LearningSpark

Will you be able to run your favourite Mac software after September 2019?

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 23:37:15 +0000

What’s the problem? The next version of macOS is due in September 2019 and it will be the biggest change to the Mac operating system since the release of OS X 10.7 ‘Lion’ in 2011. MacOS 10.15 ‘Catalina’ will not support any Macs made before 2012 and will not run old (32-bit) software. Apple’s website has a preview of macOS Catalina: https://www.apple.com/au/macos/

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ABC Television series – Growing Awareness

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:44:45 +0000

‘Growing Awareness’ is a 13-episode series made for broadcast television by the ABC in conjunction with Open Learning Australia and presented by Raelene Boyle. The series has been screened many times throughout Australia as well as into South-East Asia and the Pacific. I headed the team of content experts that outlined the series, then led the script-development team (of non-scientists)…

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Learning to use a microscope

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:43:57 +0000

Learning microscopy is a competency that is a fundamental part of most biology courses. Microscopes have several controls, each of which can be set to various positions. As a result, there are many possible combinations of settings, almost all of which are wrong and degrade the image! Yet, an experienced microscopist will take only 30 seconds to set up a microscope correctly.

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Whaling into essays

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:42:51 +0000

‘Whaling Into Essays’ uses animations, humour and serious materials to teach the principles of writing a structured essay. This module was created for a corporate client for use in teaching general study skills. The client provided all content expertise. Our team provided creative ideas and guidance in the teaching methodology, then built the vehicle for delivering the content via the…

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Learning materials – The Biology of Plant Production

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:42:13 +0000

A large and complex project developing a semester-long subject for multimodal (blended) delivery to students in the first semester of applied science courses in agriculture, horticulture, natural resource management. Most of the students were on-campus for the semester but some had only a mid-semester residential session. This project involved six staff teaching across two courses at three…

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Library management system in FileMaker Pro

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:40:41 +0000

This management system was custom-designed for a specialist library to handle the cataloguing and circulation of books, toys, teaching aids and other items. As well as reporting on circulation, it is a repository of complex (and sensitive) patron information required by this library. The library investigated off-the-shelf management systems but these lacked the specialized features…

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Fast-tracking primary school students to rich learning

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:39:10 +0000

Sessions were held with classes of primary-school students to fast-track them into authentic and rich learning tasks. Particular emphasis was placed on Inspiration (and Kidspiration), animation, photo and Office software.

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On-site professional development for teachers

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:38:30 +0000

The school’s computers and network were upgraded and it was time to upskill the teachers in the technology. Training was provided in accessing the network, file management, &c. Teachers were trained in the use of various applications. Ways of using them in the classroom were discussed. The success of this led to a 10-week professional development programme. The aim was to provide…

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Climbing Google’s hit-list

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:35:35 +0000

Since the inception of the World Wide Web, web-page creators have tried to elevate their web pages on the hit lists of the search engines: search engine optimization (SEO). In turn, the search engines have tried to identify manipulative practices. Google (by far the predominant search engine) is designed to give the best results possible to the searcher (not necessarily the web-page…

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Upgrading the computer facilities of a school

admin — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:34:59 +0000

The school had $50,000 to spend on upgrading its technology. This included computers, software, other in-class technologies and professional development of teachers. Prior to speaking to me, the ICT Committee had earmarked $30,000 for the computers and software. After our first meeting, we determined that the requirements could be greatly exceeded with a significantly lower budget.

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