Review of Marxio

Update: Marxio appears to be no longer available, and I am trying TimeLeft instead (see bottom of article for link). You may, of course, wish to read this review anyway for its erudition and general insightfulness :-)

If you're anything like me, time is always at a premium. But relying on the clock in the toolbar isn't always effective as a way of keeping you on track. There’s a pretty good timer from Marxio. I set it to remind me to take a break every 20 minutes. (I often ignore it, but that’s another matter.) Obviously, you could use it to set a time limit for reading, or writing, or anything else.

Timely reminders

As you can probably tell from the screenshot, there’s a wealth of options. And it’s free! Download it from the Marxio website, where you can see a list of features.

I quite like it, although I haven't used it for a while. I especially like the fact that you can configure your own settings, such as the text of the reminder and when it appears, and save them as a "schema". Why not give it a whirl?

This is a slightly amended version of an article that first appeared in Computers in Classrooms, the free newsletter about educational ICT.

Announcement of Two Prize Draws

Win a year’s subscription to online resource bank

I’ve arranged several prize draws for subscribers to the Computers in Classrooms newsletter, starting with this one: Scholastic has kindly made available a one year subscription to their online resource bank for primary (elementary) children.

Once logged in, you can  browse through the thousands of resources by clicking “Browse our resources”, on the right hand side of the page, underneath the orange “My folder” button.

The “My folder” button is where you can store all your favourite resources, features and news, allowing you to easily find what you particularly liked, for next time!

Alternatively you can search for resources using keywords.  Type in for example “Role Play” into the search field on the main page, and select “Child Ed Plus” from the drop down ‘department’ list to show the resources available.

Being a subscriber to Child Education PLUS online resource also means that visitors have full access to all the back issues of the Child Education PLUS half-termly hard copy magazine, packed with lesson ideas, advice and news.

I’ll be running the prize draw at 10pm British Summer Time on 30th April 2010. For the rules that apply to our competitions and prize draws, please see http://www.ictineducation.org/newsletter/. For this one, all subscribers are eligible regardless of place of residency.

Thanks to Alison MacGregor and Carly Wonnacott of Mango Marketing for setting this up.

PIMS competition

One of the interesting things to arise from the increasing affordability of sound recorders, digital cameras and pocket video cameras is that these devices are increasingly being used in a ‘show and tell’ way. Rather than try to describe to parents, or even yourself, what the youngsters have learnt, capture it as it happens. See, for example, my account of my visit to Grays Infants School, and my review of the Flip Video – especially my interview with Elaine on how it might be used in the classroom, and the further possible uses we came up with.

Unfortunately, all too often the level descriptors and the digital evidence are stored separately. However, an application called PIMS brings the two together. Julian Barrell, the company’s Director, took us through the system: you upload the evidence right there and assign level descriptors to a child or group of children. In fact, the child could do it too.

You can have a go yourself by  going to Http://www.simplyefficientsoftware.co.uk and playing around in the demo school. Use the school name pimsdemo, and the username and password demo.

Now there’s some great news if you look at the system, like it, and are a subscriber to Computers in Classrooms, because on 26th May 2010 one randomly-selected subscriber will be able to use the system with any two classes of approximately 30 children, for up to 6 years. All you have to do is (a) subscribe to Computers in Classrooms and (b) agree to write a brief article for the newsletter and website, on how you find it.

The price is £400 per class for up to 6 years and includes future upgrades, so with a free introduction INSET session by Julian this prize represents a potential £1000. 

I’ll be running the prize draw at 10pm British Summer Time on 30th April 2010. For the rules that apply to our competitions and prize draws, please see http://www.ictineducation.org/newsletter/. For this one, all subscribers are eligible regardless of place of residency.

More to come

Look out for other prize draws, to be announced on the ICT in Education website. Still not a subscriber? What are you waiting for? It takes just a few minutes to sign up and confirm your subscription, and it's free.

The Role of Technology in Campaigning

In the UK at the moment we're in the run-up to a General Election, so we're being assailed in all sorts of different ways by various political parties. Given that some syllabuses require students to design a campaign, I think it's interesting to consider the ways in which technology could be, and sometimes have been, used.

Here is my 'back-of-an-envelope' list of ideas.

  • Website, containing essential information about policies and contact details.
  • Blog, updated daily -- not necessarily about the party or the person, but about relevant issues.
  • Twitter account, so that people can follow the person's activities and thoughts. Less maintenance than a website or blog in some respects.
  • Facebook fan page.
  • YouTube video channel.
  • Flickr group of relevant or pertinent photos.
  • Daily or weekly podcast.
  • Radio channel.
  • Emailed newsletter.
  • Digital magazine (which could be part of website).

That's a tall order for a single person, but for a political party it should not be too much trouble at all. The list is based on four principles:

  • It should be easy for people to find out what they need to know about the party or Parliamentary candidate.
  • It should be easy for people to be updated frequently, by whichever means they prefer.
  • Potential supporters should be engaged, not just talked to or, even worse, talked at.
  • What probably matters is a decent marketing strategy, to catch so-called 'floating voters' -- the people who can be persuaded to vote for one party or another if the arguments and presentation are right.

So on the subject of marketing, what is it that each political party is trying to sell? When it comes down to it, probably a set of values rather than a set of policies. Therefore, rather than try to inform the floating voter of the finer points of its manifesto, perhaps each party would be better off trying to create a viral video instead, or create a geocaching-based game of some description. Or some really great t-shirt designs with matching mugs.

So this raises at least three questions:

First, a marketing/philosophical/political question I suppose, rather than a technological one: does it make sense to try to sell a political party and its policies in the same way as you might try to sell a rock band or a can of beans? Or am I being incredibly cynical and ridiculous?

Second, in terms of the technology, what have I left out?

Three, if you're one of the people teaching a syllabus which requires students to design a campaign, what sort of things have they come up with that use technology in interesting ways?

This is an expanded version of an article published today in the Computers in Classrooms newsletter.

ICT in Education News Bulletin

Read all about it!This news bulletin contains items about a new e-safety initiative, a new Guardian website, the RM Strategic Forum conferences, and the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book and other important stuff.

E-Safety Competition

A great new competitionChildnet is running a film competition for young people in the UK. An educational charity founded in 1995, its work involves discussing, amongst other topics, cyberbullying, online grooming and scams. As Lindsay Bower, Childnet's Education Officer, says:

Sadly some children are exposed to risk online that offline they simply wouldn’t come in to contact with.

In "Film Challenge 2010", Childnet is inviting all schools in the UK to enter.

Two separate projects are in place for primary and secondary aged children.
They are asking secondary pupils to consider the direction that they would take the internet in, were they to have complete control -- what is their idea of an internet utopia? How can we all look to be good digital citizens and use our online presence to grow and shape the world in a safe, creative way? Primary pupils will be asked to create a film about why they love the internet and how they stay smart online. This could be done through drama, music, dance, rap, animation, puppetry or poetry for example. All films must be no longer than 60 seconds!

Sounds to me like a great project for the Creative and Media, Social Health an Development, and IT Diplomas!

All shortlisted finalists will be invited to a private screening of their film, in a London cinema, with the judging panel. Here is some more information about it, and don't forget to check Childnet's website for updates and other info. Closing date for entries is 28th May 2010.

New ICT in Education website to be launched

The Guardian will be launching a new ICT in education site at http://www.guardian.co.uk/classroom-innovation within the next couple of weeks. The idea is that whilst there are some useful websites in this area, there's nothing that brings them all together so to speak. So the idea of the new website, which is being sponsored by Asus for the first six months, is to collate the Twitter feeds of these websites, suitably filtered so that only items relating to educational technology are included. Sounds like a great idea, and I was delighted to be asked if I'd like this website to be included. So look out for that, bookmark it, blog about it and, erm, tweet about it too!

The RM Strategic Forum

Terry as matinee idol circa 1982In the early 80s I was in an amateur dramatics society, in which I trod the boards (as we say in show biz) a few times a year. In the late 80s I was in a band, in which I played blues harp (as we bluesmen call the harmonica) and sang."I guess that's why they call it 'The Blues'."

Yet despite such displays of derring-do, when David and Carrie Grant announced that we would all be singing, I experienced a range of emotions, starting and ending with "OMG!". I had awful visions of being one of a hapless few selected to sing solo, and all the negative, stiff upper lip, we-didn't-do-this-in-my-day, what's-this-got-to-do-with-ICT-strategic-planning-anyway type of thoughts came flooding in.

Well needless to say, it was a great way of starting a day that was intended to be one in which we opened our minds to other possibilities and started to think differently. There were lessons to be learnt:

  • In the hands of a good teacher, you can achieve great things very quickly. David and Carrie were excellent.
  • Furthermore, a great teacher will make you believe yourself that you can achieve great things very quickly.

    Great things? Well, I think a crowd of a couple of hundred people singing in four-part harmony within half an hour or so has to count as a 'great thing'.
  • Finally, it was a salutary reminder of the hell we put some children through every lesson of every day. I remember myself spending every lesson in some subjects being terrified that the teacher was going to pick on me to answer a question. We can do things differently now.

The activity was also a great way of loosening up and generating some energy.

With input from assorted luminaries, including Richard Gerver, Sir Ken Robinson, Ollie Bray, John Davitt and Sir Tim Brighouse, the talks and panel discussion were very good, and in some parts quite moving.

In the panel discussion David Grant did an excellent job of coming back at the panelists and saying "Yes, but what can we actually do right now or tomorrow?". Left to themselves, a lot of visionaries tend to lapse into a default position of, er, having visions smile_tongue. It's good to have someone nagging them to say something of practical value too! (And yes, I know I'm being slightly unfair, but you get the point I'm making, yes?)

It was slightly annoying that a couple of the panelists had somehow gained access to my brain and filched some of my ideas about what makes an expert teacher. I've been writing an article about that, in my head. For example, an expert teacher is not just someone who knows their stuff, but can get the students engaged. Although even there I have to say — but I'm getting ahead of myself: you'll have to wait for the article to make its way from my head to these pages.

The small group discussion was OK, and well-facilitated, but the acoustics were such that it was difficult to hear everyone. The walk around the learning spaces set up, which included lots of examples of some great technology, and in some cases some real live students using it, was excellent. I was impressed by how knowledgeable the staff were. Also, as happens every time I see anything like this, I wished I'd had this kind of kit when I was teaching.The Smart Table

One thing that RM has done is to address head-on the problem always faced in new builds, which is that the architects wade in and the educational technology is incorporated into discussions as an after-thought — by which time it is too late. RM has teamed up with firms of architects so that their contribution is part of an overall educational approach.

Receiving an iPod Touch was great, but having it ready-loaded with useful files, and having to use it in the first session with the Grants, was a very well-thought out move.

If you have a chance to go to one of these events I would say do so: it's time and money well-spent. And no, I'm not being paid by RM to say this, in case you're wondering why I'm enthusing so much about this conference.

The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book

Amazing projects at an amazing priceThis fantastically useful and free book has now been downloaded 12,461 times, and that only tells part of the story. Others have made it available on their own websites, and I obviously cannot know how many downloads they've enjoyed. Also, some people have passed it on to many others.

Going by the poll I set up, the 35 people who have responded so far sent it out to an average of 81 people each, which if true of everyone would mean that over a million people have seen it so far. It's rather too small a sample to draw such conclusions though, and that mean figure hides a wide range. UNESCO, for example, has sent information about to to 5,000 people as well as placing a note about it on their website.

If you have downloaded and looked through the book, please complete the survey, which comprises three questions and involves hardly any typing!

If you like, you can access the contents of the book in two other ways, and even embed it on your own website. Firstly, there is a SlideShare  option.  The links are live, ie you can click on them and they work. Also, the subject-project  list near the beginning of the book now contains hyperlinks to the projects cited. You’ll see the embed code near the top right-hand side of the screen.

Secondly, I have created a Myebook version. To obtain the embed code, you will need to open the book and then click on the Info tab. The advantage of this over the SlideShare version is that it looks and sounds like a real book, and you can zoom in to read it more clearly. Also, you can grab parts of the screen and email it to a friend. Unfortunately, though, the links don’t work, simply because I don’t have time to create them all manually - I’m waiting for a forthcoming automated version of the book builder to do that for me!

You can download it from the Free Stuff page on the ICT in Education website, where you will also be able to read a sample of the nice things people have been saying about it.

Take part in a cool experiment

I’d like to try an experiment on my website, for which I need your help. I don’t want to go into detail now, so I’m asking you to trust me. What I need is a short article, on any aspect of educational ICT. When I say ‘short’, I mean maybe 500 words or so - in other words, just two or three paragraphs.

Have a look at the guidelines and terms and conditions, because if you were to send me an article I’ll assume you agree to them. The bottom line is that you keep the copyright in your article, and agree not to write anything that could land both of us in court!

If you’d like to take part in this experiment, and promote your own blog/website into the bargain, please send me an email suggesting a topic you’d like to write about and a sample of your writing or link to your blog.  I’d need to receive the article by 3rd May so please get in touch as soon as possible.

Snap Happy

I’ve started a group in Flickr. Called the ICT in Education group, the idea of it is to have a place where we can find photos depicting, er, ICT in education. There are other, similar, groups on Flickr, and I am not trying to outdo them in any way. I just wanted to try out the Group creation feature.

Flickr groups are quite useful, because as well as making it easy to find photos on a particular theme, you can also interact with those people who have similar photographic interests to yourself.

Setting the group up was very easy, and you are presented with several options in terms of how easily people can access it. I opted to make it open to all, subject to approval. So basically you have to apply for membership. The reason I have done this is that I get fed up with having to deal with spam and spammers all the time. I mentioned some time ago that I’d suspended the Ning communities I’d set up for that reason, and every day I have to delete spam comments from my blog (they never appear because all comments have to be approved). I didn’t want to give spammers yet one more opportunity to waste my time and that of other people.

The purpose of the group is to make it easy for people to find photos relating to educational technology that they can use to illustrate their blog posts. So I’m hoping that people will enter into the spirit of things and assign a Creative Commons licence to their pics that allows everyone to use them in that way.

If you’d like to join the group, so you can post photos there as well as your own Flickr area, go here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1292018@N24/. There are only a few members so far, because I haven’t publicised it.

E-book section now updated

Yes, the title IS tongue-in-cheek!I've updated the e-book section of the ICT in Education website. It now includes the best-selling "Go on, bore e'm: how to make your ICT lessons excruciatingly dull", for the ridiculously low price of £1.99. It's available on Lulu too, where you can also buy a printed version for just £4.99.

Computers in Classrooms

Just in case you missed the most recent, incredibly stupendous, issue of this FREE resource (US President Richard Nixon was quoted as saying "A giant step for mankind", although he may have been referring to something else), here is what it contained:

News, views and prize draws

Information about the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book, two prize draws, a forthcoming e-book application for schools, free web resources and more.

Word Cloud Shoot-out

Believe it or not, Wordle isn't the only word cloud generator. Here we take an in-depth look at four such applications.

ICT- A Whole New World

Maddi is a 15 year old girl from Australia who loves ICT. Find out why.

The Importance of Mobile Phones in Education

Ethan, a 17 year-old student from England, admits that phones can be used for no good in the classroom; but the opposite is also true, as he explains.

Harnessed by Technology?

Peter Robinson strikes a slightly cynical -- but very well-informed -- tone about people's belief in the power of technology to transform.

Becta’s Leading Leaders Network: A Personal Journey

Headteacher Jeff Smith discusses his love of technology, leadership in an age of change, using technology well and wisely in school, how the Self-Review Framework helped his school transform itself in its use of ICT, and the value of the Leading Learners Network.

Interview with Melendy Lovett

I recently interviewed Melendy Lovett, President of Texas Instruments’ worldwide education technology business, about the state of STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

Let Them Ask

Doug Woods considers how technology might be used to help youngsters ask questions.

31 Days to Become a Better Ed Tech Leader

The first two instalments of this series before it had been published! You can read the articles published so far in the series here.

If all that sounds good, join thousands of others by signing up now!



New Computers in Classrooms Edition Published

Read all about it!News, views and prize draws

Information about the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book, two prize draws, a forthcoming ebook application for schools, free web resources and more.

Word Cloud Shoot-out

Believe it or not, Wordle isn't the only word cloud generator. Here we take an in-depth look at four such applications.

ICT- A Whole New World

Maddi is a 15 year old girl from Australia who loves ICT. Find out why.

The Importance of Mobile Phones in Education

Ethan, a 17 year-old student from England, admits that phones can be used for no good in the classroom; but the opposite is also true, as he explains.

Harnessed by Technology?

Peter Robinson strikes a slightly cynical -- but very well-informed -- tone about people's belief in the power of technology to transform.

Becta’s Leading Leaders Network: A Personal Journey

Headteacher Jeff Smith discusses his love of technology, leadership in an age of change, using technology well and wisely in school, how the Self-Review Framework helped his school transform itself in its use of ICT, and the value of the Leading Learners Network.

Interview with Melendy Lovett

I recently interviewed Melendy Lovett, President of Texas Instruments’ worldwide education technology business, about the state of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

Let Them Ask

Doug Woods considers how technology might be used to help youngsters ask questions.

31 Days to Become a Better Ed Tech Leader

Read the first two instalments of this forthcoming series!
The Computers in Classrooms newsletter is free! Sign up here.

We Are Running a Good Service Apart From the Delays

It's a GOOD serviceAs people who travel in London will know, the section of Transport for London responsible for running the tube service feel the need to continually announce that they are running a good service. If an individual were to exhibit similar behaviour you would probably conclude that they were suffering from deep feelings of insecurity. Such a neat diagnosis would be shattered, however, upon hearing the announcement I heard a while ago:

We are running a good service, apart from the delays and cancellations.

Well, if it's good enough for TfL it's good enough for me! I'm running a good service here apart from the lateness of the latest issue of the newsletter, Computers in Classrooms, and an article on change management planned for today (I'm sure there's a bit of irony there).

The reason for the delay is that I was contacted on Friday and commissioned to do some work by today. That wouldn't have prevented the newsletter coming out this morning, were it not for the fact that as I was about to send off the completed work, I discovered that it had disappeared. I have no idea what happened, especially as I am assiduous in saving my work every few nanoseconds. I finally limped into bed at 01:40, having typed it all up again.

Handy hint: Never mind about the paperless office and going green: always print out your work when you've completed it. Not only is it easier to proofread, but you have something to copy from should a disaster similar to the one I've just related befall you. Fortunately, last night I had done just that, so all I had to do was copy rather than think: much easier when it's past midnight.

Getting back to the newsletter, the issue I'm working on features some great articles from wonderful guest contributors. You can read more about that, and sign up for this fantastic free resource, by looking at the announcement I made last week.

Another (good) reason for delaying the newsletter publication is that a few things cropped up towards the end of last week that I want to include, so I am still doing a bit of delving. That means, incidentally, that if you happen to know of any schools or teacher/groups that are managing to continue lessons using technology, to get around problems caused by the flying ban due to the volcanic cloud, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Computers in Classroom Update

Here's an update to the announcement I made a few days ago. I'm still working away at producing this edition of the newsletter, which has been a little delayed because I've expanded it somewhat since I last wrote about it.

For a start, the review of Tagxedo, the new word cloud generator, has grown into a comparative review of four such applications, including an in-depth exploration of one of them. In fact, far from being a novelty item, this could help you address some of the data-handling requirements of the curriculum, and help to get colleagues on to the educational technology train as well.

I have also been able to include an interview with Melendy Lovett, senior vice president of Texas Instruments and president of the company’s worldwide Education Technology business . We discuss the decline in the number of students going into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects at university, especially girls, and how it's affecting our economy.

There will also be at least the first instalment, and possibly the second as well, of a new series I'll be starting aimed at colleagues who wish to become a better ed tech leader.

All this plus news and comment, as well as the other articles I mentioned in my earlier announcement:

  • Why teenager Maddi from Australia loves ICT.
  • Why teenager Ethan from England loves his iPhone, and thinks he should be allowed to use it in school.
  • Headteacher Jeff Lewis on his love of educational technology, and how that's reflected in his school, and the work of the Leading Leaders Network.
  • Why educational editor Peter Robinson is a trifle cynical about Harnessing Technology and techno-evangelists.
  • And why ICT consultant Doug Woods thinks that technology could and should help students ask questions.

I am going to pull out all the stops and try to get it completed so you have plenty of weekend reading to keep you busy! That's assuming you're a subscriber, of course! Otherwise, why not sign up using the form below?

Please fill out this form to receive our newsletter.
Email:
fname:
sname:
Position:
How you heard of us:
Your purchasing power:
Where you live:
Main age group: 0-5
5-10
10-14
14-19
19+
N/A
Please indicate that you agree to the Terms of Service
 I Agree		 Subscribe
 Unsubscribe
 


Word Cloud Shoot-Out

What's better: Wordle or the new kid on the block, Tagxedo? Each has plenty to recommend it, but what's the best one to use?

I've been putting Tagxedo through its paces, and written up my findings in the latest edition of Computers in Classrooms, which will be available later today.

What's this meant to be? See the newsletter article for full details.

Subscribe to the newsletter

If you'd like to receive the newsletter by email, please complete the form below. We use a double opt-in system, which means that you will be asked to confirm that you wish to subscribe. The subscription is free.

 

Please fill out this form to receive our newsletter!
Email:
fname:
sname:
Position:
How you heard of us:
Your purchasing power:
Where you live:
Main age group: 0-5
5-10
10-14
14-19
19+
N/A
Please indicate that you agree to the Terms of Service
 I Agree		 Subscribe
 Unsubscribe
 

The newsletter archive

If you like, you can have the newsletter delivered to your news reader. Just subscribe using the button below.

 

 

Who Needs Drivers?

One of the stories featured in the next edition of the Computers in Classrooms newsletter is about driverless cars. This is at once both exciting and terrifying, so I think it will be interesting to look at under the topic heading 'technology in society'.

The concept is not new, of course. Work has been going on in this area for a few decades. Here in London, England, we have the Dockland Light Rail, which can do its thing with no driver.

So, in case you're intending to read that article,  here is a video I made back in 2006 about the Dockland Light Rail. Think of it as an advance organiser, cf Ausubel. (If you're not familiar with that idea, take a few minutes to go through the SlideShare presentation below.)


Vlog02.mpg
Uploaded by terryfreedman. - More college and campus videos.

 

Learning Theory by Ausubel
View more presentations from niena17.

 

Computers in Classrooms Announcement

Your editor hard at workI'm currently working on the next issue of Computers in Classrooms, which is due out today! However, what with juggling between doing paid work, sorting out cats, writing a stupendous article about financial literacy (well, I liked it), and fighting the urge to just get out and enjoy the sunshine, progress is somewhat slower than anticipated.

But it will, I hope, be worth waiting for. Here's what it contains:

  • A review of Tagxedo, the Young Pretender to Wordle's throne.
  • Some important announcements, of competitions and a new series -- and, of course, the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book.
  • Let them ask, by Doug Woods, a great article about technology's role in questioning.
  • An article about driverless cars, by yours truly. (I haven't thought of a snappy title for it yet.)
  • ICT: A whole new world, by teenager Maddi (the only teen I've 'met' who actually enjoys her ICT lessons!).
  • The importance of mobile phones in education, by Ethan Davids, another teenager, who is almost biologically connected to his iPhone. Hear what a cell phone means to a teen, from the horse's mouth (no offence, Ethan).
  • Becta’s Leading Leaders Network: A Personal Journey, an extended essay by Jeff Smith, a Headteacher.

All that, for the princely sum of zilch, nada, nothing, zero. In other words, it's free! All you have to do is (a) complete the form below and then (b) confirm it by email. It will take a matter of minutes.

And while you're doing that, I will get back to the grindstone, in the hope of getting this out before midnight.

Please fill out this form to receive our newsletter.
Email:
fname:
sname:
Position:
How you heard of us:
Your purchasing power:
Where you live:
Main age group: 0-5
5-10
10-14
14-19
19+
N/A
Please indicate that you agree to the Terms of Service
 I Agree		 Subscribe
 Unsubscribe
 

 

Computers in Classrooms Post-BETT Special

The promised post-BETT special has now been published, here. It contains contributions from a host of educational ICT writers and bloggers.

Here is the table of contents:

  • Safer Internet Day
  • The Next Generation Quiz
  • The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book
  • Web 2.0 For Rookies
  • The Learning and Technology World Forum
  • Louise McDonough on Her First BETT
  • The Home Access Programme
  • My BETT
  • Educational Technology Taskforce Launched
  • BETT: A True British Export
  • New Computer Basics Course Launched
  • WOW! Moments from BETT 2010
  • Technology Exemplar Network to be Doubled
  • The Minister's Opening Speech at BETT
  • Dawn Hallybone Talks About Teachers Presenting
  • BETT Stats
  • Doug Woods on What Was NOT There
  • The BETT Awards 2010
  • Too Much Emphasis on Technology?
  • National Education Network Reporting...
  • Seminar: Breaking the Bonds of Learning, featuring Stephen Heppell, Angela McFarlane, Max Wainwright and Tim Rylands
  • Steve Beard Discovers A New Game
  • Seminar: Power Up: How ICT is Transforming BSF Schools, featuring Steve Moss
  • A Projector with no Bulb
  • The Unconference
  • Virtual Learning Environments
  • Mirandamod Discussions
  • ICT CPD
  • Gerald Haigh on the Assistive Technology Party
  • Paul Haigh's Views
  • Merlin John Liked...
  • The Politics Game
  • NComputing: Virtual Desktops

It makes for a good selection of views about the BETT Show and what was hot and what not! Apologies to Paul Haigh and Sean Carragher for inadvertently omitting their Twitter details, and to everyone for addressing them, in the subject line, as FNAME SNAME. Had I remembered to include the brackets, they would have seen their names instead! Thanks to Mark Chambers, Chair of Naace, for pointing out my error!

50 Ways to contribute to a website

I love having guest contributors to this website and the Computers in Classrooms newsletter, because it provides more variety. However, not everyone likes writing. If that applies to you, or your pupils or students, there are several ways in which you – and they – can contribute.

I've written this relatively objectively because these suggestions would apply to contributing to any website or blog I should imagine, not just this one. Indeed, one or two of them don't apply to this one at all at the moment, such as contributing to a forum.

Also, the list is almost certainly not complete. If you have any other suggestions, do let me know.

If you're a website or blog owner, you might find this list useful as a way of suggesting to your own readers how they might contribute to your efforts.

  1. Write an article.
  2. Write a poem.
  3. Write a special type of poem, like a limerick or a haiku.
  4. Write a song.
  5. Write a special type of song, like a rap song or a blues song.
  6. Write a play (but not a full-length one please!).
  7. Write a special type of play, like a play for one person.
  8. Draw a picture.
  9. Draw a special type of picture, like a cartoon.
  10. Design a quiz.
  11. Design a special type of quiz, like a word search or a crossword.
  12. Create a presentation in SlideShare. The beauty of having an online newsletter is that your presentation can be linked to, or even embedded.Create a video.
  13. Create a special kind of video, like a 12 second one .
  14. Make a podcast.
  15. Make a special kind of podcast, like an interview with someone who uses technology in interesting ways.
  16. Review a podcast.
  17. Review a SlideShare presentation.
  18. Review a software application.
  19. Review an item of equipment.
  20. Review a service.
  21. Write a case study of practice you know about.
  22. Write a report on something you've tried out in your classroom.
  23. Write a report on something you're thinking of trying out in your classroom.
  24. Write a lesson plan.
  25. Write a lesson resource.
  26. Review a website.
  27. Write a how-to crib sheet.
  28. If you're representing an organisation, take out an advertisement in the newsletter. 
  29. If you're representing an organisation, place a sponsored article in the newsletter.
  30. If you're representing an organisation, offer a book, some hardware, or some software for review.
  31. If you're representing an organisation, offer a book, some hardware, or some software as a prize in a competition. I've run competitions from time to time, and they always go down well.
  32. Proofread a newsletter issue.
  33. Contribute to a survey (I always try to ensure that they never take more than 10 minutes to do).
  34. Leave comments. Sometimes it feels like nobody is reading anything, especially in the early days. Fortunately, I receive comments through email, Twitter and Facebook, but if someone has just started out, as it were, they need some encouragement to carry on.
  35. Send the author a comment by email. At least s/he will know that someone is listening!
  36. Contribute to a forum on the website, if there is one.
  37. Make suggestions for improvements.
  38. Write an article about something they've written, with a link back to their article.
  39. Offer a White Paper or similar resource for them to review -- as long as you don't make it conditional on a positive recommendation.
  40. Share articles you like via Twitter and other networks.
  41. Suggest a reading list for readers.
  42. Suggest a blog list for readers.
  43. Suggest a podcast list for readers.
  44. Suggest a video list for readers.
  45. Send in a photo or a link to one.
  46. Report on a conference, especially if it's one that the website owner was unable to attend.
  47. Offer to report on a conference session. Parallel sessions are the bane of our lives in some respects! Being able to attend one session and report on two or three is the stuff of dreams.
  48. Take part in an interview, via email or Skype.
  49. Invite the author to take part in a discussion. I love being invited because it means I make contact with people I may not otherwise have come across.
  50. Contribute in a way that I haven't yet thought of.

If any of these suggestions appeal to you as a way of contributing to my efforts (ed tech-related only, please), please look at the notes and terms & conditions.

Computers in Classrooms December Edition Just Published

Here's what it contains:

  • Editorial
  • Website news
  • Web 2.0 Projects Book
  • The K12 Online Conference
  • Mobile Learning Mirandamod
  • Are you taking Twitter too seriously?
  • How useful are elevator speeches?
  • What To Do When An Inspector Calls: 9 Suggestions
  • The Children, Schools and Families Bill
  • What the recent Ofsted report says about ICT
  • The New Ofsted Framework and ICT: 7 Key Points
  • Learning new software: Adobe CS4

Reviews section:

  • Your Justice, Your World - A Primary Teacher's Perspective
  • Your Justice, Your World - A Secondary Teacher's Perspective
  • WriteMonkey
  • Marxio Timer
  • The Making of a Digital World
  • The Well-Fed Writer
  • Totally Wired
  • Wikified Schools
  • Twitter Means Business
  • Grown Up Digital

Look here for details of how to subscribe (it's free).

Coming soon on this website

preview

I've got a ton of great new content coming up on this website over the next week. Each morning there is a checklist sort of article planned, and every afternoon there is a focus on a Web 2.0 project submitted for inclusion in the second edition of the Web 2.0 projects book I'm compiling. (Incidentally, please see this article for an important update about that.)

I have also been working on the next issue of Computers in Classrooms. This will feature a report on the recent Handheld Learning Conference, a guest article by Neil Howie on Adobe's Creative Suite 4, an article about why you need an elevator speech, and several reviews, including the following books:

  • The making of a digital world
  • The Well-Fed Writer
  • Totally Wired
  • Wikified Schools

What I also intend doing is putting up a page on this website where people can buy the books I review, from Amazon. (Please bear in mind that by purchasing a book in this manner, you will be helping to keep a whole family out of the debtors' prison. Mind you, I have not exactly given a resounding recommendation to one of the books listed above, so perhaps I should defer my desert island retirement plans for now.)

There may be more (hopefully, will be more), but I'd rather under-promise and over-deliver than the converse of that!

I am pleased that there has been quite a lot of interest in this new website, and as you may have noticed I am working like crazy to get new content up here. In fact, at the moment I am posting at the rate of at least two articles a day. I'm always interested in hearing from potential contributors to the newsletter and website, and guest-bloggers and reciprocating that on other people's blogs. If that is of interest to you, then please get in touch, using one of the myriad options on the Contact Us page.

Enough of this persiflage! There's another (hopefully useful) article coming in around 6.5 hours' time, containing a whole load of ideas for an ICT Co-ordinators' (sometimes known as Technology Co-ordinators) day. Yes, it's true: they do not have to consist of a load of boring people reading out their PowerPoint slides!

Do subscribe to the RSS feed if you don't want to miss it! In fact, why not subscribe even if you do want to miss it? After all, you don't have to read it, and there'll be another one at 16:30 anyway, and you won't want to miss that!