I’ve been blogging & thinking about software in education for a while. One of the biggest changes in what I read has been the increase in out of the box solutions & a decrease in bending things in unexpected ways. I am more interested in the latter. See Folk Interfaces
Tag: classroom
You can use the BBC micro:bit V2 with built-in speaker as a data logger, recording data from its built-in sensors. Data is stored on your micro:bit even when its power source is disconnected.
This looks really interesting. H.T. to @LouiseE_Foreman. The way the data is saved and accessible is very clever.
You can log data from any of the micro:bit inputs; light sensor, temperature sensor, pins, accelerometer, compass, microphone
But not everything has to be scalable; not everything has to be venture scale. There are a lot of public services, technologies in the public interest, and fully-profitable businesses that benefit by not trying to reach scale. Relationships are the building blocks of society; eradicating those in favor of analytics, in education of all places, is counter-productive, to put it charitably.
This is a wonderful post Ben, thanks you. It speaks, to me as a primary teacher, to more than just EdTech and startUps. The big internet beasts have some claws in education and seem to be working towards what you call the rat-maze simulation of intimacy. Governments seem bent on datafication.
Technology can be part of informal & formal personal relationships. The technology I find interesting is messy engaging and has not much to do with scalability & market share.
In my tiny world, I hope technology helps inclusion, engagement, diversification of approaches and fun. The presentation & recording of learning in a useful way by learner that is still individual, not auto analysable and open to conversation.
And the documentation to get started https://makecode.com/writing-docs/tutorials
Brian, that is very cool. Pasting an example markdown from github into the editor looks like a good way to figure it out.
Today’s poem was written for #WorldBeeDay. It’s called ‘The Last Bee’. pic.twitter.com/6WG2O9HhiD
Today’s poem was written for #WorldBeeDay. It’s called ‘The Last Bee’. pic.twitter.com/6WG2O9HhiD
— Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) May 20, 2022
I’ll be taking this one to school. Nice to see the whole poem in the Alt tag too.
Are you looking for an introduction to Glow WordPress Blogs? In this webinar @DigiLearnScot are joined by Breadalbane Academy with lots of tips on how to access and use Glow Blogs and how they are being used in the classroom! https://ow.ly/5W4550Jisbv
Are you looking for an introduction to Glow WordPress Blogs? In this webinar @DigiLearnScot are joined by Breadalbane Academy with lots of tips on how to access and use Glow Blogs and how they are being used in the classroom! https://t.co/vlKQLOrh1T
— Glow Scot (@GlowScot) June 1, 2022
Guide to getting started with #GlowBlogs. Input from
@KiwiGrant21 who’s marvellous pupil poetry blog, Breadalbane Academy P7 Poetry Blog is a brilliant example with poem ideas that are just great, I’ve borrowed a few:-)
Why your ability to repair a tractor could also be a matter of life and death John Naughton covers John Deere tractors. I’ve talked about this to the odd young farmers in my class as a reason to learn about tech. In the future you’ll need to hack your tractor.
Good Ruler – Bad Ruler https://dlvr.it/SRQy7N pic.twitter.com/ghtx9LJzW7
The Biggies had a bit of fun thinking about what that would do if they were good or bad rulers. Making graphics with layers, transparency, copyright free images, clip art an their own photos.
Good Ruler – Bad Ruler https://t.co/uxmOXAbphR pic.twitter.com/ghtx9LJzW7
— Banton Primary (@Banton_Pr) June 1, 2022
Bye Bye iPod
iPod touch will be available while supplies last
I feel quite sad about this. I don’t think the iPod every got the traction it deserved in the classroom.
Back in the late 2000s I had a click wheel iPod in my class. It was a great device for recording audio on the move. Despite the low quality of recording by class found it really easy to use compared with other recorders at the time.
In 2010 I was involved in supporting a class using 1–2–1 iPod touches, and blogged a fair bit about it I though. They had a great deal of potential for the primary classroom. The introduction of the iPad put paid to that. I still think that a pocketable device might have been useful in school. Reviewing these old posts I found quite a few records of efforts to develop ideas for using webpages for teaching and learning with iPods. I had a bit of fun with that.
In my fantasy classroom pupils would be equipped with iPod touches and MacBooks, maybe the lovely 11 inch Air.
micro:bit bits
Over the last few years I’ve had quite a bit of fun with micro:bits. Given I’ve been using the same ones all that time they were pretty good value. It is great to see them getting a bit more traction in Scottish schools.
We are to get some more free ones: Scottish schools to receive 20 micro:bits. This will be great. I’ve got access to plenty but the new ones have some nice new features. Built-in microphone, speaker, capacitive touch sensor, and power save button. The speaker will be particularly welcome, avoiding a bit of footering . The power button too as I’ve found that detaching the battery is quite tricky for small fingers. I hope they arrive soon.
There are also a lot more support events & materials for classes appearing.
19 May 11 – 11:45 Code Along with micro:bit – Relaxation & Mindful Breathing looks fun, but clashes with our sports day. My class did participate in a couple of similar scratch events via Teams. Although these were not anything I could not have covered myself. I did find the pupils were extra engaged with a virtual teacher and peers.
You don’t even need micro:bits to take part,
Micro:bit not required as you can still take part using the MakeCode simulator.
Which until this week I would have though was missing the point. The other day I was re-introducing some of my class to micro:bits. They had made simple rock, paper, scissors shakers. We were discussing the problem of knowing, for sure, if the shake had worked. Two similar results could be due to random selection or by nothing happening. While the pupils were playing with solutions to this one explained he was not going to flash the micro:bit every time. He preferred the simulator! This surprised me, as I think the device is a big draw for most pupils.
The other week New support for teachers launched today | micro:bit. I’ve already found the examples and projects on makecode.microbit.org very useful. I am looking forward to getting to try the ones for the new micro:bits.
In class we have been using the iOS micro:bit app rather than the web. This solves the issue of flashing the micro:bits via usb by using Bluetooth and works really well. We did a bit of work on our arcade devices this session. That meant pupils using the web downloading hex files on their iPads, air dropping to a MacBook and then transferring to the devices. Bluetooth avoids the “one MacBook” bottleneck.
The other bit of micro:bit information I have is that Glow Blogs now supports the embedding of the micro:bit simulator. This enables pupils to share their creations and keep a record of their achievements. I’ve just updated the microbit instructions for Glow Blogs. I hope to see some examples in the wild soon.