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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: 61431705197@optusmobile.com.au < 61431705197@optusmobile.com.au>
Date: Sep 5, 2007 12:10 PM
Subject:
To: mick.prest@gmail.com

Foreign Language Lesson Podcast Collection | Open Culture

Foreign Language Lesson Podcast Collection Open Culture: "LearnItalianPod.com iTunes Feed Web Site "

Do you have enough bandwidth???

An interesting statement from http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604540

Today the Internet bandwidth per student
is 2.90 Kbps (or kilobits per second per student) according to the survey.
Furthermore, schools say they will grow this to 9.57 Kbps per student by 2011—a
3.3-fold increase. But the ADS 2006 team believes that as much as 40 Kbps may be
needed in five years. As the number of computers in schools increases
and the ways in which students use computers change, more and more
bandwidth will be needed.

It is unlikely, however, that many schools
are budgeting for a 14-fold increase, although technology directors are
generally aware of the challenge. The hard costs of the bandwidth required
to support the growth in online learning, home connectivity, and ubiquitous
computing are unknown and likely to require additional research.

Some issues trying to get MovieMaker to work with the Casimir Sony Handycam

• Files (non finalized) exported from the handycam are MPEG2
• Moviemaker has issues with MPEG2 files!! (see here )

• the issue should be resolved if the correct Codecs are on the given computer.
• While experimenting Mick Prest found that using two different computers with identical settings that Moviemaker could handle the same file on one computer and not the other!!!
• This is documented and it seems as if Moviemaker can be hardware specific!! (Much more detail! See Importing Video Sources/Introduction)

• Tho only solution offered is for you to convert the video from MPEG2 to something that MM2 (MovieMaker 2) likes better.
• Mick used three different converters and converted to many different formats and found that only this one worked
• Converting to WMV (Highest quality) using Replay Media Converter
• The hassle is that this might only work for the hardware on Mick's laptop!!!
• Mick is going to check if it will load straight onto a mac!!

Lots of help for MM2 here and don't forget Atomic Learning

Converting Google videos all the way!!

• Use Replay Media Catcher http://applian.com/replay-media-catcher/index.php
  • This is really cool. It just picks up anything showing on Youtube etc. (yes even Flash movies from news sources like the ABC etc) and saves them to your HDD.
• Use Replay Converter http://applian.com/replay-converter/
  • This will convert the .flv or .mp3 into another format. (I choose .avi) but it will have all you want.

• Of course, the framerate et al is not good for importing into the standard editors. I run the file through Canopus Procoder 2 and save them in a .avi format.

• This will load into Premiere Pro (or even Microsoft Moviemaker) for editing and playing with.

• I run this through Flash Video Studio which will put it into Flash if I want to put it back on the web. Blogger just takes the .avi's anyway.

Reflections and learnings from Jamie McKenzie days:

• The day on which we brought the Presenters together was CRUCIAL! So much happened on so many levels. I feel that it gave them a chance to be a focussed part of the time too.
• we need on-line enrolment for the whole as well as for individual sessions. there was too much confusion on the first day. The amount of secretarial work, chasing up incorrect emails etc was HUGE!!.
• The labelling of Group A and B was not clear enough.
  
• The basic structure seemed to work OK.
• We need a scheduled break for morning tea.
• Three Hour workshops were great for those that could sustain them. They seem better than the 90 mins ones but 90 mins worked well too.
• 
  

Mick at Gerroa (c.1968)

PrestGerroa, originally uploaded by mickprest.

One of Steve Esler's collection.

Thinking for Navcon

I have been thinking about Navcon and using Mindmeister to collect my thoughts:

They have changed the levels in Mindmeister!!!

Go to http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show_public/1289067

Great Review of ICT in Schools

I was directed to the Becta research paper "The Impact of ICT in Schools - a landscape review"

http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?cfid=1005427&cftoken=106d998ca592b931-464E95DE-9633-75FB-264C7EE65F058D45

recently. My reflection was that it really does mirror where we are at here in Sydney (and pretty well everywhere else I have seen). Some of the conclusions from the executive summary:

Overall Summary:

The development of ICT in schools is progressing unevenly across and within schools and technologies. Some seem to be content with achieving the government’s targets in terms of numbers of computers and connectivity, while others are being highly innovative, attempting to capitalise on the benefits that ICT has been shown to bring.

As schools grow in e-confidence, ICT becomes embedded in the everyday practices of the school, drawing on a range of technologies to support learning, teaching and attainment. The literature is very positive about some aspects of ICT use, rarely negative, but mainly incomplete or inconsistent. Further studies, particularly with a longitudinal element, should shed light on the processes that schools go through in becoming e-confident and e-capable, the impact on relationships within the school, between home and school and across networks, and on pedagogical practice. Using ICT effectively in schools is about more than changing resources; it is about changing practices and culture.

• basic provision (computer-to-pupil ratios, broadband (sic!) access, quality of networks) is pretty good. However there is considerable variation within and across schools.
• where ICT seems to be most effective in enhancing the learning experience teachers can integrate a number of technologies toedther - this leads to innovative approaches.
• Critical factor! - school-level e-strategy, whole school committment.
• Teachers' confidence and skills have improved significantly in recent years.
• much of the evidence of impact on attainment and a range of intermediate outcomes such as motivation and engagement is derived from smallscale case studies which are often snapshots of impact early in the life of the implementation of a new technology
• At present the evidence on attainment is somewhat inconsistent
• evidence on the impact of ICT on intermediate outcomes, such as motivation, engagement with and independence in learning, is greater and more persuasive
• impact is most clearly observed where tasks have clear educational aims, are designed to maximise the potential of the ICT in use and are perceived as purposeful by pupils.
• Apart from initiatives to support literacy and numeracy, evidence of positive impact has been reported in mathematics, modern foreign languages, science, history, geography, physical education and the creative arts. Much of the evidence is the result of small-scale studies
• learning of modern foreign languages has benefited greatly from the increased availability of online resources as well as technologies such as digital video and photography, while animations and simulations have enabled pupils to grasp more complex concepts in mathematics and the sciences
• Digital video and photography have also been proven to improve performance in physical
  education, sport and the dramatic arts where performances can be recorded, watched time and again, and improvements of skills targeted.
• Interactive Whiteboards - The outcomes are almost universally positive
• Laptops, which teachers have found particularly useful for management and administration, have been less enthusiastically received by pupils, who prefer the smaller technologies such as PDAs and multi-function mobile phones
• Whole-school approaches to implementing ICTsupported education have often been more
  successful in primaries than in secondary schools
• Technologies with a visual dimension – digital video, photography, video conferencing – engage pupils and provide a stimulus for collaborative working and discussion and, where the pupils are in control of the technology, give them a sense of ownership and control of the learning process.
• Learning platforms and virtual learning environments .. are .. becoming central to a whole range of activities
• There is a growing body of evidence on the positive impact that ICT can have on the learning of pupils with special educational needs
• growth has been limited by the need to provide fast connectivity and a virtual learning environment (VLE) or learning platform
• good resources can have an impact on motivation and attainment
• e-learning can offer flexible, personalised learning and bridge the gap between home and school learning
• there is not yet a good understanding of how teachers can support pupils and make the most of e-learning packages
• ICT can make the learning experience more personalised, more targeted at the needs of
  the individual learner .... Such systems can give the pupil more autonomy and independence with regard to learning and a range of sources ..... This can be unsettling for
  some teachers and may well change the dynamics of the pupil–teacher relationship
• Improved communication within schools has led to centralised attendance, assessment and recording systems, while links with the external world can support communication with parents and others
• Intranets are being used to support a range of administrative activities including attendance monitoring, assessment records, reporting to parents, financial
  management and the sharing of information
  amongst staff.... some are used as repositories for learning resources. .... schools are extending their use of ICT through the introduction of learning platforms to meet various learning and teaching and communication objectives.
• Better management systems usually mean more data-gathering procedures.
• improved home–school links are as yet unrealised in many instances
• schools also have to consider how they ensure that all pupils have similar learning opportunities and the ‘digital divide’ does not develop into a system-wide disadvantage for those who have limited or no access to ICT out of the school.

Yet again!

Here I am again!

Have a look at

http://www.iwest.myinternet.syd.catholic.edu.au/home/michael_prest/First.M4V

First Off

This is just to get me out there