Tech Talk @ Polam Hall

Raspberry Pi

2012-02-29T12:32:00.001Z

Is the Raspberry Pi a way of getting kids into coding? See this article on the BBC website: http://bbc.in/xHNq6I

MITx

2012-02-14T20:57:00.003Z

Launched yesterday and reported in the media today is MITx, a new online course from MIT. Unlike other resources available electronically, such as on iTunes U, this is a complete course and students who finish it will receive a certifcate carrying the MIT brand. Online courses are evolving rapidly and are sure to grow in number very soon. MIT has a few million dollars to pilot some projects. There are other courses on iTunes U and some of them are introductions to subject areas which look very interesting, though these do not come with certificates. Read the BBC article on MITx here: http://bbc.in/yMDhcl

EU Privacy Law

2012-02-09T10:14:00.001Z

AMJ's post on the Cloud is very timely indeed. New EU privacy legislation is on the horizon and there is a good article in Today's Telegraph on this: http://tgr.ph/wB7eT3

Cloudy with a chance of dissapearing

2012-02-06T22:54:00.003Z

With the recent demise of megaupload.com we have a timely reminder that "The Cloud" isn't the "be all and end all" solution to storing all of your random photos, videos, music and thoughts. Just because you can store gigabytes of your personal data up in "The Cloud" doesn't mean you should rely on it as being the one and only source for your data.

Cloud services - be they data storage, or the provision of software services shouldn't be seen as the only source for your data or applications, nor should they be seen as anything other than what a cloud is - something that can be blown away and disappear in an instant.

Despite all the promises of data security and availability if you don't have an Internet connection then you've lost access to your data or services. Just because the provider seems to be reliable or reputable doesn't mean that they're not going to access your personal or private information in the name of making a quick buck. Nothing is "free", so that "free 50gb" of storage space will be being paid for somewhere, somehow. Targeted advertising using your own personal data ?

Unlike in the UK where if a bank were to collapse, your savings would be covered by HM Government* should your cloud services provider fold then access to your data could be lost, or worse, taken out of your control when assets are sold elsewhere. You have little control over where in the world your data might be stored - not all countries treat or respect the privacy of the individual the same.

Treat "The Cloud" like any other storage medium - be it a photo album, a DVD of your wedding or a memory stick with all your holiday photos on it. If you only have one copy of something and you lose it, then you've lost it. If you can login to your cloud service from any computer then so can somebody else.

If you must upload sensitive information as a way of backing it up, then you should at least encrypt it. The level of encryption should be at least as high as the risk of that data becoming available. Only you can decide what that level of risk and therefore encryption should be.

It's not all doom & gloom though...

The Cloud does have a silver lining !

Connectivity nowadays is such that it is easy for you to instantly upload and make a copy of photos, video or documents that you are working on or have just taken. Tools such as DropBox, Apple's iCloud service and similar solutions mean that you should have no excuse NOT to have a backup of your data. Different services can allow interoperability between your connected devices in such a way that you can forget about where or how you move data around, the data appears in the right place at the right time.

Another major feature is that in theory at least, the storage space or speed of processing you have available can be expanded far beyond the capacity of the original devices used to capture the data. This can have huge benefits for scalability of systems - how often do we hear that some companies concert ticket service has crashed due to demand. There's no need for that to happen any more.

So now that the sun is peeping out from behind our cloud, we should go and enjoy what "The Cloud" can do for us. Just don't assume that it's going to be available forever and don't store anything on it that you don't already have elsewhere.

*Currently £85K per person per institution

Apple launch iBooks 2

2012-01-22T19:18:00.003Z

Apple's announcement last week was accompanied by numerous articles in the press, such as this one: http://bit.ly/z911G2 It remains to be seen how long it will be before we see the arrival of interactive textbooks in the UK.

ICT Curriculum to be radically revamped

2012-01-11T20:36:00.002Z

AMJ's post promoting computer science and programming nicely links in to announcements today about the need to radically revamp the ICT curriculum in England. See the BBC article here.

Where are the new programmers ?

2012-01-06T11:37:00.014Z

Looking back to my formative years, there's one thing I was bought that changed my life. Forget the lego, the electronics kit and the hours spent playing dungeons and dragons. A Sinclair ZX Spectrum arrived in our house in 1982 after what seemed an interminable wait. We dutifully loaded software from cassette tape with the inevitable crashes. Once that was exhausted the only way to have something new was to either purchase more software (again on tape) or in my case to type in programs from computer magazines.

It was this that first raised my interest in computer programming. Firstly you just type things in dutifully as written in the magazine so that it will work, but you then start to realise the very logical way that the software runs. You see the loops, the functions, variables and arrays and even how you interact directly with the hardware. This then lets you think how you might change the software so that it'll work in a different way - infinite lives ? no problem. Different colours, new graphics, or score more points, just change a few things and job done.

I spent many hours writing adventure games (to compliment my Dungeons & Dragons gaming !) which taught me the basics of data handling and all within the confines of the memory available - 48K.

So where does this lead me to now ?

I've been professionally developing software for over 20 years - desktop and server applications, web sites, databases, e-commerce and many other solutions to business requirements, but without this initial interest and hobby it would all seem a chore rather than the fun that I get from doing it. I've had the pleasure of working with a wide range of people in this time - some brilliant people who I've learnt a lot from, and I hope people who I've been able to help as well.

Businesses desperately need people who can program software and this is only going to come from those who are enthusiastic enough to want to do that as a career. In order to do that we need to engage youngsters at the point before they think that business computers are all about spreadsheets, word processing and presentations. They need to see that there's so much more to it than that. And if they want any kind of financial incentive, many of the richest people in the word have made their money from computer programing. Bill Gates (Microsoft), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Larry Page & Sergey Brin (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Face Book) and the late Steve Jobs (Apple) all started from "nothing". Just an idea and the technical skill, knowledge and intelligence to implement it.

To do that they need to understand the basics. They need to understand what a computer actually is, how it's made and how it interacts and interfaces with the outside world. They need to understand how to tell it what you want it to do - as intelligent as a computer might seem, somebody somewhere has had to tell it how to work.

So where does that leave us ? There are some excellent online free introductions to the world of programming, software development and computers and as I come across them in my day to day work I intend to publish them onto this blog.

After all, if there weren't any programmers I'd not be able to write, publish and for you to read this blog.

So to get us started, here's 3 websites that start down this route. Comments are taken from the individual websites - usually the About / FAQ pages.

http://scratch.mit.edu

"Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively."

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

"The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming."

What's so special is the price. $25 for the model A and $35 for model B (that has networking and double the RAM). There really can't be anybody who couldn't afford it. And as its running Linux, you'll not be paying anything for the software either.

http://codeyear.com (and http://www.codeacademy.com)

"Codecademy was created out of the frustrations Zach and Ryan felt
with learning how to program. Tired with less effective text and video
resources, Ryan and Zach teamed up to create Codecademy, a better, more
interactive way to learn programming by actually coding. This is just
the beginning. Join us as we make it easy for everyone to love and learn
how to code."

2011-12-13T22:29:00.003Z

Hi - have just had delivery of a rather basic stylus pen to use with iPad2 - HQ Stylus £6.99 from Amazon. Have just been using it with 'note maker' app and think it's very limited - any suggestions?

2011-12-13T12:48:00.004Z

Click here for a comprehensive overview of sample educational apps.

The list is broken down by functionality and topic areas. Go straight to your subjects to look for specific apps or check out cool study apps like Cram

iPad cases

2011-12-12T23:09:00.004Z

I read an article not that long ago that said the success of the iPad in education would be as much to do with finding the right case as anything else. I will encourgae iPad users in School to comment on their cases over a period of time. I have gone for a gel back, a screen cover and the Apple Smart Cover. My case is a Cool Banana Bullet Proof slim case, with rigid sides and a zip. It is not as handy in some ways as the book style covers I have seen other people with, but it provides very good protection and I bought it because of a recent experience with my Kindle when the screen was broken whilst I had it in my case on a train - something must have pressed against the centre of the screen in the bag. This iPad case seems very robust and it survives the journey to School in my cycle bag no problem at all. It has worked well on the train too and the lid can be folded back so you don't have to worry about where you put the case whilst you are working. Time will tell if it is the ultimate case for me, but I have been impressed so far.

iPad 2

2011-12-12T23:04:00.003Z

I have been using my iPad 2 during the report writing process by reading pdf files on it whilst typing reports up on my laptop. Simple but effective means of having a second screen. I have downloaded an App called Splashtop to be able to use the iPad as a remote control for presentations in the Liddiard Theatre. It turns out that you can use the same App to provide a link to your home based machine and access files on it. If you have a desktop at home and leave it on all the time your iPad need never have storage issues - use the Cloud or use an App like Splashtop to access your own files on another device. On visiting the Splashtop website I see that there is a version of the App that allows you to use the iPad as a second screen for a laptop or desktop, with the control remaining with the laptop or desktop, so mouse commands would work. Haven't tried it, but sounds interesting if multi-screens would be useful.

GCSE Revision Podcasts

2011-12-09T00:20:00.000Z

This site might be worth checking out for GCSE revision podcasts. Not free, but not expensive either and there are samples on the site. http://www.gcsepod.co.uk/home/

iTunes U

2011-12-08T11:23:00.000Z

iTunes U is part of Apple's iTunes store. It is a vast learning resource offering educational content (alot of which is free) that users can download to their computer, iPad, iPhone and iPod.

iTunes U can be accessed through iTunes software on a computer ( which can be downloaded here ) or if you have an iPhone or iPod it can be accessed over your cellular or wireless network.

Connect to the iTunes store by tapping the iTunes app.

Tap "more" located on the bottom right of the screen.

Tap iTunes U and it will launch

To read more about iTunes U click here

Welcome

2011-12-07T23:05:00.000Z

This is Polam Hall's new Blog, with a focus on technology. We hope it will become a window for the sharing of ideas, reviews, links and anything to do with ICT in particular.

We welcome contributions from staff, parents and pupils and want to hear about Apps, hardware, software, websites, anything any of us may find useful.

Interested in Maths and Science, for example, check out the Khan Academy, other subjects are represented too: http://www.khanacademy.org/