Browse by Tags

All Tags » comment (RSS)
Monday, August 04, 2008 4:59 PM

Codename Midori: Microsoft's ascension from physical to virtual?

It's no secret ... Microsoft software was born in an era where getting connected wasn't much of a concern as few had connections! Microsoft has moved with the times with constantly updated products, but they still largely install on hardware....
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,
Friday, July 18, 2008 1:34 PM

Government Computers go green!

With Gershon efficiency savings being imposed on Local Government, and cascaded down to schools, I picked up an interesting Cabinet Office news item from a colleague. A bold plan has been announced to reduce carbon emission caused by ICT in central government...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:31 PM

Harnessing Technology:Next Generation Learning - New Strategy in a nutshell!

I thought that I would try to summarise the key features of the revised and updated e-strategy Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning ; a sort of ' Reduced Shakespeare Company ' version for those who don't have time to read the document...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , , , , ,
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 6:35 AM

Learning in class?

The chart above is taken from the recently published revision of the e-strategy, Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning . It shows the learning experiences of children taken from MORI survey evidence. Its quite an indictment that the most common...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , , ,
Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:03 AM

Scrapping subject lessons? replaced by themes ...

I picked up this interesting report of a school in Totnes that has created a foundation year aimed at helping children to become good learners. Whilst the report claims they are scrapping subjects, the story affirms that children still cover the subjects...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:45 AM

Byron Recommendations? ... Online Information Card? ... Response?

Following this weeks publication of the Byron Review Action Plan , which aims to protect the safety of children online, Times Online reports that the worlds most influential firms have launced their online 'Information Card'. Note that its'...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Monday, June 16, 2008 8:21 AM

Filmclub goes online

As previously posted , Filmclub launched last week. This is aimed at encouraging children to watch and learn, and was set up with support from the UK Film Council . Apparently 60,000 films are being, or have been made available to support 7,000 schools...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Saturday, June 14, 2008 7:06 AM

Re: Worry over capital funds for subscription services

Merlin John recently posted on a confusion about how schools should spend their Harnessing Technology funding, claiming that confusion has reduced schools purchasing. The post goes on to discuss the difference between capital and revenue items. School...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Friday, June 13, 2008 8:32 PM

£250 Ethernet Cable??

Denon the high-end audio firm is selling an ethernet patch cable for, wait for it ... £250!! (normally around £5 or less). Apparently it brings out 'all the nuances of digital music', and has signal direction markings. Don't they know that...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Friday, June 13, 2008 7:21 PM

Kent County Council bans anti-teen device!

Here's a technology snippet! The Mosquito Teenager Loitering Deterrent is a device that emits a high pitch sound that only young people can hear. According to BBC News , Kent County Council has decided to ban the devices, with Mike Hill OBE , Cabinet...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Friday, June 13, 2008 6:38 PM

Display Energy Certificates - Go one better?

On reading the recent e-bulletin item on Kent Trust Web (Formerly Clusterweb) I note with interest that from the 1st October schools are meant to display a certificate that shows the energy usage per square metre. This means that every school with more...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,
Saturday, June 07, 2008 7:28 PM

Stuff that's caught my eye! Summary 070608

Assessing the Impact of the Commercial World on Children's Wellbeing - A Call for Evidence (Interested parties version) Millions must be on vetting list - More than one in four adults in England will have to register with child protection authorities...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 8:19 PM

Open Source! ... about to be taken seriously by Becta?

Becta are encouraging the use of open source software in its latest framework agreement for software. The four year agreement will start in October and replace the current software licensing framework that has been in place since 2005. Up to 10 suppliers...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , , , , ,
Sunday, May 25, 2008 8:27 AM

End of Comments?

The number of genuine comments I receive is very low. Indeed I receive many more emails about my posts than I do comments. Most people seem to prefer to debate by email rather than expose their argument to scrutiny. The fact that few people comment through...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under:
Saturday, May 24, 2008 3:34 PM

Post 'Byron Review'?

The Byron Report , Behind the Screen , and Grand Theft Childhood have all thrown their hats into the ring with research and recommendations for the safe use of technology by children; all agree that it is a complex area of research. There isn't much...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,
Saturday, May 24, 2008 3:26 PM

Build Your Playspace

Merlin John pointed me at this kids consultation and my daughter thought it was cool! You get to build a play park whilst giving your views on playspaces. What a great way of getting kids opinions!
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,
Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:27 PM

Fab Photo's of Kent

I don't normally advertis, but as a bit of an amatuer photographer myself, the pictures of Kent on Steve Keat's Flickr photstream are just stunning! Check them out HERE ! (Photoshop??)
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Thursday, May 22, 2008 8:43 PM

Microsoft moves ...

One of Becta's complaints in their referral of Microsoft to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) appears to have been directly addressed, with an announced support for the Open Document Format (ODF) to become available in Service Pack 2 of Office 2007...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under:
Saturday, May 17, 2008 7:23 AM

Behind the Screen

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published one of the most informative insights into the online world of children and young people. Take time to read it. Behind the Screen: The hidden life of youth online A headline summary of the report...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , , , ,
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:34 PM

Deteriorating performance on network computers? Is 1:1 the answer?

There is a well observed phenomena in school networks. Go out and buy nice new computers for your school and their performance rapidly deteriorates with each passing day/week. A computer bought at the same time and placed in the office performs better...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
Filed under: , ,
Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:43 PM

Assessment for Learning? Learning to Learn?

I have been involved in a long-running debate around assessment for learning (rather than assessment of learning). Indeed, I believe I have a good understanding of the concept thanks to my colleague Jerry Owens from the secondary transformation team,...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
Filed under: , , , ,
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 7:25 PM

Freedom of Information ... mechanised?

MySociety , the charity that runs the TheyWorkForYou.com website has come up an interesting idea. They have already set up a site called foi.mysociety.org to initiate and track freedom of information (FOI) requests to Government from members of the public...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: ,
Friday, February 22, 2008 12:26 PM

Booms and Swingers? ... Projecting the right image!

An interesting observation was made on a recent school visit. A school in Kent has installed a new i-whiteboard and projector combination. Due of the height of the ceiling and the need to ensure the board height can be adjusted to meet the needs of childrens...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
Filed under: , ,
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:12 PM

So, ... I'm out of touch?

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting comment from someone closer to the chalk-face than me, and I must admit it caused me to reflect. The essence of the comment is contained in the following excerpt. "That's all very...
Posted by AlanDay | 3 comment(s)
Filed under: , ,
Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:13 AM

Microsoft reveals how to avoid forced IE7 upgrade

Microsoft has released instructions for network administrators who want to avoid a forced upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer, version 7, due to occur on February 12. How considerate ... for those who know its coming!
Posted by AlanDay | 5 comment(s)
Filed under: , ,
Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:12 AM

Teachers as victims

Soaring numbers of teachers are calling helplines for advice on how to cope after being " cyberbullied " on the internet by their pupils...according to the Assoc. of School & College Leaders , who are urging their members to be cautious about content...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under:
Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:11 AM

Struggling with technology?

According to a Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) , a third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training. Since the survey...
Posted by AlanDay | 6 comment(s)
Filed under: , ,
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 AlanDay
Filed under: , , , ,
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...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
Filed under: , , , , ,
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 5:48 PM

Comment on 'Innovation Blog' Post on Microsoft Open XML Formats

I have experienced the problem mentioned in Jamies post of receiving an MS Office 2007 document in the new *.docx format. I know about Microsoft's Open XML format , which enables developers to create applications that use the Microsoft file format, but...
Posted by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,
More Posts Next page »