Archive for the 'Projects' Category

The Samsung Q1’s… so far!

Published on 22 January 2010 in Emerging Technology, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

We have now had the Samsung Q1 Ultra Device for a couple of days and had time to get to grips with them. Several pros and cons have arisen in this time.

Pros

My first impressions are that they are great for activities such as video diaries or capturing a discussion.

The option of either using the front or back camera is extremely useful, especially in combination with the preview screen which allows you to see exactly what it is you are filming. The microphone is sufficient to pick up a conversation.

The size of the device is respectable; whilst still portable the screen is big enough to see what you are doing which out having to squint.

The option of using either the mouse function or the Stylus Pen is also effective as it allows the user to select either option dependant on what they are doing; different functions lend themselves better to the different options.

Cons

When filming, any fast movement makes the footage distorted and blurred. Although the lens focuses quite quickly on a subject, it is much more effective for slow moving or still action.

Upon first use and without a helping hand the devices are not the easiest devices to operate, however once you get used to the functions it is quite straight forward. The mass of buttons of fascia can appear quite confusing and until you learn what each one does it is luck if you can right click or change the screen brightness! So much so, I have created my own ‘Quick Guide’ to hand out to those using the devices!

For anything more than short filming the device is very slow and hard to operate. I would not use it for word processing or web browsing. I found it is best to pull the footage off the device and then edit it using the PC or a laptop.

When our Prince’s Trust Team took the device out to a team building day, the device froze and crashed several times, we suspect this may be due to the cold weather.

I am still yet to connect the device to internet so have not had chance to test the speed of uploading footage straight to a blog or internet site; something which I will be interested in doing.

Conclusion

First impressions are good, despite a couple of drawbacks, the device appear to be perfect for creating video diaries and capturing indoor group activities. Depending on the ease of uploading footage to the web, these may be ideal for what we want to achieve with the Prince’s Trust students.

The next couple of weeks will really test the devices as we start to get more footage and create PodCasts.

Project Plan

Published on 14 December 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media, Topics and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Video Diary / Podcast

Programme – Huyton Prince’s Trust

Team – Richie Evered, Jade Cotter

 Giving students the facility to create video diaries / enhanced podcasts:

  • Track progress throughout the 12 week course
  • Provide evidence of activity for log book
  • Creating an online ‘e-portfolio’
  • Ability to evidence work placement activity
  • For use in the final presentation evening
  • Reflective log

Continue reading ‘Project Plan’

Google Doc’s

Published on 7 December 2009 in Information Management, Links, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments
As I have wrote about it an earlier blog, I have investigated setting up an email account for each Prince’s Trust student as part of the program. This is so they can use the e-mail account for applying for jobs , training or education as the accounts that some of the students are using now may not be suitable for professional use. I looked at Google Mail and decided it was the most suitable due to the ease of setting up an account and also so that the students can continue using the account after the course has finished.
Building upon this I have looked into the other applications that Google offers. One in particular is ‘Google Doc’s’. This offers users various software to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations free of charge as well as an online storage space.

 

untitled

I want to start looking into utilising these applications so that when the young people need to ammend or send their CV’s to someone, the CV is easily accessible and editing it is simple, espeically from access points other than home, such as libraries.

What are ‘Emerging Technologies’?

Published on 25 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

With regards to MSF&R Youth Engagement I consider the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, podcasts and social networking to be ‘emerging technologies’.

Although these ideas have now been around for the last couple of years and have been embraced by some, it is only recently that these technologies have been recognised as potential tools for educators and implemented into the educational system. Therefore I strongly believe that despite these technologies being well established in our lives, the inclusion of them in education is still emerging.

Don’t Assume… Ask!

Published on 23 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

I have created a questionnaire to assess young people’s computer skills and internet safety knowledge.

The purpose of this is to compare the results of a group who are just finishing a Princes Trust Course to those of a group next year that would have been exposed to emerging technologies throughout the course. Another purpose of the survey was to confirm which social networking sites are most popular and how the students access the internet and e-mail.

 The questionnaire was given out to nine Princes Trust students aged 17-23. I hope that when I compare these results to the next group, a clear difference will be visible in internet skills and capabilities using technologies.

One of the questions was ‘Which Social Networking Sites Do You Use?’, if students used more than one they were able list them.

 graph 1

The findings shown below clearly show that Facebook is the most popular site and that more people do not use any at all than use MySpace, Bebo or Twitter.

 I also asked how the young people access the internet. Over half of the students had a PC at home and a third had their own laptops. The use of the internet and Facebook is increasing on mobile phones and some of the students used their game consoles for the internet.

 graph 2

 Other interesting results included; over 75% of the students used hotmail for their email and 33% of the students didn’t have access to the internet at home.

This backs up our idea to set each student up with a professional e-mail address not only as some hotmail addresses can be unsuitable but also so that those without the internet are not excluded from applying for training, information and employment online. With many companies using e-recruitment and e-mail as contact it is important that are students have the right skills and knowledge to do this.

My results also showed that many of the students lacked computer skills that a lot of young people would take for granted and are essential when applying for training or employment. By incorporating computer skills into the programme the students would leave with invaluable experience and knowledge that will help them progress to the next stage of their lives.

Improving Students Computer Skills

Published on 18 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

An issue that was discussed with Princes Trust staff, Richie and Jade, was when the young people are required to produce a CV and to search and apply for training and employment online. The staff struggled to do this in the time they had due to computing facilities and the lack of experience the young people have had using computers. We discussed the idea of assessing the students existing skills at the start of the course and helping them to improve to a standard level; having the ability to use the Microsoft Office, Internet and E-mail. This would not only help with the production of a CV but also equip the young people with essential skills they need to go to further education, training or employment.  

Google Mail

Furthermore we discussed the type of email addresses that the students have and use on their CV’s and application forms. In the past staff have found these e-mail addresses to be highly unsuitable for potential employers, it was therefore agreed that a useful exercise during the course would be to help the students to set up a personal e-mail address for professional distribution, for example Google Mail, with which they can then use to apply for training and employment. They can also continue to use this once the course has finished. This would not only help the young people in the future but would educate them on the importance of how they present themselves physically and virtually. This would also tie into e-safety, for example; how accessible their Facebook content is to the public.   

Using Facebook in Youth Engagement

Published on 18 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

My current thought processes are around Facebook being a resource which should be embraced and used within our Youth Engagement Programmes. It is inevitable that a great deal of debate will arise about allowing the use of Facebook in the workplace, however by using Facebook to engage with the young people from each programme we are able to form stronger relationships with the community and tackle issues via a medium that the young people of today are accustomed to.  

I am proposing that a Facebook ‘Public Profile’ should be created to represent Merseyside Fire and Rescue Youth Engagement. This is not the same as a private personal profile which is gives an individual’s details to the extent that they choose. A ‘Public Profile’ is similar to a home page on a website. It states who the page is about; an organisation, a food product, a rock band, and any further information that they wish to display; contact details, aims and achievements, their service.   Wikipedia explains a Public Profile as;   

Individuals or companies can create “Public Profiles” (Formerly known as “Pages”) which allows users to “become a fan” of the individual, product, service, or concept. Public Profiles look and behave much like a user’s personal private profile, with some significant differences. Public Profiles are integrated with Facebook’s advertising system, allowing Public Profile owners to easily advertise to Facebook’s users. Owners can send updates to their fans, which shows up on their home page. They also have access to insights and analytics of their fan base   

By having a public profile rather than a standard Facebook individual profile, it allows the creators, moderators and staff to remain private if they want. Those who become a ‘fan’ of the page or follow it will only be able to see the names of those who contribute to the page; they will not have access to their profiles.  

This public profile will act the central hub for Youth Engagement. Anybody can view this page, it will give information on the various programmes that MFRS run and how to get more information, apply and who to contact.  For past and current students, we shall create Facebook groups. A group will be created for each programme that is run i.e. Prince’s Trust, EARLY, Beacon. Within these groups subsections can be made for each team i.e. Huyton, Old Swan and Derby Road. The groups will be private and only those invited to join will have access. By having specific groups for each programme young people can become a member of the group and have access to the photos / videos that are taken throughout the course. Important information, reminders and issues can be mailed out to all of the group members. Furthermore, discussion can be created within the group. Past students can continue using the group so that communication can be continued for further guidance, track progress and create accurate statistics. It would also create the opportunity for carers / parents to see young person’s progress and activities they have completed and the option to contact staff.   

Bright Spark Campaign

Published on 16 November 2009 in Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Bright Spark Campaign

The Bright Spark Campaign is run by the Fire Support network in association with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, aimed at 16-25 years olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and have never volunteered before but are looking to get involved in the Merseyside Area.

The initiative is a four week program working alongside top energy-saving companies. By helping to install energy-saving light bulbs and making relevant referrals, volunteers will make an impact on the futures of the community. Each day incorporates some element of fun or an incentive to maintain effort and interest from team building activities to creating a team song.

At the end of the four weeks all volunteers will take away a reference and accredited training certificate which will be of help when seeking future employment or training. Participants can choose to continue volunteering and gain a fully funded NVQ Level 2 in customer service.

This is an excellent opportunity for young people, however at the moment there is not enough online promotion about the campaign. I spoke to Wendy to organizes the Bright Spark recruitment who said that an online resource would be an excellent way to promote the campaign and also allow those interested to apply online.

Meeting with Huyton Prince’s Trust Team

Published on 13 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

After meeting with Alan and talking about how we can introduce innovative ideas into Youth Engagement I was eager to meet up with the Prince’s Trust Huyton Team; Richie Evered, the team leader, and Jade Cotter, the assistant team leader. The Team Programme is for those aged 16-25 who are unemployed. It is free of cost and does not affect Jobseeker’s Allowance. It is ideal for those whose lack of confidence or qualifications are holding them back. Movie Maker

Ed and I went to meet Richie and Jade whilst their current Team of young people were there. This was so we could not only talk to the staff but also ask the young people what facilities they have now and what technology they use out of the programme.  

We discussed the idea of using the Samsung devices with Richie and Jade who thought that it would excellent to have visual and moving footage of the team instead of still photographs. They felt that this would add a personalised touch to the presentation and would demonstrate the development of the young people from start to finish in a more effective way than the use of photographs.  They also thought it would be extremely useful to have video or audio to complement the evidence that is required for the written Prince’s Trust log books, especially for those with difficulties reading and writing.  The programme includes an action-packed residential week where the Team do activities such as rock climbing, gauge walking, caving and canoeing. Richie and Jade mentioned that the Samsung device may not be suitable for these activities. However it is on this week that the team really get to know each other and a great deal of progress in made in terms of team work, character building, group bonding and personal development as an individual. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to get footage of these activities and the team working together. It was suggested that something like a head camera would be ideal for this week. This would enable the leaders to film all the action and forgot about having to switch a camera off and on and would free up both hands for the more challenging activities. It would also capture natural footage as the team would forget that they were being filmed. 

The enthusiasm and forward thinking attitude that we received from Richie and Jade was extremely encouraging and we are really looking forward to working with them on this project.  

Meeting Alan Ellis from Knowsley City Learning Centre

Published on 11 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, People, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Following my induction with Youth Engagement, Ed, Emma and I met up with Alan Ellis, the Principal Learning Technologies Officer from Knowsley City Learning Centre. Alan was involved with the project when it first started in 2007, so it was interesting to hear what he has been doing and tell him about where we are now up to.After discussing the ideas that have been formulated from my visits to the various teams, Alan introduced us to the new handheld devices that the Learning Centre has purchased;

the Samsung Q1 Ultra!   

These devices combine all the features you would find on a PC, multimedia device and PDA, not only this but it is compact and lightweight and has a 7” wide touch, colour screen! Although the capabilities are endless we focused on using them to create video and audio. The device has a built in front and rear cameras so is capable of ‘point and shoot’ filming. Once footage has been captured it is them possible to use Windows ‘Movie Maker’ to sequence a film with audio and export it as a video file.  Having various internet connection options these files can then be uploaded, emailed, blogged or simply sent to a PC.  Having these capabilities would enable young people and staff to create video diaries, starting from the day they start on a programme to the day they finish. This would not only track progress and be used to evidence activities and achievements but could also be used in the final presentation to show visually how each person has changed over the course of the programme in terms of personal development.  Alan can offer us a number of these devices on loan within Knowsley so it was agreed that Huyton Prince’s Trust Team would be an ideal place to start.