Twitter Chat vs Second Life (Virtual World)

Twitter vs Second Life from Chris Smith on Vimeo.

Weekly Classroom 2.0 Saturday Webinar

What's in my own Tech Survival Toolkit

Shambles Newsletter May 2010 ... online

www.shambles.net/newsletter/may2010

Modern Foreign Languages and ICT

Recently I seem to have added a lot of links in the "MFL and ICT" area of shambles www.shambles.net/pages/learning/mfl/mflict/

One of those items is about the new virtual keyboards that Google has introduced to help with search.

Shambles newsletter: Database Migration

The online company I used (in Hong Kong) to manage the Shambles newsletter subscriber database is 'no more' ...

.... so I'm in the process of moving that database to a new host ... and have decided to use "Google Groups"

If you were in the subscriber list then you should receive an email in the next few weeks asking for you to confirm membership ... or/and ... you add your email to the form at http://shambles.net/newsletter/

Shambles "Home Page" Redesign

After seven years it's time to revamp the Home page on the Shambles website .... the rest of the site will remain the same ... just the front door getting a new coat of paint.

I started off with the idea of going in a complete Web2.0 direction ... very minimalistic, simple, little more than a search box .... but that hasn't happened.

The page took control of itself and there is more on it than I'd planned for.

One new element is to replace the scrolling school/country names at the top with worldwide times ... this acknowledges that there is a global readership ... and knowing the time zones helps appreciate how others are affected.

Feedback is welcomed .... I've have several suggestions already that I've acted upon ... one suggestion I have yet to implement is a 'text magnifier' as much of the text is small if using high screen resolutions.

So please use the comments below this post for feedback.

Original page is at www.shambles.net
New page is temporarily parked at www.shambles.net/indexnew.htm

I'll be moving the new page to the front in the next couple of days .... the old page will continue and there is a link to the orginal on the new. (wow that sounded complicated)

Mini Tours of the Shambles Website

I've just done the first ... of what I plan to be a ongoing series of screencasts ... of mini-tours around the Shambles Website ... this first one is about the "Mobile Phones in Education" section.
I'm using a web-based screencasting application to make these ... http://screenr.com/user/shamblesguru
I need to work a little more on the audio volume and the best dimensions for these screencasts ... they are really quick and easy to do, a brilliant application for students.

Shambles Newsletter: May 2009

Shambles Termly Newsletter: May 2009 ... only 3 a year ... for (international) educators http://tr.im/kpvx

Nursery Rhyme Videos

In 2007 I set up a "Nursery Rhyme" Blog in the "Forest of Theme Blogs" series ... but was disappointed that I could not find any simple videos of someone just playing the music of well known nursery rhymes.
I approached a music teacher colleague and asked if he could help with this .... and as a result the series "Nursery Rhymes with Howard" was born ... designed and performed in the hope of providing a useful resource for the parents and for teachers of young children.
I've now posted the resulting videos on the Blog .... http://nurseryrhymevideos.blogspot.com
By the way .... Howard is the bear, who is assisted by John Barham on keyboards, x-Hong Kong (international school) teacher.

5th Feb 2008

OMG ... what a day .... the February 2008 Shambles newsletter published and the official opening of the International Schools Island. in the 3D virtual world 'Second Life'
Check out the links to find further details ... now ... time to sleep

International Schools Island in Second Life

REALLY exciting news .... what I did in the summer holidays .... took deliver of an island in Second Life (3D online virtual world).
The Island, called "International Schools Island" was delivered by Linden Labs on the 9th September 2007 (or the 10th depending on your time zone)
The mission, concept, purpose, functionality and the layout of the Island had been planned over the previous two months by the two owners .... Shamblesguru Voom (a.k.a. Chris) and Takeme Homewood (a.k.a. Jenny).
The Island is designed to support international schools in the 17 countries in S.E.Asia but we suspect that it will also be of specific help to public schools and those worldwide .... in fact all educators are most welcome to take advantage of what will be offered here.
We are keeping a Blog which is designed to document the whole process of setting up the island and community ... in the hope that it will become a case study for future developers. http://internationalschoolsisland.blogspot.com
There is also now a page on Shambles purely about Second Life .. with resources and links relevant to teaching and learning www.shambles.net/secondlife

Snapshots

I've been having a play with a web application called Snapshots.

What this does is ... when you put your pointer over a weblink on a web page then a small window pops up and shows you an image of that page you would go to.

I've set this up on three of the pages on Shambles:
1. List of All International Schools www.shambles.net/allschools
2. List of Singapore International Schools www.shambles.net/singapore
3. The main Science page www.shambles.net/science

This seems a good idea initially but I'm not sure if this is something I should be implementing throughtout the Shambles website ... something is holding me back and I'm not sure what.

I do have a button on the pages which allows visitors to switch this function on and off.

What I would really appreciate is if you could visit one of the 3 pages above
... and try it out and let me have some feedback.

The free application itself is is called 'snapshot' from Snap at www.snap.com and just requires you to put some code onto your page.

Brilliant idea .... or over the top?

A Forest of Theme Blogs (Videos and PPoints)

I'm supposed to be a switched on ICT Educator but if you look at the date between these postings you'd think I was switched off or my time management skills were minimal ... so apologies of course.

The only subject in this posting is to let you know about a project I started in March 2007 ... building a "Forest of Theme Blogs" around Shambles in much the same way as a forest might grow around a township.
These Blogs showcase online (free) videos and PowerPoints that support a particular theme.
So why use Blogs rather than the regular webpages on Shambles for this particular growth?

• mainly because of the social aspect of Blogs which allows visitors to leave comments and suggestions on any or all postings
• also for the ability to subscribe to individual Blog pages using RSS in order to be automatically informed of new additions ... and eventually save you time

I both hate and love this project .... love because it's fun and I know it's going to be relevant and useful to teachers and will save them time ..... hate because although it is technically easy to grow (build?) it is both addictive and very time consuming. I suspect that online video addiction will be a topic appearing in the future for students and teachers even more so than the time wasted through poor search engine skills.

If you would like to see all of the Theme Blogs then go to the full list at http://www.shambles.net/blogforest

Shambles Podcasts

In October 2006 several "Shambles Podcasts" were launched ... available at www.shambles.net/podcasting/

"Shambles HEADcasts" : www.shamblesHEADcast.info
Conversations with International Schools Headteachers and Principals
This series asks those who are now Headteachers or who have been headteachers in an International School about the pros and cons of working overseas. What advice would they pass on to a new Headteacher coming to an International School in S.E.Asia. What advice would they also give to teachers applying for jobs in the region. Finally we ask about the benefits of ICT to teaching and learning and what is their vision of ICT in teaching and learning in the future.

"Shambles TECHcasts" : www.shamblesTECHcast.info
Conversations with International Schools ICT Coordinators, Managers and Directors
ICT= Information and Communication Technology
This series asks those with an ICT (technology) management responsibility about the use of ICT in teaching and learning, about how they might change things if they could travel back. We also speculate how ICT might be being used in schools in five years time and also suggest recommendations for new ICT coordinators moving to work in an international schools overseas.

"Shambles ASIAcasts" : www.shamblesASIAcast.info
Conversations with educators in S.E.Asia
This series is a mixed bag of conversations with educators from both the private and public sectors in S.E.Asia and from those who have experience working with schools in the region.

The majority of the Shambles Podcasts are 20 to 30 minutes long and are 'audio' only. In all the broadcasts the view expressed are of the individuals only and do not necessary duplicate school policy.

Copyright :
all podcasts are provided under a Creative Commons
Attribution Non Commercial licence
You are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work and to make derivative works under the following conditions .... you must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

These series open up a whole new set of windows into education in S.E.Asia and especially into International Schools ... the plan is to have the series continuing for a long time with new programmes being posted every three weeks during term time.

Packers/Shippers, Hotels and Flights

Over the last four years I've worked with a number of affiliates, obviously as part of the "Shambles" business plan to generate income but also to be able to offer relevant, easy to use, affordable and trustworthy services to Shambles (www.shambles.net) visitors.
Over the last few months some new partnerships have been formed which fit these criteria.

Packers and Shippers
On the Shambles China, Hong Kong and Singapore pages you will now find forms which allow you to get immediate (free) quotations for packing and shipping goods and household/office items. This is with "Links Relocations"
"Links Relocations specializes in international, Hong Kong, China (Shanghai/Beijing), Singapore and domestic household goods moving, office moving, office and companies moving project management, origin packing and storage. If you are planning on moving from or to Hong Kong or China in anywhere of the world, Links Relocations offers all the relevant relocation services."
So try the forms on the Shambles China, Hong Kong and Singapore international schools pages .... they are free to use and are especially useful as they do also highlight the questions that you should be asking if or when making a move.

Finding and Booking Hotel Rooms in Asia
(discounted rates)
www.shambles.net/hotels
Shambles now offers easy online access to a searchable database of hotels in individual cities in countries across S.E.Asia ... with excellent discounts.

We have partnered with "Wired Destinations" to offer this service, they were established in 1996 and now have over 70 employees with the main offices in Hong Kong and Bangkok.
The team has researched and negotiated some of the best hotel discount packages available which you can book immediately online.
Full details of individual hotels are available (free) and detailed location maps can be seen (free).
Wired Destinations is a recognized PATA member joining in 2004 (number: 558742)
The online enquiry form can be found at www.shambles.net/hotels

Airlines and Flights
I am still working on this to be able to offer access to an easy and trustworthy database of sources which can be trusted. There is a list of Asia budget airlines at www.shambles.net/pages/Countries/airlines but no one searchable location so it is time consuming for you to go through these.
BUT watch this space for a one-stop solution .... it will appear eventually providing it can satisfy the above criteria.