When is a pie not a pie?

This is possibly the finest intro to an article I've read in a long while.

In yet another tenuous link to stretch your patience, that Guardian article has got an awful lot to do with computers, in particular, RM Ones. Bear with me on this one!

Virtually every day an email lands in my inbox asking for some pricing for a PC. All well and good, but just as two pies are clearly not the same, all PCs are not created equal. This is even more pronounced with the RM One, which is definitely not just a standard PC.

It is our all-in-one built-for-education PC, designed by teachers and created specifically for use in the classroom. In our first blog guest spot, Adam Stewart, the RM PC Product Manager and a big fan of pies, explains more:

We launched the latest version of the RM One at the start of Summer 2009, and already over 18,000 units have been delivered to classrooms across the country. The new RM One has proved so popular with schools as it has truly been designed specifically for education. At every stage of the 12 month development project, we have involved customers (including quite a few in the London area) to make sure we deliver a classroom PC that builds on the strengths and success of the original RM One. We also made sure that we responded to feedback (both the good and the bad) and opportunities identified in our extensive research.

Through this research we have delivered a number of new and exciting features that address the real needs of education. Click here for an overview of what makes it unique. The most popular features include the even sleeker space-saving design, the improved access and maintenance, robust design, integrated webcam/mic, optional media card reader, the wealth of green features (Re-usable screen, recycled plastics and eco mode settings) and the carry handle (brought back due to popular demand!).

You can see the new RM One in action, or read the 4-Star PC Pro review and come along to the RM BETT stand to see One for yourself.

There you have it! To compare it with a PC is like comparing Wigan pies with Adlington pies.

Alain Prost, Jean Alesi, Nicole, Papa and Lego

Bonjour les jeunes et bienvenue au grand prix!

Ok, so you might have to dust off those old textbooks and search for that pocket anglais-français dictionnaire you last used on the booze cruise (back in the good old days when you got 1.67 euros to the pound), but this is a superb example of using technology in a fun, creative way.

Lego Animation Road Race

It's not even the use of Lego which stood out, although it does provide a seamless link between blogs. I've no idea how many photo stills they had to take to generate this 2/3 minute video, but that's a lot of effort. What got me thinking was that every school in the UK has got the capacity to create this kind of content, and instead of bringing board games in on the last day, why not let everyone loose with a camera or a visualiser, throw in a bag of Lego or some plasticine, and see what they create?

Cameras were the most popular product ordered in the Tesco 2008 scheme, with over 10 000 going to schools across the UK, and this is a resource which is being used more and more.

You'll need some video editing software - Adobe School Collection or Textease Movies CT cover everything you'll need.

Not only does this fit in with Creative Curriculum initiatives, it's an excellent example of collaborative working and just imagine how cool it'd be for pupils to take home a video they'd made. You can't stick it up on the fridge, but you can put it on youtube, share it with family across the globe and put the best ones on the school website.

Dirk Kuyt and Lego

This Sunday, Capital Letters had quite a lazy day. Falling victim to Sky’s hype of 29^th November being Super Sunday, an entire day was spent on the sofa drinking copious amounts of tea, and watching (in this order) England take an unbeatable series lead in South Africa, Liverpool win the Merseyside derby, Chelsea beat Arsenal and Barcelona squeeze past Real Madrid.

Anyway, I digress. Mrs. Capital Letters was not impressed with my behaviour, choosing not to mark the day with adjectives such as ‘wonderful’, ‘well earnt’ or ‘quality time with the family’, instead digging out Roget’s book and finding ‘frittered’, ‘unnecessary’ and ‘a waste of a day’.

I digress some more, and I’ll get to the point now - that, whilst South Africa’s lower order collapsed, I stumbled upon an article in the Observer which struck a chord. The UK, apparently, needs to find 600 000 new engineers in the next seven years. Admittedly, the report was published by the Engineering and Technology Board, who can safely be said to have a vested interest in the matter. But it got me thinking, why the apparent dearth of engineering students?

The DCSF is attempting to tackle the shortage through the Science and Innovation Investment Framework, a ten year strategy aimed at (amongst other things) improving the numbers pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) into higher education and increasing the numbers of STEM teachers. As an ICT company RM has a role to play in helping nurture the STEM graduates of the future. Traditional software products such as Multimedia Science School and RM Maths certainly play a part by focussing on topic based learning. RM Maths in particular has had success in the primary SEN environment where the ‘little and often’ approach is most appropriate. But what about the learner who is more hands-on, and struggles with the abstract?

We only very recently uncovered probably the only cross-STEM solution available – Lego Education Centres. The link-up between Lego and Education isn’t immediately apparent, but Lego’s Education division have created a fantastically innovative product which engages pupils’ enthusiasm and desire to learn, whilst at the same time uncovering an aptitude for technology and engineering. Available in a modular format which allows you to pick and choose as many or as few options as you’d like in your centre, it’s probably this very customisability which has seen the earliest adopters being specialist science and technology schools keen to take advantage of the way Lego makes these subjects ‘fun’ – something which can be tricky to do with STEM subjects. The amazing thing is, Education Centres encourage children to take control of their own learning, promoting collaborative working and generating a real sense of purpose and enthusiasm amongst pupils. As Lego is something we all played with as kids, they also reach out to the local community, and are a great resource for feeder primary schools.

With the theme that Lego is fun as it’s more hands-on, I won’t waffle on anymore, but will instead invite you to look at the centres here. If you want the chance to look at the kit yourself, onsite demos are available, just give us a call on 08450 700 300 and we’d be happy to arrange something. To steal some other Danish marketing, they’re probably the best Education Centres in the world.

EconomEyes

Ah what word punsters we have at RM! Marketing moles tell me that discarded efforts were RationalEyes, RecognEyes, MinimEyes.

I am, of course, talking about RM UtilEyes. There's been a lot of excitement about this product already, and rightly so. Most of us now have water meters in our homes, but how much does washing the car actually cost us? Would we be as likely to leave the living room light on for the cat every time we go out if we knew how much it cost? Small things, sure, but imagine similar scenarios spread over a school with dozens of rooms.

UtilEyes (see what we did there?) allows you to monitor utility usage, check for anomalies and identify areas where you can make massive savings. Of course, it fits in with all schools' commitment to reduce their carbon footprint, but if you can save several thousand pounds at the same time, it just goes to show why there's been such a buzz about this little device

http://bit.ly/dZVjA

Give us a call (08450 700 300) for more info, make sure you capitalEyes!!

(Sorry for the rubbish pun, I'm here all week!)

Marsh Academy

See how Marsh Academy are using Minibooks to support teaching and learning, they have a real focus on Anytime Anywhere learning.


Marsh Academy - 1:1 Anytime Anywhere Learning, The Story

Brent Training Room

We visited the Brent Local Authority Training Room on Friday to see the finished room, now kitted out with furniture from Isis and RM One Ecoquiet machines, here's how it is looking so far. There is still some minor things to do before the room is completely ready.