Getting user and group information from Active Directory via LDAP is nearly easy, but I came across one hurdle. If you retrieve a user, you might get something like this:
If you then wanted to get the users primary group, you’d need to search using that primary group id. But you’d find there is no corresponding id on the group object, which looks as thus:
But notice the binary field :objectsid. This is the binary form of the string you may see sometimes when using AD, called SID, and it looks something like “S-1-5-21-123-456-789″. In order to find the users group you would take the :primarygroupid and the users :objectsid to generate the groups SID.
1. Tahatai Coast School – These students are tackling a local issue of concern – reducing traffic congestion. ICT is essential and seamless: data analysis provides the evidence for the students to take action, and they convey their traffic safety messages through television commercials.
2. Fendalton Open Air School – This story highlights the use of blogging by students to reflect on their own and their classmate’s work, and also for parents to get involved. John Hattie chimes in with support for feedback as the most important factor for student achievement.
3. Point England School – This video is by students involved in podcasting as part of their literacy programme. A rich demonstration of literacy learning and the key competencies – the students are practiced literary critics, participating in an international community of readers.
4. Baradene College – A secondary example – students access digital resources from Te Papa’s collection to stimulate the creative process in drama class. ICT provides richer learning opportunities and greater relevance in the learning.
Check out this video that Nathan sent me of Julian giving us his critical analysis of the latest advert by Microsoft. The politics of it aside, isn’t this is a great example of media analysis – from Julian’s dissection of the agenda behind the messages to his questioning (and verification through research) of the accuracy of the information to the ad’s continuity gaffs?
Julian’s YouTube profile indicates he’s providing video commentary on a range of technologies and popular culture topics, often times in response to requests and feedback from those following him. How can we capitalise on the commitment that these young people have to learning, and to teaching, for that matter, in the classroom!?
Last week, with the top trio Neil, Cam and Howard, I ran a session for colleagues across the ministry that shared our team’s work. We explored three questions:
What is e-learning (and what is not e-learning)?
Why is it important?
How does it fit in The New Zealand Curriculum?
We got asked some tough questions – questions that we should always be prepared to answer! So I’m going to devote a couple of posts to e-learning FAQs (don’t hesitate to offer up your own frequently asked questions or answers).
Q: e-Learning has nothing new to offer (other than the benefits of evolutionary change – more information, more connections etc).
A:There many justifications for e-learning. These include: young people are digital learners (their social, cultural and ethical practices are digital ones); the workplace and economy requires proficiency with ICT; e-learning can be a lever for teacher pedagogical change; ICT can be used to ‘add value’ (eg when teaching concepts difficult to grasp or to access to a wider range of learning resources and options). These reasons are necessary but not sufficient, to my mind.
The main justification, for me, is that e-learning supports the kinds of curriculum and pedagogies that respond to and shape 21st century society.
The NZ Curriculum says e-learning contributes new ways of teaching and learning (p36 e-Learning and pedagogy). e-Learning offers new approaches to teaching that overcome barriers of distance and time, expand learning beyond the classroom, and provide for more varied and richer learning. These are largely matters of scale and the amplification of effects: e-learning provides for wider and more flexible learning options by making learning quicker, bigger and more varied.
It seems that week on week Google introduces new tools without fanfare and it’s easy for these to slip by unnoticed. A year or so ago Google Web Optimizer appeared in the Adwords toolbar. There hadn’t been much of a buzz about it appearing but who could ignore a link that promised to ‘optimize’ your website, and from Google no less.
Taking a closer look at Google Web Optimizer it was clear this is a very useful tool in the web designers toolkit. In a nutshell it allows developers and designers to test variations of design, copy or even whole pages.
These two shows received awards last month at the 1st Annual Streamy Awards. Hosted in Los Angeles by a bunch of new media companies, The Streamys recognise shows produced originally for broadband distribution. The awards herald the rise and rise of web tv. It will be interesting this time next year to revisit the status of this genre, who’s involved, and the nature of the media produced.
Best Comedy Web Series went to the The Guild – written by and starring Felicia Day as a member of an online gaming community who is forced out from behind her computer screen to confront her fellow game players in the real world.
Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series went to Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Created by Joss Whedon (Serenity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dollhouse) and his family and friends during the writers’ strike, this short series tells of Dr Horrible’s attempts to get accepted into the Evil League of Evil and win the girl of his dreams away from his nemesis, Captain Hammer.
Check out the winners – might be some other interesting media in there for a bit of Easter web tv watching (note: not necessarily suitable for kids).
