Chromium OS launched

Exciting times for Linux geeks. Google has open sourced its disruptive operating system Chromium. Essentially it's a lightweight operating system that contains just enough to power a browser (which is where Google sees us doing just about everything in the near future). The way Google have been able to achieve a boot time of 7 seconds is to strip out everything that is not essential to running a browsers. Anyone who's used computer before is probably familiar with the way operating systems get slower and slower over the life of the device. This is quite convenient for peddlers of locked in operating system, because it means you're more likely to pay for an upgrade, but the root cause is often sloppy programming of third party software. What often happens is that programmers put parts of their code into the boot process so that it run all the time. Why? Because if 50% of their programme is running constantly, when you actually start that programme, it appears to load faster. So the program looks like it's nice and fast, but what it's actually doing is choking your entire computer. Not good in the long run.
With Google's 7 second boot and Ubuntu's goal of a 10 second boot in its next release, it looks like speed is going to become on of Linux's hallmarks in the years to come. It may just be the tipping point for an increasingly impatient market.
More on the Chromium OS:

Record and play back classes

One of the difficulties still facing educators (who have embraced ICTs or not) is the problem of making learning resources available to students who are not physically present in the classroom. Traditionally this has happened through the use of copied notes, and more recently through electronically captured and distributed resources. The problem with this is the fact that the majority of the intangible 'magic' of learning happens in the discussion and questioning that surrounds the resources. This 'magic' has been difficult to capture, except in a monolithic, podcast or video podcast which is not searchable or integrated with the notes, handouts and presentations being used.
Enter Synote. Synote is a web-based teaching tool that allows one to record video and audio of a class, run it through voice recognition to transcribe the conversations, then make it available for others to play back. Fast forward the video and the transcript fast forwards too. And it's available for full text search too.

Go Uruguay!!!

This is a wonderful endorsement of a wonderful programme. This from the BBC:

Uruguay has joined the small number of nations providing a laptop for every child attending state primary school.

President Tabaré Vázquez presented the final XO model laptops to pupils at a school in Montevideo on 13 October.

Over the last two years 362,000 pupils and 18,000 teachers have been involved in the scheme.

The "Plan Ceibal" (Education Connect) project has allowed many families access to the world of computers and the internet for the first time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8309583.stm

Mahara has LEAP2A support!

Great news out of the Mahara community this week:

"The latest, and I hope last, of the betas for Mahara 1.2 has just been released. The biggest piece of news regarding this is that Mahara has full LEAP2A support - in particular, you can export your account from one Mahara, and import it again to the same or a different Mahara, and the new account will have all of the data (files, blogs, Views) that the old account had."

Simple as this sounds, it's actually a huge enabler for lifelong learning through e-portfolios. Import/export of portfolios enables a youngster to begin building an e-portfolio in an Early Childhood Education centre (with a bit of help), then have that portfolio follow them through primary, intermediate, secondary, tertiary and into the workforce. This process has also been enabled by the Ministry who has had the foresight to use Mahara to power http://myportfolio.school.nz/
It also means that students can move schools and have their portfolios follow them. Above all, it means a much better way to identify new students' strengths and learning needs before they enter an new school.
And of course at the end of the process, they are well set-up to share their achievements with potential employers who will employ them and pay them megabucks.
Well done to everyone in the Mahara community. This is a huge step forward for learning.

ULearn 2009 conference presentation

Here are my notes from my presentation on 'The Open Source School' at ULearn.

Post comments if you've got any questions...

Windows 7 Parties

This is great. Host a party to help launch Windows 7. As the guy says: "Can you believe Microsoft put the launch of Windows 7 in our hands? Are they nuts or what?"

It's conference season

Must be school holidays because it's conference season. First up is the SLANZA conference in Christchurch where I'm presenting with our wonderful librarian Sharon on Koha the open source library management system.

The second conference is ULearn, also in Christchurch. I'll post the slides from that presentation soon.