Why it takes longer in the UK than China to build High Speed Rail Projects

High Speed Rail in the UK or HS2 as it has now become known will connect London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds by 2032. This seems an awful long time, and for people living in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle, it may be even longer.

 

 

Planning permission, legal challenges, compensation, funding issues, delays, demolitions, buying people’s homes and relocating them all add up to time. Whereas in China, things are so much different.

 

The 1,318km Beijing-Shanghai high-speed route went from design to completion in only 39 months. The much longer 2,298 km Beijing to the southern city of Guangzhou line has opened on Boxing Day 2012. The Chinese trains cruise at a speed of 309 km/h… I should know, I’ve been on them. They still stop many times, but they slow down and speed up quicker, and passengers only get around 30 seconds to disembark and embark the train. They don’t mess around in China!

 

 

China have now overtook Japan as the world’s leading makers of High Speed Rail. They have built incredible bridges and tunnels to connect their huge country. They view high speed trains as a better mass transit alternative to the aeroplane. There is also a long held dream of being able to travel from London to Beijing by rail in less than 3 days. Whether or not that is possible who knows. But China is certainly doing their bit.

 

Forcing through such an ambitious project would be political suicide for a democratic Government. Prime Minister David Cameron said as much: "It's difficult to get things built in a modern industrial democracy like Britain - that's why we need to get going now."

 

And just to show how not everything goes to plan in communist China, there was this tale of a man who refused to allow his house to be knocked down when a new motorway was built through his town:

 

 

 

Honda profits up

Japanese car and bike manufacturer Honda has reported a jump in third-quarter profits as US sales recover, but cut its annual forecast as sales in China and Europe drop.

 

Honda's profits hit 77.4bn yen ($851m; £538m) in the last quarter of 2012, up from 47.6bn yen a year earlier. The firm said profits had also been boosted by a continued recovery from the floods in Thailand in 2011.

 

However, it cut its full-year profit forecast to 370bn yen, compared with its previous projection of 375bn yen.

 

Source: BBC Business News

 

Apple no longer number one in the world

iPad maker Apple has lost its crown as the world's most valuable publicly traded company after its shares continued to fall.

 

Oil giants Exxon Mobil has regained the top slot after Apple shares fell 2.4%, following a 12% drop on Thursday. Apple, which posted disappointing iPhone sales figures on Wednesday, has seen its shares fall 37% since their record high last September.

 

Exxon became number one in 2005, traded places with Apple during 2011, and had been number two since early 2012. At the close of trade, Apple had a market value of $413bn (£261bn), against Exxon's of $418bn.

 

Glasgow to become UK smart city

Looks like things are looking up for my home city – Glasgow. Glasgow means “Dear Green Place” and used to have a thriving ship building industry and indeed was the greenest city in Europe – it had more public parks than anywhere else. Glasgow also had the largest housing estate in Europe: Easterhouse.

 

Glasgow was once the Second City of the Empire, but those days are long gone. However thanks to the regeneration started by the Glasgow Garden Festival, things are getting better in a city once infamous for its “No Mean City” image – Glasgow was once the murder capital of Europe. And Glasgow, like much of Scotland, has some health issues which are hopefully going to be tackled over the next 20 years.

 

From the BBC Busines News:

 

Glasgow has won a £24m UK government grant intended to make it one of the UK's first smart cities. It will use the money on projects to demonstrate how a city of the future might work.

 

They will include better services for Glaswegians, with real-time information about traffic and apps to check that buses and trains are on time. The council will also create an app for reporting issues such as potholes and missing bin collections.

 

Other services promised by the council include linking up the CCTV cameras across the city with its traffic management unit in order to identify traffic incidents faster.

 

It will use analytical software and security cameras to help identify and prevent crime in the city and monitor energy levels to find new ways of providing gas and electricity to poorer areas where fuel poverty is a big issue.

 

This has come at a good time for Glasgow with the city hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

 

Business Quotes

“Half the world knows not how the other half lives”

 

-        Old English Proverb

Higher Business Management Revision - Quizlet

Here are Quizlet revision quizzes for Higher Business Management. I have arranged them by unit and then finally there is one massive one covering basically the whole course, with some other business general knowledge thrown in to motivate the pupils.

 

Hope you enjoy them and they are helpful in prelims and final exams.

 

Business Enterprise

http://quizlet.com/_b1tv9

 

BDA I: Marketing & Operations

http://quizlet.com/_b1tvn

 

BDA II: Finance & Human Resources

http://quizlet.com/_b1tw7

 

 

Higher Business Management: FULL COURSE!

http://quizlet.com/_b1tyu

 

 

Int 2 Admin - New Quizlet Set

I combined my own Int 2 Admin set with one from Miss Dunlop’s.

 

http://quizlet.com/_b1tlt

 

There are some doublers, which I will remove later!

 

China's new cities

An article on how China plan to build a new generation of cities in the rural West:

 

http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2013-01/15/content_16120534.htm

 

Business Quotes

“To change customs is a difficult thing”

 

-        Lebanese Proverb

Business Quotes

“Who moves picks up, who stands still dries up”

 

-Italian Proverb

More woe for Dreamliner 787

The flagship Boeing aircraft, the Dreamliner 787, has been plagued by many problems of late. Now, two of their best customers have grounded all 787s.

 

A Nippon Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing just after take off due to battery problems. In addition to the 17 787s of Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines have grounded their 7 Dreamliners.

 

 

These continuing problems will make confidence and sales in the Dreamliner suffer. Boeing already face a massive taks in order to turn around what has been a terrible few weeks for PR and the image of not only Dreamliner, but of Boeing itself.

HMV in Administration

One of Britain’s most famous music stores, HMV, is to go into administration. Over the past 10 years the High Street music and DVD store has struggled competing against e-tailers (online retailers), specifically Play.com and Amazon.

 

 

Deloitte have said they will keep HMV stores in UK and Ireland open until they see what offers or options they will get for the store. Trading in the Stock Exchange has also been suspended.

 

HMV was founded in 1921 and employs 4,350 people.

 

HMV is an iconic UK music store, famous for its dog listening to a grammar phone logo. HMV is thought to stand for “His Master’s Voice”.

 

The only surprise for me is that HMV have struggled on so long against giant Amazon and the likes of Play.com who through various benefits of being based in the Channel Islands can offer freed delivery and usually cheaper prices for products.

 

A long held criticism of HMV by shoppers was that it was always more expensive than other rivals such as Virgin and Tower.

 

 

 

Best and worst learning techniques

Apparently highlighting isn't the best learning technique.

http://ideas.time.com/2013/01/09/highlighting-is-a-waste-of-time-the-best-and-worst-learning-techniques/?iid=ent-article-mostpop2

Bolton School Giving Every Pupil an iPad

Essa Academy in Bolton has went paperless. Every pupil will receive an iPad. It is supposed to cut costs from the photocopying budget. Read more here:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20930195

 

Do we throw away food too early?

Very interesting article on expiration dates and best before:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20971347

 

Higher Business Management - Legislation - The Equality Act and the laws it has combined

It is important to note that the Equality Act (2010) now covers nine laws and some of them are in our syllabus.

 

Here they are:

 

Equal Pay Act of 1970

Sex Discrimination Act (1975)

Race Relations Act (1976)

Disability Discrimination Act (1995)

Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations (2003)

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (2003)

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (2006)

Equality Act (2006)

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations of 2007.

 

The ones in italics are the ones which are in the Human Resource Management area of the course. So now the SQA wants you to talk about The Equality Act, and within that broader law you can discuss the elements that used to make up these older acts.

 

We always need to keep up-to-date with real life in Business!

Business Facts

Famous Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell beat rival inventor Elisha Grey by a matter of hours to the US patent office when he registered the Telephone in 1876.

3D Printers used in Afghanistan by US Army

I suppose it was only a matter of time!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/01/10/star-trek-replicators-for-army/

Managing Young People or Generation Y

We all remember theories like the Baby Boomers and Generation X or even Generation Me. The basic idea seems to be that people are influenced not only by their upbringing but by the economic and political environment of the times (PESTEC External Factors if you will) and I do not see any reason to discount this.

 

However I do sometimes think that there are sweeping generalisations among these theories.

 

In saying that I have found this interesting article on managing the Generation Y phenomenon (people born between 1980 and 1995)

 

http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/What-Every-Manager-Should-Know-About-Managing-Gen-Y.aspx?pcode=XCRP

 

Twitter for Educational Purposes

Some weblinks to articles and pages on Twitter being used for educational purposes:

 

http://suite101.com/article/using-twitter-for-educational-purposes-a287131

 

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/teaching-with-twitter.html

 

http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/187

 

I have been a recent convert to Twitter, and I think I have found it fascinating myself, learning lots of new information and useful titbits to use in my own lessons.

Job Interview Questions to ask!

Article on interview questions that should be asked during a job interview:

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/ten-questions-to-ask-during-a-job-interview/article6600132/

 

However it is also of note that sometimes not asking too much or saying to much is the best policy as you could have done a great performance and then go and blow it by asking or doing something a bit off!

 

Dreamliner 787 review ordered by the FAA

With several faults being found in one week alone, Boeing’s flagship Dreamliner airplane seems troubled and plagued by safety issues. Boeing have recently secured several military contracts, but they always have viewed the Dreamliner as the future of passenger aviation. However US regulators the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are ordering a review into the manufacture of the plane.

 

 

The plane is made by several different sub-contractors in different countries, with them being assembled in the US. However there will be no grounding of planes and they will operate as normal as the FAA do their review. The Dreamliner is subjected to stringent tests when it is developed and I have seen the incredible test they do on the wings, which entails the bending of the wings to an incredible extent (one that winds could never exert) but it is all part of the safety test.

 

Some problems recently have included an electrical fire, cracks in the cockpit windscreen, and issues with brakes and fuel spillages.

 

With orders starting to pick up, this is the last thing Boeing need as they were about to regain number one spot from their rivals Airbus.

 

Electric Car UK Comparison

After watching a rerun of a fairly recent Top Gear episode on Dave, I was intrigued by the Electric Cars that are offered at the moment in the UK. There are obviously more models and a lot more to come and I haven’t included Hybrids either.

 

In the Top Gear episode Jeremy Clarkson and James May drove the Nissan Leaf and the Peugeot i0n respectively. The cars were fine to drive but the limited range and the long recharging times are major, major drawbacks of this technology.

They also worked out that the Electric cars (if charged during the day) cost about £8 per 100 miles, which is roughly the same as a Volkswagen Golf!

	Nissan Leaf
Range	100 miles
Charging Time	8 hours
Cost £	£26,000

 

	Ford Focus Electric
Range	100 miles
Charging Time	4 hours
Cost £	£30,000

 

	Chevrolet Volt
Range	40 miles
Charging Time	6.5 hours
Cost £	£35,000

 

	Tesla Motors Model S
Range	300 miles
Charging Time	5 hours
Cost £	????

 

	Mitsubishi iMiEV
Range	99 miles
Charging Time	7 hours
Cost £	£38,700

 

	Peugeot i0n
Range	80 miles
Charging Time	6 hours
Cost £	£28,000

 

Naturally, as technology advances the ranges will increase and the battery recharging time will decrease. One thing to worry about is the lifespan of the battery (which again will increase over time) but it is estimated at only 5-10 years. A replacement batter costs £7,000!

 

Rare Earth Research centre to be built in Iowa

The US Department of Energy has announced it is going to build a hi tech rare earth research centre in Ames, Iowa. The production facility and development centre will cost more than $120 million as the USA, who have found rare earth deposits in 14 states,

take on China who at present have a virtual monopoly on the rare earth elements. China currently produces 95% of the world’s rare earth elements. This new centre in Iowa would wean the Americans off of the Chinese supply which is worrying many power players.

Rare earths are chemical elements used to make many hi tech products such as the iPad and iPhone as well as many desktop PCs. They are also used to create wind turbines, electric cars and solar panels.

For the scientists among us you can find the list of the 17 rare elements are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element

Business News

800 JOBS TO GO AT HONDA

Honda is planning to cut 800 jobs at its Swindon plant, blaming weak demand across Europe.

It is the first time the Japanese carmaker has cut jobs in the UK since it began manufacturing there in 1992.

The Swindon plant, which produces the Civic, Jazz and CR-V models, employs 3,500 people, having added 500 to the workforce a year ago.

Honda has begun a 90-day consultation period on the job cuts and says it hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies.

UK PRODUCTION FIGURES DISAPPOINTING

Disappointing figures on industrial production and construction in November have added to fears that the UK economy contracted in the last quarter of 2012.

The index of production grew 0.3% in November, compared with October, but had been expected to grow more as some North Sea oil and gas production resumed following maintenance.

Construction sector output contracted 3.4% in the month. Both figures are components of gross domestic product (GDP).

GDP measures the total amount of goods and services produced by the country, and preliminary GDP figures for the final three months of 2012 are due to be released on Friday 25 January.

APPLE IN CHINA TO OVERTAKE DOMESTIC US SALES

Apple expects China to overtake the US as its biggest sales market, the company's chief executive has told China's state news agency.

"China is currently our second-largest market, I believe it will become our first," Tim Cook told the Xinhau News Agency.

Mr Cook's comments came on a visit to Beijing to meet Chinese regulators and bosses of mobile network China Unicom. Apple currently has 11 stores across China.

The company saw its Chinese sales double in both 2010 and 2011, but the growth rate slowed last year.

FORD TO CREATE 2,200 NEW JOBS IN THE USA

Ford plans to hire 2,200 new staff in the US this year, in response to the continuing rise in American car sales. The country's second-largest carmaker by sales, it said it would hire engineers, computer programmers and other office workers.

Ford's US car sales totalled 2.3 million last year, 5% higher than 2011. Industry-wide US sales in 2012 came in at 14.5 million, a five-year high. Ford predicts this figure will rise to between 15 and 16 million this year.

HMV TO OFFER A QUARTER OFF ALL PRODUCTS

HMV, which revealed a half-year pre-tax loss of £37.3m in December, has announced a month-long sales promotion which will see 25% knocked off prices. The Blue Cross Sale, starting on Saturday, covers a range of lines, from CDs to books and technology products.

HMV said the sole reason for the sale was to provide customer value. “It's what retailers do at this time of year, and any other interpretation is just the usual media speculation," said an HMV spokesman.

They said that the chain would normally run a "multi-buy" campaign at this time of year, but wanted to try something different this time. The promotion will run in more than 230 stores across the UK and Ireland.

Source: BBC Business News

iPads in the classroom

Here is another great article called “Getting the most out of your iPad in the classroom”

http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/chat/2013/01/08/index.html

Technology: Signs of progress!

 

 

iPhone Facts

Found this great link with some facts about the ever popular iPhone:

http://www.chacha.com/gallery/5460/what-are-interesting-iphone-facts

Business News

Today’s business news.

DREAMLINER TROUBLES

Two fresh setbacks have hit Boeing's 787 Dreamliner plane, days after an electrical fire broke out on board a Japan Airlines Dreamliner on Monday.

In the latest incident, Japan's All Nippon Airways cancelled a domestic 787 flight from Yamaguchi to Tokyo on Wednesday because of a brake problem.

On Tuesday, Japan Airlines cancelled a Boston to Tokyo flight after about 40 gallons (151 litres) of fuel spilled. Passengers got off safely and no-one was hurt, an airport spokesman said.

PLAY.COM SHUT DOWN RETAIL BUSINESS

Online retailer Play.com is to shut down its retail business to become a marketplace-only, from March. The Jersey-based firm blamed the move on the ending of Low Value Consignment Relief, which allowed items less than £15 to be sold to the UK VAT-free.

All 147 staff in Jersey are to be made redundant as well as 67 in its Cambridge and Bristol offices. Play.com will now become more like a shopping centre, no longer selling directly to customers.

The Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) loophole was closed by the UK government in April 2012.

SONY’S NEW WATERPROOF PHONE

Sony has announced a new smartphone that can be used in the shower or bath without the risk of damage. This water-resistant feature is relatively common in Japan, but has not been included in many top-end smartphones released elsewhere.

The Xperia Z can also record HDR (high dynamic range) video, a facility borrowed from its camera division.

3D Printer in Action

Today in my S3 ICT with Business class (part of Curriculum for Excellence) we were discussing new technologies and how they can effect businesses.

The topic of 3D printers came up again and althought some pupils have seen them working or know about my mask example in Mission: Impossible 3, quite a few hadn’t seen it.

So I had a quick search on You Tube and found this incredible video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7GXgAm7sBo

The most astounding bit starts at 1:55 in the video. Some of my class gave a gasp!

I think I am becoming slightly obsessed by all these potentially life changing technologies. I do hope our Technology Faculty can buy one!

Office Health: Standing up is the new sitting down

Why sitting down for long periods at the Office can seriously damage your health and increase your chances of diabetes (and also a simple solution!)

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20947605

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19910888

 

I remember seeing a TV documentary where an overweight DJ presented her show standing up and in that week she lost a few pounds.

 

It certainly may be worthwhile, but I am unsure if standing up while working at your PC is a good idea as RSI then comes into its own.

 

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

Things I have learned today!

They say everyone should learn something new every day, well here is what I have learned:

 

There is a new business acronym attributed to Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, the man who brought us BRIC... MIST. MIST stands for Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey.

 

 

 

“Toothbrush Test” is the name Larry Page, CEO of Google gives to their new product development hurdle that new ideas must pass. It simply means will anyone use the product twice a day?

 

 

Business Quotes

 

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." —

 

-        Ralph Nader, Independent US Politician

Resources: Online Quizmakers

Here are links to 12 online quizmakers that you may find useful.

 

http://www.quiz-creator.com/blog/2009/09/free-online-quiz-creator-software-create-online-quizzes/

 

Great iPad apps for Teachers

Here’s a list of some great apps for those Teachers lucky enough to own an iPad.

http://ipadapps4school.com/2012/12/26/10-great-apps-for-a-teachers-new-ipad/

Lexus and their driverless car

Lexus has joined the ever increasing driverless car market by taking their new prototype to CES in Las Vegas.

 

 

For more info read here:

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/421531/20130107/ces-2013-lecis-shows-ls600h-road-aware.htm

 

50 Education Technoloy tools every teacher should know about

Here’s another great link for teachers and technology:

 

http://edudemic.com/2012/08/50-education-technology-tools-every-teacher-should-know-about/

 

So I am doing my bit to spread the word also!

 

Teacher Learning Community - Peer Assessment

What AiFL technique was used (please give details of lesson):

 

PowerPoint Peer Assessment

 

Pupils when finished their slideshow presentation, rather than waste a whole period everyone going up to present to the class, one pupil stays at their PC to be a presenter, and another becomes a judge, and the judges move around the room grading presentations on the success criteria given to them at the start of the lesson.

 

 

Class I used the technique with (please give details of number of pupils, attainment level, behaviour etc):

 

20 S3 pupils who had worked in pairs to create a CityBreak Challenge powerpoint on different Global Cities

 

Pupils are very challenging. Some were not on task and had to be verbally warned.

 

Another technique we have used which may be of some use.

 

How did this benefit the pupils:

 

Pupils have a chance to see the criteria needed for a good piece of work.

 

Pupils did like the chance to see everyone’s work and to physically move around the room. The presenters also had to decide what to edit out of their shortened presentation.

 

 

How did this benefit me:

 

 

It also means that this activity can be replicated often without losing periods to actual group presentations, which can take more than one period and sometimes switch off the audience.

 

 

 

 

Further comments: (you may include any negative feedback or difficulties you encountered)

 

There were still the odd couple of pupils who do not buy into the activity, but these individuals never seem to be satisfied no matter what the task is!

 

 

Teacher Learning Community - Exit Question

Here is another technique for AiFL.

 

 

AiFL technique used (please give details of lesson):

 

Exit Question

 

Pupils are given a blank piece of paper at the end of the lesson which they then fill in 2 or 3 things they are not sure about, which is used as starter for next period.

 

 

 

Class I used the technique with (please give details of number of pupils, attainment level, behaviour etc):

 

S4 Standard Grade Administration. Mainly a Foundation – General class. 15 pupils, with several poorly behaved pupils.

 

 

 

How did this benefit the pupils:

 

Pupils are reflecting on their learning and having to decide what topics or concepts they understand or not. It also gives them an input into the shape of the next lesson, since what they do not understand will for the basis for the starter of the next lesson.

 

 

How did this benefit me:

 

It gives me some feedback as to what concepts pupils are struggling with and gives an opportunity to try to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. It is also a good plenary.

 

 

 

 

Further comments: (you may include any negative feedback or difficulties you encountered)

 

Not every pupil takes it completely seriously. I insist it is anonymous, and there can be the odd silly comment.

 

Teacher Learning Community - Carousel

As part of our Teacher Learning Community in School we have over the years used some of the well known techniques which I will share on this blog.

 

AiFL technique used (please give details of lesson):

 

Carousel – where pupils are given a past paper revision question and then are asked to generate answers to the question.

 

After a short period of time they move round to the next question, where they can add, amend or edit the answer already there from the previous team.

 

Finally they rotate back to their original question where they are given time to again edit, amend or improve the language of the answers, before saving it on the shared area where we can discuss the answers and if good and acceptable, we can print off copies for all the class.

 

 

Class I used the technique with (please give details of number of pupils, attainment level, behaviour etc):

 

I have used this with S5/6 Higher Business Management and Higher Administration. Roughly 40 pupils.

 

 

How did this benefit the pupils:

 

Gave pupils an opportunity to have fun revising before NABs and Tests. Pupils have opportunity to work together and they see/share answers to questions.

 

Increases pupil motivation.

 

How did this benefit me:

 

More interesting for me to see pupils thinking about answers and actively engaged in revision rather than some switching off from traditional books/worksheet method.

 

 

 

Further comments: (you may include any negative feedback or difficulties you encountered)

 

I have used this technique over the years with different classes of age/ability/subject and rarely does it not reap benefits.

 

Business News

Latest Business news from around the world:

 

SCOTTISH SMEs OUTLOOK IMPROVES

 

Confidence has risen among Scottish small businesses despite rising costs and weak trading conditions, according to a new survey. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses suggested more firms planned to invest over the next 12 months.

 

Companies were also "substantially more confident" in the last quarter of 2012 compared to 2010 and 2011. This was despite firms reporting rising fuel and utility costs were making it more expensive to run a business.

 

LG TO INCREASE INVESTMENT

South Korea's LG Group has announced plans to increase investment, in an attempt to boost its market share amid strong competition.

 

The firm said it would invest 20tn won ($19bn; £12bn) in various subsidiaries, including LG Electronics, in 2013. The investment will be used to boost production facilities and fund research and development of products. They recently announced plans for the new OLED TV.

 

FRANCE MAY LOWER TAX RATE

France's socialist government has hinted that a replacement for its controversial 75 per cent income tax bracket, struck down late last month by the country's constitutional council, may be at a lower rate but imposed for the rest of its five-year mandate, not just two years as previously proposed.

 

It is also to divert €2bn in extra funds into state-backed job creation schemes in a bid to meet President François Hollande's bold promise to reverse a trend of fast-rising unemployment by the end of this year. Mr Hollande and other ministers have so far pointedly avoided specifying what rate would be set for a revamped supertax, leading to speculation that it might be watered down.

 

 

Sources: BBC Business News, CNN

 

5 Most Stressful Jobs in the USA

Following on from previous articles about stressful jobs in the UK and the US, here is the latest one I found from NBC:

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/5-most-stressful-jobs-1B7822274?ocid=twitter

 

Tips for managing an iPad classroom

An excellent article of how to manage the iPads in your classroom, should you be lucky enough to have a class kitted out with them!

 

http://reflectionsofeducator.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/iclassroom-imanagement-tips-for-managing-an-ipad-classroom/

 

Wonder what would happen if the Government paid for every pupil to have an iPad at the start of High School and they keep it until they leave as they do in France with laptops? What would be the implications?

 

Mind you what then would happen if pupils ‘misplaced’ their iPads? I’m all for technology in the classroom but I just don’t believe they should be gimmicks or be misused or abused and walk into a class of pupils playing Angry Birds!

 

I do think we have to be careful with mobile technologies as it also dregs up the issue of Social Media and the potential for bullying. Now I know some people will read this and think I am not trusting young people or that I am being out of date or out of touch. I don’t think  I am being either. Just being realistic and pragmatic, because sadly without proper controls and monitoring things could get out of hand.

 

At least with a desktop PC (or even laptops for that matter) it is relatively easy to see what the pupils are up to in your class!

Using Twitter in Business and Education

I did a simple search recently to look at how to use Twitter more effectively which I thought I’d share.

The two main topics are naturally business in general (as it gives students a chance to see what kind of things real business people are dealing with) and of course education in general (giving teachers ideas on how to utilise the micro-blogging site).

I am relatively new to twitter and am starting to enjoy it. The amount of interesting articles and facts that people share is really quite incredible.

5 Benefits of using Twitter for your business

http://www.business2community.com/twitter/5-benefits-of-using-twitter-for-your-business-0147067

50 Ideas on using twitter for business

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

50 ideas on using Twitter in education

http://cooper-taylor.com/2008/08/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-education/

50 ways to use twitter in the classroom

http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

Toyota enter the driverless car race

As some of you will know Google are leading the way in the new generation of cars that will change the world... the driverless car. However, other firms are doing their bit also and the latest to throw their hats into the ring are Japanese giants and soon to be number 1 car maker in the world (again)... Toyota.

Toyota has given a taste of self-drive car safety technology ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next week. The car maker revealed a video clip of a Lexus fitted with safety features designed to minimise car crashes.

The technology includes on-board radar and video cameras to monitor the road, the surroundings, and the driver. The car can also communicate with other vehicles, according to a Toyota spokesman.

The full BBC article is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20910769

Higher Business Management Core Notes

Just in case you have ‘misplaced’ your notes for the upcoming prelims for Higher Business Management, may I remind you that the Education Scotland core notes can be viewed or downloaded from these hyperlinks:

Business Enterprise Core Notes
Business Decision Areas 1: Marketing and Finance Core Notes
Business Decision Areas 2: Human Resources and Operations Core Notes

Could technology put an end to linguists?

A superb article from The Economist about the advent of computers being able to translate languages just like Star Trek’s Universal Translator, well almost.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21569014-simultaneous-translation-computer-getting-closer-conquering-babel?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/conqueringbabel

It may take some time for it to work out, but it is certainly possible. However, think of the implications it would have for languages as a subject to study at High school and at college or university. They could be made obsolete, which is a worrying though for colleagues and students.

Food for thought.

Tips on managing iPad in the classroom

More thoughts on the educational benefits of using iPads in the classroom in this article here:

sco.lt/5qSLxp 

The Box Office of Star Trek

The business and box office of movies do interest me, as it is sometimes very interesting to compare the box office gross with not only the budget the film companies spent on making the movie, but also with the general critical reception of the films.

Some films are runaway successes at the box office yet panned by the critics.

Also it is a n unwritten rule that the budget for the film contains production costs which include pre and post production, but not the marketing and advertising budget. Normally Hollywood studios spend roughly the same again as their budget in advertising. So a film has to really gross double it’s budget in order to be a success.

Paramount Pictures have had a gold mine on their hands with their highly successful Star Trek TV series which spawned 4 spin off shows from the original 1960s show, as well as comic books, animated shows and merchandise.

But what of the films?

Well here is some info on their budget and gross. I have left out critical ratings, perhaps you can go have a look at Rotten Tomatoes (even though personally I think that they have some very odd ratings for well established classic movies).

Film	Year	Budget $m	Gross $m
Star Trek: The Motion Picture	1979	46	139
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	1982	11	97
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock	1984	16	87
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	1986	21	133
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier	1989	33	63
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country	1991	27	97
Star Trek: Generations	1994	35	118
Star Trek: First Contact	1996	45	146
Star Trek: Insurrection	1998	58	112
Star Trek: Nemesis	2002	60	67
Star Trek	2009	150	385

The general consensus for the Star Trek movies is that the very best were The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home and First Contact, with The Final Frontier being the worst.

The original 1979 movie is always slagged off for being dull and boring, but I actually love that movie as I think it represents the original show which was always about big ideas and much more than space opera ray guns. And you can see it certainly made a good return for its money.

These figures do not take into account inflation, which is always to be remembered when discussing or comparing a film’s box office gross.

The next instalment of the franchise comes this summer with Star Trek Into Darkness.