What makes a good ICT role model? Please take our incredibly short survey at:
ictrolemodel
Advertisement
What teachers and other educators do best is, by and large, tell people stuff. It can be unsettling to not know things, so it’s no doubt natural to assume that if we don’t like it, then neither will others. So we tell people. But is it OK to not know the answers if you’re an ICT teacher? Here are a few thoughts about that, followed by a video featuring Kate Russell.
Failure seems to be the zeitgeist at the moment. At several conferences I’ve attended recently at least one of the presenters has displayed the Samuel Beckett quotation:
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
At the Pelecon 12 conference there was even a “Confessional”, in which delegates could go in and record themselves talking about one of their mistakes. Here are a few of my thoughts on failure, especially as it pertains to ICT.
Just in case you hadn’t realised I’ve updated my original post about this several times, here is a list of the conferences I mentioned, in alphabetical order.
Updated on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 4:44PM by
Terry Freedman, Educational ICT Consultant
Updated on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 10:58AM by
Terry Freedman, Educational ICT Consultant
Updated on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 8:16AM by
Terry Freedman, Educational ICT Consultant
There are a few conferences coming up in England which you may find useful. Note that this is by no means an exhaustive list!
Concentrating purely on web filtering to keep kids safe online is a bit like looking for your keys under a lamp post because, although you lost them somewhere else, it’s lighter there. A third of children in Europe access the internet from a mobile device, according a new report:
33 % of 9 to 16 year-olds who go online say they do so using a mobile phone or other handheld device.
Every time I attend an educational ICT conference, at least one of the speakers talks about how little we know about the future. The refrain goes something like this:
This all sounds profound and straightforward, but it really isn’t.
21st century skills, Digital Native in News & views, Thinking aloud Applications for the next year for this innovative initiative are open, but the deadline for applications is imminent . Find out more…
The latest issue of Computers in Classrooms has just gone out. Here’s why you should subscribe…
In England we have a weekly soap set in a school called Waterloo Road. This has everything you would hope not to find in a school: inappropriate behaviour, theft, even attempted murder – and that’s just the staff. The kids are pretty OK by comparison: teenaged pregnancy, illegal drug-taking and gangs. Strangely enough, there doesn’t seem to be more than 30 kids on roll, judging by the number of people who attend whole-school assemblies. But my main interest is this: what (good) use of technology is shown in this programme?
ICT teacher Nigel Willetts discusses ICT qualifications and their associated syllabuses. This is a longer-than-usual article, but it's a great rant read. Enjoy!
I apologise in advance. What follows is a rant! Terry was forewarned! However, the purpose of such a rant is to instigate a debate with regard to what we, as ICT teachers/specialists are expected to deliver and examine our pupils on in our schools. The focus is firmly on the GCSE/AS and A2 ICT curriculum. I am not even sure if I have any tangible answers myself, but, in my experience of educationalists, we all love a good rant/debate, don’t we?
Debate, ICT, ICT curriculum, Nigel Willetts in Leading & Managing ICT, News & views 
Yesterday I submitted my response to the English Government’s consultation on the issue of whether the ICT Programme of Study should be disapplied from September 2012. The consultation period ends today. I think responding is a very important thing to do, for reasons I’ll go into in a moment, but first, an explanation to readers not living in England, or a reminder to those who are.
In a nutshell, and somewhat paraphrasing, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education in England, said:
ICT, consultation in Leading & Managing ICT, News & views 
Back in 2010, Maddison Holt, a student in Australia, gave her view of ICT in ICT: A Whole New World. Eighteen months later, what does she think now?
ICT, Maddi, Maddison, student's view in News & views, Using and Teaching ICT
