Category Archives: stuff

Windows in the clouds

Windows in the clouds

Microsoft have launched a preview of their new cloud computing service, Azure.

Windows® Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers.

On demand computing means that you don’t need to download applications to your computer, you can just use them from any computer.

Some of the key features of Azure include:

  • Build, modify, and distribute applications to the Web with minimal on-premises resources.
  • Perform services (large-volume storage, batch processing, intense or large-volume computations, etc.) off premises.
  • Create, test, debug, and distribute Web services quickly and inexpensively.
  • Reduce costs of building and extending on-premises resources.

Well does this mean that now Microsoft has gone into the clouds, that cloud computing is mainstream?

Can I show a pre-recorded DVD in the classroom?

Disclaimer: ALL information containing in my post is for informational purposes only and should never be construed as legal advice. For proper legal advice you should consult a lawyer.

So here is a question which staff often ask. Can I show a pre-recorded DVD in the classroom? In other words a DVD which has been rented from a video store, or a DVD purchased from a retail store? In the olden days we would have called this a video cassette.

Can I show a pre-recorded DVD in the classroom?

Under the Copyright Act, you can show a DVD in a classroom for the purposes of instruction without needing an additional licence.

If it is for entertainment purposes then you do need a public performance licence.

From the Government Intellectual Property Office.

“Performing, playing or showing copyright works in a school, university or other educational establishment for educational purposes.  However, only teachers, pupils and others directly connected with the activities (does not generally include parents) of the establishment are in the audience.  Examples of this are showing a video for English or drama lessons and the teaching of music.  It is unlikely to include the playing of a video during a wet playtime purely to amuse the children.”

From Filmbank.

“A copyright licence is required to screen films in educational institutions under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (UK), if the film is being screened for entertainment purposes rather than for the purposes of instruction or as part of the lesson.”

Not a lot of people know this.

Part of the misunderstanding arises as generally when you play a DVD you get this huge legal message indicating that your DVD is for personal use only and can not be played on oil rigs, in prisons, schools and colleges.

That is partly true for the purposes of entertainment and you would need to purchase a licence to show a DVD for that purpose.

However for informational and instruction (ie for educational reasons) it is possible to show that DVD in a classroom. Teachers and lecturers have a statuory right (it is enshrined in law, the Copyright Act to be precise).

So could you rip that DVD and put it on a laptop or on the VLE?

Ah no.

Ripping a DVD would be in breach of the EU Copyright Directive which “prohibits circumvention of copy protection measures“. So ripping the DVD is a criminal offence.

Photo source.

Have you got an Innovation Prevention Department?

Here it is day three of Handheld Learning 2008.

It has been a very good conference and a good chance to see what is happening in the world of mobile and handheld learning.

Some really good stuff out there, but some sessions no more than a showcase of a product rather than how it impacts on learning.

This is not a research based conference (unlike mLearn) so there are lots of practitioners here talking about what they do, but there are also suppliers talking (or is that selling) their wares.

First presentation I have seen today was Lt Alex Smith who is using PSPs with Royal Navy personnel for learning. Quite interesting in what they are doing in what seems to be a very traditional teaching environment.

 Have you got an Innovation Prevention Department?

The second session was not really my cup of tea, very much about selling a product to schools.

Third session was presented by Jon Trinder who was presenting about connecting the physical to the virtual.

Best quote of the conference so far came from Jon, “Have you got an Innovation Prevention Department?”.

mLearn 2008

So it’s mLearn 2008 time. Two years ago it was in Banff in Canada, last year it was in Melbourne. This year it’s in that exotic of places… Telford.

Well it’s the conference content and the people why you go to mLearn not the location.

Looking forward to the conference, should be very informative and interesting.

So first it was off to the reception. Now I was expecting a buffet, alas I was mistaken. There were some crisps and pickled cauliflower which I am guessing is some kind of local Telford delicacy. So now I am very hungry.

Becta, they say yes to open source…

Though getting a large amount of criticism from various sources (including this list), the Becta Software for Educational Institutions Framework (SEIF) was never about banning software, but about getting a framework in place to allow schools to “purchase” software avoiding many of the problems and pitfalls that may arise from a school going it alone.

The problem that many found with the SEIF was that it favoured proprietary software vendors and discriminated against open source.

The Sirius Corporation revealed yesterday that it was among 12 software suppliers to have been awarded places on the £80m Software for Educational Institutions Framework (SEIF) agreement.

This means that schools that wish to use linux, Open Office, Moodle, etc… now have a framework which allows them to use the software more easily.

The Register on the story.

Sirius press release.

Are any colleges out there looking at open source alternatives beyond Moodle?Becta, they say yes to open source...

Parents ‘want texts from schools’

Parents 'want texts from schools'

BBC reports on the survey from Becta about how schools need to use e-mail and SMS to communicate more with parents.

Many parents would like school reports on their children’s performance texted or e-mailed, a survey says.

One in 12 of the 1,493 parents polled by government education technology agency Becta said schools kept them informed using these methods.

But 68% of parents said they wanted schools to use such technologies to keep them up to date more frequently.

Of course if schools are to take heed of this survey, then FE Colleges need to do likewise. Does your FE College already communicate to the students by e-mail and/or SMS text messaging? Can the students communicate back?

So do your students cheat?

So do your students cheat?

Never?

They don’t hand in plagiarised work?

How do you know?

Did you know that essays by the bundle are sold on eBay?

Dave Foord (an external educational consultant) has written an interesting blog post on Turnitin which is a piece of software that can be used to detect plagiarised work. He believes that the software also has a value in acting as a deterrent to plagarism.

What are you thoughts?