Today Google have launched their own operating system.  Lightweight and probably ideal for Netbooks.

Those of you into this sort of stuff will realise the massive implications I guess – should be big on the News later today.

Article

I came across this blog entry showing another teachers thoughts on the new GCSEs.

http://happyhippy.edublogs.org/2009/07/02/new-gcse-ict-specifications/

In a nutshell – he doesn’t like the Edexcel idea, its “worse than DiDA” apparently.  Given that DiDA was the only explicitly problem solving based course you will infer from this what you will.

OCR are offering a ‘Computing’ GCSE.   NOT based in the  National Curriculum – music to some peoples ears I suspect.  Lots of Binary to hex conversions, OS comparisons and programming – woo hoo.  Their new GCSE on ICT also looks quite interesting.

WJEC and AQA seem fairly traditional (but quite rigorous assessment proposals).

More on this later I suspect.

I found this graphic and liked it. 

Thanks to Guroo

Fantastic panaroma views of 7 wonderful places in the world:

• Colosseum
• Great Wall
• Petra
• Taj Mahal
• Machu Picchu
• Rio De Janeiro
• Chichen Itza

Not really ICT related but lovely none the less. 

Website

If you like these then have a look here and see some other brilliant resources including:

• Interactive Human Body
• Smithsonian Dinosaur tour
• Swim with a blue whale
• Read rare books (Shakespeare, Galileo etc)

Ace Online School Website

Simply – design a shelter in Google sketchup and make it available on Google Earth.

The video tells you how to do it – great fun.

Competition

Refers to Generation Y – the children of Generation X (the baby boomers).  Millennials are born around 1985 – 1990 making them just about starting Secondary education now.

So what is so special about them?  well, they expect the ability to work together without sitting in the same room, they want to take their data with them wherever they go, they want to chat (over voice and video) with friends and family, and they expect instantaneous and unwavering access to the Internet.

Hummm

It’s a topic that comes up frequently this time of year when schools are looking to get rid of old equipment.

I was just contacted by PC 4 recycling with their price list.  I’m posting this so that you’ll have a benchmark for prices and maybe some of you will cone back with a comment about better services and cheaper prices.

• 20 items or less £100.00
• 40 items or less £140.00
• 60 items or less £180.00
• 80 items or less £220.00

Price includes discount, collection, and data wiping.  Items are individual PCs, Monitors and the like, keyboards, mice, phones, cables and other miscellaneous parts can be boxed up. As long as that box can be lifted by one person, it is then classed as one item.

Seems a good deal to me (though I think I’d still want to wipe my own data to be sure to be sure.

Website

I’ve just seen ‘Milo’ on SEN Nuggets and have to tell you about it.  Go and have a loot – it just takes a couple of minutes

This may be somewhat ‘staged’ at the moment but imagine where this will take us.

Awesome – and think –  – it’s here and now.

SEN Nuggets Article

FutureLabs have produces a series of Posters that they are giving away free.

A4 versions are downloadable, larger format are ordered online (but still free).

The themes are:

Adult Informal Learning
Family Learning
Games and Learning:

If you’ve not come across this yet then do so now …  WOW

At the moment this is about controller free gaming on the XBox but the implications are massive.  Not only voice recognition but now face and body recognition allowing for ‘natural’ control of the computer.  And available now!

YouTube Video