| Digital - teacher | Education in a technological world

BBC iPlayer / on demand service

Well I've got my version of the BBC on demand player installed on both the desktop and latop machines, and now I'm busy playing (sorry - testing) it.

Good points:

• Clear images when watching the programmes. No blocky moments.
• Simple to use. Browse - choose - click - download - watch!

Bad points:

• Limited choice of programmes at the moment
• No access to archived material
• Once you start watching a programme it drops from 28 days to 7 days before expiry.

Suggestions:

• A facility to set all downloads chosen to a certain time (say 12am - 7am) like the old economy7 electricity package.

Overall, not quite as I expected, but it's still in beta mode and I hope it gets better.

For a change

All day yesterday the TV news has actually featured good news as its lead story, with the release of Alan Johnston. It meant that I was smiling when I woke up and heard it. It meant I felt happy driving to work, and I felt goodwill to others in the evening.
Makes a change from the normal feelings when the news comes on about war and terrorism.

Doctor Who make-a-comic

Have you seen the BBC Doctor Who website?
They've launched a new feature where you can create your own comic strip featuring the Doctor, Martha and a host of villians and props.
I've given it a quick go and it's simple to use. (One thing to mention, you will need to register to get the full features of it, and for children that will mean getting an adult to allow you to join).

iPlayer gets the greenlight

Nice to read that the BBC trust has given the go ahead for the public launch of the iPlayer - allowing users to view aired programs in their own time on an "on demand" basis.
The only gripe at the moment is that on launch it will be available only for people using PCs, it would seem that BBC do not consider Macs that much of a priority.
I find that bemusing for a public service broadcaster who is supposed to ensure that its service is available to all.

The full BBC report

Mispent evenings

Oh dear. I guess this is confirmation of what I had feared!
The Simpsons is 20 this year (yes, can you believe that it's been 20 years of watching and laughing at the worlds most dysfunctional family), and the movie is on its way this July. To celebrate these two great stories, the BBC website  have a quiz to see how much you know about them.
I got 100% on my first go - not a single question wrong, and worse than that I didn't even need to guess any of the answers, or even think about them, I just knew them.
This is bad. I watch too much television. N0 - let me rephrase that. I watch too much of the WRONG television!!

The change is on its way

17th October.
Remember that date. Especially if you live in West Cumbria, as this is when your TV signal will be cut off unless you have a digital signal. BBC Two will be the first channel to go digital only, with the remaining channels switching on 14 November. The whole of the UK to follow by the end of 2012.

Full details can be found on DigitalUK

Will phone competitions ever recover?

So whilst ICSTIS investigates those pay-to-play quizzes for adults, this is revealed;

The hosts of BBC children's programme Blue Peter have apologised to viewers after the results of a competition were faked last November.

A technical problem meant viewers calling for the Whose Shoes contest did not get through to the studio.

Instead, a visiting child was asked to pose as a caller live on air.

Host Konnie Huq said: "We'd like to say sorry to you because when this mistake happened we let you down." The BBC did not profit from the calls.

BBC Children's controller Richard Deverell called the incident a "serious error of judgement".

If Blue Peter are faking competitions, then that's it, the world has officially gone mad.  This was the programme that I grew up watching.  This was my staple diet of sensibility, of caring for others through shoebox appeals, and of learning how to turn household rubbish into a work of art.
My childhood memories are now lying in tatters :-(

Easy Money

I see that after a thorough investigation, ITV can once again charge people a fortune to place a vote for their favourite ice dancers. Won't be too long before Ch4, Ch5 and the BBC get cleared to carry on with their "quizzes" and competitions I guess.

The way I see it, if you're dumb enough to think that you'll be the only one ringing up to win these competitions prizes, then you deserve to be ripped off. But, in the spirit of these competitions, I've launched one myself. Can you complete the following phrase;

The TV production companies are laughing all the way to;

A - the pizza shop
B - the bank
C - the police station

Just call 09011 123 456 789 . Lines are open now until midnight, Jan 1st 2007.

GENERAL RULES
1. The vote is organised by the Company.
2. You may vote by telephone voting, and there is no limit on the amount of times you can vote. There are no alternative voting methods.
3. Vote opening and closing times are as advertised during the posting. Votes made outside of these times will not be counted, but we'll still take your money.
4. At no time, and under no circumstance, will refunds be given for any vote made or for any incorrect attempt to vote.
5. If you are not the bill payer, you must obtain permission from bill payer before placing a vote.
6. Should your vote not be received prior to the result being determined, the Company will not held liable. Some callers may find that they are unable to place a vote during peak periods.
7. The Company and sub-contractors employed for the purposes of the posting do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem in any telephone network or system which may result in any vote being lost or not properly registered.
8. Calls cost £10 a minute, with 100% going into my pocket.

BBC on YouTube

News from the world of web2.0 today;

"The BBC has struck a content deal with YouTube, the web's most popular video sharing website, owned by Google.

Three YouTube channels - one for news and two for entertainment - will showcase short clips of BBC content.

The BBC hopes that the deal will help it reach YouTube's monthly audience of more than 70 million users and drive extra traffic to its own website."

The three channels are the BBC (no adverts), BBC news (no adverts - coming later in the year) and BBC Worldwide (with adverts). Oh, and if you visit the BBC Worldwide channel, you can see lots of David Attenborough nature clips.

Ready to Switch?

Becta, the government's lead partner in the strategic development and delivery of its e-strategy, has information on it's website related to the switch from analogue to digital television broadcasting that begins next year.
They have detailed information about how your educational institution should go about preparing for this switch.