Organised by the Curriculum Management and eLearning Department (CMeLD) within the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education (DQSE), and the Directorate for Educational Services (DES), the exhibition will showcase the latest technologies and approaches towards the use of ICT in education through the theme of Maltese history.

Workshops include private companies that offer educational products and services that harness ICT. These include interactive whiteboards, programmable floor robots, educational software for game consoles, and the use of freeware.

With the emphasis on hands-on experience, students use the workshops to become more acquainted with graphics, multimedia, animation, music, physical education using Wii, Lego NXT, Bee-Bots, WE-DO robots, interactive whiteboards, Microsoft tools, Apple GarageBand audio editing and iPhoto photo editing, and Web 2.0 tools, among others.

A highlight of the exhibition will be the new e-learning platform provided by Fronter which is being rolled-out in State Primary and Secondary Schools.

The exhibition will host several workshops were students, teachers and parents are invited to join in and learn how technology can make support education and make it fun for children. These include a stop animation workshop where students will create their own puppets and animate them, podcasting, videoconferencing, graphics and other multimedia production.

The Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education together with Microsoft will launch the Innovative Teachers Forum, an annual competition for best use of ICT across the curriculum with the winners representing Malta abroad.

EMBED 2012 will also incorporate a prize-giving ceremony that will recognise the best use of ICT across the curriculum.  These awards encourage, promote and share good practice in ICT in our schools and show how e-learning is not just the use of the computer.

The eTwinning National Support Service will also organise workshops and hold its annual prize-giving ceremony for the best eTwinning Projects.

Two challenges in computer programming have also been launched. The scope of the NXT Challenge is to elicit participants to hone their programming skills through NXT Mindstorm programmable robots.  This is sponsored by IMS.

Scratch IT to see IT!  is based on the freely downloadable graphical environment known as Scratch designed by MIT specifically for introducing children to programming in a fun and easy way.  The awards of the competition will be supported by the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta and the eSkills Alliance Malta, which is driven by MITA and partners.

The eLearning centre within CMeLD aims to be the hub of innovation and creativity and at the forefront to explore and exploit these tools. It is also committed to implementing the ambitious national eLearning strategy and to ensure that eLearning grows and develops for the benefit of all learners.

This activity is being organised with the support of various local suppliers.

“EMBED 2012: Best Use of ICT” will be open for schoolchildren from 8.30 am to 1 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Monday 25/26/27/30 April; and for the general public on Saturday between 9am and 4pm and on Sunday 29 between 9am and 12pm and 3pm and 6pm at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta.

https://www.facebook.com/embedmalta

Covering everything from Angel Investing to taking on a fresh perspective of the world we live in, the TEDxValletta movement is going beyond to engage with various stakeholders to effect positive change.

Giving some insight into the next TEDxValletta, Deborah Webster comments: “ This next event is especially near and dear to our heart. Along with others, we have a keen interest in innovative ways that can bring about positive change in this world, how we can reshape the balance away from the reality many people are experiencing. Bankers have stopped banking, limiting opportunities for new budding entrepreneurs, business dealings go awry under the banner of “but this is business”, and people feel stuck, feeling that an individual can’t make a difference.”

TEDxValletta is the platform we use to identify and highlight local and foreign talent, their stories and their vision for a more positive future for ourselves, our communities and our world.  The world we live in is a tad skewed, one in which those who do good should be poor and those who act in their own self-interests should be rich.  But times are changing and the current movement started in Wall Street is one simple example of humanity coming together to regain the balance in this world.  We need to shift from a mindset of scarcity to a belief of we have enough. TEDxValletta – All Things ‘W’ is one more step in the direction of what we want in the world.”

The event is open to the public and information on speakers and tickets is available on-line at www.tedxvalletta.com.

The public event is independently produced and operated under license from TED. TEDx is part of a revolution in global education made possible by local organisers wanting to engage their communities.  Every week, in multiple cities, people are coming together to pursue ideas worth spreading.

For more information, please contact Deborah Webster on info@deborahwebster.net

Windows Phone 7’s smart design, integrated experiences and new developer platform provide a variety of unique features that change the way people engage with apps and games. With the introduction of Windows Phone 7, in October of last year, Microsoft introduced a new platform that is different because it is designed to bring together what users care about most. Every-day tasks are made faster by doing more in fewer steps and providing timely information in a glanceable format. The things that matter most like people (contacts), games, music & video, photos and office productivity are organized and are easily accessible through integrated experiences known as Windows Phone Hubs.

When it comes to Windows Phone 7 development, Microsoft had the developers in mind. Windows Phone 7 enables a rich developer ecosystem to create a variety of quality apps and games that take advantage of the phone’s unique features and design. Developers can use their existing knowledge to create new applications or transform their existing desktop and web applications to phone applications.

For more information about the competition, visit the competition’s web portal at http://www.wp7appcomp.com. Even if you don’t have a Windows Phone 7 device, you can create your application and test it using the emulator that comes with the development tools. Developers can find all the necessary tools along with tutorials on Windows Phone development and other resources on the MSDN website for free (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ff380145.aspx)