Thank goodness: my mailing list company has managed to sort out its problems (see Digital Education Update), and everything is now working as it should. So if you wish to subscribe, here's the button that enables you to do so:
Read MoreDigital Education update
Last week I sent out an absolutely huge edition of the Digital Education ezine – see Digital Education Ezine April 2015 – and then waited for the number of subscribers to go up and down. And what happened? Absolutely nothing. My immediate response was to feel a bit despondent.
Read MoreDigital Education Ezine April 2015
At last! Or, to use the vernacular, woo hoo! The latest edition of the Digital Education ezine is now out. It contains a round-up of products seen at Bett, articles on girls and women in technology, loads of links and book reviews. Here’s a detailed list of the contents:Digital literacy is about asking the right questions
Being digitally literate is not just about knowing how to use programs or being aware of copyright law. It’s also about being able to ask the right questions. This is another reason to have a news section in your Computing lessonsComing soon: a bumper edition of Digital Education
The next edition of Digital Education is super-huge. To give you some idea of just how big, there are 16 guest contributors. This is what’s covered:Book review: The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson
From the archives
"The Long Tail" has been lauded and quoted at length. But what does the book actually say, and how does it stand up to scrutiny. In this lengthy review I give it a cautious "thumbs up".
Lovelace, Babbage and Me
What’s the connection between Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, and me? Well, it’s a bit tenuous. Apart from the obvious, that we all liked computing (in effect), it is that they appear in a new graphic novel, and I love graphic novels.Spreadsheets: vindicated at last!
I’ve long been an ardent advocate of spreadsheets. They can be an invaluable tool in business, education or any other field in which planning, cost or both are paramount. As far as Computing and ICT is concerned, they can be used for teaching modelling and computational thinking. However, they have been denigrated as being “just” an office tool, far removed from the exciting world of coding or robotics.The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The Book
If, like me, you enjoy reading comics and graphic novels, and are interested in Computing, you may already be familiar with the blog called 2D Goggles Or The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. This relates the story of the development of the Difference Engine and other aspects of the lives of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage. Their adventures are based on (mostly) real events and episodes, with a lot of poetic licence thrown in! I thoroughly recommend reading the adventures, and I suggest encouraging your students to do so too. It will help them learn about the development of computing and computer programming in an enjoyable way.More testimonials about my Assessing Computing course
I don’t usually like to blow my own trumpet/toot my own horn, but I thought these comments were so nice that I’d share them. I’m one of those people who, if I see a delegate looking a bit fed up, I start to wonder if they are going to storm out and demand their money back or something. I mean, it could be that they are worried about their gas bill, or that that is just their normal expression, but I start to worry anyway. So nice comments are always a bonus. Look at this one, for example:
Handsome, debonair and erudite, the presenter dazzled us with his brilliance and –
Oh, wait a minute. That’s my own self-evaluation.
A Self-publishing journey
Starting tomorrow, a new series of occasional posts about my research into self-publishing.
The first two articles are:
My funky new newsletter button
I decided to change the sign-up button for my newsletter, Digital Education. Why? Why not? This is what it looks like now:RM Seminars are here again
Safer Internet Day
In time for Safer Internet Day, we published a special e-safety edition of Digital Education, the ezine for those with a professional interest in education technology. Here is some information about three of them.
Read MoreDigital Education e-Safety special: Out now!!
This is a bumper edition that contains loads of articles, including contributions from Rose Luckin, Maddi Holt, student Ellie Gregson, student Caleb, pupil Anna, Alan Mackenzie and Simon Finch. Read on for the full list of contents.Digital Education, with e-safety supplement:
I thought you might like some information on the forthcoming edition of Digital Education, which includes a special e-safety supplement. It contains the following articles:Should philosophy influence educational policy?
You might think that philosophy has little to do with education in general or Computing in particular, but the concept of “smart thinking” espoused in the following article by Mel Thompson certainly has resonance with “computational thinking”.
Read MoreA surprise in the world of educational computing that was rather pleasant (for a change)
Over the years I’ve become almost inured to the inanities of the online world, and especially their manifestations in the world of education. So when I received an email declaring “Congratulations, you have won an award!” my first thought was “Oh yeah? I suppose all I have to do is submit my bank details and complete a 38 page questionnaire over a premium telephone line.”Big ideas for ed tech leaders: Know your data, part 1
Although I was good at statistics at university, it’s not an area that I especially warm to. However, even if terms like “grade point average” leave you cold, I think you have to collate some data to be an effective leader of education technology.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”?