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Off the cuff, after midnight.

I had an great day at the Scottish learning festival. I met a lot of folk from scotedublogs, especial thanks to Neil Winton who had to buy me an extra pint when I realised my wallet was empty.

I had a go at blogging a couple of presentations live (see below) but my typing and thinking are not really quick enough, hopefully the notes will help me remember what went on and generate some reflection.

As usual what is great about Sett is not so much the presentations but the meeting up with old friends and online friends you have never seen in the flesh.
My most embarrassing moment was not recognising Stuart Oliphant of Learning and Teaching Scotland, whom I have talked to several times as he connected us to a video conference with Holland, my only excuse was he has shaved and every one different on the telly.

So at 4.00pm I made my way to teachmeet06, a great buzz in the room, really positive feel, I briefly blogged Theo Kuechel and edublogger’s mum, missing all the real good stuff they talked about, due to the previously mentioned slow fingers and brain. At that point my iBook and the room were to hot to blog any more, I had blogged David’s gig this morning and he was his usual amusing and pertinent self; had me smiling and thinking, so I sat back and listened.
I had to leave for the first Glow mentors meeting, so I didn’t see Ollie Bray and was, to tell the truth pretty gutted not to get my 7 minutes of fame.

Then to glow, again briefly blogged. This was the launch for the glow mentors, it was nice to see the children giving a drama presentation of the expected effect of glow for teachers and pupils, but I did not really get any facts or information.
On to the glow mentor’s dinner, again great to see old and new friends, but the atmosphere was very different from teachmeet06, less of an underground excitement, more questioning: what will glow deliver? when? does glow understand say rss and its potential to connect?
I guess Glow feels like work to teachmeet06‘s play.

Kudos to Ewan and the rest of the scotedublogs guys for the heavy lifting, to Promethian and LTS for the wifi (I’ve still got a few more minutes if anyone wants to grab some tomorrow) and to Stormhoek for the teachmeet wine.

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Alan Yeoman: Welcome, there is dry ice!
What are mentors going to do, depends on local authority. Encourage and support.
We have to use the tools! and share.
Children’s drama explain glow!
Mari Dougan:Glow up and running by mid 2007.
Glow team will keep mentors uptodate, email first then glow details.
Mentors to try glow tools as they come online
Nov-Dec 2006 phase 1, some facilities may be available on LA network.
Jan-april more access, yet to be announced.
Mentor glow groups, interest groups. Testing activities.
Residential Program at Stirling.
going for dinner….

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David WeinbergerOfcourse I should have read the Cluetrain
Knower – Knowledge – Known
World is more complex than knowledge.
Knowledge is big, Knowledge is orderly – Tree structure.
Properties of knowledge are the same a properties of the real worlds. So we have to categorize by yes/no into trees. Ideas are separated by physicality of books. Libraries are trees, so cooking fish, will not be in the fish section.
2rd order: Metadata, card catalogue can sort in different ways, but you need to reduce the info to fit on a card.
3rd order a leaf can be on lots of branches, amazon lists books in many categories. Nice illustration of messy linking, the messier/richer the better. metadata and data will not be separated (copytight laws are lunacy;-)) in the 3rd order.
Dynamically organized tree, hey del.ico.us tagging.
Data storage is so large, keep and tag.
Mass media dumb down. People are tired of this, simplification. Blogs can expand and check the detail, take simple idea and add complexity (nothing new conversation does this).
Wikiopedia can lack credibility. Lots of checks, edits, history, discussion. lots of examples, disclaimers add to credibility, why not in main stream media .
Wikipedia will come up with collaborative knowledge, not in someone’s head, but in the conversation.
Wikipedia will ban if you repeatedly roll back to your edit without explanation. My battery is going, David want his children to work collaboratively, to read socially.

Going to go to teachmeet06.

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ReadingbusThe Reading Bus http://www.readingbus.co.ukA couple of minutes late, children presenting.
Hannover PS Aberdeen; High social depravation mixed backgrounds and abilities.

School has lots of parent links.
Raising attainment in Reading, fun and fostering lifelong reading.
The bus started from school, but includes other partners.
CFE – Enterprise, affected parents as well as children.
Learning bus, Aberdeen Bus company for education staff, buses are fun and unthreatening for parents, halfway house.
Involved more than one school, schools were to raise money for bus and conversion. Flat funding, lots of other charities contributed.

Bus launched 31 Aug 2006.
Partnerships with libraries, heath, school nurses, community health.
Emphasis on non-threatening place for teachers, learners and parents to contribute together. Children very involved in all aspects and implementation.
Bobby: 10 primaries involved, children from all schools worked together. Enterprise approach. Eg. Design of bus competition, great ideas. Bobby obviously benefitted great confident presentation.
Samantha: great list of events she had been involved in.
The slides in the background are going too fast to blog.

Morag Russell Aberdeen University
Learning conversations designed to find out what children think (and let the children know).
Wicked witch idea: What might happen if you cannot read?
Great use of conversation.
Wher do you want to read, not in classroom
Parents recall of school, lack of choice, again asking parents why reading was important?
Eg: misreading of pregnancy test.
Parents think they are not good readers, didn’t read novels.
Community Radio project, children lead, interviewed based on wicked witch.

Slide, children learned: adults think they are smart but they don’t know what children thing
Question to children, why can people read but puppies can’t? Great answers from children.(need time to think)

There is far to much in this, to blog as it goes on. keywords, conversation, enterprise, (revisit children’s conversations with them, lets them know that their contributions are valued).
Children link reading to real life rather than education.

Bus as neutral space, teacher shares custody of learning, teacher welcomes. Children given a safe, secure dialogic space. given a voice.
Live broadcast radio show.

notes: £120,000 to buy and convert bus

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An early start, I sneaked in.How primary teachers create a community of learners.
BeBo: blogs not used, children don’t want to write?
Connections and discussions.
Ewan’s BeBo deconstruction, blog least important, comments, bands, photos, friends, Attention
Ewan:

  • Blogs and Comments
  • Heh, Sandaig otters, thank goodness we blogged yesterday. On to the teddies and out of school communication.
  • Musselburgh trip to France, 4698 visits, advertised on posters in local shops.
  • Clustermaps, opportunity to shoutout to the audience.
  • The Dream Dragon, example

David: Photos

  • How to bore your friends and family or A useful tool
  • Photos with notes Viking Invasion Project on Flickr
  • Highlight, link and learn, open photos to others to add knowledge.
  • Telling Tales: teddies, bubbleshare: audience.

Ewan: How do you make friends:

  • Link Out, East Lothian blogs for all children with custom sidebar .
  • Online link shareing.
  • scotedublogs

Some of the five top tips:Shoutoup sig, business card, letterheads, school boards.Read, write comment, join a wiki.
Discussion, problems and blocks from HTs and authorities.

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Pretty soon I will be off to the Scottish Learning Festival and teachMeet06.
Unlike some of the other scotedublogs folk, I’ve still not really worked out what I am going to see.
First thing I am going to find out Where is AB? and see if he has any wifi left, if so I’ll post some thoughts, and links over the next couple of days, more as a memory aid than anything else, typos ahoy!
Last year I am sure I was one of a very few people blogging Sett05, just by ‘borrowing’ machines that were scattered around the floor, this year it looks like being very different.

technorati: scottishlearningfestival teachmeet06 sett06