How I used Notebooklm for writing a blog post

May 12, 2026

I was recently commissioned to write a blog post for an organisation. They gave me loads of stuff in different formats to draw on. Here’s how I coped!

AI Cynicism #3

May 10, 2026

Have you noticed that more and more companies seem to have outsourced their customer service to an AI bot?

AI Cynicism #2

May 9, 2026

An AI expert recently advised people to just subscribe to the premium version of one of the AI apps, rather than waste time hopping between several free ones all the time. Hmmm….

AI Cynicism #1

May 8, 2026

I came across a “resource” recently that consists of hundreds of “ready-to-wear” AI prompts.

Review: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity

April 10, 2026

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

AI Policy thoughts

April 10, 2026

I keep coming across articles and research about schools’ AI policies — or the lack of them. It seems to me that we’ve been here before, with policies about teachers’ and departments’ use of technology, and e-safety. There is a familiar pattern…

Review: Dr Bot - Why Doctors Can Fail Us-and How Al Could Save Lives

February 27, 2026

In this comprehensive and highly readable Dr Bot, Blease tackles a wide range of issues, including some that are apposite for those working in schools.

AI can increase workload

February 13, 2026

I came across an interesting article about AI increasing workload rather than reducing it.

Quick look: Artificially Gifted: Notes from a Post-Genius World

November 23, 2025

The author, Mechelle Gilford, explores how AI may render our usual way of interpreting the concept of “gifted” obsolete.

Blogging with AI

August 8, 2025

In preparation for a course on blogging that I ran a few years ago, I wanted to see how far I could get using AI tools to help me with my intended audience, outlining a post and drafting a whole article.

Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution

July 7, 2025

The title of this book invites curiosity: what were the other three ‘revolutions?

AI guides, and student involvement

June 13, 2025

I keep seeing blog articles and guides about using AI in education, and they mostly seem to be a form of painting by numbers.

Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

June 1, 2025

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Illustration of algorithmic objectivity, generated in ImageFX

Computing discussion topic

May 23, 2025

A topic to discuss with your students perhaps: the hidden bias in algorithms.

On this day: Do kids still need to learn how to code?

April 30, 2025

A week or so ago we were chatting to a neighbour. She said she thinks her daughter, who looked about six years old, should learn how to code, as that’s the future. Didn’t I agree? I’m afraid I said that didn’t.

Review: AI Snake Oil: AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference

April 23, 2025

My review of this for Teach Secondary magazine has just come out. Here is the published version, followed by the copy I submitted, which is slightly longer because it has a little more detail.

Conference: Next steps for AI in Education in England

April 9, 2025

Last year I attended and reported on a similarly-named conference. The Westminster Forum is running another one this year.

How I reduced my marking time from 4 hours a week to 15 minutes

April 1, 2025

Reading each student’s work each week, at a rate of ten minutes each, took nearly two and a half hours. Thinking of suitable comments, adding them in to the appropriate place in Google Classroom, and updating my spreadsheet markbook took another hour and a half.

Something had to be done.