On Tuesday evening Drew Buddie and I ran our first Teachshare. One of our aims is to bring along people you might not otherwise come across, and who can throw a different light on the issues facing those of us who are involved in educational technology and passionate about kids getting the best educational experience possible.
Read MoreGreat professional development -- and free!
How would you like to listen to some world-famous speakers and then discuss their talk with them? That’s what Vital is offering. Drew Buddie and I are organising a series of one hour online talks starting on 2nd November.
Read MoreNot So Fast
Last week I was in Brentwood, Essex, UK, and in need of a bite to eat, so I popped into the Crown Street Café, which is in, er, Crown Street.
I was struck by this notice at the bottom of the menu:
Dates For Your Diary
Innovation and Learning
If everything is working OK, is there even any point in innovating? What’s wrong in simply taking the view, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
Read MoreThe Myth of Leadership
Leaders and managers don't change people: people change themselves. All that an effective leader or manager can do is get the right conditions in place for effective change (for the better) to happen. In political terms, it's the difference between power and authority. Power is where, when someone says "X will happen", people say "We must do X"; authority is where, when someone says "X will happen", people say "X ought to happen". Having authority is better than having power in the long run.
Accessible E-Learning
Trudy Duffy-Wigman
Schools, colleges and universities are in the process of improving accessibility throughout, both in the physical as well as the virtual environment. It is important to enable students with disabilities to reach their full potential and as educational professionals, we try to be inclusive and not erect any unnecessary barriers for learners, be it physical or otherwise.
New Update on the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book
Web 2.0 case studies, from classrooms around the world. Great examples of innovative practice, and an insight into hurdles encountered and how they were surmounted. And it's all free!
Two Cheers For Academies
When the idea of Academies was first mooted, my first thought was that we’ve been here before. Twenty years ago we had the Grant-Maintained Schools, which had control over their own lives to a large extent. The same sort of issues will be faced by Academies as was faced by GM schools (whether they realised it or not). However, it seems to me that
Read MoreShining Eyes
It’s said that the difference between secondary school and primary school is that in secondary school the teachers teach subjects and in primary schools they teach children. There’s probably some truth in that, but
Read MoreThe Danger of Stats-Watching
I don’t think statistics relating to the number of visitors to a website or blog are the be all and end all, but they’re important for at least three reasons.
Do the Same Thing Differently
We’re always exhorted to do something different, but what if the basic principles of what you’re doing are pretty sound? Perhaps sometimes putting old wine into new bottles is better than producing new wine.
7 More Rules for ICT Teachers, Co-ordinators and Leaders
All over the country, indeed all over the world, ed tech evangelists are bending over backwards helping, training and cajoling their colleagues into adopting the use of technology in their own curriculum area. Let’s be honest, most of the time it’s a thankless task. The hapless ICT Co-ordinator
Is Freedom Always a Good Thing?
As you may know, there’s a bit of a revolution going on in the UK as far as education is concerned. Schools can apply to become
Yes, But What Do I Actually Have To Do?
I read an article about writing yesterday. It contained information about how to succeed in one particular genre. It included quotes and tips from some established experts
Making It To Christmas: Starting Well
Well, the new term -- indeed, school year -- has started or is about to start, so you may think it is somewhat premature to be thinking about Christmas already!
However, in my experience the autumn (Fall) term is the toughest of the lot, and the final few weeks can be purgatory.
Formalising meetings
Meetings should be run in a professional manner. I've written quite a bit about how to make meetings more effective and purposeful, but mainly from the perspective of the whole team. There are, however, more personal reasons to make meetings more formalised.
In The Picture: Help!
I’m a firm believer in helping youngsters (and colleagues) to become as self-sufficient as possible. As well as being healthy, in my opinion, it is also a requirement of some examination courses.
10 Ways to Evaluate Blogs
Now that the new school year has started, or is about to start, we all want to have fresh insights into how to do the things we’re paid to do.
Read MoreReview of Leading a Digital School
Can a book about leading a digital school be of any interest to ICT leaders? Read on and find out.
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