Being Thankful for Live TV Online

Watching live TV online is one of the main things which has gotten me through university so far! With the Brit Awards on tonight it's something I would hate to miss. A series of TV channels offer internet users free access to view their programme, such as Channel 4's catch up website 4oD, ITV Player, and now with my parents being Sky users I can have SkyGo where selected channels are available for me to view. It is a great chance for students who can't afford a TV license, let alone TV, to not miss out on their favourite TV shows!

Pinterest

I recently discovered an app called Pinterest which is also an online website where you can search for things that interest you by typing it into a search box, discovering plenty of interesting images that you can then 'pin' to a board. It's like taking all your favourite images and creating a mood board out of them, its quite similar to Tumblr but not just. I am thinking about getting another tattoo soon so began searching for the ideas I had in mind, finding new designs and styles, it is a great way to discover and collect a range of designs, images and photographs. You can share your board with your friends through Facebook, Twitter and any website of your own, and also allowing other members of Pinterest to view your different boards if you wish to. You can make as many boards as you like titling each one to signify what they are for. You are also able to upload your own photos to Pinterest if you wish to share them across the site It's a great website to collage ideas and images, and can be used for an educational purpose such as creating boards for your goals or wishes for what you would like to achieve in the future. By having a board of images signifying something meaningful it can motivate you to aim for those such things. 

The Impact of iPad's in Schools

This video shows the impact iPads have in our generations education. With schools across the world now bringing in the use of Apples iPad into many classrooms, it has developed a whole new method of teaching. Apple offer a wide variety of educational applications for children to learn from independently. The use of iPads in classrooms can be seen as a positive method of learning as it allows for new, interesting and fun activites for children to engage in, as well as developing in different areas of learning styles. With our generation being very technology based, this way of learning through the use of an iPad is quick and easy, and helps children to become used to technology that is soon to be part of their every day life. Although there can be some disadvantages to using iPads such as children becoming dependent on them for their work, by spending a significant amount of time on the item it might be difficult for them to adapt to other ways of learning. However this technology is certainly impacting education positively from the reactions of teachers from different schools shown in the video it is understandable how an iPad can be seen as a great tool for children to help them benefit in their learning.

Social Networking Benefits for Students

Being a first year student at Swansea Metropolitan University I have had to adapt to a lifestyle of being independent in many areas such as everyday activities like cooking and cleaning, doing my own washing, and also with work. Coming from a loud family of five to an even louder family of over fifteen students living in halls, I feel I have adapted quite well! It was very surprising to myself how quickly friendships are made and how little at first I missed my family whilst enjoying the start of university, including freshers week and meeting many new faces. As weeks and now months have gone by the missing of my friends and family began to grow but I found that with the use of technology and social networking I can keep up to date with what they are all up to on a daily basis.
Having an iPhone has been an essential item of my everyday life, with the countless number of applications available to download, I can have everything I need all in one space. With regards to keeping in contact with my friends and family social networking apps have enabled this, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and iPhones own iMessage and access to e-mail.

Facebook in paticular has actually benefited myself largely with my studies, studying Education Studies, a group profile has been created on Facebook for members of my course to join and discuss work, deadlines, homework, and to generally offer help towards each other on anything anyone has some difficulty with.
During a few lectures we have also been encouraged to get out our iPhones, tablets or iPads out to use the website www.wikispaces.com which allows for a live chat to be taking place throughout the lecture where students may share their ideas and opinions on certain topics. 

www.edweek.org 

Future Generations

I was in the doctors waiting room last week back in Cardiff and whilst I was waiting I overheard two mothers having a conversation. One mother was with her son, who was sat on her lap playing on an iPad, he must have been no older than 3. The other mother was presently pregnant, asking how long the boy had been playing on the iPad and whether the mum of the young boy felt it was suitable for someone of such a young age. She replied saying at first she was a bit restricted, but the boy had taken a great love for the iPad and educational games that helped him with his learning, although saying she only allows him to play on it for an hour each day. She explained that in schools these days they have an iPad available for each child in a classroom, and joked that soon technology will be all that is needed to educate the children of the future.

Should early years children be able to play on such technology gadgets such as iPads, iPhones, tablets and so on, from such an early age?

Cool Cat Teacher Blog

I came across this blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.co.uk/ whilst looking for interesting blogs that have an educational influence in them. I found the reason to mention it on my own blog because of the fact is it a blog written by a teacher, also an author, with the aim to educate children, teachers, parents and professionals on how to educate our generation. The blogs range from topics on technology, leadership, productivity, and personal development, hoping to motivate anyone who aspires to be in a teaching position.
The blogger is called Vicki Davis, who started her blog back in 2005, commenting on tasks she had given her current class to learn how to use the well known communicating website wikispaces.com.
The blog is fully equipped with different pages offering a variety of videos, links, podcasts and images, being incredibly organised and well prepared I felt it was worth looking at and for many others to also recognize and view.
Whilst browsing through Vicki's blogs over the last 8 years, I found some had a very humorous aspect to them with one titled '10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher' explaining in detail the wrong things teachers may happen to do when in a classroom, including herself. She uses her blog to help and influence others in using different techniques and technology to educate others.

Story Behind the Photograph

The story behind my seven photographs is that it holds a personal memory and story to myself of the importance of spending time with your loved ones. They were taken over a break from university which allowed me time to go back home and to see my family and friends, that I don't get to see as often as I once did. Each photograph captures a moment that means something to me, with the amazing sunset in the background I couldn't imagine a better way to portray these meaningful memories. The soft tide coming in resembles the peaceful surrounding, and when looking at these photos I can replay the story of this event in my mind. I didn't want to capture any of the faces in the photographs as I felt the background alone showed enough emotion, so I chose to only show the backs of the portraits or silhouettes in the sunlight. I edited the photographs to all consist of a black and white theme as I felt it highlights the sun and the shadows casts from the bodies significantly.

Journey Through Memories

Web 2.0 Pro's & Cons

INSTAGRAM

In this blog I will be looking into an aspect of Web 2.0, a website that uses technology, and discussing the pro's and con's of such an aspect, for example Instagram.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is an online social networking application that allows users who have signed up to an account, to share online pictures and videos to their followers and the public through other social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and many others. The application allows users the opportunity to edit and crop their images or videos before being published, allowing them to add a more personal touch to the image. It was launched in October 2010 and has since become rapidly popular across the world.
Users can post a hashtag '#' following a word below their image or video, for example, '#instagram', to create a link from that word, that will lead to many other images containing the same hashtag. Instagram has built an almost community among its users, with the sharing and communicating between million of people. Users can follow their favourite 'instagrammers', double tapping on any of their images posted to show that they like the image or video and are able to leave a comment. 
Below is an image of my personal Instagram, which I love using and posting on regularly allowing myself to often express emotions and share experiences through personal and reflective images. 

The reason Instagram has become so popular in my opinion is because of its simple and straight forward use, which is a great benefit and structure to a successful and popular app. I am a regular user of Instagram, and use the app to show off some photography skills as I have a great interest in that area, as well as sharing images and videos with my friends and family. Instagram gives the opportunity for artists to easily share their work to the public and fans, with many great photographers creating accounts. The celebrity factor is also a major benefit of Instagram, with all your favourite singers, actors, designers and models having their own account, fans are able to gain an insight into their everyday life with frequent posts being shared.

Although the app has been noticed as one of the most successful of our time, is has also caused a lot of controversy through illicit images of such things as drugs, and images of a sexual nature. With many Instagram users being of a young age, this does not allow for a safe environment of social networking for such young people to be involved in. Although Instagram is fact acting on any images that have been reported, and the removal of these images. 
Another negative result of Instagram is the fact that if your profile is not set as 'private', any one from the public can comment on your profile's images and videos, with the chance for many individuals to leave very inappropriate comments, which in many cases can lead to a form of 'cyber bullying'. This is a very serious matter and can have long lasting consequences for some people. 

Boyd Varty

Whilst being home for Christmas the news came that Nelson Mandela passed away on the 5th December 2013. I have known of Nelson Mandela's great impact on history but not into so much detail as to what he did for his community and the change he impacted on countries such as South Africa. When looking among the wide variety of talks on www.Ted.com, one caught my attention with the caption 'What I learned from Nelson Mandela'. South African, Boyd Varty, talks of stories of animals, people and explains ‘Ubuntu’ meaning ‘I am: because of you’. He dedicates his talk to the African leader Nelson Mandela who died a few hours before Varty was set to talk. Varty explains his experience of seeing that everyone can feel a natural connection with nature, and talks of the gift that Africa has become a much more collected society thanks to Mandela’s empowering influence. Varty shows a different aspect of Mandela's influence, connecting it with nature and the behavior of wild animals. 

This talk is inspiring because it allows an insight into the long lasting affect people can have on each other and the world, and also holds the memory of Mandela in light. Meaningful talks like Varty’s should be shared much more often, and have a far more interesting way of reflecting on such people who have inspired and influenced our history.