Fortnightly Mailing

Everyone writes and no one pays - Guest Contribution from Donald Clark

Thanks to Donald Clark for this guest contribution.

In January I blogged a "Seven Wonders of the Digital World" list:

1. Wikipedia
2. Napster
3. Toy Story
4. Linux
5. Doom
6. Google
7. World Wide Web

Lots of people posted with suggestions; Google Earth, iPOD, eBay etc. But Wikipedia remained a firm favourite. The more I use it, the more wonder it induces. But is Wikipedia full of crap data? Research published in Nature (December 2005), a blind trial in which experts were sent randomly selected articles from both Wikipedia and Britannica, found that both contained inaccuracies, but the difference was marginal.

iRows - a web-based multi-user spreadsheet

Google's purchase of Upstartle, the small company behind the useful and successful web-based word processing tool Writely has caught a lot of people's attention, with talk of long term trouble for Microsoft. Will the similarly useful web-based spreadsheet tool iRows be next? Perhaps not, because you'd think that a spreadsheet is something Upstartle is already working on.  To get a clearer sense of what web-based applications like Writely and iRows have going for them, it is worth reading this iRows summary. If readers have good examples of the use of tools like Writely and iRows in online learning, please use the space for comments. (For some "insider" views on the take over, see this piece by Peter Rip.)

Open access learning materials for new courses about Open Source Software - Sheffield College bites on the bullet

I was in two minds as to whether to publish these links from Dave Pickersgill as News and Comment or as Resources, and decided on the latter.  Firstly here is the publicity web site for six 1-day and 2-day accredited courses which the Sheffield College has begun to run including "Administering Linux",  "Using Thunderbird and Firefox", and "Using the GIMP"*.  Possibly a first within the UK further education sector.  Secondly, and more importantly, here is the open access Wiki on which you can find the materials for each of the courses, with content licensed under a A Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales License.

*Thunderbird, Firefox, and GIMP are, respectively, Open Source email, browser, and image manipulation programmes.

Stunning 3D representations of parts of London

I came across Andy Hudson-Smith's digitally distributed environments web log via City of Sound, written by Dan Hill, who works as a designer for the BBC. (I reviewed City of Sound briefly in Fortnightly Mailing Number 42.) Andy is a researcher at University College London's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.  He has made some spectacular 3D  virtual reality representations of parts of London. There are 3 links below to examples of these, and to tempt you use them I have also pulled one of them directly into the continuation of this post. You need Apple Quicktime installed to view them, and the one inside the continuation post will look distorted until you narrow your browser. I could not find a proper index page to the representations, but if you scroll down digitally distributed environments you will find plenty of direct links.

• Soho Square, London
• Covent Garden Market, London
• Paddington Walk, London

Big changes afoot during 2006 in the Resource Discovery Network, which is to be renamed "Intute"

The Resource Discovery Network (RDN) "selects, catalogues and delivers Internet resources for further and higher education". Currently there are 8 seperate free services within RDN, of which the best known are probably SOSIG (covering Social Science, Business and Law), and EEVL (covering Engineering, Mathematics and Computing). During 2006, the 8 services will be reorganised under 4 main subject groups, with a single interface, under a new brand: Intute. (At the time of writing this is simply a holding page.) A key question will be how the new services expose their records to Google and other search engines, since for many users, the first thing they do when looking for resources is to use Google, rather than to visit a subject-specific portal. As a result, unless these services expose their records to search engines, many potential users will remain ignorant of them, despite the fact that what they contain are properly curated resources.

Designing physical spaces for effective learning

JISC has published an elegant booklet by Sarah Knight containing guidelines for and examples from institutions - including further education colleges like South East Essex College (picture to the left) and Glasgow Caledonian University (picture to the right) - on the design of learning spaces.  Maybe things have changed since I stopped working for a large creaking English further education college, but the big problem we faced then was that to get approval for capital spending we had to conform to rules that simply did not permit such ambitious designs. Instead new buildings had to "pack 'em in tight" in such a way that airy, spacious, and technologically rich designs like those shown in the guide would not have got approval, or so we were told.  You can download the booklet as a PDF file, and order it (free) in hard copy from the JISC web  site, and there are further resources available from JISCinfonet.

"Turning the Pages" of some beautiful resources from the British Library

I finally downloaded and installed Adobe's Shockwave in order to look at and listen to these beautiful online books (the term "online book" simply does not do them justice). Examples include the Diamond Sutra, printed in China in 868, and Mozart's musical diary, with 75 audio extracts, and the orginal of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Thanks to Jane Horton for sending me the link, and be warned, the individual titles are slow to load even over a fast connection.

The red rain phenomenon of Kerala and its possible extraterrestrial origin

1/1/2006 article by Godfrey Louis and A. Santhosh Kumar from the School of Pure & Applied Physics, Mahatma Gandhi University, India, suggesting an extraterrestrial origin for the red rain that fell across large parts of Kerala, India, in July 2001. The article has been accepted for publication in the journal Astrophysics and Space Science.

If ever you need new job title

Here, courtesy of Tanya Schmoller are some professions recorded in the the Register of the Sheffield General Cemetry between 1836 and 1900.

Tripe dresser, Purse maker, Boot closer, Comb presser, Pedestrian,  Fluter, Hafter, Clock cleaner, Oyster dealer, Coffee roaster, Springer, Chaser, Tape printer,  Cork cutter, Fleam grinder, Cooker, Comb buffer, German silver buffer, Horn turner, Gentleman’s servant, Comedian, Cow keeper, Anvil striker, Patent busk maker, Galvanist,  Fibre dresser, Hair drawer,  Paper ruler, Saw parer,  Harness plater, Waterman,  Sawyer of stone, Sugar boiler,  Staghorn cutter, Pork butcher, Coach smith, Butter dealer, Cutlery caster, Funel maker,  Joiner’s tool grinder, Ivory flutterer,  Razor setter, German silver filer,  File hardener, Stock taker of steel,  Hardener, Tragedian,  Music smith, Gymnast,  Gold beater, Hair worker,  Law costs draughtsman, Table blade striker,  Marble polisher, Curler of hair,  Toy forger, Billiard marker,  Stay busk maker, School officer inquirer,  Lithographic artist, Razor wetter,  Harness cleaner, Sheep shear bender,  Butcher’s steel stripper, Hammerer, Overlooker, Canvasser, Elephant trainer, Fire lighter, [a] Ingot lighter, Polisher of chandeliers, [b] Rule & straight edge maker, Shoeblade forger, File lighter, Builders' architect, Billiard marker, Spoon and fork filler, Pianoist, Saw Piercer, Scissor finisher, Carpet beater, Canvasser, Artificial teeth maker, Silver chaser, File stripper, Motor man, Poultry judge, Engine tenter, Impliment maker, Silver packer, Tram cleaner, [c] Hammer driver, Horse breaker, Draper's porter, Bone cutter, Corset steel manufacturer, Seaman's cook, Tool chest make, Auger filer, Tram car regulator, Cable plumber, Horse hair dresser, Shoe blade grinder, Silver fruit knife maker, Ferrule maker, Retired gentleman, Lens polisher, Blacksmith striker, Shell turner, Spring measure fitter, Nutt maker, Sculpterer, [d] Goods checker, Fibre maker, Varnisher, Edge-tool setter, Knife buffer, Piercer, Rod roller, Imbecile, Yeast dealer, Silver spinner, File annealer, Tub merchant, Sand blaster, Car cleaner, Silver forger, Safety lamp polisher, Metre inspector, Horse hair curler, Brick burner, Horse hair drawer, Slinger, Saw spinner, Shell presser , Shell turner, Barrel washer, Aeroplane examiner, Carpet pattern designer, Steel chipper, Retired huntsman, Pick hardener, Wire softener, Xylonite worker, Company promoter, Chaff cutter, Tragedian, Skin dresser, Street pairer, Organizer, File scourer, [e] Hair curler, Hollow-ware maker, [f] Broach buffer, Shaft finisher, Railway sheeter, Brass raiser, [g] Book cutter, Circular sawyer, Corker, Appraiser, Carving fork guarder, Horse hair spinner, Drainer, Spear grinder, Hay fork finisher, Goods remover, Elictor manufacturer, [h] Phonographist, Finisher, Heavy steel toy trader, Hollow ware stamper, Self-tip cutler, Odd worker, Sheet parer, Linseed cake maker, Old clothes dealer, Account book ruler, Snuff grinder, Ash felter (?asphalter), File marker, Cutter out (silver trade), Chemist stock taker, Roll turner, Dressing-case fittings forger, Road setter, Car conductor, Gentleman (?idler), Shovel belter, Dressing-case instrument grinder, Spoon & fork cutter-out, Tape dresser, Silver chaser, Curled hair dresser, Tea pot handle maker, Wire cleaner, Motor car driver (1900s), Bayonet bender, Wool scourer, Scale presser, [i] Shaloonmaker, Delver, Cow-doctor, Fustian-cutter, Calico weigher, Cloth searcher, Clothwarper, Hairsieve-maker, Boat hauler, Preaching-house keeper, Triangle boy, Liberty-bailiff, Overlooker, Geer striker, Aquafortis maker, Seed cruncher, Oil of vitriol maker, Cotton twist spinner, Chaise driver, Sergt-at-mace, Bassmaker, Bacon factor, Pinder, Lath-river, Oil drawer, Hat presser, Reed maker, Wool sorter, Heel maker, Pig-jobber, Bridlecutter, Raff merchant, Sizing boiler, Tammymaker, Tammy weaver, Stuffmaker, Kerseymereprint..., Lath renter, Saddletree maker, Oatsheller, Oatmeal seller.

Addition history: [a] 20060329, [b] 20060405, [c] 20060422, [d] 20060525, [e] 20060623, [f] 20060625, [g] 20060923, [h] 20070321, [i] 20100513.

You can also generate job titles with a more modern flavour at the Bullshit Job Title Generator.

Last updated 20100513.

New version of Fortnightly Mailing under development

This new version of Fortnightly Mailing is under development and is due to launch properly on 24 March 2006.

Most of the content here is identical to that in Fortnightly Mailing Number 61, published in January.

If you spot errors, or issues, please comment below.

Thanks.

Seb Schmoller