More fundamental change coming - this time via Google Instant

We all know that the rate of data creation today sees us create as much new data every two days as existed from the dawn of civilisation to 2003. That in itself is staggering - but how we all have access to that information is more staggering ... anyone with an internet connection can get access to this vast amount of data. And herein lies the problem - sick of those searches that give you thousands or millions of hits ...

Google is about to bring Google Instant to your browser here in New Zealand - well, when I say about to I'm not sure when, but they released it yesterday in the US and parts of Europe.

Have a watch of this intro to it ...


So, what's so big about Instant?

It redefines how we do search. 

It redefines how we are going to need to model search to students.

I grabbed this image from Google's Instant page - sums it up ... 







Not sure when it will hit New Zealand, but I want it now!

How lucky are we to live in such times.

Two Months with an iPad - the journey continues

Ok - two months in and what can I add to the mix.

Well, firstly I can report that the lack of multitasking is in fact a bigger pain than I'd like - the fact that it is pretty quick to change between applications makes it bearable - but only just.

The lack of corporate tools to manage and navigate through firewalls and filtering systems is a pain - made more so by the fact that my office on the ground floor is beautifully sheltered from any sign of significant 3G coverage by the concrete that surrounds me - so heading out over 3G needs me to move location.

Last gripe is Vodafone's 3G coverage - prone to drop out far too often for my complete liking - might investigate Telecom or 2Degrees in another few months. That said, I have been surprised at the fact that I have not used the full 3GB of data I pay for each month ...


Blogging tools   (that I've found so far) are average - they allow me to do some basic stuff like text and images, but I want more.



But that's about it for the negatives ... the positives are ....

I can access my Google account via Google's mobile app - email, docs, etc. The shame is that I can't edit or create Docs or Presentations - but at least I can edit Spreadsheets if I need to ... but that's where ...

 Docs To Go comes in. I have had a few issues getting documents created in Google Docs to even open in Docs To Go - the issue seems to have been some of the newer versions of Google Apps - but this appears resolved now and for the last week I have been able to pretty easily create new and edit existing documents on the fly - so I'm happy with this.

The mobile version of Google Earth is awesome - we used it to find our way to places we had no idea about during a recent motorhome holiday - the awesome detail coupled with 3G access was brilliant - don't need a GPS in the truck to do this!!

And while I am still not overly happy with the file structure and management the iPad offers (maybe I just need to accept there is another way of arranging stuff than my untidy way of filing on my other computing devices!) But DropBox works well for me shifting stuff between my PC, Mac and iPad - so this all works OK.

My worst purchase to date is the Apple Keyboard doc - thought I'd need it - haven't used it since the day I bought it.

Best purchase - the iPad itself, the Apple case for it and everything else I have installed.

Best use to date - recording feedback directly onto a Google Doc (via Docs to Go) as the students were presenting their research - laptop and tablet both too heavy and awkward to do this - iPod Touch too small, iPad - just purrfick!

Next best app - Feedler - my RSS feed (or my way of a reading my Google Reader account at the moment). there is still something missing from what I think I want - just haven't found a better way yet.


Basically I love the iPad (well, love is a bit strong ... but it is way cool) - haven't even thought about trying to print anything from it - no need to. Just add the document to my iBooks library and read it when I want.

My next exploration will be to sign up for some digital magazines via Zinio  - have resisted the temptation so far, but can see that is where I'm heading.

A Look at Live@Edu

I had the chance to sit down with Live@Edu for an hour or so yesterday. So a few observations ...

1. the gear I used - a MacBook Pro with no sign of MS Office or IE on it anywhere. My browser - the latest version for Firefox (3.6.9)
2. worked from behind our firewall at school.

What did I find?

Two things really. Firstly the good ... I was pleasantly surprised at the functionality of the Word Web App and the overall interface of the system.

I can create Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents, and according to the various menu options I should be able to share them online with whomever I choose.

 This part is where I came horribly unstuck first time through.  I shared via Send a Link but that's pretty much where any semblance of sharing, and as it turned out, and "resurrection" of the file ended. It didn't matter what browser, computer or attempt I made, the file was just plain gone ... closest I got was this message ...

Well, I didn't turn tracking on, and even attempting to open the document on my PC with Office 2010 (as it suggested) resulted in zero.

Normally at this stage I would have consigned the exercise to the bin - if I have this experience with software, then i wouldn't try and wish it on anyone else.

But this time I was interested enough to give it another go ... I think because my brief look at the interface seemed to indicate that the Web Apps might actually be reasonably functional, if at the basic level - but then, that's what I see most people use in my school.


The Word App seems to support most of the basic functions and you can insert images simply.

I've now successfully created and shared a Word App file - seems to work this time, so perhaps Office Web apps and Live@Edu may be an option for those not wanting to work with Google Apps or Zoho ... and that's the great thing from my perspective ... the user has choices ... and to be fair, the 25 GB SkyDrive and 10GB mailbox are appealing aspects of Live@Edu.

If you haven't had a good look at it, maybe you should.

200 Years that Changed the World - Gapminder for Teachers

Anyone reading this blog regularly will know I'm a Hans Rosling fan. His Gapminder website and accompanying desktop version are powerful tools for making sense of world data.

His latest newsletter highlights Gapminder for Teachers.

Two things struck me about the information on the teachers' page - the first was that there is a very cool 3 minute look at the 200 years that changed the world - a look at how the world has changed in terms of per capita income and life expectancy. This video shows just how powerful the software is. You can watch the video here.



The second thing that struck me was that there are now teacher guides for using this data with students.

So, again, if you are a teacher looking for some inspirational material to help get students thinking about some of the important issues facing the planet - you could do a lot worse than head over to Gapminder and use the wonderful tools that Rosling has contributed.