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Tag Clouds

Not quite the early innovator, but wanted to test out tag clouds for a city-wide project. Planning to put tag clouds to a good use. Watch this space as things progress. . .

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It's in the detail

Hucklow Primary school are gearing up for a launch in the new year. Lots of love and care going into the process. Children have an uncanny ability to know when people around them really care. Parents, staff and school council all working together to make something special. Can't wait for January.

Leadership in action

At last I get to see the wonderful Leadership academy pupils at Sheffield's Parkwood Academy in action. What a fabulous experience; peer-led activities throughout the school, pupils clearly respecting their peers and having a great time in the process.
'Living our values' gets a bit over-used these days as a phrase, but here for sure every one of the school's values were in evidence. Brilliant stuff.

Giving gets the thumbs up

6th form students at Bishop Challoner college in Birmingham are loving being Praise Pod interviewers, and their demand for more sessions is testament to the positive spirit of the college, and their embracing of new ideas.

Big thanks to Sonya Thomas for playing an instrumental part in introducing something new, and to all the staff who have embraced this new technology to compliment the outstanding work of the college.

Not long ago there were only blackboards. Then a few brave educationalists tried out interactive whiteboards. Now they are the norm. As for stickers, come to Bishop Challoner and you'll get a glimpse of the future: a sticker that talks, and can be shared with family and friends.

Cor, what values!

What an uplifting morning at Arbourthorne Primary school; the formal launch of eight core values which connect throughout the whole school community. An amazing assembly celebrated staff, pupils and parents alike, and all with an infectious energy that inspires dreams.
This is the school's main entrance, complete with wonderful display (and a perfect location for the praise pod)

Mind blowing power

Now this might be a lot of nonsense, but somehow I doubt it. At a click of a button the Praise Pod website gets translated into any language - this one is in Hungarian. Now the question is, do we take it as given that the translation is accurate and not misleading. Just as we might take it as a given that a Google search (or any other search engine for that matter) generates an accurate result. . .

I'd worry if there wasn't an option to 'offer a better translation.' That's what open source collaboration is all about. If only more people saw it as their right (and even their duty) to contribute to an open source conversation. And not just about software development. This is about domocratisation of every subject; technical or not.

connect, connect,connect

Was the BBC right to give Nick Griffin air time to voice his views?
Was he bullied by a non-representative panel?
Should we feel reassured by the free speech that we heard?
Or worry that it will fuel fires?

One thing is for sure; the more we connect with people who come from different backgrounds, or have different perspectives, the more we are able to find common ground, harmony and understanding.

I had the great pleasure of visiting Hucklow primary school today and hearing how they are forging links with a school in Karachi. Looking forward to hooking up praise pods in both schools to learn about life from another point of view.

Pen pals is still a lovely thing to get involved in, but why not harness Web 2.0 to connect and give children a real global perspective. Check here for one source of funding. . .

It's all about motivation

It's antibullying week soon, and the focus is Cyber-bullying. So let's not lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of people use technology for good reasons. I'm not inserting 'young' before 'people' because let's face it, bullying is not just a youth issue.
I recently re-connected (via Facebook) with an old school friend by the name of Toby Tanser. 25 years has passed since we knew each other, and without the internet there's no reason why I'd have known what he was up to. Turns out he now runs 'Shoe4Africa.' They are raising funds for the first Childrens Teaching Hospital in Kenya. A few e-mails later and a proposal is ready to put something together in the UK to raise a shed load of cash for this great goal.
Without social networking tools this kind of thing would hardly be imaginable, but now all I can think about is squeezing the last ounce of connective power from the internet to help Toby make that particular dream a reality.
Yes, bad things happen in cyberspace, but many, many more good things happen, and fast! Which is important if you you live in Kenya and have a sick child. Check their website and get involved. Blatant plug? Absolutely!