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How hackers could use doll to open your front door

How hackers could use doll to open your front door

The National Cyber Security Centre in London opens on Tuesday, aimed at protecting the UK against cyber attacks. Technical Director Dr Ian Levy demonstrated how smart devices – and even toys – could be a security threat in your home. My child could not sleep for months after a story went around the school about an app that spied on little children. We had to get a dog after a year of sleepless night. It is great that we have social media to warn us about specific threats but it is a nightmare when taken out of context. Luckily, I now have a guard dog that has a bark that will scare anyone off but lets my daughter sleep through the night.

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Science classes won’t future-proof our children. But dance might

Science classes won’t future-proof our children. But dance might

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/30/science-classes-future-children-dance-schools

Focusing exclusively on science, maths and tech is misguided. Future workers will need the creativity that only the arts teach Focusing exclusively on science, maths and tech is misguided. Future workers will need the creativity that only the arts teach Prince George is going to learn ballet.

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How We Think: John Dewey on the Art of Reflection and Fruitful Curiosity in an Age of Instant Opinions and Information Overload

How We Think: John Dewey on the Art of Reflection and Fruitful Curiosity in an Age of Instant Opinions and Information Overload

How We Think: John Dewey on the Art of Reflection and Fruitful Curiosity in an Age of Instant Opinions and Information Overload

Decades before Carl Sagan published his now-legendary Baloney Detection Kit for critical thinking, the great philosopher, psychologist, and education reformer John Dewey penned the definitive treatise on the subject — a subject all the more urgently relevant today, in our age of snap judgments

I found this nugget of gold from my EDC peer Clare!

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2016 Summit: Talking With Children and Quality Interactions

2016 Summit: Talking With Children and Quality Interactions

The Early Years Summit is an annual online CPD event for Early Years Practitioners. Each year the summit provides in-depth training in the fundamental skills, that is required when working in Early Years settings, through interviews and presentations with leading experts and practitioners. Access is free until March 31st but a lifetime access pass can be purchased for £25. There are quite a few videos uploaded each day that can last up to 1 hour, therefore, it may be difficult to watch and retain the information in the short timeframe that the access is given for FREE. Intrigued by the online CPD opportunity, I registered for the free access and membership and was instantaneously delighted at the first video available; Sally Goddard Blythe on Improving Personal, Social and Emotional Well-Being Through Physical Development. Now this interview of what looked like a recorded Skype chat was fascinating and I found the conversation extremely valuable in regard to my Early Years classes and projects. The content was an in-depth discussion of academic research and findings and although I found this easy to follow and put into context I had to consider the relevance to Early Year practitioners or assistants that I come across on a weekly basis. Their approach is less academic and they are hands on with the children. The content may be valuable but the information that is disseminated through video and an  ‘in the mind’ learning approach may be problematic as the visualisation of the knowledge may be difficult to transfer into the day to day approach within the Early Year setting. Although a wonderful initiative it falls back to how and when learning happens. Is it enough to just listen to a conversation? Should one be a part of that conversation to allow full understanding? Is listening the only form of learning and should visual representation or examples be available? How can the learners then take the information gained and put it into practise which will solidify learning and allow retention?

 

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#mscedc http://ift.tt/2o0sWZP

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In an e-mail from Coursera there are definitely algorithms at play as I am sent a list of recommended courses. The selection of courses have a connection with my current MOOC ‘The Brain and Space’ but I am not in a position to take on another course. I consider browsing the list and even read a few in depth before coming to my senses. I can’t help but feel tempted and wonder if Coursera are putting pressure on me to expand my education? Is it for my benefit or a marketing strategy to increase course numbers and financial gain? I then start to consider the algorithms that may influence student course choices and career pathway. Do students find themselves being led down the garden path where they are navigated to a course that may not be suitable or necessary. Are algorithms making choices and narrowing a selection of courses that will shape ones career and life direction?

References:

Beer, D. (2016). The social power of algorithms. Information, Communication & Society, 20(1), 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/1369118x.2016.1216147

Knox, J., 2014. Active Algorithms: Sociomaterial Spaces in the E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC. Campus Virtuales, 3(1), pp.42–55.

Algorithms can influence unhealthy practice #mscedc http://ift.tt/2mZAdYp

Algorithms can influence unhealthy practice #mscedc http://ift.tt/2mZAdYp

Whilst exploring algorithms I have realised that the number of views can have an impact on the promotion of a video on youtube. Through recommended videos a video that may be homemade can appear higher than a video made for an educational purpose. I typed in ‘How to achieve the splits?’ into the search engine and was horrified to find a variety of homemade videos that demonstrate insane practice. Can anyone pretend to be a dance teacher these days? Should there not be some sort of regulated health and safety protocol? It really is scary to find out how easy it is to publish something on the internet!

References:

Knox, J., 2014. Active Algorithms: Sociomaterial Spaces in the E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC. Campus Virtuales, 3(1), pp.42–55.

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Backstage conversation #mscedc http://ift.tt/2nHMipo

Backstage conversation #mscedc http://ift.tt/2nHMipo

Sometimes the best conversations happen backstage when discussing specific papers, links, videos and posts in depth; we feel less vulnerable. When we post our learning journey online we have trips, stumbles and sometimes a dip in motivation which can cause unfocused dialogue. Is it possible to ONLY learn in a public environment? Will we voice our confusion if we know others are watching? Do we need to digest and discuss themes and certain aspects with others in private to articulate the information in a relaxed state of mind?

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Using algorithms to create a unique dance

Using algorithms to create a unique dance

“We came into our algorithm planning meeting not really having any ideas and unsure of where to start. For about a half hour, we bounced ideas around but couldn’t decide how to execute anything. Then, one of our group members mentioned the idea of doing a dance.”

 

I LOVE this idea and it particularly resonates with Kozinets (2010) description of the interaction between technology and culture as a complex dance alongside Williamsons (2014) description that software is code and that it is fundamentally performative. Could dance algorithms create new ways to teach online?

References:

Kozinets, R. V. (2010) Chapter 2 ‘Understanding Culture Online’, Netnography: doing ethnographic research online. London: Sage. pp. 21-40.from Pocket http://ift.tt/2mZjhpx

Williamson, B. (2014). Governing software: Networks, databases an algorithmic power in the digital governance of public education. Learning, Media an dTechnology, 40(1), 83-105. DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2014.924527

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A Dance With Algorithms

A Dance With Algorithms

“Philippe Pasquier, a professor in artificial intelligence and a researcher at Simon Fraser University, is merging art and science to create systems that can understand and produce human-quality movement.”

Here Pasquier is using a resource called  XSEDE, which can train some of most complex movements within 24 hours.

Creative tasks, particularly movement, is complex and information and code can be hard to produce manually as well as difficult to interpret. Human expression needs to look authentic for the machine to replicate a human like product. The body and mind move simultaneously resulting in an overwhelming amount of muscles, bones, tissue, hair and fibres moving at the same time.

As the article highlights, dancers have an individualised style of movement. The platform iDanceForm provides software that can help many choreographers create and explore movement when there are facing space and financial limitations and have a lack of dancers. If we were to create teaching resources could we use algorithms to produce sequences online for our online students to replicate or would we need the high tech systems like this article. The thought of a computer turning movement into data seems possible but can we create data and algorithms that will transpire into online movement for learners to decode and interpret?

https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/-/a-dance-with-algorithms

 

 

 

Identity, Power, and Education’s Algorithms

Identity, Power, and Education’s Algorithms

Although dated in 2014, this article reflects the change in the use of Twitter from a reverse-chronological timeline for Tweets to an algorithmically organised one. It covers the pros and cons of the old Twitter feed and that the exposure helped distribute particular news feeds as and when it happened compared to the Facebook posts which followed an algorithmic nature. Does the personalisation of algorithms keep us within our bubble and around like minded communities, such as the ‘you loop’? Is it not best to challenge and expand our understanding by socialising and interacting with communities from different backgrounds and perspectives? Can we continue to learn and grow as humans if we surround ourselves with the same information or communities? As the saying goes “if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got.”
References:
Beer, D. (2016). The social power of algorithms. Information, Communication & Society, 20(1), 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/1369118x.2016.1216147