Bendito Machine

Learning Platforms: Enabling Parental Dialogue

Woodlawn School have been working with parents and use the school learning platform to share information with parents about their children.

http://dotsub.com/static/players/portalplayer.swf?plugins=dotsub&uuid=bdd32d03-b524-43c6-a638-b971bbf8f159&type=video&lang=none

MU multimedia installation

Developing the interest of kids in studies is one of the difficult tasks not only for the parents but also for the teachers. Developed as a school project at the Ecole des Gobelins in Paris, the “MU” is a multimedia installation that includes fairy tales to attract children toward learning. Intended for kids up to 6 years, the installation features a square tabletop multi-touch display to be shared by four students. Using a diffused illumination display and RFID enabled objects, the project lets the kids interact directly with the system for better understanding and identification of the characters. In addition, the MU using latest touch-sensitive technology also helps the kids enhance their basic skills of reading and writing.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8672676&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Human ‘infected with computer virus’

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/external/player.swf

A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus

Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand. The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID chips used to tag pets. In trials, Dr Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems. If other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.

Read the rest of the story here

Waka waka waka

Google celebrated Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary by replacing its logo with a fully-working Pac-Man mini game. The company also just made the game permanently available here

Synthetic Life

Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they’ve created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Content, Life & Everything

Content, life and everything Redwood has transformed itself from a print based agency to a truly multi-platform content agency. This video, left, explains the world of Content 2.0 from a customer’s point of view, the opportunities that we now have to reach them, and what the future holds.

HOWTO teach kids to be makers

Gever Tulley outlines his simple yet radical pedagogical method in this short video. Gever’s book 50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do is worth a high school education (or more) by itself. Tulley’s method: learn to use power tools. Do a quick sketch of something challenging and great. Start building. Learn to use more tools. Encounter hard problems. Work them out. Make stuff. Feel great. Do more. I want to go back in time and attend Tinkerer’s School.

Visit Fifty Dangerous Things parents’ experiences blog

How To Keep Your Computer Secure

The Technician