Hoses of Parliament at night, by Terry Freedman.jpg

If leaders of Computing in schools were politicians…

December 27, 2019

I was watching a debate in the House of Lords the other day, and I was very struck (I hesitate to use the word 'impressed') by how easily a particular government representative managed to fend off a whole variety of questions without saying anything of any value whatsoever.

Articles about AI in the media

December 17, 2019

Journalism in the field of AI: is it biased?

AI-generated content: does it matter how articles are written?

December 16, 2019

Does it matter if articles are written by an algorithm?

Inspection of a Computing department in the form of a really bad TV documentary

December 13, 2019

You know those awful television documentaries in which the presenters (it’s usually a double act) continually display their inability to ask interesting questions and probe beneath the surface? I thought it might be fun to imagine an inspection of a Computing department conducted as one of those documentaries.

Ofsted: how is the new framework shaping up? Updated

December 13, 2019

The Westminster Forum has a conference coming up on 25th March 2020:

The new Ofsted inspection framework — implementation, impact on schools, and the next steps for the curriculum

Quick look: The Meritocracy Trap

December 11, 2019

We like to believe that meritocracy is a good thing, in that it rewards effort, and acts as a great leveller. Is that actually the case?

Bett 2020 Dates for your diary

December 10, 2019

Bett 2020 is coming…

Government money for ed tech? Yes, with caveats

December 9, 2019

There are too many instances of government schemes being ill thought out, or where the system could be gamed.In my opinion, the government has a duty to ensure a minimal viable product, so to speak, but then step back. I’m not so naive as to believe that the free market is perfect, but I think government decrees are even less perfect.

The ICT Register

December 8, 2019

The ICT Register, a scheme whereby schools could put themselves forward as experts in particular aspects of ed tech, was no doubt ahead of its time. Nevertheless, I think a certain degree of scepticism about such schemes is healthy.