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A gold star for mum but dad must do better
By Maureen McTaggartWhen 12-year-old Lauren gets home from school, she says hello to her mum and heads for the computer in the living room to spend an hour on the GoldStarCafe (GSC) online service....
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Mobile learning is cool, say Cookie Monster crew
The education trust set up by the TV program that set a new benchmark in children’s television – Sesame Street – is backing handheld learning in a big way. A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center...
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'BSF could fail if transformation of learning slips'
A report from research unit Futurelab and Toshiba warns that unless educationists step up the push for transforming learning, new schools could miss the mark for children in England. “Despite the best...
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Becta ups its offering on emerging technologies
Government ICT agency Becta is sharing its news and research about new technologies on a new website designed to build on its TechNews service. The new website, launched this week, features: articles...
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'Inspiring Maths' and free Numb3rs resources
"Inspiring Maths in the classroom" is a report from the University of Chichester's Alison Clark-Wilson and Adrian Oldknow into ICT for mathematics. It's based on work with Texas Instruments calculators...
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Schools underspend on resources by £220 million
Research by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) has revealed that recessionary caution is stalking the education resources market. Schools are becoming masters of thrift, sitting on...
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Pupil info for parents? 'Oh Nothing Much'
By Maureen McTaggart Now that a visit to a school website and the mere click of a mouse are capable of providing parents with timely and meaningful information about their children’s progress, little...
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‘Learner ICT expectations rising’ says new report
By Bob Harrison Pupils’ expectations of how they will use digital technologies to learn are putting additional pressure on colleges and universities to keep up with the “Google Generation” according...
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Digital devices have become children's 'dream catchers'
Giving very young children the right medium to express themselves will support their “informal learning and build bridges between the children’s homes and early years settings”, according to a new...
View Article'Teacher educators need 21st Century learning too'
By Bob Harrison The potential for transforming learning using digital technologies, while well developed in some areas, is being held back by teacher trainers' own lack of knowledge. They are “often...
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Games 'build learning relationships' - Futurelab
The positive impact of games-based learning on the social interactions and relationships between students - and between students and their teachers - is often overlooked in all the hype around using...
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US study raises tough issues for new-builds policy
By Bob Harrison One of the first things President Obama did on taking office was to announce the closure of the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison. A less reported action was his decision to double...
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'Teacher ICT confidence down 10 per cent' - survey
By Bob HarrisonThe recent announcement from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) that a partnership between the Open University and e-skills would try to stimulate a “step change”...
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Primary kids say it's time to change schools' ICT rules
Researchers who quizzed 600 primary pupils about how they would prefer technology to be used in their learning were taken aback by their answers. Although disappointed by the level of technology in...
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Higher priority needed for ICT and learning - OECD
By Maureen McTaggartGovernments around the world should highlight the importance of computers and technology for education if schools are to help students bridge a second, emerging digital divide that...
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Mobile ICT helps young learners, says US study
By Maureen McTaggartMobile digital devices are transforming young children’s early literacy development “in ways not thought possible in the past” and altering their opinion of learning by “providing...
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World leading mobile project report due - MoLeNET
One of the world's biggest handheld learning projects is pulling together the evidence for its final report, due at the end of May. The UK's MoLeNET (Mobile Learning Network) Project has used an...
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Primaries begin to see value of games and phones
Primary schools are starting to recognise the importance of games technology and smartphones, according to research by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA). But there is plenty of...
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It's official. Mobile learning is effective - MoLeNET 2
Bob Harrison on a new report on one of the world's biggest handheld learning projects – MoLeNETEyebrows were raised when the then Learning Skills Council (LSC) announced it would make £6 million of...
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Sugata Mitra steals the show at ALT-C 2010
Radical learning with ICT eclipsed the conference controversy for Bob HarrisonWhile Donald Clark's iconoclastic prediction of “the end of the lecture” polarised the 750-odd delegates from universities...
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Schools already cutting ICT by £75 million says BESA
The latest British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) "ICT in UK State Schools" report reveal that schools are planning to cut an estimated £75 million from their ICT budgets by the next academic...
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Celebration but sadness for MoLeNET wrap-up event
Bob Harrison and Maureen McTaggart find mobile ICT success but also fear of cuts and a policy gap Excitement tinged with sadness touched delegates at the third Mobile Learning in Further Education...
View ArticleEU Kids Online says UK kids log on to internet at 8
Daniel McKeown on report that says 1 in 8 kids are upset by online experiences More than one in eight children have been bothered or upset by online content finds a report based on EU Kids Online...
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Most English schools 'unlikely' to sustain ICT
Schools may have 'new freedoms' but new research indicates that they can't afford themJust at the moment when the BBC's School Report Survey demonstrates the importance of technology in young people's...
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Appy days – parents say mobile apps help learning
Two in five parents who download educational 'apps' – in a survey group of 510 UK parents of 5 to 10-year-olds – reckon that they have helped improve attainment for their children. And the average...
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''I want it all, and now': that includes teachers too
'Baby boomer' Tony Parkin invokes Queen in his exploration of Generation Y Though written by members of an earlier student generation, the ''I want it all, and I want it now" of Queen's "I want it all"...
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Lancaster research shows Espresso helps with SATs
New report bears evidence that ICT improves learning and saves time for teachers Independent research conducted by Don Passsey, senior research fellow at Lancaster University, reveals that digital...
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Fear of technology that can turn our brains to mush
Tony Parkin explores the techno-fear behind media headlines with help from the Nominet TrustNewspaper headlines warn of threats like “Internet search engines cause poor memory, scientists claim” (Daily...
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Open University research explodes myth of 'digital native'
Gerald Haigh visits his alma mater to learn that a good attitude to technology correlates with good learning habits A new research project by the Open University explores the much-debated concept of...
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Should rules change for under-age Facebookers?
Daniel McKeown checks out a report into the 'thorny problem' of young social networkers One in five European 9 to 12-year-olds have a Facebook profile, according to EU Kids Online, a project run by the...
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Microsoft research 'a roadmap for schools innovation'
Global research into innovative teaching is pinning down the conditions for transformational reformThe latest findings from international research into innovative learning and teaching with technology...
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Brits the cynics in global ICT poll, but education leads
Education has lessons for other UK sectors according to new global researchIt's difficult to work out whether the UK workforce is an example of healthily techno-cynical Brits when you delve into part...
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Digital tablet revolution reaching schools, says Besa
Schools are ready to exploit the new wave of digital tablets, says new reportThe digital tablet revolution moving from retail into corporate markets is now getting traction in UK schools too, according...
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'Significant and positive impact' of iPads at Longfield
The first large-scale use of iPads for learning in UK schools a already a success, says reportThe adoption of iPads in UK schools gets a further boost with the publication of the new Naace report, “The...
View ArticleNaace and ALT release Gove ICT 'conversation' report
Maureen McTaggart trawls the ICT 'transformation' feeback requested by Michael GoveTo take full advantage of learning opportunities offered by technology, teachers need to be more strategic,...
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Facebook with stabilisers? Social networks for juniors
Tony Parkin rolls back the years to view social networking through a child's eyes Copy Cat, Role Player, Control Freak, Tribal Sharer, Identity Explorer, Confident Consumer. Aspects of children's...
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Making the facts fit the story: decoding ICT 'evidence'
Nesta's new "Decoding Learning" may have stirred a response it wasn't looking for"Something is going wrong.” The message from Nesta on its new report on technology in schools couldn’t be clearer....
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'Smart tech fuels young people’s passion for learning'
Research indicates that it's time to shed some negative assumptions about mobile phones. Jeremy Sutcliffe reports The upsurge in smartphone ownership is helping to feed teenagers’ passion for...
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Report says FE should be bolder with technology
It's time for FE to show leadership for the innovative use of technology for learningFurther education (FE) should be bolder in its adoption of digital technologies for learning and teaching according...
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Virtual schools expand but quality lags – US report
Digging behind the shiny claims for online learning reveals some worrying trendsOnline schools are proliferating, but a new US report from the National Education Policy Center in Colorado warns that...
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Teacher communities – what makes them tick?
Intrigued by teacher communities, researcher Kristen Weatherby sets her sights on Computing at SchoolFor years we’ve talked about teachers being isolated in their classrooms and tried desperately to...
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School websites fail to reach parents – report
School websites are not giving value for parents, says new reportMost schools in England are merely scratching the surface with their websites. A survey of schools in every local authority has found...
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Do teachers really need professional development?
According to teachers in England, perhaps not. Researcher Kristen Weatherby teases out the ICT angleIt's official – teachers in England and Scotland work very hard (see BBC's "Teachers work 'longer...
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