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A Tragedy of EPIC Proportions

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2013-04-22T14:40:00+01:00

A sad day isn’t a strong enough thing to say about the huge loss that Film Education is to the schools in the UK. I had been aware of their work for a number of years, but when I worked at Apple, it was in the 2000 isn period, during work on and around the early introduction of iMovie, and the work I coordinated for the South Yorkshire eLearning Project, that we struck up a relationship that proved their contribution to UK Education was without parallel. ...Film Education is the privately funded charity that provides award-winning curriculum-based teaching resources, teacher training and cinema-based events across the UK. ...The closure of Film Education is as a result of the decision in November 2012 by its primary funder to cease its financial support from the end of March 2013. At the same time, they committed to support the publicly funded organisations, FILMCLUB and First Light, in their efforts to secure the £28million lottery funded BFI 5-19 film education scheme 2013-2017. ...Film Education would like to thank the film distributors, exhibitors, Cinema First (AIM), filmmakers, creative talent and industry executives, as well as teaching professionals and students, for their support over the past 26 years. ...Film Education is incredibly proud of its work over the years to support young people wanting to learn more about film and with teachers wanting to see film embedded across the National Curriculum. It is also proud that other countries have built their own models for film education based on Film Education’s initiative and experience. ...· In-cinema experience of events such as National Schools Film Week, CineSchool, Sun Screens, preview screenings and Autism Friendly Screening Days; and ...· 547,699 children and young people aged 5-19 attending our free in cinema screening events and festivals such as National Schools Film Week and CineSchool – 4.4 million children since the inaugural event in 1997;

Digital Education is Arrliyvve...

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2013-04-18T09:54:56+01:00

‘Digital Education’ is Arrliyve... ________________________________

Apple and Highfield Humanities College, Blackpool

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2013-01-10T16:12:38+00:00

Highfield High School, later to become Highfield Humanities College following its £27.5 m “Building Schools of the Future” rebuild, completed in 2012, has radically changed for the better. I taught there for 5 years in the mid 1980’s and took up a seconded position with Lancashire County Council in 1989, after which I eventually joined the ICT industry. ...It is a delight to have had the opportunity to work with the school, and to reacquaint myself with some of my old colleagues again. ... The prospect of working again arose in 2011, when I was directly involved with planning a Work Experience Programme for Highfield (as part of what eventually became BlackpoolCIC). In late 2012 I was engaged to work with the Senior Learning Leadership Team in the introduction of iPads and new Learning models. ...Interestingly, as the Head of Faculty at the then Highfield High School, I was very active in seeking external relationships to benefit the students. We did some really innovative work with a number of organisations, and this led onto building a relationship with the then Business leader, Derek Woodman and his company. ...He put me to the test by asking me to research into what computer was going to be the best for the future, and what would bring maximised benefits to the students. Looking back on it, that was a pretty big ask, but Derek was determined that if he was to provide a legacy, it be the very best. ...Down with the old, up with the new ( Image by Les Pounder 7/10/2012 http://www.flickr.com/photos/45703688@N07/8064237703/in/photostream/)

Latest News in Modern ICT and eLearning

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2013-01-19T16:12:52+00:00

Latest News in Modern ICT and eLearning: ________________________________

iPads and Kindergarten

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-12-01T10:11:59+00:00

iPads and Kindergarten “Ruby suggested the children make 3D models of the moon as part of an inquiry into moon viewing. The children researched in books and used a moon iPad app Ms. ... The children then transferred their research into three dimensional models.” “I suggested the children took photographs of the models and import them into the app, drawing pad. The children then re-sized the photographs and edited out the background colour and created another art piece. This new work was exported to Twitter and could then onto the blog, thus opening their work to a potential global audience.” ...This entry was posted on October 10, 2012 at 6:32 pm and is filed under iPads. From http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/pagez/2012/10/10/ipads-and-redefining-how-we-create-in-kindergarten/ Zoe Page

Free ESSA Training Day

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-12-01T09:55:11+00:00

There is a FREE DAY at ESSA Academy RTC - see 1:1 on iPads, iPods etc in action , if you are quick! ...As I understand it ESSA normally charge for visits these days (it is a very popular site for looking at the implementation of a successful technology implementation). ...The Apple RTC programme is a programme for educators which provides free and easy access to Apple technology set in the right learning environment to enhance and promote future learning technologies but ultimately to help transform teaching and learning outcomes. An RTC offers a variety of curriculum and subject lead courses which help to promote creativity in the classroom, engage students and ultimately improve learning outcomes. ...In a world where digital and mobile learning have become key, we would like to show you how Apple technology enhances the performance of learners and extends learning beyond the school walls. You will discover success stories from colleagues and experience for yourself how Apple solutions are helping to transform Education. This is a rare opportunity to spend a whole day at Essa Academy, a leading Apple school. Abdul Chohan speaks all over the UK and internationally sharing the vision of Essa and the impact of Apple technology on their teaching and learning. We have structured the day so that you can hear from the Principal Showk Badat, engage with the students, have a tour of the Academy and participate in 3 hands-on workshops which will explore Teaching with iPad, Deploying iPad Successfully and Mobile Learning. The day will run from 09:00 - 15:45.

Ideal Platform for eLearning

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-11-15T15:14:02+00:00

I thought it would be useful to share a little experimental journey with you through an example of the work of our BlackpoolCIC organisation, and the on-blackpool.tv channel which sits within the organisation. ...Any ICT users worth their salt knows that creating and producing video is time consuming, bandwidth and storage hogging, and fraught (in a public sense) with traps for the unwary. ...When we initially set up OBTV, as we call it, we wanted a simple vehicle that would provide a platform for Community, Educational and Business focused content (video) and audio. ... Neither of us is a media industry expert, but Steve knows the business end of things, me the Educational and Community aspects - and yes, my time with Apple was also very helpful. ...I started experimenting with YouTube and Vimeo, and while these are popular and quite versatile, we needed more than JUST video content to be brought to our ( let me call it - channel ) channel. ... I think ambition got the better of me at that point, because as it happens, we have never yet seen a need for a live content broadcast. That said, we adopted Livestream as it was incredibly versatile, however it let us down on one important part - its output to mobile devices was Flash based, making it less than ideal for the most popular mobile content devices on the planet (iPhones and iPads). ...Earlier this year, in part by chance, I spotted that an acquaintance of mine had taken a new role working for a media based organisation (I’d never heard of before) MediaCore. ...What was clear from day one was the commitment to Education (something we strongly wanted at the core of OBTV), but it was also the promise to listen to ideas, to discuss future plans and to cooperate with us here at on-blackpool.tv. ...We wanted more than just video delivery. on-blackpool.tv functions as a linking hub to a number of current and possible future projects we deliver/hope to deliver, and so while it had to work well (it does), it had to be:

iPad Academy NW

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-11-13T14:31:27+00:00

iPad Academy NW ________________________________

Illuminating New Thinking in ICT

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-10-03T15:48:43+01:00

Hear it from the experts - together in one place - with staff from Apple, Microsoft, Meru, Google and more. Thinking about iPads, new types & generations of “Tablets” iPhones, iPods, smart devices, Smart-phones? Interested in use of mobile 1:1 ICT and BYOD? 1:1 and Bring Your Own Device) have become a huge phenomena!: ... • Can we really use tablets & smart - phones consistently? ... • What is needed from the organisation to make it work? ...On November 2nd 2012 join us at one of the following sessions (your choice): ...helping YOU better understand the potential of changes that could provide leaps in learning, in training, in productivity, in creativity and in future employability. To ALL Managers, ICT Staff, Knowledge Workers, Creatives, Teachers, Heads, Governors, Parents indeed anyone interested: The opportunities to use personal ICT (Smartphones, Tablets, other Handheld and “portable information devices”) and we can show you what you need to do to ensure success.

iPad Academy

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-09-18T09:05:03+01:00

NEWSFLASH  johnarudkin.net are now part of   http://www.ipadacademy.co.uk/  ________________________________

Bandwidth Battles in US Higher Ed.

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-09-17T22:33:59+01:00

Bandwidth Battles in US Higher Ed.
Presented By: OnlineColleges.net ________________________________

Latest News Update for ICT and eLearning in Education

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-09-18T22:38:59+01:00

Latest News Update for ICT and eLearning in Education RSS Feed: http://www.scoop.it/t/modern-educational-technology-and-elearning/rss.xml URL : http://www.scoop.it/t/modern-educational-technology-and-elearning RSS Feed: http://www.scoop.it/t/handheld-learning/rss.xml URL : http://www.scoop.it/t/handheld-learning ________________________________

Apple iPad, iPod, iOS, Mac, ICT Strategy, eLearning Advice and Support

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-09-15T09:56:47+01:00

Apple iPad, iPod, iOS, Mac, ICT Strategy, eLearning Advice and Support New to new Technology? iPad courses needed? Get the most out of your investment Get advice from an Apple Distinguished Educator johnarudkin.net Ltd and Associates prices start at just £350.00 per day email: john@johnarudkin.net So…who is John? Let others tell you more: Click here

Olympic Offer!!!

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-08-11T12:29:12+01:00

At first, when I read an article about equipment used in the Olympics being distributed to education (read schools) I thought it was FREE. ...If you are sad enough to want them (and believe me, you should save up an buy Macs!), there are PCs available. Alas 400 schools, at the point of my information, are in the queue. You can join the waiting list though, if you are quick. I’m afraid I have no prices on them, but I guess you can use the rule of thumb below, based on other STILL AVAILABLE items. http://www.johnarudkin.net/resources/Olympic-Legacy-Programme---Server-Order-Form.doc http://www.johnarudkin.net/resources/Acer-Legacy-Programme---TouchMonitor-Order-Form-v6.doc http://www.johnarudkin.net/resources/Flyer_-Olympics-v6.pdf http://www.johnarudkin.net/resources/Olympic-Servers-30th-July.pdf Touch Screens: ACER 1515L 15” LCD Touchmonitors (great for science, SEN etc) £130.00 plus VAT These retail at over £300.00 usually.

Sir, sir, sir…….Me, me, me! Sir, sir, sir…….Me, me, me!

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-08-05T11:56:12+01:00

Sometimes this is purely a tentative link, but at other times it really hits home that there are many similarities between the environment of the classroom and the students and the teacher, will this is the right model or not, and the way the management works with employees in the business environment. ...William pointed out that there are many issues that cause students to behave, react and partake in the classroom scenario, and that whether they are best able to extend their ideas and thoughts can be a major contribution to the success and reinforcemnt of their self-esteem, and therefore their involvement in learning. ... This sort of “reluctance” can also be seen in office meetings, when the same students become adults as well, and it is easily exacerbated by poor management (as it is through poor teaching). Teachers will often say that is difficult to get all the students engaged, and this can be a real issue, because we’ve so many it’s rather easy to take the simple option, and go with those who have the knowledge or the eagerness to participate. Any good manager, or any good “leader” is, although not necessarily for the same purposes - acting in the same way as a teacher, but they should be very concerned about getting the best value from all of their staff members, employees and others actively involved. We have all experienced situations where we have met management who definitely don’t want other ideas highlighted, and who want to get their own particular ideas accepted, but that doesn’t make the best of the workforce when it comes to decision making, ingraining, as it does, one-track thinking. ...What Dr Williams contends is that in the classroom scenario teachers should look for any opportunity at all to expand the interactions in involvements of all students, and to do this in fair and open ways. ...Lolly sticks in the classroom can be can be substituted by sticky notes in the meeting - swapped, exchanged and then displayed in order to give everyone an equal opportunity to be involved in part of the decisions and gathering of data sets that are being made. If you want to think about more high-tech solutions, virtually everyone these days carried around the smartphone or potentially something like an iPad, and connecting these together so that they can actually display and respond to some sort of central projector or screen is really a very simple thing for ICT department to setup (if it isn’t, call me). ... There are many examples these days of classrooms where whiteboards, and other facilities such as large screens are used to display - not just the latest greatest “PowerPoint Presentation” from the teacher, but to allow true participatory interactions that actually help everyone understand purpose and illuminate thoughts and ideas.

The 21st Century Classroom

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-07-14T20:19:33+01:00

The 21st Century Classroom ________________________________

When teachers took control...

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-07-05T10:38:06+01:00

Never underestimate the advantages that can be gained by providing people with what they really want - Never doubt that an idea, if it is seen as advantageous, can ignite people into action. In 2010 experiments and trials were in place at "a Council" to explore the use of mobile email services in-house on a range of devices. ... I simply couldn't get along with the minuscule physical keyboards, which left me failing on message typing, and the frustration of over sensitive touch screens and the need for handling a pin thin stylus. ...Like others, I had a flavour of what was possible from a mobile device, and yearned to use the advantages these brought to make my life better - as well as to help me do my work more effectively. ...Requests grew catalysed in part because the Education Advisers and other supporting professionals couldn't help but pass on their own personal opinions, and they were finding the work and educational possibilities of these devices exceptionally flexible and reliable. ... The reasons are numerous, but let's just add that, in this day and age, it is not all about the brand - and people voted with their wallets. ...It was not that there were technical problems, but the readiness to deal with security on a device that offered access to personal and potentially sensitive work data was not established. ...From the point this was discovered the growth and uptake was swift, almost viral - and that posed a problem because ICT Services had to pay for the service, and it was totally out of control. ...It appears, as best as can be determined, that some wise "geek" or "hacker" in a school simply looked at the email server address, entered it on an iPhone and voila......access. ...What was even more worrying is that some more savvy school staff were setting up email on the phones of other staff - and nowhere was anyone dealing with the real issue about security here.

Thinking the possible……

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-06-17T14:39:47+01:00

“Changing One Person at a Time” was once a proud mantra that Apple supporters voiced, and yes, that was how a great deal of the spread of understanding of what Apple brought to the world became embedded. It appropriate that the mid ‘90s Apple tagline still fits – except, today, that “One Person at a Time” has become a torrent as self-discovery, and the underlying message that “it works” renders others like rabbits in headlights. ...This was about an expansive range and type of computer (ICT) uses, but underlying it was a set of principles that you, as a computer user either “got” or “didn’t get”. ... This was about making the very best product, whatever the cost to do so, and if necessary it’ll mean some potential computer users will find the reasons for decisions on how they are made somewhat difficult top comprehend. ...It was the ability to step back, with the knowledge of what was possible, and to see potential routes to new ways of doing things, to satisfying needs in an industry yet to really find its feet, and create maps that others emulated (copied) and explored. Apple did listen to customers, but it also realised that those customers were locked into a vision of the work that operated traditionally, was constrained by “machine” restrictions, but that needed to be free to be creative and able to develop ideas, study, share – and it developed iteratively. ...Mhz is not just about speed of a computer doing things (Millions of operations per second) , it’s better using the power of a machine to do things BETTER, more intelligently. ...Each of these (and it is not at all exhaustive) relationships was an investment in customers at a time when the story for Apple was mixed, but when dedicated followers needed to know Apple was there for them. ...Alas, the newer users will not have the sort of extensive experiences of the hard fought days when I, for one was asked at an interview, “How did you feel, working for a failed IT company”. I think people today, and new Apple converts may be less inclined to see the reasoning, but they understand that products that just work are products worth using.

iPad 3 for video capture

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-06-17T14:39:39+01:00

I don’t know exactly why this is, but until now I have held the iPad’s capabilities as a very versatile tablet in great respect. What I have never really bothered about was its capabilities as a video capture source. Of course, the iPad 2 could capture images and video, but it always seemed to me that this facility was more for just occasional use than for use in any really specific way. ...I was recently with Blackpool 6th Form College, and in discussion there it was suggested that iPads be used to film content for www.on-blackpool.tv, our streaming channel. I stalled (thinking that if we needed to, it might have to suffice) but then I started looking at the evidence on the web of videos being produced on the iPad generation 3. ... Make your own mind up…… but while the iPad 2 is a perfectly respectable device, if you are seeking to use an iPad as a first or even second video device, then it has to be 3.

How Apple is Revolutionising Education

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-05-16T11:49:53+01:00

How Apple is Revolutionising Education A great Infographic, although a little dated, it gives some scale to Apple and the impact it is making to education. I will add some more detail here later and explain a few items shown. I hope, also, that it gets brought up to date soon. ________________________________

Long may he remain a friend of Blackpool...

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-05-10T11:00:23+01:00

Stephen's "eyes on the horizon, feet on the ground" approach, coupled with a vast portfolio of effective large scale projects over three decades, have established him internationally as a widely and fondly recognised leader in the fields of learning, new media and technology. ...Since then Stephen has been a regular visitor and friend, supporting programmes such as "blueIRIS", a dedicated facility for the blind across the area; supporting Blackpool Education and its media work, as well as being a champion for eCommunity work alongside the Town's eCommunity Manager and team. ... He is also teamed up on an, as yet secret - to be launched project with johnarudkin.net, based on providing a challenged community across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre with a unique way to access and interact with everyone else. ...Stephen's ICT career (he is credited with being the person who put the C into ICT), began with the UK government's Microelectronics Education programme (MEP) in the early 80s, after he had been teaching in secondary schools for some years. Stephen founded and ran Ultralab for a quarter of a century, building it into one of the most respected research centres in e-learning in the world - at one time Ultralab was the largest producer of educational CD-ROMs in Europe - before leaving it in 2004 to found his own global and flourishing policy and learning consultancy Heppell.net which now has an enviable portfolio of international projects all round the world. Stephen pioneered, and was the guiding "father" of, early social networking with seminal projects including *ESW in the 1980s, Schools OnLine for the UK Department of Trade and Industry in 1995/6, Tesco Schoolnet 2000 from 1999 - the then Guinness Book of Record's largest internet learning project in the world. ...Stephen lobbied for the creation of (in 1997) and then created in 1998, guiding for ten years Notschool.net, at the time a uniquely effective project to re-engage children excluded from school by behaviour or circumstances. ...TV - a UK public service TV and broadband channel for professional development of teachers; he sits on the board of the UK's Skillset - guiding professional development and training in the Creative Industries; he sits on BAFTA's Council have formerly chaired it's Technical Innovation Jury and sat on its Film Committee. ...Stephen is at the heart of a global revolution in learning space design, with a string of major new building projects worldwide including a 0-21+ academy in the UK and a complete makeover of a national education system in the Caribbean. ...Stephen's work is worldwide; in the UK Stephen is retained by a number of organisations and governments to help with future policy and direction, including the BBC and Channel 4, is an Associate of KPMG, and is retained by UK government in Horizon Scanning work to advise of future directions for educational policy.

Campaign preview

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-05-07T16:24:04+01:00

Latest eMail Campaign/Newsletter ________________________________

Newsletter: 25/04/2012 Create your own iBooks - Course

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-04-24T15:21:50+01:00

How can you get the best out of these modern, flexible learning and organisational tools creatively? Available free on the Mac App Store, iBooks Author is an amazing new app that allows anyone to create beautiful Multi-Touch textbooks — and just about any other kind of book — for iPad. With galleries, video, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and more, these books bring content to life in ways the printed page never could. ...How can you get the best out of these modern, flexible learning and organisational tools creatively? ...culture it's true to say that you helped to pioneer a much more positive ..."John, I hope people out their know how much of an expert you are. ...The time I spent with him was richly rewarding as he has a good grasp of ...“I have known John since 2001 when he led one of four feasibility pilots for the ...I was impressed by John’s passion and understanding of new technology and his ability ...This set me on a path to a career in IT that I have enjoyed every day since.

On Open letter to Educators

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-04-18T10:29:40+01:00

An Open “Letter” to Educators Discuss this excellent video. ________________________________

Find my iPad

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-04-02T09:42:17+01:00

When an 8 year old can understand and trust the significance of the powerful facility to be able to secure iOS devices, you have to question the intelligence of ICT Managers who can’t. The “Find my iPad/iPhone” facility in iOS is FREE and allows the owner to alert, send messages, locate, lock or erase an iPad that is lost or deemed “unsecured”.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Will this turn into Michael Gove’s “Stick it in a Jerry Can” moment

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-31T16:45:37+01:00

It is going to free schools to think they do not have to teach IT so much," Dr Peter Twining, senior lecturer at the OU, warned at a roundtable in London today. ...Twining is also director of the Department for Education-funded Vital programme, a professional development programme for teachers to make better use of technology in schools. The Department for Education (DfE) is currently running a public consultation on the proposal to develop a new curriculum that would allow schools and teachers to have more freedom to teach ICT in "creative, innovative and inspirational" ways, and to make way for "rigorous computer science". ...One of the challenges to the implementation of a new ICT curriculum is the lack of qualified teachers to teach the subject, Twining said, echoing concerns that computing teachers raised in response to Gove's announcement in January. ...They people are doing it in spite of the system and technology is a facilitator, not the thing that drives it. ...To add to Peter Twining’s comments here, it is a disaster that ICT is already being deprecated simply because Mr Gove has said that a change is coming. That change may well be long overdue, but in reality it doesn't take much to find that the answers to the new curriculum are already being taught by those great teachers out there who understand the values if ICT to their students. ... To say pupils will just know what ICT can do is a ridiculous as saying that Minister's already know everything there is to know about their portfolios. ...Teachers need to find the right avenues and shout about the great things that students are doing in their schools. ...It is time to redouble efforts and make the dyed in the wool anti-ICT brigade jealous about the fact that they cannot access these wonderful tools or achieve what teachers with a passion for eLearning can.

Here we go again….

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-30T12:53:44+01:00

A Department for Education (DfE) framework agreement worth £575m has been awarded to 18 suppliers. Those suppliers are (wouldn’t you guess it) some of the names we all came to love to whinge about under BSF and various other programmes before it. I’m just wondering if this is about partially placating the BSF losers following Michael Gove’s decision to stamp out that programme? ...Schools, colleges and other education services will be able use the framework to obtain information management services, according to the Official Journal of the European Union. ...So where might new, innovative, fledgling contenders flex their wings? ...Learning services, including ICT service managed provision and the integration of learning platform' components, are also covered by the framework. The Government Procurement Service set up the agreement on behalf of the DfE. TheDfE will be responsible for specifying technical principles and functional requirements for the services it covers. Mac Compatibility/iOS has to be a critical requirement now. Or have I got it all wrong?

Retention Policy in more ways than one.

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-30T11:14:47+01:00

Students at Jefferson Christian Academy were surprised (today) with news they will be getting an iPad next year. http://www.johnarudkin.net/resources/JCA-students-to-get-iPads-in-2013.mp4 ...I’m sure this story about iPads in Education will be updated and unfold. As schools around the world, the USA (and a small number in the UK), it seems that many have argued the pros and cons of bringing technologies such as iPads into the classroom. I fear one thing they often forget to do is talk to the students. ... I feel sorry for those graduating, but the pizza will, I am sure, be good, but how do you deal with the “just-misseds”. iPads in Education really are becoming recognised as valuable learning aids. What is an even bigger issue I fear is that changes in the way ICT is perceived and supported from UK central government needs to be informed about the possibilities that new technologies bring. ... So, while we deliberate and ignore what plainly is right in front of our eyes (this stuff really does work!), how many more UK students will miss out on an education that brings them up to date. If you want to know the arguements for and against new technology in education, call me. We can discuss, but let me show you how, where and what evidence there is for making the change, and the massive benefits it brings, not only to your students, but to your school as well.

How the iPad Has Changed Us

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-13T10:17:13+00:00

How the iPad Has Changed Us.

How the i pad has changed us

View more presentations from cxpartners

________________________________

NMC

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-11T16:03:27+00:00

What is NMC? ________________________________

Apple Configurator

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-08T20:15:57+00:00

Very quietly, sometime over the last 24 hours, in the shadow of the iPad launch, Apple let lose a very important, new piece of software. ...The world of Education has been screaming out for a solution that goes beyond the configuration of iOS devices in numbers, and finally sorts out so many of the concerns and necessities required to be truly flexible with the management of Apple suite of world shaping tools. Now a school ICT Manager, a Class Teacher, a Teaching Assistant can manage these devices simply and flexibly, and guess what? ...The value of the Apple Configurator cannot be underestimated, and it also lends itself to uses in Business as well. This is the application that can make for no holes barred entry of iPad into business. ... The capacity is there to manage up to 30 iPads, iPhones, and iPod touch devices at once, and these can be configured, updated, and supervised. What appears to be a very much sought after solution utilises the flexibility of the devices to be multi used by many students in many subjects. An iPod or iPad can be a science tool one lesson, and a writing tool the next….. and that makes them ultimately versatile. ...Of course, not everyone is ready for 1:1 deployments, or even with Apple iPads and iPods, but there is a great deal of experience to be shared. ...Try this great video from http://wiki.canby.k12.or.us/groups/ipodusergroup/wiki/415db/Videos_iPods__iPads_in_Canby_Classrooms.html

This is no time to sit around

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-05T10:45:19+00:00

I'm really serious about the need for Apple to push hard on the issue of "Programming/Computer Science" in the loosest definition of the term. ...The organisations who are now leading on advising Government are just about to go through their conference seasons, however I wonder how many will feature ambassadors for an Apple version of the debate, especially with Government Interest usually in the organisations? I'd like to think "a lot", but I have seen so many - and the opportunity to get to Government is so often missed . ...What is needed (what has ALWAYS been needed - and I'm going back 20 years in saying this) is a focus on what works. ... This is the time to ride the back of the outstanding iPad and iOS messages to reiterate the learning gains and learning exemplars globally (but especially in the UK). ...He does want ICT to be seen as a discrete, scientific based subject (I hate that word) that leads to an upskilling in ICT employability, however his target has been the inane and distinctly underwhelming support for MS Office courses. ... What I am trying to get over here is not that Apple needs to rerelease a Hypercard clone (although that would be neat in some ways), but that Apple needs to look to repackage its Apps tools and its XCode in such a way that it can be used to teach very simple coding and programming. ...Back in the early 'noughties' I worked with Apple Europe to bring Apple Learning materials to the UK, and we were able to version these to teach/train over 10,000 teachers. Would it not be a simple task - with a small budget and a 12 month target (BETT 2013) to do something similar again, but this time targeting a different area of the curriculum. ...Now is not a time for complacency, and while I know you will agree, I fear that success is often seen as an opportunity to coast.

Why read and learn as though it was 1950?

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-03-02T15:05:35+00:00

Why read and learn as though it was 1950? ________________________________

Sign up for Educational Newsletter

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-02-27T11:04:32+00:00

... #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. ...

BYOD - a picture

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-02-27T08:49:18+00:00

Building an Effective School BYOD Plan

View more PowerPoint from Sam Gliksman

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Child Led Learning

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2012-02-26T14:44:44+00:00

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johnarudkin - Update 13.12.11

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-12-13T11:00:37+00:00

________________________________

Newsletter/update 02/12/11

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-12-03T13:30:00+00:00

In this December 2nd edition of johnarudkin.net update: A unique invitation to a professional CPD Programme - plus - A real way to fund Work Experience for 2012 - plus - iPad 1:1, Special Needs and more..... ...Recent headline figures about youth unemployment are, as many commentators have said, truly shocking, and bound to add to the inevitable apprehension felt by students about their prospects in the job market, both early on, and at later, up to graduate level.   The number of 16 to 24-year-olds looking for work rose to a record 1.02m, prompting fears that a ‘lost generation’ of young job seekers was in danger of being scarred in the long term by their initial negative experience of the jobs market. ... ExcellentUK Enterprises will be a new name to most schools - but not if your students have had the opportunity of working or training placements in the past. ...To assist Schools with Work Experience for students, and to creatively put in place the means for raising funds for this, or any other School related projects and to provide advice and support from our team of experts in order that Schools get the best deal for their requirements as well cost effective solutions. ...The challenges of the modern Council are always changing, always looking to be more efficient, to keep costs in control, to deliver BETTER SERVICES and to make ICT work for the customers and the Staff. ... If you want to Learn more about new technology, and what it can offer to enhance you services, why not arrange a chat? ...John Rudkin, an Apple Distinguished Educator has had significant experience at working with challenged groups and learners, and can bring a wealth of that experience to your school. ...Throughout that time, initiatives have come and gone - but the Government want the third sector to stand on its capacity to deliver 'close to customer' services without the need for constant and variable support from Councils. ...Better still, email me to discuss how we can help you with advice, development and support in a most cost effective way.

Did I hear that correctly Mr. Gove?

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-12-03T09:28:53+00:00

In its most recent international survey of education, the OECD found that 'in countries where schools have greater autonomy over what is taught and how students are assessed, students tend to perform better.' ...Beyond these changes - which we've implemented for the benefit of all schools - we've gone further: we've given every school the opportunity to take complete control of its budget, curriculum and staffing by applying to be an academy. ...More than 40 per cent of all secondary schools are now either academies already, or in the process of becoming academies. 1144 primary and secondary schools have converted since the general election. 319 are sponsored academies, of which 116 have opened since May 2010. 44 more sponsored academies are expected to open later this academic year. ...Second, that this improvement is not the result of academies scooping up middle-class pupils from nearby schools: the fact that more middle-class parents want to send their children to their local academy is a consequence of the school's success, not a cause. ...All these changes have been possible because we have been resolute in our commitment to spreading autonomy - from the introduction of the Academies Bill within our first few days in office, to the way we're continually reducing constraints and burdens on schools. We're doing all this because we believe - and the evidence confirms - that the best way to create a school system capable of adapting and responding to the challenges of the 21st century is by giving great teachers and heads real power. ...But it would be negligent of us not to look at how we can harness these developments for the benefit of all pupils. ...Computer lab management software is now so sophisticated that an individual teacher can monitor how each student is doing simultaneously and then - without singling out that child in front of others - provide them with the direct amount of support that they need, accelerating the rate at which some children can learn and providing additional help for others. ...So not only does the spread of innovations like the Khan Academy mean there is more great teaching material on the web, but new tools like Google Analytics allow anyone to analyse video for attention, second-by-second, in a way that used to be very expensive and complex. ...But hardware means more than just the latest desktop - especially when many pupils are increasingly likely to have access to superior technology at home - or even in their pockets - than in their school's computer lab.

LANCSMUG - 12/12/11

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-11-28T10:28:57+00:00

Join LANCSMUG - Click here to find out more ________________________________

£1m engineering prize launched

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-11-17T09:53:23+00:00

A £1 million engineering award which it is hoped will rival the Nobel Prizes is being launched. The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering will be awarded every two years for a "groundbreaking advance in engineering which has led to significant international public benefit". The Royal Academy of Engineering will deliver the accolade, which will be overseen by a charitable trust headed by former BP chief executive Lord (John) Browne. ...As the bridge between scientific discovery and commercial application, engineering feeds and clothes us and enables us to work, travel and communicate. ...The award, funded by firms including defence giant BAE Systems, oil producer Shell and drugs company GlaxoSmithKline, will be launched at the Science Museum in London. ...The prize, the world's biggest, will be given to an individual or team of up to three people after deliberations by an international judging panel of experts. Prime Minister David Cameron hoped the award would "carry the same stature as the Nobel Prizes" . He said: "High-skilled, high-value manufacturing and engineering should be a central part of our long-term future. I hope this prize will go some way to inspire and excite young people about engineering, so they dream of becoming engineers as they once did in the age of Stephenson and Brunel." ...and for schools/colleges who see the possibility of using this as a great D&T experience….driven by the inspiration to engineer ……….

MORE - LANCSMUG 14/11/11

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-11-12T20:35:35+00:00

LANCSMUG THIS WEEK ________________________________

Planning for something enterprising

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-11-10T08:24:42+00:00

For a number of weeks now, a small (but perfectly formed) group of volunteers have been gathering around a table at CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICES LIMITED simply brainstorming ideas to assist the economy of Blackpool and the surrounding area. All of the contributors are specialists in their own fields, and the sum of those experiences and personalities has generated a not insubstantial list of opportunities and initiatives. ...On November 15th Excellent UK will launch it’s Entrepreneur Training and Mentoring Initiative. We look forward to you looking in……..and contact us anytime. ...‘“We are gonna clean up this town” in more ways than you can imagine’ ... var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = 'http://' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; ...

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Making EXCELLENT UK Progress

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-11-09T15:00:59+00:00

On November 15th Excellent UK will launch it’s Entrepreneur Training and Mentoring Initiative Supported by a team of experts in their fields Sam Smith and Excellent UK Enterprises will take the work that he has been engaged in to bring value to young people and turn his well known successes into a major local initiative to benefit Blackpool communities. b) It is the Excellent UK Training Initiative's intention to specifically publicise and promote entrepreneurship among young people through “real world” business immersion. We will be working with the young people in employment (or who have benefited from the initial experiences at Excellent) as well as those who might specifically find the usual routes through academia do not suit them or which challenge their perceptions. EXCELLENT UK will create REAL JOBS, and we can show how the organisation have done this for several years already, making us ideally suited to ensuring the initiative is a continued success. c) We will be making an announcement on November 15th during “Global Entrepreneur Week.” (GEW from hereon) We hope to add "In association with Blackpool Council”, and other partnering organisations to the list of supporters ...If you are from the Blackpool and Fylde Area, or further afield, and are interesting in supporting or following our work, be assured the details will be posted on the GEW site and other sites yet to be announced. ...

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iPad in Education

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-10-18T17:13:14+01:00

...

Influential Bloggers

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-10-06T15:16:07+01:00

Introducing the Top Ten Most Influential Bloggers ...After many weeks of voting, the winners of the Top Ten Most Influential Bloggers contest are in! ... var disqus_shortname = 'example'; // required: replace example with your forum shortname ... var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = 'http://' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); ... blog comments powered by Disqus ...We hope this list provides you with some great new E-Learning resources!

iPhone launch 4S

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-10-04T09:04:05+01:00

When no new phone showed up in summer as expected, this one went on the back-burner for a bit – after all, why would Apple make us wait longer than usual for just a minor update? ...There’s no mention of the iPhone 5 on the Vodafone site, so we’ll just have to wait and see whether Apple will announce one or two new phones tonight. ...The rumours started straight away that voice control would feature heavily in future versions of iPhone and, when Apple announce an event with the line “Let’s talk iPhone”, now it seems pretty certain. ...Of course, this has to include Apple’s peerless iPad 2, but instead of plumping for the gorgeous Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, we’ve chosen to compare it with its new sibling the Galaxy Tab 7.7 because of its size. And to complete our line-up, we’ve plumped for the HTC Flyer – another 7-inch tablet that, like the Kindle Fire, is based on a heavily customised version of Android 2.x. ...The Kindle Fire is slated at $199 in the US, which would probably translate to a £199 price point in the UK – although there has been no confirmation of a UK release as yet. ...As for weight, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the lightest at 335g, the Kindle Fire is 414g, the HTC Flyer is 421g, while the iPad 2 clocks in at 601g for the Wi-Fi version. ...The iPad 2 is next in line at 1,024 x 768 (remember that’s a 9.7-inch display too) but top of the pile is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 with a 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution 7.7-inch display. ...Obviously the Kindle Fire isn’t out in the UK yet, but if it does come here for £199 or so then it will still be a steal. ... The Kindle Fire is a worthy content device, but surely Amazon will need to top-out its range with a full 3G tablet to truly compete with high-end tablets like the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.

Summification

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-10-04T09:19:33+01:00

BBC.CO.UK — The Open University has hit what is believed to be a world record for downloads on the iTunes U service ...DIGITALCREATOR.ORG — iPad myth – No 4 – you can’t play flash on an iPadThis is sometimes a real game breaker for people who want to buy iPads and it is especially important for schools that have a lot of resources that depend on Flash. The Apple stance seems to be that until Adobe make a Flash player that is good enough it will not work with the Safari browser. ...TELEGRAPH.CO.UK — An extraordinary row has broken out between the Government and Britain's biggest exam board after a top official used his Twitter account to attack Coalition reforms. ...PhoneGap’s open source platform allows developers to build cross-platform mobile applications with HTML5 and JavaScript, and distribute these applications to a variety of platforms. To date, PhoneGap’s open source framework has been downloaded more than 600,000 times and thousands of applications have been built using PhoneGap on Android, iOS, BlackBerry and other operating systems. ...Picking a phone system that you can rely on is a complicated, tricky business, and not really something you want to hassle with at the end of… ...BUSINESSINSIDER.COM — an>"There are now over 500,000 Android devices activated every day, and it’s growing at 4.4% w/w" - Andy Rubin, June 28, 2011 By that measure, there should now be over 900,000 Android activations per day and October 20th should be the first day Google crosses the impressive milestone of 1 million activations in a single day (see chart below). ...With Apple set to hold its next media event on Tuesday, the folks in Cupertino have already put up a “Let’s Talk iPhone” banner outside of the Apple campus auditorium. ...GUARDIAN.CO.UK — UK mobile networks kept in dark and may not even be able to give prices until FridaySecrecy surrounding Apple's announcement of its "iPhone 5" on Tuesday evening UK time is so strong that UK mobile networks admit even they do not know precisely what will be unveiled, and so may not even be able to give prices until Friday.

Revolution time again?

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-10-02T13:14:44+01:00

The recent Facebook-as-a-media-center announcement, the cell-phone-as-an-entertainment-hub habit and much more can be traced directly back to Apple’s announcement of the iPod. ...But the iPhone’s importance once again is that it changed culture, opening the way for a transformation for how most people use a phone, for the app store concept as a mainstream way to get software and eventually a transformation in how all mainstream computers will be used. ...The lead engineer for Facebook’s iPad app, Jeff Verkoeyen, says on his blog he worked 80 hours a week to get that app done months ago — that it was “feature complete” in May. ...Apple agreeing to host Facebook’s iPad app rollout makes absolutely zero sense unless one of following two things is planned: 1) Facebook will release a tablet version only on iPad and on no other tablets; or 2) Apple’s iCloud content will be jacked into the Facebook matrix. ...In the same way that Facebook’s new services will enable the discovery, playing and sharing of music via Spotify and many other streaming music services, I think they’ll also enable you to do the same thing with iTunes music, to be served up via iCloud. ...Two years from now, I predict social networking will be the main thing people do with tablets — especially now that media consumption and gaming are becoming social networking activities. ...The second reason is that both social networking and touch interfaces, the iPad being by far the most compelling example of today’s touch experiences, tap into our homo sapien hardwiring for how we want to spend our time. ...Special software, either residing on the phone or off in some distant data center, will use artificial intelligence to gather reams of data about us, and our present circumstances and proactively suggest things to us. ...The software accessible from our phones will figure out what we meant, interact with our calendars, contacts databases, social networks, favorite e-commerce sites, booking services, and the people we know in order to do our bidding. In the third example above, our phones will notify other people I’m meeting with, find out when they are available, confirm all attendees for the new time and then put it on my calendar — all without my involvement.

LANCSMUG - 10th October

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-25T10:08:48+01:00

LANCSMUG If you can lead a potential user to a computer, you should introduce them to LANCSMUG Click to go to website. ________________________________

Pssst, you'll never guess what?

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-24T16:44:56+01:00

Pssst, you’ll never guess what? There is something a’ happening… in Blackpool, an it ain’t all front! “We’re a’ gonna clean up this here town” Eventually news will flood out. ________________________________

Cloud services for $1

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-24T15:47:26+01:00

Wyse (whose thin clients my previous employer uses, by the 00s) is offering software and a service that will turn your desktop computer into a networked storage system for Apple's hand-held gadgets such as iPad, iPhone and iPods. PocketCloud v2.2, works with iPad, iPod Touch and iPhones and “can see" the PC as a storage vault of files, which they can read from and write to. The store can be a Windows PC, a virtual machine or a Mac. ...With the software you can access "a cloud, your PC, Remote Desktop Services, a Terminal Server, VMware View or virtual machine" from your hand-held gadget while you're out and about but within reach of an internet connection be it WiFi or 3G. This should suit Blackpool ICT as only MS services are trusted - the access relies on Microsoft's RDP protocol, and PocketCloud is VMware View 4.0-certified (Blackpool uses VM war). ...Yes, it's true, you will be paying to access your own files on your own PC or server. If you, as a remote user, need secure access to your own desktop PC, the PocketCloud can provide it. ... How it will stack up against Apple's own coming iCloud remains to be seen, but it has been said that Blackpool ICT will not favour or trust Apple. ...

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Waste what? Want lots…..

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-23T09:15:57+01:00

The Department of Health (DoH) said it was accelerating the dismantling of the £11 billion initiative following a new review from the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority (MPA). ...As pointed out in a Commons Public Accounts Committee report earlier this year, the DoH today admitted a one-size fits all approach was not going to work and greater focus on the needs of end users was required. ...“Restoring local control over decision-making and enabling greater choice for NHS organisations is key as we continue to use the secure exchange of information to drive up quality and safety.” ...CSC had a £3 billion contract for the NPfIT, but it only managed to deliver the goods in three hospitals over nine years, the Public Accounts Committee's report said. Prime Minister David Cameron warned earlier this year that CSC may not be getting much NHS work in the future due to questions over its work with the health body. ..."CSC fully supports the direction outlined for NHS IT and firmly believes that the significantly modified, more flexible approach we have proposed to drive faster deployment and support more localised decision making, will enable UK government to reap the benefits required from past investments," a CSC spokesperson said. "We are continuing to work closely with NHS as the programme moves to a more modular approach, whilst ensuring that benefits are increasingly realised by clinicians and front line staff, enabling them to deliver better patient care and build a more efficient NHS." ...BT itself was pleased with the work it had achieved, in particular on the core of the shared patient records system known as Spine, the N3 network, the Secondary Uses Service (a single source for a range of NHS data) and the Picture Archiving and Communications Service. ...Just this week we saw the announcements about the PAC Fire Control Systems (http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/public-sector/3304337/pac-firecontrol-is-one-of-worst-it-project-failures-in-years/) ...“Joe Harley called for projects to be completed at a lower cost to the taxpayer, and said the government wanted to reduce the number of project failures to just one in 10.

Emergent Issues: What Next?

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-12T14:39:53+01:00

On the 8th September, in London - not far from Apple London HQ there was, what might be, a one of the most important meetings that could influence the future of Technology in the classroom for a number of years to come. ...Greater access to technology than ever before, has helped raise concerns, and many are asking whether this capacity is being used to best effect, as well as what the future direction will be of the role of technology in education. In the UK the Coalition Government appears to have lowered its perceived value of technology in Education and from the Department of Education there have been ministerial statements, policy announcements and budget cuts that point to ICT being seen as a simple commodity, not a valuable education tool. Our Government focuses on structural school reform through the Academy and Free School programmes, and while this is understandable, it fuels speculation and fears that they a lack of clear policy direction, especially given the transformative effect great ICT in the hands of great teachers can have. ... • Research into neurology is showing that children and adult learning approaches, and how they interact with other people, are changing as the use of technology in our lives becomes ever more ubiquitous. ...Recommendation: Facilitation and support is required for the sharing of practice between schools of how to effectively and safely use students (and other stakeholders) own devices as part of their everyday learning practices. ...There now seems little excuse for schools not to use technology to keep parents much better informed about their children's work and achievements, or for parents to enquire about this when they are selecting a school for their children. Recommendation: Facilitation and support is required for the sharing of practice between schools, of how to effectively engage parents in meaningful ways, through the use of technology, which directly support and impact student standards. ...The issue of government leading in promoting the vision that some schools lack was seen as clearly distinct from government directing or regulating, but will require some action if the developing digital divide between technology-aware schools that are creating extended learning and those that are not is to be managed and minimised. ...Kevin Brennan MP Shadow Minister for Schools; James Groves, Head of Education at Policy Exchange; Lord Lucas of Crudwell and Dingwall, Conservative Peer; Vanessa Pittard, Head of Technology Policy Unit at Department for Education; Rt Hon Lord Knight of Weymouth, Former Minister for Schools; Ollie Bray, National Adviser Emerging Technologies for Learning at Education Scotland and Senior Technologies Policy Adviser to Scottish Government; Karine George, Headteacher of Westfields Junior School; Dr Peter Twining of Open University & Vital CPD; Fiona Aubrey-Smith of UniServity; Ray Barker of BESA; Miles Berry of University of Roehampton; Roger Broadie, Independent Education Consultant and Bernadette Brooks of Naace; Stephen Fahey of Pearson and Danny Arati of Intel.

ESSIE survey on the way..

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-09T17:46:40+01:00

The objective of the European Survey of Schools: ICT in Education is to benchmark progress in 31 countries (EU27, Iceland, Norway, Croatia and Turkey) in ICT in education by surveying students, head teachers and teachers on the availability and use, including opinions and attitudes, of ICT in schools, thus contributing to the development of updated, relevant and efficient indicators as well as to the establishment of a long-term and continuous monitoring system on ICT access, use and impact. ...Two questionnaires focus on head teachers and class teachers at primary, lower secondary, upper secondary academic and upper secondary vocational education levels. They enable comparison with the surveys used by the eEurope 2002 and 2005 initiatives, for example Benchmarking Access and Use of ICT in European Schools), but are enriched and updated, addressing ICT use in and out of school. The third questionnaire is for two groups of students: one at ISCED 2 (grade 8 – 13.5 years old on average) and the other at ISCED 3 (grade 11 – 16.5 years old on average). ... Questionnaires will only contain closed questions, on facts (access and use, for example) and on opinions (statements, for example) and will be piloted in the UK and France, then revised and translated into the 23 official languages of the 31 countries. ...Using official school databases in each of the 31 countries, they prepare lists according to guidelines in a sampling manual, enabling 300 schools to be randomly selected at each of four levels: primary, lower secondary, upper secondary academic and upper secondary vocational level, in total around 1200 schools in each country. In each school, the head teacher is to complete the head teacher questionnaire and one class is randomly selected: at grades 4 (on average 9.5 year old pupils), 8 and 11. ... At school level, the randomised sampling of the class and the teachers will be done by a school coordinator identified by the head teacher and supported by the national coordinator, guidance materials in their language and a video training session. ...The analysis will be enriched with a qualitative analysis to identify facts to be investigated and hypotheses to be statistically tested by the data, and provide opportunities for understanding and clarification. The qualitative analysis will use existing contextual data (e.g. household equipment from EUROSTAT) and information at country level (contained in the annual European Schoolnet Insight country reports, for example) to enrich the analysis.

Words of Advice

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-08T11:50:16+01:00

Connecting the dots is a voyage of discover; Love and loss, a reflection of the course one chooses in life; Death is a telling tale of anticipation that we are sure reflects on where Steve Jobs the person is today. This is not old news, or even new information, but it is something that, once read, will put the ideas of how a person can be honest, open, driven, tireless, single-minded, dedicated…..because they want to be. ...I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. ...I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. ...If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. ...Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. ...I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. ...When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" ...I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery.

When the need arises

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-05T18:27:14+01:00

There is a polarisation of thought, as you would anticipate, but the discussion has also begun to have certain common agreements and some very sensible suggestions about how issues might be prevented. ...There should be ways of working together to reduce pressures that come from everyday issues so that, for instance, developmental or experimental work with new technologies can be carried out. I was aware of one situation in my previous job where a school had waited 18 months (with promises of "soon") for something to be looked into, and it didn't even feature on ICTs priority list. ...What I did was to take a period, in this case 12 months, and analyse the support issues that arose by categorising them into similar types of request. From comments made by the schools I dealt with, it was clear that there are some periods in that 12 months when the number of issues (support calls) were less pressing than at others, but had I had time there would be a good reason to explore the dates and the time taken to resolve the support requests. ...The data collected was then charted, however it is clear from the table shown that around 25% of all Help-desk calls were due to just two categories of call. ...Certain types of call have a degree of importance over others, but what is very important is that everyone knows where their particular issue is, and how it is dealt with. ...When I spoke to schools about their view of the importance of getting new teachers into the ICT systems, they saw it as a very different priority to ICT staff! As to the second highest volume of calls, some investigation would be required to further break down the problems being reported, but once again some localised authority to search in individuals files would reduce demand on ICT's own staff. The whole reason for this analysis, and the empowering of the schools was aimed at making them self sufficient so that other developmental type activity and trials could help move other parts of ICT forward......

Looking back at the Future

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-08-26T08:26:28+01:00

Steve Jobs gives the Stanford Address - one of the most poignant and inspirational speeches ever heard. Let’s hope there are more to come. ... See more on this subject (more inspirational videos at): http://web.me.com/johnar/iWeblog/Blogadoodle/Entries/2011/3/20_Ride_tandem_on_a_bicycle_for_the_mind.html http://web.me.com/johnar/iWeblog/Blogadoodle/Entries/2009/8/12_Creativity.html http://web.me.com/johnar/iWeblog/Blogadoodle/Entries/2011/3/5_Why.........html http://web.me.com/johnar/iWeblog/Blogadoodle/Entries/2011/3/25_Getting_to_the_point......getting_back_to_basics.html Can you point us at more? Send your suggestions to john@johnarudkin.net

Why Education's Time to Shine has arrived

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-09-08T12:23:31+01:00

The same is true for an increasing number of third sector organisations - and of course HE and FE have been there for a long time, but they face some slightly different challenges. For all of Education (capital “E”, things are now just on the cusp of the next great leap forward) that is exciting. ... For anyone who works in Local Authorities, this is now a great threat, but again, opportunities abound among the negativity to effect positive changes like never before. Schools are now, like other organisation in HE, FE and the third sector, able to decide for themselves what is, or what is not important. ...It may not have been true until the last year or two, but even remote communities are being targeted with help and funding. ...The Web gives lifelong learners the tools to become autodidacts, enabling them to emulate the greatest thinkers and researchers in human history - but with the advantage of access to a greater body of knowledge than they ever might have dreamed about. ...THis is not a story that is rose tinted in any way, but it gives a platform from which a few people are saying - now, now is the right time for education to take the lead. ICT will be at the heart of this change simply because, after 30 years of experimentation, the advantages and the disadvantages are beginning to form a pattern we can understand. If you haven’t done so, go back to the 1980s and read some of the pioneering work Apple did on the impact of Education in learning. Try to read some of the work done by Stephen Heppell and his team at Ultralab through the 90’s and into the “noughties” - espacially around the millenium - where the engagement of valid sponsorship started popularising the web.

Welcome

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-08-10T18:17:16+01:00

Many more years ago now than I care to remember, sometime in my second year as a Design and Technology teacher — at the time at All Saints (as was) in Blackpool, I toyed with trying to actually understand what was going on in education. This wasn’t about the theory of education, but more about what I had seen and experienced, and how this all related to individuals or pupils. I was teaching in a school with some very modern thinking - I’d been brought in by a forward thinking Head of Department to bring support for Design to a fairly traditional Craft, Design and Technology Department (CDT). There was nothing wrong with that traditional work, but changes in the way CDT was being perceived challenged thinking. I started bringing new facets into the department, thinking about modern materials, the use of graphical design and model making, and a new way of thinking. ...The problem many had in moving to this new way of thinking and doing was more one of moving from the “one-size-fits-all” methodology, to one where, as a teacher, you followed and guided where the students needed to go to fulfil their design realisations. Yes, at times it was somewhat chaotic, but among the chaos, one think had to be the prime focus of the teacher — and that was the growing awareness of the world being woven by the students own mind, wrought in the very materials they used and learned about by doing. Mistakes - there were plenty, but at some point that year I got a model in my mind of what was happening to the student. ...So, whenever you observe a student, his or her “level” is determined by his or her experiences, the success of previous learning encounters — and the freedom with which education allows them to explore the facets of their experience. I liked the concept so much, I made a “concept trophy” of this model, and handed it over to be awarded annually as the “All Saints Design Prize”.

Join LANCSMUG

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-08-10T18:10:38+01:00

Are you a MUG like me? This is your chance to join Lancashire’s latest Mac user group, in Blackpool for the first time ever! Mr John A Rudkin B.Ed (Hons) Design Education Research, eLearning and Technology Strategist (ReLTS) It sometimes take a knock on the head to realise things could be different (realised Newton): JohnARudkin 2011 all rights acknowledged ________________________________

Starter for 10

john.rudkin@gmail.com — 2011-08-10T17:17:51+01:00

Just in case you are wondering what the icon stands for (the RSS icon, if you subscribe to my feed)? ...I asked myself; “What will my first really meaty johnarudkin’s blog entry be”. ...Sometimes, in you day to day work, there are sometimes those things you just have to do. ... This is the lifeblood of any organisations, and it is especially important where you are dealing with people who might need feedback, encouragement, a sense of being part of whatever it is you do. ... Informed and forewarned, others have the opportunity to play a part, see themselves as included, feel worth. Keeping people insulated friom such things is……..dismissive of their stake in the day to day activities around them. Now I’m not one to suggest a little humour is not good, but when I heard the term “Feeding the Sealions”, I frankly had to ask. ...I do not like it, and it smacks of superiority and distain. It is not something I subscribe to - and I doubt many in Education would see it in a positive light. “Feeding the sealions is all very well - but it can leave a very nasty, and some would say ‘fishy’ smell on your hands”