David Brown gets to the heart of the matter

Ofsted's views of the Computing curriculum

March 14, 2016

David Brown, Ofsted's National Lead for Computing, answers some common questions.

For those not in Britain, Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, aka the inspectorate.

Here's an important call to action: fill in the survey!

The future of ICT: a survey

March 13, 2016

Please take a few minutes to make your contribution to the discussion on the future of ICT by filling in this incredibly short survey by Kay Sawbridge.

15 reasons to use education technology in your classroom

March 11, 2016

Here's a list of benefits of using education technology in lessons.

A survey about the demise of the ICT qualification

March 10, 2016

Kay Sawbridge has created a short survey. If you have been affected by the scrapping of the ICT qualification in England, please fill it in.

STEM and Governmental micromanagement

March 9, 2016

The Department of Education's recent "clarification" on the deployment of exclamation marks has taken micromanagement to a new level. They've issued edicts on textbooks and worksheets, now exclamation marks. Will they turn to the Computing curriculum next?

What I've been reading: Perfect ICT Every Lesson

March 7, 2016

Perfect ICT every lesson? It's an ambitious title. Does the content deliver the promise though?

Should kids dictate the lesson? Photo from Pixabay.com CC0

6 reasons that computing lessons shouldn't be driven by kids

March 4, 2016

The idea of allowing kids to decide what they learn in Computing lessons is simply wrong.

7 Books for Computing teachers

March 3, 2016

As it's World Book Day, what are my recommendations for books for teachers of Computing? This is by no means a definitive list -- think of it more as a starter.

7 reasons to visit the exhibitions area at ed tech conferences

March 2, 2016

Next time you're at an education technology conference, don't ignore the exhibition area.

A new front page for Digital Education

March 2, 2016

What do people think of the new Digital Education front page? Is it a case of "nice read, shame about the face"?

What I've been reading: Delete

February 29, 2016

We live in an age where it's impossible to forget anything. Is this a good thing?

What I've been reading

February 26, 2016

A must-read for anyone who has taught in "challenging" schools!

But what if the singularity is benign?

February 25, 2016

People usually have a pretty dim view of how computers will treat us when they finally overtake us in the intelligence stakes. But what if they turn out to be too loving and caring?

What comes first: education or technology?

February 24, 2016

Some people are adamant that educational practice, or pedagogy, must be the first consideration, before technology is even mentioned. But is this actually right?

5 problems with self-assessment and 4 solutions

February 23, 2016

Self-assessment is useful, but it needs to be introduced properly.

What I've been reading

February 16, 2016

Some educational research books are better written than others. "Making a difference in education" is one of them.

Perverse incentives in assessment

February 15, 2016

Trying to be helpful to pupils while assessing their understanding could actually be counter-productive.

Digital Education post-Bett edition now out

February 12, 2016

The latest issue of Digital Education is now available. Guest contributions from Crispin Weston, Ian Addison and many others. Observations on Bett 2016, assessment, Nicky Morgan's speech at Bett and Stephen Potter are just some of the things covered.

Philosophy and technical support

February 9, 2016

What if philosophers provided technical support...?

Logging in -- Photo from www.pexels.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #8: Logging in

February 8, 2016

logging in should take seconds -- not a whole lesson!

Recent book reviews

Review: The Shortest History of AI

How is it that ChatGPT, Claude and other Al models appear to perform so well at certain complex tasks that some people become convinced that they're sentient — only for them to then promptly fail at simple tasks that even a child could handle?

Review: Teacher Geek

Every so often I like to take a look, or another look, at a book published a while ago, and today I’ve been looking at Teacher Geek, by Rachel Jones.

Review: Teach Fast

The book contains some interesting ideas.

A question of leadership

I have somewhat dichotomous views of this question of whether leaders make a difference, or much of a difference. I think my views can be classified as macro and micro.

Review: Making Good Progress?

Daisy Christodoulou carefully picks apart the pitfalls of various kinds of assessment, drawing on different subject areas to do so.

principles and practice of assessment.jpg

Review: Principles and Practices of Assessment

There is plenty in this book to like.

Review: Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice

Although this is a few years old now (2018), it has stood the test of time.

Review: One for maths teachers

This wide-ranging book takes in probability, fractals, astronomy, Babbage, Lovelace and a host of other areas and people.

Reviews: Two for History teachers

Two books on the Nazi era.

Review: One for English teachers

No book about the craft of writing seems complete without a stern chapter on the importance of eschewing adverbs and adjectives - but what to put in their place?