Future VLE January 27, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning, internet , comments closedThanks to Eve Thirkle for the link to Scotts Workblog and this fabulous diagram. It depicts one way a future Virtual Learning Environment might be assembled for a University OF the Internet, as opposed to a University ON the internet which is restricted by trying to comply with unsuitable metaphors taken from historical institutions.
No man January 27, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : hi res photos , 1 comment so far
No man is an island
Millenium Man January 23, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Art, London , 2comments
A sculpture by Anthony Gormley, located on the bank of the Thames next to the Millenium Dome, it needs to be be viewed from a moving vessel in the river really. Most of the time it looks like an abstract arrangement of angled steel poles, but every so often you can glimpse the form of the Man within.
Convergence of meta-tag aggregation January 22, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning, internet, Wiki , add a commentTechnorati have recently introduced a tag aggregator which displays datastreams from the same Tag as it appears in del.icio.us, Flickr, some Wikis, and blog categories.
I’ve always had a bit of trouble understanding and using Technorati, so I went on to 43things and added a new task “I’d like to try out Technorati tag aggregator and use it” then I wondered if anybody else had the same goal, searched 43things tags for “technorati“, found one person with a similar task and added their phraseology to my list.
I noticed that he had tagged the task with “folksonomy” so I clicked on that and got a surprise
Up came the page for tag “folksonomy” with sections from Flickr and del.icio.us - so 43 things have implemented this already.
Meannwhile, yesterday I had a quick look at Frassle which combines blogging with RSS reading and tag tracking all in one place.
Are we getting overloaded with tools for reducing the information overload?
Militant January 20, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Art , add a comment
Thanks to My Furl January 19, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning, internet , add a comment
My Furl archive is starting to pay me back nicely for the small effort it takes to Furl sites regularly.
I’ve accumulated over 400 references already and searching my own Furl wil often give better quality results faster than starting from scratch with google.
Today for instance, I was asked to find something simple that year 1 children can use to practice mouse skills, other than paint etc. I’m not very au fait with keystage one resources so nothing came immediately to mind and I wondered how long it would take me to search and try out websites.
By going to Furl and looking at my own archive, category “school” I quickly found a link to this site “topmarks” which contained just what I wanted, checked it out and added the appropriate activity onto the intranet for this afternoon’s lesson. 5 minutes max without distractions, brilliant.
The original link was probably pointed out by somebody in the Ultraversity Community or else it was something I came across while researching another topic, or even from somebody else’s Furl, (I should have noted the source really) but I must have noticed that it may come in handy at school one day and quickly furled it. A habit well worth cultivating.
Waves lapping on Jetty January 18, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, Art , add a comment
Filmed in Elantxobe harbour.
AND and OR January 18, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning , 4commentsStand up if you are a girl and your first name has a “T” in it.
Sit down again.
Now stand up if you are a girl OR your first name has a “T” in it.
Year 5 are doing databases, this week an introduction to querying using AND and OR.
I was surprised how many didn’t get it. Most of the girls realised they had to stand up for the OR but Tariq, BenedicT, Tom and NusraT all remained seated. An enthusiastic dispute broke out with Orlando urging them to stand up but they were having none of it.
If we were asking them to use EXOR I could understand it but I’d thought that english language common usage at that age would be enough to get the difference between OR and a simple joining word like and. It must make everyday life very confusing, like having to get by without understanding what NOT means.
Come to think of it, this takes me back to when my own childern were little and I used to give them alternatives:
Do you want me to stay in and cook a nice dinner or come with you on a bike ride?
“both”
43 things January 18, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : internet , add a comment
I’m going to try using 43things to organise SMART* tasks for my next Ultraversity module, alongside longer term goals. Might as well have some fun whilst getting on with the necessities.
*Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (+Realistic), Timed
On Your Farm January 9, 2005
Posted by Andy Roberts in : General , add a commentI woke up before 6.30 this morning in order to listen to BBC Radio 4. The special occasion was due to a feature all about ukcider’s own Chris King Turner on his farm in Shropshire.
The radio programme ‘On Your Farm’ is always well produced and often very evocative - this edition was no exception.
But you don’t have to wake early or feel you’ve missed out - you can listen on realaudio from the BBC’s “listen again” site
[podcast]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/rams/onyourfarm.ram
[/podcast]
The description of the view from the farm, the peace and quiet, the sound of the apples rumbling along the feeder and the juice running out of the press all made me drool with envy!
Chris sounded very relaxed and confident realting his story but no doubt a fair amount of work went into making the programme.
And the reporter enjoyed the real cider so it was a great piece of
publicity for the cause as well as for the one farm. Well done!
The idea of planting elder trees seems odd but it makes sense when you think of the ease of picking. Elserflower is only at its best for a few days I think, and is often accompanied by brambles and thorns.
One thing I was a bit sceptical about was the 100 year old trees. I’m afraid the finding of an old penny doesn’t convince me that it was dropped in the same year it was minted, but I know how farmers enjoy these stories 
update:
Chris gives an account of the Radio 4 process in the ukcider googlegroup.
is an online professional who initiated DARnet 
