E-safety: whose responsibility is it?
Are you an insufferable bore?
Becoming an inspirational teacher
What don't people know?
Like many others, I suppose, I sometimes forget that just because I am familiar with something (a piece of software, a workaround, a report -- whatever) doesn't mean that everyone else is. And they're not going to tell you that they don't know something for one very simple reason -- people don't know what they don't know!
About a year ago I explored this issue, and suggested ways to deal with it, in an article entitled The art of stating the obvious. Click the link to read the article now.
System failure: a true story
Last week I had to go to my mother's bank to sort something out. Thus it was that I entered into a sort of Escheresque landscape...
I used to bank there myself, but it is so dreadful I thought, in the end, I could do without the stress.
Anyway, before I went I ascertained what I would need by way of documentation. Of course, when I arrived, I was told that I needed something else. Here's how the conversation (well, some of it), went:
Thoughts on ICT leadership
Two questions about ICT capability
Conventional non-wisdom
Should you have an ICT leaflet or prospectus to give to potential students or their parents? Conventional wisdom dictates that you should. Conventional wisdom is wrong.
If you think about it, the only reason for doing anything, either in education or in business, is to solve a problem. What is the problem, then, that the ICT prospectus is intended to solve? It is this:
The end of Becta et al? Or, Should the Centre for Policy Studies be abolished?
This article was originally published on 1st September 2009. I thought it might be interesting to re-read it in the current UK context.
What does a broken clock signify?
This sounds like an odd kind of question to pose on an educational technology website, but bear with me. A couple of days ago I went to my local swimming pool and the clock on the wall was tilted at an angle, and stuck at ten to six (it was three in the afternoon).
So that got me thinking: does a broken clock indicate that the management really doesn't care that much about such details because they are regarded as unimportant in comparison to customer service issues?
The Transparency Initiative
In case you missed it... Rules
We do take things too seriously sometimes. Occasionally it can be good to relax a bit, especially in these austere times.
There's a rule for everything in life, and technology has spawned quite a few "laws" in its own right. Here are some to start reflecting on, in 21 rules for computer users.
Enjoy!
Integrity, journalism and PR
The power of blogs and the perils of email
5 Tips for recording pupils’ progress in ICT
13 reasons to use educational technology in lessons
The effects of technology on lifestyle, and techno-romanticsm
Pictures across the curriculum: After the tourists have gone
In this article, English, Economics, culture, geography and tourism are highlighted.
Like most of the pictures I take, this one was unplanned. I saw all these boats in the evening, as I crossed over the bridge in York town centre. The scene struck me as rather poignant.
But then I got to thinking, it would make a great starting point for several avenues of study, such as:
Pictures Across the Curriculum: Missing Monks
In this series I'm looking at how well-chosen digital photos can be used in different areas of the curriculum.
Today I'm looking a some photos that might have sparked off an historical investigation if I'd had more time.