When you think about the amount of time, energy and passion that has underpinned the move to ubiquitous computing access over the past 25 years, it still comes as a bit of a shock to many that we have so little to show for it. Not that there aren’t exemplars, and it was pleasing to […]
The Mystery of Pedagogy Read More »
“Having no destination, I am never lost”. Ikkyu a 15th Century Zen monk Reading Audrey Watters column in last week’s EML brought back memories of the intensity of those first days, 25 years ago, when the hundred or so 10 and 11 year old girls at MLC school in Kew were the first in world
“Fundamental change, or incremental improvement; the question is not so much which is right, but rather why has there been so little discussion about the question?” ~Seymour Papert ABC radio interview Having used Papert’s quote to provoke discussions with literally thousands of school leaders in workshops across more than 45 countries, I can say with
The Nature of Change: Exploration vs Exploitation Read More »
As I was blissfully wandering through yet another educational technology exhibition recently, albeit BETT in London, the largest in the world, I was wondering if we are really aware of who or what has the most influence on our edtech buying decisions. In the midst of the millions of dollars spent displaying technology ‘kit’ at
Putting the EdTech Cart Before the Horse Read More »
How do feel about giving your students an unfair advantage? I’m intrigued by the idea because while on the one hand it undermines the moral imperative of an education for all, on the other it strikes at the very heart of what underpins so much of our lives, competition. While most of us would hold
How Do You Feel About an Unfair Advantage? Read More »
Hopefully by now, the excesses of the New Year are well behind, and while Southern Hemisphere leaders may be basking in their vacation sun, Northern colleagues are back at work and focused on the year ahead. I wonder if you managed to pass the first day of the New Year without the mandatory discussion of
Resolutions that will make a Difference in 2015 Read More »
As the end of the year approaches, it seems worthwhile to look back on some of the achievements of the past twelve months and reflect on what we have learnt. It would be somewhat of an understatement to say that the edtech sector has seen unprecedented levels of investment over the past 12 to 18
Lazy Thinking and Commercial Opportunism Read More »
In this era of evidence-based decision-making, how often are we now being confounded, rather than comforted by evidence? While on the surface it seems natural that leaders would seek research and evidence to support the decisions they make, digging a little deeper reveals all might not be quite what it seems. Evidence-based decision-making certainly came
Truthiness and the Education Conversation Read More »
Over recent months, in both the columns of EML and beyond, there have been a number of thoughtful discussions around the concept of self-directed learning. Certainly the recent Mindshift article around the most recent Global X Prize provoked a lot of debate, given the clear brief of the contest to “develop a free, open-source and
Who Directs the “Self-Directed?” Read More »
To administrate or lead, that is the question. As we start to identify the essential components of a modern learning environment, our use of language becomes even more important in describing our meanings and intentions. Too often in the past, critical ideas have been marginalised, and their meaning appropriated beyond recognition, leaving only a shadow
To Administrate or To Lead Read More »
Few topics will get a group of educators engaged more than asking them for their thoughts on the role of curriculum in our schools today. At one end are those who carry a firm belief about the innateness or permanence of certain knowledge, which they believe should be taught to all children. These are people
The Folly of Curriculum as Political Football Read More »
Having spent significant time over the past eighteen months working with educational and policy leaders from a broad cross-section of countries I felt a long plane flight home was a good time to reflect on the directions that appear to be emerging as educational priorities for governments around the world. The first and most obvious
The Pain of Powerful Policy Read More »
NYU professor and widely-read author Clay Shirky’s recent post about the need to ask his students to put their laptops away during his lectures signals an interesting shift in the conversations around young people’s technology use. It was very much in line with the recent New York Times article that carried the ‘surprising’ news that
At Least We’re Talking About Ubiquitous Access Read More »
What lessons can we learn from the disastrous iPad initiative in Los Angeles? EML co-founder Bruce Dixon looks at what it’s obvious people still haven’t learned about 1-to-1 initiatives, despite decades of efforts to put computing devices in every student’s hands.
Lessons for Leaders from LAUSD Read More »
