Tag: technology

Gnome-shell on Ubuntu

Jan 22, 2010

in Technology

desktop, gnome, gnome-shell, innovation, kde, technology, ubuntu

I’ve been playing around with Gnome-shell on Ubuntu over the past week or so and am still trying to decide if I like it. It’s going to replace Compiz in the next generation of the Gnome desktop and the idea is that it’s supposed to enhance productivity by creating an innovative user interface that more easily exposes…
Thoughts on Geekretreat 2010

Jan 18, 2010

in Open access, Scholarship, Social media, Technology

cognician, community, education, geek, geekretreat, p2pu, peer to peer university, social media, stanford valley, technology

I got back yesterday from Geekretreat in Stanford Valley (beautiful, by the way) and these are some of my thoughts after reflecting on the experience. The theme of this year’s retreat was (broadly) the role of the internet in South African education, which is what motivated me to apply for a scholarship. I have to…
Mozilla Open Education course: seminar 6

May 7, 2009

in Education, Open access, Technology

africa, America, assessment, control, course, educators, Garin Fons Using, mozilla, MozOpenEdCourse, notes, open, open education, pedagogy, teacher, teaching, technology, wikis

I know that this is all out of sync but the audio for sessions 4 and 5 aren’t up yet and I haven’t had a chance to go through the slideshows yet. Today’s session was about the actual practice of teaching, using “open” as a framework. Here are my notes: Session 6 – Open pedagogy…
Mozilla Open Education course: seminar 3

Apr 28, 2009

in Education, Open access, Technology

API, Chris Blizzard, course, Google, html, instantaneous communication network, Javascript, model of open technology, mozilla, MozOpenEdCourse, open education, open technology, open web, open web technology, poor internet connectivity, printing press, technology, twitter, web browser, web tech, web technology, web video

Open web tech Again, I missed this seminar because of poor internet connectivity on the day and am catching up on the audio after the fact. Here are my notes from the presentation given by Mozilla’s Chris Blizzard. Open as a concept Innovation and change = important building blocks Relevance and why open matters Repurposing…
HESS conference: a summary of my thoughts

Dec 19, 2008

in Conference, Education

Angela Brew, community of practice, e-learning, evidence based practice, HESS, higher education, martin oliver, research, scholarship of teaching and learning, summary, technology, technology changing

OK, so I’ve been back for a few weeks now and have had a little bit of time to gather my thoughts regarding the HESS conference, and thought I’d make a note of some of the highlights from my limited perspective. If anyone from the conference feels that I’m way off the mark, feel free…
Technology in the classroom: can we make it work?

Nov 17, 2008

in Learning, Technology

bad teacher, deep learning, e-learning, education, facebook, healthcare, internet, internet access, laptops, rss, students, technology, wikis

I’ve been trying to think how to use technology to enhance both my teaching and my students’ learning and it’s proving more difficult than I’d initially thought. I like to think that laptops and internet access in every classroom give students real-time access to related content while they engage in meaningful discussion, but this will…
The “Hole in the wall” project

Sep 1, 2008

in Learning, Technology

children, hole in the wall, sugata mitra, teacher, technology, TED

In 1999, Sugata Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in the wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi, installed an Internet-connected PC, and left it there (with a hidden camera filming the area). What they saw was kids from the slum playing around with the computer and in the process learning how to…
Open source alternatives to proprietary applications

Jul 7, 2008

in Technology

cross platform, Discovery Channel, facebook, GIMP, instant messaging, Internet Explorer, Internet TV application, linux, microsoft, Microsoft Windows, National Geographic, open source, operating system, operating systems, proprietary, social networking, social networking service, software, software application, technology, TED, ubuntu, web browser, word processing

I thought I’d take a moment to briefly mention a few open source alternatives to popular computer applications. The following programmes are all: Here is my incomplete list of the open-source software I use: Firefox – A very popular web browser that offers a more secure, more intuitive and faster alternative to Internet Explorer. OpenOffice.org…
Innovate (a journal of online education)

Jul 7, 2008

in Education

education, Fischler School of Education and Human, innovate, journal, online education, online journal, research, school of education, technology, technology in education

I just came across Innovate, an online journal published by the Fischler School of Education. It has some really great articles on the use of new technologies in education. If you register (it’s free, although you do need to provide some occupational information), you get full access to all the articles.
Why should I blog?

Jun 5, 2008

in Education, Health, Technology

blog, creativity, education, healthcare, project, technology

I’ve made a few attempts in the past and have lost interest every time. I think it’s because I never really felt that I had much to say. I still don’t think I have a great deal to say, or at least, anything that’s of any real importance but I do think that I often…