All posts tagged: training

Bluesky’s open API means anyone can scrape your data for AI training

Bluesky’s open API means anyone can scrape your data for AI training

Published by skeptic

Bluesky might not be training AI systems on user content as other social networks are doing, but there’s little stopping third-parties from doing so. Per a report by 404 Media, a machine learning librarian at AI firm Hugging Face pulled 1 million public posts from Bluesky via its Firehose API for machine learning research, pushing the dataset to a public repository. Daniel van Strien later removed the data due to the controversy that ensued, however it serves as a timely reminder that everything you post publicly to Bluesky is, well, public. Bluesky said that it’s looking at ways to enable users to communicate their consent preferences externally, though it’s up to those parties whether they respect those preferences. The company posted: “Bluesky won’t be able to enforce this consent outside of our systems. It will be up to outside developers to respect these settings. We’re having ongoing conversations with engineers & lawyers and we hope to have more updates to share on this shortly!” What’s clear here is that while Bluesky is surging in popularity, …

New teacher training providers could be accredited in future

New teacher training providers could be accredited in future

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles New teacher training providers may have “future opportunities” to gain accreditation and enter the market, a Department for Education official has said. The government’s 2021 ITT market review forced providers to go through a bruising re-accreditation process. Sixty-eight teacher trainers, responsible for training 16 per cent of all trainees in 2022-23, lost out. This sparked fears teacher supply could be hit and that ITT cold spots might emerge. A re-accreditation round will launch next year, but won’t be open to new providers. But Claire Plasser, team leader of teacher training and recruitment at the Department for Education today told the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers annual conference that would-be ITT providers might still have a chance to become accredited in the future. “Looking to the future we want to work with you to support schools to meet the workforce challenges they’re facing, which may mean expanding your current provision to train more teachers where there’s demand from schools and from candidates,” she said. “It may also mean future …

How a unique puppy kindergarten lab put the science into dog training

How a unique puppy kindergarten lab put the science into dog training

Published by skeptic

“Oreo was my best friend growing up,” says Brian Hare. If Hare wanted to hone his baseball pitching skills, his Labrador enthusiastically took on fielding duties. If he decided to explore the nearby woods, Oreo was an ever-willing companion. But there was one place where boy and dog always parted company. “Oreo never set foot in our house. Not one time,” says Hare. Today, the front door is no longer closed to most dogs in higher-income countries – and many spend their days relaxing on sofas and watching TV. You would think they would be in doggy heaven. But Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, thinks the development has left them in the doghouse. For millennia, he says, we expected dogs to guard our property and protect our family at nighttime. Now, we have a different set of expectations. Not only do we want our indoor dogs to be friendly around strangers and rest quietly through the night, they should also respond to potty training, refrain from chasing other animals …

“If you want to move better and have more lower body freedom you need to start training your flexibility and it all starts in the hips”: A movement expert suggests five moves for hip mobility

“If you want to move better and have more lower body freedom you need to start training your flexibility and it all starts in the hips”: A movement expert suggests five moves for hip mobility

Published by skeptic

Sitting for long periods, overtraining, running and cycling—especially without warming up properly—can all contribute to tight hips. This tightness is often caused by tension around the hip flexor muscles, which, if unaddressed, can lead to a reduced range of motion, limited mobility and an increased risk of injury. The good news? You can improve hip flexibility without spending hours stretching. According to Tom Merrick, also known as the Bodyweight Warrior, you only need these five drills to make a difference. Merrick, a calisthenics expert and fitness coach known for his strength and flexibility workouts, says: “These five stretches will have all essential ranges of the hip covered and can be applied from beginner to advanced.” How to do Tom Merrick’s stretch workout For detailed instructions on each exercise, watch Merrick’s longer YouTube video. In it, Merrick also recommends testing your flexibility by holding a lower-body position, like a deep squat, before starting the routine, then performing the position again afterward to highlight the difference the stretches can make. “If you want to move better and …

Ofsted Academy publishes first inspector training materials

Ofsted Academy publishes first inspector training materials

Published by skeptic

Six inspector training videos uploaded to free-to-access platform as watchdog aims for greater transparency Six inspector training videos uploaded to free-to-access platform as watchdog aims for greater transparency The new Ofsted Academy has published its first inspector training materials as the watchdog attempts to increase transparency. Schools Week revealed in January that the inspectorate would establish the platform to bring together its “specialist inspection and regulation learning under one roof”. Ofsted was criticised in 2022 for refusing to publish “aide memoires” – training guides that summarise inspection criteria – given to inspectors after some were leaked online. Today, Ofsted uploaded the Academy’s first content – six inspector training videos. It is part of a range of measures implemented following the ruling last year that an Ofsted inspection contributed to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. The watchdog had already made its mental health awareness training for inspectors available on its YouTube channel earlier this year. Six videos published Some of the videos uploaded today are from Ofsted’s spring 2024 inspector conference. They include an introduction …

Three moves every runner should include in their home training plan, according to a physical therapist

Three moves every runner should include in their home training plan, according to a physical therapist

Published by skeptic

All you need to run is a good pair of sneakers, right? Well, sort of. If your goal is to run well, and run injury-free, you also need a functional strength training plan to support your efforts. One that keeps your muscles, bones and joints robust and race-ready. “Strength training plays a critical role in reducing injury risk and enhancing running performance,” physical therapist Adrian D’Costa recently explained in an Instagram post for the Runna app. The running specialist explained that it can improve muscle imbalances, joint stability, and overall resilience to the repetitive stress that running places on the body. “Simple yet powerful exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and heel raises are particularly beneficial for runners,” he added. “When performed with proper form and progressively increasing resistance, these exercises can significantly enhance a runner’s strength and performance.” We tracked D’Costa down to ask how often runners should include these exercises in their training, how many sets and repetitions to perform, and how to make sure all the work in the gym doesn’t undermine your …

BBC Strictly Come Dancing’s Vito Coppola declares love in training

BBC Strictly Come Dancing’s Vito Coppola declares love in training

Published by Sam

Vito Coppola took a break from his Strictly Come Dancing training to declare his love – but not for his celebrity dance partner Sarah Hadland. The pair had an emotional weekend in the ballroom as Sarah performed to a song close to her heart. The Miranda star and her Italian dance partner danced a Foxtrot to Birds Of A Feather by Billie Eilish, but ahead of their performance, Sarah broke into tears as she spoke about the importance of the song to her and her ‘little one’. Despite not getting their best scores and comments of the series, the pair made it through to week five of the BBC One dance contest and have since been back in training for their upcoming Samba to Do It Do It Again by Rafaella Carrà. READ MORE: Liam Payne was ‘proud dad’ before tragic death as fans support Cheryl and son Bear With their next performance fast approaching, it seems Sarah decided to boost the mood in rehersals and brought along her beloved cat, Percy, to join them. …

Teacher training, GCSE reform and investment needed

Teacher training, GCSE reform and investment needed

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Oracy should become the “fourth R”, with equal status to reading, writing and maths, supported by better teacher training, reforms to GCSE English language and investment in expressive arts and extra-curricular activities. The Oracy Commission, chaired by former ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton, concluded that oracy should be embedded “throughout the primary and secondary national curriculum”, but also more widely throughout each school’s culture. But investment in the subject must also come before any high-stakes assessment, the commission warned, to avoid the risk of testing “perverting the purpose of oracy education”. Labour announced last year that its curriculum review would “explore how to weave oracy into lessons throughout school” if it won power. A DfE spokesperson said today’s findings and recommendations would be considered during its curriculum and assessment review. Geoff Barton Barton said education “should equip young people to ask questions, articulate ideas and formulate powerful arguments”. “However young people express themselves and communicate, we should be providing opportunities for them to deepen their sense of identity and belonging, listen …

The Download: Training robots with gen AI, and the state of climate tech

The Download: Training robots with gen AI, and the state of climate tech

Published by skeptic

Generative AI models can produce images in response to prompts within seconds, and they’ve recently been used for everything from highlighting their own inherent bias to preserving precious memories. Now, researchers from Stephen James’s Robot Learning Lab in London are using image-generating AI models for a new purpose: creating training data for robots. They’ve developed a new system, called Genima, that fine-tunes the image-generating AI model Stable Diffusion to draw robots’ movements, helping guide them both in simulations and in the real world.  Genima could make it easier to train different types of robots to complete tasks—machines ranging from mechanical arms to humanoid robots and driverless cars—as well as making AI web agents more useful. Read the full story. —Rhiannon Williams These 15 companies are innovating in climate tech We’ve just unveiled our 2024 list of 15 Climate Tech Companies to Watch. This annual project is one the climate team at MIT Technology Review pours a lot of time and thought into, and we’re thrilled to finally share it with you. Our goal is to …

Ofsted Academy publishes first inspector training materials

Ofsted Academy to publish first training materials this term

Published by skeptic

New service will collate induction, training, learning, development and ‘good practice work’ in a single place New service will collate induction, training, learning, development and ‘good practice work’ in a single place More from this theme Recent articles The new Ofsted Academy will start publishing inspector training materials later this term in a bid to boost transparency. The watchdog said the academy would collate its induction, training, learning, development and “good practice work” in a single place. The new department, which will run training for the inspectorate, aims to “transform” how Ofsted recruits and teaches staff. Sir Martyn Oliver It will also collate face-to-face training and development and will develop an “insights library” to share exemplary practice. As part of this, Ofsted pledged to “become more transparent” by publishing relevant training materials. This follows parents and school staff telling surveys they felt it could not be trusted. The first materials – those shared at recent inspection conferences – will go live this term. “The new Ofsted Academy is core to our efforts to be more …