“Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn.“ Stephen Hawking Our brightest students are no longer questioning the usefulness of the content they are taught at school but are seeking out what […]
How do we best educate children to be thoughtful about their online security in these rapidly changing times? The challenge of staying up-to-date, when technological innovation gallops at breakneck speed and new tools are available daily, is a major challenge for most of us. However, it is not just an understanding of technology that is […]
Chase Jarvis’ quip, “the best camera is the one that’s with you” resounds in an era where anyone who wishes to take photographs is spoilt for choice about how they capture images. A few still opt for a battered, much-loved film camera and send their pictures to the photo lab to be developed but a […]
The promotion of the new X100s FujiFilm camera enticed me to buy for a number of reasons but one wonders why this advertising campaign worked where so many other cleverly designed attempts to empty my pockets left me cold? I have a few reflections about this and briefly review my newest camera in this post. […]
…the plan is to add more services you can choose from in the next weeks and months…* Sue Waters and Richard Byrne recently posted about alternatives to the much-loved Google Reader for RSS feeds. I am slowly exploring options but do, realistically, have limited time to evaluate all that is on offer. I have been sitting […]
And it has become a kind of a truism in the study of creativity that you can’t be creating anything with less than 10 years of technical knowledge immersion in a particular field. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect […]
Since posting Workflow: X100s and the iPad experimentation has led to a number of initial decisions about processes and tools. Although, not completely happy with all aspects of what follows, I suspect that a month of travelling in July-August will help me road test these ideas. Workflow ideas Firstly, I have everything working now but need […]
“Your filtered photos on your WordPress blog, right from your mobile device. Simple. Smart. No privacy or licensing issues to get in your way.” As an educator, WordPress blogger, photographer, iPhoneographer and social media enthusiast the recent funding of Pressgram via Kickstarter truly fascinated. It is why the World Wide Web is still so often an inspiring daily part of our lives with the potential for each […]
A digital photography workflow is an end-to-end system of working with digital images, from capture to delivery. It is comprised of a series of inter-connected steps developed by photographers to simplify and standardise their work. SOURCE I purchased a FujiFilm X100s compact camera for a range of reasons and am now grappling with some […]
My Year 10 English class had a really positive experiencing ‘skyping’ with Sarah Vaughan who is a “Director, Developer and Platform Evangelist at Microsoft Australia”. The group is comprised of boys who volunteered to be in my class this year (knowing they would have more opportunities to use technology than in other English classes). Their first unit […]
In the last few months I have been looking for an alternative camera to my Nikon D700 DSLR and iPhone for several reasons. Often, I do not want to lug around multiple lenses or it is practically challenging to board a flight with too many kilograms of gear. I have also wanted another option for […]
The students in my Year 10 English class are encouraged to pursue one of their passions as a Personal Interest Project (PIP). Over the years I have found that many students find it challenging to generate their own project. School is usually about doing what someone else gives you rather than a free choice of […]
‘I’ve seen the future of children’s digital education and it is awesome.’ Thanks to Brian Giesen for inviting me to Microsoft’s #OMGtips event at Est. in George Street, Sydney today. All of the speakers – Melissa Doyle, Ben O’Donoghue, Sarah Vaughan and Stacey Quince – were engaging and shared great tips to help parents use technology successfully in their busy lives. One could […]
If Australia genuinely wants to continually enhance the nature and standard of its schooling and move to the fore internationally it is imperative it advocate the appointment at schools small and large of principals who can successfully lead ever-evolving digital schools operating increasingly in the networked mode. Mal Lee posted The Principal and the Digital School at his […]
The Edublog Awards will undoubtedly spur many on to post more often about their learning and educational issues. I believe that students who participated, having their class or individual blogs nominated, are very likely to post with renewed enthusiasm – as will their teachers – in 2013. In fact, I’d like to see the student […]
November has been so busy and I am embarrassed to admit that, for the first time in 5 years, I completely missed nominating bloggers for the 2012 Edublog Awards. My most sincere apologies to all my blogging buddies and online colleagues who I would have loved to nominate. Next year. Reading blogs really is a professional and […]
“The best camera is the one that’s with you.” Chase Jarvis iPhoneography I really want to learn more about iPhoneography. This art of capturing images, editing and sharing them using an iPhone, in my case a 4S, is obsessing millions. I too have been experimenting with a raft of amazing apps. Organising these apps into folders […]
“This dissertation introduces a new approach to everyday photography, which solves the longstanding problems related to focusing images accurately. The root of these problems is missing information. It turns out that conventional photographs tell us rather little about the light passing through the lens. In particular, they do not record the amount of light traveling along […]
What is it to be a good digital citizen? How do schools effectively manage their online reputation and assist students to be safe? How does a school balance freedom of speech with the rights of others to not be bullied or have their reputations unfairly impugned? What is the law and how does it relate to the ‘community […]
“…is a new education website for Australia, packed with 100s of videos, audio clips and games. Totally free to watch and play at home and in school.” ABC Splash, a potentially very exciting resource to “help you teach and plan for the Australian Curriculum“, launched yesterday. Annabel Astbury, the Head of Digital Education at the ABC, explains […]
Winston Churchill famously said that ‘democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried’. One can certainly bemoan the messiness of what can only be described as a serious deficit of coherent national educational strategy, ironically, at a time when ‘Australia is falling behind’ is often heard from politicians. […]
Streaming Music in Australia (at mine) I posted about the new streaming services, spoiling Australian music fans for choice, last month and felt like updating you with some recent thoughts re: the pros and cons of each. I trialled Deezer, Rdio, JB Hi-Fi and Songl. Spotify was, I thought, going to be the clear winner. […]
“…set in the early years of the 21st century and told through text, sound, images, music and games.” Inanimate Alice, the story of Alice and her imaginary digital friend Brad, has steadily become a staple for English teachers, in many countries around the world, interested in exploring transmedia. ‘Alice’ is a ‘digital novel’ that most […]
“AirPlay is a technology invented by and used by Apple to let users broadcast audio, video, and photos to compatible WiFi-connected devices.” Source There are some technological changes happening in my home this year as we become enamoured with streaming music, television and movies over the WiFi. In short, our home is untangling from the […]