Here is a list of predictions I made in 2001 about the classroom of the future. I’m pleasantly surprised about how accurate it has turned out to be – but I think it will be even more challenging to predict the next ten years because there are so many options opening up. What are your predictions for the next ten years? And is it worth bothering to make such predictions anyway?
3 generic questions for editing with education technology
We probably all like to think that our first stab at something is going to be perfect. We tend to resent “helpful” suggestions, at least at first. Oscar Wilde, when asked if he could make a few changes to a play he’d written, quipped “Who am I to tamper with a masterpiece?”. However, editing usually makes things better rather than worse. The challenge is convincing youngsters (and others!) that suggesting some edits is not a reflection on their abilities or knowledge.
My writing work, and 5 other uses for video interviews
Here’s a short video we made a few years ago (I’ve lost weight and had a shave since then) just to test out the then newly-acquired Flip video. Like a lot of writers I was talking about my two favourite subjects: me, and my books. But joking aside, there is a serious side to all this.
5 ways of using pupils to evaluate education technology resources
Here’s an idea you might like to try, if you haven’t already: use your pupils to evaluate resources. After all, they’re the ones who are going to be using them! There are five main ways of doing so, not all of which are mutually exclusive. Here they are.
Job-seeking as a metaphor for ICT assessment
When I saw several hundred people lining up for some sort of job registration recently, I immediately thought of the challenges of assessing pupils’ educational technology capability. A bit of a stretch? Not necessarily.
Two great quotes about education technology
I heard one very quotable thing today, and read another very quotable thing. The first was to do with copyright, the second to do with embracing technology in education. See what you think:
Read MoreWould you have sex with a robot?
Can you envisage a time when human beings will have relationships with robots? You could argue that to some extent we already have a relationship with electronic things (in my case, a love-hate relationship!), but can you imagine a time when we might marry robots, or have sex with them?
E-safety: whose responsibility is it?
A year ago today I put forward some ideas for teaching youngsters how to take responsibility for their digital footprint. A year on, the article is still relevant in my opinion.
Read MoreOut of this world
It’s August in Britain, and it’s raining. In fact, I was reading today that the Meteorological Office has issued a severe weather warning for the South-East of England! So, a typical British summer in other words. What better time, if you’re still enjoying the school holidays, to visit an exhibition or two?
Becoming an inspirational teacher
Here's just a quick heads-up. I discovered that one of the most popular articles on this website is one I wrote back in November 2009, so at the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, I thought I'd let you know about it in case you weren't aware of it.
Read MoreSynchronicity, mobile phones and a great upcoming conference
It’s strange, is it not, how certain linkages occur, what some would call coincidence , and others synchronicity ? Yesterday, the mobile phone was the common factor for me, and continued to play a part: I became so engrossed in responding to an email that I missed my station by two stops, and had to backtrack!
Unintended consequences of social networking
I thought I’d start an occasional series of posts concerned solely with the unintended consequences of technology. To start it off, here’s a comic strip from The Daily Telegraph in the UK.
Read MoreThe effective use of ICT
One laptop per child: a worthy goal, but does it lead to the most effective learning? Research published over the years has challenged the assumption that youngsters do better working on their own than sharing a computer.
Read MoreGrowing Knowledge
OK, because of the insanity of the deadlines I’m up against I’m going to have to say this fast, so you will have to listen fast. If you’re in London over the next week or so, there is a great exhibition you should go to.
Read MoreVirtual schooling? Don’t make me laugh!
Online discussion today: don’t miss it!
Later on today, Di Brooks, who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, will be giving a talk on life without connectivity, based on her recent experience with the earthquakes there. this will be followed by a discussion.
The talk will take place at 7pm UK time, 6am Christchurch time. And if you get as confused about time zones as I do, check what time it will be in your neck of the woods by going to this time zone converter.
To listen to the talk and join in the discussion, click on this link.
25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #22 Don’t tell it how it is
I’ve always thought that it’s the expert’s duty to inform the non-expert when they have not got it right. If you’re not prepared to do that, what good are you actually doing?
Read More7 Outlandish ideas for ICT
Yesterday I was faced with a grim journey into central London. Now, we Brits like nothing better than to complain about the weather, but this time our moaning was justified. The dreadful heat made it difficult not only for us to work, but also the signals on a part of the rail service into London. The part that I use. Rather than face delays of up to 40 minutes (nearly 50% of the normal journey time), I “asked” Transport for London to find an alternative route for me, one which didn’t involve going by rail.
I'm glad I did.
Data Protection 101
Data protection is actually pretty easy. True, there are all the legal niceties, and for some courses students have to learn all the principles in the sort of detail that nobody except a lawyer can remember. (A pretty pointless exercise too, given that you can always look them up.) Even so, in my experience students find it easier to learn stuff if they understand the underlying principles. Here are what I believe the underlying principles of data protection to be
Review of The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers
The aim of this book, written by Darren Rowse and Glenn Murray, is to help you write better blog posts. However, “better” in this context refers to generating more visitors to your blog rather than “just” improving your writing skills. The idea is a simple one: why not identify the key elements of successful blogging, and then provide a tool by which to measure how a particular blog post has done? That’s exactly what the book aims to do.
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