Technology has captured our collective attention as a society. Everybody needs it: individuals, companies, and schools. Definitely schools. We have to teach the kids of today how to function in, and how to lead, the workplaces of tomorrow. The recent push for students to develop digital skills has led to a mad rush to procure the latest and greatest classroom devices, including interactive whiteboards, flat panel displays, laptops, tablets and touch tables. The potential benefits of these tools are endless – when used correctly, they can cater to all students’ skills, abilities and interests.

Many will know Kate Jones for her popular classroom resources, or from her being a member of the original TMHistoryIcons team. Having known Kate for a while, we wanted to share her story of being an expat school leader, having traded in North Wales for the United Arab Emirates...

Modern teachers are faced with large class sizes where students have a very wide range of abilities and styles of learning. As any teacher can tell you, it's hard to deliver tailored support when workloads are high and you are tasked with teaching 30 students at a time. This presents a challenge for schools: how can they ensure that each student is receiving the support they require within the framework of classroom teaching?

In the autumn term of 2015, headteacher Jenny Taylor ran a new, two-week initiative at her school, Horfield Church Of England Primary in Bristol. A trial of literacy platform ReadingWise saw major improvements for the 10 pupils involved; so much so that the school now runs three intervention groups of ten pupils daily, helping them to reach many struggling readers.

Here at The Kindergarten Starters in Dubai, we recently ran a collaborative venture with Laurus International School of Science in Tokyo, leading to a change in the way our students learn. Over a period of one month, both schools created storyboards. We used the Lego story starters and Scratch Junior to help construct these stories they told. The written outcomes were quite alike, but the engagement of four and five year olds as they learned to code made us adopt an exciting new approach: to begin coding in kindergarten.

Primary schools across the UK are using an award-winning digital learning service to get pupils ready for this year’s SATs tests. Discovery Education Espresso is helping thousands of teachers by providing dynamic online resources which keep children engaged and make revision fun.

Coding has been around for a while now, yet how far have we really come in terms of teaching and learning? There still appears to be a certain nervousness among teachers when incorporating it into lessons, perhaps stemming from a lack of knowledge, skills or resources. Despite this, with a little time and practise, coding can be quite an easy task to weave into classroom activities. So let’s explore how teachers can get to grips with coding in the classroom, regardless of experience or the subjects that are taught.

On the outside, Compton appears like any other Primary School in the UK. However, it has long had a reputation locally of doing things just a little bit ‘differently’. Shortly after arriving at the school in 2014, I was offered the chance to visit Brussels and work with the innovators at the Future Classrooms Lab as part of a research project into how technology can be used to redefine teaching in the 21st Century. Details about this project and the final report can be found here. This project introduced me to the world of Google, and it was at this point my view of technology in the classroom was turned on its head.

Next month, education worldwide will turn its eyes onto the Middle East. The free-to-attend Global Educational Supplies and Solutions (GESS) 2018 is set to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 27th February - 1st March, and will feature high-calibre speakers, collaborative sessions, and a wealth of exciting resources. What’s more, the organisers have also arranged for a special series of Innovate My School Speed Networking sessions, wherein delegates will meet a handpicked selection of international edu-innovators.

Unsure about whether or not to head to Bett (ExCeL London, 24th - 27th January) this year? Here are 10 scheduled sessions showing how essential the exhibition will be for schools in 2018...