Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?
This was the plaintive cry of would-be politician Screaming Lord Sutch, and I usually find myself asking the converse of this when it comes to internet safety: why are there so many agencies?
Read MoreTechnology for Writers Made Easy
Being a masochistic sort of person, I recently started a new website. I think you may find much of it relevant to your work even though it’s not an educational website as such.
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.
In Praise of Tedium
Why does everything have to be so interesting all the time? Here is my attempt to balance the scales by producing something incredibly boring.
Quick Looks
Here are some interesting things I’ve come across recently, but which I haven’t had time to delve into in great depth yet.
Read MoreNewsletter: Games-Based Learning #1
The latest issue of Computers in Classrooms is now available, with the following games-related articles
Read MoreComputers in Classrooms Almost Ready
I’m just putting the finishing touches to the latest issue of Computers in Classrooms. As well as eligibility for a stupendous prize draw which takes place tonight, subscribers will enjoy news, views and the following articles related to games-based learning
Read MoreRelated Articles?
Here’s a great example of the danger of using code to suggest related articles without having someone check the results. In an article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph entitled “Education secretary Michael Gove admits he was beaten at school”, there is a panel headed “Related Articles”. This is what it lists:
Read MorePrize Draws
In the very near future (read on) I will be running prize draws for the following:
Why Is The Curriculum Like a Bus Timetable?
No, not a riddle, but a question which came to mind on reading Eric Juli’s second comment on my post Rules of Engagement.
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 MoreWhat Skills Does an ICT Co-ordinator Need?
First, a quick translation. What we Brits call an ICT Co-ordinator, our American cousins tend to refer to as a Technology Co-ordinator. It’s all very confusing, and would never have arisen had the USA not broken away from us a couple of hundred years ago. But I digress.
Rules of Engagement
Do we need gimmicks, new-fangled techniques to keep kids engaged in lessons?
10 Ways to Use Voting Systems
Electronic response systems. A good resource, or a waste of time?
In a recent post, Stephen Downes says
Computers in Classrooms September Issue Out Now!
Conference concessions, book bargains ... where will it end?
Read MoreIs The ICT Curriculum Too Masculine?
One of the apparently insoluble problems of the age is how do you encourage more girls to take up ICT or Computing? I think a lot can be done, and have done so myself, but I wonder how far a lot of the effort fails to get to the heart of the issue, which could be the curriculum itself, the way it is taught, or a combination of the two?
Shining 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
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