Beta Test Period Wrapping Up

Thank you so much to colleagues, students and teachers who have been testing the ‘Salty Chip’ for us from locations around the globe. (Colin Lankshear managed to login on his ‘state of the ark’ equipment and connection in Mexico. Courtney Riley accessed the network in Thailand and China).

We have resolved the critical issues and have made it easier to sign up (for example, including a photo is optional). In the coming weeks, we will be promoting the network with students and teachers in order to build the resource base that will allow us to begin building on and sharing our multiliteracies’ practices.

Please continue to send us feedback. We continue to pursue funding to allow us to further develop the network in response to the needs of the community.

Follow the ‘Salty Chip’ on Twitter and we’ll keep you updated!

Known ‘bugs’ in beta testing experience

Today we went into a lab as a class and logged in and uploaded all at once. This experience revealed a few more little bugs that we are currently working through. These ‘bugs’ have all been reported and we are working quickly to fix them before we broadcast the ‘Salty Chip’ more vigorously.

1. Powerpoint and presentation files. We noticed that uploading powerpoint and presentation files was quite easy to do, but when downloading the presentation files, we are finding corrupt files. Staff are checking these files and will let us know what the fix is and when it has been addressed.

2. Email. When you create a login and password, your login must be alphanumeric, and cannot contain spaces. Sometimes people create a login with spaces (e.g., Kathy Hibbert), but when the system generates a login name that I must use to sign into the system, the space is removed (KathyHibbert). We are going to add a note or some way to tell you this.

Similarly, you are asked to include a picture. You have the option of skipping the picture, and adding it later. This was not working today, so the tech team will be addressing this bug as well.

Otherwise, the rest appears to be functioning rather well!

Full Class Beta Test Feb. 24th

We have found and fixed a few bugs during our beta testing period with our ‘early adopters’. Thank you to all who have tested the system and reported bugs to us. On Feb. 24th, I will be testing a full class uploading and then if all goes well, we will open up to other classes, teachers and students across Canada.

Welcome to our International Partners at TimeProject.org

I am delighted to announce that we have partnered with UNESCO’s Time Project (see http://www.timeproject.org). Teachers and students from around the world will be exchanging their work via the Salty Chip. We look forward to your participation!