02/true-open-standards-open-source-next/

Why do they jokingly call it a blog when they force you to watch 15 seconds of advertisement?

The journalist seems to have the ability to use 10 words when one will do – but – it is worth reading a few times. There seems to be a genuine move for UK public sector to move ahead of Europe in forcing Open software. This could become very, very interesting

A timely tweet – closely followed by one from Microsoft

@innovativeteach New blog post – ‘Celebrate World Maths Day with free Maths resources from Microsoft’ – http://bit.ly/gHDUS5

Here’s the big link http://blogs.msdn.com/b/teachers/archive/2011/03/01/celebrate-world-maths-day-with-free-maths-resources-from-microsoft.aspx not sure what version of Windows / Office is needed here.

This looks fun (honest – it does look fun – see above re University course). Modelling software like this used to cost £100,000 per terminal.

@andreacarr1 Advertising watchdog to police companies for false claims made on Twitter http://bbc.in/eFmpzj

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12597934

The page is interesting, as the rules in the UK are a little bit lax (in my view). The US has some fairly tight rules on testimonials where the customer has had a better than normal deal. Trust Agents springs to mind. (Here’s a link to my review of the book which has an affiliate link to Amazon for which I receive remuneration if anyone bothers. That’s disclosure. http://wp.me/P1cO6r-IX)

11am

Now we’re spoilt for choice.. but still the ten minute rule.

@School_Radio Recommending Flux http://bit.ly/yJqUZ . Changes the brightness of your computer screen through the day. Helps with eye strain and sleep…

http://stereopsis.com/flux/

So – firstly – will it be free forever? F.lux is patent pending. If you make a cell phone or other cool device, and want to talk about licensing f.lux? Email us: flux@mikeandlorna.com Possibly, looks like they have a business model.

I’ll try it later – but the first few lines on their screen are worth seeing

Ever notice how people texting at night have that eerie blue glow?

Or wake up ready to write down the Next Great Idea, and get blinded by your computer screen?

@davidmiles RT @AndyCAndrews: SEO vs. PPC? Insightful session by David Miles from DivaDani today IMO SEO is just too onerous for the return! // agreed!

I’m not too sure what’s behind this. SEO does look like a strange beast these days, especailly in light of Google’s announcements ..summarised – ‘Content is king’

@sophiebessemer RT @russeltarr: Imagination Prompt Generator: Nice starter activity for classroom discussions: http://tinyurl.com/km5l2e

The website address doesn’t copy too well – but the prompter rolls through things like

@educationgovuk It’s World Maths Day! Register to help set a world record by answering 1 billion questions http://twurl.nl/i4nwra

Looks fun -

@NorthernGrid RT @ictregister: The EMERGING Top 100 Tools for Learning 2011 List from Jane Hart – & you can contribute your own Top 10 http://ow.ly/45o1V

takes us here http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/2011.html

@sw27 An Introduction to the Monitoring Theme of ICT?: Just connect a microphone to your computer and bounce a bunch o… http://bit.ly/h0OTjP

http://primarynuggets.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/an-introduction-to-the-monitoring-theme-of-ict

Sorry – seriously broke the 10 minute rule here by following the link – wonderful for mood setting.

Then find out about the author and his technical tips.

// Any other tips?

Turn the computer off and go outside. Go hang out with your friends. Count your blessings. Smile like an idiot. Don’t think too much. Don’t worry about the future. Don’t take life too seriously. Don’t pay attention to a word I say.

Noon

@TweetSmarter 10 expert tips—using Twitter for events http://bit.ly/gdBLR7 RT @jeanlucr

Takes us here – http://engage365.org/2011/02/10-tips-from-pistachio-on-using-twitter-for-events/

Surprisingly – I think we did most of these at #tmm11 (and lots of other teachmeets)

@nancyrubin RT @lauraclick 32 Topic Ideas for Your Next Blog Post http://bit.ly/ijU7mC

Nancy normally highlights some very powerful, useful stuff on the internet. Another result http://flybluekite.com/2011/02/22/32-topic-ideas-for-your-next-blog-post/

@daibarnes “@4goggas: #Kodu #SOW from @GeekyNicki http://bit.ly/galYVC

Let’s decipher this first – there’s a Scheme of Work using the Free of charge Kodu – and it looks like this -

And it’s all here – http://www.interactiveclassroom.net/Kodu.html

This next one is bound to be good ..

@nancyrubin The Big Apple in Incredible Time Lapse Video via @openculture http://shar.es/3ZqGa

The link http://www.openculture.com/2011/03/the_big_apple_in_incredible_time_lapse_video.html is really quite incredible. There are some talented photographers out there.

Anyone care for a maths challenge – how much for his kit bag ‘Canon 5d Mark II dSLR and the following lenses: Canon 14mm 2.8L, Canon 24mm 1.4L, Canon 50mm 1.2L, and Canon 70-200mm 2.8L.’

Camera body is £1600 for starters. Maybe next year, or the one after that, or …

If anyone fancies donating similar equipment to me – please feel free.

1pm

@mikeherrity Any UK Schools out there using Virgin for their School broadband? If so could we get some feedback on quality?

fascinating one – worth watching – as Virgin won the contract from Capita / Synetrix for London Grid for Learning.

@TESConnect Computers must soon replace pen and paper in all exams, says Ofqual head http://bit.ly/eCsQkE

takes us to http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6071151

Don’t you just love it when ‘outgoing Chief Executives’ drop their successor in it? While she was the incumbent could she have made a start ?

@jobadge ‘magic pen’ + HTC flyer looks wayyy cool. http://is.gd/JY0Yne > evernote> searchable annotations, audio record. Like livescribe but better!

The link is to a YouTube video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxJ6-C6QCw0 and here’s one screen grab

@TimHarford Lego + Data + Information Design = Art http://bit.ly/hxX1dk via @shirleyayres @allisonhornery:

Wow – http://infosthetics.com/archives/2011/02/3d_infographic_maps_built_with_lego.html

Simple, effective and low cost ..

@dajbelshaw RT @purposeducation: NEW! @dawnhallybone shares her #500words on the purpose of education: http://bit.ly/purposed-hallyd #purposed

http://purposed.org.uk/2011/03/500words-dawn-hallybone/

An excerpt gives you a flavour of the rest of the piece

@SchoolDuggery Gove writes to Local Authorities asking for ideas on school improvement http://is.gd/cV08zD

Leads us to – http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a0075016/michael-gove-asks-las-and-academy-sponsors-for-school-improvement-proposals

2pm

@curtgilstrap Anti-Smoking Films by Young People to be Shown at the Responsible Partnerships Exhibition: New charity, The Debo… http://bit.ly/h5usGr

http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/31670-Anti-Smoking-Films-by-Young-People-to-be-Shown-at-the-Responsible-Partnerships-Exhibition (don’t you just love these catchy web site addresses?)

@sophiebessemer RT @DeputyMitchell: Blog update: @simonhaughton – Our National Treasure http://bit.ly/f7u09s

This is Deputy Mitchell saying grand things about Simon Haugton. If you have never seen Simon’s work –then this post is worth seeing

http://mrmitchell.heathfieldcps.net/2011/02/28/its-about-time/

below is a screen grab – to see the resources follow the link above

@GuardianTeach The dogs who listen to children reading http://gu.com/p/2ndj4/tw via @guardian

Something completely different! http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/28/dogs-listen-to-children-reading?CMP=twt_gu

Twice in one day for Jo

@jobadge neat @mathsinthecity project http://www.mathsinthecity.com/ from @daveowhite and @marcusdusautoy. What maths can u find in your city?

Looks like a fascinating project / idea. What age group are we talking here – difficult to tell.

This could be worth winning – you could win – a symmetrical object named after you

3pm

@johnwm333 “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” -Jack Welch

One of the neat things about Twitter is the quality of the phrases that are thrown around. (Jack Welch was the ‘hidden CEO of General Electric’ when it went through phenomenal growth as a business. he was famous for “What’s the reality”)

@EdTechUNcon Once in awhile, More Talk = More Time http://bit.ly/enQtzm #edtech #webtool #free

These folks have generally got something worth following -

http://blog.simplek12.com/technology/free-webtools/vocaroo/

Vocaroo could be a fantastic facility for reluctant writers – here’s a snap shot from one of their screens

On a previous blog post I warned about terms and conditions

@TomPegden Does anyone know what the legal situation is re attempting to demolish an office block while people are working inside?

Looks like the Leicester Mercury Deputy Business Editor may be in a pot of bother – unless this is just a hypothetical question.

@stevebunce FREE FREE FREE #Arduino for schools’ day,1 teacher,upto 4 students & 1 free kit! 11th March Gateshead 10-2:30 http://bit.ly/flrytD #vitalcpd

The good folks in the North East are treated to