Teraknor

This really belongs in my other blog … My daughter goes to a residential college for special educational needs, like all, it is under the same Ofsted regime many of us enjoy. It was outstanding, now it is good; subject to a recent inspection report. We have read it as it is available to everyone. Yet in the post yesterday comes a nice glossy, stating that the college is rated outstanding???? Erm, eh, no!!!! In fact if anything, one campus (not the main one our daughter is at) managed to get an ‘outstanding’ for some of their provision. But overall the college has moved from outstanding to good. Considering the current climate, with many further education providers getting ripped from outstanding to satisfactory. The college concerned has survived better than many. Yet the propaganda would tell a different story. Often parents are reliant on what their child’s educational establishment tells them. Occasionally those who have children with e...

Having spent time in AfricaLand, I begin to appreciate how good our data service is in the UK. We moan that our service may not be as good as Finland or Singapore. We continually chide that other European nations may steal the march on us. But when I visited a college that is successfully serving 4000 students and may have around 800 on campus at any moment. The feedback was different; when I shared that I enjoy a contended 120-megabit connection at home. They lamented that this was probably better than their uncontended 35-megabit pipe linking the campus to their nations backbone. In some ways they still have a way to go in understanding how to manage the services they have. In other aspects, they are handcuffed by what their telecommunications company is willing to provide. Yet we complain when unable to download videos of fluffy kittens. 

Ok, time for a different model on the Packet Tracer CIOTI (Cisco Internet On The Internet) ... I would like to get a small group of people interested in the notion of having a PT-Jam. The concept is simple: Get a bunch of people with laptops, make and operating system should not be an issue*. Grab an old wireless access point; make it public if you wish (private if you prefer), but do not connect it to any external network Make sure everyone has the same version of Packet Tracer (6.0 onwards would be great) Now explore one of the two following scenarios: One soul becomes the server and runs a local CIOTI instance.  The rules are defined, with some mutual agreement on addressing. Everyone can grow their own edge of the system according to personal rules. Eventually per connections between edges can also be formed Everyone is a hive and connections form by mutual consent The network rules (who has what address, protocol etc) must be agreed. Initial connections, fr...

I am often struck by those with an energy and enthusiasm to learn; this is the one factor that keeps me going as an educator over the years and still gives me that little ‘buzz’. Teaching Open University students certainly gives me that. Not that I did not enjoy teaching post-16 in the UK, often I found the same nascent enthusiasm, you just needed to nurture it. After spending eight days in Botswana, I can share with assurance that I have encountered one of the most engaged and enthused group of students that I have taught for a very long time. They are no better or worse than others I have taught but their desire to learn and better themselves is something that a few Brits could take heed of. Intellectual hoovers; these students want to know every little bit and understand why. Better still they do this with charm, courtesy and openness that Englandshire may have lost. If all goes well, I may return to Botwana next year, one is already planning t...

By now, you may have read my post on someone somewhere having the wrong motivations. At the same time I feel that I must equally applaud someone with all the right motivations and determination to boot. Keen to compete, keen to be the best and keen to represent our nation. This soul has just handed in their notice so that they can spend the next few months focussed on the competition at hand. For many young souls, this would be a rubicon moment, they could not cross. Focussed and of a noble single mind. They only see this as a sojourn on what is probably going to be a fruitful career for them. I wish I could name them; but needless to say if they see this post, they now know that they have my respect.

This is one of my more abstract posts. Last week I had what I can only describe as a professionally interesting conversation with someone, unrelated to either my day job or any national role I hold. They seemed to be keen to promote the interests of their organisation above any national interest. Somehow having lost (or maybe never gained) perspective on what the game they involved themselves is about. One key question they asked was "what do they need to do, to give the candiate the skills needed" ... my reply confused them, "nothing, you need to spot who has the hunger for success and nurture it". You can throw anything and everything at someone and give them all the tools for success. If they do not have the will or the inclination to apply it, nothing will happen. They have the wrong motivations, in the game they wish to play.

One is over in Gaborone at the moment, if you do not know where this is, let me assure you that Google is your friend. So far, I have spent all day trying to spot a cloud, plenty of time yet, but methinks that this may become a fruitless venture. The pace is laconic, with a tempo of laid back. I have connected online to my church, had some facetime with my wife bandwidth was not great, but good to participate and communicate for a short time. Finished superfreakadomics (a christmas gift) and did a second draft of a BTEC NG unit, as well as catch up on email. Why am I sharing this, no reason, its mid afternoon at the moment and I can.

This one comes relayed from my wife and her experience in a well known supermarket chain last week. Have you ever noticed multi-buy deals that don't make sense. We like Greek 0% fat yoghurt, apart from the dietary benefit, we do like the taste. Now go figure, the price was £1.50 a unit, or 2 for £4.00 ... Yes, that is correct, it would be cheaper to buy a single unit or three, not two. So, always happy to test the situation, she put two in the basket and waited until checkout time. Now, one has to be fair, we know that many supermarket staff do not select the prices, this is a head office decision. So wife, capable of being polite, but firm waited until the items were scanned at the check out. Before she exclaimed 'I am not paying that'. Poor souls managing the check out, could not compute that there was a £1.00 difference, having two would cost 33% more than a single item. Partly the confusion was based on their trust of the pricing system, partly as this seem...

Today I had the privilege of interviewing Jon "maddog" Hall for a podcast which will eventually be shared to the world at large. Whilst the edit will be sometime in the future and the podcast on multiple platforms. Here is a summary of the questions asked ... The lighter opening question, was "Go back to when you were 21 could you have foreseen Linux?" What would maddog have foreseen? What were the wow factors over the last 40 years? Project Caua, could you explain this to the listener and how this will help the future of Linux in South America (and maybe beyond). What are the recurring challenges of protecting the freedoms of Linux What frustrates you? In the UK, there are still many unaware of the benefits and freedoms of Linux, in education as well as commerce … how would you allay their ‘fear of the unknown’. If you were to encourage a first time programmer to take up a language, what would it be and why? Many students are keen on your vie...

Being a middle english aspiring pseud, one was listening to this programme on Radio 4 this morning. It was an exploration of gamification (in the world of computer based games), in a multitude of areas. The term, a new word, describes how learning or functional task can be converted into a competitive or 'fun' game, to engage the individual and encourage deeper participation. Ok, new word for old practice alert? I don't think when I was teaching we had any term for it, but it was something that was employed in ones craft. Over the years, you gamify multiple tasks, but the two that immediately come to mind are: Naming routers ... With a group of CCNP adult evening class students, I would set challenges every week based on the topic and link in previously learned subjects. Rather than go through a series of mindless labs. It was more fun to use the labs, the commands, the curriculum and build a complex network with the kit available.  The game, was the name, h...