This is one of a current spate of books about the in-built bias found in many automated processes.
Read MoreComputing Curriculum Conundrum: an analogy
A comic strip that, for me at least, encapsulates what has befallen the Computing curriculum in England.
Read MoreI'm not paranoid, but...
There's only so much you can do to prevent things going wrong as far as technology is concerned.
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You could put this up on the doors of your computer labs! Photo by Terry Freedman 2017
11 ways to deter colleagues from using education technology
Why should other teachers get their hands on all that lovely ed tech? You can't tell them not to use it, but here are 11 tried and tested ways to make them not really wish to.
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The London Book Fair 2017
Copyright conundrum
Should educational materials be completely free to copy and distribute?
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Maybe you should have checked the tech first! Photo from pixabay.com CC0
A useful rule of technology
What do trainee teachers or colleagues who are new to education technology need to know?
Read MoreWhy I dread the thought of benign algorithms
Science fiction writers would have us believe that intelligent machines will either enslave us or get rid of human beings altogether. But what if they were extremely benign and protective towards us? What could possibly go wrong? This article may be used as the basis for a discussion with your pupils.
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Will he dictate even more of what you see?
Immersive journalism: a VR nightmare?
VR technology has come of age (more or less) and suggests some exciting possibilities. But how will reportage be affected, and is it wholly a good thing?
Read MoreBut what if the singularity is benign?
People usually have a pretty dim view of how computers will treat us when they finally overtake us in the intelligence stakes. But what if they turn out to be too loving and caring?
Read MorePerverse incentives in assessment
Trying to be helpful to pupils while assessing their understanding could actually be counter-productive.
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Suspicious enthusiasm? Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0
My best and worst IT lessons #6: Adorable spreadsheets
Why a lesson on spreadsheets became the highlight of the kids' day, and a nightmare to haunt me forever.
Read MoreThe Digital Education newsletter sign-up buttons: a salutary story
The sign-up buttons for the Digital Education newsletter have been in place for ages. So why was there a sudden drop in subscriptions?
Read MoreA too-robust approach to spam
I was reading recently that something like 47% of emails are spam. I can believe it. I get the whole range: offers of Russian brides, Viagra, genie bras, news that a previously unknown relative has left me tons of money and messages exhorting me to open the attached document or confirm my security details. All this would be quite funny on one level, but it makes downloading and then sifting through email that much more difficult.
So I decided to do something about it.
Big ideas for ed tech leaders: What’s your self-talk?
When I was in my teens I wanted desperately to get involved in television production, especially the filming and editing side. So I was delighted when one day there was a the start of a new behind-the-scenes series about how television studios operate. Well, the presenter started off by saying, “This looks boring, all these cables and wires everywhere, but…”. Then, a few minutes later, “This is a boring part, but…”. After 15 minutes I switched channels. I’m not even sure that the series was completed. Who wants to be told that the thing they have given up their time to watch is ‘'”boring”?Our ebooks may be discontinued
New EU rules on VAT (value-added tax) come into force on 1st January 2015. At present, the tax applied is the rate prevailing in the country of supply. Thus my ebooks are taxed at the rate of 20%. From the beginning of next year, this will change, and the rate of tax applied will be according to the place of purchase.
There are technical difficulties associated with the administration of this approach.
Whiteboards: not dead yet
I heard an interesting snippet from Mike Cladingbowl, National Director at Ofsted, recently. He said that when interactive whiteboards were first introduced, Ofsted inspectors saw an increase in “chalk and talk”. Hardly surprising, because interactive whiteboards made chalk and talk, ie teaching from the front, easier.Should we welcome the nanocams?
I’m reading a short story by Ian Creasey called “The Edge of the Map”. In the world depicted by Creasey, automated cameras called “nanocams” take photos and newspapers (and other media, presumably) source their illustrations from the pool created by them. In other words, there is no need for specialist photographers.
This raises a number of interesting questions.
Driverless cars: technology trumps experience - again
Safer Internet Day: Time to turn to pawnography?
Today I sent out my newsletter, Digital Education, and because today is Safer Internet Day the word “pornography” appeared. And guess what? The newsletter was blocked by a Local Authority’s filtering system. I’m not sure whether or not this is worse than the time I was told my website was blocked – because it featured an article about social networking.
Read MoreBusiness emails to inspire confidence (not)
There must be a whole generation of people who know the mechanics of using technology, but have no idea of how to take charge of it. I am thinking in particular of the ridiculous marketing messages I receive, that advertise targeted marketing services. I mention this because, despite all the lambasting of “Office skills”, it is demonstrably clear that people need them. I could even make a case for this being related to digital safety. How? Reputation is important, and marketing messages that have “schoolboy errors” do nothing to enhance one’s credibility. Consider the following examples: