My “Getting the Best out of Bett” has now been updated for 2015. It contains suggestions about what to do before, during and after Bett. Also, quite a few other useful things, like:30 Things to do before Bett 2015
Digital Education Ezine now out!
Today I published a short, one page newsletter. It’s a great read (he says modestly), with some interesting links and free resources. Here’s what it contains:Bett, again!
January wouldn’t be the same without Bett, the mega education technology show/exhibition/conference. Come to that Bett wouldn’t be the same without January – freezing mornings, long queues to get on the Dockland Light Rail – but let’s not dwell on that!
The Bett website is becoming more and more populated with “stuff”, and you may be interested to learn that Bett-related tweets and other social media mentions are being collated on one website.
26 + Tips for getting the most from your interactive whiteboards
To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of the interactive whiteboard have been exaggerated. Despite often being used ineffectively or even badly, it still has much to offer.
I’ve written a brief guide to making the most of your interactive whiteboard which I’ve called, logically enough, Making the most of your interactive whiteboard. Originally, this was in response to a request I received while teaching on a teacher-training course recently.
New ideas for a new Computing curriculum
I had the pleasure of attending one of the RM Technical seminars recently, and it was well worth the time. The event was divided into several strands. I chose the Curriculum and E-safety option rather than one of the more technical ones.
As well as a very entertaining keynote lecture by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, there were three sessions:
Digital Education new edition out now!
Did you know that today is International Ada Lovelace Day? Information about this, online poetry, journalism and novel writing, may be found in our latest newsletter. It’s a relatively short “interim” edition, but it’s still packed with lots of wholesome goodness!
Here’s the full list of contents:
20 things new teachers need to know about the technology in their school
So, you'll be starting teaching soon, whether on teaching practice or in your first job. What should you try to find out in advance, as far as the education technology is concerned? Here is a general, though by no means definitive, list.Digital Education “Interim” Edition Out Now!
I’ve just published an ‘interim’ edition of Digital Education, the free newsletter for people with a professional interest in educational ICT and Computing. Here’s what it contains:
Read MoreBecome an expert Google educator
Review of Code Academy
Code Academy is an online tutorial-based website for teaching yourself how to code. You can select which programming language you wish to learn, from the following listPreparing to teach the new Computing curriculum
I've been giving talks on preparing for the new Computing curriculum, and as well as waxing lyrical that also involves listening to others' concerns. It also means hearing about some innovative approaches that colleagues have adopted.
At the same time, I have been conducting a survey of what people have been doing to prepare for the new curriculum. I'll be publishing the results in due course. In fact, some of the resources mentioned in the collection of coding resources in the early July 2014 edition of Digital Education came to my attention from that survey.
So, given that at the time of writing there's about 2 or 3 days to go till the end of term, what can you realistically do at this stage to prepare for September?
Digital Education–Latest Edition
This is what the latest version of Digital Education contains, with guest articles by Professor Paul Curzon, Sal McKeown, Geoff Jones and Crispin WestonThe (digital) revolution comes to the London Barbican
Digital Revolution explores and celebrates the transformation of the arts through digital technology since the 1970s. The exhibition brings together for the first time a range of artists, filmmakers, architects, designers, musicians and game developers pushing the boundaries of their fields using digital media. It also looks to the future considering the impact of creative coding, DIY culture, digital communities and the creative possibilities offered by technologies including augmented reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technologies, robotics and 3D printing.Update on the Computer Education Project
A couple of months ago I invited people to contribute to a survey about what they were doing to prepare for the new Computing curriculum. About 75% of my motivation for doing so was to help to spread ideas. I believe in the grass roots sort of approach to such things, as opposed to the ‘great and the good’ declaring what the rest of should be doing. Actually, to clarify, I don’t mind if the great and the good are doing it or have done it themselves. I find it tedious when people who have never been a teacher and/or had little contact with schools start issuing advice. OK, rant over!ICT in Primary Education – a new course for teachers and others
Professor Diana Laurillard has informed me of a new course that is going to be run for teachers and others with an interest in how ICT is being used in primary education in various countries. I think it sounds very interesting. Here’s the official blurb:
This is to announce a new course on ICT in Primary Education, to run as a MOOC (a massive open online course), hosted by the University of London.
Planning for the new Computing curriculum
At first sight, it seems bizarre that despite the fact that many teachers urgently need professional development, and time, in order to be ready to teach Computing in September, headteachers are not always allowing them to attend courses during school time. A business planning approach by ICT leaders in school could help.
You may think that a business plan is not relevant to you because you’re not running a business. But actually, many of the things that a business has to do, like marketing and budgeting – and planning – are what you do have to do in one form or another. All a business plan is is a statement of where you would like to be at a certain point in the future, and what steps you need to take in order to get there.
9 Computing course providers to explore
There are many courses being offered to help you plan for, and implement, the new Computing Programme of Study. Here is a short selection of providers to get you started.
Read MoreThe Amazing Computing Education Projects Book
Lots of people are preparing for teaching Computing in the next school year. I thought it would be interesting and useful to collate some ideas, concerns and resources into a free ebook. Read on to find out how you can get involved — and why you should.
Read MoreUseful ICT and Computing Conferences coming up
With the new Computing Programme of Study looming on the horizon, there are a number of conferences and other events coming up in the near future. Here’s a list of some of them. The Education Show isn’t specifically about ICT or Computing, but there are seminars in those areas so it’s definitely worth looking at.