Spend the last three days at the Naace conference in Torquay. See my postings on LL4Schools here:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

* mailed add2community.php script to Seb Gasse
* problem with the tar file uploaded by Norfolk: the tar file did not expand correctly. There was an EOF error. Mailed back with extra instructions on making the tar file. (norfolkelgg_data)

Another busy day. My impression is that there are no "big-ideas" around at the show to interest the geeks but, having finally got time to go around the galleries at least, there are lots of companies with interesting products for the teachers.

One really good product which has come on leaps and bounds over the last year or so is gigajam which offers online instrumental lessons. At first sight (hear?) this sounds impossible but when you have seen it workings and kids using it you soon see its potential. It is very useful for drawing kids into playing instruments together - and hopefully they will then go on to to "proper" teacher.

The big learning platform/VLE/MLE companies are here of course: this year's "must have" word on a stand "learning platform"! This is becoming a very crowded and competitive space but few really compelling offerings in my opinion. I am still undecided about this whole area: does it really mean anything? Are the products worth the investment a school/LA/RBC needs to make in time are money to make it work? What about the whole issue of taking your "learning space" with when you move school? Or go to Uni? Who owns the contents of the platform and who has access to it? Still lots of work to do on this I think.

And then we have shibboleth to contend with and all the data cleaning and inter-departmental liaison that will involve. It never fails to amaze me how much detailed work needs to go on behind the screens in order to make a simple; clean; transparent process for the end-user...