Naace Communities

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/07/16/a-technology-free-school-with-a-game-based-curriculum-any-objections-mr-gove/ The new Coalition Government is steaming ahead with its Structural Reform Plan for Education being published on 13th July. In which their concept of Free Schools is once again expounded:” … we will also capitalise on the passion of parents, teachers and charities who want to make a difference by making it easier for them to set up and run their own... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/06/11/ict-mark-must-prove-its-worth-to-survive/ Two pieces of good news have came out of Becta, if indirectly, in the last few days. Firstly planned revisions to the Self Review Framework will go ahead. (These will be launched on 18th June together with the transition arrangements.) Then Naace confirmed that its contract to administer the ICT Mark would remain in place until March, although “subject to regular reviews”. The Self Review... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/06/11/don-knezek-a-shot-heard-round-the-world-in-the-ed-tech-community/ There’s been a few international comments made about the closure of Becta and its implications in the wider context of worldwide educational technology, but the most telling so far is the comments Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE made to eSchool News [registration needed to read the whole article]. Don was over last week and met with some of Becta’s senior staff. It’s... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/06/05/naace-and-the-big-society-lets-get-on-with-it/ There’s been two important meetings in the last three days which are beginning to shape the future of educational ICT in the UK. The first was a Naace members’ focus group that happened on 2nd June at the Naace offices in Nottingham. Planned way before the election Naace wanted to get some of its members together to gather their thoughts on how the association should move forward. When... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/05/30/the-defenestration-of-educational-ict/ Martin Littler in a recent article points out that, “Dead men don’t fall through open windows. Becta did need a kick.” In it he recalls how thirty years ago Becta’s predecessor(s):” … was responsible for the lively lead which the UK quickly established in all aspects of educational technology. It was tiny then but employed very talented people (as it still does). They took risks... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/05/28/dead-and-buried-how-could-becta-survive/ In all the furore over the closure of Becta, there has been little said that it is not the Government that can close this non-departmental public body. Like so many of our educational institutions, Becta is in fact a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. This charity like all others, it governed by Charity Commission rules and the Goverment cannot close it, all they can do is withdraw funds.... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/05/26/the-death-of-consensus-and-an-open-letter-to-my-new-mp/ At the general election, the Labour MP who has represented Waveney since 1997 lost his seat by less than 600 votes. Bob Blizzard had done a great deal for the town of Lowestoft in those thirteen years. I admit I’m biased, having taught with Bob in a local school I knew him well and know he believed in the capacity of local people to get things done in any circumstances. He certainly... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/05/19/what-did-a-labour-government-ever-do-for-educational-ict/ It’s difficult to quantify the last thirteen years of educational ICT policy. Children born in 1997, and now in Year 9, will certainly not recognise a landscape in which one computer in the library, with dial-up access to the internet, was cutting edge, or computer rooms with RISC PCs, a 10Mb network and maybe a CD ROM server in the cupboard. It’s doubtful too whether many teachers will... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/04/11/grandmas-do-more-than-suck-eggs/ This weekend I heard Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University for the first time. Professor Mitra had what he modestly called, “his 15 minutes of fame” last year when Vikas Swarup, author of the novel on which the award-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ film is based, cited Prof. Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” research as one of the inspirations for his book. In 1999 Prof. Mitara wondered... Read full post

http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2010/03/19/how-can-vital-get-that-spark/ Vital, the ICT CPD service launched at BETT 2010, began its first set of online moderated courses this week. Take-up however has apparently been disappointing. It’s early days, of course, and I believe that the service is a significant step in ICT CPD provision and needs time to become known and develop its clientele. It’s worth reflecting on the issues such as service faces.1) The value message and the... Read full post