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Students, or teachers, seem to struggle with producing buttons for their websites either in Key Stage 3 or for their DiDA eportfolio at Key Stage 4.  The buttonator website (http://www.buttonator.com/) allows students to produce a basic button which you can be downloaded and inserted into your website as a gif image, then just add your link from it.

The use of the word content in education has risen rapidly over the last few years not least with the introduction of “curriculum online” and also learning platforms – I feel there are a number of issues about this. What the term actually means may be the first issue though minor and more to the point resolvable. However related to the curriculum online “thing” is the suggestion that we may be able to get to a point where we have “sufficient” content or that with the “right” software environment, most content problems could be solved in a cheap and efficient manner. I do not subscribe to these views, not only because we limit developments enormously if we get too concerned with “cheap and efficient” anything but for these reasons :

· Firstly the “quantity” of “content” is not something that can be usefully measured or volume targeted

· Secondly content is not an ICT or technology issue per se;

· Thirdly, if it is a characteristic of the content itself that matters, then it should be the quality rather than quantity. Ultimately, however its intelligent use is the critical factor; thus demanding that teachers and pupils know how to use it and confirming that the only correct focuses remain teaching, learning, and fundamentally thinking.

· Finally content is not something which should be viewed as static; there is increasingly scope to debate (in a Web 2 world) that content is dynamic and should reflect ongoing contribution from a wider publishing readership rather than simply being a supply of information to a passive recipient readership (which keeps us locked in the old transmission model of teaching/learning).

It is this last point that actually explains the previous ones and which enables the content to have any value or purpose; namely, that it stimulates and drives working at the higher and NOT just the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy and by so doing enables society to progress rather than stagnate or regress. So against a culture of trying to drown us in “content” could it be that the historical difficulties with spending eLCs actually reflects a discerning teacher force?

The presentation I delivered on web 2.0 (ish) can be accessed from here.

Researchers at the Institute of Education and NATE are organising a conference on computer games in English, Media and Drama. The day will review various ways in which computer games can be incorporated into English and Media classes, by being studied as texts and cultural phenomena.

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In anticipation of the interest that the 2006 Football World Cup is likely to generate and the opportunities that this could provide for work across the curriculum, some weeks ago the Primary Working Group put out an appeal to members for resources that would facilitate work in the primary classroom. The result of this appeal is a bank of resources in the form of activities, web-links and ideas contributed by members from across the Naace communities. In the main, the resources are suited to Key Stage 2 children but with some creative thought some of them could be adapted for use by younger and older pupils. When linking to the various sites listed, in line with acceptable use of the internet it is recommended that teachers review the suitability of the sites before saving them in a favourites folder for subsequent adult-supervised use of the internet by the pupils.

These resources can be found here.

Not surprisingly the latest crop of research discussion papers from FutureLab focus on very topical areas and include a case study on the use of wikis, two papers on games - one focusing on their “anatomy”  and one on games and learning, and a paper on the potential role of  ICTs in MFL from 5-19. Please read more at Futurelab including the final paper which interestingly considers the participation of children in the design of new technology!

On Thursday I am giving a brief (30 minute) overview of web 2.0 and its implications for education.  I would be grateful if anyone would like to put forward their top 10 web 2.0 or contemporary apps, along with a brief note on how they could be used for learning.

At present I am planning to mention the following, in no particular order:

• Blogs
• Podcasts (maybe Odeo)
• RSS (bloglines)
• Wikis - including wikipedia and writely
• Skype
• MSN
• Del.icio.us
• Flickr

Seems like we’ve been waiting ages for Google to allow new registrations to Writely. If you’re a registered user already it’s possible to enrol 50 other users, but that’s limiting when you want the whole of Year 7 to collaborate. Time to recognise that Writely isn’t the only game in town (though it is the one with the coolest name), and that there are other Web 2.0 wiki-based authoring tools out there.

One such is Zoho writer (Zoho do a number of applications). All the usual Web 2.0 wordprocessor tools are there, including support for MS Office and Open Office users. There are a few more facilities in the toolbar but functionality is very similar to Writely.

There are umpteen other Web 2.0 WP apps out there ready for the taking. I wonder what will happen when they come out of beta though?

Google has brought out a tool for creating 3D designs. Free for personal use, Google SketchUp is really easy to use and it is possible to create really sophisticated designs with it. Although I can’t see it replacing ProDesktop for quality work in Design and Technology anytime soon, it allows users to get the basics of 3D modelling really quickly. What’s more, in true Google mashup fashion, it allows you to place your finished design into Google Earth when you’ve finished it.

True attention to detail allows full dimensioning, and faces are draggable so that sections can be inspected on-the-fly. The “Shadow” feature will even show how shadows look at different times of the day and year!

There’s a library of pre-drawn items and the rendering can be changed to look as “sketchy” as you like. A great tool that will allow learners to become familiar with the principles of 3D design and modelling, this free-for-personal-use application will help to bridge the gap between simple 2D design programs and the more sophisticated tools like ProDesktop.

The ICT Mark is a new quality mark which is now available. It offers schools the opportunity to verify their own judgements in relation to all aspects of ICT across the organisation. It supports the schools self evaluation procedures and provides evidence to demonstrate high achievement and impact on learner outcomes.

More details can be found on the Becta website.

At present I don’t think any Shropshire schools have been accredited with the ICT Mark, if any schools need help with the process then they can contact myself or Andrea. With the ever growing importance of school self evaluation this has to be seen as a desirable award.