"Twenty years ago, a quiet British engineer was on the cusp of changing the world. Tim Berners-Lee was ironing out the wrinkles in a project that would become the "world wide web." As he readily admits, no-one could have predicted its significance."As the BBC Superpower Series draws to a close I'm taking a little time to reflect on the incredible experience that it has been.
Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC global news, 8th March 2010, Superpower blog
Click on the image above to take you to the BBC Superpower Series which in their own words.
"Explores the extraordinary power of the internet"
This has been a phenomenal social experiment and experience. Bloggers have interacted with other as they posted their opinions, personal stories from every corner of the world and in many different languages on The Superpower Blog. Tweeters twittered with their reviews of blogs, podcasts and videos on Superpower on Twitter. Many entries were received for the "My World" competition where entrants uploaded a 2 minute video clip with a glimpse of the world as they see it.
The winning video was "Wash, rinse and spin" by Frederico Teixeira de Sampayo from Spain.The BBC has a phenomenal range of podcasts, they are edited superbly with extremely professional journalists who keep you engaged as they set the scene, give you a sense of actually "being there" and if needs be step in when debates between locals get a little heated. But hey, don't take my word for it! Download iTunes and subscribe to the BBC podcasts that you are interested in.
They are all a little long for students to listen to in class but could be set as a homework task. There are endless Science podcasts for different agencies, one of my favourites are the 60 second podcasts from Scientific American, they are short, sharp and to the point. I have used them as a lesson starter or on occasions a guide to students before they are given the task of making their own podcast which they have edited using Audacity. I'll blog about Science podcasts in more detail another day :-)
On their "World have your say" site, the BBC provides the platform for discussions that take place between people from all around the world, on topics that they want to talk about. Some people blog, others tweet or contribute to the discussions be texting, phoning and emailing in when the programme is broadcast.
Here's a selection of the World Service podcasts, mainly documentaries that I've enjoyed listening to, they aren't all science related but general interest/social studies/business/studies/sports related.
The other internet
China patrols its cyberspace carefully. The government there closes down hundreds of websites each year and blocks access to many international websites.How do Chinese citizens get over the great firewall of China?
Internet Cafe Hobo - part 1
Nick Baker is on a mission to connect people, stories and places via internet cafe.
Internet Cafe Hobo - part 2
In Kenya and France he finds a remarkable story in Benin of a young man for whom a single search changed his life.
Internet Cafe Hobo - part 3
Nick find that internet cafes are not just a way to stay in contact with family, friends and football results.
The Crash: The bank that busted the world
What were the key moments that lead to financial meltdown, and what happened in the aftermath? The first of a three-part series that looks closely at the turbulent events in the autumn of 2008.
The Crash: The age of risk
The second of this three-part series that examines the boom before the bust of 2008 looks at how are attitudes to risk and debt changed with disastrous consequences.
The Crash: Back from the brink
The third part of the BBC's definitive series on the banking crash tells the extraordinary story of how politicians reacted, and asks what has been learnt from the entire calamity. Could it happen again?
Nina Robinson meets the community living in the shadow of the London 2012 Olympic games
Click on the links for archived BBC World Service broadcasts, Documentary podcasts, World have your say podcasts, Science podcasts, Outlook podcasts.
The quality of broadcasting and diverse mix of programmes from the BBC are among if not the very best in the world. As regards creative, collaborative, learners...the BBC leads by example, now it's up to us to spread the word, get our students making more (educational!) use of social networking and using that newly found information to produce creative resources using the diverse range of multimedia tools that are available to them.
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