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Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:00 AM

'Repurpose, Create and Share' - call for Bids

Are you using and sharing digital resources for learning and teaching? Becta and the National Education Network invite English schools to join a programme to: exploit online digital resources create new materials to support learning and teaching for secondary...
Posted by Sophie
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:52 PM

Shibboleth and Athens - descending into middle earth?

This is a post for the purists! Shibboleth is the open standard for identity and access management. It promioses Single Sign-On to resources, and data security. If you want to know how it works, CLICK HERE . Athens on the other hand is the old system...
Posted by Sophie
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:44 PM

Technophobe Teachers?

The following is an opinion from Andrew Pinder , Chair of Becta in an extract from an article in the Times 7Jan 2008 : "State schools spent £1 billion on cutting-edge information technology last year but 80 per cent of them are failing to make full use...
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Friday, January 04, 2008 12:29 PM

Intel pulls out of One Laptop Per Child Project.

It would seem that a 'philisophical difference' between Intel and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project has ended in divorce. It was well known that whilst Intel was on the board of the OLPC project, it was also touting its own solution, the Classmate...
Posted by Sophie
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:24 AM

Podcasting - quick wins for quality

I've been really getting into podcasting and also into adding audio to slidehare and voicethread shows. The latter are two excellent online presentation tools that allow the user to quickly narrate and publish PowerPoints and create stories based around...
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 9:12 AM

Filtering? 'Control and Constraint' or 'Freedom and Fun'?

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales recently added to a long standing debate about the value of Wikipedia for research. Speaking at the recent Online Information Conference at Olympia, Jimmy is reported as stating that teachers who refuse access to wikipedia...
Posted by Sophie
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007 5:57 PM

Minor handheld skirmish in Nigeria?

Two competing initiatives aimed at providing cheap computers to children in emerging economies appear to be slugging it out over the same turf. Abuja in Nigeria is where the action is ... apparently! The interesting thing is that two competing projects...
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Monday, November 19, 2007 5:39 PM

Global Village? ... meet your neighbours!

Sometimes an online experience can be so poignant that I am lost for words. One of these was when the US Holocaust Museum used Google Earth to show the destruction of villages in Darfur.The latest is by French Photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand who aims...
Posted by Sophie
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Friday, November 16, 2007 6:45 PM

'Cracking' computer ...

We have had some 'cracking' related news items this week. I say cracking because it brings together related technology stories spanning 60 years. The Colossus WW2 code cracking computer has been restored to working condition by the National Museum of...
Posted by Sophie
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Friday, October 26, 2007 11:42 AM

"Piggybacking" school wi-fi theft - pair cautioned in Maidstone!

In this weeks Kent Messenger (Maidstone Edition) there is a story about wi-fi bandwidth theft from a school ... "Piggy Backing", more formally known as 'dishonestly obtaining an electronic communication service" is an increasing problem, especially as...
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Thursday, October 25, 2007 8:24 PM

i-whiteboards - the benefits are clear?

Following outstanding claims for the effectiveness of interactive whiteboards in a recent Becta research report and highlighted by my colleagues on their Blog , I read the full report . Its very thorough, and offers some interesting conclusions if you...
Posted by Sophie | 1 comment(s)
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007 3:03 PM

Microsoft referred to Office of Fair Trading

Hot on the heels of the EU fine , It would appear Microsoft are now facing pressure in the UK from Becta. The issues of the EU decision were complex, and arguably the act of forcing Microsoft to hand over its Intellectual property to competitors is highly...
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Saturday, October 06, 2007 11:06 PM

Digital Inclusion Report

A recent report by UK Online Centres , " Understanding digital inclusion " on digital inclusion makes the following observations. • Despite developments in technology the uptake of ICT has largely plateaued. • Access to ICT is not enough – a proportion...
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Saturday, October 06, 2007 10:44 PM

Family Learning Week? Get Online Day?

I have the feeling that I'm not the only one that hasn't heard about Get Online Day on 12th October aimed at attracting families who do not use the web. So, how is this opportunity being promoted if I have a child and haven't heard about it through anything...
Posted by Sophie | 1 comment(s)
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Saturday, October 06, 2007 9:51 PM

Broadband Report - Stats and stuff!

The Office of National Statistics have redeemed themselves after my recent post on their education productivity calculation. The recent Internet 2007 Report summarises some fascinating trends, and shows an explosion of Internet use against a back-drop...
Posted by Sophie
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Sunday, September 23, 2007 6:35 PM

End of Terms

I was just musing about anacronous terms after the previous post, and here's an open question: We all know the differences between the following? ... right? Learning Platform (LP) e-learning platform Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Managed Learning...
Posted by Sophie
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Sunday, September 23, 2007 5:17 PM

The Mark of e-Maturity (say what?!!)

Those who manage to keep up with the ebb and flow of excruciating terminology and policy will know that the Self Review Framework (which from a branding point of view doesn't really say whats in the tin!) is based on a concept called e-maturity, itself...
Posted by Sophie
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 7:16 PM

This life V Second Life - some thoughts!

This week I enjoyed an 'innovations session' as part of an inset day at a secondary school in Gravesham. The gathered teachers, fresh from their Summer break were presented with an excellent ' reduced shakespeare ' history lesson on the world wide web...
Posted by Sophie
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Sunday, September 02, 2007 9:16 AM

Wi-Fi? Pathology V Psychology

There is an interesting article in the TES this week that explores recent research by University of Essex. The research by Prof. Elaine Fox involved volunteers who are convinced they are sensitive to wi-fi. Interestingly the research concludes that the...
Posted by Sophie | 1 comment(s)
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 8:27 PM

Sun flat panels installed at Fulston Manor School (Sittingbourne)?

Fulston Manor School in Sittingbourne has become the first of 100 in the UK to gain from a scheme to install free solar panels. T he £1.5m Co-operative Group Green Energy for Schools scheme provides 50% funding, with the other 50% provided from Government...
Posted by Sophie | 1 comment(s)
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:10 PM

BBC Future School

Hope you caught the interesting feature on BBC Breakfast on the morning of Wednesday 31st Jan. Called Future School , it showed Broadclyst School, and interviewed students. There has been much comment on their website, with even the magic moonbeams argument...
Posted by Sophie
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:51 PM

Farewell to floppy!

Couldn't let this go without a brief tear. Floppy is no longer with us! Before you mourn the passing of one of the fluffy bunnies at the Rare Breeds Centre ... Apparently PCWorld has decided that the floppy disc is to be given a decent burial. This means...
Posted by Sophie
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:16 PM

Building Education Centres To Admire (BECTA??)

You'll have to pardon the pun in the title, but I couldn't resist it! The news item called it a 'super-campus', which I thought was part of the brain! The first architectural images of a futuristic £50m education centre in Kent have been unveiled. The...
Posted by Sophie
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