These links were first highlighted in the Digital Education newsletter. It’s free, has been going for over 20 years, and has attracted many subscribers. Sign up for free if you suffer from FOMO, because I don’t always repost the articles here. You have been warned!
But enough of this persiflage! Here are the links.
Making visible the invisible
When a library wanted data going back for years, it discovered it didn't have it. But a computer-based video installation in the library did!
Here's an account of the set-up.
Music from the commodores...
No, not the group, but two Commodore computers! Read about the 'Commodordion', it's fascinating.
While you're there, have a look at the section called Underhanded Code. It's about code that looks like it does one thing, but secretly also does something else.
We all deserve a 2econd chance
"Preventing waste is high on most people’s agendas, and taking care of the planet’s precious resources is vital for all our futures. The organisation 2econd Chance addresses two of our most pressing issues, the waste of older computers heading for landfill and, more importantly, the waste of human potential when possibilities for inclusive employment are ignored."
Veteran edtech person Tony Parkin describes the work of this brilliant initiative over on the Bett blog: 2econd Chance.
Google Docs notifications
If you use and share documents in Google Docs you'll be pleased to kn ow that it's now possible to receive notifications for changes in individual ones rather than the whole lot. Richard Byrne explains how:
How to set notifications for individual Google documents
Review: The Power of Professional Learning Networks
“I suspect that this book won’t be on the education secretary’s recommended reading list for schools. (Although such a document doesn’t yet exist, as far as I know, it surely will come soon given the Department for Educatrion’s predilection for controlling as much as it can get away with.)”
Read the whole review over on the SchoolsWeek website.
Course: Writing for blogs -- a taster
If blogging was a person I can imagine it saying, like James Cagney, "I ain't dead yet!"
I'll be teaching a course on it in just under two weeks' time. The course is on Zoom, so you can be miles away. It's at an accessible time too: 6pm British Summer Time, which I think makes it 1pm in New York, and 10 am in Los Angeles, though possibly early the following morning in Australia. To be honest, I'm not sure because different countries change their times on different dates. I think I'm right, having just checked on this world time converter, but if you're thinking of recommending the course to a colleague, caveat emptor and all that.
By the way, this isn’t some sort of marketing BS, but since I put that in my newsletter last week, the number of enrolments has gone up by a fair amount. As the course is online I’m pondering whether or not to cap the number at 20, or less than that. Mind you, I make a lot of use of breakout rooms, and I’m pretty good at making sure everyone gets a chance to voice their opinions in whole-group discussions, so maybe I’m concerned for no reason. If you have an opinion on this, please feel free to email me.
Course details are here:
Eclecticism
If you need a break from education in general, or education technology in particular, take a look at Eclecticism, my newest foray into the world of writing. There you will discover reflections on literature, life, and writing.
I hope you found these links useful.