Digital maps, horse at the beach and The Library Bar

An interesting article in today’s Guardian about digital maps. The article not only reviews how people increasingly use digital maps – for directions or to find a restaurant, pub or shop in a particular area, but also looks at how digital mapping has developed very rapidly in the fast few years. We all know about Google Earth but Google have plans to extend the coverage of the world’s cities as well as “hiking trails, narrow alleyways or the forest floor”. Not to be outdone, Apple are planning to replace Google Maps on IPads and IPhones with what they claim will be a superior technology. The article also raises the question of whether advanced mapping systems are not only helping us find our way about, but may actually be tracking us i.e. recording where and when we use a digital map. The pros and cons of this are debated well in the article, with a range of expertise quoted.

Going for a walk at Belhaven Beach recently, just as the sun was going down, I came across a man on a horse, just about to cross the stream that runs under the bridge. The picture below was taken on my mobile phone, so not as good quality as my Canon 1000D which I normally use, but still captures the moment. For once, there was no wind on the beach, just a calm sunset. The 2nd photo was taken by me on a day out in Edinburgh and a nostalgic walk round part of Edinburgh University where I was an undergraduate history student from 1967 to 1971 (still find it hard to believe how many years ago that is). The photo is taken at the University Union. The interesting part about this photo is that the part of the building which is now the Library Bar, used to be the Library – a place where students could study in quiet. There was of course, a large bar downstairs. This poses a question: if a library becomes a bar, is this progress or regress?

Horse at Belhaven beach

The Library Bar

Digital human, Shardlake and Dubai

Out on my bike last week, I listened to a new BBC Radio series The Digital Human - a title which should engender discussion on its own. Is there such a thing as a digital human? Many of us now lead lives which involves using digital media for different parts of our lives e.g. education, research, music, fiction, sport and online buying. So, a catchy but inherently meaningless title. The content however, may be of interest. I listened to Episode 3 which was about threats to privacy and what counts as privacy in different cultures. I found most of it interesting although some of the people interviewed were very much involved in the web as a source of employment/income, so not your ordinary web users. It’s worth a listen although it may not be to everyone’s taste. It’s probably worth alerting older students in schools to the programme – which is available around the world on the BBC IPlayer, whereas BBC TV is not available outside the UK – as it may well interest them.

I’ve started to read another of C J Samson’s series, set in England at the time of Henry VIII and featuring the lawyer Shardlake and his assistant Barak. The new novel is Heartstone in which Shardlake is asked to investigate a case for the Queen. Sansom’s books are full of intricate historical detail and you do get a feel for London at this time. He also provides a background of politics e.g. Henry’s abortive invasion of France, and the rivalries between different court factions. There’s also a good plot in all the books with some murder and mayhem thrown in. The books are easy to read and while they are not just holiday reads, they are not likely to be on the Booker Prize list.

Back in Dubai for just under a week to see our son, daughter in law and twin granddaughters. It is hot! The temperature guage at the back door today has a reading of 41 degrees. Walking round the lake this morning at 36 degrees was tolerable but when it gets to 40 degrees, it just gets intolerable. When I lived in Wagga Wagga, the temperature did get into the 40s at times during the summer but only for short periods. Here in Dubai, you are literally in the middle of the desert, so temperatures will go even higher over the next two months. The photos below are from a previous visit and show a bird’s eye view from the 126th floor of the Burj Khalifa. This was on a clear day. Yesterday, there was sand in the air you would not have seen very much at all.

View from Burj Khalifa

View from Burj Khalifa

 

 

Brainshark, BlipFoto and Snowdrops (the Russian version)

I’ve just tried out a new tool for presenting a series of photographs (or it could be PowerPoint slides) called Brainshark. The novelty of using Brainshark (no idea why it’s called that) is that you can attach commentary to your photos or slides. Now I know that you may have added sound to PowerPoint but I’ve always had problems with that. This is much more simple – you upload the photos and add your commentary to each one, save each one as you go along, save the presentation and send the link to your friends, colleagues or students. It’s also a tool which students could benefit from learning. An example of my effort can be viewed (and heard) here and it contains what one conference organiser, who was introducing me, called my ‘dulcet Celtic tones” – see what you think.

A very new photo-related site was introduced to me (and many others) last night when I attended the Professorial Lecture of my former colleague Hazel Hall. You can view the whole presentation – on social informatics. As I was Hazel’s first boss as a lecturer when she came to Edinburgh, I was delighted to see her as a Professor. Hazel referred to Blipfoto which is a site on to which you can load photos and comment on them – so far, so not very original. What’s neat about Blipfoto is that encourages you to keep a journal by taking a photo every day and building up an archive. You can also search the site. I think it’s a neat tool but of course, as Hazel said in her lecture – it can be addictive.

I recently read Snowdrops an intriguing novel set in modern Russia. Snowdrops in this context are bodies which emerge from the ice after the Russian winter, and some of them have come to a sticky end. Very well written and very atmospheric. The snowdrops hereabouts are past now and have been replaced by later spring flowers, some of which, from my garden, are in the photo below.

Tulips and tete a tetes

No Wikipedia for a day and harbour walk

Reading today’s Guardian with my breakfast cup of tea, I find an intriguing story about how  Wikipedia is planning to shut down for 24 hours in protest at a proposed bill in the USA, which Wikipedia claim will lead to a form of censorship on new media outlets such as itself, Google and Twitter. I’ve just tried to access Wikipedia and instead of being able to search, there’s a black screen with Imagine a world without free knowledge as the headline, and accuses the US Congress of ‘considering legislation that could damage the free and open Internet’. The article goes on to cite the views of both new media and ‘old’ media such as a newspaper proprietor. The bills which are being proposed, appear to be trying to stop illegal streaming, but Wikipedia and others think that this could be the thin edge of censorship.

One of the pleasures of living in a seaside town such as Dunbar, is that you can enjoy a walk to, or around, the harbour at all times of the year. Normally, in January, the bridge connecting the new (i.e. 1890s built) harbour and the old harbour, is up, so that boats can go to the old harbour for shelter from the winter storms. However, it’s been unseasonably mild and calm this winter, so on Sunday, the bridge was down and my wife and I walked across to the harbour wall side. The picture below shows a view towards Dunbar Castle  with a set of creels roughly stacked, in the foreground. There are a few boats in the harbour which use creels to catch crabs and lobsters, and you can see a creel boat in action off the Fife coast (visible from Dunbar) on YouTube.

Creels on Dunbar Harbour

Stannard tools and The Bow Bar

I recently came across Russell Stannard’s site whilst looking for something else. The main focus of the site is related to – as the name suggests – using video as part of personal development technology training for teachers. However, there is much to interest TLs and SLs, so this site is worth bo0kmarking and dipping into from time to time. Stannard’s set of videos on technology applications e.g. MailVu and Jing are presented in a refreshingly open and friendly way. For example, he’s not afraid to make mistakes and correct them on his videos, and this lack of slickness is reassuring. Stannard doesn’t just tell you what the tools can do e.g. Jing allows you make a video while capturing screen shots, but he discusses applications for teaching and learning. Some of the content of the site will be familiar to many of you e.g. Glogster.

One of the things that you absolutely must do when you are in Edinburgh, Scotland’s enchanting capital city (and that’s not my biased opinion but is based on many comments of visitors to the city I have talked to around the world), is to visit some of its many pubs. Of course, you do not have to partake of the alcoholic drinks on offer, but if you like the occasional pint of beer or a wee dram (glass of whisky), then Edinburgh’s real ale pubs are for you. I stress the real ale pubs as not all pubs serve what I would consider as proper beer. An excellent example is The Bow Bar with its impressive range of beers and 150 different malt whiskies. On a recent visit I had Moorcock Ale from Yorkshire. Now, you will not go into the Bow Bar in order to sit in a leather armchair, get table service and be charged a fortune for your drinks. This is a quintessential pub  – clean and comfortable, where you enjoy the beer. Check out the website to see the interior and one of its key features is the range of framed posters and old adverts on the walls. A great wee place to go.

 

Gooru and national libraries

Firstly, a very Good New Year to you all.There’s a new e-learning platform doing the rounds. It’s called Gooru and is designed to, in the words of the Gooru video, allow “teachers to search and teach, and students to search and study”. Teachers, and of course TLs and SLs although the video doesn’t say this, can put together classbooks which are sets of online resources, and be integrated into class plans. There are tutorials on the site and a video. For a fuller review of Gooru, try the Edudemic site, which is worth bookmarking and looking at from time to time. I have not studied Gooru in detail. However, it was designed by a Google employee – and yes, I know that not everyone will see that as a positive. It is certainly worth checking out and discussing with interested colleagues in your school.

I recently rejoined the National Library of Scotland (NLS) in Edinburgh, as a member. It is  … years(I’ll let you guess the exact number) since I was a member of the library as a 4th year honours student at Edinburgh University. The NLS is a wonderful place in which to study – although I have to say you must like almost total silence in the reading room where people do research. There was and still is, an eclectic mix of young students and (like me now) more mature researchers. As you walk into the Reading Room, some eyes will lift briefly before going back to books, pamphlets, journals. Each seat is numbered and if you order a book – there is only very limited open access to reference materials – or other material, it will be brought to your seat. Yes – a haven of civilisation. Once change since my youth is that you can now take your laptop into the Reading Room – no Skypeing of course! When I was in Australia recently, I made a brief visit to the Australian National Library in Canberra, another fascinating centre of learning and culture. In the photo below, the NLA is in the background, with a very pleasant walk to it, passing some very interesting sculpture.

Towards the National Library of Australia

 

eSchool News items and Tauranga sunset

From this week’s edition of eSchool News (which is worth joining for free), some interesting items. The first is a list of apps which can be downloaded for free or cheaply. Some look interesting enough for TLs to pass on to interested teachers, although some are fairly basic and assessment orientated. There’s also a useful guide to starting a virtual learning programme. It lists 7 questions which schools should ask. Now these questions will be familiar to any of you who have been involved in any kind of school ICT projects e.g. “What challenge are we trying to address?” but such questions are fundamental to successful ICT projects, as you can see from unsuccessful ones which have been designed by techies who rarely ask the actual users why this project might go ahead. TLs should be involved at the heart of the design of virtual learning environments in schools, so having questions such as these is a good start. There are also features on Facebook, Twitter and texting – so very much worth a look.

I’m back in Scotland now after 7 weeks away – in temperatures from 19-36 degrees. Back to 3-4 degrees might seem hard but when it’s a sunny day like today and you “rug up” (Australian term) in winter coat and gloves, it’s a great experience. One stop on my travels was at my sister and brother in law’s house in Tauranga, New Zealand. When the wind blows down the estuary, it can be a bit “coorse” as we say in Scotland. However, on nights like those in the photo below, when the sun is setting over the estuary and the tide is coming in, and you have food on the decking, and a bottle of Morton Estate (not far from Tauranga) Pinot Noir, life is pretty good.

Sunset in Tauranga

E-pathfinders and kangaroos on course

Firstly, apologies for the absence of the blog over the past month, due to a combination of circumstances. I’ll try to rectify this with some additional posts before going back to a weekly addition. My students on the M Ed. Teacher Librarianship course at CSU last session completed an e-pathfinder as part of their studies in the Information Environment subject. Students were asked to construct an e-pathfinder which would be a prototype learning website for their school. The e-pathfinder assignment restricted the students to a particular format, with an introduction to the topic (e.g. water conservation for year 2), keywords and definitions, and information literacy advice. This was followed by a total of only 15 resources, both print and digital which were to be accompanied by a meaningful annotation i.e one which advised students on using the resources and not just a description of the resources content. Students had to use a wiki format or construct a website using a package such as Weebly. The results, from a large class of students, were very positive although inevitably there was a range of quality in the prototype learning websites. My hope is that my students will follow up this assignment with actual use of their sites in their own schools. Examples of the e-pathfinders can be found at a wiki site constructed by one of my top students.

I have been travelling for almost the last 2 months and the main part of my journey was to work at CSU in Wagga Wagga. One recreational aspect of my stay was a weekly cycle around Pomingalarna reserve, a large plot of land near Wagga Wagga which is a walking/running/mountain biking site for active people. The reserve features a range of wildlife including many birds, as well as snakes and echidnas. There are also 2 tribes (mobs) of kangaroos which live on the reserve and it can be an unnerving experience as you are flat out on your mountain bike on one of the trails, and 3 or 4 kangaroos of different sizes hop across the trail not far in front of you. Next to Pomningalarna is one of Wagga Wagga golf courses. In the evening, the kangaroos are often seen on the golf course and this makes for an unusual site – see picture below.

Kangaroos on golf course

Free ebook on school libraries and bird of paradise

Apologies for the lack of blog entries recently. In my email this week, a link for a new – and free! – ebook on school libraries: School Libraries: What?s Now, What?s Next, What?s Yet to Come. You can download this ebook in a number of formats. There 10 chapters in all with a number of contributors to each chapter. The content of the book covers learners, information literacy, teaching, reading, collection development and professional development. I would say that this is a must-see book for all TLs and SLs around the world. The quality of the contributions is variable and you may not agree with the stances taken by some contributors, but it is certainly worth dipping into from time to time. The foreword begins “The future of school libraries and school librarians hangs in the balance.” – an excellent reason to read part or all of this book.

I first saw the bird of paradise flower in South Africa and they are a spectacular species. I’m in Australia at the moment and these flowers can be seen in many gardens around Wagga Wagga. The flowers (see picture below) resemble a bird with a pointed beak and orange crest and must be one of the most unusual and colourful flowers around. When you first see these flowers, you have to look twice as you might think that you are, in fact, looking at birds and not flowers. The question I ask myself is – would these birds of paradise flourish in Scotland, in early December when I return? Mmm – probably not.

Bird of paradise flower

Free technology for teachers and close up photography

Searching for other things, I came across Free Technology for Teachers, a source that TLs and SLs might want to drop into now and again to check out the range of resources which appear on the site. It may be useful to you in the school library or it may be a source that you might want to pass on to your teaching colleagues in the school. As the site suggests, free resources for teachers are the focus. There are tutorials dealing with aspects of technology, guides to making videos, wikis and websites, and a useful feature on creating your own personal professional learning network. Not all of this will appeal to everyone and some of the offerings may appear overly slick but if you are selective and take what you need from this resource, it could prove useful. So, bookmark and revisit, I suggest.

As the photos on this blog have shown, I have a great interest in taking close up photographs – of flowers, fish, crabs etc – as I love the detail that you can capture. Of course, I would dearly love to get more close up photos of birds and animals but, apart from kangaroos, sheep and cows, most of these won’t stay still to let me photograph them. This may of course have something to do with my Lilliputian appearance to these animals and birds, whose first suspicion is that I may want to kill them, rather than capture them on my digital SLR. Sometimes, you get lucky. The other evening, following some very unseasonably warm (but welcome) weather here in Dunbar, I got the hose out and watered the garden. I then noticed that some of the water had stayed on some of my  flowering gladioli. See the picture below for what I think is a great shot. Photography experts among you are, of course, welcome to disagree.

Drops of water on a gladiolus flower