Computer programming and the trouble with collective nostalgia

Lord Puttnam said something every interesting at an E-Learning Foundation Conference. Having been a film producer, he said that up to about ten years ago, to be a successful cinematographer you had to be able to take a camera apart and put it together. Now, none of those sort of skills  are required: you need a whole different set of skills in order to find employment in that occupation.

I believe a similar thing is true in the realm of “digital education”. Almost nobody needs a gasp of computer programming, and even fewer need to know how computers actually work.

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What is the appropriate form of address in email?

Here is the text of a note from the Post Office, quoted in “Berry and Co”, which was written by Dornford Yates and published in 1920:

Sir

I beg leave to inform you that your telegram handed in at the Grosvenor Street Post Office at 10.2 am on the 26th June addressed to Reply paid Hamilton Smythe Fair Lawns Torquay has not been delivered for the reason indicated below.

ADDRESS NOT KNOWN

I am, Sir, Your obedient servant,

WB

Postmaster

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The joy of not knowing

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.

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Some notes on failing with ICT

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.

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ICT Conferences (again)

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.

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Conferences coming up

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!

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Internet safety report

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.

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A 21st century skills paradox

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:

1. Kids entering school now will be leaving to join the world of work in around 2030.
2. We can’t predict what the world is going to be like even in five years’ time, let alone 20.
3. Therefore we need to teach kids 21st century skills (working as part of a team etc).

This all sounds profound and straightforward, but it really isn’t.

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Apps for Good

Applications for the next year for this innovative initiative are open, but the deadline for applications is imminent . Find out more…

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Computers in Classrooms

The latest issue of Computers in Classrooms has just gone out. Here’s why you should subscribe…

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What makes a good ICT role model?

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?

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ICT: Irrelevant Curriculum Today?

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?

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