Interesting Times!

Wednesday 25 June 2008

My colleague Andrew McGlen read the blog and sent me this fantastic response...

"Hi Chris, As you will be aware, here at the Derek Fatchett CLC we have been working with the MiniBook and other ultraportable devices for some time. We recognise some of the issues raised by Peter and in order to move the agenda on for Leeds Schools we have planned a project that will see up to 50 devices, including a number of MiniBooks, rolled out to one Leeds High School. The purpose of this project is to identify and where possible find solutions to the issues we will undoubtedly encounter. In addition, sets of the devices will be used in different ways by different groups of staff and pupils to try and identify the most appropriate/effective solutions. Our aim will be to provide some guidance to schools on the practicalities of implementing this type of device. We have lots of questions to answer…

Should the devices be issued to students giving them ownership?
Should the school issue and collect the devices each day, each lesson, by subject?
Which subjects benefit most from the use of these devices?
Which students benefit most?
Which device works best with the school network, learning portal, applications?
Do you have to have full wireless coverage in school to make them worthwhile?
How durable are the devices, batteries, chargers?
How is insurance dealt with?
What if a student doesn’t bring their device?
How do we keep the student connected out of school?…and many many more.

Although researching new technology is only one small part of what we do here in the CLCs we should hopefully be able to provide some useful insight. I would also encourage schools that have questions around the use of new technologies to come along to one of our annual Technology Futures days this July. There are still places left and a good mix of workshops available on both the Primary and Secondary days. Anyone interested can get more details and register online for free at www.leedsschools.org/futuretech. Andrew"

Thanks Andrew. It is wonderful to know that I have colleagues, like you, ahead of the game and working these things out.
Chris

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Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

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John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson