The iPad – a real device for learning?
The iPad. At last: a bit of learning technology kit that won’t get in the way of learning. Finally, a device that will actually enhance learning, and in my particular interest, online learning at home.
Tae the Immortal Memory
Robert Burns
A happy Burns’ Nicht tae ane an’ a.’ We’re looking forward tae oor haggis and champit neeps and tatties and we hope you can join in too. If none of this makes any sense to you, may we recommend a visit to the online Scots dictionary. And if that rouses your interest in things Scottish, why not try a course of Scottish History with the New Curiosity Shop.
If tonight you are having your first Burns’ Supper, there are full instructions here at rabbie-burns.com. Have fun.
Space Probe Photographs Apollo Sites
What a way to celebrate 40 years since Apollo 11 landed on the Moon! The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been passing over the old Apollo landing sites and has sent back images in which you can just make out the descent stages of the old lunar modules.
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Descent Stage
Activity at the Apollo 14 landing site
For full details about these images and higher resolution pictures, visit the LRO site.
New Season for Genealogy Show
The BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are” begins a new series tonight, with an investigation into the family history of presenter Davina McCall. This series will guide celebrities through their family trees, delving into history as we go.
If it puts you in the mood for finding some ancestors, why not try our History and Genealogy courses like Family History Begins At Home?
Space Station Crew Increases To Six
The first 6 strong crew of ISS
The International Space Station crew is awaiting the arrival of three new members that will usher in an era of six-person crews aboard the orbiting laboratory. Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft Wednesday morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the station today. The trio will join station Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to form the Expedition 20 crew. It will mark the first time all five partner agencies are represented by astronauts on the station at the same time.
The expanded crew of the International Space Station will discuss the start of six-person operations in a news conference on Monday. The news conference will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the NASA Web site.
For full reports on the International Space Station, visit the ISS site.
House History
House History
You can learn all about researching your family history with Kathryn Senior on the NCS course Family History Begins at Home. Now, here’s another facet of your family’s history, researching the history of your house.
Using a combination of census records, old maps and other documents, you can find out all about the previous residents and owners of your house, adding more context and colour to your family history. More from the Liverpool Echo…
Adult Learners’ Week
Adult Learners’ Week runs from 9th to 15th May this year and NCS is doing its bit to support it. You can try some course snippets and a complete free course over at the NCS ALW page. Try a course on Archaeology, Health Care or Herbology. It’s all free for Adult Learners’ Week.
Congratulations, USA
Today, President Barack Hussein Obama starts the job of leading the western world. A great deal of hope has been invested in this man and, clearly, one man cannot save the world. However, a good leader can inspire the rest of us to pull together and then, just maybe, we can all try to save the world. So let’s hope that all the dreamers and the hopeful who believe in Barack Obama, and there are a lot of them, also start the job, today, of solving some of the difficult problems that bedevil our world. Then the wishes may come true.
Web Phone System Broadcasts The News
The popular Skype Internet phone system has found another job – broadcasting the news. Janie Porter of WSTP-TV used a Skype video-phone connection from her laptop to send her story live to the television studio. The quality was good enough to go straight to the public and allowed Porter to set up her own outside broadcast system singlehanded. More from Poynter Online …
How Uncertain Are You?
Life is full of risks and uncertainties and, if you worried about every little potential problem, you would never get out of bed in the morning. So which risks should you avoid and which should you take? How do you weigh up the relative dangers?
Now there is a web site which makes it all clear: Understanding Uncertainty. Learn the mathematics of coincidence, explore the outcomes of the National Lottery and figure out how long you have to live. Yes, it can be serious stuff. A little understanding of the statistics of risk can resolve your irrational fears and substitute some rational ones instead.
