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Sunday, November 16, 2008 8:25 AM

Innovation is risky ... what happens if it doesn't work?

Reading last weeks TES, I came across an article in which OFSTED is reported to have given a 'thumbs down' to themed lessons. Two Essex schools highlighted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as innovative and "putting together...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:36 PM

Should we be afraid ... very afraid?

If you have a spare couple of hours, I recommend you read the ' Enquiring Minds ' [PDF] report from Futurelab. Enquiring Minds is a joint project between Microsoft and Futurelab , and is to be commended for pushing back boundaries with a radical...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Thursday, November 06, 2008 9:17 PM

Cramster - a viable concept for 'out of school' teaching and learning?

I'm always on the look out for interesting ideas in the Web 2.0 world, and am intrigued by the concept behind Cramster , a free online study community (portal) that claims to bring together those who want to learn and those who want to teach. It appears...
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Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:31 PM

Harnessing Technology:Next Generation Learning - New Strategy in a nutshell!

I thought that I would try to summarise the key features of the revised and updated e-strategy Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning ; a sort of ' Reduced Shakespeare Company ' version for those who don't have time to read the document...
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008 6:35 AM

Learning in class?

The chart above is taken from the recently published revision of the e-strategy, Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning . It shows the learning experiences of children taken from MORI survey evidence. Its quite an indictment that the most common...
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Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:03 AM

Scrapping subject lessons? replaced by themes ...

I picked up this interesting report of a school in Totnes that has created a foundation year aimed at helping children to become good learners. Whilst the report claims they are scrapping subjects, the story affirms that children still cover the subjects...
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Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:43 PM

Assessment for Learning? Learning to Learn?

I have been involved in a long-running debate around assessment for learning (rather than assessment of learning). Indeed, I believe I have a good understanding of the concept thanks to my colleague Jerry Owens from the secondary transformation team,...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:12 PM

So, ... I'm out of touch?

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting comment from someone closer to the chalk-face than me, and I must admit it caused me to reflect. The essence of the comment is contained in the following excerpt. "That's all very...
Posted by AlanDay | 3 comment(s)
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Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:11 AM

Struggling with technology?

According to a Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) , a third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training. Since the survey...
Posted by AlanDay | 6 comment(s)
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:44 PM

Technophobe Teachers?

The following is an opinion from Andrew Pinder , Chair of Becta in an extract from an article in the Times 7Jan 2008 : "State schools spent £1 billion on cutting-edge information technology last year but 80 per cent of them are failing to make full use...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
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Friday, January 04, 2008 12:29 PM

Intel pulls out of One Laptop Per Child Project.

It would seem that a 'philisophical difference' between Intel and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project has ended in divorce. It was well known that whilst Intel was on the board of the OLPC project, it was also touting its own solution, the Classmate...
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007 10:13 AM

Creating or responding to the world?

I am at a Becta regional event on Personalised Learning, and an interesting position has just been stated. "We have to prepare children for the technological world in which we live" It just made me think ... if the focus of education is on preparation...
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:24 AM

Podcasting - quick wins for quality

I've been really getting into podcasting and also into adding audio to slidehare and voicethread shows. The latter are two excellent online presentation tools that allow the user to quickly narrate and publish PowerPoints and create stories based around...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 9:12 AM

Filtering? 'Control and Constraint' or 'Freedom and Fun'?

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales recently added to a long standing debate about the value of Wikipedia for research. Speaking at the recent Online Information Conference at Olympia, Jimmy is reported as stating that teachers who refuse access to wikipedia...
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Monday, November 19, 2007 5:39 PM

Global Village? ... meet your neighbours!

Sometimes an online experience can be so poignant that I am lost for words. One of these was when the US Holocaust Museum used Google Earth to show the destruction of villages in Darfur.The latest is by French Photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand who aims...
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Thursday, October 25, 2007 8:24 PM

i-whiteboards - the benefits are clear?

Following outstanding claims for the effectiveness of interactive whiteboards in a recent Becta research report and highlighted by my colleagues on their Blog , I read the full report . Its very thorough, and offers some interesting conclusions if you...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Friday, October 12, 2007 11:40 AM

Politics similar to education? Surely Not?

David Cameron’s speech at the Google Zeitgeist Conference in San Francisco offered interesting parallels with education. In it he suggests that the impact of technology is that politicians need to “... let go of power”, and speaks of a people taking more...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
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