Twitter tips for journalists

A tips sheet and online presentation showing how school based journalists can use Twitter in their reporting.

While originating in the USA it is the best quick guide to using Twitter in education I have seen so far, and great for activities such as Newspaper in a Day and similar.

Original article by Steve Buttry

Online presenation from Steve Buttry

Adding automatic speech to your PowerPoint shows ~ for free!

Many thanks to Jim McNeill who pointed me in the direction of a very useful piece of Open Source software.

Jim says you can "Make your ppt presentations accessible to learners/delegates who may have impaired vision.
You can download an open source package, PowerTalk, for free - just visit Sourceforge page"

To read the complete article on TrainingZone.

Top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012

Gartner Inc., a leading information technology research and advisory company in America has listed what it thinks will be the top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012.

Gartner - Top 10 for 2012

'Virtual graduation' for students.

"Edinburgh University is to hold a 'virtual graduation ceremony' for students on a distance learning course. The ceremony will be broadcast at its McEwan Hall on to the Second Life web community."

BBC News - 'Virtual graduation' for students

1,000mph car inspires future scientists.

BBC News website is carrying an article that reports:

"The British team which set the World Land Speed Record in 1997 are building a new car that is capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h). Known as Bloodhound, the vehicle will be powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine."

To read more go to: BBC News - Building on the 'Bloodhound effect'

Using mobile technology in schools

Becta have recently published an article with hyperlinks on their website that offers advice on using mobile technology in schools.

It is a good starting point for anyone wishing to develop this area of learning.

View Becta article

Teachtoday - a new website about internet and mobile safety

There’s lots of information about internet and mobile safety on the Web already, now the Teachtoday website has been set up to provide a single place that answers some of the specific questions you might have as a teacher or other member of the school workforce - whether you’re teaching five year olds or 18 year olds; whether you’re an ICT expert or a complete beginner.

Teachtoday provides information and advice for teachers, head teachers, governors and other members of the school workforce about the positive, responsible and safe use of new technologies.

Teachtoday was developed by some of the UK’s leading internet, social networking and mobile companies - many of whom are involved in the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) - in association with organisations including European Schoolnet, Becta, the teaching unions and the National Association of Head Teachers.

Create custom cartoons for educational use

Websites like GoAnimate and ToonDoo can be used to create simple, unique computer animated stories that can be used to create small course specific visuals to include in Moodle Lessons.

They are both American sites and offer some useful opportunities to create resources of educational value for learners of all abilities.

GoAnimate website

ToonDoo website

9 ways to increase the security of your laptop while on the road

How many of you out there travel with a laptop as part of your work - my guess is probably most if not all of you!

Using your laptop to get work done away from your office or on the road is becoming widely accepted. But this rapid growth in laptop computing has made portable systems the target for theft around the world.

If your laptop computer is stolen, company information can be exposed, as well as your personal and financial information.

Microsoft has published some obvious but useful tips on how to keep your laptop safe.

See the 9 tips on the Microsoft website

Wordle

A recent post on the Birmingham Grid for Learning reminded me about Wordle which is a very useful tool that allows you to create word clouds from text.

It’s very simple to use: you just copy text in any language, paste it into Wordle and it will sift through it and create clouds with the most commonly occurring words in the text.

You can then edit the shape, the colours and the font in the cloud and even remove words you don’t like by right-clicking on them.

Why not give it a go?

Wordle website

Next Generation Learning

Next Generation Learning is a government campaign initiated by Becta.

The website has some useful information about staying safe online and learning with technology.

A quote from the website states that "The aim is to use technology to create a more exciting, rewarding and successful experience for learners of all ages and abilities. This enables everyone to achieve their potential and achieve much more."

NextGenerationLearning website

£30m for electric car charging points

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has said that the UK’s streets and car parks could see thousands more charging points for electric and plug-in hybrid cars thanks to £30 million of Government funding.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis today invited cities and businesses to join together to bid for the money which will help fund the installation of charging points on street, car parks and in commercial, retail and leisure facilities.

This initiative – called Plugged-In Places – will support the development of between three and six electric car cities and regions across the UK which will act as trailblazers for electric car technology. The experiences of these locations will inform the future development of a national recharging infrastructure.

BIS Article

Social Network sites 'need help buttons'

The BBC News website is carrying an thought provoking article entitled "Network sites 'need help buttons'"

This stems from a statement made by Jim Gamble, from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) that criticised major social networking websites for not introducing a help button for children to report concerns about grooming and bullying as one site, Bebo, adopted the button.

Article on BBC News Website

Classroom Blogging - The Definitive Site for Blogging With Children

Another RSS feed from the Birmigham Grid for Learning has pointed me to a really interesting website which contains a great range of resources for using blogs in the classroom from Key Stage 1 right though to Post 16 agegroups.

It discusses why blogging can contribute to learning and how to get started.

The website is penned by Adrian Bruce in America but neverthless very relevant to the UK and well worth a look!

Classroom Blogging by Adrian Bruce

British Computer Society and the next generation

An RSS feed from the Birmingham Grid for Learning has pointed me in the direction of aAn interesting article on the BCS website reviews the effects that Web2.0 learning is having on education today. These include teaching children how to use Twitter, Wikipedia, blogging systems such as WordPress, and the use of a spellchecker in conjunction with traditional spelling lessons - all before the age of 11. The points raised range from technology training from DSCF, OU and the IT sector skills council through research into the attitudes and experiences of pupils parents and teachers.

BCS Article