7 must-attend conferences for ed tech teachers

May 6, 2016

UPDATED! Here are 7 conferences that will appeal to any ed tech teacher wishing to improve their practice and broaden their horizons.

Kay's survey of over 300 teachers has yielded some interesting results.

ICT and Computing

April 26, 2016

The DfE has summarily dismissed the ICT GCSE qualification. Kay Sawbridge carried out a survey to find out the possible consequences of this.

Oh joy! The next issue of Digital Education is out today!

Coming soon: Digital Education!

April 21, 2016

Another bumper edition of the Digital Education newsletter! Due out later today.

From SAMR to Signage

April 20, 2016

A lot of digital signage in schools is used ineffectively, or not at all. In this article, Neil Emery of Trilby TV discusses how the SAMR model could be applied to school digital signage, with impressive results.

My 10-point marking strategy

April 19, 2016

Marking is an important part of assessment, but it need not be unduly arduous.

Erm, which way now? The contradictions in the Educational Excellence Everywhere policy are somewhat disconcerting. Picture from Pixabay.com CC0

Educational Excellence Everywhere, and the Computing curriculum

March 17, 2016

A new Department for Education policy document has been published. What does it have to say about Computing?

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.

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.

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.

Coming soon: a new edition of Digital Education

February 1, 2016

With reports on Bett 2016 from 12 people, plus a humorous but incisive article on Nicky Morgan's speech at Bett (by Crispin Weston), and articles on assessment, Stephen Potter, parental engagement, a competition and book reviews, the forthcoming edition of Digital Education promises to be a fine read! Sign up now (it's free).

ICT and Computing Qualifications Update

January 25, 2016

What's the latest position regarding which qualifications are available in ICT and Computing? This free document contains the information you need.

New publications from ICT & Computing in Education

January 19, 2016

Two new free publications are now available for subscribers to Digital Education.

Who's trackin' ya, baby?

January 13, 2016

What happens when you visit a website? Information about those pesky cookies.

Read all about it. Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

News about the Digital Education newsletter

January 11, 2016

What you may have missed in the pre-Christmas Digital Education newsletter, and what's coming up in the next one.

Flipped learning is not as simple as telling kids to watch a video or two.

Flipped learning - again

December 29, 2015

In order to implement flipped learning, you need to ensure that certain conditions are in place.

A Koan, Computing and QuicK Tips

December 18, 2015

News, reviews, two competitions, free resources, interesting reading, a new Computing scheme of work, and women in computing -- just some of the stuff featured in the new issue of Digital Education. Subscribe for free!

How to create a grade-prediction system in Excel, and save yourself loads of time

December 8, 2015

Spotting the unexpected results of mock exams of scores or even hundreds of students need no longer be a nightmare.

Levels in Computing? I thought they'd gone!

December 6, 2015

Updated! When it comes to assessing ICT and Computing, it's worth pointing out that "solutions" which look both comprehensive and easy to implement are not necessary either, when you start to get down to considering them in depth.

Recent book reviews

Review: How I review books on edtech

My views on what constitutes a book on edtech are fairly catholic. Indeed, it would me more accurate to denote the books I review as books for teachers of ICT, Computing, digital literacy etc etc,, rather than books on edtech. The latter tend to have titles like “How to teach Computing”, or “How to use Excel in the classroom”.

Review: Nuts and Bolts: How Tiny Inventions Make Our World Work

It's rather disconcerting when one considers that buildings like The Shard are essentially held together by nuts, bolts and washers.

Review: Love Triangle: The Life-changing Magic of Trigonometry

Like, I suspect, many people, I have never knowingly come across an isosceles triangle in my life, and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. However...

Review: Making Sense Of Chaos – A Better Economics for a Better World

Before you rush off on the grounds that this book has nothing to do with Computing, let me reassure you that it does.

Bjork & Bjork’s Desirable Difficulties in Action

The original work on which this volume is based has perhaps been honoured more in the breach than in the observance.

Review: Coderspeak – The language of computer programmers

This book won’t necessarily help a student pass a computing exam, but it will almost certainly make them a more aware, and thus better, programmer.

Review: Quiet Power, by Susan Cain

Introverts thrive by being allowed to be quiet, having time for reflection and not being required to 'perform' all the time.

Quick look: Desirable difficulties in action

The idea of desirable difficulties has always appealed to me. In my teaching I’m partticularly in favour of applying Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development.

Review: The Collaboration Book – 41 Ideas for Working Better

Most people would agree that collaboration is a good thing – so how can we collaborate more effectively in school settings?

Review: Listen: On Music, Sound and Us

This book might not directly address obvious aspects of the music curriculum, but it can certainly give teachers access to a rich seam of facts and anecdotes with which to embellish their lessons.