Do you know, I hate those self-referntial blog posts in which bloggers talk about their own blogs. So I’m not going to do that; I’m going to talk about my newsletter and a survey instead!
Read MoreEd Tech determinism and so-called conventional wisdom
I am always suspicious of things that everyone agrees about – mainly because I usually find myself disagreeing. I would not be so arrogant as to believe that everyone else is wrong and I’m right, but I do often think that it would be good to evaluate what is taken as read in light of our personal experience and pedagogical expertise.
Here are just three examples of what I’m talking about.
9 Approaches to assessing Computing and ICT–#5: A Growth Mindset
The DfE recently announced the winners of its Assessment Innovation Fund.Over the next week or so I will report on the winners and the descriptions of their approach. These descriptions are more like thumbnail sketches at the moment. I have used them to suggest ways in which they might be adapted for use in assessing ICT and Computing. I hope you find these suggestions useful, or at least a good starting point for your own further work.
Read MoreIn each case I have kept the text of the DfE’s announcement, and then added my thoughts under the heading “Applying this to Computing and ICT”.
Today: A Growth Mindset approach.
9 Approaches to assessing Computing and ICT–#4: A Mastery Approach
The DfE recently announced the winners of its Assessment Innovation Fund.Over the next week or so I will report on the winners and the descriptions of their approach. These descriptions are more like thumbnail sketches at the moment. I have used them to suggest ways in which they might be adapted for use in assessing ICT and Computing. I hope you find these suggestions useful, or at least a good starting point for your own further work.
Read MoreIn each case I have kept the text of the DfE’s announcement, and then added my thoughts under the heading “Applying this to Computing and ICT”.
Today: A Mastery approach.
9 Approaches to assessing Computing and ICT–#3: A Scoring System
The DfE recently announced the winners of its Assessment Innovation Fund.Over the next week or so I will report on the winners and the descriptions of their approach. These descriptions are more like thumbnail sketches at the moment. I have used them to suggest ways in which they might be adapted for use in assessing ICT and Computing. I hope you find these suggestions useful, or at least a good starting point for your own further work.
Read MoreIn each case I have kept the text of the DfE’s announcement, and then added my thoughts under the heading “Applying this to Computing and ICT”.
Today: A scoring system.
9 Approaches to assessing Computing and ICT–#2: The ladder
The DfE recently announced the winners of its Assessment Innovation Fund: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-win-funds-to-develop-and-share-new-ways-of-assessing-pupilsOver the next week or so I will report on the winners and the descriptions of their approach. These descriptions are more like thumbnail sketches at the moment. I have used them to suggest ways in which they might be adapted for use in assessing ICT and Computing. I hope you find these suggestions useful, or at least a good starting point for your own further work.
Read MoreIn each case I have kept the text of the DfE’s announcement, and then added my thoughts under the heading “Applying this to Computing and ICT”.
Today: The Ladder.9 Approaches to assessing Computing and ICT–#1: Skills Passport
The DfE recently announced the winners of its Assessment Innovation Fund. Over the next week or so I will report on the winners and the descriptions of their approach. These descriptions are more like thumbnail sketches at the moment. I have used them to suggest ways in which they might be adapted for use in assessing ICT and Computing. I hope you find these suggestions useful, or at least a good starting point for your own further work. First one: The Skills Passport
Read MoreThe Story of the Story Wall App: an Apps for Good Success Story
Emma, 14, describes how she and two friends created the Story Wall app.
The Story Wall was created by me and my classmates Teigan and Joe. We originally came up with the idea to help people with writing stories and how people can get stuck when writing a story. The name was created by thinking how walls and stories are everywhere and how a story could be written on a wall, but the name just came to us and sounded right.
Coding is not debugging
Sometimes I am not quite sure whether a statement is obvious or not obvious at all. In such cases I try to take the view that if it was that obvious, I wouldn’t need to comment at all. Take the statement “Coding is not debugging”. Of course it isn’t. But to read what some people have written you could be forgiven for thinking that an ability to write good code automatically confers the ability to be good at debugging. Well, like the old Porgy and Bess song has it, it ain’t necessarily so.
Read More5 principles of assessing computing and ICT
There are lots of assessment grids and approaches being developed for the new Computing curriculum, which is wonderful. But how do you know which one is right for you? In this article I provide a few principles of assessment which I hope will provide some food for thought. These come partly from a course I’ve been teaching on the subject.
These are general principles which I have applied to the context of computing and ICT.
5 Assessment for Learning techniques for ICT or Computing
Here are 5 assessment for learning techniques you may wish to try out. They are generic, but I think they are especially useful in the context of Computing and ICT. As well as my own work and experience, I have drawn on
Dylan Wiliam’s book, Embedded Formative Assessment, Black and Wiliam’s Inside the Black Box.10 ways to prepare for the new Computing curriculum
With the new Computing Programme of Study looming on the horizon, schools do not have an enormous amount of time left in which to get ready for it. What practical steps can you take in order to be up and running in September?Computational thinking? Algorithms? Why all the jargon?
The new Computing Programme of Study has been criticised not only for its content, but also for the terminology it uses. In particular, it speaks about “computational thinking”, “algorithms” and “decomposition”. “Surely”, the argument goes, “they could have used ordinary everyday language?”
Had “they” decided to do that, there would no doubt have had so many people panicking about it all. So, it’s a compelling suggestion. It just happens to be wrong.
The Internet of Things - The Inevitable Future?
Zaneta Stepien explains what the Internet of Things is, and why we should be excited about it.
Technology never fails to bring us exciting developments and always promises to make our lives better. In recent years, there has been an explosion of technological creativity and innovation, with bold projects being undertaken in all corners of the Earth: from wireless power, 3D printing, gamification, autonomous vehicles and Automatic Content Recognition, to mobile robots and -- the topic of this post -- The Internet of Things, or, as some call it, The Internet of Everything. Sounds grand? Well, it's probably because it is. The promise of this enterprise is nothing short of game-changing,
The new Computing curriculum and its assessment is a great opportunity
(For the benefit of readers who don’t live in England, in September there will be a new Computing Programme of Study (ie the specification laid down in the National Curriculum), and schools no longer have to use “Levels” to assess pupils’ work.)
I was involved in a conference about preparing for the new computing curriculum recently (see Planning for the new Computing curriculum), and one of the delegates asked me:
“But what are we supposed to do about assessment now?”
“Well”, I replied. “Regard it as an opportunity.”
Cue guffaws of laughter.
Planning for the new Computing curriculum
At first sight, it seems bizarre that despite the fact that many teachers urgently need professional development, and time, in order to be ready to teach Computing in September, headteachers are not always allowing them to attend courses during school time. A business planning approach by ICT leaders in school could help.
You may think that a business plan is not relevant to you because you’re not running a business. But actually, many of the things that a business has to do, like marketing and budgeting – and planning – are what you do have to do in one form or another. All a business plan is is a statement of where you would like to be at a certain point in the future, and what steps you need to take in order to get there.
9 Computing course providers to explore
There are many courses being offered to help you plan for, and implement, the new Computing Programme of Study. Here is a short selection of providers to get you started.
Read MoreThe Amazing Computing Education Projects Book
Lots of people are preparing for teaching Computing in the next school year. I thought it would be interesting and useful to collate some ideas, concerns and resources into a free ebook. Read on to find out how you can get involved — and why you should.
Read MoreHour of Code Competitions
Here are three competitions in which you may be interested. I have not added any of my own comments or editorial, in the interests of posting this information as quickly as possible.
There are some exciting opportunities here: don’t miss them!
Useful ICT and Computing Conferences coming up
With the new Computing Programme of Study looming on the horizon, there are a number of conferences and other events coming up in the near future. Here’s a list of some of them. The Education Show isn’t specifically about ICT or Computing, but there are seminars in those areas so it’s definitely worth looking at.