One of the main criticisms levelled at the original ICT in Education website was that it was hard to find things. Come to think of it, that was the only criticism for a long time, before the site became more and more unwieldy through my attempts to make articles easier to locate. I’m trying to not repeat the mistakes on this website, so every so often I take another long, hard look at it and ask: how might searching/finding be made even easier? And so it was that over the weekend I did some revamping and moving things about, and this article describes the results.
The power of blogs and the perils of email
I originally wrote this article on 13th April 2009. Although the story that inspired it is no longer news (although the problem it relates to, about losing data, hasn’t gone away), I think that the interplay and rivalry between “mainstream media” and blogging is still interesting. This has been brought into sharp focus by the withdrawing from blogging by two political bloggers.I think when investigative journalism is done well, such as Watergate, the Expenses Scandal, it is second to none. But increasingly I find myself frustrated by “flimsy” reporting in the press.
Read MoreA conversation
What is so significant about an insignificant conversation between two cousins?
Read MoreThe Blank Paper
When I read Terry’s article ’25 Ways to make yourself unpopular – Be Flexible’ I have to admit to feeling embarrassed! I was that person who had been invited to contribute an article and I was that person who asked lots of ‘what about...’ questions!
I have reflected on why that was the case and this is my defence!
When speed is NOT of the essence
When I saw an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph this morning inviting readers to make their announcements in the traditional way, I thought, “Who’d want to do that when you can do it free of charge via Facebook?”.
Read MoreWriters I like: Tony Baldasaro
I popped over to see what was going down on Will Richardson’s blog (where, by the way, there is a great article about online learning, which I’ve been investigating lately), and discovered, via the comments, the Transleadership blog of Tony Baldasaro. This is a real feast.
Read MoreTechnology and society
For an interesting discussion with your students on the effects of technology on society, consider the impending solar flares.
As the article states:
The so-called "X-flare" could also cause radio signals to jam, satnavs to fail and electrical power grids to falter. Electromagnetic storms are already reported to have stopped shortwave radio communications in southern China.
Found on the web: 02/17/2011 (a.m.)
-
10 things I’ve learned in a year of blogging | JAMES MICHIE
Very useful post, which succinctly suggests 10 things to consider when blogging. I think the author, James Mitchie, should have added a #11: create list posts. These always go down well, as exemplified here!
Thanks to twitterers @zoeross19 and @largerama for mentioning it.
Online discussion about educational technology
At the time of writing this, there are 15 minutes to go before Drew Buddie and I conduct what may be our last Teachshare discussion. Some of the topics to be discussed are:
Read MoreAlso on the web: 02/15/2011 (a.m.)
A couple of interesting items I came across whilst meandering around the web. Some good food for thought here.
Read MoreManaging the Leading
Julia Skinner disagrees with Terry's analysis of people who manage but don't lead.
As consumers ( in the real world) when things go wrong we call for the Manager. That role holds power. Power to sort out difficulties. Power to have answers to customers questions and queries. In retail particularly it is the aim of those career minded youths to work their way up to management and the exulted places they are considered to be.
Three downsides of the idea of the guide on the side
So much is written these days about the role of the teacher being to “facilitate”, to be the “guide on the side”. This is justified on many grounds, not least that of the children knowing more than their teachers about educational technology. They are, after all, “digital natives”, or so we are told.
It seems to me that we have thrown the baby out with the bath water.
Read MoreAlso on the web: 02/12/2011 (a.m.)
-
eLearn: Feature Article - Man Up Your Leadership: The European management perspective
very in-depth analysis of leadership in general, not ICT-specific.
-
eLearn: Feature Article - What Makes a Good Learning Game?
interesting analysis, with useful references. see also the Computers in Classrooms games-based learning specials.
The UK’s digital skills gap
Is it my imagination, or is it the case that 15 years ago employers were complaining that kids were coming out of school not knowing how to use Word and Excel, and many schools responded by trying to make sure that their pupils were taught useful skills. Now we discover that those skills aren’t useful after all.
Read MoreThe importance of research for ICT teachers revisited
What’s the difference between action research, academic research and other types of research? Is it the case that in order to be seen to justify a research grant you have to couch your findings in terms which make them incomprehensible to the very people who might benefit from them? How does academic research “percolate” down into the classroom? And is there a case for saying that research findings should be reported in a “popular” style sometimes?
Read More3 “Top 10” educational technology resources for teachers and students
David Andrade has been putting together some “top ten” resources lists over at his blog, Educational Technology Guy. These are well worth reading.
Read MoreThe 25 Ways series: Retro Response #1
This is the first in what I hope to be a regular spot here on ICT in Education. Terry has kindly invited me to respond some of the articles in his series ’25 things to Make Yourself Unpopular’. The posts will be like an extended comment & I hope you will feel able to comment on them & visit me over at The Head’s Office.
Read MoreThe importance of research for ICT teachers
How important is research for teachers in general, and ICT teachers in particular? One might be tempted to say that people learn in the same way now as they did thousands of years ago, so research, apart from keeping abreast of the latest developments in technology, is pretty redundant.
I think there are problems with that attitude.
Read MoreForthcoming articles and other stuff worth reading
This is a bit of an experiment, but I thought it might be interesting to flag up what’s coming up on this site soon, and also what I’ve come across on other sites that look interesting.
Read MoreSafer Internet Day
Just a quick reminder: this annual event us nearly upon us – tomorrow, 8th February 2011. See the Safer Internet Day website, and the Safer Internet Day Fair. What will your school be doing for the event? Check out the Think u Know website too. You might also find this post interesting: Digital Safety for Children and Youth. It has some interesting links.
First published in Computers in Classrooms, the free e-newsletter for edcational ICT professionals.