How can you make an educational technology project, for example a school research initiative, successful? In a sense, the fact that it's to do with ICT in education is irrelevant. There are some generic 'rules' which ought to be abided by.
Read MoreWhy Is The Curriculum Like a bus Timetable (updated)?
I’ve observed lessons in which the teacher feels obliged to race on in order to get through the scheme of work. That results in some, if not all, students being left behind.
Read MoreOn this day: 5 reasons to join Computing communities
Teaching can be a lonely profession, especially if, as is often the case, you are the sole teacher of ICT or Computing in your school. Whether you’re on your own or part of a team, I’d thoroughly recommend joining a community or several. Why?On this day: Presentation: 10 stimulating ideas for the Computing curriculum
This is an article I originally published on 2 October 2017. The conference it refers to has been and gone, but I’ve added a few annotations relating to my methodology.
Read MoreWhat should a customer newsletter contain?
Once a school buys your product or service, a newsletter is a great way of keeping them informed of new developments. In this article, we look at what kind of content works well.
Read MoreSystemic Perspectives on New Alignments During COVID-19: Digital Challenges and Opportunities
A special edition of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology focuses on the impact of Covid19 on education systems.
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Quick look: Organise Ideas
My first impression is that this is a handy toolkit which, once mastered, can be applied in lots of different contexts in any subject.
Read MoreHow to help schools avoid common mistakes with your product -- full article
The next time you’re looking for a book on Amazon, spend some time perusing the one-star reviews.
Read MoreTo put it Bluntly: Ofsted jargon revisited
Derek Blunt takes issue with inspectors' jargon. Should you ever find yourself looking for examples of what Kenneth Hudson referred to as “diseased English”, I think you could do worse than looking at Ofsted guidance or listening to Ofsted pronouncements. Ofsted is the name of the schools inspectorate in England,
Read MoreQuick looks -- The System: Who owns the internet, and how it owns us
[Links corrected!] My question is: will this be of any use to someone teaching computing, or to students learning computing?
Read MoreCase studies: A great tool in your marketing armoury
It’s all very well writing about the features and benefits of your product, but how do potential buyers know what it would be like to use in practice?
Read MoreReview: Atlas of AI
This ‘Atlas’ takes students deep into the field of artificial intelligence which, according to Crawford, is actually neither artificial, nor intelligent.
Read More7 Ways to Involve Parents with Computing
Even the most technophobic adults can be persuaded to engage with their child’s Computing studies.
Read MoreHow to use pupils to evaluate education technology resources
What people say, and what they do, can be two different things. I have had a situation in which pupils tell me materials are “boring”, having just spent 45 minutes working intensively with those materials without a break!
Read MoreIntroducing kids to programming via a spreadsheet sweet shop
Spreadsheets are dead, right? Wrong! Not only are they a great tool for teaching programming concepts, they can easily be addressed under the Computing programme of study.
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Exasperated, by Terry Freedman
If Computing leaders were politicians
I was watching a debate in the House of Lords the other day, and I was very struck (I hesitate to use the word 'impressed') by how easily a particular government representative managed to fend off a whole variety of questions without saying anything of any value whatsoever.
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What's the point of your product?
A few years ago I read a review of a new product in a popular technology magazine, and by the end of the article, I had a pretty good idea of whether or not the product was any good.
The only thing I hadn’t managed to find out was what it actually did.
Read MoreWhy your Computing department needs a library
Like all educators, computing specialists should read more than just material directly related to what they’re teaching. It’s about being, and being seen to be, an expert in the subject.
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Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
What I'm reading: Sort Your Brain Out
One of my first impressions: I like the fact that the book includes relatively recently-acknowledged attributes of the brain, such as neuroplasticity.
Read MoreManaging technical issues
It has long been the case that the teacher in charge of education technology has been expected to keep everything ticking over with virtually no budget and very little time -- especially in primary schools.
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