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Common Sense Media Kid’s Media Reviews

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May 272016
 

This app is a must have for all educators.  It gives you information at your fingertips on just about any social media app or website, game or film relating to a range of issues such as minimum age and educational value.  Searching for anything is easy from the landing page. Continue reading »

Purchasing Raspberry Pis

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May 232016
 

WP_20160414_16_18_10_Pro

I have had a few enquiries about the best place to buy a Raspberry Pi, which we are investigating as low cost PCs.  Here is one dressed in Strawberries and Cream, browsing Hwb.

The best place to get them from is the official supplier, right here is Wales, RS Components.  You will get the official units, also made right here in Wales!

For those interested, here are the links to build a working system, correct at the time of writing:

Source from RS Components:

Pi  – http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8968660/

Case – http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/development-board-enclosures/9098132/?origin=PSF_502004|acc

Supply – http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/plug-in-power-supply/9098126/?origin=PSF_430702|acc

Operating System and memory – http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/secure-digital-cards/9176317/?origin=PSF_437585|acc

You will probably also need an HDMI to VGA adapter – I have tested these ok:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Converter-Charging-Raspberry-Chromebook-Ultrabook-Black/dp/B00NBUTHJG?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=pe_931411_45466481

You might also want to get a camera, but there are lots of ideas online for projects.

 

Hwb+ User Credentials List

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Apr 182016
 

This is a useful list, available to the school Admin for Hwb+, but does cause a little confusion.  This post aims to clarify some of these issues!

User Credentials List

The list is available through the Admin tab, then clicking on ‘User Credentials’ (lower left on page).  It appears to show all the usernames and passwords of members of the school Hwb+ site, however this is not quite the case.  Let me explain…

What the list actually represents is a historical record of usernames and passwords when they were made members of the school.  This means:

  • The list will contain users who may no longer have access e.g. pupils who have left.
  • Passwords shown on the list may no longer be current, as they may have been changed.  Note that passwords can be reset by the school Admin on the ‘Admin’ page (lower right on page).
  • Pupils and staff joining from a different school may have a blank password field.  If you do not know their old password, it is easiest to reset it (see previous point).
  • To find users more quickly, the list can be filtered and sorted by hovering over the column headings and selecting from the drop down menu (just like in Excel).

Notes for more advanced users:

  • Whilst it is possible to add items of your own to this list, it does not set up new accounts.
  • New accounts are set up automatically from data in Teacher Centre (Primary Schools) or SIMS (secondary schools).  Pupils should be set up every few days, staff at the end of every month.

Show Me App

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Feb 282016
 

Show Me in AppStore

 

Show Me is a free app to annotate and record audio over a whiteboard or anything displayed on an iPad, such as a photo.

Potentially, a teacher could use it to build a slide sequence with a voice over to be played as part of a lesson activity.  As a pupil, it could be used to record work by taking a photo for the background and then recording a voice-over as a commentary.

However, despite being free, I will not be recommending Show Me for Powys schools for the following reasons:

  • There does not seem to be an export facility to allow a video to be saved and subsequently uploaded to Hwb (ie. j2e for primary schools).   This makes it difficult to store children’s work appropriately.
  • The only way to store a file (off of the original iPad) is online, on the Show Me website. Whilst this is a choice to be made by a teacher, it is not an appropriate option for pupils as the system is based in the USA and therefore outside of current UK Data Protection legislation.

At the time of writing, Explain Everything remains my preferred app of this type.