The ethics of digital technologies

“We need to ask, ‘who benefits?’ in any of the visions of the future we are offered or that we are working towards” (Facer, p. 9) Sometimes I find myself being A Little Bit Concerned. And the more time I spend in the e-learning / digital tech space, the more these niggling worries draw me […]

How I used online tools to write my literature review

Here’s a summary of my notes that I kept from last year while writing the literature review for my Masters thesis on social networking for teachers’ professional learning. I found other people’s notes useful so this might be too…. Step One: Got organised Generated key words from my research question Organised folders into broad categories in Zotero (combining […]

Paper for the iPad – a family favourite

Made with Paper Effortless sweeps of a calligraphy pen. Subtle colours. The cheerful imagination of a child. And charming wee booklets quietly waiting until we wish to browse our favourite masterpieces again.

Should we design for mobile by default?

Interesting argument for not rushing into designing for mobile, from Richard Millington of The Online Community Guide: When To Design For Mobile – The Online Community Guide. He analyses the figures for mobile use in the US, and the traffic via mobile to his blog. With the figures at <10%, he figures that there’s no rush […]

IPad app: Barefoot World Atlas

New app this week just released in the iTunes app store, Barefoot World Atlas might seem steep at $10(NZ)+ – but if you don’t own a globe, and have children, this might be just the thing (that’s what I told myself anyway 😉 Key features include: Ambient music Full spinning 3D globe with animated sequences […]

Give Duck Duck Go a go

I’ve been playing with the search engine Duck Duck Go this month. You seen it? Stripped down, minimalist, promising not to remember your search history, tailor its findings based on your previous searches, or target you with pesky advertising. The blurb about how it works – and why – is intriguing. Ever thought about livening […]

My first play with augmented reality

A bit fiddly taking a screen shot with the iPhone while holding the earth steady – but I got there:) Inspired by a Twitter conversation with @allanahk and @kevinhoneycutt’s keynote at Learning@School…

How I organise my inbox

I receive, on average, 70-100 emails a day. This is not, in itself, a stunning fact. Many people receive more. But I thought I would share the way I manage this flow, in the first half hour of the day, for any other Type-A folk who are interested. Step 1: Make sure I have a […]

Review of Reading Eggs: beware the addiction!

It was when my 3 year old earned her first ‘critter’ for her animal collection – Marshmallow Mouse for the learning about the letter ‘M’ – and begged for more time on the computer that I began to see why this tool has been so successful. Reading Eggs is a (subscription-only, although there is a […]

Death by bullet (point)

“Students need to be effective oral, written and visual communicators” (revised NZC, English, p. 18) and “they recognise how choices of language, symbol and text affect people’s understanding” (Using Language, Symbols and Texts KC, p. 12) With so many of us using PowerPoint presentations these days, how can we make sure that they (and we!) […]