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Last Updated: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:48:28 |
News & Views
The tyranny of relevance
In a recent address called 'What
is education for?' to the Royal Society of
Arts, Michael
Gove bemoaned the fact that there is no government department
in the UK whose sole remit is the pursuit of educational standards.
According to Gove, education is not regarded as a good
enough end in itself, but as something which can help to achieve some
other goal.
In his exposition of his views in
favour of liberal education, he used the term 'the tyranny of
relevance'. Although he wasn’t talking about Information and
Communications Technology (ICT), this phrase did strike a chord with
me. In the continuing debate over whether ICT should be taught as a
subject in its own right, is there perhaps too much store set by
'relevance'?
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Michael Gove
The tyranny of relevance
discrete ICT
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Thu, 2 Jul 2009, 15:29
News & Views
My views on blogging
As part of
the Teachers as Bloggers Mirandamod, I was
asked to say why I blog and what my approach is. Here is the gist of
what I said, with some additional information.
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my views on blogging
Mirandamod
teachers as bloggers
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Tue, 30 Jun 2009, 08:53
News & Views
The Tech Force
"Them things just don't like me."
The
woman at the end of the accusing finger pointing at my laptop edged
cautiously towards the pub door, giving me a wide berth -- presumably in
case the "thing" lashed out at her.
"I've tried, but they hate me, they do!"
Easy
to dismiss such talk as the incoherent prattle of someone slightly
unhinged. And yet, a part of me wonders whether she is not, on some
level, quite right?
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trouble-shooting
the tech force
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Mon, 22 Jun 2009, 07:33
News & Views
Independent Review of ICT User Skills

The Independent Review of ICT User Skills of Britain’s population has just been published. It makes for some interesting reading.
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Independent Review of ICT User Skills
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Wed, 17 Jun 2009, 08:11
News & Views
Some pros and cons of online textbooks
I was contacted by the Guardian yesterday for my views on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plans to do away with printed textbooks and move over to textbooks online.
Here’s my response.
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digital textbooks
e-books in education
Arnold Schwarzenegger
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Wed, 10 Jun 2009, 10:45
News & Views
Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s useless!
It’s a bit of a hackneyed expression, but
we really do live in the ‘throwaway age’, and in no subject area is
this truer than in technology. But just because something is old does
not mean it has no value….
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Terry's Two Minute Tips
clearing-out
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Mon, 8 Jun 2009, 07:31
News & Views
What if the Home Access initiative were a food relief programme?

In the UK the government is keen to get rid of, or at least reduce, the digital divide. For this reason it introduced a home access programme, the aim of which is to help the poorest families acquire a computer and an internet connection.
But what if this were a food relief programme?
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Home Access
Naace 2009
"educational technology"
"ICT in Education"
Wed, 27 May 2009, 19:06