Tech shoe review – Simple D-Bunk Low

Ok, so you’re thinking “Why is there a shoe review on a technology blog?” Well, as a blogger on creative design and tech I am really interested in applied technology design and shoes and textiles have had some really interesting developments lately. High tech shoes usually take the form of the sports shoe (trainers) as there is mucho revenue to be had from sports exposure. For my review, I am looking at an eco-shoe though to focus on the green market.

‘Simple Shoes’ operate from the USA but are available worldwide; an online store has occasional bargains but if you look up the same models on Amazon and Ebay you can do even better. The Simple D-Bunk Low (also available as a mid height ankle boot) is the very latest in eco- recycled textiles and materials and retails in the UK between £40-80.

• Men’s D-Bunk Mid casual mid-height shoe with eco-certified waterproof leather and waterproof suede uppers (BLC/ISO 14001)
• Certified organic cotton linings
• The “pedbed” (the cushiony and supportive stuff at the bottom of the shoe) is made of PU and latex foam for comfort
• The sole of this shoe is fully biodegradable! The midsole is made of EVA with BIO-D and the outsole is made of 30% recycled rubber and 70% natural rubber with BIO-D. The BIO-D makes the EVA and rubber biodegrade in 20 years in a landfill or compost heap.
• The foot form inserts are made of post consumer recycled paper
• The shoebox is made of post-consumer recycled paper, soy based printing ink, natural latex and starch based glue.

Also you can buy in a mushroomy brown colour or black. Mine are black with dark grey stitching and black suede toe. First impressions are of a very smooth leather surface, stiff sole and strong lace construction. The organic cotton lining is designed to ‘wick’ moisture but looks a little cheap and shabby. After a 2 mile walk, you notice the footbed isn’t dense enough for maintained outdoor activity – you can almost feel that biodegradable layer on your heels! I got some sports gel insoles to replace these before further use. My next test was during three days of city break walking on the pavements/sidewalks of Milan (glamourous huh?). The shoe was outstanding; comfortable and hard wearing and a decent visual mix between trainer and shoe. Often, big toes can rub against stitching whilst ascending lots of steps – from Metro stations to the 250 to the top of Milan Duomo the shoes remained really comfortable, dry despite sweaty feet and even didn’t retain unwanted smelliness from socks.

So far, so impressed! I do recommend replacing those innersoles though if you plan to use this shoe for hours of walking.

Online teaching (field trip)

The Task for students:

• Make a presentation in ‘Google Presentation’ in groups of two or three to reflect on the field trip. How has the company changed since the introduction and development of technology? How have individuals’ jobs changed? What part does the Internet play in this particular business?
• Use email to help organise each other and retain responses.
• Present as a team on hand-in date leaving a chat window open for ‘back channel’ peer assessed feedback that can be reviewed after you have finished.

It was envisaged to take place over a six-week period following the external visit (with monitoring points at two week intervals).  Despite careful planning, external factors (principally learner absence and school examinations) led to a less cohesive element of online tutoring.  Some groups had more tutor assistance than others and less ‘weaving’ and linking of personal experience took place than anticipated but understandable in the context of 14-19 education rather than HE.  Communication with the online tutor by some of the groups was minimal (registration and submission only) and social interaction was difficult to observe from others. Contraindications of collaboration (such as refusal to work with partners, no communication etc.) were minimised to some degree by tutor input, initial and subsequent email communication, pairing of students across ability (to encourage leadership) and empathy to students’ difficulties and challenges.

Embryonic CoPs developed in some instances, particularly where relationships had been established before the experience began.  Some learners had greater active participation within a group, forming inner and outer CoPs and with associated ‘private’ IM correspondence.  There was some element of resistance to support from the online tutor; roles of support, empathy and intervention should develop with increased familiarity with the tools and techniques rather than a time-limited experience.  Attempting to bridge across schools and friendship groups led to further challenges than necessary and required increased tutor input and levels of empathy.  Given a longer timeframe and enhanced use of these technologies, these online tutorial skills would need to develop.  A satisfactory level of NL took place with the chosen technology; learners were keen to further develop home learning using the Google application suite.  I will certainly recommend Google Docs as a technology suitable for home learning.

References

Barker, P. (2002) On Being an Online Tutor, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Vol. 39, No. 1. Pp. 3–13

Dillenbourg, P. (1999) Collaborative-learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches, Oxford. Pp. 1-19

Duggleby, J. et al. (2004) Innovative Practice in the use of ICT in Education and Training, Emerald Insight – Journal of Education & Training, Vol. 46, No. 5. Pp. 269-277

Goodyear, P. (1994) Asynchronous peer interaction in distance education: the evolution of goals, practices and technology, CSALT, Lancaster University [Online] Available: http://domino.lancs.ac.uk/EdRes/csaltdocs.nsf/By%20Title/9CCD092E2285DB708025684A0061E4AA/$FILE/Denver+Paper+v3.doc. Accessed: November 2009. Text.

More reflections on Outdoor ICT

Schools are preoccupied with Virtual Learning Environments that are actually just Learning Platforms with very little virtual about them.  A classroom is the narrowest definition of a non-virtual environment. However, any physical (or even social) environment is a learning environment; at home, school, clubs, groups of friends with their implicit learning. The teacher role is fluid in these situations and can even exchange during a learning session. There is no restriction formed of age, gender or race  - only of experience and knowledge.

Vocational applied learning has re-established authenticity in learning environments and we have seen hairdressing salons, professional kitchens, travel agents and simulated offices built in UK schools. The application of knowledge and understanding to real-life tasks makes this learning space more valuable than ‘empty space’ classrooms. More recently, we have seen technology enhanced learning spaces especially with the advent of BSF schools. The use of collaborative knowledge building wikis, online cloud based software like Google docs and Virtual worlds like Second Life, mean the actual ICT room can be anywhere with wifi.

Let’s consider the advantages of Outdoor learning; this is ‘real life’ in the extreme, whole-body learning, challenging to comfort, group building and when guided meta-cognitive in the reflective process. The outdoors can be a highly beneficial place to learn and long established as such by groups like scouts, Kingswood, Brathay and others. Coupled with wifi Internet access and portable, mobile computing there are even more possibilities.

My recent experience at Kingswood near Penistone introduced the use of Samsung NC10s, Flip Ultra usb cameras and USB ’3′ modems. Learners were able to use Blogger to record ideas and review their experiences, Flickr to upload still photos and You Tube for video. From the concrete experience of climbing a Climbing Wall with ropes, they could reflect on the experience, discuss abstract ideas – Emotional Intelligence summaries like how nervous they were before, what might happen, risks, personal challenges, what support their teams gave them and how it felt to complete the task. Given the next task of abseiling, learners could test out their theories in new situations – who was the chief motivator of the team, who was most supportive?

For the practicalities of the British summer, the netbooks were restricted to indoor use only (netbooks not wetbooks) but the Flipcams were taken everywhere and used at all times. Some thoughts for future Outdoor ICT:

• PDAs? Data logging on the spot
• Geocaching – iPod Touch and Google maps if not real GPS handhelds
• Game-based M-learning (see eMapps.com)

Doncaster IT Diploma Residential

Of the three schools involved with our IT Diploma collaborative, 15 kids came away to the north Peak District for a 3 day residential.

 

The objective was to get them to gel as a team, make friends and get to know them individually. Staff from two of the schools joined me from the CLC equipping the learners with Samsung NC10s and a Flip ultra camera. They went on to take part in archery, zip wires, climbing walls and abseiling as well as mega-meccano and camp fires!

A flavour of our IT work included creating a blog to record some of our outdoor activities. We used the Forest school framework (Mikk Sarv) to think about the learning behind the tasks. The framework is: Hand – what did I physically have to do? Sense – what did I feel? Smell? Touch, taste or hear? Deed – what was the goal? What was asked to do? Story – a narrative, sequence; start, middle and end in a few sentences. Point – what was the point of the exercise? Was I challenged by choice? Learners went on to comment on each others’ posts and add stills and videos embedded from Flickr and YouTube.

Twitter/ Monitter records: #dditres and #outdoorict

Flip cameras used for Outdoor ICT

During the IT Diploma residential, learners have been equipped with Flip Ultras to record ideas and experiences. Some reflection later with the video embedded in a blog completes the multimedia experience!

http://web.archive.org/web/20100929074616/http://www.youtube.com/v/rcgjaRKMkYQ&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1

Live from the top of the zip wire. Ta Ryan!

Hemp-based clothing “greener” than cotton? Where are green PCs?

ECOLOGY FACTS

* Hemp growers can not hide marijuana plants in their fields. Marijuana is grown widely spaced to maximize leaves. Hemp is grown in tightly-spaced rows to maximize stalk and is usually harvested before it goes to seed.

*Hemp can be made into fine quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow such paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.

*Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.

*Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

*Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world’s pesticides are sprayed on cotton.

*Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.

*Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.

BTW: Where are the green PCs? How damaging are our gadgets to the environment? I predict a sudden surge of low voltage, recycled products over the next year. That’s excluding the OLPC $100 laptop!!!