Recent changes in the 3D technology landscape are transforming the way we visualise and interact with 3D data and the real world. 3D applications and technologies have reached a level of maturity that are starting to add a real value to the education sector. Inition brings over 10 years experience of integrating 3D technologies alongside expert consulting and training services. We asked them to outline a few of their examples, from 3D displays through to scanning, 3D printing, motion capture and haptic interfaces.
Digital literacy and Computer Science
Computer studies and its main component, programming, could be an exciting new addition to the curriculum. However, we must not repeat the mistakes of the 1980s, when the subject was, at least in my experience and in my opinion, insular, highly technical, and rightly perceived by some (especially girls) as “geeky”.Educational Technology: Unofficial BETT Guide, a reminder
Developments in Education Technology: Reflections on the first day of BETT
For me, the day can best be characterised as one of mixed feelings and divided loyalties. To be sure, there was all the excitement and adrelain-inducing "buzz" for which BETT is noted, and why it ought to be prescribed on the National Health Service as a cure for "the blues", but the experience was not one of unadulterated pleasure.
Read MoreDevelopments in Eduucation Technology: Reflections on the first day of BETT
For me, the day can best be characterised as one of mixed feelings and divided loyalties. To be sure, there was all the excitement and adrelain-inducing "buzz" for which BETT is noted, and why it ought to be prescribed on the National Health Service as a cure for "the blues", but the experience was not one of unadulterated pleasure.
Read Moree-Safety and cyberbullying news
What’s happening in the world of e-safety, especially in the UK? Here are some interesting items from the November 2010 issue of Computers in Classrooms, the free e-newsletter for those with a professional interest in educational ICT. The items include:
- Research into types of bullying;
- Research into technology and behaviour;
- The Beat Bullying website; and
- Safer Internet Day and a competition from Childnet.
Evaluating students’ blogs: so what?
I’ve been skimming through Silvia Tolisano’s series on student blogging. I emphasise “skimming” because she may have addressed the issues I raise below without my being aware of it.
3 Posts every ICT Co-ordinator should read
Here are a few important blog posts I think all ICT Co-ordinators should read, because, quite simply, they make you think.
What do walls mean to you?
Here's a nice blast from the (not-too-distant) past:
A Bullet Point Mentality
The bullet points or the short video have to come at the end of the learning process, not the beginning. Bullet points at the beginning are a substitute for understanding rather than an expression of it.
Read More8 Observations on flipping the classroom
One of the more unfortunate buzzwords to appear in online education circles and the press is “flipping the classroom”. This means that instead of lecturing students in lessons in school, the teacher records the lecture as a video and uploads it to YouTube – or recommends other people’s videos to the students. The students watch the videos for homework, freeing up the lesson for interactivity, project work and so on.
I not impressed with this brilliant “new” idea. Why not?
What young people can do, and why it's relevant to ICT
In case you missed it...
Nearly two years ago now I wrote an article here called What young people can do, and 7 implications of that.
I think its central points are still relevant, and I hope you agree and find the article useful and interesting.
4 Ways to come up with innovative ideas for teaching education technology
To borrow from Dr Johnson, I find that most innovative ideas in ICT I read about are both new and exciting. Unfortunately, the ones that are new are not exciting, and the ones that are exciting are not new. It’s all very well “pushing the boundaries”, but all that does is give you more of the same.
In my opinion there are four main ways of generating ideas that are both genuinely new and genuinely exciting. Here they are.
Five Funky Flickr Tools
Keep IT clean!
Yeccchhh!!!! That was my reaction every time I saw a colleague’s keyboard. Never mind the fact that there are more germs on the average keyboard than on an average toilet seat apparently, and that other people had to use this bloke’s computer occasionally. Even worse was the fact that he was a member of my team!
Two cheers for location tagging
In a recent post on his blog, Neil Adam discusses the idea of everyday items being connected to, or at least known about by, the internet. He also considers the fact that the whereabouts of things like clothing can already be tracked over the internet courtesy of technology such as RFID tags.
11 predictions concerning technology in education
Here is a list of predictions I made in 2001 about the classroom of the future. I’m pleasantly surprised about how accurate it has turned out to be – but I think it will be even more challenging to predict the next ten years because there are so many options opening up. What are your predictions for the next ten years? And is it worth bothering to make such predictions anyway?
3 generic questions for editing with education technology
We probably all like to think that our first stab at something is going to be perfect. We tend to resent “helpful” suggestions, at least at first. Oscar Wilde, when asked if he could make a few changes to a play he’d written, quipped “Who am I to tamper with a masterpiece?”. However, editing usually makes things better rather than worse. The challenge is convincing youngsters (and others!) that suggesting some edits is not a reflection on their abilities or knowledge.
My writing work, and 5 other uses for video interviews
Here’s a short video we made a few years ago (I’ve lost weight and had a shave since then) just to test out the then newly-acquired Flip video. Like a lot of writers I was talking about my two favourite subjects: me, and my books. But joking aside, there is a serious side to all this.
5 ways of using pupils to evaluate education technology resources
Here’s an idea you might like to try, if you haven’t already: use your pupils to evaluate resources. After all, they’re the ones who are going to be using them! There are five main ways of doing so, not all of which are mutually exclusive. Here they are.