As you may know, we have recently appointed a Qualification Development Team (QDT) to take forward the production of an HN Unit which will cover the above IBM course content and will be available for inclusion into various HN Group Awards from 1st August 2008. The Unit value will be 2 credits (80 notional hours) at SCQF Level 7 and currently has the working title of ‘Multi User Transactional Operating System: Operator’. The writing process for this HN Unit is now underway.

IBM have arranged a five day ‘Teach the Teachers’ course available to all FE staff, which will take place from Monday 18th August until Friday 22nd August 2008 – this is an excellent CPD opportunity for those individuals in attendance. This course covers the IBM System i Operator Course and will assist lecturers in delivering the new HN Unit. There are a limited number of available places on this course, therefore, places will be booked on a first come first served basis.

The course will take place in Cumbernauld Business and Conference Centre, Town Centre, Cumbernauld G67 1HU. To book a place (only one per centre) please contact Scott Miller by e-mail (ict@sqa.org.uk) or by telephone (0845 213 5472).

A week ago I spent a whole day leading a session on behalf of Socitm, the Society of Information Technology Management, where we were exploring the impact new media could have in Local Authorities and other public bodies. Most of those present were from the world of corporate IT and, as someone presenting a variety of tools they were likely to be blocking on their home patch, I was a tad nervous about taking them on this particular learning journey.

I needn't have been. Having explained in broad terms the main drivers of change thanks to this technology, I was able to explore some more specific examples of public sector engagement with the social web, from eduBuzz in the domain of education, to several health-related initiatives of the NHS. We saw how technology is taking politics towards the realm of direct democracy, and explored the potential for some of the mobile, ambient and participative media that citizens are increasingly using in their day-to-day (social) lives.

We worked through the afternoon seeking practical, do-able actions that these IT managers could take forward, without the need for engagement of the senior management teams or specialist outsourced expertise. They relished the task, and came up with some superb ideas they could implement in days, rather than months or years. Some of them have even put them into action already: take a peek at Stratford's homepage, complete with Twitter updates. Here are the rest, coming to a local council near you:
What are the biggest challenges in your organisation?

1. Competitions for art work on Flickr
2. Mental health blog
   1. Teachmeet-style therapy group
   2. Video diary of experiences
3. Flickr/Google Earth mashups
   1. Things to do in the area, events, locations for recycling etc...
   2. Online estate agency for social housing
   3. Statistics in a glance mashup
   4. Graffiti tracking, crowdsourcing for finding the source of the 'tag'
   5. Mashups to reveal extent of disruption during strikes, accidents
4. Crowdsourcing FAQs on a wiki
5. Homeworkers can have real-time advice between 'virtual desks' (RSS feed to mobile)
6. Twitter for mass-collaboration during crises and a blog to quickly publish information and provide an instant feedback loop
7. Longitudinal e-consultation on complex issues
8. Using Flickr to provide stock photography to local press and council workers (like this)
9. Providing digital cameras to council gardeners to share the process and final result with enthusiasts and ciizens.
10. Twitter private groups for quick intranet publishing
11. Watchlist introduction for the PO, PR, Comms team
12. Culture change through a "from-the-top" blog by the CEO
13. Suggestion box for cost-effectiveness

A week ago I spent a whole day leading a session on behalf of Socitm, the Society of Information Technology Management, where we were exploring the impact new media could have in Local Authorities and other public bodies. Most of those present were from the world of corporate IT and, as someone presenting a variety of tools they were likely to be blocking on their home patch, I was a tad nervous about taking them on this particular learning journey.

I needn't have been. Having explained in broad terms the main drivers of change thanks to this technology, I was able to explore some more specific examples of public sector engagement with the social web, from eduBuzz in the domain of education, to several health-related initiatives of the NHS. We saw how technology is taking politics towards the realm of direct democracy, and explored the potential for some of the mobile, ambient and participative media that citizens are increasingly using in their day-to-day (social) lives.

We worked through the afternoon seeking practical, do-able actions that these IT managers could take forward, without the need for engagement of the senior management teams or specialist outsourced expertise. They relished the task, and came up with some superb ideas they could implement in days, rather than months or years. Some of them have even put them into action already: take a peek at Stratford's homepage, complete with Twitter updates. Here are the rest, coming to a local council near you:
What are the biggest challenges in your organisation?

1. Competitions for art work on Flickr
2. Mental health blog
   1. Teachmeet-style therapy group
   2. Video diary of experiences
3. Flickr/Google Earth mashups
   1. Things to do in the area, events, locations for recycling etc...
   2. Online estate agency for social housing
   3. Statistics in a glance mashup
   4. Graffiti tracking, crowdsourcing for finding the source of the 'tag'
   5. Mashups to reveal extent of disruption during strikes, accidents
4. Crowdsourcing FAQs on a wiki
5. Homeworkers can have real-time advice between 'virtual desks' (RSS feed to mobile)
6. Twitter for mass-collaboration during crises and a blog to quickly publish information and provide an instant feedback loop
7. Longitudinal e-consultation on complex issues
8. Using Flickr to provide stock photography to local press and council workers (like this)
9. Providing digital cameras to council gardeners to share the process and final result with enthusiasts and ciizens.
10. Twitter private groups for quick intranet publishing
11. Watchlist introduction for the PO, PR, Comms team
12. Culture change through a "from-the-top" blog by the CEO
13. Suggestion box for cost-effectiveness

My granddad Findlay, pictured, was an officer in the Royal Air Force but one who never flew. It's only because of the stories I've heard second hand of him being stuck in the desert for five and a half years that I was even aware there were jobs akin to being Bond that one could apply for in the Air Force, Army and Navy. I even went as far as going through the rigorous application process so that I, too, could spend the prime of my life hiding in a tent, listening to enemies miles away.

Today's youngsters don't need secondhand stories of relatives that lived in a black and white world to see what exactly is going on in war zones around the world, thanks in part to the work the Royal Air Force has been doing in their homeland, the world of social media.

The Force's YouTube channel has relatively low numbers for each video, but a huge selection from which to choose. They explain, for real, what actually happens when the Air Force's ground soldiers have to go in and clear mines - there's no hi-tech, just brass necks.

The Force has kitted out several servicemen with cameras and storytelling skills, including this young Geordie gunner. They're about to kit out further personnel in Basra, giving an insider's story of what's going on through a new site, to be launched later today, RAF Frontline.

These might be part of a cynical bid to recruit youngsters to the world's most dangerous of jobs, or it might be a genuine effort to show them what they're getting themselves into. The videos are lightly edited, to omit anything that could be a security breach. Otherwise, though, the in-house web team is keen to show not just front line action but downtime, too, to show, I imagine, that life in the forces is not all about skiing, pristine beaches and drinks with the lads.

But where I really admire their approach, is in how an initial foray into YouTube has helped develop the use of video much more throughout the more traditional parts of the site, in their "what it takes to be a gunner" video slideshow, from civvy to gunner. It works well as a story.

Not enough, mum will be glad to know, to make me want to reapply, but a jolly good example all the same of the fringe becoming the mainstream offering.

My granddad Findlay, pictured, was an officer in the Royal Air Force but one who never flew. It's only because of the stories I've heard second hand of him being stuck in the desert for five and a half years that I was even aware there were jobs akin to being Bond that one could apply for in the Air Force, Army and Navy. I even went as far as going through the rigorous application process so that I, too, could spend the prime of my life hiding in a tent, listening to enemies miles away.

Today's youngsters don't need secondhand stories of relatives that lived in a black and white world to see what exactly is going on in war zones around the world, thanks in part to the work the Royal Air Force has been doing in their homeland, the world of social media.

The Force's YouTube channel has relatively low numbers for each video, but a huge selection from which to choose. They explain, for real, what actually happens when the Air Force's ground soldiers have to go in and clear mines - there's no hi-tech, just brass necks.

The Force has kitted out several servicemen with cameras and storytelling skills, including this young Geordie gunner. They're about to kit out further personnel in Basra, giving an insider's story of what's going on through a new site, to be launched later today, RAF Frontline.

These might be part of a cynical bid to recruit youngsters to the world's most dangerous of jobs, or it might be a genuine effort to show them what they're getting themselves into. The videos are lightly edited, to omit anything that could be a security breach. Otherwise, though, the in-house web team is keen to show not just front line action but downtime, too, to show, I imagine, that life in the forces is not all about skiing, pristine beaches and drinks with the lads.

But where I really admire their approach, is in how an initial foray into YouTube has helped develop the use of video much more throughout the more traditional parts of the site, in their "what it takes to be a gunner" video slideshow, from civvy to gunner. It works well as a story.

Not enough, mum will be glad to know, to make me want to reapply, but a jolly good example all the same of the fringe becoming the mainstream offering.

At the end of last week I joined Ian and Andy to see what they and colleagues were getting up to at Islay High School, where every student has been given a UMPC, and where the leadership and learning at the school has changed full circle over the past five years. I was truly blown away by what I saw and heard from teachers and the young people there.

Take a look at my report on Connected Live to see what can be done when the ambition and 'can do' attitude spreads throughout a school community.

And don't forget to see where all this is happening, and the amazing countryside you spy as you make the 15-minute plane trip from Glasgow.

At the end of last week I joined Ian and Andy to see what they and colleagues were getting up to at Islay High School, where every student has been given a UMPC, and where the leadership and learning at the school has changed full circle over the past five years. I was truly blown away by what I saw and heard from teachers and the young people there.

Take a look at my report on Connected Live to see what can be done when the ambition and 'can do' attitude spreads throughout a school community.

And don't forget to see where all this is happening, and the amazing countryside you spy as you make the 15-minute plane trip from Glasgow.

• MICHAEL WOLF | PHOTOGRAPHY | HONGKONG
  Bringing his unique perspective on changing urban environments to a city renowned for its architectural legacy, Wolf chose to photograph the central downtown area, focusing specifically on issues of voyeurism and the contemporary urban landscape in flux.
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  Local council using Twitter on its homepage to provide news and links
• Great Expectations of ICT: how higher education institutions are measuring up : JISC
  How far are students' expectations being met by HE institutions?
• Director Hamm sets up multiplatform indie
  Hamm said his mission with Greenroom was to cut through the "plethora of shit content" on the web, particularly user-generated video, using Greenroom Digital's marketing nous to find the right audience for the shows. "People make the mistake of sticking t
• 'Spore' set to mold the future of Web 2.0-enabled gaming | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone
  Game-makers now begin to really integrate the social web to their games: What may be more interesting though is how publisher EA has begun to integrate the Web into its latest titles--Spore included. For instance, in this new piece of software you can
• Microsoft's internal social network - what's the benefit? | PDA: The Digital Content Blog | guardian.co.uk
  This is what I could see easily integrated into Glow, the national schools network. Far more useful than 'traditional' notions of making Glow a big social network. TownSquare looks a lot like Facebook with employee's real names and photo, but principal
• Facebook | Stephen Kearney
  Politicians using Facebook to communicate with constituents
• Stephen Kearney & Henley - a set on Flickr
  Politician using Flickr