Category Archives: Computing
Various developments in the field of Computing.
ePortfolios from xbox
The title say’s it all really, pupils can update their ePortfolio from the Xbox Internet explorer app.
Shut down or restart?
The Royal Society have published their report into the state of Computer Science in school in both England and Scotland.
Here are their main findings.
Main findings
1. The current delivery of Computing education in many UK schools is highly unsatisfactory. Although existing curricula for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are broad and allow scope for teachers to inspire pupils and help them develop interests in Computing, many pupils are not inspired by what they are taught and gain nothing beyond basic digital literacy skills such as how to use a word-processor or a database.
This is mainly because:
1.1 The current national curriculum in ICT can be very broadly interpreted and may be reduced to the lowest level where non specialist teachers have to deliver it;
1.2 there is a shortage of teachers who are able to teach beyond basic digital literacy;
1.3 there is a lack of continuing professional development for teachers of Computing;
1.4 features of school infrastructure inhibit effective teaching of Computing.
2. There is a need to improve understanding in schools of the nature and scope of Computing. In particular there needs to be recognition that Computer Science is a rigorous academic discipline of great importance to the future careers of many pupils. The status of Computing in schools needs to be recognised and raised by government and senior management in schools.
3. Every child should have the opportunity to learn Computing at school, including exposure to Computer Science as a rigorous academic discipline.
4. There is a need for qualifications in aspects of Computing that are accessible at school level but are not currently taught. There is also a need for existing inappropriate assessment methods to be updated.
5. There is a need for augmentation and coordination of current Enhancement and Enrichment activities to support the study of Computing.
6. Uptake of Computing A-level is hindered by lack of demand from higher education institutions.
This builds on a lot of what the government has been saying this week, it looks like changes are coming.
XP Login Screen saver
It seemed like such an easy task when I started doing it.
Take a powerpoint slideshow and display it before the user logins in, on our workstations.
I wanted to display revision notes on our XP workstations in the Business ICT suites, when they were sitting unused.
I settled on exporting the slides as JPGs and using a photo screensaver to display a folder. I started with a GPO delivered from our server but this only allowed me to force the user screensaver to the ssmypics.scr, which then displayed the users My Pictures folder. It was a disaster, all the kids downloaded images started popping up at random during lessons. I scrapped that and took to the net, a lot of the sites recommended redirecting the “My Pictures” to a single network share, not my preferred choice in a school.
Two sites were very useful and slowly a solution began to present itself.
- Set up the screen saver on a workstation, export the registry and import it into the target. For 80 machines this was going to be a pain so I needed another plan.
- This site was useful but appear to be using server 2008 which I don’t have, but an idea took hold.
My solution
- I created a folder on my workstation called c:\ss and added the pictures I wanted to use. I decided to create a batch file that an admin could use to push out the files rather than use the GPO to copy them. I figured this would lessen the load on the network as the files would only be pushed out as required rather than at each machine boot. However, if you know another way please let me know. Here is a copy of all the Scripts I used. You run ICTDIST, this then causes 80 copies of copy2machine to run and push the files out to the machines.
- I used my workstation to create and edit a .REG file that could be imported in the work stations.
- I created a GPO called Screensaver – ICT on the server. Disabled the user configuration settings and created a startup script. I clicked on show files and dragged in the .reg file. Then clicked add and entered “regedit” in the script name and ” /s screensaver.reg” in the parameters.
- All machines had a gpupdate performed on the and rebooted.
- The screen saver was then observed working on the machines 🙂
Any time we want to change the images we just update them and the admin pushes out the changes. I guess other departments will want to use this at some point. If they do we can create a SS folder in their subject areas and use the GPO to copy the right graphics files across at machine boot.
Anyway I hope this helps someone, feel free to leave a comment I will answer ASAP.
Muvizu
I was looking for some easy to use 3d animation software, Alice is nice but not exactly easy to get into.
I found a review on the register and it took me to Muvizu, what a cracking little piece of Windows software. I confess to not having used it for hours (yet) but first impressions are magic.
It does need a OK spec of computer though, so it might not run everywhere you want to use it. The tutorials appear to be youtube based so I guess I’ll need to learn it all at home.
In-service Training
Today we made sure that all of our Glow resources are up to date. This is in preparation for the snow that might effect us this winter.
Blog for all courses and make sure every pupil can log in.
Game to Learn?
A note for my pupils.
I spent all Saturday at game to learn. Where we listened to a lot of educators talking about using video games to learn new skills. If you want to check out the #gametolearn hash tag on twitter you will get a better sense of what was going on.
Abertay is a great looking campus and lecture theatres have not changed a lot since I was at uni (digital projectors and WiFi are a welcome addition). However students are students and a lot of the teachers in the audience were playing with their mobile phones and laptops even when people were talking. We were creating the twitter feed and researching the topic and presenters as it happened, it was very engaging and I know I took a lot away from the experience.
The question is – Do you have the same level of self control? I had full access to the internet and mobile phone during a class but stayed on topic (OK a topic that interests me). I will be honest I was surprised that I didn’t hit facebook or youtube.
I had prepared for each seminar the night before and looked up people and facts on the net ( I even found an old uni classmate who is now a lecturer (and a PhD)). My laptop had all the software loaded on it and although I never used it as much as the iPad (my main twitter client) it did come in handy to collect digital notes etc.
I did spend an hour or two on Saturday night; tweeting , reading notes and blogs, catching up and making plans for the future.
So I guess education has not changed that much, prepare, take part and review. Which is what I hope all my classes are doing each night.
Computer Jargon
Computer jargon is hard to get your head round at times.
WARNING Youtube videos, comments and posts often contain unsuitable language and material that may be age sensitive. They are out with the school’s control and should be viewed with caution.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/kAG39jKi0lI" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]
Free Microsoft programs
I thought I would share this article with you. It covers a range of free Microsoft products (or add ons) that you should find useful at all levels of education.
1st Generation iPad
I borrowed an iPad over the Christmas holidays to see what kind of benefits it could bring to me. My aim was to look at it from multiple angles teacher, student, administrator and casual user. Here is a quick review of my finding, there are more to come as I have only managed to get it into work today 🙂
As an administrator
- the first hurdle I faced was setting up an iTunes account that did not have a credit card associated with it or a gift card. It turns out the easiest way to do this is to “purchase” a free app from the store and the create the account, which you can then select none as a payment method.
- Installing apps is better done from the iPad in the 1st instance but don’t forget to back it up to the PC every now and then or you risk losing a week worth of apps and work if it enters restore mode.
- Joining the school wireless was painless but I did need to enter my network user name and password to negotiate the proxy, bear this in mind if there is a class set.
- Some apps just do not work with the filter and will time out before you get a chance to enter your details (if you even get the chance)
- VNC and RDC support so you can use it for a windows server admin
- VPN support for home use
As a teacher
- storing files on the iPad is bit annoying and the easiest way is just to upload them to a website or email them. You can use itunes to upload them but it is a bit of a faff to be honest.
- The iPad is a single user device so you need to plan ahead if you expect many pupils to be using the one. This is especially true if it is going to be used across departments, a pane per department or folders might help keep the apps arranged.
- Free apps work well and should get you by for quite a while.
- The lack of flash makes a lot of educational websites a nightmare.
- Connecting it to the projector is not as good as it should be 🙁
As a student
- The Internet 🙂
- Small and light
- No camera 🙁
- Intuitive
Casual user
- The ultimate in armchair TV/Internet surfing
- Good range of social apps for free
- TV Guide
- Wait for the next generation
I have been very impressed with the iPad over the last 10 days or so, not enough to run out and buy one for myself. However, with some thought and direction I think it will make a nice little study tool for classes.
