CLIPP Board

Tasty Pi

This UK company is taking the one laptop per child concept to a whole new new level.   RasberryPi.org have developed a tiny Linux powered “PC” for only $25!  Anyone interested in downsizing their PC footprint, or those who teach programming should be very interested in this development. The wearable PC comes closer to reality!

Q:  What’s a Raspberry Pi?

A: “The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video.”

It was due to be available towards the end of February, but they are still tweaking the final product.  Read more here, and pre order it here.

TED’s new addition

I’ve long been a fan of the diverse range of informative and inspiring TED Talks. Today they’ve announced a new member of their family – TED Ed – which will be officially lanching as a YouTube channel in April. The idea is simple – teachers across the educational spectrum can team up with professional animators to share their resources in a short video not exceeding 10 minutes.  As always with TED, the video says it all…

Infecting Academia

This video explains the recent research conducted by Panos Vlachopolous, Kevin Brace (CLIPP), and David Pollard (LSS School).    Essentially academic staff valued both localised and central support, and also used peers to assist their use of technologies.  The results we interesting regarding the varying types and frequency of communications required to reach busy staff here at Aston, or indeed any university.   The need for more localised support mechanisms points towards the potential of nurturing communities of practice, and the importance of subject specific “champions.”