Having spent the day in the hospitality of Creative Blogs at their FREE blogging event at the Silverstone study centre today I find that I am inspired to blog, but more importantly to share some of what was said and shown at http://silverstone.creativeblogs.net/

We heard from Bill Lord (@Joda5), David Mitchell (@deputymitchell)  as well as Creative Blogs John Sutton and Peter Ford. (@peterford)

Rather like a teach-meet several attendees shared their own school blogs.  The most important thing about blogging isn’t HOW it looks or how it compares, it seems to be firstly the AUDIENCE and then the actual content!

Bill Lord’s own blog has a post sharing some excellent examples and lots more information at http://lordlit.com/2011/09/04/training-day/

Quadblogging seems to be an excellent way of developing audience and a super idea being championed by David Mitchell (in is spare time!)

We will be creating an School Blogs page on this site very shortly so please get in touch if you would like us to add your school to our list!

Thanks again to the Creative Schools team for a great day!

You can get more information and book your FREE place at http://www.bettshow.com or you can read more about what’s happening on the BETT BLOG at http://bettshow.wordpress.com/

Will you get the opportnuity to wander the halls and galleries?

At The Schools Network conference on 1st December Michael Gove gave a speech in which he talked about how technology had changed the world.  He goes on to say…

… there is a perception by some that my department isn’t especially concerned about such things. That we care more about Tennyson than technology. That our interest is in Ibsen, not iTunes. That we’re more Kubla Khan than Khan Academy.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that our school system not only prepares pupils for this changing world, but also embraces the technological advances which are transforming education. My department is thinking hard about this and we’ll be saying more in the new year.

I guess we all have to hang on over Christmas awaiting this pronouncement!

Gove’s speech goes on to talk about how children and young people make use of technology to communicate and socialise but highlights the fact that classrooms have not kept up with these changes.   He goes on to imply that the problem was an over-investment in technology without really changing what teachers do to make the best use of it.  He mentions gaming and also assessment as well as teacher training stressing the importance of digital content.

He used many buzz words and phrases in his speech including a reference to the Khan Academy, the Raspberry Pi programming computer and 3D printers.

The speech concludes with the paragraph:

… a genuine engagement with the wondrous world of technological innovation will see children’s learning ‘liberated from the dead hand of the past.’ We owe it to pupils across the country to take this issue seriously.

The full transcript of the speech is available from the DfE website HERE

Teaching internet safety is both a challenge and an opportunity for parents and educators. Children are increasingly active online and are more likely than ever to encounter some dangerous situations. Learning how to handle these events will not only help them stay safe but also teach them critical thinking skills that will be useful throughout their lives. Instead of worrying about the safety of ventures onto the web, the adults in a child’s life need to teach him or her how to avoid danger and how to deal with uncomfortable situations when they arise.

Some parents and teachers simply use parental controls to limit a child’s access to internet sites that may be inappropriate. However, this does not teach children to think for themselves, and it will not necessarily keep them safe on the web. Today’s youngsters are generally more computer savvy than their parents and even their teachers, especially if they go to school online and have a familiarity with that sort of interaction. They learn from other kids how to get around barriers. The best way to keep them within safe boundaries is to teach them to think before they type.

Another skill that every child should learn is how to summon aid when she feels threatened. They need to know that getting help right away is the correct thing to do, and that they need never feel embarrassed about having done so. In the end, each child’s safety depends on learning guidelines for security and being able to apply them in any situation. This is the education the children cannot do without.

For children ages 7 to 10, the BBC has developed an educational site about web safety that parents or teachers can use with kids. This site has a mnemonic for teaching internet safety associated with the word “SMART:”

S: Keep Safe. Don’t give out personal information such as name, address, any telephone number (including mobile), email address, school name or friends’ names. Keep passwords and nicknames undisclosed. Make up a screen name that isn’t related to any real life information. Don’t send text or photo messages to people you don’t know, because your mobile number goes with them.

M: Don’t Meet Up. Never agree to meet an online friend, even ones that are longstanding. If this isn’t avoidable, take a trusted adult along.

A: Accepting Emails Can Be Dangerous. Always delete email from someone you don’t know. If you do open an email that says something that makes you uncomfortable or tells you to download something, tell a trusted adult. Likewise, don’t accept text messages or open links on a mobile phone from people you don’t know.

R: Reliable? People on the web may not be who they say they are. Information you get in a message or find while using mobile phone might not be reliable.
 Think of how easily you can play pretend on the internet; how much so for anyone else!

T: Tell Someone. Always tell a trusted adult straightaway if you feel uncomfortable or worried about what someone said online. Report the person if there is an alert button on the site. Then log off and leave the website.

For older children and teens, you can visit the website of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General for a set of age appropriate tips on how to avoid harassment, victimization and exploitation online. The discussion covers commercialisation and other issues that teenagers may not be aware of. This is a good educational site for children and adults alike who use the internet and are not aware of all the implications. Another site parents and educators can use to teach internet safety is NetSmartzWorkshop.org. The site includes videos and lesson plans for primary, intermediate, middle school, and high school classrooms. The site is sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (U.S.A.).

Much of internet safety depends on protecting privacy. With adequate and reliable information, parents and educators can work with children to develop safe and appropriate ways of using the web. The skills gained in this process are vital for internet safety and can also carry over into other areas of learning. Thinking critically and applying sensible rules will help children stay secure not only on the web but everywhere they go.

Fakebook (http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page) is a face-book-like site where teachers can create FAKE profiles for fictional or historical characters for study purposes.  There are some SUPERB profiles and exchanges already on the site (though they are hard to find!) but teachers can add their own.  It makes for a unique way to explore some historical events in a way that today’s pupils will find engaging and easy to understand, it can also be used to really get under the skin of fictional characters too!  Another use may be as a tool for esafety discussions.  Well worth taking a look at.

One of my favourite Fakebook Characters is Josef Stalin who’s “wall” can be found at http://www.classtools.net/fb/30/IlZ3WR

The debate has been rekindled into exactly what we should be focussing on to raise standards.  A lot of money was pumped into UK schools to improve standards, but the majority of that was used to purchase hardware and software.  The feeling of many people is that school standards will only be raised using ICT if staff are given high-quality training in how to harness the technology they have!  At a time when UK school’s budgets have been significantly reduced many Head Teachers are faced with the dilemma of shedding staff or significantly reducing CPD, in some cases to say NO to CPD at all!  Surely something is wrong here?

Vision Mapper was created as part of the Beyond Current Horizons programme, and is designed to help examine the future of education beyond 2025. It supports the UK education system in preparing for and responding to the challenges it faces as society and technology rapidly evolve.

What skills will children need for work? How might parenting and family change? What impact will new technologies have on learning? Vision Mapper provides a wide range of activities and resources to explore these issues, centred around 6 expert future scenarios. These scenarios are based on 18 month’s work in 2008-9 by a team of 98 experts and are backed by a wealth of background research, providing a powerful planning resource for educators.

To find out more visit Future Lab at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/vision-mapper or take a look at Vision Mapper directly at http://www.visionmapper.org.uk/

Ian Hughes
Managing Director of Feeding Edge Ltd
Epredator / Metaverse Evangelist / Consultant Futurologist / Technology Developer / TV Presenter / Speaker / Blogger

Ian will talk about the impact of social media, gaming and virtual worlds on the way that we do business. He will propose how these technologies can be used to improve customer and team interaction as well as reduce travel costs. He will also suggest that failure to recognise the social and cultural change that these technologies are bringing will have a serious impact on business.

Teenagers already understand this and the foundation of what will be possible tomorrow lies in the connected games that they are playing today with their friends. On The Cool Stuff Collective TV show, Ian shows future technology to go along with today’s gadgets and games. Knowing what is possible right now makes it really exciting to think what will be possible in the future when all of these things become connected. Stand by as we explore the future.

This talk could be of particular interest to Year 10 and above students who are studying “Games Authoring” as a key part of the Digital Applications (DiDA) course.

Ian Hughes a.k.a epredator when online, is a Metaverse Evangelist and founder of Feeding Edge Ltd – Taking a bite out of technology so you don’t have to. http://www.feedingedge.co.uk/ In 2006, whilst at IBM, he led thousands of colleagues into virtual worlds like Second Life with projects like Wimbledon. He has shown that leadership can be driven by the digital native and innovators can gather together regardless of geography or organization. Using creative expression online leads him to no longer be the programmer he grew up as. He presents an emerging technology slot on the ITV kids show The Cool Stuff Collective, two series in and a third just about to start http://www.feedingedge.co.uk/blog/tv-showreel/. Ian is the chair of the BCS Animation and Games industry Group. If you discover anything else about Ian feel free to update http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Hughes_(a/k/a_epredator)

This meeting is being held on Thursday 13 October, 7.00 for 7.30 and ends around 9.00.

It will be held at the Oxford e-Research Centre, 6 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3QG.

Sandwiches and light refreshments are available from 7.00pm.

Meetings are open to non-members and free.

Further information is available via the branch email address  (oxon.chair@bcs.org.uk) or via the web address www.oxon.bcs.org

From Naace and Vital

Engaging Schools with 3rd Millennium Learning Development.

Meet experts and enthusiasts in your area to learn about groundbreaking impact of technology in schools.

Come along and join in an afternoon or twilight session with representatives of Vital, Naace and local schools who are reaping the benefits of inspired use of technology.

Attendance at this event will offer your school the following opportunities:

•    To receive free access to three (Vital) new subject Portals for five of your staff
•    To engage in a trial project using Kinect in your classrooms
•    To be part of a test-bed of schools using Kindles to empower learning
•    To hear about how you can be a pilot school for 3rd Millennium Learning award
•    To meet school representatives in your area that want to collaborate with you through the use of technology
•    To learn more about the free Self-review Framework; the key points to make it all work efficiently
•    To gain access to Vital’s collaboration tools
•    To have access to Vital’s Online conferencing system (inter school networking)
•    To receive Top Tips document for 10 subject areas.

Schools taking part in the programme may be selected to report on impact upon teaching and learning at the Naace Strategic Conference 2012 and Vital website.

To find out more and for details of cost etc please visit http://www.naace.co.uk/NaaceVitalEvents

For almost a year TNMOC  have hosted visits from schools and colleges from across the UK in support of both Computing and ICT courses, mostly at GCSE and A level.

The TNMOC team are keen to develop the Museum to provide even better value for their student visitors and make TNMOC a positive choice as a visit for teachers and their students who are engaged in these learning programmes.

One of TNMOC’s actions has been to join CAS (Computing at School http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/ ) and become a CAS Hub for meetings with teachers across the region.   They feel the Museum is a useful and interesting place to meet and offers teachers a chance to see their Museum and feedback ways in which it can better help them in the delivery of their subject.   Their aim is to meet perhaps meet three times a year.

The first meeting is detailed at http://tinyurl.com/6blgmgz.  For part of the meeting they are planning to show the Museum to those attending and ask for their comments, ideas and feedback and begin perhaps a dialogue with teachers to improve the Museum over time.  TNMOC feel it is important that their collection is responsive to the needs of education in both Computing and ICT.

On the same day OCR are running their course at TNMOC: GCSE Computing (J275): Get started – an overview to help successful first delivery (http://tinyurl.com/5wxfk8u), they hope some of the OCR course attendees to stay on to the CAS meeting.

Teachers from Oxfordshire and surrounding areas are most welcome to join in http://tinyurl.com/6blgmgz