Hazardous area, by Terry Freedman.jpg — Hazardous area, by Terry Freedman

Safer Internet Day 2026

February 10, 2026

Today is Safer Internet Day. Here are a few resources you may find useful.

Firstly, the UK Government has launched a campaign to help parents help their kids identify toxic content online, including false or misleading statements. I should have thought a great place to start would be any statement by a politician, but that’s just me being cyncical.

uk gov toxic content screenshot — UK gov toxic content screenshot

I’ve had a brief look at the resource and it seems OK, especially the Critical Thinking section. Here it is:

You won’t know until you ask

Another useful-looking resource, aimed at a similar audience, may be found at Internet Matters.

Finally, there is plenty of guidance on the UK Safer Internet Day website.

Recent book reviews

Review: The Shortest History of AI

How is it that ChatGPT, Claude and other Al models appear to perform so well at certain complex tasks that some people become convinced that they're sentient — only for them to then promptly fail at simple tasks that even a child could handle?

Review: Teacher Geek

Every so often I like to take a look, or another look, at a book published a while ago, and today I’ve been looking at Teacher Geek, by Rachel Jones.

Review: Teach Fast

The book contains some interesting ideas.

A question of leadership

I have somewhat dichotomous views of this question of whether leaders make a difference, or much of a difference. I think my views can be classified as macro and micro.

Review: Making Good Progress?

Daisy Christodoulou carefully picks apart the pitfalls of various kinds of assessment, drawing on different subject areas to do so.

principles and practice of assessment.jpg

Review: Principles and Practices of Assessment

There is plenty in this book to like.

Review: Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice

Although this is a few years old now (2018), it has stood the test of time.

Review: One for maths teachers

This wide-ranging book takes in probability, fractals, astronomy, Babbage, Lovelace and a host of other areas and people.

Reviews: Two for History teachers

Two books on the Nazi era.

Review: One for English teachers

No book about the craft of writing seems complete without a stern chapter on the importance of eschewing adverbs and adjectives - but what to put in their place?