What’s the difference between action research, academic research and other types of research? Is it the case that in order to be seen to justify a research grant you have to couch your findings in terms which make them incomprehensible to the very people who might benefit from them? How does academic research “percolate” down into the classroom? And is there a case for saying that research findings should be reported in a “popular” style sometimes?
Read MoreThe importance of research for ICT teachers
How important is research for teachers in general, and ICT teachers in particular? One might be tempted to say that people learn in the same way now as they did thousands of years ago, so research, apart from keeping abreast of the latest developments in technology, is pretty redundant.
I think there are problems with that attitude.
Read MoreForthcoming articles and other stuff worth reading
This is a bit of an experiment, but I thought it might be interesting to flag up what’s coming up on this site soon, and also what I’ve come across on other sites that look interesting.
Read More25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #12 Be too flexible
One of the things I’ve discovered is that a lot of people need, or at least want, tightly-defined boundaries. I’ve found this to be the case not only in the management roles I’ve had, but even as an editor of Computers in Classrooms and the ICT in Education website.
Read MoreTechnology in the media
I'm interested in how technology is used in the media, and think that in many respects the media is more innovative than schools when it comes to using the technology.
I think it would be interesting to explore this, and perhaps a good way of starting off would be to join an online discussion this evening with Tony Johnston of the Press Association.
Read More25 ways to make yourself unpopular: #7 Do things properly
After a hiatus born of the Christmas holidays, followed by a week of intensive conference activity and then a desperate (and not entirely successful) attempt to catch up, this series is back! Thanks for your patience during its temporary absence.
Doing things properly is what I like to think of as “making haste slowly”. We live in an age where everything is expected to be decided upon, and then executed, extremely quickly. The problem is that without getting the detail sorted out in the beginning, the work can actually take longer as incorrect assumptions have to be confronted and corrected.
3 professional development opportunities, and they’re all free
In these austere times, free is good, right? Here are three sources of professional development that you will, I’m sure, find useful.
Another year, another BETT
It’s been a week of three conferences including, of course, the BETT show. I really enjoyed it, and will be writing about it in more depth in Computers in Classrooms in the very near future. But for now, here are some reflections.
Read MoreBETT Bulletin #2
This is a combination of "My personal BETT Day 2" and my BETT Bulletin.
Things to go to today, if you can:
Read MoreBETT Bulletin #1: ICT in the curriculum, plus first looks
This is a quick note, in effect, not an in-depth analysis. That will come in the newsletter Computers in Classrooms, after the show.
Read MoreGuidance for the BETT Show (and other conferences)
Last year I published a guide to BETT (and other conferences) for subscribers to the free newsletter, Computers in Classrooms. I think the advice is still relevant. I looked at the following:
- 9 reasons to attend.
- 4 arguments to put to your boss as to why you should be allowed to attend.
- 3 other kinds of colleagues who should attend.
- 13 things to do in advance.
- 16 ways to get the most out of the show.
- 7 ways to follow up afterwards (once you’ve recovered!).
You can read that online here.
Evaluation of Learning Without Frontiers Pre-Conference
I was looking forward to hearing some great presentations and startling revelations at the Learning Without Frontiers Conference. But I spent almost my whole time there talking to people. The way I figure it, if something is really good I'll get to hear about it anyway, so given the choice between listening to a talk, and discussing –and-catching up-and-networking type of activity, I choose the latter. At least, I did yesterday.
So, how was it for me?
Read MoreBETT presentation: sorted!
Woo hoo! I have now finished preparing my presentation, "20 must-have tools in 45 minutes". Except that it's now 31 tools in 60 minutes, with one "tool" that I'll mention in passing, plus a further 7 tools if there is time to go into them.
Like I said before (see link above), my presentation is for leaders and managers or would-be leaders and managers of educational ICT.
Hope to see you there.
Be organised, be informed and plan
The title comprises the theme I’ll be following in my seminar at the BETT show. It’s called “20 must-have tools in 45 minutes”, and is firmly targetted at leaders and managers of ICT or educational technology – or people who aspire to such a position. What that means in practice is that I’ve followed these principles:
More about the free leadership event
I recently wrote about Collaborate for Change. Here’s a very brief video about it, and an interview with Lord Jim Knight, the Schools Minister in the previous government in Britain, and Dave Smith, organiser-in-chief. The interviewer in each case is Russell Prue, of Anderton Tiger Radio.
My personal BETT–Day 1
It’s coming up to that time of year, when companies unveil their new ed tech goodies, old friends and colleagues meet up, people give and attend talks and demonstrations, and we all go away either inspired or cynical, and completely shattered, in equal measure. Yes, it’s the BETT show, a 4 day conference-stroke-exhibition-stroke-meet-fest which attracts people from all over the world. This year it starts on the 12th January, ie next week, and I thought it might be useful to make my own suggestions about what you might like to see. These suggestions are all based on my knowledge of the people involved or past personal experience, so I don’t pretend to cover all possibilities: check out the BETT website for the full programme, and register for free in advance. Today, I’m looking at Day 1, Wednesday 12th January.
Free Leadership Event
Here’s an interesting conundrum: why is it that, given the trend towards distributed leadership and collaborative change, a lot of conferences targetted at leaders seem to consist of a succession of people lecturing to the audience?
Assessment and learning
I was very privileged to be able to chair, and listen to, an online talk by Ashley Allain today, and I’d like to pick out just a few of the many incisive points Ashley made.
Read MoreAssessment in a home school setting
Assessment is difficult. Whatever “solutions” you might come across, unless you can open up someone’s brain and work out what’s been going on, assessment will always be a “best estimate” situation.
And “21st century learning and teaching” has, arguably, made matters worse.
Using technology in the curriculum
The big challenge facing ICT leaders in schools is often not to do with providing the facilities, but in encouraging teachers to use those facilities – and to do so in a meaningful way. We’ve all seen examples of where students are allowed to play on the computer if they’ve finished their “real” work, or where students whose regular teacher is not in school, and for whom no work has been set, get to do the same.