I’m just putting the finishing touches to the latest issue of Computers in Classrooms. As well as eligibility for a stupendous prize draw which takes place tonight, subscribers will enjoy news, views and the following articles related to games-based learning
Read MoreRelated Articles?
Here’s a great example of the danger of using code to suggest related articles without having someone check the results. In an article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph entitled “Education secretary Michael Gove admits he was beaten at school”, there is a panel headed “Related Articles”. This is what it lists:
Read MorePrize Draws
In the very near future (read on) I will be running prize draws for the following:
Why Is The Curriculum Like a Bus Timetable?
No, not a riddle, but a question which came to mind on reading Eric Juli’s second comment on my post Rules of Engagement.
Accessible E-Learning
Trudy Duffy-Wigman
Schools, colleges and universities are in the process of improving accessibility throughout, both in the physical as well as the virtual environment. It is important to enable students with disabilities to reach their full potential and as educational professionals, we try to be inclusive and not erect any unnecessary barriers for learners, be it physical or otherwise.
New Update on the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book
Web 2.0 case studies, from classrooms around the world. Great examples of innovative practice, and an insight into hurdles encountered and how they were surmounted. And it's all free!
Two Cheers For Academies
When the idea of Academies was first mooted, my first thought was that we’ve been here before. Twenty years ago we had the Grant-Maintained Schools, which had control over their own lives to a large extent. The same sort of issues will be faced by Academies as was faced by GM schools (whether they realised it or not). However, it seems to me that
Read MoreWhat Skills Does an ICT Co-ordinator Need?
First, a quick translation. What we Brits call an ICT Co-ordinator, our American cousins tend to refer to as a Technology Co-ordinator. It’s all very confusing, and would never have arisen had the USA not broken away from us a couple of hundred years ago. But I digress.
Rules of Engagement
Do we need gimmicks, new-fangled techniques to keep kids engaged in lessons?
10 Ways to Use Voting Systems
Electronic response systems. A good resource, or a waste of time?
In a recent post, Stephen Downes says
Computers in Classrooms September Issue Out Now!
Conference concessions, book bargains ... where will it end?
Read MoreIs The ICT Curriculum Too Masculine?
One of the apparently insoluble problems of the age is how do you encourage more girls to take up ICT or Computing? I think a lot can be done, and have done so myself, but I wonder how far a lot of the effort fails to get to the heart of the issue, which could be the curriculum itself, the way it is taught, or a combination of the two?
Shining Eyes
It’s said that the difference between secondary school and primary school is that in secondary school the teachers teach subjects and in primary schools they teach children. There’s probably some truth in that, but
Read MoreIs Net Neutrality a Good Thing?
In essence, the term “net neutrality” refers to the idea of everyone having equal and unfettered access to the services provided by internet service providers (ISPs), but in recent years it has often come to refer more specifically to tiered services and pricing. Basically, some people and companies advocate reserving fast internet traffic to those who are willing to pay, whilst everyone else enjoys a free, but slower, service.
Read MoreThe Danger of Stats-Watching
I don’t think statistics relating to the number of visitors to a website or blog are the be all and end all, but they’re important for at least three reasons.
In Praise of Entropy
Entropy, as I’m using it here, is a synonym for chaos or, at least, disorder. We strive against the onset of entropy in our lives, and nowhere is this more so than in our attempts to control the learning environment. That sounds eminently sensible. Is it?E-Moderation
It is a matter very much to be regretted that, over the years, management types have usurped perfectly innocuous phrases and converted them to euphemisms or, worse, their precise opposites.
Read MoreDo the Same Thing Differently
We’re always exhorted to do something different, but what if the basic principles of what you’re doing are pretty sound? Perhaps sometimes putting old wine into new bottles is better than producing new wine.
Automatic Writing?
The technology I crave has yet to be invented. A fairly frequent conversation in our household runs thus:
Me: I wrote an article on the way home today.
Mrs F: Ooh. Let’s read it.
Me: It’s all in my head at the moment.
Mrs F. It’s a pity we can’t print your head.
7 More Rules for ICT Teachers, Co-ordinators and Leaders
All over the country, indeed all over the world, ed tech evangelists are bending over backwards helping, training and cajoling their colleagues into adopting the use of technology in their own curriculum area. Let’s be honest, most of the time it’s a thankless task. The hapless ICT Co-ordinator