With resource constraints, schools in the UK will be primarily focusing on their school improvement plans and staff retention. However, there are some edtech trends slightly over the horizon which we will start to see come into play beyond the immediate and day-to-day:
GDPR is coming and schools need to be clear on what it means for them, as well as how to handle it ahead of when the regulations come into force on 25th May 2018. Currently, it seems that confusion reigns over what schools actually need to be doing to ensure they can comply with the new GDPR regulations – not just by that date, but sustainably thereafter.
Being a Computing coordinator, I am regularly looking for the next great product to bring into school and engage learners. I’ll admit, as a coordinator and self-confessed geek I am regularly a child in a sweet shop! That said, I think it’s important to think about pedagogy first; edtech legend Mark Anderson came up with an interesting model of how to put pedagogy first:
“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you find some way to break the rules, and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”
– Nora Ephron, 1996, commencement speech at Wellesley College.
Since I was a teenager, I have always looked forward to the In/Out List published in the Washington Post right before the start of each new year. So, as Innovate My School discusses the ‘Hottest EdTech Trends’ this month, I thought I’d have a little fun and put my own spin on the idea.
As I write this, making my way back from this year’s Bett Show, my train journey is the perfect time to take stock, relax, and think about all of the things I’ve seen this weekend.
When we asked the Department of Health which schools were leading the way in mental health, they pointed straight to Tapton School in Sheffield. Assistant head Steve Rippin has been a local pioneer for mental health: from staff training and awareness sessions to school assemblies to engaging parents, mental health is well and truly on the curriculum at Tapton.
Keeping aware of the most up-to-date educational technology, and challenging your pupils to use these resources, can become a big task. However by collaborating with other professionals and using their skills as well it becomes much less daunting.
The #PrimaryRocks movement has become an essential education movement in just a handful of years. Here, we shoot the breeze with co-founder and headteacher Gaz Needle, discussing the Twitter chat, the live variant, and the challenges facing Primary schools today.
With artificial intelligence (AI) on the rise, educators have increasingly reflected on how this might impact teaching in the coming years, with some of the more scary predictions even suggesting that machines could one day replace teachers altogether. This fear is largely unfounded and an unhelpful way to think about AI and education; rather than posing a threat, when used correctly AI could actually be the very best sidekick for ...
I am very proud to work at Wheatley Park School, a school where ‘everyone learning’ comes first, a school where everyone is caring, and a school that is incredibly proud to be the only Secondary school in Oxfordshire with a 1:1 policy. Every member of our school community, both students and staff has their own Chromebook, that they use in lessons and at home, when appropriate to do so.
Mark ‘@ICTEvangelist’ Anderson is one of the world’s leading thought leaders in education. Mark lives to make the lives of teachers and school leaders easier, so when we suggested an interview, he leapt at the opportunity to share some of his favourite edu-recommendations.
