Everybody involved in ICT loves gleaming new technology. But in my opinion the guiding principle in decisions about purchasing or deployment should always be what is appropriate and cost-effective.
Read MoreWhy I still love paper
The last time I saw my desk was around 18 months ago, give or take. Until yesterday, that is. It hadn’t been stolen, lost or mislaid, just buried under a pile of paper. And books. And mugs, pens and stickies garnered from various conferences. As you may know, if you've been reading my blog recently, I've been doing a whole load of clearing out.
Read More25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #20 Be persistent
One of the most irritating things about children – but also one of the most endearing – is their tendency to ask lots of follow-up questions. They are never fully satisfied with the answer to their original question: each answer leads to a further enquiry. I think that ICT leaders can learn much from children in this respect.
There are two areas in which this sort of dogged persistence can pay off.
Open Door Classrooms
Should classrooms be open to the world, in the sense that anyone might see what's going on, and perhaps even take part in them? Is this an inevitable development anyway, given today's technology?
Read MoreThese are the sorts of issues that Steve Wheeler raises in his reflections on Open Door Classrooms.
Conference: The Future of Education: Creating an Education System Fit for the 21st Century
This conference takes place on 24th May, and has a most timely agenda, with a focus on the Big Society, Free schools, and ICT.
Two slots in particular caught my eye, these being Teaching in a 21st Century School and ICT as a Driver of Educational Reform.
Read MoreConference: The future of education
This conference takes place in London on Tuesday 17th May. I’ve looked at the programme, and it looks pretty good, with some high profile speakers and some useful-sounding topics.
Read MoreSaving Teachers TV
As you may know, the Teachers’ TV website will no longer be be available from tomorrow (29th April). Consultant Leon Cych has done a great job of organising a mass community download operation to ensure that these videos will not be lost.
Read MoreBudgeting for educational technology
When the Principal chewed me out for having put in a purchase order for toner cartridges, I guessed that was probably not the best time to present to him my refurbishment plan which involved buying interactive whiteboards. The school was generous in its funding of ICT, but I had been given only a consumables budget, not a capital one. This made planning ahead almost impossible.
Read MoreConventional non-wisdom
Should you have an ICT leaflet or prospectus to give to potential students or their parents? Conventional wisdom dictates that you should. Conventional wisdom is wrong.
If you think about it, the only reason for doing anything, either in education or in business, is to solve a problem. What is the problem, then, that the ICT prospectus is intended to solve? It is this:
The end of Becta et al? Or, Should the Centre for Policy Studies be abolished?
"It seems to me that one of the key issues is not whether organisations provide value for money according to some narrow criteria, but whether they do so when the wider social costs and benefits are taken into account."
Read MoreThis article was originally published on 1st September 2009. I thought it might be interesting to re-read it in the current UK context.
25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #19 Always use technology
Those responsible for ICT (educational technology) should beware of using technology too much: if they’re not careful, it can deter people from wanting to use it themselves.
ICT Briefing Evenings
When the Headteacher told me that he would like me to run an ICT briefing evening for parents, I thought it was a great idea, although I didn’t agree with his suggested approach. He thought the parents should be given a talk for about 20 minutes, and then be allowed to wander around. I thought, let’s cut the talk part: the kids can do that, on a one-to-one basis. Who wants to sit and listen where ICT is concerned?
Read MoreThe expert ICT teacher and Something Borrowed
What can we learn from a band about the characteristics of the expert ICT teacher?
What does a broken clock signify?
This sounds like an odd kind of question to pose on an educational technology website, but bear with me. A couple of days ago I went to my local swimming pool and the clock on the wall was tilted at an angle, and stuck at ten to six (it was three in the afternoon).
So that got me thinking: does a broken clock indicate that the management really doesn't care that much about such details because they are regarded as unimportant in comparison to customer service issues?
25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #18 Don’t ask questions
You’d think that giving people in your team the freedom to teach ICT how they like would be met, by them a least, with unbridled enthusiasm. You’d think that the best way to get on with your boss would be to offer no resistance to his latest idea, even if you secretly believe it is completely nuts. You’d think that not challenging your students when they proudly show you the results of their programming or desktop publishing efforts would be much better than the opposite, lest their (supposedly) fragile self-esteem be damaged.
You’d be wrong.
Is More Too Much?
Terry’s article ’25 Ways to make yourself Unpopular – Too Much Information ‘starts by reminding us the phrase is often heard in a social setting when stories are being retold and get a little too near the knuckle for comfort. In terms of getting things done however, surely it is not possible to have ‘too much information’? The more you have, the easier the job will be – yes?
Read More25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #17 Be a pragmatist
“But what do you actually have to do?”
“You have to implement this solution.”
“Yes, but what do I do?”
“You have to implement this solution.”
“How? Who do I have to speak to? What should I say?”
An Open Source Schools conference
In “austerity Britain” schools are faced with a rather large challenge: how do they continue to provide a good ICT service, for teachers, administrators and, above all, pupils? One possible solution is open source software, and whilst I do not subscribe to the Shangri La-like vision of some of its exponents, I do think it’s an option that demands to be explored and considered carefully.
Read MoreCome back, computer lab, all is forgiven
Why is it that all innovators seem to have an “either-or” mentality, an all-or-nothing approach? “Out with the old, in with the new!” seems to be their call to action, yet sometimes – I would say often – the new is not as good as the old. At least, not so much better that the old should be dispensed with altogether.
25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #16 Don’t use technology
As an exponent of educational technology, are you expected to use technology all the time? The answer is probably “yes”. But should you?