Tag Archives: Islay

New Image New Device⤴

from @ Islay ICT

I have been remiss with blog posts. I suspect I am addicted to twitter.My new school year resolution is make my Blog writing more regular.

We have been identifying a new device for the incoming S1. The reason this is required is that Samsung are no longer making the Q1 UMPC.

We tried several devices and types of device before settling on the Dell 2100 Netbook.

The reason we went for this was the robustness of this device as its specifically designed for the education market. We also went for the optional touch screen to keep the maximum usability for what we have already developed.

So the next question was which apps should we install in the image.

Here this list:

PS Heading Text indicates a folder setup in the Start Menu

 

File Viewers:

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Notepad ++

AbiWord

FTP Software:

Filezilla

Core FTP - glow

Google Software:

Google Earth

Google Sketch-Up with tutorials.

Picasa 3 with templates

Microsoft Software:

Office 2007 & OneNote

Auto Collage 2008

Multimedia Software:

CeltX

Clickview Player-win7 version downloaded.

DivX 7

Labtec Webcam - Driver we have works, but you must manually tell windows to install the driver from the:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Labtec\WebCamWebInstall\Drivers\x32 Folder.

Comic Life

Real Player Alternative

QuickTime - glow

Java - glow

Media Player Classic

Stop Motion Animator

VLC Media Player

Audacity incl. MP3 & ffmpeg.

Photo Story 3

Windows Movie Maker - Live movie maker.

Timershot-needed when we have SMA?

Kinovea

PhotoFiltre

Jet Audio Basic- version 8 and above ONLY

Digital Viewer for Digital Microscopes

Free Natural Reader/ Scottish Heather Voice - new version downloaded.

Microsoft Digital Literacy IT Course- most current.

Pencil

InkArt- replaced with art rage 2 starter edition - use "Loading" brush setting to adjust when the brush runs out of ink. (100% = takes ages to run out).

Utilities:

7-Zip

Auslogics Disk Defrag

Spybot S&D

Ccleaner Slim

Maths Software:

Officemath

Student Graphing Calculator

 

Music Software:

Listen Hear v4.0-cd rom

LMMS new version 4.6

MuseScore

Tablet PC Music Composition Tool - replaced by songsmith.

SongSmith

 

Simulation Software:

Phun-beta 5.28 downloaded.

Physics Illustrator for Tablet PC - use 2010 compiled version.

West Point Bridge Designer 2007 -downloaded.

 

Language Software:

Power Language French

 

Maths Software:

Tarsia 2.0

Geonext

Uncategorized Programs

(Not a start menu category name):

XMind

Hot Potatoes

Mozilla Firefox ( and extensions).

Flash Player - glow

Shockwave - glow

Image Resizer (Microsoft)

Taskbar Magnifier (Microsoft)-works and installs in 7.

Sophos Antivirus -if it cant be used on win7 we have an open source alternative ready to go.

Learning Essentials - still version 2 for office 2007.

Stitched Up -cd rom.

http://jmol.sourceforge.net/

 

What have we missed? What should we have added?

Design in S1⤴

from @ Islay ICT

I am starting to look at Design with the S1’s.

This is always a difficult time as they are so enthusiastic to get into the workshop and ‘make stuff’. I think its vitally important that they spend time to reflect on the world around them and understand how those human made things came into being.

I have designed a couple of introductions to design that I will be reflecting on here.

This one is an exercise in not only working to a brief but also using the technology.

I have recorded a screen cast of the process they have gone through.

To see this in a lager size please have a look here S1_Keyfob

Call for collaborators⤴

from @ Islay ICT

A couple of years ago I got a very positive feedback on an animation that the the S1’s (12 year olds) at the time had produced using Google Sketchup. On a blog post by Ewan McIntosh, I made contact with Keith Hamon.

Keith is a wonderfully positive and enthusiastic leader. We talked via email about how we could work with some of the teachers in his part of the world. He identified Bob Meacham from the Banks Stephens Middle School in Forsyth, Georgia, USA.

Between us we developed a wiki based around pupils sharing information about local buildings.

The pupils would collect as much information about one local landmark and place it on the wiki for the other pupils to recreate in Sketchup. We would then have some video conferences. I even ‘taught’ the Banks Stephens class how to use Sketchup via VC.

I think its time to revisit this project.

I am looking for some classes/teachers from around the world who would be interested in developing a new project.

Leave a comment or add your name too the wiki http://international-sketchup.wikispaces.com/

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LeadMeet⤴

from @ Islay ICT

In July myself and Caroline (Commonly known as C in twitter) went through to Edinburgh. One reason to the visit was to attend the LeadMeet organised by Con Morris. leadMeet is a very interesting variation on the TeachMeet scenario.

The event was very well attended. With a good range of people who are passionate about education and professional development.

I managed to maintain an incredible record. Attended 6, put myself forward to speak at 5 and been selected by the random selector Zero. I have spoken twice at a TeachMeet. Once was virtually from my back bedroom and once was setup in Perth because I had travelled, with Andy Wallis, so far to attend.

Con suggested (awhile ago now) that I record my talk………… So its Con’s fault

More images from the event can be found here

A broken habit⤴

from @ Islay ICT

 

Its been a long time since I got out of the habit of blogging. Twitter, the micro blogging service, as dominated my online activities recently.

Its not that things haven’t been going on. In fact its been extremely busy. I hope to do a catch up with some of the things over the next few weeks.

This past week has been the first full week in school. (after an extra day due to water supply problems) and therefore the issue of the UMPC’s to the incoming pupils. These are UMPC’s that are new to them.

On a Friday afternoon we are running How to session’s for all the incoming pupils. In our case that's 43.

The First session was issuing the UMPC’s, giving out login’s, and logging on……. and of course dealing with associated problems.

Last Friday was connecting to the internet and accessing email using Outlook 2007.

I have been using Community Clips to record instructional video’s. Basic ‘How to’s’ for the pupils to refer back too.

So why have I used Community Clips instead of Jing?

The main reason was that I wanted to add the video’s directly into OneNote.

OneNote embeds and plays WMV files directly within the application and Community Clips produces WMV files which I can edit in Movie Maker and place in the OneNote to create a NoteBook.

Jing produces FLV (and MPEG’s if you pay the subscription and I paid the subscription 2 days before discovering Community Clips) files which are much smaller. These can be hyperlinked and will play when clicked in a notebook and they open in the devices default player. I wanted to keep everything within OneNote and keep the work flow as simple as possible.

Big Adventures Small Technologies⤴

from @ Islay ICT

Islay High School has been developing some ‘interesting’ trips. Amongst the usual and wonderful, skiing, Outward Bound, Sports, etc. trips. We have been going for bigger adventures too. This has been developed by one of our Deputy Head Teachers, Stephen Harrison.

The first adventure (Trip is far too small a word these) was in 2003 to Costa Rica. No Blog though lots of memories for those involved.

Though this was the start of the adventure the start of the project was 2 years before that. That is when the pupils committed to going and to raising the funds to go and commit to the training regime.

The second adventure was in 2005 to Ecuador. They tried to Blog but hadn’t quite got the hang of it. Though the photos are wonderful.

The third adventure was to Malawi and this time the Blogging was better but still a bit stilted due to access issues. Though the response on the BBC Island Blogging site was tremendous.

This adventure takes a slightly different format as it is covering 2 countries, Palau and Borneo.

An earlier Blog post gives some of the detail but loads more to come. The pupils have setup a blog and will be starting to post to it soon.

That's the background. This is what I am looking for.

What technologies should they be taking?

I have spoken to one of our suppliers, Lanway, and asked about a small, robust UMPC or netbook. They are suggesting that they can borrow a solid state UMPC with built in Camera (Both Video and still) and takes a SIM card. Though I will have to check out if they can connect to the local network after reading this.

They will also be taking an Olympus SW790 (Thats the one that can be dropped and used in water upto 3m).

I am a little concerned about charging. I have been looking at solar chargers. Anyone know anything?

and lastly GPS tracking………. I am a complete novice at this and would welcome any help.

And the last catch all What would you take?

Looking forward to the responses.

 

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Informal curriculum⤴

from @ Islay ICT

Over the last year we have been offering various informal courses. These courses have been things like Art and Crafts, Archaeology, film making, film appreciation, conversational Spanish, and many others. Wednesday and Friday afternoons are interesting times to visit the school. These changed several times over the year. This time has been created because of the efficiency of teaching to a particular stage rather than to an age. It also provided time when whole school events could be run without cutting into certificate classes.

The school has been reflecting on these afternoons and considering allowing some to run for 1 afternoon a week for the full year.

I have been thinking through a couple of things I might offer.

 

A computer graphics course:

Whole year

Introduce basic skills in photo editing, 3D graphics/CAD, animation, and a few other things. Then set portfolio piece as an outcome

Microsoft Digital Literacy course

Whole year

Introduce basic computer literacy's http://www.microsoft.com/education/msitacademy/benefits/digitalliteracy.mspx

Possible MS Academy courses as extensions http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/learning/academy/default.mspx

DIY Woodworking skills 

Repeated 3 times throughout the year.

I miss teaching practical skills

E-Safety Course

Repeated 3 times throughout the year

Give CEOP training

All of these are thoughts at the moment and I am looking feedback on what your thoughts

 

New Developments – Take One⤴

from @ Islay ICT

Recently there has been a lot of excitement at Islay High School, and an air of anticipation, regarding the acquisition of some amazing video equipment. Over the past few months we have been working hard to secure funding for a long term film project which will involve pupils, staff, and members of the local community.

kit

The main aim of this project is to produce mini documentaries regarding life on Islay, especially as seen through the eyes of the youth on the island, and through the medium of Gaelic. Pupils will be working on researching topics, will be involved in a lot of pre-production work, will be developing the necessary skills to use all the equipment involved (camera skills, audio, lighting, editing, sound, Celtx etc), and will be firmly working within the ideals of a Curriculum for Excellence. In the future podcasts / radio shows will also be produced, and it is envisaged that a multimedia website will be developed showcasing the work of the pupils. We are also looking into creating a permanent space to showcase the productions.

Our first project will be concerning the future of the Gaelic language on the island. The group believes that the language needs to look forward and we are looking to breakdown certain false stereotypes regarding not only the language, but also the image of islanders that is sometimes presented to others. If you have any thoughts about the future of the language (both positive and negative), we would love to hear them!

Updates will appear here as and when, and we will also include clips of work in progress.

Vision of Education in the year 2020?⤴

from @ Islay ICT

Last June we held an open day on the use of ICT in the school. This was successful in terms of what we got across if not in terms of actual numbers who visited the school. It was definitely quality over quantity.

We have been thinking about what we could do for next year. Add into that mix the desire to run an Islay TeachMeet. The TeachMeet idea was met with very loud enthusiasm when I suggested it at TeachMeet SLF08. Though I suspect that was more to do with the drink than it was an actual commitment to coming to Islay.

I have spent some personal reflection and lots of time chatting to Andy Wallis. We decided that if people were going to make the effort to come to Islay then we need to develop the TeachMeet model to something more.

We are both passionate about education. Education being delivered and accessed using the best and most appropriate tools that are available and not about the next , shiny new technology. I feel that sometimes we all get caught up in the ‘ooo look at the new toy, what can we do with it’ syndrome(I have to be particularly careful that I don’t do this.)

So the idea we had was an unconference to look at where we all like to see education going. In particular where we see it when this year intake formal education (Age 5 in Scotland) are able to choose to leave school (Age 16 in Scotland) in the year 2020.

We wanted the dialogue to be as wide spread as possible. So we have a wiki put in place. This wiki is not about the unconference. Its about education. The unconference is part of the discussion on education.

So what do you think education should look like in the year 2020? What do you see as the stepping stones to allow this vision to be realised? What do you think are the threats?

Don’t put these answers/visions/solution/arguments/proposals/anything else here. Put them onto the wiki at education2020.wikispaces.com.

Also, please talk to your colleagues, pupils, parents, cleaners,etc about this. Get their ideas. Start the conversation. Most teachers haven’t considered this

Blog/twitter about it. I want it to be a place where everyone can make a voice heard.

Higher Education⤴

from @ Islay ICT

 

 

 

Last Tuesday I was lucky enough to host a visit to the school by Andrew McCreath. Andrew is the director of IT Services at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen.

RGU are under going a major review of provisions and services for the near future. It was suggested that he have a look at what we are doing and how that might have an influence on where Higher Education needs to look.

We had some very wide ranging and diverse chats about where education may go and technologies that can support this.

It was wonderful to talk to someone of influence in Higher Education and who is looking about at where they may go. Not looking to control and limit as seems to be the case in most IT support at the school level.

I had a fantastic time demonstrating our model of work using OneNote, Tablets, UMPC’s and Wireless Projectors

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