Thursday, June 11, 2009
Diigo Tags 06/11/2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Vimeo.com for high quality HD videos
Death Cab for Cutie - Little Bribes from Ross Ching on Vimeo.
The next and totally unrelated vimeo video is a speech made by Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner on 9th May, this shows a relaxed intelligent President making jokes at his own - and it must be said GeorgeW and Dick Cheney's expense!..... definitely worth a watch.
The President Gets Laughs at the White House Correspondents' Dinner from White House on Vimeo.
Dragging myself back to academic pursuits it was Ray Jones's video below which deflected me to the Vimeo
21st Century Learners Workshop - Qatar Academy-Part I from Ray Jones on Vimeo.
Prior to this I had been following the excellent YouTube videos of the Flat Classroom Conference from back in January they are fascinating, showing cross cultural collaboration in action.
What it shows is how pupils respond to being introduced to their peers in other countries and cultures..... they can certainly show the older generation the meaning of being a global citizen ( Thank you Julie and Vicki)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Royalty Free music for podcasting
I suggested downloading trusty Audacity ( well of course, what did you expect me to suggest?)
Having downloaded Audacity I began to show how easy it was to use it. Importing tracks and editing began the creative juices flowing again..... the upshot is that I am intent on returning The Podfather to the airwaves ( obviously now in search of a new audience!)
The next issue for me is to look for royalty free music loops ( darn Garageband!) to jazz up the new project. Having in the past used royalty free music loops possibly in an incorrect way ( the maverick side of me I am afraid!) I am determined not to follow this track this time around this is where the following two suggested sites may come in handy for me -
Firstly - Partners in Rhyme - the site below only asks for the inclusion of a code snippet in your blog or podcast notes, following which they will send downloading instructions
Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects Download the music and sound effects you need for your multimedia project today at Partners In Rhyme.
Again you have a code snippet to add giving the link back to the site and the artist. With Templatewise you can download a zip file containing the track plus a licence file which includes the code which then must be added to your blog or podcast notes.
Podcast episode ( in production!) - the use of Voki ( Voki still lives!) and Voicethread ( not exactly alphabetical!)
Get a Voki now!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Diigo Tags 05/16/2009
drupal themes art site design at theartlab.net
6 hrs of drupal videos drupal seo and database backup click here
Blended learning at Penn State University
Blended Learning Initiative
The Blended Learning Initiative is a University-wide effort funded by the Provost to enhance the undergraduate experience by creating both online and hybrid versions of key Penn State courses. These re-designed courses will improve instructional effectiveness and increase flexibility of course offerings for both students and faculty.Penn State University Blended learning
List of resources including conferences from professional organizations, training events, and scholarly articles.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Diigo Tags 05/15/2009
Assessment & Teaching of 21st Century Skills - Melbourne University
The purposes of the project are set out in the Call to Action issued by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft at the Learning and Technology World Forum in London on 13 January 2009. A briefer statement is provided in the Policy Brief. The purposes of the project are to:
Mobilize international educational, political and business communities to make the transformation of educational assessment and, hence, instructional practice a global priority.
Specify in measurable terms high-priority understanding and skills needed by productive and creative workers and citizens of the 21st Century.
Identify methodological and technological barriers to ICT-based assessment.
Develop and pilot new assessment methodologies.
Examine and recommend innovative ICT-enabled, classroom-based learning environments and formative assessments that support the development of 21st Century skills.ReactionGrid - 3D Collaboration for Educators and Business
An open sim version of Second Life - you may call it Second Life 'lite'
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills - Home
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
We are always looking for what next especially in the computing and ICT area. There is a minefield still to be sorted out around who teaches young people and adults the basic skill set they need to be digital citizens.
What are the skills that will be required for 2020?
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Paul's random Diigo bookmarks
Assessment & Teaching of 21st Century Skills - Melbourne University
The purposes of the project are set out in the Call to Action issued by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft at the Learning and Technology World Forum in London on 13 January 2009. A briefer statement is provided in the Policy Brief. The purposes of the project are to:Mobilize international educational, political and business communities to make the transformation of educational assessment and, hence, instructional practice a global priority.Specify in measurable terms high-priority understanding and skills needed by productive and creative workers and citizens of the 21st Century.Identify methodological and technological barriers to ICT-based assessment.Develop and pilot new assessment methodologies.Examine and recommend innovative ICT-enabled, classroom-based learning environments and formative assessments that support the development of 21st Century skills.
ReactionGrid - 3D Collaboration for Educators and Business
An open sim version of Second Life - you may call it Second Life 'lite'
We are always looking for what next especially in the computing and ICT area. There is a minefield still to be sorted out around who teaches young people and adults the basic skill set they need to be digital citizens.
What are the skills that will be required for 2020?
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Yay Android 1.5 released for the G1
April 2009
Based on a branch of the Android Open Source Project code-named "cupcake," version 1.5 aims to smooth many of the rough edges in Android's inaugural release. The update not only polishes existing functionality, but also includes major additions like support for stereo Bluetooth using the A2DP profile, an on-screen software keyboard, and video recording and playback.
The Android 1.5 update clearly positions the platform as a solid competitor to Apple's iPhone. Though some of the new features--video playback and an on-screen keyboard, for example--are capabilities the iPhone has sported since launch, others, such as stereo Bluetooth, are due to arrive on Apple's platform in the 3.0 upgrade due in the summer of 2009. But some, such as video recording ( with the ability to upload to Youtube or send as an email attachment( see below including my rather basic date error! - also apologies for the unshaven look - I have been on leave this week!)
and the ability for users to add third-party keyboards, are capabilities that Apple has made no mention of adding to its device.
In addition to beefing up what Android can do, it appears that Google has spent some time correcting many of Android 1.0's niggling deficiencies. For example, Android now supports rotating the screen into landscape mode using an accelerometer (the G1 only flipped its screen into landscape when you slid the screen out to reveal the device's physical keyboard). Google also says it has added a layer of polish to many of the included applications and has fixed some performance issues, such as the atrociously slow camera load-time and slow scrolling in the Web browser. There are also under-the-hood improvements, like the latest versions of WebKit and JavaScript engine Squirrelfish, and an updated Linux kernel at the heart of the OS.
Google warns that the SDK is not yet finalized and that APIs could still be subject to change, so developers shouldn't release applications for distribution on 1.5 as of yet; the company says that the final release is due in May 2009 in the UK ( it arrived Friday 8th May in the UK)
The increased functionality and polish offered by Android 1.5 could turn it into a serious competitor for the iPhone, especially if it ends up being released prior to the iPhone OS 3.0 update, which is expected sometime this summer. The release of another major iPhone competitor, the Palm Pre, is also due sometime in the next few months, suggesting that this summer could be a very contentious time for the smart phone market, indeed.
Here is the stuff that matters ( courtesy of Android developers)
Android 1.5 Platform Highlights
April 2009 The Android 1.5 platform introduces many new features for users and developers. The list below provides an overview of the changes. Applications can now use a new element in their manifest files, User Interface Refinements
Performance Improvements
New Features
New APIs and Manifest Elements
It looks as if at last the G1 may now have the armoury it needs to make a stronger case aginst the current iphone. For me though there is still one more brick to put in place and that is a Flash player for the G1 - Engadget reports that a compnay called BSquare has a Flash Player which may eventually bring me the BBC iplayer on the G1 ( it's all I ask!)
New Year - New Challenge
- Mr Harrington
- 19 years a Primary teacher in South Wales..... from January 2008 - Online Workshop Co-ordinator for the International Baccalaureate
