Finally the all new version of the open source & free social networking & ePortfolio platform Elgg is out.

It comes with several built-in features as well as a number of optional plug-ins that you need to install separately. Of course, you need a server to run it, unlike Ning. But unlike Ning, Elgg is add-free and more customizable. Ning lacks a Wiki, which Elgg has. And the best thing with classic Elgg should be still here: the ability to decide for whom you want to publish your files, blogposts etc. That is, openly in WWW, for a group or just for your self. It is user centric system, unlike most LMS’s.

As you can see, I am quite enthusiastic about this, and will start testing it as soon as possible. I am hoping, that some Finnish service provider could host Elgg, so we could actually consider it to be widely used by Sibelius-Academy – if it fulfills our requirements. More to come..

I spent recent weeks conducting student interviews for an ongoing study. I like to use video instead of just audio in interviews, since video gives out so much more, especially in the form of non-verbal interaction. And students do not seem to mind the presence of a camera, since they know me.. I guess. In packing the video, I used Elgato’s Turbo.h264 Video Encoder Hardware. The device resembles a USB-dongle, and it handles the processing, and thus frees up processing power from the computer. With a laptop this is a serious advantage, since the computer does not heat up, nor does the fan make noise. So I can really use my laptop for what ever during the conversion. An hour of video conversion took about an hour. It comes with a software that is maybe a little too much “pre loaded” for my taste (choose whether you want to convert to iPod, appletv, or Youtube etc), but offers also custom settings.

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I have been testing the fairly new Nokia N810 Internet tablet. The reason I am testing these mobile devices is that I believe that educational designers should be aware of the possibilities novel devices offer and prepared to develop the learning environment to suit these possibilities when the devices or at least their properties become more mainstream and for everyday use for may students and faculty. Touch screen devices with Internet connectivity and media player properties are certainly becoming more and more popular. The N810 is a pleasant surprise in many ways.

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Every now and then when “new” technologies, like the iPhone (quite old (2001-2004) tech with super usability in my opinion) come to popular use they tend to generate hype. Mobile technologies, especially when online access with truly mobile broadband (3g or similar) is allowed do offer great potential. But the danger is, they are being used again with models from industrial age of learning, or teaching to put it correctly. Now, according to Apple Insider, some universities in the USA are providing students with iPhones, where they feed the lecture notes and some videoed lectures, I assume. Read the rest of this entry »

This from Wired magazine’s blog. A trio plays Iphones and a Nintendo DS. iAno Piano seems to work also on iPod Touch! Interesting way of making use of touch screen devices. I assume we will see a lot of those applications in the coming months & years. Update: unfortunately, you need to “hack” the iPod touch (or iPhone, with Jailbreak or similar) in order to install this software. I wonder, whether similar software are coming to more open platforms, such as Series 60 used by some touch screen devices, like Nokia N810.

During the years I’ve noticed that software choices made in schools and music institutions are not always the most suitable ones or the most cost effective. Quite often teachers are not aware of all the possibilities available, and sometimes acquire the software they would use in their spare time, rather than the one which would be the best overall choice in the music classroom.

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The second trend in educational technology the Horizon Report 2008 mentions is the Collaboration Webs. Most people who read this probably use some collaborative spaces in their work, learning and leisure activities. In my view, this is the most important trend, when it comes to development of learning. Most people still talk mainly about content or traditionally designed courses when discussing online learning. Read the rest of this entry »

According to news reports, 10,5 million Guitar Hero III and Rock Band games were sold last year, which total around 935m$ profit – even more than iTunes and other music download stores have made. The differences in the earnings might suggest that people are downloading music for free, and games for game consoles are harder to get illegally.  But it also tells that people want interactive as well as social music experiences. The above number does not include other interactive music games, such as Singstar. Rock Band is not in Europe yet, but according to reviews, it is more social than GHIII, since it includes drums and vocals too. I hope some music education scholar will research the social and creative aspects of these games!

A new software + hardware combination for learning to play guitar in a game-like environment is announced. You can use a real guitar and color-code the fretboard, and add a midi-pickup and connect it to a computer (a mac in the demonstration) to play the game. It seems you can load any song and use it in the game (really?). The company also sells songs to upload to the program. It seems like a combination of Guitar Port and Guitar hero. Read more to see a video introduction provided by Engadget. Read the rest of this entry »

I purchased an iPod Touch (8gb) to experiment with in various settings. One of the main uses will be for piano students (and perhaps other instrument students) to evaluate and especially reflect upon their lessons or single songs played in both practice and teaching situations. We are already recording lessons on video and evaluating them in a web-based evaluation system. The mobile device will allow students to see and hear their lessons after the lesson or practice situation in a bus going home or where ever they desire. I will also evaluate a Nokia N810 for comparison. But more on that later. Read the rest of this entry »