Driftwood Software have announced the release of an all-new version of FX Live, the popular sound effect playback application for the iPad. This app allows teachers to run multiple effects simultaneously, with fades and transitions all being handled by the iPad at the touch of a button. The entire production can be designed and built in advance, making the running of the performance a simple operation.

Gaming seems to be more popular than ever. As a child of the late Seventies, just BEFORE Space Invaders, video gaming has become a phenomena since the turn of this century. Even as some were worrying about the Millennium Bug, others could not have been more immersed in computing. 2000 saw Sony launch the PlayStation 2 for a staggering $299.99 (£150); with a built-in DVD player and back compatibility with PS1 games; every one of the 500,000 consoles produced sold out on Day 1. Following this, the only bug associated with computers was the sweeping-craze for gaming. 2008 saw the first ‘Video-game Tournaments’, as video-games became a fast-growing spectator sport with big tournaments like Unreal (held at Wembley Stadium) and the Championship Gaming Series (USA). Now eSports tournaments like the MLG have millions of registers users, with winners gaining millions of dollars for one video-game. 

Since being introduced to the world in January, the Microsoft HoloLens has been picking up both steam and hype, with the tech giant recently announcing that it will also be used for gaming with the Xbox One. But what can this device offer the classroom? We ask two teachers for their thoughts.

YouTube link

We asked Gillingham School’s Mike Tidd and Kings Monkton Private School’s Adam Speight for their thoughts on the Microsoft HoloLens.

Hearing solutions company, Conversor has launched a new brand for its voice recording apps and edit suite family of products. The Notetalker website uses a simple user interface to share their innovative recording solutions. These apps allow students to record classes, with the ability to bookmark or tag important information with a simple bookmark or a text description. The software is easy to use and organise, and both filenames and folders can be made or changed at any moment. With these features, Notetalker apps are particularly useful for SEN students.

A Turkish student is leading her school’s mission for innovation with her amazing, magnetic shoelace-tying device. According to Anadolu Agency, eighteen-year-old Istanbul student Zuleyha Cakir has teamed up with four friends as part of Darüşşafaka High School’s technology and science project.

Maps are objects of fetish; there is something special about tracing a route across the London Underground map or blowing the dust off maps that chart countries which don’t even exist anymore. The thrill of places we have never been, or the familiarity of home, all appeal, and can be imagined through the medium of maps. It is no coincidence that with the power to look at almost the whole (can’t find out exactly how much!?) of the globe, the first search the people do in Google Earth is to look at their house. In the classroom, maps can intrigue learners, and be used to add context and depth to learning across the curriculum. Long the reserve of Geography departments, maps that you can access with technology are a cost-effective way to bring the real world into the classroom - giving extended meaning to many subject disciplines.

As we March (ahem) into the spring, it is time to find sunshiny shortcuts and time-saving strategies, dear IMS-reader. The questions this month have been based around improvement and engagement. Please send in questions for next month via [email protected] for next months piece.

The kids we teach in our classrooms today are undoubtedly ‘digital natives’. Born in an age of established technology, the latest generation of students have grown up with clever gadgets and devices, leading to today’s youth having an unrivalled passion and understanding for the digital world. Research suggests that three quarters of children now use the internet at home, and nearly all use it at school, with around 41 percent of 9 to 19 year olds having access to the web each and every day. At a time when the traditional textbook is being phased out in favour of technology, it’s time for teachers to adapt their methods of delivering information to meet the contemporary needs of children growing up in the digital age.

3D printing is steadily transforming the world through innovation, speed, localised manufacturing and empowering the creativity of the individual. Where computers and mobile technology changed the world and the landscape within education, 3D printing adds another dimension to learning and gives rise to the next generation of engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, artists and industry innovators. The notion to innovate and excite the classroom, to transform learning processes and to introduce the ability to simplify complex design processes can all be achieved with a 3D printer. Here, I discuss how the concept can be used across the curriculum.

70% of UK schools are now using mobile devices in the classroom, according to Tablets for Schools. The vast majority of those devices are likely to be iPads, yet how many schools can you name who are standout users of the device? That is to say, how many schools are using the device to deliver true 21st century transformational lessons?