I have recently started a couple of pieces of research into different aspects of teaching (and they say men cannot multitask!), but as I did this, one thing became very apparent to me. It is not the innovation itself, nor is it the strategy deployed, or even the relevant policy / guidelines / handbook / manual / research that aligns with it, that makes innovation successful. No, it is the attitude of the innovator and their peers.
Innovate My School has partnered with the Bett Show to back the third Bett Futures. Launched in 2015, Futures brings Bett delegates the most exciting and inspiring edtech startups from across the world. Innovate My School joins BESA, Naace, Edspace Hoxton, The EdTech Exchange and WORLDbytes in getting involved with the future of educational technology. The Bett Show will take place at ExCeL London on 25th-28th January 2017.
Edu-software experts Busy Things have been bringing the curriculum to life in Primary schools for the last 10 years, and now their award-winning online resource is even bigger and better. With an ambitious redesign and introduction of hundreds of new resources stretching from the Early Years into Key Stage 2, the new resource aims to delight teachers and pupils alike.
Around 20 years ago, Mr Apple himself, Steve Jobs, uttered the sentence “What’s wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology.” Somehow, though, iPads and other tablet computers have found their way into classrooms and learning environments across the world, helping people of all ages pick up new skills more efficiently than ever before. Each of these comparatively tiny devices contains more power than the supercomputer of yesteryear, and the number of ways in which it can be harnessed for the sake of education continues to grow.
I love reading books, but fiction is a turn-off for many children. Lovingly crafted, descriptive paragraphs and character profiles have no relevance to their lives, and many are not interested. One of the problems is that fiction is long. Children are absent, miss a class and then are set to pick apart a paragraph on page 238. It doesn't work.
You’ve just been gifted 120 iPads by a very kind benefactor. Which department would you give them to? For me, the answer is a real no brainer: the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) department. Some would say I’m biased, and maybe that’s true, but I have put my impartial hat on to answer that question and although Humanities came a very close second I still maintain that MFL naturally lends itself to technology use.
Given the popularity of our previous Twitter lists, the social media platform is clearly a great way for educators to connect. Be it between Slough and Glasgow, or Anaheim and Manila, Twitter lets teachers talk about work, life and everything in real-time. Resources, tips and support are constantly up for grabs, so following the right people is imperative. Here are 30 people we’d recommend adding to your list.
All of Bright Tribe Academy Trust’s schools now have full access to Britannica Digital Learning’s online resources. Bright Tribe has been working closely with Britannica to ensure that all of their staff and students have access to Britannica School and Britannica ImageQuest as part of their learning initiative.
The lessons that I enjoy teaching the most are the ones where the children are enjoying their learning. This enjoyment can stem from various sources, including using their interests as an impetus, but always occurs in lessons where I feel secure in my subject knowledge. This security allows me to test new ideas, to give children greater ownership of the lesson and to roll with it if / when things don’t go as planned. For me, this is most evident in my lessons that use technology.
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