Posted on 10 February 2012
In the past month it's been reported that the current ICT (Information and Communication Technology) curriculum in schools is going to be scrapped and replaced with proper 'Computer Science' lessons from this September. Much has been said about how kids will now be taught advanced computer skills like programming instead of just being shown how to use Microsoft Office, but what will it really mean for companies like LightMedia in the future, and is there anything we think that young people should be doing if they wanted a way in to the industry?.
The New Curriculum
According to one proposed curriculum published by NAACE, the industry body for ICT teaching, the courses would include lots of technical content. The things that most stand out to us are the principles of building databases, using logic (in the form of actual programming languages) to solve problems and even the basics of web design.
These are the sorts of things we at LightMedia would definitely want new recruits to know, and which we were in many cases first introduced to at A-Level, so we think it's great to see them being taught as early as Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9). So of course these changes could mean a much bigger pool of talent for us to draw from a few years down the line.
Having said that, it's not just what you learn that matters, but how you learn it. In order for this to be a success, the teachers have to really know what they're doing. If we're really going to get more young people to consider an IT career path, the subject needs to be taught with enthusiasm as well as skill. This won't be easy, since in many schools ICT is taught as an extra responsibility by teachers who may actually be qualified in (and arguably more interested in) other subjects.
The best answer in the short term would probably be for the slack to be taken up by teachers of related subjects where there might be some 'crossover', such as Maths and Physics. While being a web developer for example doesn't mean you have to be a science wizard, the logical way of approaching problems in these subjects is exactly what we're looking for.
Our Advice
There are definitely things that we think kids could be doing to supplement the ICT teaching they get at school, if they're interested in working in the IT industry later on.
The most important is to learn through trying things out. Many of us got started by doing small, simple projects in our own time which we could then put on our CV to show what we could do. Perhaps in this case that might mean making a website for a school club, or a simple smartphone app that takes some data and allows the user to manage it (for instance an exam revision timetable).
All things considered, it's a big change to how ICT and Computer Science is treated as a school subject. It could be great for the industry if we have new entrants with more and better skills in the future, but to work it's going to need a matching high quality of teaching.
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Posted on 23 November 2011
These strange looking codes are cropping up everywhere, from restaurants to cinemas, even on the side of livestock (!). People really are letting their imagination loose with what they can achieve using them. So what are they?
Brother Barcode
The QR code, or Quick Response Code, is essentially a 2D barcode. It belongs to a whole family but has emerged as one of the most popular types. It was designed to allow the contents it carried to be decoded very quickly, hence the name “Quick Response Code”.
Originally used to track cars in a Toyota factory in 1994, they are now a common sight in the public view. The boom of the smart phone and the mobile web has given birth to a new generation of trigger happy QR users, who can scan the codes to load up a mini mobile site tailored to a specific application/context.
Why should they interest you? – To put it simply, they can easily improve your marketing campaigns.
Novel Uses
Take a look at some of these clever uses of QR codes. These clever Croatian stamps allow the user to be taken to a mini mobile site. This site gives the user a text box to enter the code displayed on the stamp.
On entering the small code shown beneath the QR code, they are given a summary of when the mail was sent, how far it travelled and the route it took.
This process could be made even slicker for the user, by combining the code they would have to type into the QR code itself. They are designed for carrying information, after all.
These QR cows have been sprayed with QR codes. Intrigued passers-by scan the code and are given the chance to play a scratch card game on their phone. If they win the game, they win some dairy products from the farm. The innovative French farmer who created this concept now has many new customers.
This may look like an ordinary shop, but the products on the shelf are in fact just an image. A novel supermarket in Korea uses a large display on the underground station to allow travellers to shop using their smart-phones by scanning the QR code beside each product. The products they choose are then delivered directly to the customer’s door. The result of this campaign has allowed the supermarket to travel to no. 1 in Korea.
Some Ideas – What Could You Do?
These are just a few of the novel ways these codes can be used; let your imagination run wild.
- An art gallery could use QR codes to replace those old audio tours or extend their showroom space.
- A retailer could use them to promote discounts or enhance the use of their shop space.
- A theatre could use them for on the door sales.
- A cinema could use them to allow passers-by to see a trailer of a film advertised on a poster.
- A restaurant could use the codes on a menu to allow a customer to see a video of the chef cooking their meal.
- A TV advertiser could use them to allow viewers to step into their advert.
- A more common use is just as a “tell-me-more” mechanism – print a code onto a product display or business card and have the mini site explain a bit more.
QR codes have been proven time and again to greatly improve marketing campaigns, generating new leads, customers and sales. Not only this but the structure of the sites involved can be creative, engaging and exciting.
As time moves on, the rate at which innovative new uses of these simple codes will arise is exciting. Combined with LightMedia’s knowledge of mobile web development, what could you achieve for your company using a simple QR code?
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Posted on 08 October 2010
So what is HTML5?
HTML5 is the latest version of HTML, a set of rules describing how to build websites in an industry-standard way. If the code for a site is written according to these rules, then it should work and be displayed in exactly the same way on any web browser which supports HTML (at least in theory). This includes all the ones you've probably heard of, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome.
It's currently being developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, which is an international web-standards organisation. The latest versions of many browsers are including support for it's new features - including Microsoft when Internet Explorer 9 is released in the next few months.
What makes it so different from previous versions of HTML?
Quite simply, the new features will make it possible to build websites without relying so much on extra 'plug-ins' such as Flash and Silverlight (which require visitors to your website to have software installed before they can use your content). It's also difficult to make these plug-ins pull in content from elsewhere on your own or other sites, so being less reliant on these means that we can build complex sites that not only look good, but are also much more closely linked to 'web applications' such as Google Maps and Facebook.
As well as allowing you to put video and audio files directly onto a web page, HTML5 includes something called Canvas, which is a way to draw shapes, text and images on a page as if you were using a pen or a paint brush. Out of all the new stuff, this is the bit that our developers here at LightMedia are most excited about! It'll be very useful to anyone who wants to make games and other interactive elements.
Hasn't there been some controversy about it?
Yes, there's been a lot of discussion in the industry over which types of media files (especially video) HTML5 should require web browsers to support. Some formats are widely used but covered by patents (so using them would involve licensing and royalty payments), such as H.264. Some are free from patents as far as is currently known, but not as commonly used, such as Ogg Theora. The heated debate among the big names of the industry - including Microsoft, Apple and Google (each of whom have their own preferred options) - is set to continue for some time.
What else do I need to know?
Because the new features in HTML5 are so advanced, it's not possible to use many of them on older browsers. Although this applies mainly to Internet Explorer (from version 8 downwards), it presents quite a challenge for designers and developers. We have to design and build sites that can not only give a great experience to visitors with the latest browsers, but also gracefully fall back on older technology when necessary. This will become less of a problem as browsers which don't support HTML5 are phased out over time, but for now it's something that's important to bear in mind.
In a very real sense, HTML5 is a signpost for where the internet is heading. It will help us to build websites that deliver content in more imaginative and integrated ways, to a greater audience.
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