The phrase “May you live in interesting times” is usually cited as a sort of curse, but can you imagine the opposite, ie living in boring times? Fortunately, especially here in England there is no danger of that for a while, at least in the world of ICT. Here are a few snippets of news which I won’t comment on at the moment because I like to cogitate, reflect, and then cogitate some more before pontificating. As I said in a previous article (10 Obligations of Bloggers), quoting Salvator Rosa, I believe in the adage “Be silent, unless what you have to say is better than silence”.

Fear not: I will have plenty to say in the weeks and months ahead, but for now, here are just the facts (well, with one or two opinions thrown in!):

The ICT Programme of Study has been disapplied

Reports of the death of ICT have been exaggeratedYes, it’s official! You can read the results of the consultation about the disapplication of ICT in a document called, erm, ICT Disapplication Results. Please note: anyone who tells you that ICT is no longer compulsory has either not read this document or has not understood it. (I know I said I would just give the facts, and that’s exactly what I’m doing!)

The next steps for the ICT curriculum

I am saying nothingThat was the subject matter of a very interesting conference which took place today. I have made copious notes, festooned with lots of exclamation marks, which are my coding system for either “YES!” or “When did this person arrive on the planet?”. But perhaps I’ll wait for the transcript before venting my spleen, just in case I misquote someone!

System upgrade

This is the title of a new report that will be launched at the House of Lords tomorrow. It will be available from the Technology Enhanced Learning website from 13th June 2012. The full report makes 12 recommendations, including the need to exploit the power of personal devices to enhance learning. Quite right, which is why I am so much in favour of Bring Your Own Technology, which I’ve been doing quite a lot of work on in terms of researching what’s been happening and what works and what doesn’t.

The EduSummit report is out

Around this time last year I was invited to attend the International Summit of ICT in Education, which I wrote about in an article entitled EDUsummIT 2011 Report: The Digital Divide. Well the summary report is now out, along with the reports from eight working parties on the themes of: