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Feb 09th

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Freedom beckons for your typecast smartphone

Freedom beckons for your typecast smartphone

By Hugh John

Why get out your laptop or notebook to send an email when it’s so much easier to fire one off from your mobile phone? But there is something primitive, painful almost, about confident technophiles reduced to two fingered ‘hunt and peck’ typing by the size of their mobile keypads. Even the slenderest of fingers can struggle with this level of miniaturisation.

There is a solution. The Freedom Pro Keyboard is a dinky, foldable device that fits snugly into a leather case measuring 163 by 103mm and just over 19 mm thick, small enough to stow away in a coat or even trouser pocket. Opened out and ready for action it’s 319.2 by 102.9 by 9.6 mm, comparable in size to a laptop keyboard. Read more...

Harmonious alliance for Warwickshire and Yamaha

Harmonious alliance for Warwickshire and Yamaha

By Hugh John

Yamaha Music School and Warwickshire County Music Service (CMS) recently celebrated their newly formed alliance with a bash at Ashlawn School in Rugby (left). Though whether ‘bash’ does justice, sonically, to a group drum lesson involving more than 200 Ashlawn students, tutors and percussion groups is debatable!

The group lesson was led by Troy Miller, composer, university lecturer and a working musician who has played with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson and Daniel Merriweather. The 200 or so students learning drums and percussion in Warwickshire schools was set to dramatically increase when the new drum studio, kitted out by the music industry giant and intended to serve Ashlawn and the local community, opened at the end of January. Read more...

ICT Excellence Awards - 'bucketload of self esteem'

ICT Excellence Awards - 'bucketload of self esteem'

"Incredibly proud", "Pleased as punch" and "So excited" were just some of the responses from the winners, runners-ups and highly commended schools in Becta’s ICT Excellence Awards 2009.

Schools understand the importance of rewarding learners' achievements but are often reluctant to acknowledge their own. But one of 2009's successful teachers featured on the Becta website hit the nail on the head: “To show the children we are one of the best schools in the country will be amazing for them to see, and give them a bucketload of self esteem.” So don't be shy. Share your story, or that of a school you admire, and do it by March 24 to enter Becta's ICT Excellence Awards 2010.

BETT Boulevard ups Ed Show ICT - travel grants too

BETT Boulevard ups Ed Show ICT - travel grants too

The thousands of teachers who annually descend on Birmingham’s NEC arena for a weekend of classroom furniture, playground equipment and primary education products browsing that is the Education Show, are in for a surprise in March.

In a move to update the show, make it more accessible to all teachers – and those unable do their homework on 21st century schools at the recent BETT 2010 – Emap which organises both shows, has added a new feature area. The BETT Boulevard. And it's supporting school staff trips to the event through travel subsidies of up to £150.

Just another brick in the walled garden? NetTrekker

Just another brick in the walled garden? NetTrekker

By Jack Kenny
Few things are more important than teaching students how to deal with the oceans of information that surround them. So far there hasn't been much success. Information skills should be a top priority, so any attempt to help deserves serious consideration.

NetTrekker is a US-based company allied with Atomic Learning. Its aim is to sell subscriptions to a "safe" search engine that will only produce "the right results". In other words, to reduce the ocean of information to a pond. Some will find that proposition attractive – after all, the Internet can be a university, a swamp, a maze, a hall of mirrors or a sleazy back street. Some way of helping students to deal with that is necessary but should it be a walled garden?

2Simple storytelling gets magical new twist

2Simple storytelling gets magical new twist

By Chris Drage
Since the pre-BETT taster at the advisers' day organised by 2Simple Software, many education ICT advisors have been eager for the release of 2Create a Superstory, or 2CaSS as it is rapidly becoming known. Was it worth waiting for?

It is described as "a complete tool for personalised multimedia story creation", but if you know any of 2Simple's previous titles you guess that this a massive understatement. Offering easy-to-achieve animation, simple storyboarding and augmented reality among a plethora of other features, 2CaSS is an amalgam of 2Create a Story and 2DIY and will inspire children’s writing through the use of tools and templates incorporating text, drawings, imported images, sound and object animation. It's simply dazzling.

Art, tech and V&A 'Decode: Digital Design Sensations'

Art, tech and V&A 'Decode: Digital Design Sensations'

By John Galloway
If you are in Kensington, London, in the next few weeks, and are looking for some stimulating examples of how technology can enrich our experiences and feed our creativity then The Victoria and Albert Museum is the place to go.

The Decode: Digital Design Sensations exhibit (YouTube video below), which runs until April 11, is an exploration of technology, art and interaction and is guaranteed to challenge, stimulate and excite. Exhibits in this collaboration with onedotzero cover a broad range of ICT, from on-screen designs fed by innovative programs, to physical machines responding to external stimuli.

The Innovators 12: Stephen Heppell

The Innovators 12: Stephen Heppell

Josie Fraser talks to Stephen Heppell about ingenious schools and the 'culture of incrementalism'

Josie Fraser: "Let's start with a bit about you Stephen. What are you working on at the moment?"
Stephen Heppell: "I have this rather interesting life now, as Professor of New Media Environments [at Bournemouth University]. I'm on the BAFTA Council and sit on SkillSet's board, helping steer qualifications and training in the creative industries. I still have a strong geek streak and have always been involved in really pioneering work – with CD-Roms, with the early days of the World Wide Web, Google APIs and phones now, and so on.

BETT 'knackeration' and 'Top 10 Money Saving Tips'

BETT 'knackeration' and 'Top 10 Money Saving Tips'

By Gerald Haigh
One of my abiding memories from school is of walking the Yorkshire moorland on a geography field trip, alongside my best friend, John Gregory. Ten miles into what was to be a 15-mile expedition, John, who was small and not well blessed by his creator, suddenly halted and dropped to his knees. “Sorry,” he said ruefully. “But I’ve reached knackeration point.”

John eventually lost one of the many brave battles he fought against his limitations, but I use that phrase many times, always in tribute to that moorland moment. The last time I used it was at BETT 2010.

Kudlian lifts the depressions with 'Weather Studio'

Kudlian lifts the depressions with 'Weather Studio'

By Sally McKeown
Snow blanketed the whole of the UK in the first weeks of January. While this was a nuisance for many visitors to the annual BETT show at Olympia, it provided a good opportunity for Warwickshire software publisher Kudlian Software to publicise its latest product.

Weather Studio is a nice simple program that lets children record a weather forecast or details of sporting fixtures and make them look and sound totally professional.

Young contenders leap on to Bill Gates' shoulders

Young contenders leap on to Bill Gates' shoulders

Bill Gates might need to start looking over his shoulders because the founder of the next Microsoft and contender for his title could be a British sixth form student.

Toshiba and XMA (its higher education and public sector ICT supplier) have launched a nationwide competition, “The next Bill Gates”, looking for an IT wizard among students who are planning to start university in 2010. Entrants can put themselves forward, be nominated by a teacher or by a colleague and the search is for the learner who answers, most convincingly, in 100 words: “Why are you the next Bill Gates?”

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School registration gets in your face – veins too

School registration gets in your face – veins too

By Daniel McKeown
Although biometric recognition technologies at BETT 2010 invited the inevitable Big Brother comparisons, the number – and variety – on exhibition stands showe...

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Harmonious alliance for Warwickshire and Yamaha

Harmonious alliance for Warwickshire and Yamaha

By Hugh John

Yamaha Music School and Warwickshire County Music Service (CMS) recently celebrated their newly formed alliance with a bash at Ashlawn School in Rugby ( left ). Thou...

Read more...

More:

ICT Excellence Awards - 'bucketload of self esteem'

ICT Excellence Awards - 'bucketload of self esteem'

"Incredibly proud", "Pleased as punch" and "So excited" were just some of the responses from the winners, runners-ups and highly commended schools in Becta’s ICT Excellence Aw...

More:

The Innovators 12: Stephen Heppell

The Innovators 12: Stephen Heppell

Josie Fraser talks to Stephen Heppell about ingenious schools and the 'culture of incrementalism'

Josie Fraser : "Let's start with a bit about you Stephen. What are you working ...

More:

'I’m confident about future' – Becta's Stephen Crowne

'I’m confident about future' – Becta's Stephen Crowne

George Cole talks to Stephen Crowne about Home Access and Becta's future

Just before the opening of the BETT 2010 education technology show, education secretary Ed Balls announ...

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'Men in sheds' break out bubbly for new SEN body

'Men in sheds' break out bubbly for new SEN body

By Martin Littler

Promptly at 4:30 the formal meeting closed and 27 of the founder members ( click on picture for full view and caption ) of the British Assistive Technology Asso...

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Apple's tide turning? Gartner market figures rosy

Apple's tide turning? Gartner market figures rosy

Apple’s resurgence and campaigns like "back-to-school" free iPods for students to buy its laptops and desktop computers appear to have increased its market share in education,...

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Avatars enlisted for BSF learning spaces – LEVROS

Avatars enlisted for BSF learning spaces – LEVROS

Birmingham City Council, which has the UK's largest Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is working with technology company MOOFU , the Institute of Education, Unive...

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DCSF press notices: All subjects

New board members of the Training and Development Agency for Schools appointed
Schools Secretary Ed Balls today announced the appointment of Colin Dennis, Dr Michael Cresswell and Alison Drury as new Board Members of the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). (2010/0031)
Thousands more to benefit from free school meals
More primary school children across the country will benefit from a free healthy school lunch as Ed Balls today invited all local authorities to bid for cash to fund more universal free school meal pilots. (2010/0032)
Appointment of a new member to the School Teachers’ Review Body
Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, today announced the appointment of Jill Pullen to the School Teachers’ Review Body ... (2010/0030)

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Welcome

Welcome! Merlin John Online/Agent4change.net is a free website providing original news and features on technology for learning from a range of contributors. Registration enables comments and forthcoming user-only features.

What's new:

Coverage of BETT 2010, the world's biggest ICT-in-education event (click on the BETT 2010 tab, above);

The Innovators series, focusing on some of the most innovative users of ICT for learning (click on The Innovators tab, above left) - more coming.

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