Friday 30 March 2012

StickPin Boards

A couple of weeks ago I was asked if there was a more 'fun' way for student groups to post digital messages for each other (something to do with pledging activity for ESDGC week towards the end of April). This would act as an alternative to a Moodle Forum (nothing wrong with Moodle Forums IMHO).

After a look around, the leading contender and some alternatives on the theme are previewed below.


 
Wallwisher (http://www.wallwisher.com)
From the sticky board websites I've seen, this is by far the easiest to use. The functionality is limited of course but sometimes this isn't a bad thing - perfect for the novice / poorly engaged user.

Creating a wall involves choosing an Image, Title, Background, some Permissions, a Background and the ending of the wall Web Address (eg http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/The-Friday-Feature). Note that the username is not included in the web address, handy for public use. You can then add and move digital sticky notes to a board and set permissions for private or public viewing or posting. If you allow anyone to post, you can choose to moderate all posts before they appear in public.

Wallwisher - demo play area
Sticky notes can contain 160 characters of text, a web link, an image or video. The wall has an RSS feed and web code to embed the wall into another web page. If you setup an account you can create and manage multiple walls. You can however play with a demo or build a wall without needing to login. I suspect you will create an account anyway because this solution is easy to use, enagaging and has a variety of uses even if you use other forms of group communication.

Lino (http://en.linoit.com/)
Although second on my list for the ESDGC task in April, this StickPin Board wins hands down for the range of functionality it provides. This is a serious solution for those who need to keep on top of their sticky note addiction and lead a useful and productive life.

Lino - demo play area
The demonstration leads you through the main functions of the stickies, the board (canvas) and the two floating menus. Because of the range of functionality, Lino does need a bit more attention and playing with before getting to grips with everything. There are a number ot of mouse-over icons and menus that eluded me to begin with but mostly things are quite intuitive and easy to use. Some of the main functions include:
  • Easy to Post, Move Peel-off
  • Customise note settings
  • Rotate to a rakish angle
  • Set due dates
  • Receive email reminders
  • Layout pictures
  • Share with groups
  • Attach files
  • iPhone or iPad enabled
If you create an account, you get a 'Main' and a 'Someday' canvas setup automatically but you can create more boards with their own web address (eg http://linoit.com/users/richar1p/canvases/The-Friday-Feature). You can also create Groups of people and assign them to a board - ideal for project or deadline management. The only down side is the advertising that appears on your board (I have to say very discrete advertising however).

I think this solution is well worth a test run to see what it can do for you and your groups!

--o0o--
Just to round things off, a couple of other web sites and PC based software on the same theme....

Share Square (http://www.sharesquare.com/)
Described as a visual collaboration tool which allows users to organize and share information.
The site is in private beta at the moment and I've signed up for an invitation.

I mention this site becaus there is a free account for all ...@tudelft.nl email users (staff and students of the Delft University of Technology I assume - my Dutch is a little rusty). A great idea for engaging your learners.


Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com)
Pinterest is an online pinboard site where users can create theme based image collections of things they like or find interesting. Easy to use, a Pin It button lets you grab pictures of your favorite things as you browse the Web.

The site creator thinks that "a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests".

The result is a series of digital 'mood boards' used by interior designers and the advertising industry.
You can also add short comments and others can 'like', 're-pin' etc - a cross between Twitter and Flicker eg.

http://pinterest.com/serabee/bucket-list/

This US site was the fastest growing social networking site in 2011 with a the majority of users being female, more male-oriented pinboard sites have been created (eg Manteresting.com and Gentlemint.com).

There are some concerns in the US about how the site makes it easy to contravene copyright law by posting images without the approval of the image owner (see: 
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-28/tech/31106641_1_repinning-copyright-entire-image).

NB: The concept of 'Fair use' doesn't apply in the UK....

Great if you like that sort of social type thing.
I'm not sure my name of 'TwitPic' will catch on with users however :-)

I'm afraid I've run out of time this week so the PC based 'stickies' software will have to wait until next week - my apologies if that is what you have continued reading this far for - until next week then (it actually turned out to be 2 weeks) - (oh the suspense of it all) ....

TGIF

Friday 23 March 2012

Time To Adjust Your Sundials

A digital sundial!?
We've just had the Vernal Equinox, March 20th at 5.14 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time*).
Following closely, we are about to go into Goofy Time (aka BST) where we all have to get up an hour earlier.

That's not the reason why I'm suggesting it's time to adjust your sundials (I keep mine set to 'real' GMT all year round) but because it is good practice to adjust your sundials a couple of times a month. I'm assuming here of course that you all have a sundial (and if you don't - why not!?).

Sundials are the perfect renaissance device, an elegant combination of science and art that can be experienced many days of the year. Use your favourite search engine's image collection to see the beauty of design arising from simple to very hard celestial maths.

Here's The Science Bit
Because the Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle and the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbit, a solar day is only 24 hours long on 4 days of the year. The graph below shows how 'fast' or 'slow' a sundial is compared clock time (designed around an average 24hr day). The data comes from using the 'Equation of Time'.


Today (March 23) you sundial will be 6.5 minutes slow.

Interestingly, if you could plot the position of the sun in the sky at noon at different times of the year you would get the elongated figure 8 shown in the image at the top of the post, the analemma (see http://www.analemma.com for further details).

The fascination of sundials or shadow clocks continues into the digital age.
A photographer/designer came up with the idea and the design for a bulbdial clock a few years ago (http://www.ironicsans.com/2008/03/idea_the_bulbdial_clock.html). A year later, Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories turned the design into a DIY kit to make for yourself (http://evilmadscience.com/productsmenu/tinykitlist/156).


Apart from garden sundials, I have the Pocket Sundial from http://www.testtubegames.com on my iPhone - it always works no matter the weather!
Another great example of how location enabled devices can do all sorts of clever stuff.

I better stop now - the shadow says it's time for a lie down ...

TGIF

* I know the initials should be CUT but an argument between the British and the French, who wanted TUC (temps universel coordonné), resulted in the inspired? compromise where UTC would be used (representing neither the French nor English phrase - brilliant!).

Top image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundial

Friday 16 March 2012

Room For Improvement - 1

We have had visitors from overseas this week as part of an exchange programme.

Yesterday was my turn to meet with them.
We talked for a while about the Learning Technologies we use and the 'big picture' that underpins our choices and approaches.

The 'big finish' was for me to show them our recently acquired stereoscopic 3D project software and learning resources (more on this another Friday). They loved the Bee that appeared to be sitting in mid air just in front of them. A little less love for the giant bird eating spider looking them in the face.

I loaded up one of the Immersive Environments and as I watched the 'loading in progress" message I realised that showing the World War 1 trenches environment with German and Italian visitors showed some room for improvement!!

I'm fairly sure this won't be the last in the RFI theme.....

TGIF

Saturday 10 March 2012

What are we actually trying to do?


I went to a 14-19 conference on Monday in North Wales looking at eLearning Platforms. The theme was billed as 'Developing, accessing and making best use of Learning Platforms’ with a secondary school focus.

Everything started as usual; the passionate consultant showing us some cool stuff (some bits were actually quite cool - that's for another Friday), an overview of the latest report detailing strategic decision making and a series of teachers showing how they use a VLE in their teaching. It was all looking so familiar.

The final session before lunch turned the day upside down!
Simon Billington, ICT Advisor for Wrexham, provided an input that was perfectly pitched to engage managers, teachers and even students in the debate on what we're actually trying to do with ICT in education (aka Learning Technology). A perfect stimulus for discussion and decision making!

Simon and staff from CYNNAL (the company providing support services for schools in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn) created a cartoon version of a scenario from the National ICT Strategy Document published by ADEW (Association of Directors of Education in Wales) in December 2011.

The cartoon provides a concrete 'vision' and two simple questions focus on the concrete issues involved:
  1. Is this the sort of 'digital & connected' young person we want to develop?
  2. If yes, who is responsible for providing the elements necessary to make it a reality?
For me, this has got to the heart of the issues we have been circling for a number of years like no other presentation I've seen.
This is something I can use with managers, staff and students in my own institution - brilliant!

 


Although slightly different for colleges and universities, schools need to consider the responsibilities of the following people for providing the ICT infrastructure; Parents, Teachers, Schools, Education Authority, Local Government and UK Government.

The elements (from the cartoon) that should be in place are:
  • Home:
    • Laptop
    • Broadband (wifi)
    • Social network (web browser)
    • Webcam (telephony software)
    • MP3 player
    • School learning platform (remote access)
      • Timetable
      • Tutor-student messaging
      • eMail
      • Subject resources online
      • Podcasts
      • Videocasts
      • Assignment schedule / submission / marks & feedback
      • Learning log (reflect on achievement / progress)
      • Learning support Forum (Peers)
      • School events bulletin board
      • Cloud storage
      • Office software online
      • ePortfolio
  • School:
    • Books
    • Podcast Resources (internal & external)
    • Personal device Wifi web access (learning platform)
    • LAN (wifi & cable) computers and software
    • Media rich resource / website access
    • Video & audio recording devices (school or personal)
    • Videoconferencing studio

I'm off now to show a video and ask some questions of people within my establishment; clarity and consensus here we come ....

TGIF

Friday 2 March 2012

Horizon Report - 2012

Every January for the past 7 years I have eagerly awaited the publication of one of the most interesting 'future gazing' productions on the web - The NMC Horizon Report.


Produced by the New Media Consortium (http://www.nmc.org) and Educause (http://www.educause.edu) in a collaborative research project, the report identifies and describes six areas of emerging technology likely to have a significant impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within USA higher education.

An advisory board and technology experts from around the world select technologies that fall within three adoption horizons: a year or less, two to three years, and four to five years. Each section of the report provides live Web links to examples and additional readings.

The 2012 report is available now as a 40 page pdf file from:
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/HR2012.pdf

The report is full of fascinating insights covering:
  • Technologies to watch
  • Exemplar websites 
  • Significant trends
  • Critical Challenges


In 2008, a number of meta-trends were identified and I now keep a look out for new materials or methods that fall within these categories that still seem relevant 4 years on:

  1. Human/Machine Communication
  2. Collective generation & sharing of knowledge
  3. Computing in 3 dimensions
  4. Connecting people via the network
  5. Games as pedagogical platforms
  6. Shifting content production to users
  7. Ubiquitous platforms
 A brief summary of the selected technologies gives a flavour of what the panel feel are the most significant for Higher Education.


This table almost invites you to evaluate the 'adoption rate' for the panels selections.
I'm not so interested in that (although I can feel a topic for a future post coming on ...) but more in the process of reviewing where educational technology stands at the moment and where it might be going. More of a prompt for reflection than an attempt to predict the future (but I do agree with William Gibson: "The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet").

I'm off now for a quite reflection (with report in hand).

TGIF