do your bit - SDG - micro:bit challenge

I have been waiting for this for a month now since it was announced on twitter.

This brings in the ideas of designing and developing a digital outcome, based upon the Sustainable Development Goals using the micro:bit.

The two goals that are at the front and centre of this are

A new BBC micro:bit challenge for children and teens to combine creativity and technology in solutions for the Global Goals.

The Challenge

This challenge will focus on Global Goals 14 and 15. We want you to come up with innovative ways to use your micro:bit to help protect life on land and below water.

You can learn about the Goals, understand some of the problems facing our oceans and natural world and then get started developing ideas and solutions using technology.

I think one of the activities that really highlights the Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes, input - process - output is 

evidence could look like, I like the fact that through the resource, that they get students to think about bigger areas and whether it might be the right algorithm.

I look forward to investigating the ideas and activities more.

challenging

Today was our first day of school. All the idea and vision from the last week have now come into play.

This morning started with a Kitchen Table meeting, minus the kitchen table. There is now more staff than can fit around a kitchen table. The meeting in the library space allows a comfortable spot to talk.

Time spent with the students involved ice breaker games and activities. Some thing that I need to work on this year.

The challenge of the day was the film challenge. To look at a habit, a place within the community and to incorporate other aspects were possible. To have 4 hours for students develop an idea, get footage and edit it before showing to their community by 3pm. The official viewing will be Wednesday afternoon. But it allowed me to see the students outside of a classroom, engaging with one another.
Problem solving was a big area of focus today. Using iMovie for the first time on an iPad mini was a challenge in what it can and can't do. I think I am too used to adobe premiere.

Here are some images from todays challenge.

Cutting out images 

Joining together

Outside the Primary School

Had to get the image of the dog in the film

Computer science 101 via Stanford uni online

Came across this one today

CS101 teaches the essential ideas of Computer Science for a zero-prior-experience audience. Computers can appear very complicated, but in reality, computers work within just a few, simple patterns. CS101 demystifies and brings those patterns to life, which is useful for anyone using computers today.

In CS101, students play and experiment with short bits of "computer code" to bring to life to the power and limitations of computers. Everything works within the browser, so there is no extra software to download or install. CS101 also provides a general background on computers today: what is a computer, what is hardware, what is software, what is the internet. No previous experience is required other than the ability to use a web browser.

Course is available at http://www.cs101-class.org/
Wondering if it may be something to get my year 13 students involved with, though I need a bit more a guideline on what is to be taught each week, so I can prepare my lessons and check the content to suit

location based social media

I am starting to look at how location based social media works, using the app foursquare I am looking at how this can be used with various businesses to look at grabbing people as well as finding out what works and what doesn't.
One of the things I am doing is adding places, like my school, so I can see how it works as well as gaining interest from the students in using it as an attendance tool to see who will be mayor of our school, wonder if I can wind my classes with there iphones and itouches when we have our wireless system up and running. would be interesting to see who will topple the mayor. I like challenges :)