UPDATED: 13th May 2011

On the rare occasions that there are problems with the Northern Grid network we want to ensure that we are able to keep users informed. We have just launched a notification system that will be used when we have important announcements about service affecting issues. Examples of this would be a disruption of service or notification of an upgrade. It will not be used for day to day announcements about content or events; these will continue to be circulated through our mailing list.

The alert system is able to send SMS messages to mobile phones, send emails and call land lines. In order to benefit from this system you will need to send us contact details for all relevant members of staff. Please complete and return the attached spread sheet.

This information will not be shared with any other organisation and you will be able to unsubscribe to the service by emailing admin@northerngrid.org

Northern Grid will soon be looking into developing interactive education apps for Apple's iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad.

In the meantime, we thought we'd collect together some useful information about using and developing for them.

A great E-Safety resource from MTV looking at defining where the lines are drawn for inappropriate behaviour online. Take a Quiz to see how close to the line your own views are or Submit your story to see what other people think.

The Web and cell phones help us communicate, connect and learn in ways we never could before, but they've also forever changed how we interact with others. Things we used to share in person – and in private – can now be broadcast to thousands, instantly. Sometimes we type things we would never say to someone's face. As a result, new issues like forced sexting, textual harassment and cyberbullyiing have emerged, which now affect a majority of young people in the U.S.

MTV's A Thin Line campaign was developed to empower you to identify, respond to, and stop the spread of digital abuse in your life and amongst your peers. The campaign is built on the understanding that there's a "thin line" between what may begin as a harmless joke and something that could end up having a serious impact on you or someone else. We know no generation has ever had to deal with this, so we want to partner with you to help figure it out. On-air, online and on your cell, we hope to spark a conversation and deliver information that helps you draw your own digital line.

A Thin Line

Mobile phones and the internet have made a huge difference to our lives. But, like everything, they can be used for good or bad purposes. It all depends on what you do with them.

This resource by phone company Orange highlights some of the dangers of the mobile and online world and provides guidance. Focused on parents.

Check it out

Have you got what it takes to be Next Generation Learning LIVE! Reporter?

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

5-7 Oct 09. Barbican London

Report by Simon Finch, Northern Grid

Keynote Videos

• Graham Brown-Martin
• James Paul Gee
• Yvonne Roberts
• Zenna Atkins
• Malcolm McLaren

The Handheld Learning Conference was unlike any other conference I have attended in recent years. For those who bought tickets early, they received a ‘free’ Ipod Touch. The Touch is a web enabled handheld device, is easy to use and enables users to communicate with the wider world, wherever there is a wifi signal. The conference venue was well served by wifi with many delegates commenting on its quality and indicating in some cases that it was the best internet connectivity they had experienced at any conference.

And so, with high quality internet access, anytime and anywhere, over a thousand delegates were able to communicate with each other, colleagues and followers on Twitter - in addition to updating their blogs in real time. This virtual conference back channel proved to be as useful, engaging and informative as the conference taking place all around us.

The programme included so many strands and sessions that there were several mini conferences taking place simultaneously. Monday (the first day and open to the public) was a blend of exhibition by commercial providers, fringe sessions and presentations by young learners. The feedback from delegates was very positive, particularly from those who had attended one or more of the 14 best practice sessions. The interesting aspect of delegates being online throughout the conference was the ability to follow the events and information from those sessions running concurrently with the sessions attended in person.

Pecha Kucha

The afternoon session on Monday included Pecha Kucha for 21st Century Education and a welcome antidote to the sense many delegates can have of being ‘talked at’ for an hour at a time. Presenters have 6 minutes and twenty slides to present an idea – and each slide displays for exactly 20 seconds. This intensive and brief presentation format is becoming increasingly popular and could be embraced by the NEN and individual RBCs. TeachMeet also use a similar format for micro presentations (7mins) and nano presentations (2mins).

These adrenalin packed presentations engage audience, break down conventional barriers and encourage greater dialogue amongst all who attend. Add to this the Twitter Back Channel and the potential for engaging and appropriate sharing of ideas o take place and it can be seen that the handheld conference was by no means a conventional learning event.

A conference of any note should recognise the success and value of the great work taking place in learning communities and there Handheld Learning awards presented for individuals and organisations with the winners chosen by the public via text. It was also good to see that over a one hundred youngsters (under 16) were also present on the first day and several participating in the Y Factor sessions.

The ‘Learners Y Factor’ is an opportunity for ‘learners to present their work and explain how it has transformed, enriched and improved their learning experiences.’ The evening awards session saw Normanby Primary School (from Redcar and Cleveland LA and Northern Grid Overall Excellence in ICT Award winners 2009) winning awards for innovation, practitioner of the year and The Learners Y Factor.

Speakers

The line up of speakers was impressive and there was no shortage of big names and organisations represented. Tuesday opened with Zenna Atkins, Chairman of Ofsted and spoke anecdotally of her own ‘personal’ experience of education, and this personal focus was evident in many of the keynotes – and in truth left many of the delegates slightly nonplussed. It all rather depends on what delegates expect from keynotes; to be reassured or challenged? There did seem to be a common theme of ‘My education was rubbish but I survived and prospered’, which makes for an interesting conversation, but not necessarily a keynote. Whilst there may have been some delegates who were new to using technology to enhance and support learning many were perhaps a little weary of speakers returning to the theme of ‘It’s time to change the way we do things’. More useful perhaps, would be to have had a greater focus on how to achieve this change with practical suggestions. However it is true that the workshops and seminars were, in the main, overflowing with ideas, resources and experiences of supporting learning via new technologies and web tools.

Artist McLaren, perhaps best known as the manager of The Sex Pistols was a highlight of the conference. Whilst some delegates felt he was rambling and perhaps self indulgent I felt McLaren’s session was engaging, stimulating and motivating. His message was I think, heartfelt and passionate. We must question and challenge conventional and traditional teaching and education systems and instead, nurture creativity – if technology can assist this – then use it with anger.

The Conference closing Keynote was delivered by Ray Kurzweil, technologist, inventor, visionary and described as "the ultimate thinking machine". His talk, via video link was overflowing with statistics and charts that indicated technology will get smaller, smarter, more powerful and cheaper – and machines will be more intelligent that humans by around 2020. Perhaps the single quote that many delegates took away from the conference (and was repeatedly posted on Twitter) was; ‘Mobile phones are misnamed; they are really gateways to all human knowledge’.

David Cavallo, Chief Learning Architect of OLPC gave one of the most thought provoking and engaging of all the speakers at the conference.

One Laptop Per Child is an ambitious programme to bring technology to children in those areas of the world where this has seemed impossible. Projects are established in countries as diverse as the Australian Outback, Uruguay and Rwanda. David’s description of how in even the most challenging environments where poverty, climate and culture are significant blocks to learning, the OLPC project is providing amazing opportunities for young people. I think this provided a very useful contrast to the perceived challenges many face in the UK in enabling children to access learning via technology and many delegates left the conference with a new found determination to overcome the barriers in their way.

And the Rest

There were dozens of workshops over the three days and the feedback from delegates was positive. Four speakers worthy of special mention are Ollie Bray, John Davitt, Tim Rylands and the Learning and Teaching Scotland speakers. This was the first truly online conference I’ve had the opportunity to attend and the ability to communicate and share ideas digitally and in person added an exciting and purposeful element to the event.

The online dialogue started in the weeks prior to the conference with people connecting to plan meetings and discuss logistics and issues around travel, accommodation and planning sessions to attend. During the conference the ‘twittersphere’ was buzzing with comments and observations from all sessions simultaneously. At one point during three days the twitter hashtag #hhl09 made the top ten trending topics across the world on Twitter!

A key benefit of the online communications via Twitter is the opportunity to share reflections and ideas in the days after the conference. Receiving tweets from other people during keynotes and seminars was akin to sitting next to someone who nudged me and said ‘That’s interesting, I’ve made a note of it for you’. Another benefit of this live back channel of online communication is that colleagues unable to attend the event could, in near real time, participate in the discussions taking place at the venue.

Blogs

• Welsh Dragon
• James Clay
• Roger Neilson
• Brain Pop
• 3sheep
• InclusiveLearning
• Merlin John Online
• Steve Wheeler
• Terry Freedman
• Doug Woods

In June of this year Normanby Primary School, in Redcar and Cleveland LA, received the Northern Grid for Learning’s prestigious “Overall Excellence’ award - and this week the school was once again celebrating at the Handheld Learning conference at the Barbican Centre in London.

The Y Factor

On Monday afternoon Normanby learners participated in the Y Factor competition. The Learners Y Factor is ‘an opportunity to showcase the innovation and ingenuity being demonstrated amongst young learners using mobile, gaming, social media or other popular technologies in their learning’. There was great excitement and lots of smiles when the judges announced that Normanby pupils were the winners and had been chosen to present to the conference delegates on the Wednesday afternoon.

There are two awards in the Primary category; Practitioner and Innovation. Normanby won them both! Carl Faulkner, headteacher was awarded Primary Practitioner of the year and the school also won the Innovation award for their outstanding PDAs to Support Learning Initiative - beating schools as far afield as Australia!

These awards are a fantastic achievement and reflect the hard work and commitment of all the teachers and learners at Normanby and also Andrew Stogdale of Redcar and Cleveland LA who provided ongoing support for the school throughout the life of the projects.

More details about Normanby's projects can be found here.

NG Developing Student GeneeUs

A recent project at Huntcliff School funded by Northern Grid was to develop learning materials for use with interactive handheld devices. This summary aims to distil some of the lessons learned so that others approaching similar projects do not need to reinvent the wheel. The project was based around producing resources for use in the History and Geography Departments, but many of the lessons learned are also applicable to other areas.