S2 STEM Awareness Day

Our first ever STEM Awareness Day was very successful. Pupils got hands on experiences in Lego robotics, codebreaking, bridge building, tower building, building a PC, forensics & fingerprinting, DNA testing, engineering and the Bloodhound car and other interesting activities. #STEM

Sony and the 'Smart Wig'

A most unusual product!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25099262

 

STEM EEP Schools

Please watch Hamilton Grammar’s video entry to the #EEPschoolsentry

 

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

 

Scottish Space School

 

Applications are now on for the Scottish Space School! Hope to have a few applicants from our school to enter. It is an opportunity of a lifetime!

 

Terms and conditions are here: http://www.scottishspaceschool.org.uk/Pages/GuidanceNotes.aspx

 

And the application form is here: http://www.scottishspaceschool.org.uk/Pages/ApplicationForm.aspx

Consumer Behaviour

Yesterday in class we discussed market research methods and pupils were very interested in consumer behaviour. Here is an article that may be of interest.

 

http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/a/consumer-psychology.htm

 

Five shocking marketing blunders

Great article on marketing mistakes…

 

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1176972/top-five-shocking-marketing-blunders

 

It is all in the eyes

The future is here now!

 

Tesco are installing facial recognition technology just like in the film, Minority Report, which then will tailor adverts to the person.

 

http://www.theweek.co.uk/technology/55896/tesco-installs-alan-sugars-minority-report-ad-screens

 

When I first saw this in the movie I thought it was hogwash. How wrong can you be? What other incredible changes will we see in the near future?

 

Product Failures Video

Good video on famous marketing failures.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxRqKgjD3vY

 

Robot who always beats humans!

Incredible video of a robot who always wins at rock, paper, scissors!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24803751

 

 

Concorde - The Supersonic Plane

 

10 years ago today Concorde was mothballed after the tragic crash in Paris and other mechanical issues. Here is a great article on the history and possible future of one of the most remarkable pieces of engineering ever:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24629451

 

I was interested to find out that hardly any of my pupils knew what Concorde was!

 

STEM Club Logo

 

Here is our new STEM logo for our Young Engineers Club which has now been renamed STEM. Thanks to Mr Phee in Technical for his creative work of genius!

 

Apple's New Campus: The Spaceship

Startling design concept for Apple’s new venture... an up to date HQ nicknamed “The Spaceship”, and next door to rivals Panasonic!

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-spaceship-campus-2013-10?op=1

10 Future Technologies That Exist Today!

Great video on technology that exists today – some products inspired by the movies as well!

 

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

 

A massive blow for Cadbury

British chocolate giants Cadbury have lost a 100 year old patent on the colour purple thanks to Nestle. Read more here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/cadbury-just-lost-exclusive-rights-to-the-colour-purple

Translating Glasses

A rival for Google? Intelligent glasses?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24332358

 

The Tesco Tablet

Tesco have launched the Hudl for £119. A cheap end Tablet PC which possibly is more of a competitor to Amazon’s Kindle Fire rather than Apple’s all conquering iPad.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24203271

 

Blackberry in dire straits

Shocking news from Blackberry as they seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place thanks to Apple, Google, and Samsung. The end of the keyboard for phones?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24182038

 

CV Tips!

An article on CVs.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24201307

 

Business of Football: How much does it cost?

Here’s a great wee season ticket and add ons calculator to see just how much it costs to follow your team for a year.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23723537

 

Albion Rovers at £70 is the cheapest season ticket in the Scottish Professional Leagues.

Scots universities rise up world rankings

Edinburgh is now 17^th in the world list of top universities.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24029080

 

Candidate 'humiliated' in Job Interview

A graduate felt embarrassed and humiliated in an interview for Currys by being asked to dance to a Daft Punk song.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23972952

 

Microsoft to buy Nokia Mobile Phones

News here on an incredible deal with Microsoft buying out Nokia’s mobile phone business which looks like a signal of intent versus Apple.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23940171

 

Nissan's autonomous car

A report into the self-driving Nissan:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23896158

 

West Bridgford - Britain's Original Mall

Superb BBC feature on the UK’s first ever out of town shopping mall:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23900465

 

TV Chef slams British youth

Not a good career move by Jamie Oliver here I think!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23860811

 

Bit of a generalisation saying that young people in Britain are lazy. Plus these young people may end up being his core audience on TV in a few years, so as well as disagreeing with his sentiments I also think it is a rather silly thing for basically a TV performer to be saying.

 

Rupee falls to record low

Worrying news from India

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23860458

 

Tata Nano in line for overhaul

Tata are now having to rebrand and reposition the Tata Nano – the world’s cheapest car:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23792196

 

The successful inventor who didn't make a penny

Another great article about an inventor with a simple but revolutionary idea that changed the world. Yet he is still poor.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23536914

 

Fixed versus Growth mindset

Pertinent to read this article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23667965

 

especially after today we watched an excellent presentation by John Franklin, our PT Support for Learning who illustrated the difference in mindset between fixed and growth. Added to a pupil receiving poor exam results it could certainly crush a young person or knock the stuffing out of them for a while.

 

I like to think of the sporting analogy. Yes Tiger Woods may be an excellent talent with superb eye hand coordination but he still practiced well over the 10,000 hours which is now accepted as the norm in order to become an Elite Performer.

 

The old adage is true: practise does make perfect.

 

So if any pupil or student has not done as well as they hoped this year, please don’t give up. You may just need to keep trying and I am sure it will happen for you.

 

In life there are very, very few overnight successes. So keep your spirits up.

What is inflation?

Often mentioned in Business class, here is Inflation explained from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12196322