A computer aimed at the 60+

A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the internet has been unveiled. The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat. The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton. More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to government figures.

Now I can see this being of great interest to Specialist Colleges, Work Based Learning Providers and the Adult and Community Learning Sector due to its simple interface, Open Source operating System and applications.

I have contacted the manufacture of this product to see if it will available to other markets other than the 60+. We will have to wait and see want happens.

To find out more watch the BBC video. Sorry the video can not be embeded.

Is the answer right under our noses? What are the alternatives?

Being a bit of a gadget addict I watch the Gadget Show on Channel FIVE. Although this show presents a number of products each week that don’t necessarily have an appropriate use in education from time to time they come up trumps! For example in the past the presenters have demonstrated gadgets like the iPhone, iPod Touch, the Flip and Busbi cameras, and a number of really useful online tools with candid reviews of each item.
My point is that sometimes we need to look for alternative sources of information in places where educationalists wouldn’t normally consider. Why not spend 12 minutes watching BBC Click over a cup of coffee or surf through the Gadget Show website?

Two brilliant free service websites mentioned recently on the Gadget Show were:


AlternativeTo helps you find the alternative software for your computer or mobile phone.
Rather than search numerous sites looking for alternative or free software just use this one site.


You can search for alternative solutions by operating system or by the product you want to replace. I ran a quick search to find an alternate to Power Point and AlternativeTo gave me eight options.



youconvertit helps you convert media file formats i.e. documents, images, audio, video and units of measurement into your required format without buying or installing anything on your PC.

It is important to note that youconvertit doesn’t support Microsoft Office 2007 formats (.docx, pptx, xlsx etc) at the moment. Still this is a really useful tool, which is free with no registration required, simple to use and fast!

To use youconverit simply select your preferred option from the tabs at the top of the screen browse to the file or URL you wish to convert, select your preferred output file format and add your email address. Then wait for an email which contains a link to download your converted file.


If converting from text document to an mp3 file is something you need to do in a hurry and for free why not try http://www.robobraille.org/Text-to-Speech. Fantastic!!!

Using the iPod Touch for Teaching

I shared a link with a colleague recently to a site call Learning in Hand its shows how the iPod Touch and iPhone can be used for teaching/training - It’s a great site, with lots of useful, ideas, and applications for using an iPod touch or iPhone in education.

It’s written by Tony Vincent, a technology specialist who uses the site to share his passion for new technologies). Tony was one of the best speakers during Handheld Learning 2009.

If the iPod isn’t your cup of tea Tony’s site also examines the way Podcasting, PDAs and Netbooks can also have a big impact on teaching/training/learning.

The Impact of Mobile Technologies - MoleNet phase 1

I spotted this interesting publication whilst at the Leading Innovation: Embracing Technology Conference at the National Exhibition Centre.





“The Impact of Mobile Technologies” publication produced by the LSN, examines the impact of mobile technologies on the processes of teaching, learning and also looks at how the application of mobile technologies affected attainment, retention and classroom discipline.


Molenet one involved approximately 10,000 learners and 2,000 staff, spread across 32 mobile learning projects. Valuable lessons from each project were feedback to Molenet and are shared within this publication.

In many cases projects used mobile devices for gathering and presenting evidence through e-portfolios. The report offers useful tips and examples from each project evaluation.

The complete publication can be downloaded without registering (for free) from the LSN website or you can request a hard copy by emailing molenet@lsnlearning.org.uk